Tracy England King
“A lot of people have complemented my life and taught me a lot,” said Tracy England King, “and a lot of my cooking experiences came from some sweet, sweet people.”
Wanda Meadows is one of them, and she has shared many recipes and vegetables canning tips with Tracy. Ann Langford taught her to make sweet potato cobbler, brown gravy and chicken spaghetti. Geraldine Clark and the late Corrine Massey are two others. “They taught me a lot and had a huge impact.” Mrs. Corrine taught her to make biscuits, cook vegetables, butter roll, rice pudding, and told her, “the secret to cornbread is two eggs.”
She has loved cooking since she was little, probably eight, and says she’s learned from her cooking blunders. Her mother, Melissa Parker, tried to teach her all that she knew about cooking, and her daddy, R.M. England, is also a good cook. “I can’t make Daddy’s fudge and he won’t give up the secret,” she said, even though he says there’s nothing to it.
She says husband, Rusty, has brought a few cooking lessons to the table. He likes to grill and smoke, especially turkey and chicken. They have been on a diet and eating a lot of grilled vegetables and baked chicken and fish, and trying to choose healthier options.
She has enjoyed decorating cakes and cupcakes for about six years now. She took a cake decorating class at ICC, decided to take another, and then took one more through Hobby Lobby. Tracy says she likes to look at Pinterest for cake decorating ideas, but as far as a food recipe, she looks but doesn’t follow. She says she creates her own twist for a lot of recipes, and most of her measurements are “a tad of this and that.”
Tracy loves a challenge and says they are fun, and she always strives to do her best. She wants people to enjoy what she cooks, and it means so much to her to see that people are pleased with what she has done. “The way to a person’s heart is through their stomach,” she believes.
Favorites of daughter, Emma Rae, 20 months, are macaroni and cheese, pinto beans, grilled cheese and vegetables. She also shares a favorite with her mom, ice cream, and Tracy also loves peanut butter. Emma likes to play with the dough when her mom makes chicken and dumplings.
When asked about the homemade sweet pickles in her stuffed egg recipe, she said she drains a big jar of hamburger dill chips, pours them into a bowl, covers them with sugar and lets set 4-5 days until the sugar melts. “They are the best ‘homemade’ sweet pickles ever!” And she said the Sprite biscuits, she says they are better than Cracker Barrel or Kentucky Fried Chicken’s.
Tracy says God has blessed her with some simple things in life–singing, cooking and family, and she is very thankful.
Roasted Veggies
Red, yellow, and green peppers, cored and sliced
Red and/or white onion, sliced
Grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
Squash, cut into bite-size pieces
Any other veggies that you like and/or mix and match to come up with different combinations.
Spray 9×13 with Canola oil then add all vegetables. Add a couple Tbsp. of olive oil and toss all veggies so they are lightly coated. Place in 400° oven (uncovered) for about 20 minutes, remove and toss veggies a few times, then return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes.
Sprite Biscuits
4 cups Biscuit mix
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup Sprite
Mix Sprite and sour cream together. Add biscuit mix gradually. Roll out dough on floured surface and cut with a biscuit cutter. Bake on lightly greased baking sheet at 400° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. (I sometimes add butter/garlic to the top of these biscuits when they come out of oven.) Can easily half the recipe.
Ranch Potatoes
5-6 medium red potatoes
1 bottle Ranch dressing
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 small bag real bacon bits
Sliced green onion, optional
Salt and pepper
Cook potatoes until tender. Drain. Spray 9×13 with canola oil and pour drained potatoes then pour entire bottle of dressing over potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese, bacon, and green onion, if desired. Salt and pepper. Bake in oven at 350° until cheese is melted.
Deviled Eggs
Eggs
Mayo
Honey mustard
Sweet pickles
Black pepper
Cook eggs, peel, and cut them in half to remove the yolks and place in a separate bowl. To the yolks, I add an equal amount of mayo and honey mustard, then a generous amount of my homemade sweet pickles. Mix well and then fill the egg white halves. Top with black pepper.
