Peas and Rice 6/26/14

Taste of Home Pistachio Ice Cream Dessert

You certainly do not need me to tell you that we have nearly used up the month of June. That means that the year of 2014 is half over. Anything that you promised to accomplish this year, you better get started on.  That is one good thing about your hair turning white and the approaching “golden years”,  you do not remember what you promised to do this year!

Last week was a slow one for me. The most exciting thing I did was a visit to my dentist for a root canal!  We both survived the ordeal. To not play favorites maybe I should mention a Friday visit to have blood drawn for a yearly physical check up.  I was afraid the technician was not going to leave me enough to manage my way home, but it was all my own lack of confidence.  I recently read somewhere that "worry is like rocking in your rocking chair.  It keeps you busy but you don’t get anywhere!"

Today kept me busy with a benefit brunch after liturgy for the young people at my church who are going on a weeklong “work camp”. I was home about an hour when they came after me to attend a bridal shower in Wauseon for my granddaughter. I was still groggy from overeating at the brunch, but you could not tell it by looking at the plate I filled from a very tasty and attractively served refreshment table. I was fairly comfortable until I noticed there was a dessert table with some very tempting cupcakes yelling at me. My rationalization of the situation told me that one little cupcake was not going to affect the sugar content of the blood that my doctor already had. Still on my things to do list was make a quick trip to Butler for calling hours for the death of a friend’s sister. After my do nothing week, I am tired.

I thought I was so smart and picked out this week’s recipes early in the week. Once again I heard my mother’s voice challenging me that “Pride goeth before a fall !”   Guess what. I still have not found the book the recipes are in. The only good thing about that is that I did find something that I had lost while I was looking for my book. If you followed me through all of that, I had better count my blessings and get to the newly chosen ones. Let me start with one so simple that I wondered why I never thought of doing that.  I am going to try it this week.

                        

PEAS AND RICE

1 ½ cups raw rice

1 can ( 16 oz.) peas , drained

1 can condensed cream of celery soup

Cook rice according to package directions, until just a small amount of water remains on tip. Stir in peas and undiluted soup.  Heat through. Even you men who do not like to cook can do this! 

For you more experienced cooks, here is one more challenging and no doubt more tasty. Besides the picture is almost taste worthy, taken from a six year old Taste of Home book.

                        

PISTACHIO ICE CREAM DESSERT

1 cup crushed butter flavored crackers

¼ cup butter, melted

¾ cup cold milk

1 package (3.4 oz.) instant pistachio pudding mix

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

1 carton (8 oz.) whipped topping

2 packages (2.5 oz. total) Heath Candy Bars, crushed

Combine cracker crumbs and butter. Press into a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Meanwhile whisk milk and pudding mix for two minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set. Stir in ice cream. Pour over cracker crust. Cover and freeze for 2 hours. Spread with whipped topping and sprinkle with crushed candy bars. Cover and freeze one hour. Hint: to soften ice cream, transfer from freezer to refrigerator 30 minute before using it. Or let it stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.

Magical Memories 6/19/14

As per my usual,  I am a little late wishing all of you dads a Happy Father’s Day.  Hope it was very special for all of you. I was included in my daughter’s family celebration at noon. Then I came home early and had a great, long nap. (I thought I was reading the Sunday Journal Gazette!)

Last week brought a special, magic moment to my life which made me do some serious thinking. Hope I do not bore you with minute details but I hope it will inspire you to mentally recapture the special moments in your life.

I walked to the post office with a few letters to mail.  My white hair was showing and I went in to the counter to ask if the Times was late, or perhaps my subscription had lapsed. (It was close.) Dawn, who is especially nice to me, very graciously and patiently explained that it was Friday and there is no paper on Friday! To cover my embarrassment and change the subject, I asked her about the new Postmaster.  She pleasantly told me that he was in the back room and asked if I wanted to meet him.  That was fine with me, but why would he want to meet ME? Before I could rationalize the situation and make a decision, she had called him to the front counter. There were no other patrons in the office and we had a pleasant chat. Upon hearing my age, he asked me what was the most memorable moment in my life. I have had so many magic ones, but memorable?! This made me do a lot of deep thinking. First, I consulted the word memorable and found it meant “worth remembering”.   Now that opened up a great canvas in my memories. But how would you pick one that overshadowed the rest?

So I have decided to go back through my lifetime and mention some highlights. Before I  started school, my mother sent me to the basement to get two quarts of home canned tomatoes. I tripped over the end of a homemade bin which held our yearlong supply of home grown potatoes. Consequently, one jar broke in my arms. I still have a scar where my mother poured vinegar on the wound, tore strips of clean white cloth from an old sheet and tied it around my arm.  Think what would happen today and how much it would cost. 

Another time worth remembering would be the years I spent in a one room country school with 25 kids, one teacher who taught all eight grades and all subjects, no electricity, and a wood heating stove where she had to be at school early enough to have the room warm when we arrived. (Would you believe we had almost no discipline problems?)

Another great experience was moving to Edgerton, when I was a sophomore, in 1940, where I began to dissolve a bad case of inferiority complex. Here I was, the middle daughter of a family of seven kids, growing up in the early depression years with nothing but necessities and the love and guidance of special parents. (Guess that made me rich!)  My new classmates accepted me and made me feel that I was worth more than I thought. Graduation from high school brought my first job at Fisher’s implement store as bookkeeper, where I made a whole 25 cents an hour.

A memorable moment was our senior trip where I went on my first airplane ride at Put-In-Bay in an open cockpit plane. I was with the boy who later became my husband. We were both lucky that I did not kill him for talking me into going on that plane ride because we had a great marriage with a “bunch” of memorable kids. 

During my marriage I had a few memorable trips that became extra special after his untimely, sudden early death. For our 25^th anniversary, we spent five days in Hawaii. Later we flew to Alaska and met my brother and his wife who drove there. This was an unbelievable experience for anyone on our economic level. We also went on a wagon-train trip in the Teton Mountains with a number of relatives. After Johnny’s death, I went on a six week trip when relatives drove to Alaska, came home through the Rocky Mountains. camped along the Pacific Ocean, toured the Red Wood Forest, and arrived home safely - broke but very happy.

Pride is one of the seven corporal sins, but guess I am guilty of my enjoyment and pride of my job as the bookkeeper at the elevator for 19 years. I still miss “my farmers”!

Following my retirement,  I had the exciting experience for 16 years as a volunteer aide at the elementary school, most of the years with Mrs. Glore. A special memory passes by when I remember any of those students when they are mentioned in The Earth.

I must mention my memorable years of writing Magic Moments (for nearly 24 years) after my original goal of doing it for ONE year. Thanks for the encouragement of many of you readers. With a host of grandkids and greats, attending their weddings as a special guest, and receiving special attention from many of them, how can I pick out the “most memorable” one? I am sure that some that I thought of when I could not sleep a few nights ago did not come to mind today. but it made me realize how fortunate I have been and still am.

There were some negative moments to overcome like the death of my baby brother at 31, my mother’s death when I was 16, and my husband's death at the young age of 57, which I thought I could not handle, but God gives us the resources to deal with those tragedies.

Hope this jars your memory so you can, like I did, see that LIFE and GOD ARE GOOD. Also, stop in to see Chris at the Post Office. Help him see that Edgerton is a great place.

Now shall we go to the kitchen and fix something to eat? How about a strawberry and a peach simple recipe? They are both seasonal in the store. It is a little early for me to trust the peaches.  I want one to eat, then if I like it go back and get quite a few. I was not impressed with the first ones. Hard as rocks and six in a package for over five dollars! Things will get better, I am sure.

      

STRAWBERRY PIE

1 graham cracker crust

1 package (3 oz.) strawberry Jello

2/3 cup boiling water

2 cups ice cubes

1 carton (8 oz.) whipped topping

1 cup sliced strawberries

Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Add ice cubes. Stir until ice melts and Jello thickens. Blend whipped topping into Jello. Fold in strawberries. Chill until mixture will mound.   Spoon into crust. Chill at least 2 hours. Top with whipped topping, if desired.

    

PEACH YOGURT PIE

1 can (8 ¾  oz.) sliced peaches

2 containers (8 oz.) fruit flavored yogurt

1 carton (8 oz.) whipped topping

Buttered graham cracker crumbs

Combine fruit and yogurt. Fold in whipped topping. Blend well. Spoon into graham cracker crust. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs, if desired. Freeze for about 4 hours. Remove from freezer 30 minutes before serving.

Remember to count your blessings daily.

Rita's Local Restaurant Magic 6/12/14

King's Hawaiian Mini Baked Ham Sandwiches

Tonight I am reaching for the stars.  Hopefully a magic thought comes racing by.  Something unusual happened this weekend that was a new experience to me. Saturday was the start of an unusual happening when I met with 7 of my farm oriented friends for our Farm Bureau Council monthly get together at our local restaurant. The meeting has changed immensely in the 65 years that we have been meeting to discuss the various farm issues and local things that we would like to improve.  We went from at least 12 couples and probably that many kids that met in our homes once a month on Friday or Saturday evening down to 8 people that meet on Saturday at noon to cover the older age problems of diet restrictions plus the hustle and bustle of entertaining in  our homes and night driving.  

Sunday morning after the usual church attendance and social gathering at coffee and rolls in the church hall, I was home only an hour when my phone rang.  It was a daughter-in-law who wanted me to go to Rita’s (the same local restaurant) for lunch with her.  Now any mother-in-law would be pleased to get such a call, so in less time than you can skin a cat, I was on my way with her back to the restaurant with the special request that I be home in time for a mid afternoon appointment. So far so good.

My appointment was to attend calling hours for an almost lifelong friend who had answered God’s supreme call. We had been school mates, road on the same bus, co-workers for the same company for 20 years, shared the same aunt and uncle though we were not relatives. He and his sister were attendants at our wedding. He was part of a trio of special friends during high school with my husband. We spent many evenings square dancing away the evenings at youth groups and square dances where he was the “dance caller”. Oh yes, lifelong friendships are right next to family. To soften the harsh part of death of a friend the enjoyment of visiting with his family, sisters, and many nieces and nephews that have scattered away from our great hometown made it a “glorious” occasion. Frosting on the occasion was the time I spent with another co-worker (of nearly 20 years). We only got started reminiscing and promised that we would finish in the near future.  Rest in Peace, Don, or “Muggs” as we affectionately knew him. Where that came from, I have no idea.

My sister-in-law and I were both a bit concerned making the drive ourselves, so we shed a few light tears and begged a ride with my two daughters and a son-in-Law. One daughter was in a hurry to get home, so we left  her out on a street corner and guess what!!  The rest of us ended up at Rita’s for supper!  That made three meals there in two days. That was quite a record for someone who averages twice in a month.

To brighten a day last week, one of my daughters appeared at my front door with a covered plate in her hand. She has discovered a new way to make super-duper ham sandwiches and she had brought me two warm, ready-to-eat sandwiches.  The irony of the situation was that while she was still at the front door, my friends were picking me up at the back door to, yes, we were going to Rita’s. I did not refuse them. I ate one for a pre-supper snack and ate the other one as my evening meal with the promise that she would give me the recipe to use this week for you.

When I saw it I was not surprised that the roll used for the sandwich was the favorite of mine- KING’S HAWAIIAN Dinner Rolls. Soooo gooood!

                        

MINI BAKED HAM SANDWICHES

1 pound deli shaved ham

1 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced

1½ sticks butter

1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 ½ teaspoon worcestershire sauce

1½ teaspoon minced dried onion

1 12- pack KING’S HAWAIIAN Sweet Dinner Rolls

Melt butter and mix in mustard, sauce and onion. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, keeping all top and bottom halves in tact. In a 9 x 13 pan, place bottom half of rolls and cover with ham and cheese. Cover ham and cheese stacks with top half of rolls. Drizzle butter mixture over top of rolls, making sure onion is evenly distributed. Refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Separate for serving.

                        

CABBAGE AND BEEF CASSEROLE

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion chopped

2 cups cabbage, shredded

1 can tomato soup

Brown beef and onion. Drain and season to taste. Spread into baking dish. Top with shredded cabbage. Pour tomato soup on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Keep Smiling 6/5/14

KEEEP SMILING

The whole world looks so dreary

When you always wear a frown,

Droop your shoulders, drag your feet

And walk with eyes cast down.

The more you let them worry you

The bigger troubles seem

Until you feel that your life is

Just one big ugly dream.

You cannot see the sunshine

If you always watch your feet

So turn your face towards heaven

And see that life is sweet.

Though there may be by your path

Weeds that mar the view

But if you are looking up ahead

They'll not be seen by you.

When you begin to wonder

if your ship will sail or sink

Just look up at the sun

And watch your troubles shrink.

So with a smile upon your face,

Instead of a gloomy frown,

Fasten your eyes on the sun and stars

And the world can't keep you down.

October 10, 1944

After the overloaded schedule last weekend, this has been one where I felt like I was a lonely little petunia in an onion patch! In a way it has been a refreshing and rehabilitating experience.

In my reading prior to the beginning of the Sunday liturgy, I noticed a statement that some experiences of life are “glorious” moments.  I would put that above 'magic ones”!   Such an event was last week at my great granddaughter’s graduation ceremony.  As a class officer she was asked to read a poem. As kids often do she went to her grandmother asking if she had a poem that would be appropriate.  As she answered in the affirmative, many secret maneuvers were put in place. Most family members knew about the chosen one but they kept me out of the informed loop. Imagine my inner reaction at the first line when I recognized one that I had written many years ago when I was working at the Magnavox Company Production Control Office in Ft. Wayne, before my marriage. Thanks to you , Hannah, for allowing me to experience a “glorious” moment. The poem, Keep Smiling, is posted at the top. 

I have written many more than I kept, but some of my kids do have a copy of some of them.  We found one that I wrote when I was a Senior in Edgerton High School  as an English assignment that was a “tribute to my mother” in my Dad’s things at the time of his death in 1967. Now that I am older and smarter, I think, I wished I had collected all of my writings.  It would have been something else for my kids to discard when I move on to the next step in life.

When searching for this week’s recipes, I found one that is completely new to me, but has all things in it that I like. So why wouldn’t it be a good way to start the day, especially since you can prepare it the night before?

          

RUEBEN BRUNCH BAKE

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 can (14.5 oz.) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese

1 package ( 2 ½  oz.) deli corned beef

½ cup chopped green onions

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon mustard (Dijon suggested)

Salt and pepper to taste

3 slices rye bread, toasted and coarsely chopped

¼ cup melted butter

Combine eggs, sauerkraut, cheese, beef cut into 1 inch pieces, onions, milk, mustard and seasoning. Pour into a greased  11 x 7 inch baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Toss toasted  pieces of bread and the butter. Sprinkle over the casserole.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Here is another new one to me but is very seasonal.

       

RHUBARB BREAD PUDDING

8 slices bread, lightly toasted

1 ½ cups milk

¼ cup butter

5 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups chopped rhubarb

1 ½ cups sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

½ cup brown sugar

Remove crusts from bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Place into 1 ½ quart baking dish. Heat milk over medium heat until bubbles form around sides of pan. Stir in butter until it melts. Pour over bread. Let stand for15 minutes. Combine eggs, rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir into bread mixture. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm.

May your week be filled with many magic moments with a couple of glorious ones added for good measure.

Much Magic 5/29/14

What a fantastic magic moment filled week! Not sure I can work them all in, but I will try to give them the credit due. That is almost as frustrating as the weeks I have to look under the rug to come up with an idea. So, I will start with the first one to appear on my horizon. I have a computer friend whom I have never met who lives in Oslo, Norway.  We have a strange connection. Her grandfather was engaged to my aunt when I was in grade school.  They were class mates and he came back from the East Coast for class reunions.  Siri Anne came with her grandfather to one. During my aunt’s illness, life in a nursing home for some time, they lost contact.  My aunt had sent her one of my columns I had written about the death of one of my brothers. She used this to contact me through The Earth, and we have been email friends ever since. I send her my column and I got a response from her last week that made my day! My cabbage and noodle recipe which I had not presented in a favorable light  sounded good to her, because cabbage is cheap and has a wonderful taste.  She was impressed with the fact that I was using it as a “penance” process.  She does a remarkable job corresponding with me because English is not her “first” language. My niece in Pennsylvania also thought the recipe had favorable possibilities.  I was going to try it this weekend but cabbage was 79 cents a pound and I was afraid that I might not like it and it would end up in my disposal. Let’s wait until the gardens have an oversupply of it.

My weekend was so filled with magical moments that included the graduation party of my first great granddaughter. Doesn’t seem possible that we are going to have to send her out into this big world already. Seems as if it were only recently that we were welcoming her into our family! So congratulations to you, Hannah, and to the rest of your classmates for all of your accomplishments and prayers for a great future for each and every one of you.

Another great experience was attending the wedding of my granddaughter and her best friend, in a very soul touching ceremony in Decatur. I am very proud of you as a couple and part of our family, Brittany and Danny. May a prosperous life and good memories of a fantastic day fill the years ahead.

Sunday was filled with church liturgy in the morning, graduation services in the afternoon, followed by another graduation party. Good food and contact with a lot of people that I do not ordinarily see. A magic moment was when one lady whom I have not seen for years and I was slow in recognizing said, “Oh I knew you when I first came.  You have not changed a bit”!   Should I believe her?  I think I will.

After all of the food at graduation parties, it is difficult to come up with something to interest you. Something that I had almost forgotten about and tried last week for myself was one that is about the second one in my cook book. But since that is over twenty years ago, I am certain that a lot of you are not familiar with it. It is quite simple and used only ordinary things that you probably have in your kitchen. That is why I tried it.  You can vary the ingredients to suit your taste and your family’s preferences. Here is how I did it. My sister gave me the idea which came from her daughter-in-law.

                        

STUFF

! pound ground beef

3 potatoes, sliced, about 2 cups

3 large carrots, sliced

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ to 1 soup  can of water

Velveeta cheese

I used a heavy Club Aluminum Dutch oven. Press ground beef in the bottom of the pan. Cover with a layer of potatoes, then a layer of carrots. Add water to soup, then cover vegetables.  Do not stir.  Place on burner with medium heat, cover and cook until vegetables are tender. Cover with slices of cheese. Heat until cheese melts.  The next time I make it I think I will add a bit of onion. I limit my salt intake so I think you  will want to add some according to your taste. Here is an idea that caught my attention in the extra “stuff” in the Sunday paper.  Has good possibilities, but I never purchase Grape Nuts, so will have to add it to my grocery list before I try it.

           

GRAPE-NUTS PUDDING

6 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups whole milk

Grape-Nuts cereal

Butter a 2 quart baking dish. Slightly cover bottom of dish with Grape-Nuts. Whisk eggs, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Add milk. Pour over cereal. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until mostly set but jiggly in middle. Serve with whipped cream.

Turkey Jumble 5/22/14

Doesn’t seem possible that May is nearly gone, but I just noticed that this year there are five Thursdays in May. Guess I will be able to adjust before I have to turn the page of the calendar over.

This past week was a confirmation of the thought that the most precious magic moments are often found in the ordinary happenings of an ordinary day.  My Mother’s day celebrations carried over into last week. One daughter who was unable to be here on that day had said she would try to make it “some day”.  She kept her word and came one afternoon laden down with a bouquet of lilacs from her yard. I have always loved lilacs, perhaps because my parents always had a lilac bush and the fragrance is so uplifting.  I had a lilac bush in my back yard when I moved here and enjoyed it immensely, but it was suffering from old age and finally gave up the struggle. She also had a bouquet of white and red roses, from her homestead, in memory of our wedding anniversary. My wedding flowers were white and red roses. To complete her armful, she had fresh asparagus from their garden.  It sure has canned and even so called “fresh” from the grocery store beat.  But more precious than the things she brought were the one on one hours that we enjoyed during an otherwise ordinary afternoon.

Another daughter, who was here with part of her family on Sunday, called and said she wanted to treat my sister-in-law and me to a special evening and suggested that we meet her at her work place in Bryan and we would attend the showing of  Heaven Is For Real at the local theater. So we arrived at the appointed hour with our bag for free popcorn in hand for the five o’clock showing.  We almost had the theater to ourselves. It is a very enjoyable movie, but quite different than what I had imagined.  The little boy who had a major role was a phenomenal actor and the whole movie motivated deep spiritual thinking. Following the movie we enjoyed a meal at a local restaurant with an equal amount of pleasure from the conversation and just being with family.  Indeed two very special days with many magic moments.

I thought that my little friend had abandoned me because things have been quite orderly around here except she never put my car away on Saturday evening. Imagine my surprise on Sunday morning when I was ready to leave for church and  I saw it in the driveway with all windows steamed over. Now I came to my computer to do this and she apparently had my recipes again.  So back to my church cook books.

           

TURKEY JUMBLE

1 pound ground turkey

1 pound macaroni

6 green onions

16 ounces frozen mixed vegetables

1 tablespoon cooking oil

 ½ cup chopped celery

½ cup green pepper, (optional)

3 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper to taste or other seasonings 

Boil and drain macaroni. Pour over mixed vegetables. Set aside. Stir fry ground turkey, onions, celery, until meat is thoroughly cooked. Add and stir fry mixed vegetables until heated through and lightly browned. Cover ingredients with grated cheese. Cover pan and heat on low until cheese is melted.

The next recipe is one that I did not believe, but it is in the same cookbook twice! It reminds me of something we might have had during the depression days and had to manage on what we had to fill up a large family. Or maybe during fast days or just when there was no meat available.  I may try it, but it will be when I think I need to do some penance and maybe will be surprised that it is not so bad after all.

         

CABBAGE and NOODLES

I head of cabbage, shredded

1 bag ( 16 oz.) noodles

1 large onion

1 stick butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in skillet. Saute onion until transparent. Add shredded cabbage and cool until wilted. Cook noodles and add to skillet. Heat through, about 20 minutes.

Mother's Day Magic 5/15/14

It’s nearing my bedtime at the end of a busy, special day.  There is the temptation to just call it a day, but when I do that I spend a sleepless night, with my mind trying to formulate a plan for my thoughts on Monday morning. So here goes a forced attempt to fill my obligations to my commitment for a weekly chat with you. Don’t call me before nine tomorrow because I will not hear the phone.

Hope your Mother’s Day was all that you hoped it would be with a surprise or two tucked into your day. So many of my family have several places they should and want to be, so the last one to be heard from just checked in with a phone call from Texas.  My very pleasant surprise was a first visit from one of my new great-grandchildren and the second time I had seen him.  The first was a brief visit from me while he was still in the hospital after his birth. He didn’t seem to recognize me nor be too impressed with his visit but I was a very happy grandma.  Glad that he brought his parents and grandparents along with him.

To add to and complicate the day was the special recognition of the members of St. Mary’s Church that are graduating from high school in a few weeks. All of my grandkids have graduated and I am starting on a long list of greats who will be reaching this special achievement in their lives.  I was blessed to have a great-granddaughter among the graduates and was invited to be seated with her immediate family for the special liturgy.  Following that they and their families were guests of the Altar Society and the Knights of Columbus.  Following the festivities, I gave my special graduate some private advice and ensuing threats if not taken.  It is best that they are not printed here, but I bet she will remember them!  Good luck, Hannah, and may your dreams of the future come true.

Since it was a special day and I thought I might have company, I hid a few things. It looks as if I really moved the recipe I had saved for this week.  So I did locate my trusty 4 item and simple directions book. I didn’t know there are so many ways to make a hamburger, but both of these are quite easy and can be prepared in a quick manner.

               

SALISBURY STEAK

1 pound lean ground beef

1 egg

1 medium onion, chopped

1 beef bouillon cube dissolved in ½ cup water

Mix beef, egg and onion. Shape into patties and brown over high heat. Drain off any fat. Pour in bouillon and simmer uncovered until desired doneness.

                        

BEEF PATTIES

1 pound ground chuck

1 cup mashed potatoes

2 tablespoons onion, minced

2 tablespoons butter

Mix beef, potatoes, onions and form into 4 to 6 patties. Brown In butter until desired doneness.

Oh, yes, here is a recipe I came across from a niece of mine which her mother gave to me years ago.  I thought it was like one I had been making and just put it in with my extra recipes. I was downsizing some of the “stuff” in my cabinet and noticed that it was different from one I had with the same title. This reinforced my thinking that the person who does not read is no better off than the person who CAN’T read. Since they are all short I will include that one also, since right now I know where it is!

            

DALENE’S  CHERRY DELIGHT

1 stick butter

½ cup flour

½ cup sugar

1 cup coconut

1 cup crushed soda crackers

1 can cherry pie filling

Combine butter, flour, sugar, coconut and crackers. Place ¾ of mixture in bottom of a 9 inch square pan. Add can of cherry pie filling. Top with remainder of mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Remember to be nice to your mother, even though it is not her special day. Give her the credit due for making you the fantastic person that you are!

Just Good Cookin' 5/8/14

What a beautiful day Sunday has been.  Maybe this is a sign of more improved weather forecasts that should be coming. Only one problem I can notice, the weeds are responding as well as the green grass.

While I have it on my mind, I should start with fantastic good wishes for all of you mothers on your day next weekend.  When my kids were very young, my doctor asked me if I could pick a favorite age, what would it be.  I answered that all phases of life have special merits and I did not want to miss any of them. I think I am of a certified age to make the statement that being a mother is the best blessing that God has given us. Besides being the best, it is one of the longest privileges (lifetime) that can be ours.  If you average all of the heartaches, disappointments, worries, difficult days and prayers with the joys, pride, unexpected challenges with positive results and great memories, being a mother still is the greatest creator of the best “magic moments”.

It is now too late to encourage you to do so, but I hope you all exercised your privilege and duty to vote in the Primary Election. Besides voting, be an informed voter not a prejudiced one!

I had two magic moments this past week!  How could I be so lucky? My friend who volunteered to pick me up for our monthly Home Extension meetings in Indiana had other obligations and could not attend.  I do not drive after night to things that far from Edgerton, so the president of our club volunteered to go way, way out of her way to come after me. That deemed necessary the return trip which multiplied the sacrifice for her.  Since we have so many members who are generous, they must have had good mothers, one who would be going less out of her way volunteered to bring me home! Magic moments indeed.

I hope I am not the only older lady who has things and puts them where she knows where they are only to never see them again. I do remember that I had them!  While searching for an item that I knew I had and needed, I was desperately looking in all odd places which included all of the shelves and dishes in the china closet.  Glory be, tucked in behind a favorite dish was a small envelope that miraculously held a generous gift certificate for our local grocery store that was a Christmas gift from a grandson and his wife.  It was Christmas all over again.  Thanks again, Matt and Wendy.

Looks as if it is time to go to food.  I picked out recipes from a cook book that was a gift to me in 1995, “JUST GOOD COOKIN”, so both of them should be family tested.

                        

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

2 ½ cups pork, lean and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 ½ cups diced green peppers

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/3 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Pepper to taste

1 ¾  cups water

½ cup raisins

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

I cup raw rice

Brown meat in oil. Add garlic salt, pepper and water. Cover and simmer about 40 minutes or until pork is tender. Mix sugar and cornstarch, vinegar, water, soy sauce, green peppers and raisins.  Cook, uncovered until thickened, stirring just enough to keep from sticking. Cook rice according to package instructions. Serve 2/3 cup sauce over ½ cup rice.

                        

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

½ cup flour

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

½ stick butter

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix mashed sweet potatoes, flour, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and pecans. Add milk and vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and garnish with pecan halves, if desired.

Remember to remember your mother in a special way this weekend.