Myrtle's Cornbread Salad

At a recent family reunion, I met Myrtle. She is married to a first cousin of my husband's mother (got that?). She prepared this salad that tasted so good! I had never had this dish before and it was imperative that I have the recipe before I left the reunion. It thrilled me that Myrtle was willing to share it with me.

1 Jiffy cornbread mix
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
bacon


Sauce:
1 c. of mayonnaise
1/3 c. sweet pickle juice

Bake cornbread mix as directed. Crumble half of it in a round casserole dish. Layer with half of the vegetables. Pour half of sauce over the layer then repeat the layers.

Best if made 12-24 hours ahead. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon before serving.

Summer Means Grillin'!

Summer means fresh veggies from the garden! It also means cookin' on the grill to keep from heating up the kitchen. We do whatever we can around here to escape the heat.

Today we were given some fresh green beans, zucchini and tomatoes. So, I found these grilling recipes online: grilled tomatoes and grilled zucchini.

Then, I used this recipe from Ree for the green beans.

Add some steak, and yum!

Tomato Season Means Tomato Sandwiches

For the first 25 years of my life, I never heard of a tomato sandwich. Then I moved to North Carolina and someone asked me if I wanted one.

"A what?" I asked.
"A tomato sandwich," was the reply in a matter of fact tone as if I should know what they were talking about.
"Do you mean a sandwich that just has tomato on it?"
"Yes, of course," they said.

Well, I wasnt' afraid to try it, because I happen to love tomatoes. And sure enough, a sandwich made up of a couple of good slices of tomatoes and a little dab of mayo was pretty tasty. Now I look forward to the time of year when tomatoes ripen and I can savor the yummy southern, summer delicacy of a tomato sandwich. I took this picture of the one I had a couple of days ago. It was my first of the summer. I did a little jig in my kitchen cuz tomato season is here.

I know that some of you readers from other non-south portions of the world may read this and think we're nuts down here. We're not, we just love our fruits and veggies. I'll let you know how the tomato-and-watermelon salad tastes (I found the recipe in the Southern Living magazine) when I make it next week. Oh, and last week at a VBS family night gathering, someone brought bananna and mayo sandwiches. Haven't tried that one yet. Don't know if I will. :)