Donna Hardin

Donna Hardin of Bruce says her mother, the late Linda Culpepper of Dothan, AL, was her mentor and biggest inspiration in cooking. She loves to try and replicate dishes she has in a restaurant, try new things and experiment in the kitchen, as her mother did. She and her two sisters “grew up in the kitchen” with their mom.

Donna said her mother loved to bake and made coffee cakes to give as Christmas gifts, but a favorite she made to go with coffee was gingerbread cake with lemon sauce. Donna enjoys making candy during the holidays for their family gatherings–peanut butter balls, wedding cookies  and Apricot Kolaches, a German pastry that her mother also made.

She has her mother’s recipe box and loves having her mother’s recipes which have become favorites of her family. One of those is the chili that Donna remembers her mom making since she was small. “You can ‘ramp’ it up by adding some extra flavor with Ro-Tel,” she said. Donna loves Mexican and will try anything new that’s Mexican. She also likes Italian, especially her mother’s “$40 Lasagna.” When her dad visits, she makes the lasagna, chili, or spaghetti, which she says is a “from scratch family secret.”

Donna cooks big meals mostly on weekends or when daughter Carolyn is home from school. Husband Dan and Carolyn’s favorite is buttermilk chicken–his served with creamed potatoes and hers with rice.

“This dish is excellent on cold nights.” she said. Donna learned to make a four-layer chocolate dessert from her mom that’s also a favorite of Dan’s, and “for a different twist on this dessert, you can make a lemon layer instead of the chocolate,” she said. If she doesn’t use her mom’s tenderloin recipe, which she always made for family, church, holidays, parties, the Hardins like to smoke tenderloin, chicken or Boston butt in their Big Green Egg.

Buttermilk Chicken Breasts
Soak four boneless skinless chicken breasts in buttermilk to tenderize a couple of hours before preparation. Preheat oven to 400°. Melt one stick butter in 8×8 baking dish. Dredge buttermilk-soaked chicken breasts in “peppered” AP flour and place in baking dish and into preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Turn breasts over after 30 minutes and bake an additional 15 minutes. Re-turn the chicken over at least one more time and add buttermilk mixture (recipe below) over and bake 15 minutes until mixture is bubbly. (Total cook time in all is one hour.)
Buttermilk mixture: 1 can cream of chicken soup, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup whole milk mixed together well.

Mom’s Chili
Brown 2 lbs. ground chuck and 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage. Drain grease off. After meat is browned and add:
2 large sweet onions, chopped
1-15 oz. can stewed tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can original Ro-Tel
2 cans light red kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Mix all well and simmer on low-medium heat 1-2 hours. Stir as needed.

Mom’s Lasagna
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 lb. ground chuck
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. parsley
2-6 oz. tomato sauce
1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes
For the cheese layer: 16 oz. Ricotta cheese, grated cheddar cheese, grated or sliced Provolone cheese, grated Mozzarella, 6 Tbsp. parmesan
Brown meats and onion together and drain off fat. Add all ingredients (through tomatoes) and simmer one hour. In large 13×9 greased casserole dish, begin with meat sauce to barely cover bottom of dish. On top of this layer, place uncooked lasagna noodles, then start cheese layer with Ricotta cheese, 3 Tbsp.. parmesan, sprinkled over Ricotta, then a handful of grated cheddar cheese and grated or sliced provolone cheese. Cover with meat sauce. Repeated the layers ending with shredded mozzarella cheese instead of provolone. Stand toothpicks up in casserole to old foil off top. Wrap sides and top with foil. Bake one hour. Cool 10 minutes before serving with a salad and bread.

Appetizer Beef Tenderloin
2 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
Red wine vinegar
1 (5-7 lb.) trimmed beef tenderloin
1 purple onion sliced into thin rings
2 green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 jar capers, drained
2 jars button mushrooms, drained
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
Mix salad dressing per package directions except use red wine vinegar. Pour over meat in a large roasting pan. Add purple onion rings, green pepper strips, capers, mushrooms and garlic. Cover and marinate 24 hours in refrigerator, turning meat occasionally. Preheat oven to 400°. Bake 30-45 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 140°. Slice into thin slices to serve.

Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Sauce
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup molasses
1 cup boiling water
Cream margarine and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift together flour, soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Combine molasses and boiling water. Add dry ingredients alternately with liquid to  creamed mixture. Pour into greased 8×11” pan and bake about 40 minutes in preheated 350° oven. Lemon Sauce: mix in saucepan 3/4 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, dash of salt. Stir in 2/3 cup water. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute. Add a little into one egg yolk in a cup. Stir yolk back into mixture. Cook one minute, stirring. Remove from heat. Add three Tbsp. lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. butter. Cool completely before spreading over cooled gingerbread cake in pan.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, have at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups AP flour combined with 1/8 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 300°. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan (can be cooked in a bundt pan for a holiday gift.) Cream butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5-7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Add flour/salt combination in small batches beating low speed, just until blended. Bake 1 1/2 hours. Place two cups water in measuring cup in oven with tube pan during baking. Test with toothpick for doneness. Cool (in pan) on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Nut Chews
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups oatmeal, uncooked
1/2 cup nuts (chopped pecans)
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine first four ingredients in saucepan. Stir constantly until it reaches slow boil. Cook two minutes, stirring. Remove from heat; add oats, pecans and vanilla. Stir and drop by teaspoons-full onto waxed paper to set up. Cool. Yield: 4 1/2 dozen.

4-Layer Dessert Delite
(Use an 8×8 square dish)
1st layer: Crust-1 cup flour, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1 stick margarine. Mix and bake at 350° until lightly browned, then cool.
2nd layer: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened, 1 cup xxx sugar, 1-9 oz. Cool Whip. Blend and mix well, spread over cooled crust.
3rd layer: 2 Tbsp. cocoa, 2 small boxes chocolate pudding, prepared. Mix cocoa and pudding.
(OR?LEMON?OPTION for 3rd layer: Mix well 1/3 cup lemon juice with one can sweetened condensed milk.)
4th layer: One large carton Cool Whip. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top.
Use toothpicks to hold saran wrap off of top layer and refrigerate at least three hours before serving.

Sausage-Rice Casserole
1 lb. roll sausage
1 pkg. dry chicken noodle soup
1 cup uncooked rice
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 1/2  cup boiling water
Brown and drain sausage. Stir in dry ingredients. Add liquids. Cover with foil and bake 350° one hour. Can refrigerate night before baking.

Peanut Butter Fudge
1/2 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to boil and boil  two minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour this mixture over confectioners sugar in large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth. Pour into 8×8″ pan. Chill until firm. Cut into squares.

South Alabama Boiled Peanuts
4-5 pounds young green peanuts in shell
Water to cover
1 Tbsp. salt for each quart of water
Wash peanuts. Place in large pot and add water and salt. Bring to boil, reduce to brisk simmer. Cook 2 1/2-3 hours, adding water as needed. Allow peanuts to stand in salted water after cooking will increase saltiness.