Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Continuing saga of the two dueling candidates

You may recall my article back in July about the two candidates running for juvenile judge. And how they took turns mowing my yard free gratis during the campaign. Well, the election is over, the votes have been counted and the outcome has knocked the socks off the citizens of this county. Let me tell you about it:
On Thursday, the afternoon of the election, my son was driving me home from my doctor’s office. It was hot and the weather was very erratic, changing from downpours of rain to sun and then downpours again.  It had been that way all day. When we got into town, my son said, “I’ll drive you to the polls so you can vote before I take you home.”
“Oh, that’s alright,” I answered, “I’ll go later this afternoon.”
“No, the weather might get worse and you might decide against going out again.” he said. So he dropped me off at the voting precinct where I cast my ballot and then he drove me on home. Little did I know that I would be playing a part in making history when all the votes were in.
That night I watched the returns coming in, my mind concentrating mostly on the juvenile judge’s race. The count was slow,  each candidate leading or trailing with every count. A real nailbiter.  The whole community was holding its collective breath.
After about two and a half hours, the final precinct was called in. The announcer looked at the numbers, then spoke in amazement. “I can hardly believe this, folks.  With every vote counted, the result is a TIE! History was made tonight! This has never happened before! 6242 votes for the republican, 6242 votes for the democrat.”
I called my son who was also following the results.  “Do you realize,” I said, “it was my vote that caused the tie? If you had not insisted on taking me to the polls, the outcome would have been different!”
It just goes to show you, folks. EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

This is a real crowd pleaser.

Paula Deen’s Pineapple Casserole

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained, and 6 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved
1 cup cracker crumbs (recommended: Ritz)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a medium-size casserole dish with butter.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Gradually stir in the cheese. Add the drained pineapple chunks, and stir until ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
In another medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, and reserved pineapple juice, stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly blended. Spread crumb mixture on top of pineapple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. (Note:  You may opt for adding the reserved pineapple juice into the cheese-flour mixture instead of the crumb topping. 8 servings.