Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tune Noodle Casserole

Dorcas Annette Walker

I thought this week I’d balance out my dessert recipes with a main dish that I have made throughout the years without using a recipe. I discovered this easy-to-make version of the baked casserole as a newly-wed, while visiting out-of-state at a parsonage, and instantly fell in love. I always keep the ingredients on hand for my Tuna Noodle Casserole and have made this dish more than once when unexpected company showed up. When my daughter started cooking as a new bride, Dawn, loved this casserole so much that she made it several times a week. My poor son-in-law ate so many Tuna Noodle Casseroles that today he avoids any casserole with tuna in it. While I promise that you will love my Tuna Noodle Casserole, I would urge restraint in making it more than once a week.

There are eight species of the tuna fish with a range of different colors of flesh. Tuna are ocean-dwelling fish and are fast swimmers. They have been clocked at 45 mph. Several species are warm-blooded allowing them to survive in cooler water by raising their blood temperature above the water through muscular activity. Tuna is an important commercial fish, so much so that some species of tuna fisheries are being over-fished until some tuna fisheries are at the verge of collapse. Japan’s huge appetite for tuna has put them at the top- 17% of all the world’s tuna catch and consumption- with Taiwan in second place at 12%. Because of this wildlife campaigners warn that unless more rigid quotas are agreed on tuna may become commercially extinct. More quantities of tuna are entering the market from operations that raise tuna in net pens fed on a variety of bait fish that in return have accumulated metal from their diet causing high mercury levels. As a result the United States FDA issued guidelines of recommendations for eating tuna in March of 2004 for pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children.

Canned tuna was first produced in 1903 and quickly became popular in the United States as it is easy to prepare. Only Albacore “white meat tuna” can be legally sold in canned form here in the United States. Since tuna is caught at a great distance from where it is processed the tuna is pre-cooked for 45 minutes to three hours then cleaned, filleted, packaged into cans, and sealed. The second cooking of the tuna meat is carried out inside the cans for two to four hours to kill any bacteria at processing plants and labeled. While there still remains conflicting reports of dangerous levels of mercury in certain varieties of tuna, canned tuna is very high in protein and is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Many weight trainers’ diets use canned tuna as a prominent component.

My Tuna Noodle Casserole is a filling main dish comprised of creamy noodles interspersed with chunks of tuna topped by crunchy bread crumbs. Adding a green vegetable or a tossed salad quickly rounds out your meal. Preparation time for the Tuna Noodle Casserole is about thirty minutes and this recipe serves six.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 pkg (12 oz) noodles
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 can (6 oz) tuna- drained
½ c milk
Cook the noodles in hot water with 1tsp salt until soft and drain. Stir in cream of mushroom soup, milk, and drained tuna. Heat the noodles on low until heated through. Garnish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, parsley flakes or fresh parsley, and toasted bread crumbs!

Toasted Bread Crumbs:
1 stick margarine
6 slices of bread (your choice)
While the noodles are cooking, melt the stick of margarine in a frying pan and crumble up the slices of bread. Stir until the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Weekly tip: To keep pasta from sticking when cooking add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the water, then run the pasta under hot water when draining!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Red, White, and Blue Dessert

Red, White, and Blue Dessert

Dorcas Annette Walker

This week we celebrate the Fourth of July. Lots of activities in our community are being planned for the weekend up here on the mountain. I’ll hang out our flag on the front porch to begin our celebration and we will end the day by enjoying fireworks at the local fairgrounds. As I watch brilliant colors light up the sky in an awesome display and hear the boom of the fireworks resound across the mountain peaks, I will sit tall, proud to be an American. Once again echoes of fireworks will sound out across the land uniting us into one nation as we celebrate the birth of our country.

Our anniversary celebration started out with a bang early when my husband discovered that Billy Boy and Bessie (our two goats) were missing from the pen. A farmer friend that had brought some hay Dana bought helped him hunt for the goats in our woods. We were worried that our goats might wander down onto the main highway. My husband headed out to work after notifying the store at the end of our road and told me to keep an eye out for the goats as he had left the gate open in case they came back. Midway through the morning I spotted Billy Boy and Bessie inside the pen.

Like I’ve said before my idea of having animals is a couple of cats and dogs. My husband though is quickly turning me into an active farmer’s wife- not by choice mind you, but by sheer necessity. I slowly edged around the inside of the pen ducking through brush and briars so I wouldn’t spook the goats until I reached the gate on the other side. With of sigh of relief I shut the gate thinking my work was finished. A call to Dana and our friend to let the fellows know the goats were safe resulted in them telling me I needed to blockade the gate as they were sure that’s where the goats had gotten out. I spent another couple of hours hauling wood to put up a temporary reinforcement.

Billy Boy and Bessie were still inside the pen when Dana got home. We went out to eat to celebrate our anniversary, after Dana checked on the goats. By the time we got back home it was dark. Dana went once more to check on the goats only to find them missing again! Instead of a romantic evening, we spent the night wandering out in the woods with flashlights trying to hunt down the crazy goats. By then I was convinced that somewhere along the line kangaroo was part of our goat’s genetic line. We finally gave up, staggered inside, and collapsed into bed. When Billy Boy and Bessie showed up the next morning, Dana tied them up until he ran an electric wire around the fence. Meanwhile I shall always remember our goat anniversary.

My Red, White, and Blue Dessert will bring raves of praise at any Fourth of July celebration. While this elegant dessert is not something you quickly put together, yet it can be fixed while you are in the kitchen preparing other holiday foods. The Red, White, and Blue Dessert filled with berries submerged in jello tied together with a creamy middle is sure to be a winner. This recipe is made in three steps and serves fifteen.

Red, White, and Blue Dessert

Step One:
Add 2 c boiling water to 2 (3 oz) pkg raspberry jello and stir until dissolved. Then mix in 1 can of cherry pie filling. Place in clear glass dessert dish and refrigerate until firm.

Step Two:
Beat together 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, 1 c powdered sugar, and 1 (8 oz) container of cool whip until smooth. Layer over jello and chill for a couple of hours.

Step Three:
Add 2 c boiling water to 2 (3 oz) pkg grape jello and stir until dissolved. Then mix in 1 can of blueberry pie filling. Cool in the refrigerator for an half an hour then pour over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until firm. Garnish with flags or any Fourth of July decorations!

Weekly tip: For easy outdoor summer entertaining buy a cheap child’s round wading pool and fill with ice setting it up on a picnic table. Set your salads, drinks, and desserts in the ice and relax. You can garnish your ice with flowers and greenery!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Peachy Peach Cake

Peachy Peach Cake

Dorcas Annette Walker

The peaches in my orchard are ripening causing the branches to hang heavy with fruit. I go out daily to check the status of the fruit anxiously waiting my first taste of a fresh peach. June signals the start of the canning season that will last into the fall. The month of June is also a peak season for weddings. My husband and I were married on a June evening in a candle-light ceremony thirty-two years ago in the college chapel where Dana was enrolled.

I should have read the signs that marriage to Dana would be far from ordinary when, as guest began to arrive for our wedding, a gang of motorcycles decided to rip and roar through the campus. The local police were called and arrived to the scene with lights blinking and siren’s blaring. My poor mother was a nervous wreck as we watched the chase from an upper window. Thankfully things settled down and the ceremony went off without a hitch. At the last minute, due to someone double-booking events at the local community center we had arranged for the wedding reception, we had to move the reception to another nearby town. That morning we decorated an upstairs’ room thankful to have found a last minute spot. Unbeknown to us a Boy Scout carnival was also scheduled for that evening. We arrived at our wedding reception making a grand entrance in front of the entire community. By then my dear mother was ready for a nervous breakdown after trying to corral wedding guests upstairs for the reception among the milling crowd who had come for carnival. Whether it was from the extreme heat from cooking that had been done in the kitchen underneath all day, or the fact that reality hit the groom, Dana nearly passed out at the reception. Outside the band serenaded everyone with love songs including, The Fight Is On, as wedding guests and the carnival blended together.

Thirty-two years later life is still full of the unexpected. My husband decided to expand our farm buying two goats to raise for meat. He kept talking about trying to raise a calf or a milk cow, but thankfully we don’t have enough pasture land for such an endeavor. I had just relaxed when he came up with the idea of goats. That is how Billy Boy and Bessie entered our lives. Since the fence for the pen wasn’t completed, Dana tied the two goats up in the orchard while he and a friend of his finished the fence. Both goats looked adorable with soft brown eyes; Bessie has matching brown fur while Billy Boy’s fur is brown and white. Our two half-grown goats were quite contented until it came time to move them to the pen. Dana tried to lead them, but we quickly discovered that goats don’t believe in following sedately behind so I was positioned in the rear to help move them along. Billy Boy began kicking up his heels and voicing his protests loudly. Our chocolate lab decided to turn into a sheepdog and help. Unfortunately, since Sandy had never herded sheep before she ran at them from the front and sides adding her voice to the confusion. While Dana worked at unwinding Billy Boy’s rope from around his knees and hollering directions at me, I struggled with Bessie, who tried to drag me in the opposite direction. The dust flew and chaos reigned. We had all the makings of a rodeo. Halfway to the pen Bessie flopped down on the ground and refused to budge another inch. By then I was ready to join her. At last we succeeded in getting Billy Boy and Bessie into the pen. Since I’m out of space next week I’ll tell you how our goats helped us celebrate our anniversary.

My Peachy Peach Cake can be made year round, but is especially delicious made with fresh peaches. The Peachy Peach Cake is a cool crunchy summery dessert set off by the tang of fresh peaches. Preparation time for my Peachy Peach Cake is fifteen minutes and this recipe serves twelve.

Peachy Peach Cake

In a medium sized bowl cut margarine into the cake mix until it becomes coarse crumbs:
1 yellow cake mix
1 stick of margarine
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Then mix together:
1 (16 oz) container sour cream
2 eggs
Slice and chop 4 fresh peaches or1 quart of peaches drained
Pour over crumb mixture. Sprinkle on cinnamon and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Let cool and then spread over top:
1 (8 oz) container cool whip
Garnish with sliced peaches and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve!

Weekly tip: When using fresh fruit for a garnish lightly coat the slices of the fruit with lemon juice to help the fruit retain its color!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Southern Fried Chicken and Gravy

Southern Fried Chicken and Gravy

Dorcas Annette Walker

I’ve only met a couple of men along the way who didn’t love fried chicken. Thankfully my husband wasn’t one of them as traveling around you could always count on having fried chicken. In fact, preachers often joke about all the fowl that have entered the ministry. I discovered that while one can get tired of eating roast beef for some reason it doesn’t apply to chicken. Today one can buy chicken cut up and ready to cook or pull some out of the freezer- unlike in my Grandmother’s day when having fried chicken meant a lot of work. In those days fried chicken started out at the hen house where one chose a plump hen or a fattened rooster, caught the chosen fowl, wrung its neck and then chopped the head off, scaled the chicken, plucked the feathers, gutted it, and cut it up. Then the iron skillet was heated up and frying the chicken began.

Next to my room where I am working on the computer there are some chicks hatching in the incubator. First you see a tiny hole in the egg that slowly widens. Then you can hear the chick peep in protest as it tries to break out. The egg shell will expand and wobble around. Slowly, all so slowly, a tiny foot and miniature wing will poke out until at last, kicking and fluttering the chick will break loose from its shell. Dana and I were up at midnight last night watching a chick finally break through its shell. There is something awesome about seeing an egg come alive. Like a good farmer’s wife, for a couple of weeks now I’ve faithfully turned all the eggs at noon in the incubator. To be quite frank there isn’t much joy in turning eggs that don’t respond, but the reward comes in seeing newly hatched chicks turn into adorable balls of fluff that chirp and move about. We have six other small chicks with feathers that Dana moved from the brooder (where the young chicks stay until their feathers grow out) to another section near the grown chickens.

Our small farm is alive and growing. Zebulon, our rooster, keeps a close eye on all the hens while strutting proudly among them showing off his gorgeous feathers. He is a perfect alarm clock starting to crow between 4 and 5 am each morning and also makes an excellent watch-dog, sounding an alarm if anything out-of-schedule happens on our place. I never thought there’d come a day when I’d have to try to sneak around to hide from a rooster. For some reason every time Zebulon sees my face he thinks he needs some scraps. He knows a push-over when he sees one and will loudly crow his demands. The crazy bird probably thinks I am one of the hens. Every so often I remind Zebulon of his pal, Nebuchadnezzar, who was fattened up, put in the freezer, and eaten to try and keep him in his place.

When preparing Southern Fried Chicken and Gravy you don’t want to rush the process or you end will up with uncooked or tough meat. First the chicken needs to be browned to a crisp to hold in the meat juices and then slowly simmered until the meat is tender. My Southern Fried Chicken and Gravy recipe takes about an hour to prepare and serves four.

Southern Fried Chicken and Gravy

4 chicken thighs or breasts
5 tb shortening
Seasoned salt and flour
Melt shortening in an iron skillet. Roll pieces of chicken in seasoned flour and brown both sides of the chicken. Sprinkle seasoned salt on both sides. Turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer for thirty minutes. Place the fried chicken on a platter lined with paper towels to drain the grease and cover.

Stir in the hot grease:
½ c seasoned flour
½ tsp salt
Turn up on high for a couple of minutes until the flour mixture is browned stirring frequently. Lower to medium heat and add:
2 c cold water
1 c cold milk
Stir briskly with a wire Wisk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and serve!

Weekly tip: Seasoned flour: 2 c self-rising flour, 2 tsp poultry seasoning, ½ tsp lemon pepper seasoning salt, and ½ tsp black pepper. Mix together and store in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until needed!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Blueberry Cheese Delights

Blueberry Cheese Delights

Dorcas Annette Walker

Fatherhood has different meanings unique to each family. A father is a god in the eyes of a young child with his size and strength, someone who is quite outdated and old fashioned to a teenager, and then one of the first persons to ask advice from in adulthood. What an awesome responsibility for a dad to live up to! So this Father’s Day start the man of your house off with my Blueberry Cheese Delights along with his favorite cup of coffee.

For my husband fatherhood was a juggling act of being in the ministry, which often times involved traveling away from home, pastoring a church, working with a local construction crew, and being the father of a boy with severe hemophilia along with a daughter who had mild hemophilia. To this family dad was:
- the young father who was present for each birth and proudly carried his infant daughter and son to the nursery
- the dad who, when a lot of other fathers deserted the family upon hearing that their son had severe hemophilia, became a leader within the hemophilia community for his active this is my son approach, and made history learning to factor our son intravenously before he was two years old
- our daughter’s hero who could fix any toy that got broke (causing my husband to sometimes have to seek help from one of his buddies at work)
- the best story teller, who added all kinds of adventures into regular stories pushing our kids to learn to read early as they tried to figure out what those words really said- often scaring them half to death with gory details yet always begging for another story
- letting our four-year-old son help change the oil in the car and truck
- the dad whose wake-up call involved tickling until they screamed for mercy or dumping kids and the mattress out onto the floor
- the guy who let our kids help build our home teaching them how to lay a block foundation to proudly nailing shingles on the roof
- someone they could count on to bring home a surprise just for them every time he went away on a trip
- a dad whose idea of a water fight on a hot summer day was drenching our kids with a water hose
- the guy who built a sandbox and then later a tree-house out in the woods
- the dad who kept our daughter from drowning at a local creek during an out-of-state revival meeting, which unknown to us adults had carved an limitless bottom with a whirlpool; my husband had to swim underwater hunting the two young teens (who thankfully hung onto each other) then kept pushing them up out of the water so they could get air until his buddy could swim across and help him get the girls to safety
- the guy who needed a teenage daughter’s supervision to help him match his socks and ties yet let her drive on the interstate to revival and camp meetings
- the father who drove sixteen hours without a break in order to get his teenage son back in state to our doctor because of internal bleeding after a knee operation
- the strong fellow who broke down and cried at his daughter’s wedding after the bride cried on his shoulder
- the one who my daughter still calls for advice every time something needs done at her house
- and now the grandpa who is the best playmate and best story reader of all

My Blueberry Cheese Delights are quick and easy-to-make breakfast rolls that take only three ingredients. These Blueberry Cheese Delights are a perfect way to start out the day or eaten as a snack with a smooth creamy cheese filling topped with fruit- delicious hot or cold. You can substitute blackberry or cherry pie filling instead of blueberry. Preparation time is fifteen minutes and this recipe makes eight delicious Blueberry Cheese Delights.

Blueberry Cheese Delights

1 can of refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
½ pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
½ (21 oz) can of blueberry pie filling
Stretch out each biscuit into a square with your fingers. Spread on a thin layer of cream cheese and then place a tablespoon of blueberry filling in the middle. Bring up each corner and firmly press to seal. Place each blueberry biscuit on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350º for fifteen minutes. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon over a thin glaze of powdered sugar!

Weekly tip: Center the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat. Keep the pan or cookie tray centered on the rack (at least two inches away from the sides of the oven) for the most even baking!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Taco Potatoes

Taco Potatoes

Dorcas Annette Walker

My Taco Potato recipe is for the fellows like my husband who are meat and potato guys. No matter what else may be served unless there is meat and some kind of potato a main meal isn’t complete. My father was the same way. He’d sniff suspiciously at any fancy dish, but pass him meat and potatoes and he’d always smile with satisfaction. Today the microwave cuts time drastically when it comes to fixing potatoes. Now that’s enough to make a cook smile too.

There is evidence that the Incas cultivated potatoes for centuries dating back to the second century A.D. Three centuries later the Spaniards introduced potatoes to Europe. From 1845 to 1846 blight destroyed much of the Irish potato crop triggering off a widespread famine where around 2.5 million people died from starvation and disease. Ireland was the most likely source of potatoes being introduced to the United States when approximately one million Irish immigrated during this time. Today the United States ranks fourth in worldwide potato production.

Sprouts from portions cut from whole potatoes are planted in the spring. Then potatoes are harvested from the roots of the potato plant in the fall; Russet being the main potato variety grown here in the United States. Only ten percent of the potato crop is harvested in the winter, spring, and summer months. Potatoes are well suited for long-term storage in climate-controlled rooms allowing potatoes to be sold throughout the year, which also allows greater flexibility to sell U.S. potatoes on the open market. Idaho and Washington account for half of the entire U.S. potato production, although the highest yield of potatoes per acre are in Oregon, Washington, and California. Today the net import value of potatoes amounts to between $8 and $9 for each American while the potato farmer grosses close to $2,000 per acre in potato sales.

Russet Burbank’s are used commercially for French fries. The processing potatoes are contracted, negotiated, and signed to commercial fryers before planting. The volume of frozen potatoes consumed is now larger than the volume of fresh potatoes (less than one third of production sold) with French fries dominating. The rest of the potato production is processed into potato chips or other dehydrated products.

Potatoes are quite versatile to fix, in fact the possibilities are endless, yet no matter how they are prepared potatoes remain a filling staple. Instead of using a taco topping you can substitute:
- barbeque pork/chicken with shredded mozzarella cheese
- cooked mixed vegetables with cheese sauce
- leftover chili topped with shredded cheddar
- cooked broccoli and cheese sauce
- salsa, pepperoni’s and shredded mozzarella cheese
- sour cream with bacon bits and diced chives

Taco Potatoes

Brown 2 lbs of hamburger in an iron skillet.
Add 1 pkg taco seasoning with a small amount of water and simmer for five minutes.
While the hamburger is browning:
Poke holes in 4 medium-sized potatoes with a fork, wrap in a paper towel, and microwave for two minutes. Let sit for a couple of minutes and microwave again for two minutes until the center is soft.
Slice the potatoes in two.
Spoon taco mixture onto the top of each half potato.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over meat.
Cover and microwave for one minute until the shredded cheese is melted.
Garnish with sour cream and chives!
Preparation time is approximately fifteen minutes and this recipe serves eight one-half potatoes.

Weekly tip: After microwaving and cutting a potato in half, pinch each end of the halved potato and then take a fork to fluff up the inside pulp. This will help to keep your topping from sliding off of the potato and also let the topping seep all the way through to make your potato more flavorful!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com