Cook up these heart-warming recipes for a great way to stay cozy

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We have been having some very cold weather lately and I have found some recipes that will help you warm up.

From The Apopka Woman’s Club’s What’s Cookin’?, we have Adeline Bronson’s chicken and yellow rice. After you put it all together, put the casserole in the oven and let it cook for an hour at 400 degrees. The dish calls for saffron from which the rice gets its lovely yellow color.

Our friends at New Vision Community Church in Feeding the Flock share the recipe for  Barbara Ritshie’s Sunday Chicken Dinner with us.

Baked mashed potatoes is a terrific recipe from Barbara McHale that we found in the Apopka Historical Society’s Preserving the Big Potato. Thank you so much for sharing.

Jean Juckette’s Corn Fritters are terrific and a real treat for any occasion. This is a recipe from Treasures and Pleasures, a cookbook published by The First Presbyterian Church of Apopka.

From one of our readers, Amanda Thomas-Henke, we have a meat loaf that can use beef or venison or other game meat. The recipe is originally from Nita Holleman of Food.com, but, just as many of us do, Amanda has put her own touches on this dish to make it hers.

Okra Creole is found in Southern Living All-Time Favorites. Fry up some bacon, drain it, crumble it all up and set it aside. You use frozen okra for this recipe and combine canned diced tomatoes, corn, onions, and seasonings and cook it in the bacon drippings and a little water for 15 minutes or so. Serve this lovely stuff over rice and top it with crumbled bacon.

ADELINE BRONSON’S

CHICKEN AND YELLOW RICE

Recipe from

The Apopka Woman’s Club

WHAT’S COOKIN’?

2 fryers, halved

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 green pepper, cut up

2 cloves garlic

2-1/2 cups rice

2 cups canned tomatoes

5 cups hot water

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon saffron

1 cup green peas

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Brown the chicken in olive oil. Remove to casserole. Brown onions, green pepper and garlic for about five minutes. Add to chicken in casserole along with all remaining ingredients. Cover and bake in 400 degrees F oven for one hour.

BARBARA RITSHIE’S

SUNDAY CHICKEN DINNER

Recipe from

New Vision Community Church’s,

Feeding the Flock cookbook

5 chicken breasts

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 cups spinach (slightly cooked)

2 bunches asparagus (no stems, slightly cooked)

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, in olive oil, undrained

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 cups Italian tomato sauce

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Place chicken in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Spread ricotta cheese evenly on top of chicken. Layer spinach, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, and pine nuts over this. Pour sauce over and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

FRANCES McHALE’S

BAKED MASHED POTATOES

Recipe from

Apopka Historical Society,

Apopka, Florida

Preserving the Big Potato –

A Collection of Potato Recipes

6 to 8 potatoes, cooked until tender

Salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces cream cheese

8 ounces sour cream

1/4 pound butter

2 medium size onions (chopped)

Mash potatoes, adding salt and pepper to taste, cream cheese and sour cream. Mix together well and set aside. Using a skillet, sauté onions in butter until clear but not browned. Mix this into the potatoes and put in baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

JEAN JUCKETTE’S

CORN FRITTERS

Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Apopka,

Treasures and Pleasures

1 cup flour, sifted

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 scant teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup whole corn, canned

Deep fat for frying

Confectioner’s sugar (hold aside for finish)

Resift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Add egg, milk, and corn. Stir until well blended. Bring fat to 350 degrees and drop batter into fat by the teaspoon full. Fry until golden brown, turning once to cook evenly. Drain fritters on paper. Place on serving platter and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Makes 16 fritters.

AMANDA THOMAS-HENKE’S

MEAT LOAF

Reader of The Apopka Chief and The Planter newspapers

Originally from NITA HOLLEMAN of Food.com

Meat loaf:

1-1/2 pounds ground beef OR ground shoulder roast OR venison or other game meat…

see below for game meat loaf instructions

1 slice bread, broken or chopped finely

1 egg

1 small Vidalia onion or sweet onion, chopped finely

1 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 to 2/3 cup whole milk OR Half & Half

Sauce:

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 to 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed firm (or amount to taste)

1/2 cup ketchup

Sauce instructions:

Combine meat loaf ingredients and place into a loaf baking dish. Smooth out top.

Combine sauce ingredients and pour on top and sides of meat loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees about one hour to an hour and 15 minutes or until done. Nita Holleman, the originator from Food.com, says the addition of 1 or 2 teaspoons of Kitchen Bouquet makes this recipe very good. Recipe should be ‘plump’ from the addition of the milk or Half & Half. It should not be runny.

If you are using game meat such as deer, which is a very dry meat, it is wise to add some fat to the deer meat. For instance: for one pound of ground venison, add about 1/2 pound of deer sausage for the fat content. Otherwise, your results will be poor for lack of fat.

Preparation time for the meat loaf is 20 minutes, baking takes one hour or a little more.

Amanda says she adds some garlic to hers and sautés the sweet onion and garlic prior to mixing it into the meat loaf. Her family loves it.

OKRA CREOLE

Recipe from

Southern Living All-Time Favorites

3 bacon slices

1 (16-ounce) package frozen sliced okra

1 (14-1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen onion seasoning blend

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Hot cooked rice (optional)

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings. Crumble bacon, and set aside.

Cook okra and next six ingredients in hot drippings in Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Top with crumbled bacon. Serve over rice, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.