Penny Nichols

“I do as much as I can in the crockpot,”  said Penny Nichols of Calhoun City. She put a new recipe, Pineapple Chicken, in the crockpot Friday morning to have for supper before the football game.
Penny didn’t really know how to cook when she and Kirk got married, so their first meal was corn dogs and pork and beans. She soon learned to make cornbread, and then basically learned on her own using her mother, Nancy Doles’, recipes.
Penny and Kirk have three sons. Gunner, 27, likes lasagna, does his own cooking and tries to eat healthy (except when he comes home). Skyler, 18, “eats whatever”.

Rainer, 22, is their “eating one.” He tags Penny on Facebook when he sees recipes he wants her to try, like the MS Pot Roast. He also likes Rotel Chicken.
Facebook is her #1 place to find recipes. She tries a lot of new recipes and says she will try anything.
On weekends that all their sons are home, she cooks for them Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She tries to have a dessert when they get together, too. The boys like sweet potato pie, red velvet cake, cobblers, and they all like cornbread.
Kirk does the grilling and cooks breakfast. He is “that man,” she says, and he makes caramel cake. She likes when he has Boston Butt.

The Nichols always make jelly, and this year it was plum, peach and scuppernong.
Rather than turkey and dressing, Thanksgiving stew has become the norm for the descendants of the U.L. “Coot” and Mattie Boland family. It is a favorite of all the family.
Their Christmas eve meal is traditional with ham, dressing and “all that good stuff,” and then they have Christmas morning breakfast.
Her family members are big hunters, but that’s her husband’s deal, to cook the wildlife. They eat anything they hunt, but she will only eat the fish and turkey–no deer. And she prefers her cornbread Mexican.

Stew (Pot Full)
Boland-Bounds recipe
15 lbs. Meat (beef)
3 or 4 Hens
15 cans Chicken Broth
8 bags Tomatoes
12 lbs. Onions
15 lbs. Potatoes
5 bags Carrots
2 bottle Chili Sauce
2 bottles Ketchup
6 cans English Peas
6 cans Corn
(cream style & whole kernel)
3 pkgs. Spaghetti
4 lbs. Butter
1 gallon Milk
Pepper, salt and sugar to taste
Start with the meat, cook till done, add hens and broth, then tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots, cook till potatoes and carrots are tender. Add chili sauce, ketchup, English peas, corn, then add spaghetti, butter, sugar, pepper, salt, cook till spaghetti is tender, then add milk.

Crockpot Dressing
1 pan cornbread
6 slices of bread
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
4 eggs, beaten
1 small can white chicken meat
4 Tbsp. butter
Sage, salt and pepper to taste
Crumble breads. Add other ingredients. Cook in crockpot two hours on high; 3-4 hours on low.

Sweet Potato Pie
1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 stick oleo
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 can evaporated milk
2 pie crusts.
Mix all together and pour into pie crusts. Bake at 350° 35-40 minutes.

Crockpot MS Pot Roast
3 lb. chuck roast
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
1 packet AuJus mix
1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
8 Pepperoncini peppers
Heat large non-stick pan on high to sear beef quickly. Add oil. Dry both sides of roast. Season with black pepper. Add roast to skillet. Allow it to cook 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip and sear another 2-3 minutes. Transfer meat to slow cooker. Sprinkle dressing mix and Au Jus over. Top with stick of buttter. Place peppers on and around roast. Cover and cook on low eight hours. Shred and serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

Rotel Chicken
6 chicken breasts
1 lb. spaghetti
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 large jar mushrooms
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 pkg. frozen English peas
1 can Rotel
1 stick butter
Boil chicken. Saute onion and pepper in 1/2 stick butter. Add mushrooms. Cut up chicken. Boil spaghetti in chicken broth. Add English peas, 1/2 stick butter to boiling spaghetti. Add cheese, onions, peppers and mushrooms. Add Rotel and stir.

Mexican Cornbread
2 cups cornmeal
3/4 cup butermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup bacon grease
Can of cream corn
1 onion
3 jalapeno peppers
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients. Bake in greased pan at 350° for 30-45 minutes.

Creamy Pecan Crunch Grape Salad
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 lbs. seedless red grapes
2 lbs. seedless green grapes
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
5 Tbsp. chopped pecans, plus handful for topping
In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla with hand mixer until blended. Add grapes and stir to coat. Transfer to serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Just before serving, mix in brown sugar and pecans Sprinkle with extra pecans on top and serve.