There is nothing like family to get free recipes from!

Issue#007 July 29, 2009

Hello Friend,

Wednesday arrived and we hurriedly prepared to leave for Ohio for our family reunion. We try to make the trip in one day, but it is really pushing it. We had a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast, knowing it would be a struggle to watch calories, or should I say “Weight Watcher Points” on this trip.

A few hours down the road, we could feel those “fat demons” at work on us. We debated on stopping for a good lunch at some unusual place. Our excuse was “get new free recipes”. We opted for a quick veggie sub on a whole grain roll from Subway and felt proud for overcoming the demons. The subs are pretty good for a road trip and good calorie wise. If you are a food lover, you understand the dilemma with calories when traveling.

It rained a lot the entire trip and really slowed us down. We arrived at my sister’s house about lunch time on Thursday. My sister met us as soon as we walked in and said, “Let’s go to lunch.” I am telling you that in my family eating comes first. She suggested that we try a new restaurant there in town called Duke’s.

I have been hearing a lot about Duke’s. The family has been in the food business for many years in the Dayton area. They were well known for very good food and a well managed business. Duke’s has been trying to get into operation for many months. They have had many setbacks and even had to close entirely for a while. My family and friends are happy to see them open now and have them located locally.

We drove about ten minutes to get to the restaurant and were greeted by many smiling faces. A young man, named Scott, introduced himself as our server. I am guessing Scott was around eighteen years old. Right away, we could see his adorable smile and charming personality. We bombarded him with questions about the menu, food, free recipes and everything else. He explained that he just started working there. With each question, he graciously retreated to the kitchen and returned with the answers. We all agreed we wanted to pack Scott up and take him with us!

The lunch menu included “old time favorite sandwiches” for the Midwest, such as the breaded pork tenderloin, fish fillet, burgers, and turkey club. Also on the menu were various Italian dishes with pasta, and American dishes such as ribs, chicken, steak and seafood. What caught my eye was what Duke’s call the “Slaw Stacks”. Having never heard of this before, I had to try it. More “fat demons”! But at this point, I didn’t care. It came with a choice of either sliced turkey or sliced beef, so I chose the turkey.

When the sandwich arrived, of course I had to dissect it. The bread used was the establishment’s own delicious signature bread. The first layer on the bottom was a pile of thinly sliced turkey. The next layer was a pile of golden French fries. The next layer was a pile of cole slaw. It was topped with sliced tomatoes and then the other slice of bread. Talk about a sandwich! It was delicious, but almost impossible for one person to eat.

The people at Duke’s are very personal and try so hard to please. This is what sets them aside from many other eating establishments. If you are ever in the West Carrollton area, stop in and have lunch or dinner. They have had some rough breaks and deserve your attention.

While in Ohio, we met up with an old friend, Anna Mae. We have been friends since kindergarten. Can you believe that! Her mother was our Brownie leader and then our Girl Scout leader. She taught us to knit, sew, cook, and camp. She was truly a role model for all of the girls. When I came down with the mumps, she was the first to spot it, and quickly drove me home.

Anna’s mom and dad both worked for our school. Her mom was a cook in the cafeteria. When I hear young people today complain about the school’s food, I always tell them what good food we had in our school. I had been after Anna for a long time to give me some of their old recipes. While we were up there, she handed me the old box containing their recipes. I am making copies of them and will pass them along to you.

The recipe that I always loved is the pizza burgers. Her mom knew it, so whenever I visited, she would have a whole tray ready for us. That is the first one I will share with you. Also her dad’s recipe for barbeque sauce is famous around the area. Maybe you would like to try these free recipes.

PIZZA HAMBURGERS

• 1 ¼ Pounds ground beef
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Teaspoon prepared horseradish
• ¾ Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon mustard sauce
• 6 Ounces tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon minced onion
• 6 Ounces grated Mozzarella cheese
• 2 Teaspoon dried parsley
• ¾ Teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix beef, salt, pepper, horseradish, Worcestershire and mustard together in a bowl. Press into the bottom and up a little on the sides of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Spread the tomato sauce over the meat. Then sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the tomato sauce.

Bake for 20 minutes or until beef is done. Cool a little, cut into squares and serve on buns.

BAR-B-QUE SAUCE

• ½ Cup vegetable oil
• ¼ Cup chopped onion
• 1/3 Cup vinegar
• ½ Cup catsup
• ¼ Cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon
• Tabasco Sauce
• 1/2 Cup fruit juice (apple or other)
• 2 Teaspoons salt
• ½ Teaspoon red pepper
• ¼ Teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 Teaspoon chili powder
• ½ Teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Brush on chicken, spareribs or hamburgers.

My brother, Larry was going to host the family reunion at his farm up by Eaton on Saturday. I had been asking for weeks if we could bring this or that. I always heard the same answer, “Already got that.” It was a job on Friday trying to come up with some different dishes. We all knew that the “fat demons” would multiply around all that good food, so we decided we would take a good fresh chop salad with low fat dressing. That was a must!

We headed out to the grocery store still not sure what we would take to the feast. We decided that I would carve a watermelon like a swan and fill it with different fruit. Well the grocery didn’t have any large watermelons. We did pick up the other fruit anyway, some cookies, puddings and miscellaneous other items.

After we unloaded at my sister’s house I talked to my friend, Anna Mae. She said she knew where to get a watermelon and she would pick one up. So the swan melon was a go! I started designing a dessert with some of the items that I picked up. It turned out to be a big hit so I am passing the free recipes on to you. I named it Chocolate Coconut Dessert.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT DESSERT

• 1 Large package coconut macaroon cookies
• 1 Box instant coconut pudding
• 1 Box instant chocolate pudding
• 1 Bad shredded coconut
• 1 Small package toasted sliced almonds
• 1 Large tub Cool Whip

Strawberries or Cherries for garnish

Layer the bottom of a flat casserole dish with the cookies. Mix the coconut pudding as directed and spread over the cookies. Crumble some of the cookies over the pudding. Spread coconut over the crumbs. Mix the chocolate pudding as directed and spread over the coconut. Spread more crumbs and more coconut over the chocolate pudding. Top with the Cool Whip and coconut on top. If desired, garnish with the berries or cherries.

Everyone was asked to bring their recipes with their dishes to the reunion. They all said they were too tired from cooking to think about the recipes. We are trying to gather all of them in to pass them along. Many of the future ezines will include these and who made what.

Until later, have a happy cooking experience!

Your friend, Frances

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