King Ranch Chicken Casserole

True comfort food - warm, gooey, cheesy and a little spicey from the green chili. It travels well and even freezes well. What's not to like?
From an old issue of Southern Living

Makes 8-10 Servings

1 (4 1/2 - 5 lb.) whole chicken (I used a rotisserie to save time)
2 celery ribs, cut into 3 pieces each (for cooking chicken, not needed for rotisserie)
2 carrots, cut into 3 pieces each (for cooking chicken)
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sized pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 (10 3/4 oz. ) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
2 (10 oz.) cands diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. Mexican chili powder ( or tsp. chili powder + 1/8 tsp. cayenne)
3 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
12 (6 in.) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips OR 3 cups coarsely crumbled lime flavored white tortilla chips
3/4 cup chicken broth (only if using Rotisserie chicken)

1. Place cleaned chicken, celery, carrots and salt in a large Dutch oven with water to cover. Bring to boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 50-60 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from the heat. Remove chicken from broth and cool 30 minutes. Remove and reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Strain remaining liquid and reserve for later use.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, and saute 6-7 minutes or until tender. Add bell pepper and garlic and saute 3-4 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup reserved cooking liquid or chicken broth, cream of mushroom soup and next 5 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes.
3. Skin and bone chicken; shred meat into bite-size pieces, or do same for rotisserie style chicken. Layer half of chcken in a lightly greased 13 X 9 inch casserole dish. Top with half of soup mixture and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover with half of corn tortilla strips or tortilla chips (for quicker version). Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Mildred's Pecan Toffee

Makes 1 1/2 pounds. Prep time about 30 minutes, chill 1 hour

1 1/2 cups chopped, toasted pecans, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1. Spread 1 cup pecans into a 9-inch circle on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
2. Bring sugar and next 3 ingredients to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture is golden brown and a candy thermometer registers 290 to 300 degrees (about 15 minutes.) Pour mixture over pecans on baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle immediately with chocolate morsels and let stand 30 seconds or until melted. Spread melted morsels evenly over top then sprinkle with remaining chopped pecans. Chill one hour. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Variations: use chopped almonds in place and pecans and milk chocolate on top
use chopped toasted macadamia nuts in place of pecans and sprinkle with coconut

Collard Greens

Clean greens in water bath until no grit remains. Then remove tough stem by holding stem in one hand and stripping leaf off with other hand. Roughly chop the greens. I don't like my fine chopped too fine, but not too big either --each piece about 3 inches.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
16 cups of cleaned, stemmed and chopped collard greens
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 Budweiser beers
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in heavy pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook 4-5 minutes until crisp. Remove the bacon and reserve.
2. Add the onions to the bacon fat and cook for 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute more.
3. Return the bacon to the pan and add the greens, stock, beers, salt, sugar and vinegar. Bring the greens to a rapid simmer and simmer them stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes or until tender.
4. Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.