I am proud to be a southern woman. I don't apologize for my drawl, for my love of sweet tea, denim or duct tape. Duct tape can be used to repair almost anything that has a hole, leaks, or needs to be held together (that would include a tea jug, a pair of jeans and perhaps a big mouth on occasion). I have even repaired a hole in our porch ceiling with duct tape. It was only to be a temporary fix, mind you, but that was five years ago and it still holds. Walk in any Walmart or Home Depot south of the Mason Dixon and you can find a wide array of color choices for your taping needs. Now since I've never shopped for the tape anywhere else, I can't tell you if it holds true in other regions.In addition to my duct taping skills, as a stay at home mom I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen where I learned to make the sweet tea and other traditional southern favorites such as fried chicken, grits, and biscuits. But here's a little known southern secret for you (well, it's my secret and I'm southern-see the opening line), "Cream cheese is the duct tape of the kitchen". Those aren't my words, I am quoting my sister but it is such a great line it needed to be shared.
From breakfasts to dinners, from appetizers to desserts, it's blendable properties are amazing. Savory or sweet, yep it works. I try to keep at least six of the 8 ounce blocks on hand at all times and sometimes that's not enough. I love, love, love, that Philadelphia brand has the pre-flavored sauces and spreads but mostly it's just the plain blocks that I use.
To be honest, I don't really know if the cream cheese thing is solely southern or if the love of it crosses boundaries. I do know it's good stuff.
In any case, Allrecipes is my favorite source of recipes on the web, so here are the links to a few of theirs, plus just a couple of my own recipes using cream cheese. I assure you there are many more, if you do an ingredient search on Allrecipes site, you'll see over 2,000 of them. :)
Appetizers:
Tortilla Pinwheels, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ranch-ham-roll-ups/detail.aspx
Veggie Pizza http://allrecipes.com/recipe/veggie-pizza/detail.aspx
Aunt Shelia's Cheese Ball
1 package cream cheese softened
1 bunch green onions chopped
dash of garlic salt
teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small package Land-o-frost corned beef, cut into very small pieces
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup chopped pecans
Cream cheese with mixer add remaining ingredients, except pecans. Mix well. Form into ball shape and roll in pecans to cover. Chill. Serve with your favorite crackers.
Main Dish
Crockpot Italian Chicken
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
1 package dry Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package cream cheese, softened
Place chicken and soup in crockpot, sprinkle with dressing mix . Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Shred chicken with fork while still in crock. Take 1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid from cooked chicken mix with cream cheese. Pour mixture over chicken in the crock and heat through 15 to 30 minutes. Serve over cooked egg noodles. Yum.
Dessert
Peanut Butter Pie http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-cheese-candies/detail.aspx
and of course,
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 box confectioner's sugar
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy, add vanilla and mix well. Then add the sugar a bit at a time until desired consistency is reached. If you want to use pecans fold them in at the end of your mixing.
And for a quick snack take two vanilla wafers and spread with cream cheese and peanut butter, sandwich together, or another possibility is to spread a little of the cheese. on Ritz crackers and top with pepper jelly. YUMMY!
How do you cook with cream cheese?
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