Tasty and delicious comfort food is highlighted in this week’s Kapers

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This week, we have recipes from a former first lady of Apopka, Mrs. Betty Land, wife of the late Mayor John Land, and also from Mrs. Earl Nelson who is the mother of our current mayor, Bryan Nelson. Both of these accomplished ladies belonged to the Apopka Woman’s Club at the time What’s Cookin’? was written.

Janell Maxwell shares her delicious Cashew Chicken in Northside Baptist Church’s cookbook. She adds her time-saving tips for our convenience.

Betty Land’s Seafood Souffle from The Apopka Woman’s Club, What’s Cookin’? uses a pound of seafood (of your choice) and is baked as a custard in a water bath in the oven. It looks luscious.

From Field to Feast and the Bruschi family’s D&D Farms U-Pick in Palm City, we have pesto-stuffed eggplant.

Tania Bruschi plans her meals around what’s fresh from their fields, and she makes this dish early in the season when the young eggplants are supple and sweet.

Her family considers this fork-tender eggplant comfort food, and, with a salad, it’s dinner.

Northside Baptist Church has shared with us Broccoli Casserole from Diane Bunnell. This dish uses frozen broccoli and makes a lovely side for your supper.

For a tasty side dish, try reader Nancy Thomas’ Italian Squash. This is a simple dish that uses fresh vegetables. Your family will love it.

For dessert, Mae Clayton’s chewy cookies will satisfy your sweet tooth. We found this recipe in New Vision Community Church’s Feeding the Flock.

From the Apopka Woman’s Club, we have Mrs. Earl Nelson’s Cocoa Cake. We thank this wonderful organization for sharing their recipes with us through WHAT’S COOKIN’?

JANELL MAXWELL’S

CASHEW CHICKEN

Northside Baptist Church

1 package uncooked chicken breasts, deboned and cut into 3/4-inch to 1-inch pieces

3 eggs

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

Mix together eggs, soy sauce, flour and salt. Stir in chicken pieces. Let sit for 10 minutes. Deep fry until golden brown. Set aside for later.

Sauce:

4 chicken bouillon cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups water, boiling on stove while dissolving bouillon cubes

1/2 cup cold water with 2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

After bouillon cubes are dissolved, add other sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and add cold water with cornstarch. Let thicken. Place deep fried chicken on plate, pour some sauce over it and top with chopped green onions and cashews. Serve over cooked rice. Serves four.

Personal notes: I find that I can break up the bouillon cubes before adding them to the water to save on time. Also, I omit the salt in the sauce and use a tablespoon or two of additional soy sauce so the sauce is a darker color (my preference). This recipe is easy to double or triple or for serving larger crowds. Another time-saving tip if you are cooking a larger amount of chicken: you can make the chicken the day before and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Next day, spread the chicken out on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 425 degrees, stirring occasionally, just long enough to get it hot and crisp it up.

BETTY LAND’S

SEAFOOD SOUFFLE

Recipe from

The Apopka Woman’s Club

WHAT’S COOKIN’?

1 pound crab or lobster or shrimp (or enough of each to make a pound)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 pint of milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

White or cayenne pepper

Nutmeg to taste

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons sherry

Melt butter and mix in the flour to make a paste. Add milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook in double boiler until thick. When cool, stir in the yolks of eggs, slightly beaten. Add sherry. Now fold in the stiffly beaten whites and crab meat. Put in baking dish and cook at once in pan of hot water in moderate oven, at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves six.

TANIA BRUSCHI’S

PESTO-STUFFED EGGPLANT

Recipe from Field to Feast

PESTO:

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 to 6 garlic cloves, to taste

2 cups of loosely packed basil leaves

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

STUFFED EGGPLANT:

4 small eggplants

1/2 cup light cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup light ricotta cheese

2 to 3 tablespoons pesto

Process pine nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor for 15 seconds. Add basil, salt, and pepper. With processor running, slowly pour olive oil through feed tube and process until pesto is pureed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a baking dish large enough to hold eggplant. Set aside. Cut a wedge out of each eggplant from stem to base with a sharp knife. Scoop out center of flesh with a spoon, leaving 1/2-inch thick shell so that it will hold its shape when baked. Discard scooped-out flesh. Mix cream cheese, ricotta, and pesto in a medium bowl. Evenly divide filling among scooped-out eggplants. Place in prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until fork tender.

DIANE BUNNELL’S

BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

Recipe from

Northside Baptist Church

1 small package frozen, chopped broccoli

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 soup can of minute rice

1/2 stick melted butter

1 8-ounce jar of Cheese-Whiz

1 onion, chopped (optional)

Cook broccoli in microwave according to package directions, drain. Add all of the other ingredients and mix together. Put in buttered casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until center is hot.

NANCY THOMAS’ ITALIAN SQUASH

Recipe from Reader of The Apopka Chief and The Planter newspapers

1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped

3 mini peppers, red, yellow and orange, cut up

8 ounces (small container) mushrooms, cleaned and halved

2 yellow squash, sliced about 1/4 inch

1 zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons organic no-salt seasoning

Sprinkle of red pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 heaping tablespoon beef stock (the thick kind)

1/2 cup vegetable stock (the liquid kind)

Sauté in extra virgin olive oil until browned (about 10-15 minutes): onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Add squash and zucchini; sauté until somewhat limp, turning with spatula often so all will get exposed to heat. Add the garlic and all the dry seasonings. Add 1/2 cup liquid vegetable stock, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, one 15-ounce can diced tomatoes. Get the vegetables going well and add the beef stock to the hot tomato gravy so it will melt and mix in well. Cook for about 30 minutes and serve hot.

MAE CLAYTON’S CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEWEY COOKIES

Recipe from New Vision Community Church’s Feeding the Flock

4-1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups butter, softened

1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 packages instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounces)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir flour and baking soda together and set aside. Cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until well blended. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour mixture a little at a time. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop cookies by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges are golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks for cooling.

MRS. EARL NELSON’S

COCOA CAKE

Recipe from The Apopka Woman’s Club WHAT’S COOKIN’?

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup cocoa

2/3 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2-1/2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix water into cocoa slowly; let stand 5 minutes. Cream the shortening. Add sugar gradually, creaming well. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well. Alternately add sifted dry ingredients and sour milk, beating after each addition. Add the cocoa and vanilla extract. Turn into two greased and floured pans (9-inch layer). Bake in 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 35 to 40 minutes.