New cookbook full of great recipes

smclanahan

It is hard to believe that school is coming to a close for another year.

Friday will finish up Ross' second-grade year and he will turn 8 years old. Mrs. Skinner has worked so hard with her class to build them in reading, writing and math skills. When I look back at the papers they completed at the first of the year and what they are doing now, it really is amazing how far they have come. We plan to have a great summer together, then it will be a new school year before we know it. As for his eighth birthday, we will celebrate in our usual style with lots of family and a few close friends. It should be a great time as we celebrate his energetic and wonderful life.

A new community cookbook is available from the Women's Missionary Union through the Congregational Methodist Churches in our area. The "Feeding the Flock" cookbook is $10 and the proceeds from the sale of the book go toward a missionary lifetime share consisting of $1,500, and is invested in the missionary's name. This continued support is their's while they are serving as an active missionary.

The 160 page easy-to-read book is available at The Corner Store in Burfordville, Mo. and My Daddy's Cheesecake in downtown Cape Girardeau. You may also call Jean Devore at 243-8095, to arrange for your copy of this great new cookbook. Special features of this book are several sugar-free recipes and a large selection of breakfast favorites, to mention only a few.

I have chosen a few of recipes at random to share with you from the book. I hope you enjoy these recipes and support Missionary work through the purchase of one of these books. At $10 they make great gifts, too.

Jean's Hearty Dip

Submitted by Jean Devore

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

Onions, chopped, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 jar salsa

1 (4 ounce) jar Cheez Whiz

1 (16 ounce) can refried beans

Jalapeno peppers, to taste

1 pint whole tomatoes, being careful not to add too much liquid

1 tablespoon sugar

Brown ground beef and onion until tender. Drain. In the same skillet add tomatoes, sugar, salsa, Cheez Whiz, beans and jalapeno pepper. Heat until hot. Serve over or along side with crisp corn tortilla chips.

Pasta salad is always a great summer-time picnic favorite, so this recipe will fit the bill for your next outdoor adventure.

American Pasta Salad

Submitted by Evelyn Amos

1 (16 ounce) package pasta shapes

2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup salad vinegar

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or powder

6 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped

1 cup Mozzarella cheese, diced

1 red pepper, chopped

4 or 5 scallions, chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Place pasta in large bowl. Blend mayonnaise with Parmesan cheese. Add vinegar, oregano, thyme, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Stir mayonnaise mixture into pasta. Add eggs, mozzarella cheese, chopped red pepper, and scallions. Mix just until combined. Cover. Chill several hours or overnight to blend flavors.

I just couldn't resist. This recipe for tomato gravy just jumped out at me.

I have never eaten tomato gravy, but I love tomatoes, so I will probably give it a try.

Mom's Tomato Gravy

Submitted by Daisy McCormick

3 slices bacon

1 large onion, chopped

2 quarts canned tomatoes, drained or 2 quarts fresh tomatoes

1/2 cup canned evaporated milk

1/2 cup water or juice from tomatoes

2 tablespoons flour

Fresh okra, optional, as desired

Cut bacon into small pieces and fry until done. Saute onion in bacon drippings with the bacon still in pan. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Turn heat down and let simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Bring to a boil. Mix canned milk, water and flour together and pour into boiling mixture. Whip with wire whisk until thickened. Add salt, sugar and pepper, to taste. Serve this piping hot with cornbread and fried potatoes. Mix fresh okra in if desired.

Chops for Hungry Chaps

Submitted by Cora Rhodes

6 pork chops, or other meat as desired

2/3 cup uncooked rice regular rice, not instant

1 cup water

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can or 1 pound broken fresh tomatoes

1 cup whole kernel corn

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Trim fat from pork chops, place in a large skillet, and fry to have enough fat to brown chops in. Place chops in skillet and brown very slowly on both sides. Lift out; pour off excess fat. Spread rice over bottom of skillet.

Add water and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange chops over rice. Add onion and tomatoes. Spoon on corn. Turn heat to low. Simmer covered 25 to 30 minutes. Add more water as needed. You can add black olives to add another flavor.

This recipe for Coke Cake is much like the layered chocolate cake Texas Sheet Cake but has the neat addition of the cola drink and marshmallows.

Coke Cake

Submitted by Debbie Lincoln

1 cup carbonated cola beverage

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

3 tablespoons cocoa

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups marshmallows

Frosting, recipe follows

Mix in a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil the butter, shortening, cocoa, and cola. Pour over flour and sugar. Add buttermilk, baking soda, eggs, vanilla, and marshmallows. Pour into a 10-by-14-by-2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Frost while still hot.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons cocoa

6 tablespoons cola

1 (1 pound) box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup nuts, chopped

Mix butter and cocoa together. Add cola and stir. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and nuts. Frost cake while still hot from the oven.

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Gooseberry time is just around the corner and to help use up those gooseberries, Ruby Decker from Jackson, Mo., shares her favorite recipe to use fresh berries. This recipe was given to her by a good friend several years ago.

Fresh Gooseberry Salad

2 cups gooseberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

Cook these three ingredients together until tender.

Stir in: 2 (3 ounce) packages lemon gelatin; 1 (8 ounce) frozen orange juice concentrate. When just starting to gel; add 2 cups diced celery and 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

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We do have a couple of requests this week. With wedding season upon us, I had a call from someone attending a bridal shower and the guests were supposed to bring the one recipe that every new bride should have and know.

What do you think that recipe should be? Would it actually be a recipe, or a method that could be applied to many other recipes? Tell me what you think.

Our second requests come from Jewell Dewalt of Patton, Mo. Jewell is looking for a recipe for Trail Mix that her son can eat while traveling. Everyone has their favorite blends of ingredients, so this could be very interesting.

She also has a request for her daughter who has eaten a casserole at several church suppers and the women call it Bok Choy. It is a sweet and sour type salad and uses chow mein noodles. Here again, there must be dozens of different combinations for the ingredients for this salad, some using Ramen noodles, some use lettuce, some use cabbage, and here again, this could be interesting to see the many different recipes we could get in for this request.

This will close this week of Recipe Swap. I hope each of you have a wonderful week and 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 the Southeast Missourian staff.