Spring has sprung.....almost 4/11/13

Here we are with another month nearly half over.  Where can spring be hiding?  I wore a suit to church this morning thinking that it was after Easter and that would be sufficient.  When the wind hit me full blast, I wished I had had enough good sense to wear a coat, also.  Oh, well before long we will probably be complaining that it is too hot. That is the way we human beings react to most things. Nothing is ever really just the way we ordered it.

Had an extremely busy day on Saturday. Had four places I needed, or wanted, to be. Got them all accomplished, but if you were to stop in unexpected at my home you would wonder why I didn’t just stay home and put things in order.  I just plead innocent like an aunt of mine did, after she got to the point that housework was not necessary and say, “It is just the way I like it!” Due to unforeseen circumstances this week will be a short visit with you, but  I do not want my spot to be cast lots for.

One thing I wanted to mention last week was a new idea I found for keeping celery fresh longer.  I was really proud of myself when I heard it would keep longer  if you wrap it in aluminum foil before putting it in the crisper.  A few weeks ago in the “extras” in the weekend paper I noticed an embellishment of the idea that is really fascinating.  Before wrapping it in aluminum foil wrap it in a wet paper towel.  I usually let mine get so tired that I put it in the weekly garbage. With two pluses---this idea and the resurfacing of a recipe for a celery casserole that I gave you years ago, I hope to banish the need to send any more celery to the curb on Friday.

In a 1968 cook book, the gift of a new friend, of hundreds if casserole recipes, I found a new idea which interested me.  Why don’t you try it for company. Then if you do not like it you will have help to eat it.  That was a precept I used when I was cooking for my family.  If it was not the best, by the time eleven of us sampled it, it was nearly gone!  I do think you will like this.  I say if you put good things into a food item, it should turn out well.

SCALLOPED CHICKEN with POTATOES

4 medium potatoes, sliced

1 cup cooked chicken, diced

Salt and pepper  to taste

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Buttered cracker crumbs

Paprika, optional

Arrange layers of potatoes and chicken in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour soup over the top. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs and paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serves 6.

Years ago I received the following  in an email that impressed me.  I saved it and will pass on to you the statement that was the most impressive to me.

Today I will delete from my diary two days: YESTERDAY and TOMORROW.  YESTERDAY was to learn and TOMORROW will be the consequence of what I can do today.

May many magic moments fill your days this week.

Easter Sunday 4/4/13

Easter Sunday! One of my favorite days. Church services on Easter are so special. The choir music has a special tone, the whole experience a joyful one.  Hope your day was uplifting, too.

Easter is one of the holidays that I can accommodate my family in my home.  All nine kids and their spouses were here, but only about half of the grandkids and greats.  There were over forty here throughout the day, with an abundance of food to match. At the end of the day I was one tired, but equally happy little old lady. An extra blessing was the celebration of a “big birthday” of one of my older daughters.

Hope the weather man notices that it is now April and brings us some more spring like weather. I am just avoiding the things that I mentally planned to do during the winter months.  Another year won’t hurt anything, will it?

Since the day was a very special one, as I sat down to my computer at the end of it no thoughts were forthcoming, so I just went to bed. Now this morning my deadline is past. Perhaps they will be short of news and this will slip into its usual place. One reader told me that she always looks at the front page to see what is happening in Edgerton then she goes to page three!  Hope I do not disappoint her this week. After yesterday the thought of food is not really inspiring, but we will see what can be forthcoming for any of you who did not have the abundance that we had yesterday.

My daughter-in-law who likes my scalloped potatoes told me that yesterday’s were especially good.  Perhaps there are some new cooks out there who want some guidance, so I will tell you how I do mine. Since I wanted to go to church at 8:30 for one of the very few times in my life I peeled the potatoes Saturday night.  I covered them with cold water in a very large stainless steel bowl. When I came home from church  they were in fine shape and that saved me a half hour.

                        

MY SCALLOPED POTATOES

7 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced

8 cups of milk

1 stick of butter

1/2 pound Velveeta cheese

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups finely chopped ham

Prepare potatoes. Place in a large bowl. Toss the potatoes with the flour and salt. Add the chopped ham. (I use my hands.) Place in a 12 x 18 inch roast pan. Yesterday I used a smaller Pyrex baking dish and an 8 x 8 baking dish.  In the microwave heat milk in a 2 quart measuring cup with the butter and cheese until the cheese and butter melts.  Pour over the potatoes until they are covered.  Bake at 350 degrees for over 1 ½  hours until potatoes are very tender.

Here beside my computer is a small piece of paper. On closer examination, I find it is a recipe for a very simple dessert that would be O.K. if you purchase an already baked Angel Food cake. Would be better if you baked your own, especially with the Hospitality brand mix found at our local grocery store.

                                    

ANGEL DELIGHT

1 angel food cake

1 large container whipped topping  (12 oz.)

1 can cherry pie filling  (or fruit of your choice)

Break cake into small pieces, Fold in whipped topping.

Spread into 9 x 13 inch dish, cover with pie filling and chill 1 hour.

Examine your day. Chisel out the bad, build on the good and form a great future.

A Happy and Holy Easter to All 3/28/13

Since this is Holy Week, let’s just keep things on a spiritual level.  I hope this pre-Easter season has been a spiritual renewal time for each of you. If you have put your spiritual needs on the back burner, or ignored them completely, now is a good time to get back on track. Even though we have tried to do our best, most of us are less Christlike than is expected of us. I recently read a statement with a deep message. It is not an original thought but  I do not know to whom the credit  should go.  “A life without God and Christ is like an unsharpened pencil.  It has no point.”  Let’s all sharpen our pencils.

I have one recipe which is related a bit to this concept because it is called “Church Windows” and I intend to make it for my family Easter dinner. The recipe comes from an almost lifetime friend, I rode on the school bus with her husband, so our friendship goes back a few years! Thanks for your efforts, Dortha, for getting it to me in time for the Easter issue which will give you readers time to make it for your family Easter celebration.

                

CHURCH WINDOWS

½ stick butter

1 package (12 oz.) butterscotch chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 package colored miniature marshmallows

Melt butter and chips in a heavy sauce pan.

Add peanut butter. Stir to keep from sticking.

Add marshmallows and stir until coated. Press

down into buttered pan.  Refrigerate to set. Cut

into squares of a desired size. Store in refrigerator.

I have on my wall beside my big family picture a plaque with the following poem written my Amanda Bradley.  It contains almost a recipe for improving our daily habits. Hope it inspires each of you.

If I have said one cheering word

Or done a helpful deed,

If I have smoothed one rocky path

Or filled a special need,

If I have eased one doubt or fear

Or chased one cloud away,

If I have brought one person joy…….

Then I’ve lived well today.

Sincere wishes for a Holy and Happy Easter season to each of you and your families.

Potpourri 3/21/13

Another month is whizzing by rapidly.  Perhaps partially because of a very involved weekend. Topping my list was the dinner theater musical performed by the Edgerton High school students on Friday and Saturday evenings. I know I started  home with my program so I could give some credit due to some of the people responsible.  It looks as if my nosey little friend has been here again and decided that I did not need it anymore and discarded it or at least hid it from me. So I will just say the performance was outstanding and everyone involved- cast, directors, stage hands, etc. need to stand very tall and bow very deeply.  What talent from the kids from our town that we otherwise would not even be aware of!  I heard one cast member say that they started practicing right after Christmas.  Their dedication and talent was very apparent.  They also appeared to be having fun which increased the enjoyment of those of us who just wish we could sing.  A very magic evening.

There was one down side to the evening.  It makes me think I must be getting old!  All of the kids who were in Mrs. Glore’s second grade where I was a teacher’s aide for 16 years after my retirement have all graduated.  The fact that I did not know the biggest half of the performers made me feel old  but did not diminish my appreciation of their talent.  Maybe the fact that I AM old is demanding attention.

Saturday was a fairly quiet day but Sunday morning took off with a bang. After church my inner self thinks that I cannot miss the social hour of coffee and rolls. I did hold back and only had coffee because the idea of breakfast at the fire hall was on the agenda. Those firemen really know how to cook!  Might I toot my own horn?  A fireman came rushing to me as I was ready to leave with a piece of dessert on his plate.  He said he was remarking how good it was and someone informed him it was the recipe that I gave you fairly recently for Pumpkin Dessert, and he should come and tell me how well he liked it.  Another magic moment and I hope you saved the recipe.

I came home, had a short nap, had my son who has not been here for a long time, which made my list of technical problems with my computer and answering machine very long, try his expertise in remedying my shortage of knowledge.  Now all I have to do is remember what he told me. After the visit with him and his wife, I travelled across town to the baked potato bar at St. Mary’s which was for the benefit of the kids who are going to Catholic Heart Work Camp this summer.   Again I ate more than if I had to cook it for myself, but I enjoyed the lack of any dishes to do all day. All things can present a positive angle if we just look through the unpleasant parts for them.

I picked out my recipes before I watched THE BIBLE on the History Channel. So if I can find them we will get to the food portion of this.  After all two hours have elapsed, so a number of things could have  happened to them at my house.  Oh, yes, I intended to tell you about it last week.  My cousin in Elkhart sent me an email suggesting a very unique idea for you cooks.  It suggested that you use a pants hanger to clip on the top of your book, it would have to be the magazine type, then hook it on the door handles of your cupboard near your mixer!  Wouldn’t you know, I just gave all of my pants hangers to my daughter because she uses them to hang up tablecloths in her closet.

Now back to my recipes, since I now know where they are. The first one can be used for the few abstinence days left during Lent, or if like me, you just appreciate salmon.

            

MUSHROOOM SALMON CASSEROLE

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped green pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups noodles or macaroni

1 can flaked salmon

1 can mushroom soup

½ cup cheddar cheese

Cook onion and green pepper in butter until soft. Cook noodles and drain. Combine noodles,  salmon and soup. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

            

LAYERED LEMON PIE

I package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar, or artificial sweetener

1 can (15 ¾  oz.) lemon pie filling

1 carton, (8 oz.) whipped topping

1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in one half of the pie filling. Fold in the whipped topping. Spoon into the crust. Spread with the remaining pie filling. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Refrigerate leftovers if there are any.

Daughter's 65th Birthday Makes Mom.... 68?

Saturday was a day filled with so much magic you could almost smell and taste it. Plans were on the agenda for over a week for a surprise birthday celebration of my daughter  to have a luncheon at a Bryan restaurant for her immediate family, Aunt Mary, all of her siblings and their spouses. Everyone was betting on the odds of getting her there without her being suspicious. It worked marvelously in spite of her husband diligently trying to urge her to hurry through a visit to Walmart before they were going to eat out “somewhere”. Topping off the surprise was the unexpected arrival of an aunt from Chicago who decided to just drive down for the celebration.  It was a great party with everyone hating to leave even though almost everyone was coming to my home for cake and ice cream.  

The only gray part of the day was the fact that it was her 65^th birthday. You know what that would do to her mother!!  At our social time after church on Sunday, I explained the age difference stating that I adopted her when I was three.  This drew a comment from a friend that it would have been more believable if I had just said that I adopted her.  I just told him to go on home that we had not asked for his opinion.

Now may we go from the sublime to the ridiculous? One of my daughters comes to visit me on her lunch hour every Tuesday that it can work into our schedules. Last week I got a frantic message from her that she had packed her lunch and left it home.  Would I please prepare her some lunch honoring her very limited diet for medical reasons. Of course what mother could refuse such a plea?   We had a very nice visit and after she left, I was putting the leftovers in my refrigerator.  Thinking that I would be eating it in a very few hours, I placed a small serving dish of peas precariously on an over filled shelf.  An hour or two later I opened the refrigerator door and  my serving dish tumbled out on my kitchen floor upside down with peas scattering as if someone were chasing them. There was less than a cup full but on my kitchen floor it looked like a quart. Will I ever learn? At my age , don’t count on it.

Since my daughter can eat only pork and turkey, today’s recipe jumped out of a magazine at me. I rarely use turkey in my menus, but perhaps there are more of you that are in the same circumstances or just like turkey.  This is a casserole dish that sounds very tasty and you could easily substitute other meats.

                           

BROCCOLI TURKEY PIE

2 cups cubed cooked turkey

2 cups frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed

1 ½ cups (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1 cup 2% milk

½ cup biscuit mix

Salt and pepper to taste

1/8  teaspoon dried thyme

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Layer turkey, broccoli and cheddar cheese in a greased 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Whisk eggs, milk, biscuit mix, salt, pepper and thyme. Pour over top of mixture. Combine Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Sprinkle over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Now that you have a healthy entrée for a dessert to sit on, I will suggest a dessert that I have never eaten nor heard about. But since strawberries rate high on my list of things to eat, I am going to try it. The recipe came from a person who very graciously appreciated my response to a kindness from her.  See how easy it is to start magic moments on a journey, by just being kind to someone who does not expect it.  “Cast your bread upon the waters and it will return one hundred fold”.

                                    

STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 package white cake mix

1 package (3 oz.) strawberry Jello

½ cup water

½ cup salad oil

4 egg whites

i/2 half of 10  ounce package of frozen strawberries , thawed

Mix cake mix, Jello, oil and water. Add egg whites, one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Fold in strawberries. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

        

ICING

1 pound powdered  sugar

1 stick butter

other 5 ounces thawed strawberries

Blend all together and spread on cooled cake.

This might be colorful for  your Easter dessert.

Spring is just around the corner. 3/7/13

If you look at the calendar and not the weather report you will notice that Spring is almost here.   I can hardly wait. Partially because I hate my driveway filling up with snow.  When the world comes alive after being dormant for months and shows signs of life it is more fascinating to me than the autumn colors.  That is just a personal opinion and not open for debate.

I did manage to steer my way clear to accomplish all of the demands on my schedule last weekend, but this coming one also has some hills to climb. Maybe this is my dormant season and life will look better in a few weeks.

I had a pleasant experience this afternoon when my daughter, son-in-law, sister-in-law and I journeyed to Hicksville to the Huber theater to see a presentation of Sound of Music, with a number of local participants. It was spectacular to me from two different angles.  First of all, Sound of Music is an all time favorite movie of mine.  This was accented by the great renditions of all of the performers who are just ordinary folks like you and me, not professionals.  It was a very pleasant afternoon.

Now I have just enough time to finish this and then catch a recommended television presentation of THE BIBLE on the History Channel. If you miss it tonight it is to be a 10 hour program of 2 hours each on the next four Sunday evenings. It might be  beneficial  to help us prepare for Easter spiritually.

I did not have time to peruse my new cookbooks for any recipes, so I will see what I can come up with from a few I have that are easy to make, good to eat and short to type!

Here is one for a quick dessert or for a lazy day cookie.

               

ROCKY ROAD COOKIE PIZZA

1 tube (16 ½  oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup chopped salted peanuts

½ cup heated caramel ice cream topping  

Let dough stand at room temperature for five minutes. Press dough onto a greased 12 inch pizza pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until a golden brown. Sprinkle with marshmallows, chips and peanuts. Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer until marshmallows are puffed. Drizzle with caramel topping.

I always say that rich desserts have to have something wholesome to land on to get small children to eat something they would rather pass up for rich foods. So here is a good sandwich to prepare for the above cookie pizza to land on.

             

CHEDDAR  and BACON BURGERS

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup crumbled cooked bacon

1 envelope onion soup mix

2 pounds ground beef

8 hamburger buns, split

Lettuce and tomato slices, optional

Combine cheese, bacon and soup mix. Crumble beef over mixture and blend well. Shape into eight patties. Grill or broil  burgers 4 inches from heat for about 6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Serve on buns.

May each of you have a faith filled, pleasant week with many magic moments.

Old Cookbooks, New Magic 2/28/13

Life is taking a great demand for my time this weekend.  Hope to pull it all off, but now it looks like a big job. Some sad, some fun and joyous and some just a lot of work and I am not as young as I used to be! So we will see where this takes us.

My life is not crowded enough that a bit of magic can’t get through.  I received a phone call wondering if I would be interested in some cook books.  My first reaction was “How many?” To my delight and amazement an acquaintance, neighbor a block or two away ,a reader of The Earth and now my friend wanted to give me some of her mother’s cookbooks. I readily accepted and she delivered them to me the next day, creating a lovely visit with two large 20 year old cookbooks and a couple of recipe files, so neatly arranged that it made me ashamed of my drawer full.

The books are large and before everything started out with a prepared mix, although there are some that do use them. I did not have time to search through them but I am going to pass on a couple that I thought were interesting.  You may not want to try them but in my judgment they are very unique.  There were 30 some for French Dressing.  Now I thought that French Dressing was French Dressing and not something that could be prepared that many different ways or it would not be French Dressing! When my world slows down I will research my amazing gift and share more with you. What an amazing compliment for someone to want to give you their mother’s recipe books and collected recipes!  Thanks so much.

I eat a lot of pears, but I never heard of doing this to them, but all of the recipes in both books came from Home Economics teachers.  That brings up another issue with me.  What were educators thinking when they dropped the Home Economics program from the high school curriculum? How few of our girls will not need the art of homemaking and many of the issues of just dealing with everyday life that are taught in this department?

                        

BAKED PEARS

6 pears

1 cup sugar

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Grated rind and juice of 1 orange

Butter

Peel and core pears, leaving then whole and upright. Place them in a shallow round casserole dish. Combine sugar and fruit  juices. Pour over the pears, dot with butter and bake at 350 degrees 1 hour.  That seems like a long time to bake, but I did not write the recipe and it is new territory for me.

How about a very simple dessert that you can fix while you are cooking supper?  I would have to taste it to be too excited, but it rated a place in my new “old” cookbook.

                                    

QUICK  DESSERT

1 package instant vanilla pudding

½ cup coconut

1 small can fruit cocktail

Mix coconut and fruit cocktail with the pudding mix. Chill.  Now what could be simpler and you have a new dessert to try on your family.

I had something else I was going to share with you but will save it for when my time is not scheduled so full.  Now I have to decide if I should go to bed and get up really early or work until I drop and then sleep in.