Trouble's Brewing (29 page)

cup chopped red bell pepper

8 corn tortillas

4 eggs

1½ cups milk

¼ cup salsa

1 tablespoon flour

sliced ripe olives

In a small bowl, combine cheese, ham, onions, and bell pepper. Place cheese mixture into open tortillas. Next, roll tortillas closed and place seam side down in greased 11-by-7 baking dish. In medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salsa, and flour. Pour mixture over tortillas and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove foil and sprinkle with cheese and olives.

Serves 8.

Donna’s Cook’s Notes

Who knew David Harris could cook. This is one of my favorite souvenirs from our trip to California.

Chinese-Style Beef, Broccoli, and Rice

1¼ pounds boneless top sirloin steak, trimmed of fat

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup water

¾ cup quick-cooking long-grain rice

1 pound fresh or frozen broccoli cut in 1-inch pieces

Cut steak diagonally into thin slices. In a medium bowl mix together next four ingredients. Add meat strips and toss to mix well. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Then, in a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over high heat until hot. Add meat mixture. Cook, stirring over high heat, until meat loses its redness (5 minutes). Remove to a plate.

Add last three ingredients to skillet and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer five minutes or until broccoli is tender. Return meat to skillet and heat to boiling, stirring often. Simmer, stirring for one minute.

Lizzie’s Cook’s Notes

This takes a little time in the preparation, but it’s well worth it!

Honey Orange Pork Chops

teaspoon shredded orange peel

½ cup orange juice

½ cup pineapple juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1½ tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 pork chops (approximately 1½ pounds)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cut away fat from chops. In a shallow baking dish, combine shredded peel, orange juice, pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, pepper, and garlic. Pour over both sides of meat.

Place meat on the unheated rack of a broiler pan, 4 to 5 inches from the heat. Broil 6 to 7 minutes on each side, until meat is no longer pink in the middle.

Pour remaining sauce and pork chop drippings into saucepan. Stir in cornstarch, then cook and stir till thick and bubbly. Cook another 2 minutes, then rebaste chops with sauce.

Serves 4.

Lisa Leann’s Cook’s Notes

Not all great dishes have to be complicated, and this dish is a case in point. I always make it when the kids come home. Usually I like to marinate the chops for 6 to 24 hours, but if I’m in a hurry, I’ll skip that step but spoon the drippings onto the meat when I turn it over.

Taco Soup

2 pounds hamburger meat

1 small onion, chopped

1 4-ounce can green chilies

1 package taco mix

1 package ranch dressing mix

1 can pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can hominy

3 cans tomatoes

1½ cups water

Brown hamburger with onion. Drain grease. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Serves 6–8.

Donna’s Cook’s Notes

This is my kind of soup—brown a little hamburger and onion, then open a few cans and dump the whole mess into a pot. When I have to work the night shift, I pour this steaming hot into my jumbo thermos. It’s great for cold nights on a lonely beat.

Asparagus Casserole

1 can cut asparagus (drained)

1 small can English peas (drained)

1 small can evaporated milk

1 cup grated cheese

½ can cream of chicken soup

3 boiled eggs (chopped)

crushed potato chips

Mix all ingredients together. Top with enough crushed potato chips to cover. Bake at 350 for half an hour. Serves 4.

Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes

Not everyone is an asparagus fan, but if you are, this is a recipe you won’t want to throw away!

Lazy Beef Stew

2 medium onions

4 celery sticks, chopped

5 white potatoes, peeled and diced

6 carrots, peeled and diced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2½ pounds beef round steak cut into

1½ -inch cubes

1 envelope mushroom gravy mix

½ cup dry white wine

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 16-ounce package frozen French-style green beans, thawed

Begin by turning the setting of your Crock-Pot to “high.” Throw in all ingredients except green beans. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 7 to 8 hours or until meat and veggies are tender. In the last half hour of cooking time, add green beans.

Goldie’s Cook’s Notes

Lazy beef stew is a recipe I clipped out of a newspaper just after I married Jack, back in the days before he began running around on me. It was a favorite of ours when the weather turned cold and the days grew short. I remember when Olivia was a little thing; as soon as a little chill fell into the air, she’d ask for it. The best thing about it is that it takes only 20 minutes to prepare and then cooks all day.

Low-fat Carrot Cake

1 cup firmly packed brown	3 tablespoons vegetable oil
sugar	2 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup egg substitute	1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup nonfat buttermilk	½ cup white flour
1 8-ounce can crushed	2 teaspoons baking soda
pineapple, drained	2 teaspoons ground
2 cups grated carrots	cinnamon
½ cup raisins	¼ teaspoon salt

Combine brown sugar, egg substitute, buttermilk, pineapple, carrots, raisins, vegetable oil, and vanilla in large bowl. Next, combine flours and baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Pour batter into 9-by-13 pan coated with vegetable cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. (Test with toothpick.) Cool in pan. Once cool, spread with frosting. Cover and chill.

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

½ cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 8-ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Process cottage cheese in blender till smooth. Add cream cheese, vanilla, and orange rind and blend. Next add powdered sugar and blend till smooth.

Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes

With my Fred’s cholesterol on the rise, I’ve been looking for ways to make old favorites a little more diet friendly. Besides, carrot cake is a comfort food, and right now, I can think of several people who need to be comforted, starting with a big slice for me.

Smothered Pork Chops

cooking oil

6 thick pork chops

16-ounce can stewed tomatoes with basil

1 large onion, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

2 tablespoons margarine

1 can mushrooms

1–2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup cooking sherry

Coat bottom of frying pan with oil. Brown chops on both sides. Remove from pan. Melt butter and sauté onion, pepper, and garlic for five minutes. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, and sherry. Place pork chops on top and simmer for forty minutes. Spoon vegetables over chops and serve over rice.

Lizzie’s Cook’s Notes

It doesn’t get any easier than this.

Fruitcake Cookies

1½ cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 well-beaten eggs

1 teaspoon soda dissolved in
cup hot water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 large box raisins

1 pound pecans, chopped

1 cup coconut

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

1 box diced dates

1–2 slices candied pineapple chunks

½ cup candied cherries, chopped

Cream sugar and butter, then add the beaten eggs and dissolved soda. In separate, large bowl, add dry ingredients, a few at a time, and mix well. Batter will be stiff. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8–10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Lisa Leann’s Cook’s Notes

When it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, at least around the Lambert household, it’s time to decorate my Christmas trees and start my Christmas baking. These fruitcake cookies top my list for Christmas cookie fun. Some folks might add a splash of bourbon, but as I’m a good Baptist, I don’t.

Gingerbread

1 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

2 well-beaten eggs

2¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons ginger

1 cup dark cane molasses

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon soda

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Sift flour and spices together. Add to butter mixture. Alternate with molasses. Dissolve soda in boiling water and add to mixture (which will be thin). Pour into greased 9-by-13 or Bundt pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until done. Cool. Dust with powdered sugar or whipped cream and cherries.

Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes

Mama used to make this at Christmastime. There’s not a year gone by since her death that I have not baked it, filling the house with warmth and love, floating on the scent of ginger.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2 sticks butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 cups sifted cake flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

TOPPING

powdered sugar

¾ cup chopped nuts

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream together butter, sugar, and eggs. Fold in sour cream and vanilla carefully. Add sifted dry ingredients. Spoon ½ batter into greased and floured 10-inch angel food cake pan. Cover with half the topping. (To make topping, mix the nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon.) Then repeat both. Bake at 350 for 55–60 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle top of cake with powdered sugar. Top cake with the rest of the topping. Bake another 30–35 minutes.

Goldie’s Cook’s Notes

One of my favorite things to bake for a party or just to nibble on at home is sour cream coffee cake. The scent of cinnamon and vanilla wafting through the house just cries out “home, sweet home.”

One-Pot Spaghetti

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon instant minced onion

8-ounce can tomato sauce

15-ounce can or jar spaghetti sauce (with mushrooms)