Our July issue featured the story behind Hannah’s Bananas, a Little Rock-based dipped-banana operation dreamed up by Hannah Thomas. Here, she shares her recipe for her gluten-free banana bread—a baked treat that will please the palate year-round.
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Gladys’s Apple Butter Pie
Our December issue takes readers inside Charlie Groppetti and Todd Smith’s Vilonia home. As the owners of Porch View Home, decorating for the holidays seems to come naturally to them—as does baking. During the season, Todd’s grandmother’s apple butter pie is a must-have dessert that is laden with memories.
“I grew up in her kitchen,” Todd recalls. With six grandchildren, Gladys held a camp every summer to make sure they all knew how to sew, set the table, can vegetables, fry chicken, make tea, and grow a garden. “We learned all the home economics and shop basics,” he says. Here, he fondly shares the recipe for her apple butter pie.
SHOP
2 cups apple butter
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pre-baked pie crust
whipped cream, for garnish
maple syrup, for garnish
PREPARE
Preheat oven to 350℉. Mix together all ingredients and pour into pre-baked pie shell. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool. Top with whipped cream and drizzle with maple syrup before serving.
Curried Chicken Salad
In our March issue, event designer JoBeth McElhanon of Lilias & Olive set a table—and a menu—for the “Here Comes the Sun” feature. She shared the recipe for her Almond Strata in the story, and now she is graciously sharing this easy-to-make, healthful Curried Chicken Salad that’s perfect for a spring soirée. Read the full story along with the rest of our March issue here.
CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD
SHOP
3 cups shredded chicken
½ cup mayonnaise
3-4 green onions chopped, green included
2 ribs celery, diced
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
¼ cup golden raisins
½ cup red grapes, halved
½ cup slivered almonds, toasted
salt and pepper, to taste
PREPARE
Add shredded chicken, mayonnaise, onions, celery, curry powder, honey, lemon juice and mustard to a medium bowl, and mix until combined. Fold in additional ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill for 1-2 hours to allow flavors to marry. Serve in in a scooped-out avocado half or on a butter lettuce leaf.
Enjoy!
Marquis Brown’s Avocado Salsa Recipe
In our January/February 2023 issue, home chef Marquis Brown gave us a taste of his talent with a recipe for a homemade raspberry tart. Here, he shares the how-to for his avocado salsa, a favorite for spicing up a breakfast favorites such as huevos rancheros. Click here to read “Test Kitchen” from our January/February issue.
RECIPE
Avocado Salsa
SHOP
2 jalapeños
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1⁄2 yellow onion, peeled
1 avocado
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
1-2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
water, as needed
honey, as needed
PREPARE
Set oven to broil, then lightly toss jalapeños, garlic, and onion with oil on a baking tray. Salt to taste. Place tray under broiler and allow to develop a char, maybe 2-3 minutes. Once vegetables have charred, remove from boiler and allow to cool before handling.
Peel garlic cloves and remove stems from jalapeños. Place veggies in a blender along with avocado, cilantro bunch, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Blend until mixture is thick but pourable; if necessary, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches desired consistency.
Taste salsa and adjust seasoning as needed; if spicier than desired, add honey 1 tablespoon at a time to counteract the heat. Serve immediately, or transfer into a sealable container and refrigerate for up to a week. Enjoy!
Photo by Rett Peek
Pioneer’s Grandma-Approved Apple Bacon Cornbread Dressing Recipe
Channel the homecooked goodness of your childhood with this surprising ingredient | Sponsored Content
Earlier this year, Pioneer’s head research and development chef, Brian Mannett, took to the kitchen with one goal in mind—capture the essence of his grandma’s homecooked favorites in less time and for less money. The secret for punching up the flavor while cutting back on time, he discovered, was simple: gravy.
While it may come as a surprise, gravy can be used as more than just a tasty turkey topper. Not only can it be a rich and flavorful addition to stuffing or casseroles, but gravy can also be used for an added creamy infusion of flavor in soups, chowders, and stews. Curious which recipe topped Brian’s list? A sweet and savory Apple Bacon Cornbread Dressing.
Read on to try the recipe for yourself!
Grandma’s Famous Apple Bacon Cornbread Dressing
SHOP
1 package (6 ounces) Pioneer Sweet Yellow Corn Muffin Mix, prepared
2 cups Pioneer Country Gravy Mix, prepared
8 ounces thick-cut bacon, diced
2 red apples, cored and diced into large pieces
1 cup onion, sliced into half moons
1 tablespoon garlic, sliced thin
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
1 ½ cups chicken stock
PREPARE
Preheat oven to 375°F. Dice prepared cornbread into 1-inch pieces. Brown bacon in a skillet. When fully browned, remove bacon and drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat. In the same skillet, sauté onions, garlic, sage, and apples for 2 minutes on medium high heat. Transfer all contents of pan to a large bowl.
In empty skillet, add the diced cornbread and top with contents of bowl. Add chicken stock to prepared Pioneer Country Gravy Mix. Pour the contents over the ingredients in the skillet and stir to combine. Bake for 30 minutes or until internal temperature is above 150°F and top is browned.
Garnish with additional sage sprigs. For an added crunch, top with a diced apple before serving.
To download coupons or to view other gravy-infused recipes, visit PioneerBrand.com.
Fall Recipe Roundup: Sweet & Savory Recipes You’ll Love this Season
We’ve rounded up a few fall-inspired recipes from our archives that will warm you up and keep your family coming back for more! Read through to be inspired and happy to treat the ones you love during our favorite time of year.
Enjoy cooking this fall! You can always search our “Food + Entertaining” category on the At Home in Arkansas blog for recipes and entertaining ideas. Stay warm!
Mimi’s Molasses Sugar Cookies from Jill Lawrence
Designer Jill Lawrence, whose home is featured in our December issue, shares one of her family’s beloved holiday cookie recipes with us—along with a few fond memories of the treat’s namesake.
Like many Southern ladies, my grandmother was a HUGE influence on my life. I learned to read, bake, swim, over-dress for every occasion (she would often pick up my mother and, later on, me from school in her fur coat and heels), manners, the proper use of every kind of obscure silver flatware (grapefruit spoon, anyone?), and to live life to the absolute fullest. She was my everything, and catching the scent of these cookies around the holidays brings me right back to her. My entire family will tell you that there are two scents associated with our beloved Mimi: Chanel and Molasses Sugar Cookies. It describes her perfectly. Here’s the recipe for her famous sugar cookies.
Mimi’s Molasses Sugar Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies
3/4 cup shortening, melted (do not substitute butter; this has to be shortening)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Grandma’s Molasses (Has to be Grandma’s brand molasses to be the most authentic)
1 egg
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Additional sugar for rolling the cookies
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Melt the shortening and let cool for about 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl stir together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl on a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat well until creamy the sugar, molasses, and egg.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.
Form dough into approximately 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet, about 9-12 cookie balls per sheet.
Press down slightly to flatten each ball.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. This is the main secret to these cookies!
Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
Happy Holidays,
Jill Lawrence and the At Home in Arkansas team
Click here to read more about designer Jill Lawrence and see her own home dressed for the holidays in our December issue.
