Tammy Watkins

“I honestly do not know what people did before crescent rolls and cream cheese! I use both in many dishes whether it is with meat or something sweet,” said Tammy Watkins, Vardaman First Baptist Church secretary, who likes to cook “spontaneously” and “fun foods.”

Paula Deen is a Food Network favorite of hers. She once got to see Deen as a birthday treat from husband, Tony. One of her favorite things to make is the Mini Puff Crescent Burgers, a Paula Deen “revamp” she calls it, saying the Dijon mustard makes it.

“This recipe also reminds me of the popular Pinterest Sausage Cream Cheese Crescents.” According to Tammy, the Crescent Apple Dessert recipe seems to be the quickest and easiest to use, and has been taken many places, and enjoyed as a family favorite of theirs, especially Addie Beth, 2, who has developed an early “sweet tooth.”

Tammy, who was a kindergarten teacher 22 years, has always looked through magazines for food ideas, and one fun thing she found was a recipe for Canned Cornbread. She not only likes to cook fun food, but also likes to have fun and enjoy family while she’s cooking. She loves watching food shows, but says she still falls back on the easier, fun food recipes, “unlike my mother and grandmothers, who always cooked the full course family meal.”

The Pecan Pie Muffins are a good holiday treat and for brunches and showers, and the hush puppies are one of her favorites when her family has a late evening summer fish fry. The hash brown recipe,  a “yummy vegetable side dish” and treat during the holidays, was also served at her son, Britt Criddle’s senior progressive dinner.

Tammy made Sweet Potato Balls once at Thanksgiving, but said she got her feelings hurt over them. They took more time to prepare than she would have liked, and she thought they were tasty, but her family wasn’t crazy about the orange flavor. She loves a good old-fashioned hamburger, and chicken spaghetti casserole, and she enjoys making strawberry jam using the recipe that calls for figs, strawberry Jello and sugar.

Cracker Barrel Cheesy Browns
2 lbs. frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1-10 1/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Preheat oven to 350° and spray 11×14 baking dish with cooking spray. Mix above ingredients together, place in prepared dish and bake 45 minutes or until brown on top.

Mini Puff Crescent Burgers
Pillsbury crescent rolls
8 oz. hamburger meat
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. ketchup
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Grated cheese
Cook and drain meat. Mix salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard with meat. Place meat mixture onto crescent roll triangle. Add grated cheese and close. Brush with egg white. Place into 400° preheated oven and bake 12-15 minutes.

Mississippi Hush Puppies
1 cup self-rising corn meal mix
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 Tbsp. sugar (or more)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup died onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
Vegetable oil
Combine first three ingredients in large bowl and make a well in center of mixture. Combine egg and next four ingredients, stirring well; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Pour oil to a depth of 3” into cooking pan; heat to 375°. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonful into hot oil, and fry in batches two minutes on each side or until golden brown. (And yes, they should rise to the top.) Drain on paper towels, serve immediately. Yield:?1 1/2 dozen.

Apple Crescent Dessert
Pillsbury Crescent rolls
2 or 3 Granny Smith apples
1 stick of butter
1 can Sprite
1 cup sugar
Cinnamon
Peel and slice apples. Roll sliced apple in crescent roll triangle and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place each apple roll in a baking dish. In a bowl, melt butter and mix in one cup sugar. Next, pour can of Sprite into butter/sugar mixture. This mixture will foam up. Pour over apple rolls. Place in 350° oven for 20 minutes.

Pecan Pie Muffins
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Pour into a greased mini-muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake 12-15 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen. Garnish each muffin with a pecan half (optional).

Black Eye Pea Dip
3 cans Trappey Black Eyed Peas with jalapeno peppers, drained
1/2 cup parsley, snipped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup regular onions, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato, diced
18 oz. bottle Zesty Italian dressing
Mix all ingredients. Marinate overnight. Serve with Scoops chips.

Sweet Potato Balls
3-4 sweet potatoes
1 tsp. orange zest
Juice from 1/2 small orange
Pinch of fresh nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
1 bag marshmallows
Coating:
1 bag sweet coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Cook potatoes. Cool them; slide off peelings. Mash/mix with orange zest, orange juice, nutmeg and brown sugar. Roll into balls, sticking one large marshmallow (or two or three small) inside ball mixture. Layer on wax paper on cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes at 350°. Do not overbake.

Canned Cornbread
2 boxes Jiffy corn mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cans cream-style corn
1 cup cheese
Stir ingredients gently. Spray inside of corn cans (and more). Fill 2/3 of way. Sprinkle more cheese on top of mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Corn Slaw
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 medium cucumber, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 heaping Tbsp. mayo
Pinch of garlic salt
Chop everything. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt. Celery salt is optional. Stir in mayo; chill and serve.