Fried Green Tomatoes

Crisp, a golden crust, and hot-from-the-skillet. Could it get any better than classic fried green tomatoes?  Served with feta cheese and red chili ranch sauce, it’s fried green tomatoes with a touch of heat.

Optional feta cheese crumbles not shown.

Optional Red Chili Ranch Sauce ingredients

Fried Green Tomatoes

3 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
  2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, divided
2 cups vegetable oil (approximately)

Salt to taste

Optional toppings:  feta cheese crumbles and/or Red Chili Ranch Sauce (recipe below) 

In a broad bowl, combine eggs and buttermilk. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon flour; mix well. Place tomato slices in the egg and buttermilk mixture. Set aside to rest. (You may be able to soak only a few tomato slices at a time, and that is fine.)

Preheat about 1-inch of oil to 350° in heavy skillet or electric skillet. In a medium-sized bowl, mix remaining flour, salt, and pepper. Remove tomato slices from egg/buttermilk mixture one at a time and dredge in the seasoned flour shaking off any excess.  Place tomato slices in heated oil and fry until brown; turn 2–3 times. Keep tomato slices separate from one another during frying as they will stick together if they touch. Cook until crisp, and drain on paper towels. Salt to taste. Serve immediately with optional feta cheese crumbles and/or Red Chili Ranch Sauce.

Frying Tip:  Between batches of tomatoes, check the oil temperature and allow to heat to 350 degrees before adding more tomatoes. 

Red Chili Ranch Sauce

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning 

1 cup whole milk
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tsp. Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce

Mix first three ingredients well. Cover and refrigerate. Chill 30 minutes to thicken. Stir in the chili garlic sauce. Serve.

You can find the Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce in the Asian food section of Wal-Mart and Target.

Click here for printable format

Banana Pudding

Made with real whipped cream, this banana pudding recipe is so good...and so easy!

Banana Pudding

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 (3.4 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 pint (16 oz.) heavy whipping cream

1 box vanilla wafers

5 or 6 medium-sized bananas

Chill large mixing bowl and beaters or whisk attachment.  In a separate large bowl (I use a 3 qt), whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and water.  Add pudding mix, and whisk for 2 minutes.  Mixture will be thinner than normal pudding.  Chill for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in the chilled mixing bowl, whip cream at high speed until stiff peaks form. (See note below.)  Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture with a spatula.  

Spoon 1 cup pudding mixture into a 2.5 qt. serving bowl or trifle bowl.  Top with one layer of vanilla wafers laid side by side (I leave a little space in between the wafers.)  Slice bananas into 1/4-inch slices.  Layer one layer of sliced bananas on top of vanilla wafers (lay side by side closely together). Top with half* of the remaining pudding and another layer of wafers and bananas.  Top with the rest of the pudding and garnish as desired.  Chill for four hours before serving.  Store in refrigerator.

*My serving dish and trifle bowl both widen at the top, so I use two cups of pudding for the second pudding layer and the remaining pudding (about three cups) for the top layer.

Note:  For a great whipped cream visual guide, click here.

Click here for printable format