The Potluck Club
Page 31
2 cups sugar
¼ cup flour
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb
2 small pared apples
pastry for 1 9-inch, 2-crust pie
1 tablespoon butter
Beat eggs and milk, then stir in sugar, flour, nutmeg, apples, and rhubarb. Pour into pie dough in pie pan. Dot with butter. Cover pie with top crust. Pinch edges with fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 60 minutes or until brown.
Donna’s Cook’s Notes
Some of my favorite things about autumn are the fresh apples and rhubarb. Of course, this pie is even better when Vonnie makes it and offers me a warm slice.
Quick Chili in a Skillet
1 medium chopped onion
1 ½ pounds hamburger meat
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1-pound can tomatoes
1 8-ounce can seasoned tomato sauce
1 cup catsup
1 1-pound can ranch beans
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
dash of ground red pepper
In a hot skillet, sauté onion in oil with hamburger meat. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, catsup, beans, chili powder, salt, bay leaf, and red pepper. Stir and simmer, covered for 1 hour or more. If necessary, add water.
Serves 6–8.
Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes
I know this chili takes a while to simmer, but I can get it off to a pretty quick start when I need to.
Vonnie’s Beef Stew
2 pounds lean sirloin tip
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium potatoes, cut into pieces
2 medium celery stalks, sliced
2 cups small mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 cup water
1 cup dry red wine
1 16-ounce can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cut meat into cubes (first, trim the fat away). Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until hot. Add beef and quickly brown on all sides. Add remaining ingredients except flour. You’ll want to add salt and pepper to taste and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for an hour or until beef is cooked and vegetables are tender.
Combine a cup of the stew broth with flour in a small bowl. Mix with fork or whisk and add to stew. Continue heating another 10–15 minutes or until thickened.
Serves 8.
Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes
Vonnie usually makes a large batch of her stew and then freezes it for quick meals in several small microwavable containers. Pop them in the microwave and, voila, there’s a meal you don’t have to fuss over.
Homemade Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Stir together first four ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine last 3 ingredients. Add to flour mixture and stir until well blended but still a bit lumpy. Pour batter onto hot griddle in quarter-cup servings. Turn pancakes over until golden brown on both sides.
Buttermilk: prepare as above, this time reducing the baking powder to 1 teaspoon. Add ½ teaspoon baking soda to first set of ingredients. Substitute buttermilk for milk. You can also add a little extra buttermilk to thin the batter.
Buckwheat: prepare as above, this time substituting ½ cup whole wheat flour and ½ cup buckwheat flour for the all-purpose flour. You can also use brown sugar rather than white sugar.
Nutty orange: prepare as above, but this time add ½ teaspoon each of baking soda and ground cinnamon to the first set of ingredients. Instead of milk, use orange juice. Fold in ½ cup nuts into the batter before pouring onto griddle.
Goldie’s Cook’s Notes
If there’s one thing Summit View is known for, it’s the Pancake House. Not only do they have the yummiest, fluffiest pancakes that folks around here eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the pancakes also come in four varieties: buttermilk, buckwheat, nutty orange, and, of course, plain. I begged the owner of the Pancake House for the recipe . . .
Egg Salad Sandwich
6 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
6 tablespoons minced celery
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons freeze-dried parsley
½ teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons bacon bits
Mix chopped eggs, celery, pickle relish, parsley, dry mustard, salt, and pepper in bowl. Stir in mayonnaise and bacon bits. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Spread mixture on slice of bread. Top with slice of bread.
Makes 2 cups, enough for 6 sandwiches.
Donna’s Cook’s Notes
This is a simple recipe that I can make in advance. Of course, I get tired of the same sandwich, day after day, so I like to mix it up with a good ol’ ham sandwich now and then.
Cheese Enchiladas with Chili Sauce
CHILI SAUCE:
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
8 cups beef broth or bouillon
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
. cup cornstarch
. cup water
In a large saucepan, brown ground beef with onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Drain. Add broth, tomatoes, chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Mix well, breaking up tomatoes with large spoon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for an hour.
In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Gradually add to chili sauce, stirring constantly. Continue cooking 5 minutes.
ENCHILADAS:
16 flour tortillas (6 inch)
vegetable oil
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded American cheese
Turn oven to 350 degrees. Heat about ½-inch oil in a small skillet, until hot but not smoking. Quickly fry each tortilla in oil to soften, about 2 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels.
In a large bowl, combine cheddar cheese and onion. Mix well. Spoon ½ cup cheese mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in 2 11-by-7-inch baking dishes. Top with chili sauce. Cover with foil.
Bake 10 minutes or until hot.
Remove foil, sprinkle with American cheese, and continue baking 2 minutes or until cheese melts.
Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes
I could eat these three meals a day. And I have. Seriously . . . I have!
Cheddar Cheese Pie
½ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 baked 9-inch pie crust
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup scalded milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/8 slices fried bacon
First, sauté onion in butter, then combine in large bowl with cheese, milk, eggs, salt, pepper, thyme, and crumbled bacon. Pour mixture into baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20–25 minutes. When done, knife inserted into the center of pie will come out clean.
Baking time will take longer at higher altitudes.
Donna’s Cook’s Notes
There’s something about this cheese pie that is very satisfying. Sometimes it’s all I can do to stop at one slice. I should probably start making it at home, but then, why go to the effort when I can get i
t at Sal’s?
Molasses Cookies
¾ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons soda
2 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Melt shortening, then cool. Add sugar, molasses, and egg and beat well. Sift together flour, soda, and spices, then stir into mixture. Mix well and chill for 3 hours. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8–10 minutes.
Yields 4–5 dozen 2-inch cookies.
Vonnie’s Cook’s Notes
This recipe has been in my family for more than a hundred years. My grandmother made it for my mother, my mother made it for me, and I’d always thought I’d make it for my own children. Now, who knows? Maybe my dream will come true.
Yellow Crookneck Squash Soup
1 ½ pounds of yellow crookneck squash
1 onion
1 stick margarine
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2–3 cups half-and-half
dash of salt and pepper
curry powder
Slice squash and onions. Sauté in 1 stick margarine until very tender. Place in a food processor, add bouillon cubes, and blend till smooth. Pour into saucepan and stir in half-and-half until desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, and dash of curry to taste. This may be served hot or cold.
Lizzie’s Cook’s Notes
Years ago I was invited to a special luncheon with my sweet Aunt Janice. She made tuna salad and this squash soup, which she served with fresh fruit on the side. This is an excellent yet simple recipe . . . a favorite in cold weather or hot!
Dilly Tuna Salad
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice
1 can (7 oz.) tuna fish
crisp lettuce
1 cup cucumbers, sliced
1/3 cup mayo
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
¼ teaspoon dill weed
Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice. Drain tuna and line salad bowl with lettuce. Toss tuna, pineapple, cucumbers. Pour into bowl. Blend mayo, salt, and reserved juice. Pour over salad. Sprinkle with dill weed.
Evangeline’s Cook’s Notes
I’d never had anything quite like this before, but I was glad that after all the Potluck Club rush, it was left behind in my fridge. I ate it for dinner the night baby Faith was born, the night Jan entered heaven.
Acknowledgments
Eva Marie Everson—I would like to begin by thanking Linda Evans Shepherd for the opportunity to work with her on this project. Linda, I can still see myself sitting in BWI, trying to catch a nap as I waited for a delayed plane, answering my cell phone and hearing you rattle on about this neat little idea. A “let me think about it” and a while later, and we were off on an adventure we couldn’t have imagined then! Thank you, girlfriend, for thinking of me when you first caught the vision for “the girls”!
Thank you to my husband, who didn’t mind my going off to the high country of Colorado for more than a week to work on this project and who cooked/grilled all our meals.
Thank you, Paul and Jim Shepherd, for sharing your wife/mom and the cabin for quite a few days. Thank you, Laura, for not staying “mad” too long upon our return. We’ll try to keep the time away shorter from now on.
Thank you, Deb Haggerty, for introducing me to Linda, with whom I have discovered that I’m funny.
Thank you to my mother, my grandmother, and my aunts—Bettye and Janice—for the recipes. You know how much I hate to cook.
And thank you to the members of Word Weavers. You’re a great group of critiquers.
Linda Evans Shepherd—What can I say about my dear friend Eva? Let’s see, as she’s paying me to compliment her I can tell you she’s really, really cool and a fantastic writer. Okay, so she’s not paying me, but she’s still really, really cool and a fantastic writer, and one of my dearest friends.
I would also like to acknowledge those who thought Eva and I, two strong and determined women, could not write a whole novel together. What were you thinking? Not only did we do it once, we did it again with the next installment of the Potluck due out next year. What fun we’ve had living dual lives with our Potluck characters.
Of course I would like to acknowledge our families, who have so sweetly let Eva and I lead double lives. Paul, you’re the best. To my son, Jim, you’re one great kid. And daughter, Laura, you’re the most beautiful eighteen-year-old girl in the world. You may not be like other girls, but your joy and sweet spirit are so precious to me. Thank you for all the wordless songs you sing to your mommy.
And finally, thank you, God, for allowing me so many blessings and the privilege of writing this book with Eva.
The Authors—we would like to thank our wonderful editors, Jeanette Thomason and Kristin Kornoelje, as well as the rest of the Revell team! Thank you so much for believing in a project such as The Potluck Club, for “seeing” the girls as easily as we do.
Thank you to the awesome women of AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Association) who have prayed us through illnesses, family crises, blizzards, and rewrites. You’re the best!
A very special thank you to the town of Frisco, Colorado (aka, Summit View!) for being our prototype. A really, really special thank you to Frisco’s Butterhorn Bakery & Café (Higher Grounds Café) for those midafternoon lattes we have grown accustomed to.
Another thank you to the Summit County police department for giving us the inside scoop on your world as we filled out the reports on Eva’s lost wallet. Who knew the event would end up in a book?
And, finally, a huge thank you to our Heavenly Father, to our precious friend and Bridegroom Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, who binds us together as sisters in him by whom we pray.
About the Authors
Linda Evans Shepherd has turned the “pits” of her life into stepping stones following a violent car crash that left her then-infant daughter in a year-long coma and permanently disabled (see LindaAndLaura .com).
Linda is the president of Right to the Heart Ministries and is also an international speaker (see ShepPro.com), radio host of the nationally syndicated Right to the Heart radio, occasional television host of Daystar’s Denver Celebration, the founder and leader of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (see AWSAWomen .com), and the publisher of Right to the Heart of Women ezine (see RightToTheHeartOfWomen.com), which goes to more than ten thousand women leaders of the church.
She’s been married twenty-six years to Paul and has two teenagers, Laura and Jimmy.
Linda has written more than eighteen books, including Intimate Moments with God (co-authored with Eva Marie Everson from Honor/Cook), Tangled Heart: A Mystery Devotional (Jubilant Press), and Grief Relief (Jubilant Press).
Award-winning author and speaker Eva Marie Everson is a Southern girl who’s not that crazy about being in the kitchen unless she’s being called to eat some of her mama or daddy’s cooking. She is married to a wonderful man, Dennis, and is a mother and grandmother to the most precious children in the world.
Eva’s writing career and ministry began in 1999 when a friend asked her what she’d want to do for the Lord, if she could do anything. “Write and speak,” she said. And so it began.
Since that time, she has written, co-written, contributed to, and edited and compiled a number of works, including The Shadows Trilogy (Barbour Publishing) and Sex, Lies, & the Media (co-written with her daughter, Jessica, and published by Cook Communications). She is a Right to the Heart board member and a member of Christian Women in Media & Arts and a number of other organizations.
A graduate of Andersonville Theological Seminary, she speaks nationally, drawing others to the heart of God. In 2002, she was one of six journalists chosen to visit Israel. She was forever changed.
JOIN THE POTLUCK CLUB
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A Sneak Peek at the next adventure of the Potluck Club
Clay Whitefield burrowed under the musky blankets, eking out an attempt at a few more minutes of sleep before heaving himself out of bed. The weight from the quilt his grandmother had made upon his arrival into the world laid over him like the history of her people, the Cheyenne. But his grandmother and her people were the last thing on his mind.
Outside the window of his second-story flat, the town of Summit View, Colorado, was coming to life. With or without him. His boss, the editor and publisher of the Gold Rush News, was most likely sitting at his desk by now, wondering when Clay would amble in. Shifts were changing at the hospital and down at the sheriff’s department. Children were preparing for school. Sally Madison, owner of Higher Grounds Café, had already unlocked the doors to her establishment. Larry, her cook, had slapped a heap of lard onto the flat grill, readying it for the morning specials. One of Sal’s girls had started the coffee. The very thought of it brewing interrupted Clay’s dreams, and his nose twitched.