Trina Todd Pollan

“Cornbread is the first thing I remember cooking,” said Trina Todd Pollan of Starkville, and formerly of Bruce. “Daddy (Larry Todd)  always wanted cornbread with his meals.  Momma (Becky)  would call home before she left work and say, ‘Put on the cornbread.’ ”
Trina always enjoyed both of her grandmothers’ cooking. The Christmas after Mamaw (Willie B) Peden passed away, she was determined to make a caramel cake like her grandmother did. “I can’t tell you how many recipes of that icing I went through before I thought it was worthy for a Peden Christmas. It took so much time and energy, I haven’t made it since!”

Her Mamaw (Edith) Todd sometimes cooked things that are normally cooked in the oven, on the stove top. “I loved her biscuits made that way–just a regular recipe for biscuits cooked in a cast iron skillet with a little butter. It’s great with karo syrup!”
Trina loves cooking but especially now that school and sports have started for her and Chris’ three sons–Nathan 15, Andrew 12 and Jacob 10–she says there just isn’t enough time.  “I depend on crockpot recipes a lot. One favorite is the pork chop recipe. It is a meat, starch and vegetable all in one.”

Another favorite is Mexican chicken.  “You just combine the chicken breasts, can of Rotel tomatoes and packet of taco seasoning in the crock pot. Cook on low all day long until you can shred the chicken. It is great with cheese sauce and tortillas for nachos.”

“I asked my boys what their favorite food that I fixed was and it was the cinnamon cream cheese casserole I make for breakfast.  It is a hit with all three boys and their friends, Sunday School breakfast and brunches/events.  This has special meaning to me because I first had this when someone brought it by mom’s house after my sister, Dena, passed away,” she said.
Trina’s favorite recipes are “by far breakfast items and appetizers.” When she cooks for the youth at the church “the cheese grits recipe are gone fast, and Chris wouldn’t know what to do if we didn’t have it on Christmas morning.”

She recently made the ham/pickle appetizer and Jacob  said, “Mom, those two things just don’t go together.” It is a different taste, but her older two like it. When she worked on campus they had an event catered, and the ham/pickle appetizers were served. She and a co-worker liked them so much they figured out the recipe and started making them all the time after that.
“I love the Bully’s Best Bites cookbook by the Junior Auxiliary of Starkville. I love it more the longer I live here and know more people so I can put the name with the face.  My favorite cookbooks though are from either the Bruce First Baptist ladies or the Fine Arts Club of Bruce.  These are the ladies that always cooked at church or either events growing up and it just means something to me,” said Trina.

Crockpot Pork Chops
5 boneless pork chops
6-7 potatoes, peeled and cut up
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can green beans, drained
Layer ingredients in crock pot as listed.  Cook on low 6-7 hours.

Ham Pickle Roll-Ups
Sandwich ham slices
Dill pickle spears (if they are really fat, I cut in half)
Block of Cream cheese
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic salt
Cream cheese needs to be room temp or softened enough to mix and spread. Add a couple of drops of the Worcestershire sauce and sprinkle a little of garlic salt and mix (the sauce and salt are a test preference). Spread thin layer on slice of ham, put pickle spear on ham and roll up. Refrigerate before slicing.

Cheesy Grits
3 cans of chicken broth
½ cup whipping cream
1 cup uncooked grits (not instant)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
In saucepan, combine  chicken broth and cream and heat to boil.  Slowly add grits, stirring constantly. Cover and bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for about six minutes. Add cheese and stir until it melts.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Casserole
1 block of cream cheese
2 cans of crescent rolls
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter
Cinnamon/sugar
Spread one layer of crescent rolls in casserole dish.  Soften cream cheese and combine with 1 cup of sugar. Spread second can of crescent rolls on top.
Melt butter and pour over. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture (I buy the already mixed on the seasoning aisle).