There’s a homey, Southern food restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., called Mama Dip’s Kitchen. I visited there years ago with others from a journalism workshop at the University of North Carolina and we loved the bustling place.
I had to buy the restaurant’s cookbook, Mama Dip’s Kitchen by Mildred Council. This is an easy recipe from it we like so much that I always double it, as I have here, with a few alterations. The cookbook notes that it is served as a vegetable but made like a dessert. Maybe that’s why we like it. My favorite spoonfuls are the ones that include a crunchy, buttery bread cube.
It’s top-notch with pork, poultry or beef.
Mama Dip’s Tomato Casserole
2 28-oz. cans whole tomatoes, 1 can drained
2 cups bread cubes (just about any kind; this time I used English muffins)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Pour in the tomatoes and the juice from one can. Cut the tomatoes up a bit (if you have a Pampered Chef Mix ‘N Chop, that is the perfect tool) and stir in brown sugar, pepper, half the butter and half the bread cubes. Place remaining bread on top and drizzle with rest of butter. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, till tomato mixture is bubbling and bread cubes are browned. I like to serve it in ramekins so it doesn’t spread over the plates. Eat with a spoon!
Serves 8.
Been making this for years, as I saw an article re: Mama Dip in a magazine w/ this recipe. (Either Southern Living or Cooking Light) My mom in NC loves it, so I’m about to make this & bring it to her. When her sister, my aunt, was living, she said she would make it & try to bring it to friends, but she would end up eating it herself, (the whole thing) so she never brought it anywhere, lol. Amazing how such simple ingredients can make up the perfect casserole! Ty !