Donna Stafford

Donna Stafford of Calhoun City has been cooking since she got married 35 years ago. Until then she thought food came out of the grocery store ready to eat.
During this time she has learned to clean all kinds of wildlife, saying their freezer is full of deer, squirrel, duck,  and they have chickens out in the yard.
She and husband, Glenn, have three children–Amber, Kent and Creed. She likes rabbit and squirrel, which they have a lot of, since Creed loves squirrel hunting.

Frogs were the first thing she cleaned, and she likes to eat frog legs, but was surprised after she got them from the freezer and they were still alive.
Kent is their duck hunter so he cooks the duck breasts, and he makes chocolate cobbler.
“Creed likes meat and potatoes, that’s it”, besides chocolate cobbler and spicy salsa.

The ladies at Grace Southern ask Donna to bring grape salad and broccoli salad when they have meals at church.
“Oh, yes, I stay on Pinterest and I share on Facebook,” but she never really has a recipe for anything, she “just throws it together” and says she is not a baker.
She likes to saute conecuh sausage with garlic and onion, then add cabbage, Ro-tel tomatoes and a little water.
“I am a black pepper freak. Some Cajun, but no salt,” she said, and also likes to use ham flavoring. She likes spicy, and makes salsa and pico de gallo.

The Staffords do raised bed gardening and she enjoys it. She loves tomatoes and cans a lot of tomato juice. They grow cabbage, okra, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
Her daddy told her how to make kraut and she did that, and she has also canned it. She usually goes to her sister’s in Lucedale to make chow-chow every year.

Tomato soup is a favorite of Donna’s and after she made it the other day, she thought about when her daddy, Glen White, 90, used to make them “Poppa’s Nail Soup.”
No matter how many grandchildren were at the house, they all got to put a “magic” nail in the soup (new ones, she noted, that “he removed before eating!”)
The story passed from generation to generation by Glen’s dad, Pa Dolph.

As Glen made the soup he told it to his children, then his grandchildren: A man traveling for days stopped at a stranger’s house and asked to spend the night. “Yes, but we have no food to spare,” he was told.
“OK, but I have a magic nail,” he told them, “do you have a pot and water?” He puts the nail in the water until it boils. “It would be better with a little meat.”
As that cooks, he gradually asks for onions, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, okra and then the tomatoes, one at a time, until the soup is ready.
Pop always enjoyed the big feast with his children and grandchildren, she said.

Meatloaf
1-2 lbs. of ground meat (deer is what I use)
1 small onion
1/2 bell pepper
(I use a cup of salsa most of the time, or if I don’t have onion and bell pepper on hand)
1-2 eggs depending on how much meat I use
1/2-3/4 cup bread crumbs (I usually don’t measure anything)
Salt and pepper to taste
Topping: Maybe 1/2 cup of brown sugar; about 2 Tbsp. honey; dash of worcestershire sauce; I’d say 3/4 cup ketchup; a squirt of mustard, not much at all. Heat all  topping ingredients together and after meatloaf has cooked a little while, drain grease off and add topping. Continue cooking on 350° a total of maybe one hour.

Grilled Duck Breast
6-8 duck breasts, butterfly cut. Marinate overnight in worcestershire sauce and Italian dressing. Stuff with cream cheese and jalapenos. Wrap in bacon. Put them back in marinade a few minutes and season with creole seasoning, then put on the grill. They are better if not cooked too long.

Tomato Soup
2-3 qts. tomato juice (which I can myself)
1 stick butter
About 2 Tbsp. sugar
Maybe a cup of cooked elbow noodles, if I have them.
Cup of milk (I use some of it to make a thickening with a little bit of flour)
Salt and pepper to taste
Grape Salad
2 lbs. grapes–red or green–sometimes I mix
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese (I get the whipped)
1/2 cup sugar
Dash of vanilla
Mix sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and dash of vanilla together, then add grapes. Top with mixture of one cup brown sugar and one cup pecans.

Chocolate Cobbler
Melt two sticks of butter in a 9×13 pan. In a bowl mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup milk. Pour over melted butter. Do not stir. In another bowl, mix 4 Tbsp. cocoa and 1 cup sugar, and sprinkle over flour mixture. Do not stir. Pour 1 3/4 cups hot water over. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.

Broccoli Salad
2 broccoli heads
1 small red onion
1/2 cup Oscar Meyer real bacon bits
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped pecans
Mix all of the above.
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp. vinegar. Mix all together and refrigerate. (It is better the next day.)

Buttermilk Pie
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 unbaked 9” deep-dish pie crust
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine butter, sugar, flour, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Pour mixture into crust. Bake 45-50 minutes, until golden, and a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

Poppa’s Nail Soup
(As passed down by Glen White)
(Clean nail, magic)
3 qts. water
1 large onion
2 cups carrots
2 cups cabbage
1 cup okra
1 cup corn
1 cup lima beans
3 cups potatoes
1 qt. tomatoes
Stew meat
Season to taste