Quick and Easy Cookbook From Southern Living

As I started yesterday's post with quick and easy recipes from my clippings box, I'd like to continue that pattern today with a quick and easy-style cookbook. This one that I'm reviewing is from Southern Living, so I had high hopes from the start. Over the years, I've found their magazines and cookbooks (including the Annuals that I'm fond of) to be of good quality. There are some magazines that I leaf through looking for a new recipe that might be good for our "dinner rotation of favorites", but I often come up empty-handed. I think food fads, come into play; for a while, everything was in a "wrap" now the hot recipe item seems to be black beans! There's nothing wrong with either of these items, but I like to see contributions of "tried and true" recipes from readers who are good cooks, and you get that with Southern Living publications. Taste of Home publications by Reiman are similarly good at recipes centered around home cooks, but our cookbook today is The Quick and Easy Cookbook from Southern Living. It was published by Oxmoor House in 1976 and it's catalog card number is 76-41573.

The beginning of the book includes timesaving kitchen hints for quick cooking and a pantry shelf list for "emergency meals". The first chapter is on appetizers and sandwiches, and this book is full of delicious-sounding quick fixes all the way to the last chapter that covers breads. As usual, the reader/cook's name, hometown and state are given under the recipes; that kind of information makes the recipe more interesting to me, as well.

Here are the sample recipes for you to try before you run out to hunt down this great cookbook!

P. 75 Lazy Barbecue
Preparation and cooking time is less than 1 hr.

One 6 1/2 oz bottle cola beverage
1 C ketchup
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
garlic to taste
1 med. chicken, disjointed

Place all the ingredients in a large skillet and cover. Simmer for 45 min. to 1 hr. or until the chicken is tender. Serve w/ rice. 6 servings.

Mrs. R.C. Cadden, Jr., Aberdeen, Mississippi



P. 112 Mushrooms with Rice
Preparation and cooking time about 30 min.


One 10 1/2 oz can beef consomme
1 C packaged precooked rice
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 C butter
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped parsley

Combine the consomme and 1 3/4 C water in a 1 1/2 qt. saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover and cook over low heat for about 25 min. or until tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Toss the mushrooms with the lemon juice. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the mushrooms and onions and saute' for 5 min. Toss the mushroom/onion mixture and the parsley with the rice just before serving.

Mrs. Wendall S. Palmer, Tidewater, Virginia

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Don't forget Lawton-Fort Sill's Armed Forces Day Parade tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. followed by a whole day of festivities for the entire family at Elmer Thomas Park! 9 Great Concerts!
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I'll be at the recipe swap on Grocerycartchallenge today!Also at Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum