Authors: Charlotte Hubbard

Tags: #Restaurants, #Christian Fiction, #Amish, #Betrothal, #Love Stories, #Religious, #General, #Triplets, #Fiction, #Amish & Mennonite, #Christian, #Romance

Summer of Secrets (26 page)

Stuffed Peppers

Feeds a hungry bunch and looks especially festive in red pepper shells—or alternate red and green peppers in the pan.

6–8 large bell peppers
2 lbs. lean ground beef
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
1 small onion, diced
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 10-oz. can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
1 pouch precooked, seasoned rice; or 2 C. cooked rice
1 can or jar spaghetti sauce, any variety
About 4 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

Cut the peppers in half lengthwise; seed and set aside. Meanwhile, cook the beef and onions, seasoned to taste, and drain. Return beef mixture to the skillet and add the tomatoes; simmer 5 minutes. Mix in the rice. Stir in about half the spaghetti sauce.

Preheat oven to 350°. Fill the pepper halves with the meat mixture, spoon some spaghetti sauce over each, and bake in a foil-covered pan about 45 minutes. Remove the foil, top each portion with cheese, and return to the oven until cheese is melted.

Kitchen Hint
: 6 peppers/12 halves fit nicely into a 9x13-inch pan, but I usually have meat mixture left, so I fill another pepper or two and bake these separately to freeze for later. You can fill the peppers a day ahead and keep them covered in the fridge, too.

Cucumber-Onion Salad

Tangy-sweet, crunchy-fresh—and it keeps for several days in the fridge!

2–3 firm cucumbers, peeled
1 or 2 medium onions, peeled
1 C. white vinegar
½ C. vegetable or canola oil
½ C. water
½ C. sugar*
1 tsp. each: salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dill

Slice the cukes and onions into a large bowl, alternating layers (a half-gallon plastic ice cream container works well, too). In a large jar with a lid, pour the vinegar, oil, water, sugar, and the seasonings and shake vigorously. Pour over the veggies, stir a bit to distribute the liquid, and cover. Chill thoroughly.

*Kitchen Hint
: You can use Splenda or ¼ C. Splenda Baking Mix instead of sugar.

You can also use this dressing (even what’s left over from the cukes/onions) to make
Marinated Veggie Salad:
slice carrots, celery, radishes, onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower—whatever you love!—into a bowl, pour in the liquid, and chill for several hours. Looks pretty layered in a glass bowl.

Frog-Eye Fruit Salad

Acini de pepe
pasta gives this sweet, creamy salad its unusual “frog eye” texture. It’s so yummy you can serve it as a salad, or spoon it into dessert cups!

1¼ C.
acini de pepe
pasta
1-20 oz. can crushed pineapple
1-20 oz. can pineapple tidbits
1 T. flour
2 beaten eggs
1 C. sugar
1 large or 2 small cans mandarin oranges
1 large jar maraschino cherries
2 C. whipped topping

Boil the
acini de pepe
in water according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: drain the pineapple tidbits and
squeeze
the juice from the crushed pineapple; put fruit aside. Pour 1¾ C. of the pineapple juice into a medium pan, whisk in the flour, eggs, and sugar and then simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Set aside to cool.

Drain the oranges and cherries; halve the cherries. Put these with the pineapple and chill. Mix the sauce into the pasta in a large bowl and chill several hours/ overnight. A few hours before serving, stir the fruit into the pasta mixture and fold in the whipped topping. Serves 15–20. (Try not to eat half of it before you share it with anyone else!)

Cherry-Pie Salad

Make this in your prettiest glass bowl!

1 can cherry pie filling
1 20-oz. can crushed pineapple
2 3-oz. boxes cherry gelatin
1 C. boiling water
1 6-oz. container cherry vanilla yogurt
1 C. whipped topping

Pour pie filling and undrained pineapple into serving bowl and stir. Mix the gelatin into the water until dissolved, then stir into the fruit. Chill until firm. Mix the yogurt and whipped topping and spread on the salad. Cover and chill.

Kitchen Hint:
Yep, light pie filling and sugar-free gelatin are just as good in this recipe. Substitute other flavors of pie filling, gelatin, and yogurt, too.

Smothered Hash Browns

A meal in a pan! Add other fresh veggies like zucchini, broccoli, or chopped carrots for variety.

1 pkg. frozen hash browns, thawed; or Simply
Potatoes
Dill weed, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
1 onion, sliced
1 red or green bell pepper (or combo of both), in
bite-sized chunks
4–5 large fresh mushrooms (or 1 can of mushrooms)
2 C. diced ham; or 11b. bulk sausage, cooked and
drained
1 small jar Cheez Whiz

Preheat the oven to 350°. Brown the potatoes in about 1 T. oil in a nonstick skillet, seasoning to taste. Spread in a sprayed 9x13-inch pan and set aside. Simmer the veggies in ¼ C. water until nearly cooked, season to taste, and stir in the meat. Spoon this mixture over the potatoes and then spoon the cheese over all, spreading it as it melts. Cover and bake about 20 minutes or until heated through. Serves 3–5.

Mamma’s Sky-High Biscuits

A little whole grain makes these more healthful and very satisfying! Makes about 15, depending on the size of your cutter.

2 C. white flour
1 C. whole wheat flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. cream of tartar
¾ C. butter or margarine
1 egg
1 C. milk

Preheat oven to 425°. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and cut in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and milk, stirring quickly to blend, then knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 1-inch thickness and cut with a 1- or 2-inch biscuit cutter (or use an overturned drinking glass dipped in flour). Place on a parchment-papered cookie sheet. Bake 12–14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Kitchen Hint
: You can do all the mixing in a food processor! Faster and easier! You can freeze them, too.

Lemon Icebox Pie

Sweet yet tart, this easy pie makes a refreshing summer dessert.

1 10-inch graham cracker crust
1 egg white, slightly beaten
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
5 egg yolks
½ C. sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract

C.bottled lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325°. Brush the crust with egg white and bake 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling: With a whisk or fork, blend the condensed milk and egg yolks until smooth. Stir in sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until well blended. Pour into crust and bake at 300° for 20 minutes or until center is set. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate several hours or overnight. Garnish with whipped cream or whipped topping.

For key lime pie: Substitute bottled key lime juice for the lemon juice.

Kitchen Hint
: Use those extra egg whites in a healthy veggie omelet to serve with Sweet Zucchini Corn Muffins.

Sweet Zucchini Corn Muffins

Sweet and dense, these muffins accompany any meal—and they’re a great way to use up zucchini when your garden explodes with it.

2½ C. white flour
1½ C. yellow cornmeal
1 C. sugar*
1 T. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. each baking soda and salt
3 C. shredded/finely chopped zucchini

C. honey
1 C. oil
1 6-oz. carton lemon yogurt*
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients together and then stir in the zucchini. In a small bowl, blend the honey, oil, yogurt, and eggs, and then stir them into the flour mixture until well moistened. Spoon into muffin tins and bake 12–15 minutes, or just until tops are set. Leave in pans about 10 minutes and then cool muffins on a rack. Makes 2 dozen.

*Kitchen Hint
: You can substitute ½ C. Splenda Baking Mix for the sugar and use nonfat yogurt.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

So moist you won’t miss the frosting. Try it as a coffee cake, too!

½ C. margarine
½ C. oil
1¾ C. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ C. buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt
2½ C. flour
¼ C. cocoa
1 tsp. each salt and soda
1 T. cinnamon
2 C. grated unpeeled zucchini
½ C. chopped nuts
1 C. chocolate chips
2 T. sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°. Cream the margarine, oil, and sugar. Add eggs and then vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt. Stir in the zucchini and spread in a sprayed 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle with the sugar, nuts, and chips. Bake for 45–50 minutes. Freezes well.

Mamma’s Best Cinnamon Rolls

Who knew great bakery cinnamon rolls could start with a cake mix?

2 T. or 2 pkgs. yeast
2½ C. warm water
1 box yellow cake mix
4 C. flour
3 eggs

C. oil
1 tsp. salt
Melted margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon

Dissolve yeast in the water for about 3 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, add yeast mixture to the cake mix, 1 C. of the flour, the oil, and the salt. Mix until bubbles appear, then slowly add the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, then place in a greased bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to grease the top. Cover the bowl and let dough rise until double (about an hour with regular yeast; 30 minutes with quick-rise).

Punch down the dough, divide in two, then roll into 12x9-inch rectangles. Spread with melted margarine, then sprinkle all over with sugar and cinnamon. Roll the short sides like a jelly roll, pinch edges to seal, and cut each roll into 12 rounds. Place rounds in two sprayed 9x13-inch pans and let rise until double. Bake at 350° for 20–25 minutes.

Frosting
: 2 C. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 3 T. melted margarine, 3 T. milk or orange juice—enough to make it drizzly. Spread on the rolls while they’re hot.

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