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TOM AND NECIA'S FAVORITE RECIPES Recipes | Meat | Vegetables & Rice | Desserts & Breads | Home
SALADS, SOUPS, SALSA & APPETIZERS
Black Bean Soup Wash beans. Cover with cold water in large bowl. Soak overnight. Next morning, rinse and drain. Put beans in large soup pot; cover with beef broth and 3 cans water. Add hamhock. Bring to boil and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. In skillet, saute celery, onions and garlic in margarine until tender but not brown. Stir into beans with bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Stir occasionally and add water if needed. Remove and discard the hamhock and bay leaf. Blend beans, 2 cups at a time, in blender or food processor. Return pureed beans and broth to pot. Add lemon juice and reheat. Add more salt if needed and garnish with lemon slice. (Necia likes the beans before putting them into the blender; so, I leave a portion out for her, and then finish the recipe.)
Artichoke-Crab Soup Serve either chilled or hot
Put the following in a blender and puree: Add one or two cans flaked crabemeat and chill or heat before serving. You can garnish with a dollop of sour cream and fresh basil if desired. This was given to us by one of Necia's Theta sisters and it will make your dinner party memorable! We use Swansons vegetable broth for our beautiful daughter-in-law, Amanda, who is a vegetarian.
Fiesta Chicken Soup Break chips into big pieces (Mission Tortilla Strips is our favorite). Saute chopped onion and minced garlic in hot vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Add refried beans and next 4 ingredients, stirring until smooth; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in chopped cilantro, if desired. However, this is how we preferred to layer it: break up tortilla chips in bottom of soup bowl, ladle the soup on top,and then add the cheese (dollop of sour cream optional) and chopped cilantro. It is easy to make and delicious. We have also thought about buying a roasted chicken from Sam's Club or Albertsons and shredding it in place of the chopped chicken. This could be faster and offer a slightly different flavor. Chris's Salsa Picante Blend coarsely (don't liquefy). Use good quality tomatoes. Recommended doubling recipe because it will keep for a while in the refrigerator. (This is really good and easy to fix.) This was given to us by Chris Suit. Becky Reynolds Eastham fixed it for Don Reynold's 70th Birthday, and we all couldn't get enough of it. Not only is this good with chips, but I think it would be excellent with a good grilled or baked white fish.
Glistening Gazpacho
2 cups each diced (1/4 inch) peeled cucumber, red bell pepper, ripe tomato Place all the ingredients except the avocado in a large bowl. Coarsely puree half of the mixture in a blender or food processor and return to the bowl; stir to combine with the rest of the mixture. Refrigerate up to 8 hours before serving in mugs or bowls. Garnish with the diced avocado. (This is really good and only about 159 calories a serving. We also loved it the next day.)
Mango Salsa In medium glass bowl, mix together all salsa ingredients. Prepare at least 2 hours ahead of time for all flavors to mingle. Can use over any fish, but our favorite is grilled salmon. We experienced this wonderful salsa in Santa Fe, but couldn't find a recipe. Our friend, Theresa Todd found this on the Internet and shared it with us.
Tom's Tossed Salad
Dressing Prepare the salad and dressing. Additional items sometimes used in the salad are: cup of toasted sliced almonds, can of mandarian oranges drained, or artichoke hearts. Right before serving, toss the salad. Tom says he "smouches" the eggs and avocado pieces against the side of the bowl some. This thickens the dressing a little bit. Everybody raves about this salad and there is never any left! We also use this special dressing laddled over pear halves served on a bed of a lettuce leaf. Tom adds mandarian orange slices, blackberries (or any berry in season), avocado slices, chopped pecans and blue cheese crumbles.
Ramen Noodle Coleslaw Mix sugar and oil together with seasoning mix from the Ramen noodles. Toss with coleslaw, green onions and crumbled Ramen noodles. Add sunflower seeds. Cover and refrigerate a few hours before serving. If you prefer a crunchier salad, wait until before serving to add the crushed noodles and sunflower seeds. I prefer the noodles to get soft, however. (I will double this recipe for a large group, and I personally like the beef flavored Ramen noodles. My friend, Sandy Casper, shared this recipe with me. It is the very favorite of her son, Drew Casper and my son, Casey Wise. They roomed together while attending the University of Oklahoma.) Necia's Special Deviled Eggs Boil eggs, shell them, let cool, then halve and scoop out the yellow. Place white portion aside for filling later. Mash the yellows until crumbly. Add sweet pickle juice first (enough to moisten the mixture without it getting runny but enough to taste the flavor-it looks spongy), then Miracle Whip or Hellman's mayonnaise (couple of big spoon-fulls one at a time), and dried mustard (probably around 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons). Salt to taste. Don't be afraid to taste as you go. It is easier to add more mustard, pickle juice, or mayo, but it is ruined if the mixture gets too runny. Fill the whites and sprinkle the tops with paprika.
Marilyn's Spinach Salad
Combine sugar, salt, dry mustard, onion juice, lemon juice, vinegar and salad oil. Mix well. Add sliced water chestnuts and let marinate until ready to serve. Wash spinach leaves, tear stems off, and tear leaves into smaller pieces if needed. Pat dry. When ready to serve, sprinkle bacon pieces and chopped eggs over spinach. Toss lightly with dressing. (Marilyn also suggested letting guests add their own bacon or eggs at table since some might be vegetarians or don't want them added.) Serves 8.
Napoli Pasta Salad Cook pasta according to directions; drain under cold water. Mix pasta with all other ingredients in a large bowl. This makes enough for a small Army, but we eat it for several days. We also add 2 cups Four Bean Salad with juice (I buy it at Sam's Wholesale Club in a huge jar), and 1 large can chunked turkey or chicken (also at Sam's) for a variation. The Four Bean Salad makes it sweeter. (This is an original Tom Miller creation!)
Potluck Potato Salad Pour French dressing over warm potatoes; chill 2 hours. Add celery, onions, eggs and salt. Add mayonnaise and mix carefully. Add 1 teaspoon celery seed, if desired. Chill 4 hours.
Tammy's Potato Salad (the best in the world) Separate yolks from whites and chop the whites. Peel potatoes, cut into chunks, and boil until tender. Drain and chill until cool. Mash up yolks and mix them well with the mayo, mustard,and salt & pepper( to taste). After the potatoes cool, add the egg yolk mixture, chopped up egg whites and olives. Mix well. Chill 4 hours or overnight. Tom and I love her potato salad and even have it for breakfast!
Fruit Salad Cut peach and pear slices in half. Mix in large bowl with drained pineapple. Pour pudding mix over and stir gently. If needed, add as much of the reserved peach juice as needed. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Before serving, clean and slice strawberries and stir into fruit mixture. Add sliced banana, stirring gently. Serves 8-10. Toasted pecans might be good to add as well.
Tom's Clam Dip Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a heavy fork. Serve with potato chips. (Tom's mother and brother also make this recipe, but Tom's is a little different.)
Necia's Spaghetti Dip Brown hamburger meat in skillet. Add onions and saut� until transparent. Drain grease and add all the other ingredients. I salt and pepper to taste, but you want the sweet flavor to dominate. Keep heated over a heating plate with chips close by. The salt in the Fritos mix deliciously with the sweeter dip. You need the large chips to hold the spaghetti mixture. (Everyone really likes this dip, so don't tell anyone how easy it is! Also, even if it gets room temperature, it still tastes good.)
Tom's Bloody Mary Mix
Mix Mr. & Mrs. T with Clamato juice with the rest of the ingredients. Add vodka to individual glasses and garnish with celery sticks and lime. (This recipe was given to me by Toady Beaver's brother-in-law, Ben, who lives in Houston.)
Deviled Pecans
In mixing bowl combine the butter and worcestershire sauce and mix well. Add pecans, salt and pepper. Stir and toss pecans until well coated. Roast on cookie sheet with sides in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally. Drain, if necessary, and sprinkle with salt to taste. Yummy!
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