Patricia Browning

Patricia Browning of Bruce says her favorite thing in the world to do is cook, and she even filled in when needed for the field cooks while stationed in Iraq when she wasn’t on a mission.

Her grandfather, the late Wilson Poteete, was a chef at The Peabody, and her brothers, sisters, and her two sons are all good cooks. “We’re a cooking family!”?she said, adding that one of her granddaughters is already doing some things in the kitchen with her.

She and husband, Jim, have a big garden yearly and she does a lot of canning. She makes her own sloppy joe and spaghetti sauce, and her family loves barbecue, so she makes her own sauce for that, too.

A favorite food of hers is seafood, which there was plenty of when they lived in Mobile, Al., and she loves the crabcakes in Maryland.

The marinated white slaw served in Tennessee that’s made with sugar and vinegar, not mayonnaise, is also a favorite. She enjoys making different kinds of food for her family, like Chinese and Mexican, and her granddaughters like homemade chimichangas.

She is a recipe collector and enjoys reading her “thousands of cookbooks.” She frequently takes something from different recipes and changes them around to get something she likes.

Patricia watches Paula Deen and Emeril, and says she gets some good tips from Mr. Food. She thinks about presentation of food.

“Any food can look good, you just have to put that extra special touch to it,” she said, adding that her husband says she wants it perfect.

Skillet Salad
4 slices bacon
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
4 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
Cook bacon until crisp; remove from skilled and crumble. Add vinegar,
sugar, salt and onion to fat in skillet. Add crumbled bacon; heat
thoroughly. Remove from stove and toss cabbage and parsley in hot
dressing. 6-8 servings.

Upside Down Sausage Cornbread
Cornbread batter (your own recipe)
1 pound sausage
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. flour
1-5 oz. can tomato paste
Velveeta Cheese
Mix your own recipe for cornbread, set aside. Brown sausage, bell pepper, and onion. Pour off excess fat; add chili powder, flour and tomato paste. Pour in pan (cast iron skillet is good), cover with slices of Velveeta cheese. Pour cornbread mixture on top of cheese. Bake at 400° oven until cornbread is done (about 25 minutes). Let cool at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
1-10 oz. pkg. fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2” thickness
1 pinch ground black pepper
8 slices bacon
Preheat oven to 375°. Place spinach in large glass bowl and heat in microwave three minutes, stirring every minute or so, or until wilted. Stir in sour cream, pepperjack cheese and garlic. Lay chicken breasts out on clean surface and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one. Roll up chicken to enclose spinach, then wrap each breast with two slices of bacon. Secure with toothpicks and arrange in shallow baking dish. Bake uncovered 35 minutes in preheated oven, then increase heat to 500°, or use the oven’s broiler to cook an additional 5-10 minutes to brown bacon.

Roasted Potatoes With Rosemary
Crisco No-Stick Olive Oil Spray
3 Tbsp. Crisco Pure Olive Oil or Crisco Light Tasting Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 lbs. potatoes, cut in half or fourths (red skin, Yukon Gold, fingerling)
Heat oven to 425°. Coat 15×10” baking sheet with no-stick spray. Stir together oil, rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add potatoes. Toss well until coated. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are fork-tender and golden brown.

Moon Pie Trifle
12 moon pies, crumbled (chocolate, vanilla, or banana)
1-6 oz. box vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1-12 oz. carton whipped cream or French vanilla Cool Whip
1 cup chopped nuts
2 bananas, chopped (optional)
Melted chocolate (optional)
Place crumbled moon pies on bottom of large casserole or trifle bowl. Mix pudding using 1 1/2 cups milk instead of two as recommended on package. Fold in cream cheese and whipped cream; spread on top of moon pie mixture. Sprinkle nuts over cream. Add sliced bananas, if desired. Melted chocolate may be drizzled over top of finished dish for extra flavoring. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Fabulous Fruit Tea
7 tea bags
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
1-12 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1-12 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
Brew tea and water. Remove tea bags and add sugar; stir until dissolved. Pour mixture into half-gallon pitcher. Add juices. Fill to top with water. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Is It Cookies Or Candy?
1-6 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 cup shoestring potato sticks, broken in pieces
Melt chips in saucepan over low heat. Stir in peanuts and potato sticks. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper. Cool completely and store in airtight container.