Great Greats Magic! 4/10/14

Due to a change in travel plans, I cannot wait until past my deadline to report in.  So I will have to do a hurried attempt this afternoon to secure my place in The Earth. Instead of a report of a short vacation and important wedding, I will dwell on some great magic that has recently occurred in my life.

Recently, I was blessed with two more great grandkids! Sometimes coincidence strikes when it is unexpected and both caused some excitement in their arrival. Delivery problems unexpectedly arose and both were delivered by emergency C-sections. First to arrive was Alistair Jordan Smith to Jamie and Marcus, weighing in above-the-average birthweight - 10 pounds and 11 ounces!  Following a few days later was Madalynn Brooke Warstler to Morgan and Steve. She was a more moderate size but caused some concern for both herself and her new mother. Thankfully, both are now at home ready to take their place in this big great world.  That makes four new ones in a few months.  Miss Natalie Therese Sanders who lives near Houston, Texas was a very welcome addition to Andy and Jen’s two other daughter’s.  (I have yet to meet her except on Facebook.)  Bradley Christopher Johnston came to help his dad overcome the imbalance of feminine presence with two big sisters to the household of Amanda and Jason. Don’t have an accurate count in my head, but am approaching the 40 mark of greats!

Better get my mind on food, since I thought I had more time to focus on this and have no ideas ready. How about using my four ingredient recipe book? Since that will take less time.  Some of you will be looking for Lenten ideas. Here is a fish recipe that I have never used and gives you a range of preferences.

                   

EASY CHEESE FISH FILLETS

1 pound fish fillets of your choice

1 onion, thinly sliced

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup grated cheese of your choice

Place fish fillets in a single layer in a baking casserole. Spread with mayonnaise and sprinkle with cheese. Top with onions. Cover and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, until browned.

Are you brave enough to try an uncooked dessert? This interested me, so why not try it.

CREAMY PEACH DELIGHT

2 cans (16 oz.) peach halves

4 tablespoons cream cheese

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Fill center of peach halves with 1 tablespoon cream cheese and place halves together. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll peaches in sugar mixture  Chill until ready to serve.

Hope my hurried attempt for this week is not too left of center. For those of you who do not care for these suggestions, Maybe you will be interested in a suggestion that I just read today but have never heard about. Try it to see if it works. Run your slices of bacon under cold water before cooking and it will reduce the shrinkage!

I hear my method of transportation arriving for my hours long trip to my grandson’s wedding. I had intended to use this time to “spot mop” the kitchen so no one comes in and has my house condemned while I am gone.

Dress Shopping and Other Adventures 4/3/14

Can’t believe that we have used up another whole month already. Hope you got past the first day without doing anything too foolish.  Last week was a real blast for me. I extended myself to the limit.  On Tuesday I had a son and his grandson for lunch to celebrate his birthday.  Do not ask my great grandson how he likes my cooking, please!! I am sure he left feeling quite empty. I treated him like I did my own kids. I put a good meal on the table, if you do not like it, sorry, just wait until the next meal and try again. 

On Wednesday, my daughter brought a co-worker with her for her 20 minute lunch. I couldn’t fix anything that they had to chew so they could be out of here on time, but ended with their choice of apple or peach pie and ice cream. 

Thursday another daughter took me along to Ft. Wayne on a shopping trip so I could buy a dress to wear to a grandson‘s wedding this next weekend. Everything that I picked out as a possibility looked worse on me than it did on the hanger and that was not good.  After miles (I thought) of walking and trying on scads of dresses, finally, with Becky scrounging the store while I was in the fitting room, we came up with two I would consider and one that I maybe could be talked into.  The best part of the story was after the sale price and the discounts it was real bargain. After I got it home away from all of the other monstrosities, I am quite happy with it. After extra walking and energy expended, I told her I had reached my limit and sat in the car at the last stop she wanted to make. Besides all that and the Mother daughter party at church and the K of C Steak Fry on Saturday where they invite widows of former members, it was a real magic filled, if exhausting, week!

After fixing lunch for company, and a son stopping in for left-overs, I made a dessert salad for the Mother-Daughter party. It was appreciated by several daughters that were present and I promised to print it again this week. It was a magic moment that they read the column, besides liking my contribution to the meal.

            

ORANGE PINEAPPLE TORTE

20 graham crackers

½ cup butter

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

14 ounces marshmallow cream

12 ounces whipped topping

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple

2 large cans mandarin oranges

1 ½ cup flaked coconut

Crush graham crackers and mix with melted butter.

Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Mix softened cream cheese, marshmallow cream and whipped topping. Drain fruit and fold into the mixture. Spread over crust . Top with coconut. Garnish with extra orange slices.  Chill at least 4 hours.  

I have this recipe marked “Good Stuff”.

(This is a large recipe. I use only two packages of cream cheese. It might be a good idea to experiment with only a half recipe for the first trial. It made a 9 x 13 dish and another smaller one.)

I was searching through a recipe file where I put some "I may want to try" recipes and thought this seems a different type of cookie that might interest you. The picture is enticing and it has a few of my favorite things in it.

            

CHOCOLATE CHIP TREASURE COOKIES

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated)

½ cup (I stick) butter, softened

1 1/3  cups flaked coconut

1 package (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder. Beat sweetened condensed milk and butter until smooth. Add crumb mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake 9 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Impromptu Magic 3/27/14

Saturday an unexpected turn of events turned out to be a very pleasant, magical one.  For the first time in about three months, I was like a teenager who had just gotten his driver’s license, when I drove myself to the beauty shop. This was from health issues and too much snow and ice!! So being on a longer leash I went from the beauty salon to the post office, to Kaiser’s, then a “short cut” to Dollar General before arriving at my home.  I ignored the dishes in the sink, and a few other noticeable shortcomings of perfect housekeeping.  I settled myself in my new chair with the daily paper which had two cross word puzzles that needed to be solved.  I was interrupted with the phone ringing.  One of my daughters was in Bryan with two of her grandkids, a close friend and her daughter.  They were going to Auburn to shop for jewelry at a store with which I have been very happy.  They wanted some directions about the store and since they would be coming through Edgerton could they stop here for lunch?

This can throw a curve to a little old lady that lives by herself and eats whatever and whenever the spirit moves her.  I said “Gee, that will take some thinking!”  To this she quickly suggested how about grilled cheese and tomato soup? Since I do keep a well stocked pantry cupboard, I knew I had everything to fill that order.  When I asked how much time I had she replied that they were in Bryan and however long it took them to drive here!

At this point I put into action my experience of a lifetime of dealing with the present trials with the circumstances and products that are available. While at the store I had purchased two packages of lovely strawberries and some instant chocolate pudding.  I quickly fixed the pudding, sliced the strawberries, covered them with glaze and filled crystal goblets with both covered with whipped topping, thinking I would let them chose which they preferred.  A good hint is that if you are not offering much put it in a pretty dish and it will be appreciated more. I had the bread out of the freezer, the soup on the stove, the cheese out of the refrigerator and the electric skillet plugged in when they arrived!  Two of them finished making the sandwiches, the two young girls set the table. (They demanded paper plates and plastic bowls and cups because they would not have time to do dishes.) Would you believe that everyone wanted both berries and pudding? It turned out to be a delightful experience, much better than a lot of long planned parties.   

Nete’s friend, Shelly whose daughter Emily is getting married in September, told me that her mother lives in Iowa and she somehow reads my column. When she comes here for the wedding she wants to meet me!!  Guess we will have to have another impromptu meal.

Let’s just stay on the food agenda.  Last week I tried the corn and broccoli sautéed in butter, threatening to take it to my sister if it was not good. The recipe called for mushrooms and I could not find any in my pantry, so I just ate it without any. I was pleasantly surprised at how well I liked it, so I kept most of it and took my intended broccoli soup to her with only a small sample of the vegetables.  The asparagus and carrots were on the acceptable list, too. (I ate them hot.)

While looking for a recipe for strawberry glaze for on the balance of my strawberries, I found one in a cookbook that my dad’s sister gave us for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. While scanning through it I noticed an interesting dessert submitted by my dad’s sister.  Hope it interests some of you.

          

COCKTAIL DELIGHT

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

½  teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 well beaten egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

I cup brown sugar

½ cup chopped walnuts, more if desired.

1 can (No. 2) fruit cocktail, partially drained

Sift together sugar, flour, soda and salt. Add beaten egg, vanilla and fruit.  Mix well. Put in buttered 8 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Want a simple, quick idea for a meal?  I have never tried this one, but it is in a favorite recipe book I received from my mother’s cousin who is past 100 years old and is a resident of a nursing home in Angola.

          

CHICKEN BUNDLES

1 can crescent rolls

1 ½ oz. cream cheese

1 tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon butter

1 cup diced, cooked chicken

1 teaspoon onion, fresh or dried

Divide rolls into squares and press the perforated edges together. Mix all other ingredients together. Divide evenly on the squares. Bring the dough to the top around the filling and seal. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes. This would be a good way to use left over chicken.

If you see any signs of spring, please share the good news.

Magic Moments 3/20/14

My how fast the weeks go by!  Much faster than when I was a kid waiting for summer vacation and Christmas to come each year.  That should be some indication that I do not yet know what I am going to say to you this week. Let’s start by offering congratulations to the cast, directors and people back stage for the pleasant evening at the dinner theater presentation by our high school students.  Even though my age shows when I have to admit that many of the performers I did not know, I do appreciate the talent and the willingness to share that talent of our young people. For them to do this we also have to have the patience, willingness and unselfishness of directors, parents, stage hands, costume managers and all behind the scenes personnel.   A big “Thank You” to all, and a “Good Job” to all of the cast.

Congratulations to all members of the confirmation class at St. Mary’s Church on Sunday afternoon.  May you all keep your commitment throughout your life with God and His commandments as the center of all that you do.

When all else fails, we can talk about the weather. I was so excited the day it was above fifty degrees and I just knew winter was over.  After last week’s snow storm and the freezing weather this morning when I went out to church, I changed my mind.  The only encouraging sight that I can see (no it was not a robin) is the patch of ugly brown grass that is not covered with snow between my home and my next door neighbor!  I tremendously dislike the dead looking earth, suffering from the aspects of winter until God performs His magic and the world comes alive with all of the beauty of Spring (which is my favorite time of year). I will be patient and appreciate it fully when it does get here.

As I had no recipes stashed away to use, I was searching my array of cookbooks and I found some very unusual ones that I would have never put together.  Since it is Lent and we must do penance, perhaps you might try them with this thought in mind, secretly hoping that next week I go back to desserts. They are both something different to do with vegetables and they may interest you enough to try them.  I use lemon pepper on a majority of my vegetables and I thought I had next to invented something new!  Wrong.  The book I found them in is dated 1990!

                        

ASPARAGUS and BABY CARROTS

1 pound asparagus, steamed until crisp tender

½ pound small carrots, steamed until crisp tender

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Lemon pepper

Drain asparagus and carrots. Cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, sprinkle with lemon pepper and lemon juice.  Serve cold.  This is what I am going do with mine! While they are still hot, with the pepper and lemon juice I am going to add a large chunk of butter and eat it hot! Make your own decision.

The next one has possibilities, but I would have never on my own thought of combining them, but I do have all of them on hand. Tomorrow I will be brave and try it.  If I do not like it I am planning on taking my sister something that I know she wants. I may just change my plans and turn up at her back door with a smile on my face and a new vegetable in my hand. She wouldn’t dare say she didn’t like it, or would she?  Don’t bet any lunch money.

                                    

SAUTEED BROCCOLI

            

1 package (10 oz.)  frozen broccoli            

1 package (10 oz.)  frozen whole kernel corn

1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained

½ cup butter

             

Melt butter. Saute broccoli, corn and mushrooms in butter until crisp tender. Season to taste. I would use lemon pepper!  Serve warm.

            

Remember Spring is really just around the corner. I sincerely hope so. Especially after I saw my last month’s heating bill. A few more months like that  and I won’t have to worry about the nursing home getting my money.  There won’t be any!   

3/13/14

The best news I have heard lately is that Spring will be here in two weeks! Never in my life have I seen so much snow at one time and been so tired of it.  I do appreciate the beauty of a new snowfall, but a constant cover gets old very rapidly.  Now will someone please inform the weather man that spring is that near and cancel any snow showers he has planned for us? An unusual event in my life took me to the elementary school one day last week.  I still can’t believe there is as much snow piled there as I think I remember!  I thought there was a lot in my yard!

A real magic moment occurred the same week.  I drove my car across town to visit my sister. It was my first time driving since before Christmas.  I think it was a successful trip.  At least no one honked at me!  Since most off the week is supposed  to be above freezing and some of the snow should disappear, I plan to make a few more trips across town.

From baking a warm apple pie to serve to my daughter who brought a co-worker with her on one of my Tuesday lunch hour visits and sending a piece of apple pie back to the coworker who covers for her when she doesn’t manage to get back on the job in her allotted hour, I baked three pies for a workshop at her company with delegates from North Carolina and Nashville , Tennessee.  From this I managed to make a special new friend who has been introduced to Magic Moments!  You brightened my day and provided many magic moments for me, Anisha.

Maybe that is a sneaky way to bring our minds to food but it worked. I finally got to Bryan and picked up some whole wheat flour.  Would you believe that when I got home with it, I did not remember where I put the recipe?  Old age does have its problems.  Now I have them together and I am going to give you the recipe before my friend hides it from me again, even though I have not made any muffins.

                        

RAISIN OAT MUFFINS

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup all purpose flour

1 cup uncooked oatmeal, quick or old fashioned

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ cup orange juice

¾ cup golden raisins

            

TOPPING: ¼ cup uncooked oatmeal

                                 3 tablespoons brown sugar

                                 1 tablespoon grated orange rind

                                 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Combine flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and orange rind.

Combine egg, sour cream, oil and orange juice. Add all at once

to the dry ingredients. Mix only until blended. Gently add raisins.

Line muffin tins with paper liners and spoon batter in cups until

almost full. For topping, combine oats, brown sugar, orange rind

and butter. Mix well. Sprinkle over muffin batter and pat gently.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Makes 18 muffins.

Sometimes our eyes influence our food tastes more than we think.

I noticed this salad recipe in a magazine that I rarely read, but the

picture caught my eye and I saved it. Hope it tastes as good as the

picture looks.

                        

CARROT SALAD

I pound or 4 to5 cups coarsely shredded carrots

¾ cup raisins

2/3 cup dates, chopped

2/3 cup fresh pineapple, diced (I would use canned chunks, also)

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup pecan pieces

Lightly toss shredded carrots, raisins, dates and pineapple.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemons juice,

zest, sugar and salt. Pour over carrot mixture and toss to

blend well. Chill at least one hour. Right before serving stir

in pecan pieces. Makes 6 servings.

Thanks for all prayers offered for physical needs in my family. Had some remarkable results, but still have a few rough spots that need some work. Like one of my sons stated. Don’t leave out God because He is still in the miracle business.

Sweet Potato Pancakes and Onion Casserole 3/6/14

Special moments in our lives seem to be made of more magic when they appear out of the normal patterns of your life. Recently when I was having a rather dull day, (living with just me is not very exciting)  the front door bell rang. There stood a young lady with a package in her hand.  My thoughts were “Now what is she selling?” She quickly told me that I probably did not know her but she was one of my best fans who had been reading MAGIC MOMENTS for over ten years!! Further conversation revealed that she knew several of my kids and I knew her grandparents very well and am a speaking acquaintance of her mother.  In her package she was bringing me a sample of her version of my Ranger Cookie recipe!  She had made them for her father and had omitted the chocolate chips and the nuts because he did not like them in cookies.  They were successful enough that he told her to throw out the recipe for the ones she had been making for him. You never know how much you can brighten a day for someone else by a seemingly small kindness. 

Another bit of magic was found in a phone call asking if I were going to be home and could she stop by.  She brought me an almost new, beautiful sweater that she had bought and almost never worn, allowing me to gracefully refuse it if it were not to my liking. It is much nicer than any I have seen in my few shopping trips lately. I have better luck at garage sales!  If I were younger I would start a business where I made clothes that were becoming to OLDER ladies who wanted to look respectable! I told one clerk that the dresses they had I would not take home if they were free!  That reminds me, I have a grandson getting married and still do not have a satisfactory dress to wear. Don’t think my newly acquired sweater will do the trick.

Life is still beating my family up with a lot of questions, serious tests, and surgeries scheduled, so once again I will put them all in God’s hands and turn my thoughts to food.

Do you like sweet potatoes?  I usually just boil them super tender, mash them up and put lots of butter on them, so I was tempted by a new recipe I saw for pancakes. Maybe I am a bit weird in my food preferences.  I thought I heard a chorus of strong “Amens” but I just turned up the volume on the TV and it went away so I will proceed with my recipe.

      

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 medium apple

2 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons flour

¼ cup vegetable oil

Peel and grate potatoes. Core and shred unpeeled apples. Drain any liquid. Combine eggs, salt, sugar, cinnamon and flour. Add to the potato and apple mixture. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Place portions of ¼ cup of mixture into the hot oil. Flatten with spatula. Cook 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve immediately with syrup  of your choice and chopped pecans if desired.

Need a new idea for a vegetable side dish? How about an onion casserole? Sounds good to me.

     

VIDALIA ONION CASSEROLE

I stick butter

4 large Vidalia onions

24 snack crackers

½ cup grated cheese of your choice

Chopped parsley

Melt butter in skillet. Saute peeled, halved, sliced onions for about 10 minutes. Layer half of the onions into a 3 quart casserole dish. Cover with half of the crushed crackers and half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with parsley. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Hope you enjoyed the weekend snow more than I did.

Ranger Cookies Replay 2/13/14

We have another month nearly ready to be bygone days. The best thing about it is we have to be that much closer to spring. Never in my life time have I been so anxious for Spring to arrive.

Since more snow was broadcast for Saturday during the night, we agreed that it would be smart to attend Saturday evening Mass. My daughter and her husband were picking me up and we planned to go to our local restaurant after church services.  

We had two surprises. Another daughter and husband and a granddaughter and her family were also on the same schedule. The restaurant was surprisingly full, and there was not room for all of us to find a seat. So they opened the back room for us and we had a private party. My son and daughter-in-law and two of their granddaughters who were spending the night with them were nearly finished with their meal, so they came back and joined us.  Our party of three had grown to 15.  Once again, we found that the greatest magic moments can be found in family and unplanned gatherings.

Since I forgot to keep my promise to myself to do this earlier in the day, I will get right to food. My last week’s entry was almost a calamity. After I had hit “send” I read it over and it took two messages to correct my blunders.  Thanks to a capable staff at The Earth, they did a magnificent job of making it look as if I knew what I were doing.

I received a phone call a few days ago asking for a recipe for Ranger Cookies that I had previously used.  That took some thoughtful mind searching, but I remembered which pile, (that should be read as FILE) to look in and I found it in a few minutes.  She thought that reprinting it would be the easiest way to get it to her. Maybe someone else didn’t save it and will want to try it. It is an old recipe that a neighbor gave my mother when I was still in high school.  The lady who requested it had also been familiar with it but did not have a copy. I tell my grandkids and greats, that you have to have some good food in your stomach for desserts to sit on. So I am going to give you one that I was very pleased with that a niece had shared on Face Book. Thanks, Melissa and Peggy.

            

SMOKED SAUSAGE POTATO BAKE

1 package smoked sausage (the one I used was only 9 oz.)

5 medium potatoes, cut in chunks

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Salt, pepper, thyme, paprika to taste

Handful of grated cheddar cheese

Slice sausage into bite size pieces and combine with the potato chunks. Drizzle with oil and seasoning. (You may use other seasonings of your choice.) Toss together with hands. Spread out in a baking tray. (Mine was  9 x 12.) Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees, Stirring every 15 minutes. Turn off heat and sprinkle cheese on top and allow to melt.

Hope  you are as pleased as I was.

            

RANGER COOKIES

I cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups cornflakes

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup each of coconut, chocolate bits, nuts

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, soda, baking powder, oatmeal, coconut and cornflakes. Add to mixture then add chocolate bits and nuts .  This is a very stiff mixture. You may add 3 tablespoons of milk to make it easier to handle. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork dipped in water. I used a medium scoop  to measure dough, made it into a ball , then flattened it. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Do not overbake.