Sunday school reveals delicious recipe

Jackie Otto and I are in the same Sunday school class, and recently she made Crème Brulee French toast for a Sunday school brunch our class hosted. After the brunch, several people wanted the recipe, so I talked her into giving me the recipe to include into this column so everyone could have it. I hope you enjoy it as much as our class did.

Crème Brulee French toast

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

2 tablespoons corn syrup

French bread, crust removed, cut into 1-inch thick pieces

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar and syrup. Heat until thoroughly melted. Pour mixture into a sprayed 9x13-inch baking dish. Place bread slices tightly on top of syrup.

Combine eggs, half-and-half, vanilla and salt in blender or whisk until well combined. Pour over bread, cover and chill overnight.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40 or until lightly browned on top. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

My mom and dad get the Illinois Country Living magazine and every month dad brings me the recipes after he is finished reading the magazine. This month I made the ham delight casserole recipe, using leftover frozen ham from Easter. The casserole was very good, and makes a very big batch. I shared some with my parents and a another friend and we still had some for home.

The remainder of today's recipes are from that magazine. I hope you enjoy a little bit of Illinois cooking.

Ham Delight Casserole

1 (16 ounce) package wide or extrawide egg noodles, cooked and drained

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 (8 ounce) tub chive and onion cream cheese

1 cup milk

3 cups baked ham, cubed small or diced small

1 (16 ounce package) frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1 (8 ounce) package frozen sliced carrots, thawed

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed seasoned breadcrumbs

Stir the soup, cream cheese and milk together. Add cooked and drained noodles, ham, broccoli and carrots. Put half of the mixture in a lightly greased 3-quart casserole dish. Combine shredded cheeses and sprinkle half of the cheese mixture on top of the ham mixture. Spoon on the remaining ham mixture. Combine breadcrumbs with the remaining cheese and sprinkle on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sausage and Rice Casserole

1 cup wild rice

1/2 pound ground pork sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook rice according to directions, rinse and drain. Brown sausage; add onion, celery and green pepper. Cook until tender. Add rice, mushrooms and soups, and then stir. Pour into greased 3-quart casserole dish; cover and bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

Note: The recipe does not specify to drain the mushrooms, but I would drain the can of mushrooms before adding.

Oriental Pasta Salad

2 (12 ounce) bags rotini pasta

2 whole boneless cooked chicken breasts, cooled and diced

1 onion, chopped

4 ribs celery, chopped

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained

4 ounces sliced almonds

1/2 pound red seedless grapes

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and cool. Combine chicken, onion, celery, oranges, pineapple, almonds and grapes with pasta in a large bowl. Mix orange juice, vinegar and oil. Pour over pasta. Toss. Better if allowed to sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Blueberry Salad

2 small boxes raspberry gelatin

2 cups hot water, no cold water

1 can blueberry pie filling

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

1 small carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

Heat the water to hot, but not boiling. Mix gelatin and water together, stirring well. Add pie filling and drained pineapple, set until firm. Top with small carton of whipped topping.

Chocolate Chip Pie

2 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell

Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Spoon into pie shell. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted halfway between outside edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.

Lemon Silk Pie

1 small box lemon pie filling mix, cook style, not instant

4 ounces cream cheese

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 small carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 8- or 9-inch baked pie shell

Cook lemon pie filling according to directions on box or pie. After boiling, add cream cheese. Continue to cook until cream cheese is smooth. Remove from heat; cool completely. Beat egg whites until stiff; add sugar. Fold into lemon filling. Pour into baked pie shell. Refrigerate. When set, cover with whipped topping.

Ice Cream Crunch

4 cups crushed cornflakes

1 cup coconut

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter

1/2 gallon softened ice cream

Melt brown sugar and 3/4 cup butter and pour over cornflakes, chocolate chips and coconut; blend. Put half mixture into a 9x13-inch dish. Then place softened ice cream on top and sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over top and freeze.

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.