Goodness at home
Styling/Photos by Brooke Echols
Tomato Pie is the ultimate potluck dish. For many of us in the South, tomatoes are in ample supply this month. With beautiful sliced tomatoes coupled with sliced red onions, all baked in a flaky pie shell, this tomato pie will turn a potluck meal into a party. Follow us at thebutteredhome. com for more recipes that celebrate good old Southern cooking.
Tomato Pie
1 homemade pie shell (thebutteredhome.com for recipe)
4-6 ripe Roma tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup sliced red onions
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie shell for 10 minutes. While cooking, marinate the tomatoes and onions in bal- samic vinegar in a large bowl. Drain. Reserve a few slices of tomatoes for garnish. Allow the crust to cool.
In another bowl, mix salt, pepper, basil, cheeses, mayo and sour cream.
In prepared pie crust, layer tomatoes and onion into a single layer. Top with cheese mixture. Spread evenly. Top with reserved slices of tomato for garnish. Bake the pie for 45 minutes until it becomes melted, bubbly and the crust is brown.
Allow the pie to sit and cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
When we planned this month’s recipe theme of “Potluck” back in 2019, we never anticipated that our readers wouldn’t actually be able to attend
a potluck event at their church, neighborhood meeting or family reunion. But here we are in 2020, with many of us confined to our homes, still cooking but unable to sit down and share our delicious favorites with others the way we’d like. But we still love to eat, and for many of us, that means “comfort” food like the homemade casseroles you’d find at many a potluck dinner in Alabama and across the South. So enjoy these reader-submitted casseroles we’re featuring on these pages, and just imagine yourself with your friends and family sharing a forkful together, a day we pray returns safely very soon.
– the Alabama Living staff
Ham, Cheese and Hash Brown Casserole
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 bag shredded hashbrowns
2 cups ham, diced
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients completely. Place mixture in a greased 9×13-inch pan. Bake 35-45 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Glenda Weigel, Baldwin EMC
Cook of the Month
Kirk Vantrease, Cullman EC
Skillet Chicken and Green Bean Potluck
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 pound fresh green beans 1 10.5 ounce can cream of
mushroom soup 1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fried onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme
1 stick butter
Pinch cayenne pepper Salt and pepper, to taste
In a large skillet add olive oil and chicken; cook on medium heat. As you cook the chicken, season with salt, pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper and cook for 30 minutes. Add green beans and stick of butter. Cook for another 30 minutes. Stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup, milk and 1/2 cup of fried onions, blending everything together. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Uncover and top with the remainder of the fried onions.
White Shoepeg Corn Casserole
3 11-ounce cans shoepeg corn, drained
1 to 1/2 pints whipping cream
2 tablespoons flour
1 stick butter, melted
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Jean Fontaine, Baldwin EMC
Gertrude’s Casserole
1 1/2 pounds hamburger meat
3 cups cooked macaroni
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whole kernel corn
1 small jar pimentos
1 small onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Ritz crackers, for topping Butter, for topping
Cook hamburger and onion together and drain well. Add all the other ingredients. Top with crushed Ritz crackers and dot with butter. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Sandra Largen, Central Alabama EC
Potluck Chicken and Dumplings
1 onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
2 10.5-ounce cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 16.3-ounce can refrigerated biscuits
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a slow cooker, add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, oregano and thyme. Add chicken breasts. Pour cans of cream of chicken and broth over the breasts. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Uncover, stir. Salt and pepper, to taste. Top mixture with canned biscuits. Cover and cook one more hour.
Kirk Vantrease, Cullman EC
Mama’s Cajun Pinto Beans & Rice
1 pound bag pinto beans, washed and soaked overnight
1 bell pepper
1 whole onion
1 pound ground beef, Chili powder, to taste Black pepper, dash
1 cup onion, chopped, Banana pepper, option
Cook pinto beans until almost done. Add bell pepper and whole onion last 30 minutes (then discard onion). Cook ground beef until brown, drain. Add chili powder, to taste, chopped onions, banana pepper (optional) and sauté. Add to beans. Cook rice in separate pan until done. Put rice on plate, pour beans over rice.
Mrs. Clarence M. Catt South Alabama EC
Themes and Deadlines:
September: *Bar foods | June 5 (*Taco bar, baked potato bar, etc.)
October: Traditional Southern Recipes | July 3
November: Pies | August 7
3 ways to submit:
Online: alabamaliving.coop
Email: [email protected]
Mail: Recipes, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124
Please send us your original recipes (developed or adapted by you or family members.) Cook of the Month winners will receive $50, and may win “Cook of the Month” only once per calendar year.
