Sending Food to College

Logan was home from college last weekend and it was time for me to renew my cooking skills. (One of the reasons Gary Don is always happy when Logan comes home!) I love the new cookbook and have decided that I will try to only use recipes from it for the next few months.

• I planned ahead and first cooked the Sloppy Joes from Katy H. on page 161. They are great. The recipe makes enough sauce that you can use 3 pounds of hamburger meat. Gary Don and I ate them for 1 meal then I froze the rest to send with Logan.




• Next I made the Cheeseburger Mini Muffins on page 160 by Pamela J. It is a recipe I am going to remember for parties. I think they would go great with pinto beans. To serve to my guys, I put them in the freezer until I have time to make the beans.




• So Gary Don would not feel cheated, I made Lana C's Barbeque Pork Chops on page 164. Wow, they are really good. I was not sure what time we would eat so I started cooking with the lid on the dish. It made them a bit soupy but gave me the idea of adding rice next time.




• I love Chicken Pot Pie and the recipe from Ashley K. on page 177 is excellent and easy to prepare. Gary Don is not a great chicken lover (or very high on vegetables). He is a beef man. I am kind of glad because the Chicken Pot Pie reheats great in the microwave and fed me for three days.




• When Logan arrived home, I fixed Katy H's King Ranch Chicken on page 183. It is excellent. Logan said his friends would like it which is always a compliment. Since the casserole can be frozen before baking, I think I will make it for the college rodeo next month because I always have a house full and never know how many I will be feeding. For this recipe, we ate it once and I froze the rest to send back to school with Logan.




• It is here I should probably note that because I was freezing everything, my guys only had doctored up bean dip nachos for supper when Logan's rodeo was rained out and we ended up back home.




• I also made Katy H's Banana Pudding Cupcakes on page 301. I was in a hurry so turned the recipe into a layer cake. The filling is mouth watering good. Logan said it was really good. I fed it to more company for Sunday lunch and sent the rest back to school with Logan. Next time I make this recipe, I am going to put it in a trifle bowl.



• Mike B's County Potatoes on page 122 were another addition to Sunday lunch. It was handy to make the day before. I was feeding mostly guys and they enjoyed the dish. She mentions that green chilies can be added which sounds like something my bunch would like. Some leftovers went to college and Gary Don used the rest when making soup.




• To add to Sunday lunch, I also made Meme's Jello on page 98. My mom created this recipe years ago and it is a favorite. I use it often because men like it and I can prepare ahead of time.

Thanks so much to the cookbook committee for organizing such a wonderful book. It is a great gift for family and friends. I already have a lot of my Christmas shopping completed. Whoo hoo!

Betsy