Best of Cheryle sample pages

BEST OF CHERYLE FOOD, FUN AND CHERYLE FINLEY

Sample Pages

S

ince her debut column in 2000, Cheryle Finley has invited Joplin Globe readers into her life through columns that include her friends, her family, her co-workers and new acquaintances.

There’s a wonderful sense of community in Cheryle’s columns that will make you immediately feel at home.

In a way, her weekly column in our newspaper is a serial. We’ve read about the marriage of her daughters,

Foreword the birth of her grandson, and her sadness at the sudden passing of her father.

We’ve laughed when some of her cooking experiments didn’t turn out quite right and praised those that did. As for her love of Elvis? Well, we quickly learned that she’s not alone, and readers quickly joined her down her trips on memory lane.

As for the holidays, well Cheryle makes sure there is a celebration for

every season, and plenty of food for the occasion.

We know you will enjoy “The Best of Cheryle: Food, Fun and Cheryle Finley.” It’s not just a cookbook of family favorites, it’s a real slice of Americana.

Carol Stark Joplin Globe editor

INTRODUCTION | 3

Table of Contents The Early Years...........................................................5 Cheryle and Friends..................................................31 Cheryle and Elvis......................................................54 The Holidays............................................................69 Atlas........................................................................91 Family....................................................................109 Favorites................................................................126 People, Places, Cookbooks and Events Index.........148 Recipe and Food Tips Index....................................150

4 | INTRODUCTION

Sharing recipes is a personal, loving thing to do October 4, 2000

H

ow great is it when you cook a dish and someone asks you for the recipe?

Sharing recipes is truly a personal and loving thing to do. This is the first of a weekly column that will do just that. Nothing really fancy — you won’t have to hunt high and low for ingredients. And most recipes will be quick and easy.

My first recollection of the importance of food in my life is not my own.

Rather, it’s a memory my relatives share each time we gather. My sister, Sue Joslen, is younger and smaller and early on was an easy target for me. We were quite young (the ages vary depending on who is telling the story) and our grandfather gave us five choc-

olate chip cookies.

The obvious solution for five cookies to be divided by two sisters is 2 1/2 each. No way! Ever the quick thinker when it comes to food, I told Sue that I could eat one cookie, then we both would have two.

The very second she uttered “O.K.” that extra cookie was a goner. I gave her two cookies, kept the other two and we were both perfectly happy.

Unfortunately, she has gotten smarter over the years. I was told her former mentality would have worked to my advantage in regard to any inheritance we might receive. I could take $10,000 and we would each have $20,000.

Seriously, anyone who knows me

will agree that food is something near and dear to my heart. I have been blessed all my life to have relatives and friends who are great cooks.

I live in Carthage and work for Bank of America and my husband, Chris, works for AmeriCold Logistics. Our daughter, Sarah, is enrolled in the radiology program at Missouri Southern State College and my step-daughter, Kristy, lives in Tampa, Fla. I am anxious to share recipes from cooks in the surrounding area. So, send a favorite recipe or two. I look forward to trying all of them and passing them along.

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 head cabbage 1 cup green pepper 1 cup celery 1 onion 1 cup vinegar 1 cup cooking oil 1 ⁄2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon mustard seed 1 teaspoon celery seed 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup of sugar

Chop cabbage, pepper, onion, celery. Mix in bowl and reserve. In separate bowl combine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, pepper, mustard, and celery seed. Mix well. Pour over cabbage mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Eight servings.

Marinated coleslaw Marcella Fullerton of Carthage not only provided my daughter’s middle name, she also gave me one of the first recipes, which started my collection.

This is definitely one of those make-ahead dishes and is best when mixed in glass bowls.

6 | THE EARLY YEARS

Spaghetti pie Paula Callihan, of Joplin, is a great cook and her husband, Mark, calls her “queen of the microwave.” She shares two of her favorite recipes.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground sirloin 8 ounces spaghetti noodles 26 ounces spaghetti sauce 1 cup shredded mozzarella 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 8 ounces ricotta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown ground sirloin. Add spaghetti sauce to beef. Cook spaghetti noodles. Butter 9x13-inch casserole.

Mix mozzarella cheese and cooked spaghetti together, put in bottom of casserole. Spread ricotta cheese over noodles, then add spaghetti sauce mixture. Top with cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil. Cook 45 minutes at 350 degrees, then for 10 minutes uncovered. Serves six to eight.

Italian chicken INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

4 boneless chicken breasts 2 beaten eggs 16-ounce can tomato sauce 1 ⁄2 cup Half and Half 8 slices mozzarella cheese 1 ⁄2 cup Parmesan cheese Italian bread crumbs

Dip chicken in egg and roll in bread crumbs. Cook until almost done in skillet with half cup each oil and butter. Mix tomato sauce and Half and Half. Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Lay chicken in dish, top with cheeses, dot with butter. Bake covered for 30 minutes at 300 degrees, then for 10 to 15 minutes uncovered.

Serves four.

Big city trip brings out the country girl December 13, 2000

D

allie Miessner-Howerton, of Carthage, has been a good friend for many years. About 14 years ago, we went to New York City together and had the best time.

We saw two Broadway shows, did lots of window shopping and of course ate some fantastic food.

We each bought three pieces of Godiva chocolate on Fifth Avenue (spent about $10 each) and took a hansom cab ride through Central Park, eating

our chocolate as we enjoyed the view.

The most memorable part of the trip occurred after I got off the plane in New York. Dallie was already in the city so she met me at the airport.

We had a limousine pick us up and I was looking forward to my luxurious ride to the hotel.

The driver opened the door and I sort of backed in and sat down. My first thought was that this was not at all what I had expected. It was not very

comfortable and my feet were down in a little well in the floor. I was so excited about being in a limo in New York City that it didn’t matter that the seat didn’t even have a back. Dallie got in from the other side and disappeared.

She asked me what on earth I was doing. I turned around and she was in the back of the car, sitting in an actual seat. I had sat down before I reached the seat, and positioned myself on the floor.

THE EARLY YEARS | 7

I’m sure the driver was thinking, “You can take the girl out of the country, but … .” I managed to get through the rest of the trip without being embarrassed by my actions and had a great time.

Then, it was time to go home. I really dislike flying. My flights are usually those where you can’t remove your seat belt or get up from your seat because of turbulence and they always serve you soup, which you have to try

to balance on your lap. Dallie assured me it would be wonderful.

“Oh, I love to fly. It’s the only way to go,” were her exact words. When we finally landed in Joplin after being unable to land in Springfield because of the weather, her exact words were, “I’m never flying with you again.” But, the wonderful memories far outweigh that trip home.

Dallie recently sent me a nice note and a recipe for Earthquake Cake.

Earthquake cake INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 cup chopped nuts 1 German chocolate cake mix 8 ounces cream cheese 1 pound powdered sugar 6 ounces coconut 1 stick margarine

Grease 9x13-inch pan. Cover bottom of pan with coconut, then nuts.

Prepare cake mix according to box directions and pour over coconut and nuts. Combine margarine, powdered sugar and cream cheese. Beat until smooth. Drop by tablespoons on top of cake mix. Take knife and swirl into cake. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Green beans supreme INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 16-ounce can green beans, drained and seasoned with garlic and onion powder 1 ⁄2 cup chopped onion 1 ⁄4 cup soy sauce 3-4 slices of fried, chopped bacon 1 cup brown sugar 3⁄4 stick melted butter

Pour drained green beans into casserole dish. Sprinkle with chopped onion, add soy sauce and bacon.

Cover with brown sugar and top with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

8 | THE EARLY YEARS

She said it’s like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.

I have two more recipes from Lisa Tubaugh of Jasper. We tried the Green Beans Supreme and my daughter wrote on the recipe, “Very tasty!”

The Scalloped Pineapple is supposed to be a side dish, but I served it warm with vanilla ice cream per Lisa’s suggestion and it was delicious.

Scalloped pineapple INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 large can crushed pineapple 2 tablespoons whipping cream 2 cups sugar 3 eggs, beaten 1 stick butter, melted 8 slices white bread cubed

Mix ingredients together and bake for one hour in a well-greased 8- by 8-inch baking dish at 350 degrees.

Nothing warms up a day like soup January 31, 2001 Whether I am feeling great Or maybe have the croup I would be very happy with A spoon and a bowl of soup

S

ome people will not eat soup in the summer because they say the weather has to be cold before soup is appropriate.

I say no such thing. I could eat a good soup morning, noon and night seven days a week. One of my favorite Grandma Evans’ memories is the vegetable soup she made with ground beef and rice. I could do serious damage to a pot of that soup.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a package of 20 Bean Soup Mix at the Main Street Mercantile in Carthage.

It was a bag with a bunch of beans and a recipe on the label. It said to add canned tomatoes, picante sauce, ham and lemon juice when preparing. I was intrigued by the mixture of ingredients so I gave it a try.

I fixed it for my family, then bought another bag and fixed it for a meeting at work. We ate it with cornbread and everyone seemed to like it. I used mild picante sauce because that’s what I had on hand, but you can make it as spicy as you like by using medium or hot picante sauce.

I cooked it in my slow cooker overnight and let it sit in the refrigerator all day before heating it up that evening. It was thick and delicious. I’ve seen those pre-packaged soup mixes before but had never bought one. It would be worth your while to give them a try. I hope they are as good as the one we sampled.

I found the Anniversary Chowder recipe in the Reminisce magazine. It was easy to make and something different because of the salmon. It was very good and really filling.

The Broccoli Noodle Soup has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

Nancy Handshy of Webb City shared

this recipe several years ago when we worked together. She actually cooks it using the “handful,” “dab” and “little bit of ” method so we tried to give you more accurate measurements. I like to use the wide noodles for this soup, so I’m not chasing them around in the bowl trying to get a spoonful. I used to beg her to bring this soup or her macaroni and tomatoes or tuna salad.

She is a great cook. I talked to her last week and she has new recipes I hope to share with you in the future.

The dessert recipe was shared by my mother-in-law, Tiny Finley of Joplin.

She was given the recipe from her friend Marjorie Williams, also of Joplin. Marjorie said she uses one can each of cherry and apple pie filling so she has six enchiladas of each kind.

I made half of the recipe for use and used the cherry pie filling. We ate those enchiladas right up.

THE EARLY YEARS | 9

Anniversary chowder INGREDIENTS

2 small red potatoes, cubed 1 ⁄2 medium carrot, finely chopped 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 cups Half and Half 1 can (6 ounces) boneless, skinless salmon, drained and flaked 1 ⁄2 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 ⁄4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed 1 ⁄4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes 1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

Broccoli noodle soup INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 large package frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix 1 8-ounce package noodles 1 pound Velveeta, cubed 1 small onion, diced and sautéed in butter 2 to 3 cups milk

Cook broccoli and cauliflower and noodles in enough boiling water to cover. When tender, drain enough water so you leave vegetables and noodles half covered with water. Add milk, sautéed onion, and cheese.

Heat through until cheese is melted.

Fruit enchiladas INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

12 medium-size flour tortillas 2 cans pie filling, any kind 2 1 ⁄2 cups sugar, divided 1 1 ⁄2 cup water 2 sticks butter or margarine 1 ⁄2 cup finely chopped pecans 1 1 ⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon Whipped topping

Evenly distribute pie filling on the tortillas and roll. Place in a 9- by 13inch pan. Melt butter or margarine and 2 cups sugar in the water. Pour mixture slowly over the enchiladas and cover. Let stand covered overnight or for a minimum of four hours.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees, uncovered. Sprinkle chopped nuts and cinnamon mixed with 1 ⁄2 cup sugar over top. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve warm or hot with whipped topping.

10 | THE EARLY YEARS

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large saucepan, sauté the potatoes, carrots and onion in butter until tender. Reduce heat; stir in remaining ingredients. Cook and stir for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Serves two.

Life’s good when you’re 2 February 28, 2001

W

hen I was 2 years old, life was good.

I don’t remember any of this time specifically, but, knowing my parents, I’m sure life was good.

That is until one day I developed a slight limp. My mother rushed me to a doctor other than our regular one, who was out of town. The news was grim.

One of my legs was shorter than the other. It would require surgery, leg braces, and physical therapy. My parents were devastated. You know how parents always wish they could go through the hurt and pain for their kids? This was one of those times.

I was lucky to grow up next door to my grandparents. My dad’s youngest brother, Ron Evans of Carthage, still lived at home when I was young so I bugged him and followed him around every chance I got. He was very pa-

tient and didn’t ignore me when I wanted his attention.

A couple of days after my diagnosis, my parents were still weighing the options while I limped around and played as usual. Uncle Ron was riding his bicycle and put me in the basket to take me for a spin. He looked at the bottom of my shoe and saw something shiny. A tack. He pulled it out and I never limped again. It had been just far enough inside my shoe to cause discomfort, but not cause any redness, so my shoes were never suspected.

When our regular doctor returned to town, I was given a clean bill of health.

This story has nothing to do with anything in today’s column. I just figured you didn’t want to hear again how much I love soup.

The Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe was sent to me by Pansy Lunderman

of Galena, Kan. I used frozen broccoli when I tried it and it lasted one meal — no leftovers. It was fabulous.

The Cold Plum Soup recipe comes from Julie Anderson of Carthage.

She attended the Grace Episcopal Church’s Women’s Winter Retreat in January. This soup was served as the first course of their dinner. The recipe is originally from Debbie Jones of Diamond. My daughter, Sarah, really liked it. She thought it would make a good dessert but I think it’s just fine as a soup.

Janice Brummett, a co-worker from Carthage, found the Stuffed Cabbage Soup recipe in Family Circle. She prepared it and brought me a sample. I ate it as soon as she gave it to me that morning and could have eaten a whole pot full. I think it would also be great with ground chuck instead of the stew meat.

Cream of broccoli soup INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 pound broccoli (fresh or frozen) 1 ⁄2 pound butter 1 cup flour 1 quart chicken broth 1 quart Half and Half 1 teaspoon salt 1 ⁄2 teaspoon white pepper 1 pound Velveeta

Cut broccoli into 1-inch pieces and cook in 1 ⁄2 cup water. Set aside, do not drain. Melt butter and add flour. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil, stirring. Turn down heat and add broccoli, broccoli water, Half and Half, salt and pepper. Heat but do not boil. Add Velveeta and simmer. Slow cooker on low works well.

THE EARLY YEARS | 11

Cold plum soup INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 cup sour cream 1 large can of plums 1 tablespoon sugar 1 ⁄4 teaspoon almond extract 1 ⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon

Take pits out of plums. Place sour cream, plums (and juice from plums), sugar, almond extract and cinnamon in a blender. Puree for about four minutes.

Chill for several hours. Makes approximately 8 3⁄4 cup servings.

Stuffed cabbage soup INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 pound beef chuck for stew, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 package Classic Coleslaw mix 1 large onion, chopped 1 can crushed tomatoes in puree 2 cans beef broth 1 cup water 1 ⁄2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup long grain white rice

Heat oil in six-quart pot over medium heat. Add beef, sauté until browned about six minutes. Add coleslaw mix and onion, and cook uncovered for four minutes, stirring after two minutes.

Add tomatoes, beef broth, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt.

Bring to a boil. Add rice and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer covered for 45 minutes or until beef and rice are tender. Makes eight servings.

Quest for Irish recipes puts her in the stew March 14, 2001

T

rying to find someone with a food tradition for St. Patrick’s Day, I did what I thought was a good idea.

I called Jim Saferite of Carthage.

I’ve known Jim for a long time and he just happens to be a manager of O’Reilly Auto Parts in Carthage. I asked Jim if he usually fixed a pot of stew for his employees for St. Patrick’s Day, since O’Reilly sounded pretty Irish to me. He said no, he never 12 | THE EARLY YEARS

fixed them a pot of stew. I asked him if he had ever given any thought to celebrating the occasion in some fashion, preferably with food. He assured me he had not given it any thought at all. He offered to give me the phone number for O’Reilly’s home office. I guess he would rather I bugged them instead of him about St. Patrick’s Day. I declined his offer.

I then picked up the phone book with the intent of making calls to

people listed in the “O” section.

Thank goodness, before I let my fingers do the walking, I saw the name O’Malley. I had worked with Susan O’Malley a few years ago and hoped she would remember me and not hang up.

Susan could not have been nicer.

She not only supplied me with two wonderful recipes for you lads and lassies, she also shared some of her family history.

not to eat meat that day. If the day falls otherwise, she fixes Irish Stew and Irish Soda Bread.

The stew tradition is also known as “bear” stew. Susan thinks that meat was probably used by family members at one time after coming to the states.

The ingredients are very sparse and Susan said that what Americans call Irish food is never heard of in Ireland.

It’s a very easy recipe. I think Jim Saferite could make this if he tried.

While the stew is boiling, you can make your Irish Soda Bread. I bought some buttermilk and baked the bread.

It was very good and very easy.

Susan has a wonderful sugar cookie recipe I hope she will share with us later. This time, she also included this Irish prayer: You’ve blessed me with friends And laughter and fun With rain that’s as soft As the light from the sun.

You’ve blessed me with the stars To brighten each night You’ve given me help To know wrong from right You’ve given me so much Please, Lord, give me, too A heart that is always Grateful to you.

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

3 pounds very good quality Angus beef cubes 3 large white onions, diced 1 bunch of celery, diced 5 pounds red potatoes 2 large cans of stewed tomatoes

Boil the beef cubes until they are so tender they dissolve in your mouth (about three hours). Keep adding water to your boiling pan until they are that tender. In a separate pot, put your diced onions and celery (the whole large bunch diced, too) and boil until fork tender. Keep adding water until done. When beef cubes are tender, peel red potatoes and cube into your meat pot. Continue cooking

the meat and potatoes together until potatoes are tender. Add celery, onions, and stewed tomatoes to meat and potato pot and bring to boil. Turn off heat and let rest for about two hours, covered, before serving. Use an old-fashioned potato masher and press your potatoes in the pot to allow them to become nearly potato soup consistency. Salt and pepper everything to taste.

Susan’s husband Joe is ScotchIrish. One of his relatives died in Ireland during the famine; one was born on the ship while crossing the Atlantic, and some were the first occupants of a chartered box car that rode the new rails from Chicago to Girard to Scammon, Kan. There are also some Finleys in his family tree. How about that for a small world?

Susan also shared some St. Patrick’s trivia. Because St. Patrick’s Day comes during the season of Lent in the Catholic Church, the day of the week on which it falls is important.

If the day falls on Friday, they choose

Irish stew

Irish soda bread INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

3 cups flour 2/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup raisins 2 eggs 1 1 ⁄4 cup buttermilk 2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a bowl. Add raisins. Beat eggs with buttermilk in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients; mix well. Stir in butter. Pour into greased, 8-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Invert onto serving plate. Yields eight servings.

THE EARLY YEARS | 13

If at first you don’t succeed…

May 9, 2001

W

hen I worked for MSW, Inc., near Carterville, Jim Hardy, of Joplin, was the

accountant.

Jim was a wonderful mentor and helped me immensely. I had been in banking for so long it was confusing to be on the other side of the transaction. Jim once told me, “Cheryle, if we learn from our mistakes, you should be brilliant.”

I had to agree.

Who has never made a mistake when cooking or baking? I think almost every new cook has been sure that baking soda and baking powder were enough alike that they could be substituted for each other. We quickly found out that they are nothing alike.

My mother has been an excellent cook for many years and has baked many a ham in her day. She had a nice ham steak recently and was going to bake it. She also had some fresh pineapple on hand and decided to put some on her ham steak. The fresh pineapple disintegrated the ham. She now knows that only canned pineap-

ple will give her the desired results.

I believe I have avoided many mistakes by avoiding yeast. When someone says they are going to send me a recipe, I suggest that they pick one without yeast. Yeast scares me. I had tried many years ago to make cinnamon rolls with yeast in the recipe. I probably tried over 10 times to get them right, spending a fortune on ingredients and a lot of time worrying about them turning out right. I know if I worked at it, I could eventually make a yeast recipe work. Someday, I’ll give it another try.

Today, I would like to share two original recipes that were perfected by a little trial and error.

Ryan Niichel, of Neosho, is a new co-worker in Neosho. His recipe for barbecue chicken pizza was originally made with green peppers instead of pineapple. Ryan said that just didn’t work at all so he tried the pineapple and loved the results. He uses readymade crusts. If you make your crust, you will probably want to bake it before assembling the pizza as you are

only heating the ingredients.

Tyson Cornelison of Duenweg is the husband of my co-worker, Shelia Cornelison. Tyson came up with the final artichoke and pepperoni muffins recipe on his third attempt. The first time he made these muffins, he didn’t use marinated artichoke hearts and knew right away that needed to be changed. The second time he tried pouring Italian dressing on the sandwich and didn’t like the taste at all.

The third time, he settled on the following recipe and was happy with the results. Shelia said these sandwiches are also good made with pita bread.

I will also share the last of the sour cream raisin pie recipes. Doris Adams, of Jasper, sent two recipes from the Madison Country Cookbook from Winterset, Iowa. I am sharing the one in the cookbook by Mrs. Albert Hill. I’m also sharing a recipe from Dorothy Parks, of Lamar.

Also, thanks to Bernice Eden and Diane Doner, both of Joplin, for sending in pie recipes.

Barbecue chicken pizza INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

3 whole chicken breasts Small chopped onion Honey barbecue sauce 1 ⁄2 cup grated cheddar cheese 1 ⁄2 cup grated mozzarella cheese 1 prepared pizza crust

Grill the chicken breasts, basting occasionally with the barbecue sauce. While the chicken is cooking, sauté the onion in a small amount of oil. When the chicken is done, cut into bite-size pieces. Spread a thin layer of barbecue sauce on the pizza crust.

14 | THE EARLY YEARS

Sprinkle remaining ingredients on the crust. Top with additional barbecue sauce if desired. Heat in a 350-degree oven 7 to 10 minutes, or until heated through.

Artichoke and pepperoni muffins INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 green pepper, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 2 jars marinated artichoke hearts 4 slices smoked mozzarella cheese 1 package pepperoni slices 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 clove garlic 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon butter

Sauté garlic clove in olive oil and butter. Add peppers. Just before peppers get soft, add artichoke hearts, undrained, and juices. Put a cheese slice on one side of the muffin. Top with cooked mixture. Add pepperoni.

Place on top of muffin so heated mixture melts cheese. Serves 4.

Sour cream raisin pie INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 whole egg or 2 yolks 1 ⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg 3⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup sour cream 1 ⁄2 cup sugar 2 cups seedless raisins (uncooked) 2 tablespoons flour

Mix everything together and put in unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Household items have really changed May 30, 2001

E

verything changes. I marvel at the changes in household items in the last 25 years.

I lost my Grandma Evans over 30 years ago and I have often thought I would like to be able to show her all the new gadgets. She would have a ball.

One appliance that has really changed is the microwave. They are almost disposable now.

About 22 years ago, my mother and I went to Westco for cooking class so we could utilize all the features on

our new Radaranges. We each paid close to $600 for our new ovens. That microwave kept going and going and going. We finally had to replace it two years ago. It was a great investment.

Our new microwave was a lot less expensive than our first, but it is also much smaller. But, the size doesn’t stop me from using it every chance I get. I defrost. I cook. I reheat. Without a microwave I would have to plan ahead more than I do.

Of course, there has been operator error on my part that has caused me

to re-think my microwave cooking habits. I’ve put a little Baggie in there with a twist tie attached. Luckily, I was near and saw the sparks flying.

I’ve tried to cook steak on full power and ended up with jerky. I’ve also melted cheese for so long that I had to throw away the container.

My grandmother would have loved putting an envelope of prepackaged popcorn in a microwave and watching it puff up and pop. And having a baked potato in a few minutes would have been amazing to her.

THE EARLY YEARS | 15

One recipe we took away from our microwave cooking class was for a meatloaf sauce. Mom always serves it with her meatloaf and always receives raves. She serves it on the side so ev-

eryone can choose their own portion.

The other two recipes are from the cookbook we received with our Radaranges. I have fixed the French onion casserole several times and it is a nice

change from everyday vegetable dishes. The sweet and sour pork is quick and easy. It is good served over rice. I chop the pineapple chunks or use tidbits so they don’t overpower the pork.

Meatloaf sauce INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 can tomato soup 1 ⁄4 cup brown sugar 4 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat on high till brown sugar melts, stir often.

French onion casserole INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

4 medium onions, sliced 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 tablespoons all-purposed flour Dash pepper 3⁄4 cup beef bouillon 1 ⁄4 cup dry sherry 1 1 ⁄2 cups plain croutons 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 1 ⁄2 cup process Swiss cheese, shredded 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Paprika

Place onion and butter in 1 1 ⁄2 quart casserole. Cook in microwave, covered, on high for 7 to 9 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir halfway through cooking time. Blend in flour and pepper. Add bouillon and sherry.

Cook on high for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir halfway through cooking time. Toss croutons with butter.

Spoon over onion mixture. Sprinkle with cheeses. Season with paprika, as desired. Cook on medium for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Sweet and sour pork INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1 1 ⁄2 pounds boneless pork lion, cubed 1 large can pineapple chunks, with liquid 1 ⁄2 cup water 1 ⁄4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 3 tablespoons vinegar 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt

Place pork in 1 1 ⁄2 quart casserole. Cook in microwave, covered, on high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked and tender. Stir halfway through cooking time. Combine liquid from pineapple, water, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and salt in small glass bowl. Cook on high 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened. Stir halfway through cooking

16 | THE EARLY YEARS

time. Pour sauce over pork. Add pineapple. Cook on high for 2 minutes or until heated through. Serves 4.

SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION

A Sight to See!

ABOVE: C HILI CHEESE DIP BELOW: P OTATO CHIP COOKIES

ABOVE: O UT OF THIS WORLD PIE BELOW: G OLDEN PARM POTATOES

ABOVE: B AKED BEEF STEW BELOW: T ACO SOUP OPPOSITE: HALLOWEEN TREE