I learned how to make elephant ears in high school cooking class. But I never made them again until after we went to the fair in 2009.
The kids all wanted elephant ears and we were on a tight budget. I told them that we could make elephant ears at home. So we researched recipes and made them.
We often make them after the fair now.
This is a family favorite recipe. It is a very adaptable. Add cheese to the gravy if desired, adjust the amount of onions, use different seasonings if you wish. We usually enjoy it as written.
Use your favorite biscuit recipe, but we prefer it with large buttermilk biscuits. Since this is a heavy meal, a simple fruit salad served alongside is wonderful.
When we were overseas, we could not find graham crackers. We found a lot of other really good cookies and crackers, but sometimes I just wanted a graham cracker to dunk in milk or a good base for a s’more.
Cutting into long thin rectangles, and then baking the crackers until crisp, we often used these for when the children were teething. As they grew older, we cut them into small animal shapes for “animal crackers”. They also enjoyed these cut into large hearts and stars with shaped cut out from the middle.
The recipe makes a lot, but if stored in a cool dry place, they last for weeks. Unless your family enjoys them as much as mine, then the crackers only last a short while.
One of the first recipes that Andrea “invented” on her own. She wanted chocolate chip cookies and Audrey wanted peanut butter, so she experimented and came up with these.
This is a soft bread that is easy to make. It makes great toast or grilled cheese.
I do not remember ever having biscuits and gravy growing up. However, my parents would make us “Shmooey on Toast”. It is the same idea as creamed chipped beef on toast–S.O.S. as soldiers called it according to my dad– but without the chipped beef. A little research and I learned if you use a chopped hard boiled egg, it is called Eggs à la Goldenrod.
I asked Dad where the name “Shmooey” came from. He said that shmooey sounded a lot better than “S.O.S”. With a little more research, I discovered why my parents swapped names for us kids. I agree… shmooey is a lot more kid friendly!
Following is the recipe we always followed for Shmooey, along with some variations.
While overseas, we often could not get some of our favorite foods. Most of the time it did not matter, but occasionally we wanted comfort food from home. Not only are English muffins easy to make, but use ingredients that were found easily while we traveled.
They are good plain, but English muffins are much better toasted. They are good eaten in so many ways; with eggs and cheese, as hamburger rolls, smothered in butter, or as a base for peanut butter and jelly.
Pasties are popular in Calument where Daddy spent a lot of time growing up. He said that Petila’s taxi in Calumet would often take his family to McLain park and then come back at a prearranged time to take them home. His grandmother made them also. There are many recipes for pasties, but all are similar.
Feel free to experiment with the basic recipe. We often make the pasties with cubed meat instead of ground. Be careful not to over stuff the crust, it is much better to have leftover filling! If you can find it, replace part–or all– of the carrots with rutabaga for a more traditional taste.
When serving, I like them best with a little extra butter. Some people serve them with gravy. My mom eats them with ketchup.
Aunt Kristi gave Andrea this recipe. She also included the directions for making a huge pot for camp 🙂 This is one of Andrea’s favorite ways to eat noodles.
If desired, add some cooked chicken pieces. Serve with garlic bread and a colorful salad.
This is also great on zucchini noodles or your favorite steamed vegetables.
Andrea loves Saltine crackers. She was very happy to discover this easy candy recipe that uses the crackers to add a nice crunch.
These double easily, but Andrea recommends not making more than you want for the day because they are very addictive and you will easily eat more than you plan.
