My Favorite Easter Desserts

by Jill Kemerer

With Easter right around the corner, I'm eagerly anticipating making a dessert or two to accompany our dinner. Easter is such a special day. I'm filled with joy Jesus loved us so much that He died and rose again to take away our sins. What better way to celebrate than with a good meal after the church service!

Last year I attempted two new recipes. My husband loves this lemon fluff-like dessert his grandmother used to make, so I found a similar recipe on Pinterest. Unsure if the recipe would match his memories, I also decided to make a lemon pie.

The fluff was tricky to make, and it didn't reach quite the right consistency. I threw that recipe out! But the lemon pie was super easy, VERY sweet, and we all loved it!

You can find the recipe at "Luscious Lemon Pie" at OrganizingHomelife.com.

Another dessert I found on Pinterest has become a staple in our house. It's called No Bake Chocolate Lasagna. Yes, CHOCOLATE LASAGNA! It's so delicious!

Basically, it's crushed Oreos mixed with butter and pressed into a pan. Then there's a layer of whipped cream/cream cheese. Then chocolate pudding. More whipped cream. And tiny chocolate chips! Yum!

You can find the recipe at "No Bake Chocolate Lasagna" at iHeartNaptime.com.

Recently, I created my own Chocolate Strawberry Trifle to celebrate Valentine's day. It would make a great dessert for a crowd. It does take planning and time, but it's not difficult to make. The picture below doesn't really do it justice!

Here's what you need:

Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

• 1/2 of a prepared Devil's food cake (I made two round cakes from a 15.25 ounce box mix. You'll need 1+1/3 cups of water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 3 eggs to make it), cooled and cut into cubes.
• 1 prepared 3.9 ounce package of chocolate instant pudding (you'll need 2 cups of cold milk to make it).
• Either 3 cups of homemade whipped cream, see "Homemade Whipped Cream" at LiveWellBakeOften.com (you'll need 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to make it) or a 12 ounce container of Cool Whip.
• 1 pint of strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced.
• Chocolate shavings for the top. (I shaved mine using a vegetable peeler on a dark chocolate candy bar.)

In a clear glass bowl, layer cake cubes, then pudding, then whipped cream, then a layer of strawberry slices, more cake cubes, more pudding, more whipped cream, and top with more strawberries, cake cubes, and chocolate shavings. If you have leftover ingredients, keep layering until the bowl is full.

This can be made up to a day ahead of time and will easily feed 6-8 people. It's wonderful!

What are your favorite Easter desserts? I'd love to hear about them!

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Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of inspirational romance novels for Harlequin Love Inspired. She loves coffee, M&Ms, a stack of books, and long walks outdoors. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two almost-grown children. Please visit her website, jillkemerer.com, and sign up for her newsletter.

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My new release, His Wyoming Baby Blessing, will be in stores April 16, 2019!

She’s pregnant on his doorstep…

Saddle up for this Wyoming Cowboys novel

When his childhood friend Kit McAllistor shows up, widowed and pregnant, rancher Wade Croft offers her a place to stay…but he can’t offer her his heart. As old feelings begin to surface, past tragedies force Wade to ignore them. But on the brink of losing his ranch, will he also risk losing the woman he’s beginning to love…or can he cowboy up in time?

Purchase links can be found HERE!

Eating your way through a book

Patricia posted a delightful recipe yesterday as part of our idea to include recipes with some of our posts. I had already decided to do the same today. I hope you enjoy.

Are you one of those people who gets caught up in the food that characters in books are enjoying?
I always find myself craving whatever is in the book. I went on a tea and scones binge the entire time I was reading the Tea Shop cozy mystery series by Laura Childs.
This one included a recipe for lemon scones.

Or how about Christmas stories and Christmas cookies.

I could go on and on. Clearly, I'm very suggestible.

The trend also holds true when I'm writing my own books. I'm currently working on one book set in Texas and one set in Maine. Since I often spend summers in Maine, this is a great chance for me to enjoy some of my favorite dishes. All in the name of research and getting in the mood, of course.

In a scene I was writing the other day, my character was enjoying a hearty dish of fish chowder (chowdah!). I was so jealous. I wanted one too. Maybe because it reminded me of a favorite moment I shared with my husband.

Back in 2014, we celebrated my sale to LIS with dinner at our favorite lobster house in Maine.

We started off the meal with their fabulous fish chowder.

Long after we were home, I was craving this haddock chowder, so I played with some recipes and came up with one that I thought came close. (Although nothing could compare to that restaurant deck overlooking the harbor.)


This recipe is really pretty simple.

Start with @ 1 pound of haddock fillet and a pot of boiling water. I like to use my Dutch Oven for this. (You could also substitute cod or any firm white fish if you don't have haddock available.)

Boil the haddock in the water.  You'll have to skim off the foam, but after boiling it for about 10 minutes, you'll have a nice fish stock.
Note: Many recipes call for salting the water, but I find the fish salty enough. So, add salt to taste.

Remove the fish and break it into bite-sized pieces. Then add about 3 cups of chopped potatoes and a cup or so each of chopped onion and celery to the stock. Cover and simmer until tender.

When everything looks ready, add the fish back in. You can add some salt and pepper at this point, and then swirl in 1 cup of milk/cream/half and half (depending on richness you want) and a pat of butter.

Add a fresh loaf of crusty bread and you're all set for a hearty Down East meal. My character was sitting in front of a fire during a storm, but imagine sitting with this view.

As I was going through my photos, I found one of this fish chowder from a different restaurant. As you can see, they added shrimp as well as fish. Even more yum!

So, I'm curious. Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets cravings for certain foods either when you read about it them books or write them into your own. Let's here about what tempts you.

Allie Pleiter and the giant zucchini...

It's garden season, which means that certain bumper crops are showing up among friends and neighbors.  My husband and I were at a farm stand over the weekend buying sweet corn, and saw this:

A sign said: FREE

This was the smallest of the "Jumbo Zucchini" pile, and who can resist free garden produce?

So, today is the day I figure out what to do with this vegetable windfall. I've been given recipes for cheezy bites, lemon cake, lasagna, zucchini boats (or in this case, yachts), and of course making them into spaghetti noodles (also called "zoodles"). Even pickles--and keeping it by the door to defend myself against intruders--have been suggested.

This is certainly more than one meal's worth of zucchini. So chime in with your favorite uses/recipes!

By the way, I've got a new book out later this month that I hope you'll enjoy. It involves a whopping amount of snow--not zucchini--but the results are just as enjoyable!

SNOWBOUND WITH THE BEST MAN
Snowed in with the best man at a wedding weekend, florist Kelly Nelson can’t help but notice that the handsome widower seems overwhelmed raising his young daughter. So Kelly is delighted when her own daughter befriends the girl. But when the little matchmakers target Kelly and Bruce with an adorable Valentine’s Day plot, will the reluctant single parents give love a second chance?

Apple Recipes by Christine Johnson

Tis the season for fragrant apple desserts fresh out of the oven. I love a good apple crisp with vanilla ice cream, or a warm apple cake with caramel icing. For breakfast, I’ll grate some apple into the pancake batter and add a little cinnamon. Yum!

 

I have two trees that alternate producing apples. This year is a banner year. I have four grocery bags full of apples. There’s no time to can applesauce, thanks to book deadlines, so I’m looking for other ways to use apples.

 

My grandmother’s old (early 1920s) cookbook has an apple confection recipe, called Apple Allies. As is typical of old cookbooks, the instructions are vague. From what I can figure out, you bring a two-to-one mixture of sugar to water to a boil and then add pared apple slices. Cook until they are soft enough that they are transparent and can be pierced with a straw. Then remove, drain, and dry for a day. Roll in regular granulated sugar and serve.

 

Naturally I had to give this a try. Here I am attempting the straw test. It didn’t work, probably because straws back then were made of glued paper that was then waxed and were very small in diameter. So I went with transparency as a measure.

 

Here’s the finished product. How do they taste? Like apples with sugar. Since I chose a tart apple, there's a tart-sweet flavor. But what do I do with the syrup that's left? It's the consistency of corn syrup and has an apple flavor. Any ideas?

 

I don’t recall my grandma ever making these. Nor do I recall eating candy made from apples–other than caramel apples, of course.

 

Does your family have any traditional apple recipes? Any current favorites? Please share!

 

Christine Johnson

Mail Order Mix-Up (LIH, Coming April 2016)
Honor Redeemed (Revell, Coming June 2016)
http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

 

Baked Alaska recipe from Teri Wilson, author of LI Alaska series

Hi, everyone! 

This is a post I've been meaning to do for a while. You know how it is...there's always something you plan on doing, and somehow it just gets put off. Right?

A few years ago, when I was busy slaving away on ALASKAN HEARTS (which would later become my very first book with Love Inspired), I remember saying to my critique partners, "If I ever sell this book to Harlequin, I'm going to celebrate by making Baked Alaska." I mean, how appropriate! 

Fast forward to the present. My Alaska series for LI is now 5 books strong, and have I made that Baked Alaska yet? Um...no. Not exactly. There's something little intimidating about taking on an ice cream cake that you eventually set on fire. 

How does it not turn into a melted mess? Better yet, how do I manage to not set my kitchen fire?

But right here, right now, I'm taking the first step. I found a recipe! (Don't laugh. You have to start somewhere.) 

I'm including the recipe below. This particular recipe does not require actual flames. But the total preparation time is a whopping eight hours and 30 minutes. Egad. Never fear, though. Only one hour of that time is active. (I can only assume the rest of the time is spent wondering what you've gotten yourself into.) And look how pretty it is! Just like Alaska, only with sugar. 

Does anyone care to join me in this little culinary adventure? Better yet, has anyone actually made Baked Alaska before??

Do tell. Please. 

Ingredients

Ice Cream Dome

2

cups (1 pint) peppermint ice cream, softened

6

cups (1.5 quarts) mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened

6

cups (1.5 quarts) vanilla ice cream, softened 

Brownie Base

1

cup butter

8

oz bittersweet chocolate

4

eggs

2

cups sugar

2

teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4

cup all-purpose flour

1

teaspoon baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

Merinque

8

egg whites, room temperature

1/4

teaspoon cream of tartar

1

cup sugar

Directions

Directions 

• Line a 3-quart bowl with plastic wrap. Fill base of bowl with peppermint ice cream; layer with mint chocolate chip ice cream, then finish with a layer of vanilla ice cream. Cover surface with plastic wrap and freeze until ice cream is very hard, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours in advance.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
• Place butter and chocolate in a medium glass bowl over a saucepan of hot water (or a double boiler) and stir the butter and chocolate until melted. This can also be done in a microwave by placing butter and chocolate in microwave-safe medium glass bowl and microwaving on High for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring once. Set aside to cool
• In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until well combined. In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the flour to the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into cake pan. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• When the brownie is completely cool, about 1 hour. Turn brownie out onto a large flat, ovenproof plate. Unmold the ice cream dome on top of the brownie layer. Place back in the freezer. 
• With electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Increase the speed to high and add the sugar in a slow stream until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Remove ice cream dome from freezer. Remove plastic wrap. Cover the ice cream dome with the meringue, covering it completely, using the back of spoon to make swirly peaks. Freeze for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.
• Heat the oven to 500°F. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until the peaks start to turn a golden brown color. For easier slicing, let cake stand for 30 minutes. Slice and serve. 

Come visit Teri's world of Aurora, Alaska, in her latest book for Love Inspired - ALASKAN HOMECOMING. 

Ballet dancer Posy Sutton is only back in her hometown of Aurora, Alaska, until her injury heals. It's a decision that'd be easier to stick to if she didn't keep bumping into her charming ex-boyfriend, Liam Blake. After six years, she should be over him—but instead all she can see is the mistake she made when she left him. She's not sure she can handle choosing between Liam and ballet a second time…if Liam is even willing to risk his heart again. When her time in Alaska is up, will she and Liam be part of the sweetest dance of all?

Recipe from Betty Crocker.

Pumpkin Pie Time!

Missy Tippens, here. Before we know it, it will be time for Thanksgiving! And I thought I'd share one of my holiday recipes with you.

Okay, I know by sharing my pumpkin pie recipe I'll be setting myself up for teasing by you who probably create your own recipes and may even grow your own pumpkins. :)  I'm admitting to you now, I use the recipe on the can of pumpkin and buy a refrigerated crust! :)

But why mess with something that never fails to please my family?

So, here we go...

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Put your pie crust in the pie pan. I use the Pillsbury roll up crusts. They're the store-bought brand I've found that's closest to homemade.

Look! I made those ridges with my own fingers! So it's practically homemade!

Next, follow the directions on the can of Libby's pumpkin! This is from the Libby's site. :)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell 
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving. 

Notes from Missy...

Don't over-bake. The pie may not look quite done but it will set up once you take it out.

Also, don't go too heavy on the cloves! I actually use about 1-1/2 or 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice in place of the 3 spices.

Don't mess up and use sweetened condensed milk by accident (yeah, experience talking).

Now I'm craving pie! Not much longer...

This post originally appeared at the Yankee-Belle Cafe blog.

Visit Missy at www.missytippens.com

Happy Blonde Brownie Day!

Hi, Winnie Griggs here.  I just found out that Jan 22 is National Blonde Brownie Day.  Who knew?  So, being an historical author, I had to do a little research into the history of the blonde brownie and found a few little interesting tidbits.

The most interesting was the fact that Blondies predate the currently more popular chocolate brownie by a number of years.  According to The Food Timeline site, the first recorded Brownie recipe, ca 1896, had no chocolate in it and would produce a treat very like today’s blonde brownies.

One of the most popular candies of the mid nineteenth century was butterscotch, and many of the ingredients in this early version of blondies were the same, only combined with other ingredients so that it could be baked into a cake-like product rather than candy treat.

As for as where blondies got their names, while no one knows for certain, The Food Timeline reports 3 possibilities
It might have been in honor of a woman named Mildred Brown Schrumpf, who was, among other things, a Nutritionist, Newspaper Columnist, Food Judge, Author and Cook (born 1903)
It might have been named after Palmer Cox’s cartoon elves, dubbed Brownies, ca 1887
It might borrowed its name from a Scottish confection called a broonie

And in honor of this sweet-themed day, I thought I’d share that early first recipe with you

Brownies
The Boston Cooking School Cook Book (1896) by Fannie Merritt Farmer

1/3  cup butter 1/3  cup powdered sugar
1/3  cup Porto Rico molasses
1     egg well beaten
7/8  cup bread flour
1     cup pecan meat cut in pieces

Mix ingredients in order given
Bake in small, shallow fancy cake tins, garnishing top of each cake with one-half pecan.

So let’s hear it for the blonde brownie on its special day.  (But I must confess to still preferring chocolate!)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And, since the heroine of my Dec 2013 release, A Family For Christmas, runs a sweet shop and very likely baked some of these very confections for her customers, I thought I'd just go ahead and give away a copy of this book to one person who leaves a comment here today!

An Unexpected Gift 

Eve Pickering knows what it's like to be judged for your past. So she's not about to leave the orphaned boy she's befriended alone in this unfamiliar Texas town. Since Chance Dawson's offer of shelter is the only way to look after Leo, Eve is determined they'll have a warm, welcoming home for the holidays.

Chance came from the big city to make it on his own despite a painful secret. But Eve's strength is giving him a confidence he never expected—and a new direction for his dream. With a little Christmas blessing, he'll dare to win her heart—and make their family one for a lifetime.

Autumn recipe: White Bean Chicken Chili

courtesy of www.sxc.hu

Lacy Williams here with a cool weather recipe you can curl up with--and maybe win a good book, too!

We live in Oklahoma Sooner country and now that the weather has cooled off, we've gone from hamburgers and hot dogs for our watch parties to foods that favor the autumn temps.

I tried this chicken chili a couple weeks ago to rave reviews. Hope you like it too!

Don't forget that anyone who comments during the month of October is entered for a chance to win books. See details here.

Hearty White-Bean Chicken Chili

 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
 1 small onion, chopped
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
 1 can Rotel green chile flavor
 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian spices (can substitute oregano)
 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
 2 cups frozen corn
 1-1.5 pound chicken breasts
 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans
 1 pinch salt & pepper to taste

Warm a skillet on medium. Heat the olive oil and then carmelize the onions and garlic. Dice the chicken and add it to skillet. Cook until it starts to turn white, then shred (I use two forks to pull the meat apart).

Add the chicken broth, Rotel, beans and spices and simmer for about twenty minutes. Alternately, once you cook the chicken, onions and garlic you can throw it all in a crockpot on high for an hour and then serve.

In a house like mine, with little kids and lots of chaos, easy is better, and this recipe worked for me. What's your favorite chili or soup recipe? Don't forget to leave a comment.

In honor of her sixth full-length book releasing, Lacy will do an additional giveaway. Anyone who joins her newsletter list by clicking here before Sunday, October 27, will be entered to win one of three copies of RETURN OF THE COWBOY DOCTOR. Good luck!

 

October Reader Thursdays: It's Raining Apples...and Books!

Happy Reader Thursday! If you stopped by last Thursday, you know that in October the Craftie Ladies are giving away a bushel of books. Here's how it works. Every Thursday in October, visit the Craftie Ladies and make a comment. With five Thursdays this month, you have five chances to win some of those books! The following Thursday, we will announce the winner from the previous week's comments. More on that a little later...  

Now what's this about it raining apples? Well, I have two apple trees, and just like the bounty of books this month, my trees have produced more than any other year. Take a look.

That's just one tree and only the apples that fell to the ground during last weekend's storms. I have bags and bags of apples in the refrigerator. Last year there were very few apples thanks to a late spring frost. It reminds me a little of the years of feast and famine in the Old Testament. This year's crop is a real blessing! I'll can a bunch of applesauce and make apple crisp and eat lots of them right off the tree, but I'd love some other ideas. What are your favorite apple recipes? How do you prefer to eat apples or don't you like them at all? Let me know, and you'll be entered in this Thursday's contest.

Now, the moment you've been waiting for...drum roll please. The winner from last Thursday is Julie Hilton Steele. Congratulations, Julie!



Christine Johnson
The Marriage Barter - May 2013
Next book coming July 2014
http://christineelizabethjohnson.com
http://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor
Twitter - ChristineJWrite

Grandma's Cookbook

Hello all! Christine Johnson here today on the eve of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving. I love this holiday because it's all about food and family (and American football). What's not to love?

Holiday food is especially poignant because it brings back taste memories. My mom's sweet potatoes and mincemeat (actually mince-fruit) pie instantly transport me to Thanksgivings past. Christmas comes with a load of food memories. One I can still taste today is my grandma's plum pudding.

Educational Point #1 - Traditional pudding does not come in a box. For those of us who grew up in the Jello generation, this kind of pudding is a rich and moist cake. 

When I began writing this November's book, Legacy of Love, I wanted the heroine to attempt to make my grandma's plum pudding. To portray this accurately, I needed the recipe. So I asked my mom if she had it. She didn't, but she remembered my grandma saying it included suet. Suet? I instantly thought of the blocks of greasy birdseed that we put out for the birds in the winter. That wonderful moist cake included birdseed?

Educational Point #2 - Suet doesn't have to have birdseed in it. Apparently it's fat rendered from beef, as opposed to fat from pork, which is called lard.

Though I figured that out, I was no closer to the actual recipe. After extending the search, one of my aunts not only had the recipe, she had the whole cook book! 

 

 

Here is the very page with the recipe, from the Modern Priscilla Cook Book from 1924. As you can see, it's very well-used. It's also called plum duff, though Grandma always called it plum pudding. She served the pudding with hard sauce, so called because of its texture. The firm butter and sugar sauce would melt on the warm pudding. Oh yum, I'm getting hungry! Maybe I should make it. Then I read the recipe.

 

Educational Point #3 - Older recipes can be less than precise.

 

First, the cook needs to mix a lot of dried fruits and nuts into the suet and let "ripen" for a week. Okay. How does one "ripen" fruit and nuts in fat? I suspect it does not involve a refrigerator. Cooking also involves steaming in molds for four hours at an unknown temperature. How? Alas my grandma didn't leave any notes in the margin for future generations, but she did tuck into the cook book a modern photocopy of an English Plum Pudding recipe with more detailed directions. Though I can understand this recipe more easily, it lacks the charm and simplicity of the 1924 version. My heroine, a novice cook, might have produced a perfect plum pudding instead of the catastrophe that summoned the hero to make a food rescue.

 

For me, Christmas will always recall the taste of my grandma's plum pudding. What special taste memories do you have for the holidays?



My favorite gumbo recipe

Hi!  Winnie Griggs here.  Monday was an important day for my home state of Louisiana - it marked the 200^th anniversary of its statehood.  In honor of that auspicious occasion, I thought I’d post one of my favorite regional recipes - gumbo.  Every cook in Louisiana has her own version of this versatile dish.  This is mine - a recipe I’ve adapted over the years through tweaking one passed down from my grandmother.    

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup butter or vegetable oil
• 2 tblsp flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 4 cups water
• 1 can (14-15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 lb sliced okra (sautéed with ½ teaspoon vinegar until ‘slime’ is gone)
• 4 lbs meat - any one type or a combination of your favorites.  Meats that work well in a gumbo are sausage (cut into ½ inch slices), deboned chicken or other fowl, pork, shrimp, crawfish, crab or game meats
• Tabasco sauce or liquid crab boil to taste (optional)

Directions:

• Use flour and oil or butter to make a roux.
  Do this by combining ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cooking over a low heat,  stirring constantly until the mixtures is a medium brown color (about 10-15 minutes).
• Add garlic, onions, green onions, celery and bell peppers.  Cook until tender
• Add remaining ingredients except okra (and shellfish if applicable) and bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes, adding additional water if needed
• Add okra (and shellfish if applicable).  Return to a boil. 
• Reduce heat and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove bay leaves, skim excess oil, and serve over rice.

This makes a very large batch.  Leftovers can be frozen for later consumption.

So, do you have any favorite recipes that reflect your home region?  Care to share?

Quick and easy jambalaya

Hi! Winnie Griggs here. Jambalaya is one of my favorite foods partly because it is so versatile. I fix it often and never the exact same way twice. Cooking it 'right' takes a bit of time, but over the years, I've come up with a few short cuts for when I'm in a hurry. That's the version I cooked for supper last night and I thought I'd share the recipe with you today


I keep instant rice along with dehydrated versions of onions, green onions and celery on hand for just such times.

Take whatever meat you have on hand - last night I used some left over turkey and some sausage I had in the freezer - totaled about two or so pounds of meat.

Toss the meat in the skillet with some fat free italian dressing in place of cooking oil.

Cook the instant rice using package instructions (I also add chicken bullion cubes to the boiling water for added flavor).

Reconstitute the veggies (I don't measure, but ballpark it was two tablespoons of the onion, one tablespoon of the green onions and probably a teaspoon of the celery) and add them to the meat.

Let the meat and seasonings sautee for about fifteen minutes, adding water as necessary to keep from burning.

Stir in the cooked rice, a dash of worcestershire sauce and whatever seasonings strike your fancy (I like cajun spices) and let cook another fifteen minutes or so until flavors blend well.

And that's it - stove to table in 40 minutes. As I said, nothing beats the flavor of my momma's way of cooking it, but this is a satisfying second!

So what about you - do you have a favorite version of this down home meal that you want to share?

Ask Elnora--About Oreos and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese??? Lenora Worth

Hello, my little cookies. Elnora has had a rough few weeks but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather the shoes at the end of the shopping aisle. No, I haven't even felt like shopping! The horror! I have, however, cruised the Internet and admired some of the new spring fashions. Even a bad back can't keep a girl down for long. Next week, it's more doctors and some injections and then we'll see if things improve. But enough about pain. Let's talk about Oreos. You know this year is the 100th anniversary of the Oreo cookie. And it's also the 75th anniversary of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Two of Elnora's major food groups. When I was much younger and didn't have such a bad back, I used to enjoy staying up with my husband and our friends all night, playing cards and eating Oreos. Yes, that was considered an appetizer in my house back then. I have been known to eat a whole bag of Oreos. And not gain a pound. Darlings, those days are so over. Now I don't dare bring an Oreo into the house for fear of gaining a pound by just having one of the tempting little things nearby. But I do so love to twist those cookies apart and ... I always eating the creamy one first and save the pure chocolate half for last. And who can resist macaroni and cheese? I know the boxed kind is not so healthy, but on a bad night when you're staring into that dark cave called a pantry and nothing is shoutiing out at you, a box of mac and cheese can save dinner! Maybe even save your marriage. So let's talk about comfort food! And have you tried those delicious fudge-covered Oreos? Or the white chocolate covered Oreos??? Really good on a regection or revision day!!!Really good when your back is hurting and you have a serious deadline. (Okay, Elnora does occasionally go to the store and buy a bag or two, even now.)How will you celebrate the marvelous Oreo? Do you eat it all at once, dip it in milk or coffee, or twist it in half and savor each bite? Or maybe all of the above? What is your favorite cookie? What is your favorite mac and cheese recipe??? Do you love your macaroni and cheese with black pepper on top? Or maybe a little nutmeg? Now I'm hungry again! Let's dish!