Cooking for fun!

After many years of cooking for my family, it seems lately I look farther and harder for ways to make a nutritious meal without it being the same ‘ol, same ‘ol. I’m coming to the end of the kettle, so to speak, when it comes to ways to cook goulash. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a very big fan of pasta, and agree there’s nothing like a quick pot of spaghetti, cheesy-tuna casserole or hearty chicken noodle soup to fill the stomach and feed the soul. But there’s gotta be meals the kids will eat besides noodles, right?

 

When in question, research. Hit the shelves…and I pulled out a cookbook I haven’t opened in years. Before long, I’m sitting at the table, grinning, flipping one page after another. I’ve had this cookbook forever and remember buying it not for the recipes, but the lovely photos inside. Every time I open it, it takes me back in time. When I was a kid sitting of the lid of the big freezer, kept on the front porch, with my cousin Johnny, and waiting for Sunday dinner. Actually, we were waiting for the chicken to drop. You’ve heard the expression “Like a chicken with its head chopped off”? Seriously folks…they run. Like crazy…big, whirly loops around the yard while my uncle stands watching with an ax still dripping blood. Well, believe me when I say the only safe place was the top of the freezer!

 

We’d have chicken and dumplings’, a berry cobbler and icy cold milk. Later, we’d play tag outside for hours until the sun went down and then switch our efforts to catching lightening bugs and putting them in pickle jars.

Great times. And you can see why I love this book. It’s kind of like a family album.

Tell me, have you ever heard of a ‘Kiss Me Not Sandwich’? Or how about a ‘Cooter Pie’? Does anyone know… what exactly IS a Cooter? I’m not sure. But reading the recipe, I think it’s some kind of shellfish. Lobster, maybe?  

 

And I’m not one to overlook desert. This book is loaded with good selections. My mouth waters just thinking about ‘Vickie’s Stickies’. And remind me to copy down the recipe for the ‘Resurrection Cake’ served with ‘Whisky sauce’. I know my mom would get a kick out of that come the next church basement dinner.

Isn’t that what good food is all about? Fun times gathered around the table with family and friends.

Oops…but I’ve gotta get busy. After all, Monday night is family night around here. They’ll be expecting something. Who knows…I might even try Freda’s Five-Can Casserole.  Quick, easy and delicious!