The Secret's in the Sauce (36 page)

Texas Hash

1 pound ground beef

3 small onions or one large onion, sliced

1 green pepper, chopped

1 can (16 ounce) tomatoes

½ cup uncooked rice

2 teaspoons salt

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

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teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, brown meat, onion, and green pepper. Drain off fat. Stir in tomatoes, rice, salt, chili powder, and pepper; heat through. Cover and bake 1 hour in skillet or 2-quart casserole.

Serves 4–6.

Lizzie’s Cook’s Notes

For busy wives/mothers/grandmothers and otherwise working gals like me, this recipe is easy and filling. Try it and you will quickly see why it is one of my husband’s favorites!

Southern Pecan Pie

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cup Crisco

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

½ cup whole milk

3 eggs

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped or halved pecans

pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cream Crisco and sugars. Add remaining ingredients and blend. Pour into unbaked pie shell and then place in the oven. Bake 10 minutes, then turn heat back to 350. Bake another 25 minutes. Let cool.

Goldie’s Cook’s Notes

When I told Mama about the cookbook I saw, she pulled out her mother’s pecan pie recipe and said that Grandmother’s didn’t call for corn syrup like so many others do but she couldn’t ever remember her mother’s recipe coming out bad.

Italian Casserole

1 pound ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 (15 ounce) can tomato

sauce

1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon basil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup sour cream

2 cups Bisquick

¼ cup milk

1 egg

8 slices American cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease 9-by-9 casserole dish; set aside.

In a 10-inch skillet, brown ground beef, onion, and garlic powder, then drain. Stir in tomato sauce, mushrooms, sugar, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper into the beef mixture. Heat to boiling while stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer, and occasionally stir (about 10 minutes). Remove skillet from heat and fold in sour cream. In separate bowl, mix Bisquick, milk, and egg. Divide the dough in half and press first half into bottom of the pre-greased casserole dish. Pour contents of skillet over dough then top meat mixture with 4 cheese slices. Sprinkle slices with Parmesan cheese. Next, drop spoonfuls of the remaining dough on top of the cheese, like biscuits. Bake uncovered until light brown for 20 minutes. While dish cools, top with remaining cheese slices.

Serves 6.

Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes

I love Bisquick. It’s been one of my best kitchen friends. You don’t think I made everything for Fred from scratch, do you? But that can be our little secret.

Petit Fours with Glaze Icing

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups white sugar

7 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in and beat the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix until all the flour is absorbed. Stir in the sour cream. Mix for 1 or 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake completely before cutting with petit four designed cutters. (You can use petit four molds, if you desire.)

S
UGAR
G
LAZE

½ cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons warm water

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift sugar into a small bowl. Sprinkle warm water and vanilla over the sugar and stir until smooth. If the glaze seems stiff, add more water, drop by drop, until it reaches drizzling consistency.

To use the glaze: drizzle over cooled petit fours with a fork. Alternatively, scrape the glaze into a sturdy plastic bag, snip off a tiny portion of the corner, and use the bag to pipe the glaze decoratively on cakes. The glaze should be made shortly before using, since it hardens quickly on contact with air.

Decorate the tops of the cakes with little flowers or designs made from colored icing.

Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes

“Petit four” is a fancy way of saying “little desserts,” and is a term that Lisa Leann likes to throw around a lot. I think it makes her feel more . . . chichi, as she puts it. These little cakes are bite size, served at “low tea” (according to one of my new books on the subject), and almost too pretty to eat. Here’s a recipe I managed to wrangle out of Lisa Leann for the ones she served to Beverly Jackson and, subsequently, to us.

Eggs Florentine

1 10-ounce package chopped frozen spinach

pinch of nutmeg

1 to 2 tablespoons water

3 eggs

salt and pepper (to taste)

3 tablespoons grated cheese

cream

Let spinach thaw then spread into bottom of large skillet. Season spinach with nutmeg and add water. Cook over medium heat till spinach is hot. Crack eggs onto spinach. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, turn heat down, and top skillet with lid. A few minutes later, the eggs will be steam-cooked.

When the eggs are almost done, top with cheese. Return lid to pan until cheese is melted. Drizzle cream over dish and serve.

Serves up to 3 people.

Donna’s Cook’s Notes

This is a lot for one person to eat by herself, but sometimes I do the “brunch thing.” This goes down great before a long, cold night shift too. And really, it’s not that much fuss to make.

Thyme Roasted Chicken

4 large chicken breasts

1 cup olive oil

½ cup vinegar

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

zest of 1 lemon, slivered (outermost part of rind)

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Rinse chicken breasts then pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken flat in a baking dish. In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, thyme, salt, and pepper. In dish, pour marinade over chicken, coating each side. Cover dish and refrigerate chicken for at least one hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 425. Season the chicken with pepper and salt. Roast chicken until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375. Continue to roast until the chicken is thoroughly cooked (about 40 minutes more). Top chicken with pan juices before serving.

Serves 4.

Lisa Leann’s Cook’s Notes

I got this recipe from the chef at the resort. Henry loves it, but then so do I. I know it has an oil coating, but olive oil is really good for you, so no worries.

Cream of Potato Soup

8 potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 carrots, diced

2 green onions, sliced thin

2 stalks celery, diced

1 onion, diced

1 cup diced ham

5 cups water

4 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon chives

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dill

½ teaspoon pepper

½ cup margarine

1 (13 ounce) can evaporated milk

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup sour cream

Add everything except milk, cheese, and sour cream to Crock-Pot. Cook soup on high for 5 to 6 hours. Add milk, cheese, and sour cream half an hour before serving. Stir well to blend.

Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes

If you make this early enough, you can run errands all morning, then come home to a hot bowl of rich, satisfying soup.

Apple Rolls

4 cups apples, diced

1 cup pecans, coarsely broken

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon allspice (the secret ingredient!)

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

Mix apples, nuts, and sugar; let stand, stirring often until juicy, about 1 hour. Sift flour, soda, salt, and spices. Add apple mixture and stir well. Stir in butter, vanilla, and eggs. Pour in 2 loaf pans. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test with cake tester inserted in center. Cool on wire rack. Serve hot or cold.

Lizzie’s Cook’s Notes

I have no idea why these are called apple “rolls,” but that’s what Mom always called them. Apple rolls will forever remain a memory of comfort and joy for my family and me. Now that I know the truth about my mother and father’s love for them, they are even more special. And that, I believe, is the true secret ingredient!

Bread Pudding

4 cups milk

2 cups bread crumbs (not toast)

2 eggs

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cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scald the milk and allow to cool. Soak bread in milk. Beat the eggs. Add sugar, melted butter, vanilla, nutmeg, and raisins to beaten eggs. Add this to the milk and bread mixture. Pour into a buttered 9-inch baking dish. Set in a pan of hot water and bake about 40 minutes, or until firm. Serve hot or cold, with or without cream. Nuts may be added. Yield: 6–8 servings.

Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes

My mother always said this was the best way to use your day-old bread. I was never one for making it, but she made it on a regular basis. I’m just grateful that my sainted mother passed her recipe on … to Sally!

Hero Sandwich

D
RESSING

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon honey mustard

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

S
ANDWICH

1 loaf French bread

6 slices deli Swiss cheese

8 slices turkey

8 slices American cheese

8 slices ham

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 tomato, thinly sliced

lettuce

Cut bread in half lengthwise. In small bowl, combine dressing. Spread dressing on both halves of loaf. On bottom slice of loaf, arrange cheeses, meats, green pepper, tomato, and lettuce. Top with loaf topper. Cut diagonally into 8 slices.

Donna’s Cook’s Notes

Sometimes, I’ll make the whole sandwich, then feast on it for every meal for the next two days. Other times, I cut the recipe in half (literally). That way, since I don’t always have a way to share a meal, I won’t get burned out on a good thing. Be sure to save the leftover dressing to put on your salad or on a future sandwich.

Pineapple Muffins

1
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cup all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

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cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup chopped pecans

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cup oatmeal

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup melted butter or margarine

1 large egg

1 can (15 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

T
OPPING

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cup light brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup shredded sweetened coconut

2 tablespoons oatmeal

3 tablespoons butter

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pecans, and oats. In a separate bowl, blend buttermilk, melted butter or margarine, and egg. Pour into flour mixture. Stir dry ingredients until moistened but do not overmix. Gently fold in drained pineapple and coconut. Spoon batter into large, well-greased muffin tins, fill about 2/3 full.

To make topping, mix brown sugar, flour, coconut, and oats. Cut in 3 tablespoons butter (unmelted) with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs have formed. Sprinkle topping crumbs over pineapple muffin batter. Bake muffins at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until light brown and firm. Cool on rack. Yield: 12–18 muffins.

Lisa Leann’s Cook’s Notes

You know what I like about this? It’s fussy, fun, and good. A great muffin to make if you have a group you’d like to impress. It sure beats the run-of-the-mill blueberry muffin, any day.

Roast

3–5 pound roast

1 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons flour

1 tablespoon butter

5 or 6 large carrots, peeled

4 or 5 potatoes

1 package Lipton onion soup mix

1 cup water

Chop onion and place in skillet then sprinkle with flour. Add butter and sauté then pour into bottom of Crock-Pot. Place roast on top of onion.

Mix soup mix with water and pour over roast. Cover and leave on high. Peel then chop potatoes and carrots before adding to the pot. Turn on low and cook for 6 or more hours.

Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes

Who would think this hearty meal was so simple to prepare?

Daddy’ Favorite
Banana Pudding

1 box vanilla wafers

3 to 4 ripe bananas

¾ cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

dash of salt

4 eggs

2 cups milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Before cooking pudding, prepare layers of wafers and bananas in glass 3-quart casserole.

Combine ½ cup sugar, flour, and salt in top of double boiler. Mix well. Mix in 3 egg yolks (save and set aside the whites) and 1 whole egg. Add 2 cups cold milk, stir until well blended. Cook uncovered, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over wafers and bananas already prepared in casserole.