Bedtime reading brings back childhood breakfast recipes

When I was growing up on the farm in rural Illinois, we ate a variety of great foods every day. Given that my mother had to feed six children day after day, I know she had to be creative. One thing she made a was a blend or mixture of scrambled eggs and pancake batter, then cooked it much like scrambled eggs and we ate it with syrup. Back then, we called it smardin. I don't even know if I spelled that correctly, because I had never seen a recipe for it, until now.

I recently picked up a new cookbook put out by St. Mark Lutheran Church and the OB department from an area hospital. While lying in bed reading through it, I ran across that recipe dish, but called by another name, smoorns. The reference states that it is scrambled pancakes. Yes, it is scrambled pancakes, and I have not had this in years. But you can believe that we will this week, and my children will be introduced to this dish from my childhood.

Smoorns (Scrambled Pancakes)

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

Beat eggs and add milk. Combine all ingredients. Heat skillet and add oil. When oil is hot, pour in mixture. Scramble batter as you would eggs. They will get slightly brown when done. Serve with butter, syrup, molasses, honey, fruit, whatever your heart desires.

I will select a few recipes to pass along to you from the book that I think sound great and are on my list to try.

Lemon Shrimp Pasta Salad

3 cups bow tie pasta, uncooked

1 pound fresh asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch lengths

1 cup light zesty Italian reduced-fat dressing

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 pound cooled large shrimp

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 package colby and Monterey Jack cheese crumbles

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding asparagus in the cooking water for at least 3 minutes of the cooking process. Drain and rinse with cold water. Mix oregano, dressing and lemon peel. Place pasta mixture in large mixing bowl. Add dressing mixture, shrimp, tomatoes and cheese; mix lightly. Serve immediately.

Why this next recipe is called Limping Susan, I may never know, but it sure sounds like it is worth a try.

Limping Susan

2 ears fresh corn

4 thick slice bacon strips

2/3 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery, finely chopped

1/3 cup carrots, diced

2 1/2 cups okra, thickly sliced

1/2 cup water

6 sprigs thyme, fresh

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper

3 cups cooked rice

1 medium tomato, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Slice whole kernels from the cob; set aside. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon and set aside. Saute the onion, celery and carrot in bacon drippings over medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender. Add reserved corn, okra and next five ingredients, cover and cook over medium heat for 12 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat, stir in bacon. Discard bay leaf. Serve corn mixture over rice. Sprinkle each serving with tomato, green onion and cheese.

Baked Spaghetti

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 can sliced black olives, drained

1 can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 can diced tomatoes

Parmesan cheese

2 cups milk

Mix soup and milk together in separate bowl and set aside. Take a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and layer starting with spaghetti, then meat, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, olives and Cheddar cheese. Put a thin layer of soup mixture over top and repeat a second layer. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Rib-Eye Steaksand Avocado Salsa

1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa

1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 boneless rib-eye steaks, 3/4-inch thick

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Heat grill. In a bowl, mix salsa, avocado, onion and cilantro. Sprinkle steaks with garlic salt. Place steaks on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from coals. Cook 8 to 12 minutes, turning once or twice. Serve with salsa mixture.

Crock Pot Chocolate Bread Pudding

8 eggs

4 cups milk or half-and-half

2 tablespoons cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 large butter croissants

6 cream cheese and chocolate croissants

2 cups chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

Butter or grease crock pot well. Mix eggs, milk, sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in crock pot. Tear croissants into small pieces and put into egg mixture. Cook in crock pot for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low or until custard is set. Add chocolate chips and nuts to top the last 30 minutes before done.

As with any new book, I would like to share more with you, but I am out of room.

So you a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.