Family fun

Our family reunion is this weekend, and many people can relate to the planning, shopping and meal preparation that is involved with a multi-day family event. It is fun, and we always enjoy seeing family that we just do not get to see often.

A young friend from church, Anthony Strack, submitted a recipe to a large farming magazine and was published. It is so cute because they printed it just exactly as he printed it on his little piece of paper. I received a copy of the article from his grandmother, Dortha Strack. I just couldn't help but include it here today for you to try and enjoy.

Ants on a Log

Stuff celery stalks with fat-free peanut butter and top with raisin "ants."

Sounds great for a cool summertime snack.

Fiber One Breaded Chicken

Cereal doesn't have to just be for breakfast anymore. By crushing whole-grain, high-fiber cereals and using them in recipes, you can add great taste and lots of fiber to your meal.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (6-ounce) container nonfat plain yogurt, drained

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon orange juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup Fiber One cereal, finely crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine yogurt, ginger, mustard, honey, orange juice, salt and pepper. Dip each chicken breast into the yogurt mixture, then dredge each coated piece into the Fiber One crumbs. Place the coated chicken into a baking dish and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until done.

Servings: 4

Berry Lemonade

3 lemons

4 tablespoons sugar

40 to 50 ripe strawberries

4 cups water

Throw all ingredients into a blender (use whole lemons) and mix at high speed until frothy and smooth. Use a strainer to strain out lemon peel and strawberry seeds. Serve over ice.

Shrimp Rockefeller

1 to 2 pounds of cooked and peeled shrimp

1 box of Uncle Ben's long-grain wild rice

1 to 2 bags of ready-to-eat fresh spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons minced garlic

1 pound of bacon

Prepare Uncle Ben's long grain wild rice per the box instructions. While the rice is cooking, fry 1 pound of bacon until crispy, crush into pieces and set aside. Then in a large skillet saut? spinach in olive oil. You may use more or less than 2 tablespoons of olive oil depending on if you use 1 or 2 bags of spinach. I have found that the more spinach, the better. Continue to saut? spinach until it cooks down. Once the rice is done, mix in the bacon and spinach. Remove tails from shrimp and saut? shrimp in butter and garlic until hot. Do not saut? too long or the shrimp will get tough. Mix shrimp in with the rice, bacon and spinach. Serve.

Our son plays baseball, and one of the mothers from the team loves Butterfinger candy bars.

When I ran across this recipe last week I could not help but include it here for her to have.

I better bake a batch and take it to our next game.

Butterfinger Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 stick of butter

4 eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 miniature Butterfinger bars

Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Add peanut butter, flour, baking soda and salt. Mix. Cut up Butterfinger bars and add to the mixture. Put teaspoon sized dollops onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes.

A friend from the Senior Center requested this recipe for Coca-Cola cake so he could share it with his sister. There are many variations to this recipe, but this one is an old recipe I had tucked in a file.

Coca-Cola Cake

A recipe for the popular Coca-Cola cake, made with Coca-Cola and buttermilk and mini marshmallows.

2 cups self-rising flour

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup Coca-Cola

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon cocoa

6 tablespoons Coca-Cola

1 (1-pound) box confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. In a saucepan combine the cocoa, Coca-Cola, butter and marshmallows; bring to a boil. Combine the boiled mixture with the flour and sugar mixture.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla; add to the first mixture.

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, until cake tests done. Frosting: In a saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola to a boil. Stir in the sugar and mix well. Stir in nuts. Spread over the cake while both cake and frosting are still warm.

Servings: 16

I need to wind this up for this week and get to work on my family reunion plans. If only a magic fairy would come and clean my house, that would be the biggest help. Knowing that is not going to happen, I better get to work.

Have a wonderful 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.