Amanda Bennett

Amanda Poindexter Bennett of Bruce says all of her recipes are “family approved.”

She says it is a challenge to find new recipes that all of her family will eat and tries to cook healthy for her “particular” eaters–children Addie, Maggie, Riley, and her husband, Josh.

She says her kids are not and have never been macaroni and cheese eaters, but they are big potato eaters and want them every meal, so she tries to do more sweet potatoes.

Josh and the kids are all sweet eaters, and like all the desserts she makes, so she usually has a dessert like brownies or plain cake. All three kids love to help her make cookies.

A “light and summery and easy” dessert recipe she mentioned was to slice an angel food cake into three layers.

Mix a container of Cool Whip with a box of instant vanilla pudding mix and crushed pineapple.

Spread mixture between layers and put sliced strawberries on top.

She and her mother, Cathy, and sister, Shadda, share recipes, and she uses www.foodnetwork.com on the internet.

She loves crockpot recipes and is always looking for new ones.

She also likes Paula Deen’s “southern cooking” recipes. Her mother’s meatloaf is her favorite food, and she makes it, too, but says “it doesn’t taste like Mama’s.”

One thing Amanda has never made is lasagna, so a goal is working on a lasagna recipe.

Amanda was never interested in cooking before she married, but she loves it now. She is surprised because she never thought she would ever have enjoyed it this much.

She says it is relaxing to her.? The first meal she cooked Josh was tacos because they were easy, and she says he was “very kind in the beginning” as she was learning to cook. She stuck with easy stuff until she got cookbooks and just told herself to follow the recipes.

Now she says her cookbooks are full of unique notes and either “smiley” or “frowny” faces to indicate whether the family liked or disliked, or any changes she might have made to a recipe, calling them “my notes to make my family happy.”

Best BBQ?Ever
3 lb. Boston butt
1 cup brown sugar
Bottle barbecue sauce
1 cup white vinegar
Salt and pepper Boston butt and place in crockpot. Pour vinegar over. Cook on high one hour, then continue to cook on low 8-10 hours. Drain off liquid. Separate meat with fork, removing fat. Pour barbecue sauce over meat and mix in brown sugar. Serve on hamburger buns.

Jambalaya
2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 can cream of onion soup, undiluted
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
1 lb. cooked, shredded chicken
Cajun seasoning

Combine first five ingredients in greased bacon dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and add sausage and chicken. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in Cajun seasoning.

Roasted Potatoes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 lbs. small red potatoes, sliced thin
Combine first six ingredients in large bowl. Add potatoes and toss. Spread potatoes in single layer on sheet pan, coated with cooking spray. Bake at 475° for  25 minutes.

Butterfinger Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
8 chocolate ice cream sandwiches
1 large Cool Whip
1 caramel ice cream syrup
4 king size Butterfinger candy bars, crushed
Line 9×13″ pan with ice cream sandwiches. Crush two of the candy bars and sprinkle over sandwiches. Drizzle caramel syrup over sandwiches. Spread Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle remaining two candy bars over Cool Whip and drizzle caramel syrup on top.