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.

Everyday Magic 4/25/13

After such a fantastic experience last weekend and a nearly 90% homebound week just finished, the horrible news of the past week, including the Texas explosion, Boston Marathon bombing, floods, etc.,  it is hard to know where to look for magic in my life..  Many times the magic is found in the small everyday experiences and interactions with your family members, sometimes with people you know only slightly.

I had two very special encounters with fairly recently formed friendships this past week. One happened in church this morning with the response at the sign of peace from a new acquaintance. It pleased me immensely and a short conversation after prayer time reinforced the fact that it was spontaneous and brightened both of our attitudes for the day.  Again, it was magic  where I least expected it, in the ordinary moments of life, making a great impression on my life and my day.

I have previously told you that it was almost magic that I have a continuing correspondence with my new Oslo, Norway friend.  Last Tuesday, I sent her a copy of my column which she responded to so quickly that it shocked me. In less than three hours, we had four emails going back and forth. Unbelievable to me with my small understanding of modern technology. She brightened my day and I apparently brightened hers from her gratefulness that “with all of my large family and lots of friends, I still included her in my life.”   So here is proof that you can be the magic in  someone’s life, by just reaching out with kindness to those  you are near each moment of every day.

It was almost magic when I had no food choices planned for this week. I randomly pulled out an old magazine that I had saved for some unknown reason. Wouldn’t you know, there were a number of short, easy to make recipes? The problem now is that I would like to include them all.  Since I do like Reuben sandwiches, here is a short cut that I hope you might like.

          

REUBEN APPETIZERS

1 tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup sauerkraut, rinsed, drained, and chopped

1 tablespoon Thousand Island dressing

4 slices of processed Swiss cheese, cut into ½ inch strips

8 thin slices deli corned beef

Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Combine kraut and salad dressing. Place two cheese slices across the short side of the triangle. Fold beef slices in half; place over cheese. Top with kraut mixture. Roll up each crescent and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add a salad and dessert for a quick meal.

Since I am always looking for new ways to do vegetables, I will include this idea for cooking carrots. My oldest brother turned green just mentioning cooked carrots, but I have them on my list of good things to eat. During my days of feeding a multitude on a mini budget, we ate lots of baked potatoes, dressed up with lots of butter and creamed carrots. Really not too bad, but he was grateful that he no longer lived where I was doing the cooking.

            

MAPLE RAISIN CARROTS

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

3 cups sliced carrots

¼ cup golden raisins

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in sugar and syrup. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in carrots and raisins. Cook 3 to 5 minutes longer  or until carrots are tender. If you have no maple syrup, use more sugar and add maple flavoring.

A suggestion for preparing vegetables of any kind was to  steam or microwave them, drain, add butter and sprinkle with dry Italian salad dressing mix, stir and serve.

Remember to look for magic in your life everyday as close as your elbow. Also, reach out to supply it for those you meet each day.

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.

A Clean Slate 1/3/13

Today’s date is a bit unusual and reminds us that here we have a clean slate to start a brand new year.  Hope we can erase some bloopers and the damage from them and create a fantastic year better than the last one. Maybe you were luckier than I happened to be and didn’t make any bad decisions.  There always seems to be room for improvement in some category. Hope we all accomplish it for a bigger and better 2013.

Christmas is nearly in the past, although I keep my Christmas things on display until after January 6^th , the day we celebrate the wise men finding the birth place of Christ and bringing Him gifts, originating the practice of giving Christmas gifts to those we love. Hope your Christmas brought you much family time and heartwarming joy. 

We had our usual celebration at Mike and Becky’s home where we can all be seated in the same room for a Christmas Brunch.  This year was special because a grandson from Texas who comes only every other year was here with his family and a granddaughter who lives in Maryland was able to be here  She brought with her one of three Chinese exchange students she and her husband are hosting.  It was a special day marred only by a few who could not make it because of surgery and working schedules. It was a great day. Hope your celebration was perfect.

I am certain that after the many celebrations that always demand food, nothing seems to excite us.  I purchased some bulk sausage, intending to make a special entrée, but could not find the recipe.  So I resorted to my scrap books of my columns and fond one that had nothing to do with sausage, but it sounded so simple and easy to make it aroused my interest to fill my dietary needs on an especially lazy day, and I happened to have all of the ingredients in my pantry.  I was more than pleased with it and made it again today with a minor addition.  It makes enough for two and I enjoyed the warm up the next day more than the original sampling.  Hope you are tempted to try it.  It was in the year of 2003 that I gave it to you.  I did not remember it at all and am not certain that I had made it, but it is going to be a regular on my menus now.

                        

FRIDAY TUNA SPECIAL

1 cup crushed cracker crumbs

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can of tuna, (I prefer Albacore)

3 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine all ingredients.  Place in a generously buttered, small casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. In my efforts today, I added about a cup of left over peas. I rated the trial a success.

I looked in an old recipe book and was interested in the pictures of several new combinations until I noticed that they called for either blue cheese or horseradish.   So I looked further and came across something that I do approve of.

                        

CHICKEN SALAD CROISSANT SANDWICHES

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

¾ cup chopped apple

¾ cup dried cranberries

¾ cup mayonnaise

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup chopped celery

I tablespoon chopped onion

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

6 lettuce leaves

6 croissants, split

Combine chicken, apple, cranberries, mayonnaise, walnuts, lemon juice, onion and curry powder. Place the lettuce on the croissants. Top with chicken salad and other half of croissant.

May the new year of 2013 bring you and yours only good things.

Spontaneous occasions are often the most enjoyable! 11/8/12

Has anyone seen any unused magic hanging around?  I am in much need for a whole day of it!  We have my house about 65% back to normal. But the finishing touches seem to be the most difficult, getting the dishes back in the china cupboards, putting nails back in for the tiebacks on the curtains, most of all parting with the things that I really do not need but have a bit of  nostalgia clinging to them and do not really want to trash them. The day our local carpet specialist engineered the carpeting of my living and dining room I found myself trying to accomplish a few things in my kitchen maneuvering around my sofa, lounge chair,  entertainment center and TV in the middle of my kitchen! But I survived and now I am impressed with the finished results and realize how badly all of this really needed to be done.

It is amazing when you think that you are just a small pebble on a very large beach how many people noticed that something was going on at my home with all of people here carrying things out of my house, etc. Some assumed that I was moving out of town! Nope, you can’t get rid of me that easily.

Yesterday turned out to be a great day after I had assumed it would be very low key. After returning from our fall brunch at church and sadly realizing that I must have not won any prizes  since  I had not received any phone calls announcing that I was a big winner, I settled in for a lonely day. But I received a call from my daughter that she was coming to help put dishes back in the china closet, but she would be on a limited schedule.  We did more visiting than working but got that project started and created a magic couple of hours. Before long a son, his wife, daughter, son-in-law and my newest great grandchild whom I had never seen arrived for a visit. Luke Michael Digan, two months old was not really overly impressed with his great grandmother, but we will give him a little more time to accomplish that. 

Since it was late afternoon, my son who likes to cook,  inventoried the refrigerator for possibilities for a meal.  I had bought 2 pounds of fresh sausage at the brunch, my daughter had brought me a bag of their freshly dug red potatoes.  Before I knew what was happening he had made a delicious concoction of vegetables that I would not have thought of. He must have inherited the ability to make something out of what you have from his mother and grandmother! If you are a innovative cook, you could duplicate it from general directions.  He chopped the sausage and browned it, and removed the meat from the heavy Dutch oven. He had boiled the quartered red potatoes in a separate pan. Then he put the potatoes in the Dutch oven, added the meat, a can of cooked carrots, a can of creamed style corn, and a generous chunk of butter. I would probably have used some onion, but he is not an onion fan. With some garlic toast and mandarin oranges for dessert, we had a very tasty meal with no previous planning.  

Spontaneous occasions are often the most enjoyable.  They even did all of the dishes!

I had a 2005 magazine I was hoarding and decided to glance through it before I put it in the recycle pile and found a couple of interesting recipes. The first one is for my new friend Elsie, an exchange student from Africa, who is living with my daughter and son-in-law.  She thinks the nice soft chewy cookies that I make are “biscuits”!  A cookie has to be crunchy.  So here Elsie is a recipe that will fill your “cookie” definition.

                        

BUTTER PECAN COOKIES

¾ cup butter

1 package (3.4 oz.) instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 ¼ cups flour

½ cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and pudding mix.  Gradually beat in flour.  Fold in pecans. Roll into 1 ½  inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten to ½ inch with a greased drinking glass. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until light brown. Great served with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Maybe even a glass of cold milk!

If you like Rueben sandwiches, here is a quick spinoff.

                        

RUEBEN CRESCENTS

1 tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup sauerkraut, rinsed, well drained and chopped

1 tablespoon Thousand Island salad dressing

4 slices Swiss cheese, cut into 1/2inch strips

8 slices deli corned beef

Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Combine kraut and salad dressing. Place two cheese slices across the short side of each triangle. Fold corned beef slices in half. Place over cheese. Top with sauerkraut  mixture. Roll up each from she short side. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes.

The magic day ended with an invitation to go out for a belated birthday celebration which I had to decline, but I am demanding a rain check!

5/3/12

God again reached down and plucked another flower from my garden of siblings.  Last week my youngest sister answered His call after an over 2 year battle with kidney problems. She surprised us because she was always so full of life and was on no medication.  Me and my six siblings were all close with no problems between any of us.  In looking for a reason, I can only suggest that part of it was due to the untimely death of our mother at the age of 41.  We all had to band together emotionally and share the household work so we could remain at home as a complete family. We lived in a home with a Delco battery light system, with the only appliances being a radio and an iron.  If we wanted to fry an egg in the summer time, we had to go get corn cobs, kindling and fire wood to build a fire in a wood range in the kitchen. In the winter time a fire was kept burning constantly to help heat the house. So we had to be concerned and care for each other.

Till and I were united by several bonds.  She had just turned 12 at the time and I was 16.  Remember how smart you were when you were that age?  We always had a standing joke that I taught her everything that she knew, but not everything that I knew!  In our later years, we were both widows, me for 30 years and her for 23. So we did a lot of time sharing.  I went with her on at least a dozen bus trips sponsored by the Farm Bureau. She would call me and say she was going to Angola, Auburn, Defiance, Kendallville, or wherever and did I want to go along.  No matter what I was doing, I just left it and went to her house and went shopping. She would ask me if I were hungry and my answer was always “What has that got to do with it? Let’s go eat”!  I have adjusted to missing these jaunts since her becoming a resident of a nursing home these past two years, but they will always be etched in my memory. The only plus side is that at the end of the month I still have more money left.

Her name was Wilma Jean, which I thought was a very pretty name, but my dad gave us all nicknames and she was known to most of her friends as Till. She was so involved with living, never met a stranger, and enjoyed the activities of my kids and grandkids.  We went to Ohio Northern to a number of soccer games, basketball games, tennis matches, and other sport events. She made  many  premature  baby burial garments and donated and delivered them to a number of local hospitals to be given to families who lost a premature infant. Another ritual was for a number of years donating ham salad to the Butler blood drive for food for the blood donors. Her death leaves a big hole in our lives, but we will manage on our great memories.  See you down the road, Till.

As we go to food, we remember that she made a mean chocolate sheet cake.  It was always a favorite of ours and I will pass on to you the recipe, so it can still be enjoyed by everyone.
                       
TILL’S CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE
Bring to a boil:
1 stick butter or margarine
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
4 tablespoons cocoa
Pour over
2 cups sugar mixed with
2 cups flour
ADD:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup milk
Bake in a sheet cake pan for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.   
ICING
Bring to a boil:
1 stick butter
6 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons cocoa
ADD:
1 teaspoon vanilla          
1 pound powdered sugar           
1 cup chopped pecans
Spread on hot cake.

She had a great following for her ham salad. I am not certain that she had a recipe. But here is the way I would say that she made it. We were partial to Echrich  bologna.
           
HAM SALAD (made with bologna).
1 pound sliced bologna
¾ cup Miracle Whip
½ cup pickle relish
Boil bologna to remove excess fat and salt.  Chop fine but do not puree.  Add Miracle Whip and pickle relish.  Serve in sandwiches made with your choice of rye, white or whole wheat bread. I usually put a bit of chopped onion in mine and some people like chopped hardboiled eggs added. Be creative according to your family’s preferences. I like it grilled occasionally, too.

Rest in peace, Till. You will be greatly missed.

4/26/12

Today I find myself in an emotional turmoil with my literary productive functions in lockdown.  This just proves the folly of me not carrying out one of my original plans. I was always going to have at least two columns done ahead of time so I would have a back up on days like today.  As of Sunday, I find myself one of two siblings left out of an original very closely knit family of seven siblings. Since I am dealing with the very recent death of my youngest sister, I am really struggling with this today. The best solution I have mustered is to just go quickly to food for those of you who look for recipes.  Rest in peace, Till.

I am giving you two entrees.  One of the problems in providing food for a family is often, “What in the world will I prepare for  today’s meals?” If you really appreciate Reuben sandwiches, here is a very easy to prepare recipe, and you can say, “I did this myself.”
             
FAVORITE REUBENS
8 rye bread slices
2 packages (8 oz.) corned beef slices
1 can (8 oz.) sauerkraut, drained
8 slices process cheese spread
½ cup Thousand Island  dressing
Butter

For each sandwich, cover one bread slice with I ½ ounces of meat, approximately ¼ cup sauerkraut, 1 ½  ounces of meat, 2 slices of cheese, 1 tablespoon of dressing and a second slice of bread. Spread sandwich with butter and grill in skillet until lightly browned on both sides.

If you need a hearty casserole entrée , try this chicken based pasta one. You can bake it in 2 small containers and freeze one, or bake it one large one if needed. It is similar to one I use a lot , only mine uses noodles and this one has a few extra ingredients.  I think you will like it.
             
CHICKEN & CHEESE PASTA BAKE
1 package ( 16 oz.) spaghetti, broken
2 medium onions
I medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
½ cup butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 ¾ oz. ) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, sauté onions and pepper in butter in a Dutch oven, until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir until thickened. Stir in the chicken, soups, sour cream, salt and pepper.  Drain spaghetti, add  to sauce mixture. Transfer to two 11 x 7 inch, or one large, casserole baking dishes.  Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Can be frozen for up to three months.