Good friends give gift of church cookbook from Shawneetown

You know you have good friends when they see a cookbook somewhere and bring it home for you. I had this happen to me last week. Debbie and Steve Chapman were in Shawneetown for a meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church and brought me back a copy of the church's cookbook. The cookbook is for the 100th anniversary celebration of the church. I immediately started looking through the book, and Steve knew nearly every name I called out, how and who they were related to and how to properly pronounce the German name. I have chosen a few recipes from the book to share with you today.

Favorite Pork Chops

Submitted by Mildred Dost

1/3 cup sliced celery

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon mustard

1/4 cup water

Place pork chops in shallow pan. Mix ingredients together and pour over meat. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

‘One-Pot' Dinner

Submitted by Berniece Lorenz

1 pound ground beef

3/4 pound bacon

1 cup onion

2 cans pork and beans

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons vinegar

Salt and pepper

Brown the beef and drain. Brown bacon and onions; drain. Add other ingredients, mix well. Cook in crock pot on low 4 to 8 hours. This recipe from Betty was a hit when our children were still at home. Just add slaw or a salad, that's it.

Apple Swiss Chicken

Submitted by Maxine Lorenz

2 chicken breast halves, skinless, boneless

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

2 thin slices fully cooked ham

1 medium tart apple, peeled and thinly sliced, divided

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 thin slices Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon apple juice or chicken broth

Paprika

Flatten chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness; rub with rosemary. Top each with a ham slice and a few apple slices; roll up tightly. Secure with toothpicks. Place in a greased 1-quart baking dish. Drizzle with oil. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with cheese and remaining apple slices; drizzle with apple juice. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear and cheese is melted. Discard toothpicks. Yield: 2 servings.

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

Submitted by Shirley Preusser

1 package (two-layer size) yellow cake mix

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin, divided

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

4 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (8-ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/4 cup caramel topping

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Beat cake mix, 1 cup of the pumpkin, the milk, oil, eggs and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin spice in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans onto wire rack to cool completely. Beat cream cheese in a medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; mix well. Stir in the whipped topping. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife. Stack layers on serving plate, spreading the cream cheese filling between the first 3 layers. Do not frost top of cake. Drizzle cake with caramel topping and sprinkle with pecans, just before serving. Store leftover cake in refrigerator.

Kettle Corn

Submitted by Gail Leimbach

Just recently someone asked me if I had a recipe written down for kettle corn. I did not have one that I use, I just dump and pour until it looks right, but I could guess at the measurements. I open this book up and there is a recipe for kettle corn; now if only I could remember who asked me about it.

3 tablespoons cooking oil

4 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup popcorn

Spray whirlybird popper pan, stirrer and inside lid with nonstick cooking spray. Put oil, sugar and corn into popper and turn heat on medium high. Stir constantly. When popping slows -- not stops, but slows -- remove from heat and empty into a large bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Stir or shake to distribute salt. As popcorn cools, break apart with hands or a spoon if it's too hot. Popcorn may be colored by adding a few drops of food coloring with the rest of the ingredients before popping.

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Shrimp

Submitted by Brenda McCowan

1 pound asparagus

1 medium onion, diced

2 medium yellow peppers, sliced into 1/4-inch thick strips

1 large lemon, zested, then juiced

1 pound large shrimp, shell and devein, leaving tail part on if desired

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salt

16 ounces fettuccine or linguine

Olive oil or salad oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

About 40 minutes before serving, prepare asparagus by snapping tough end off and trimming scales if stalks are gritty. Cut diagonally into 3-inch pieces. Prepare onion, peppers, lemon and shrimp. Rinse shrimp with running cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In bowl, mix shrimp with lemon juice, crushed red pepper. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. In pasta pot, prepare fettuccine as label directs, using 2 teaspoons salt in water. Drain. Return fettuccine to the pot; keep warm. Meanwhile, in a nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium heat, in 1 tablespoon oil, cook onion, yellow pepper strips and 1/2 teaspoon salt until peppers are tender-crisp. Remove to bowl. In same skillet in 1 more tablespoon oil, cook asparagus and shrimp mixture until asparagus is tender-crisp and shrimp turn opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Stir in yellow pepper mixture and 1/2 cup water. Heat through. To serve, toss fettuccine, shrimp mixture and soy sauce. Sprinkle with grated lemon peel.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@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.