Sunday, August 24, 2014

Porcupine Meatballs 7/31/14

First and foremost in the magic moments category we must offer congratulations to Edgerton’s citizen of the year, Karl Mavis!  The honor was not achieved by magic, but by hard work, using the talents God gave him and his devotion to his family and to the Edgerton community during  his entire life time as an Edgerton citizen. I am certain that Thursday evening was indeed a “magic moment” for  him and his family.  Karl, you may bask in your honor for the whole next year for receiving this well deserved honor.         

Hope most of you participated in the Festival of the Flags.  My aging knees and weakened legs kept me away for more than I ordinarily miss.  On my priority list is the Thursday evening program. Thanks to my daughter who drove me almost clear into the big tent that was made possible. Thanks need to be expressed to the community choir who give unselfishly of many hours of practice for our enjoyment.  It was especially pleasant to have them concentrate completely on patriotic selections.  The choir was smaller than usual, but that did not diminish my enjoyment and appreciation.

We usually have a family gathering near my home for the parade, but this year I was the only one who appeared. But we have to make the best of the way things turn out. So I was on my best behavior and visited with a high school classmate who was sitting with a number of his family next to me. On my right was a friendly looking stranger whom I cautiously made a comment. She responded very well and we found out that she knew some of my kids and had read my column in the paper but had never met me.  Do not tell anyone, but we found ourselves chatting more than we paid attention to what was going down the street. For punishment that is why I think my “sunburned” nose and forehead turned noticeably red by Sunday morning church services. Now I know that it is true that you can get that way on a cloudy day, because we never saw the sun the whole time I sat reserving my place in the front row and the hour during the parade.

Also, another magic moment for me was when I cautiously entered the business where the Swope family was greeting people and displaying their literary talents. Just because I had absorbed the duties of a columnist featuring recipes when Sharon, author of Apron Strings, retired twenty four years ago, why would they be interested in me? They say the things we worry most about never happen and I was graciously received by the whole family.  I cautiously asked if any of them had one of my cookbooks. As they all replied negatively, I cautiously removed one from my purse and gave it to a daughter.  They started grabbing it from each other, so I settled things with my decision to give it to Sharon. This brought on the question if I had any more. I left with money to pay for five more which I am to mail to various parts of the country.  This will make me look better to my kids when they find that many less of them under my bed when I am gone.

I changed my mind about three times as to which recipes to give you this week. If you don’t like these you will just have to wish that I had used the other ones. The first one intrigued me by its title.
                   
PORCUPINE MEATBALLS
I pound ground beef
1 egg
1 package beef Rice-A-Roni
1 package brown gravy
Mix lean ground beef and Rice-A Roni with seasoning packet. Make into large meatballs. Brown in skillet. Prepare gravy mix. Pour over meatballs. Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

How about this one for the hot month of August?  I use a lot of instant chocolate pudding mix but have never done this.  Freeze one for tomorrow and save the the other one for a day or week later. Directions say it may be frozen for 2 months, but I doubt if it will be around that long.
    
CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM PIE
2 quarts of vanilla ice cream, melted
1 package (5.9 oz.) instant chocolate pudding mix
2 (10 inch) graham cracker  crusts
Whisk melted ice cream and putting mix for 2 minutes. Pour into crusts. Freeze until firm. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with whipped topping if desired.


Keep strawberries fresh for over a week by refrigerating them, unwashed, in an airtight container between layers of paper towels.

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