Hash Brown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole
Dorcas Annette Walker

I always use some type of a potato dish as a staple with nearly every meal. Today there are many varieties and ways to use potatoes. Somewhere along the way I got hooked on the ease of using frozen potatoes with a meal, especially in a pinch. Now-a-days I always keep French fries and hash browns handy in the freezer. Potato casseroles are ideal for church dinners as they are simple to warm up and you don’t have to worry about the texture changing like mashed potatoes. I loved my first taste of a Hash Brown Casserole and have experimented with different recipes since. My Hash Brown Casserole is similar to a scalloped potato casserole and has been mistaken for scalloped potatoes different times.

Originally the full name for hash brown potatoes was hashed brown potatoes, shortened to hash brown potatoes in 1945, and finally has become simply hash browns. Hash browns are potatoes that are diced, riced, shredded, or julienned then formed into cakes and pan-fried until brown. In many parts of the United States hash browns or pan-fried potatoes are considered a breakfast food. Sometimes a diced or chopped onion is added to improve the taste. I was amazed at all the recipes for hash browns that added carrots, radish, zucchini, and beets. I even found a recipe that used sweet potatoes to make hash browns. No wonder the volume of frozen potatoes consumed today is now larger than the volume of fresh potatoes. In 2005 the U.S. per capita use of frozen potatoes was 56 pounds compared with 45 pounds for fresh potatoes, 17 pounds for potato chips, and 16 pounds for dehydrated potato products.

My Hash Brown Casserole is a filling, creamy, potato dish that goes well with any meat or vegetable. Preparation time for the Hash Brown Casserole is ten to fifteen minutes and this recipe made in a 9 x 12 baking dish serves twelve to fifteen. The potato casserole can be made the day or night before and popped into the oven when ready to use.

Hash Brown Casserole

1 pkg hash browns
1 small onion diced or 1 tb dried onion
2 c cheddar cheese shredded
1 (16 oz) container sour cream
2 cans cream of celery soup

In a large bowl:
Crumble thawed hash browns (may quickly defrost hash browns in microwave). Mix in onion and shredded cheese. Add the container of sour cream, the two cans of celery soup, and two cans of milk. Mix together thoroughly and pour into buttered 9 x 12 baking dish. Cover and bake at 350º for one hour.

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by email at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.

Quick Lemon Pie

Quick Lemon Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Out of all the pies I have made through the years Quick Lemon Pie is my son’s, Dwight’s, favorite pie. I picked up the recipe at a church function some years ago here in the state of Tennessee and have made it numerous times since. I got the brainstorm to show how easy it is to make to let Dwight do the honors. Warning: If your fellow isn’t used to being in the kitchen, either leave the house or if your nerves can stand it grab a camera. I gained a never-to-be-forgotten unique perspective into a young adult male’s mind, but felt like I had been in the middle of a tornado by the time Dwight finished his pie. We ate Dwight’s creation for desert on Mother’s day and I savored every bite as well as the memories.

Dwight got a call from some friends and was getting ready to head out the door Saturday night when I reminded him of the pie he had agreed to make- the fact that it was his favorite pie helped my cause. He turned around and asked how long it would take. Reassured it would take only a couple of minutes he entered my kitchen with gusto. The first step was opening up a can of condensed milk, which wasn’t a problem as Dwight has opened cans before with the can opener. He dumped the condensed milk into the mixing bowl I put on the counter and then asked where the lemon juice was. Holding up the green bottle of reconstituted lemon juice that I keep in my refrigerator, Dwight dubiously asked if I was sure that it went in the pie. Assured that it was he grabbed a measuring cup. I let out a scream when I beheld my six-foot-four-inch son, through the lens of my camera, pouring out lemon juice about a yard high above the measuring cup. He snickered and asked, “What’s the matter, Mom?” My son is a natural comedian and due to being photographed since he was little for various magazines and articles he tends to try and see if he can shock or rattle me and mess up any pictures I am taking at the present time. There was more than one-half cup of lemon juice but he poured it into the mixing bowl anyway. He turned the mixer on and found the cool whip, then licked the contents off the lid telling me he was making sure the cool whip was still good and was contemplating taste testing the rest, but thankfully time did not permit that. Dwight scrapped the cool whip into the bowl with a spatula and turned the mixer on high. When I rechecked the recipe I told him that the mixer was only to be on low so he turned it down. While the mixer beat the ingredients, Dwight undid the plastic top of the graham cracker crust intrigued with how it was sealed. When it was time to pour the lemon mixture into the crust he had to hunt out another spatula as he had licked off the first one and I protested him reusing it again. He was going to leave the lemon mixture in a huge lump in the middle (his creative touch), but I persuaded Dwight that it needed to be spread around a bit. His artsy mind took over and he proceeded to try out different designs finishing off with a smooth, sculptured, rounded top broken by one single curl in the middle. In true male fashion after I snapped a picture of him and his pie, Dwight got up and said, “Nothing to it,” and headed out the door. I sat down at the counter feeling weak in my knees, elated at the photo shots I had gotten of my son, caught my breath as things quieted down, and surveyed the mess I would have to clean up. I felt very motherly. P.S. I will be posting the rest of the photos on my website shortly.

Quick Lemon Pie has a mild cool lemony taste. It takes only five to ten minutes to make a pie (depending on the experience of the person making the pie) and serves eight people. This is a perfect quick dessert for unexpected company or to take to a church dinner. The only downside I have found to this pie is that it disappears very fast so for hearty eaters you might want to make two pies instead of one.

Quick Lemon Pie

½ c lemon juice
1 can condensed milk
1 (8 oz) container cool whip
1 graham cracker crust

Mix together on low the lemon juice and condensed milk. Add cool whip and beat on low until firm. Pour into a graham cracker crust and chill. May garnish with a sliced lemon and mint leaves!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by email at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.

Glorified Rice

Glorified Rice
Dorcas Annette Walker

As a child one religious camp stood out in my mind that my family attended each summer. It was a small camp with unpainted wooden buildings situated out in the woods. Instead of the usual cafeteria style way of serving you sat down at tables and heaping bowls of food was passed around family style. Every year without fail there was a dessert that I always looked forward to eating. It was a pale green, pudding-like dessert. It was years later as an adult, while traveling with my minister husband on the road, that I came across this dessert again and hunted down the recipe. Elated I began making the recipe that became an instant success. Out of all the desserts that I have made over the years Glorified Rice has triggered more comments, heated discussions, and questions. I’ve had people argue with me that it can’t be rice that is the main ingredient as they hate rice and never eat rice, but yet love this dessert. Best of all Glorified Rice is a healthy dessert.

Americans consume little rice compared to European countries where rice is a main staple and closely connected to the cultures of many societies. The Japanese make their third century alcoholic beverage, Sake, from rice while the Chinese celebrate a Rice Dumpling Festival each year. The origin of rice is uncertain because rice has been grown for thousands of years. The demand for rice is growing steadily, with consumption stretching beyond Asia. While Asia is still the biggest rice producer, accounting for 90% of the world’s production and consumption, you can now find rice fields in Europe, Latin America, and Australia. Rice needs a good water supply to grow, which is a concern in drought-prone areas. Rice is classified by the shape and texture of the grain. Long-grain rice is less sticky than the short-grain cultivars. The Chinese and Japanese use the short rice for many recipes while the Indians use the long and medium-grained rice. In some South East Asian countries there are some naturally colored varieties of rice while Thai has a popular fragrant rice. Many Asians eat rice three times a day. From delicate translucent noodles to exquisite desserts, rice is a versatile and nutritious food.

A missionary friend of mine from college days, whose children were born and raised around Hong Kong, confided that when visiting the United States on furlough her children couldn’t understand why Americans didn’t eat rice at each meal and would crave rice. So when they came to spend a couple of days with us I hunted up all the rice recipes I could find and invented some of my own to ensure that rice would be served at each meal. We had a great time learning about the Asian culture and eating rice in many forms. Needless to say my Glorified Rice dessert was a hit and my friend took the recipe back home with her to Hong Kong.

Glorified Rice is a no-fail recipe that can be adapted to each family’s taste buds by experimenting with different fruits. This filling, creamy, fruity dessert hints of summer days and can be used year round. My Glorified Rice recipe makes a big batch of approximately fifteen or more servings and takes around thirty minutes to prepare. Glorified Rice can either be made up the day before and chilled or served warm.

Glorified Rice

Mix together thoroughly in a big bowl:
4 c cooked white rice
½ c sugar
1 can fruit cocktail
1 can crushed pineapple

Stir in:
1 can evaporated milk
1 box strawberry jello

Fold in:
1 small bag of mini marshmallows

Mix thoroughly again before serving as the when the rice cools it congeals and gets stiffer. For color add a diced red apple. A container of sour cream mixed in will give a creamier texture. Try experimenting with different flavors of jello. Serve individually or in a large glass bowl!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by email at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.

No-Fail Creamy Baked Chicken

No-Fail Creamy Baked Chicken
Dorcas Annette Walker

Mother’s Day is celebrated in the month of May so in honor of all our mothers this month I am going to give some quick and easy recipes that are delicious yet time saving. Today the average mother’s schedule is packed full as she juggles working full time along with raising kids. Guys will find these simple recipes handy who give their wife a day off cooking in the kitchen this month. I’m also challenging the fellows who have never cooked to pick out and try out one of this month’s recipes. Who knows? You might become addicted to cooking when you experience the ease and satisfaction of preparing a mouth-watering dish.

Chickens are the most numerous birds in the world believed to be domesticated nearly 5,000 years ago from wild birds in Southeast Asia. Poultry products have the highest per capita consumption in the United States. Poultry production is an important and diverse component of American agriculture. By 1997 there were 99,700 farms producing poultry and poultry products. Broiler chicken production is done primarily in backyard operations located in the southern and southeastern states. Today poultry is fed diets of ground corn to supply heat and energy, and soybean meal to provide protein with vitamins and minerals added to the feed. Modern poultry production occurs primarily in enclosed building to protect the birds from weather, predators, and the spread of disease from wild birds. This has allowed farmers to greatly increase production efficiency while reducing the amount of labor. Broiler production greatly increased throughout the 1980s and 1900s due to Americans becoming more health conscious. Part of the increase was also due to the poultry industry supplying products that are further processed and easier for the consumer to prepare.

Chicken is known as the most popular meat in the ministry. In fact on one site alone I found 19,852 chicken recipes. At any church dinner you will inevitably find chicken prepared in some form. It was at a church dinner at some point in my life where I discovered the recipe for my No-Fail Creamy Baked Chicken. Simple to prepare this chicken dish is an instant winner. Beneath the crusty skin hides tender meat surrounded by creamy sauce. I like to serve stove top dressing along with my No-Fail Creamy Baked Chicken. This recipe takes only five minutes to prepare and serves four.

No-Fail Creamy Baked Chicken

4 chicken breasts or thighs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg Ritz crackers
1 stick margarine
Place chicken in baking dish. Mix can of soup with milk as directed and pour over top of chicken. Melt stick of butter. Crush Ritz cracker and sprinkle over top of chicken. Pour melted butter on cracker crumbs. Bake at 350º for about an hour until the chicken is crusty and tender when a fork is inserted in the meat. Serve hot!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by email at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.