TulsaPeople / April 2009 / Feeding the soul - recipes

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Feeding the soul - recipes

A few of our church and synagogue cooks’ most-requested recipes.

Click here to read their story.

Virginia Huddleston
Asbury United Methodist Church

Green beans

• Two cans green beans (drained)
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 strips bacon
  
  Melt butter and add brown sugar and minced garlic. Pour over green beans. Add two strips bacon (or bacon bits on top). Bake in covered dish for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Hot rolls

• Two packages dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3-4 cups flour
  
  Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt and oil. Add flour until it feels like biscuit dough, about 3 or 4 cups. Turn out on floured surface and knead. Put in oiled bowl and let rise until double (about 1 1/2 hours). Punch down and make into rolls. Let rise again 1 1/2 hours or until double in size. Bake at 250 degrees until golden brown. 

Nancy Cohen
Congregation B’nai Emunah

Rolo cookies

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup regular sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• Miniature Rolo candy
• Almond bark (optional)
  
  Mix sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Refrigerate 5 minutes. (Dough will be easier to handle.) Take small ball of dough (1 teaspoon) and wrap around 1 Rolo candy. Make sure candy is covered, but don’t use too much dough.
  
  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees in preheated oven. While still hot, gently flatten with back of a small glass. Cool before removing.
  
  Optional: Melt almond bark until smooth and drizzle over cooled cookies.
  
  Note: You can substitute a peanut butter cup for the Rolo.

Rugelach

• 4 sticks butter
• 2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
• 4 cups flour
• Filling No. 1: Sugar, cinnamon and nuts
• Filling No. 2: Chocolate chips, sugar, 1/2 square baker’s chocolate and chopped nuts
  
  Process butter, cream cheese and flour to make the dough. Form into 8 balls. Roll each ball into a circle. Sprinkle with either filling and cut into wedges or pie sections. Roll each wedge from long side in. As they are formed, place rugelach on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake until golden-brown for about 20 minutes. Makes 96 pieces.

Joyce Luttrell
Verdigris United Methodist Church

Chicken and dressing casserole

• 1 whole chicken or the equivalent in breast
• Store-bought dressing (she prefers Stovetop), 1 chicken flavor and 1 cornbread flavor
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 8 ounces sour cream
  
  Stew and debone 1 whole chicken or the equivalent in breast meat. Reserve broth. Make 2 boxes of stuffing by package directions, using reserved broth for water. Put 3/4 of dressing in a 9-by-13-inch pan (sprayed). Mix cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, sour cream and chicken pieces. Put on top of dressing and then remainder of dressing on top of chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly in middle, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Carrot cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Crisco oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups grated carrots
• 3/4 cups pecans
• 1/4 cups coconut
  
  Mix together sugar, oil and eggs. Sift together flour, soda, cinnamon and salt and add to egg mixture. Add carrots, pecans and coconut. Pour in a sprayed bunt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.
  
  For topping: Mix 8 ounces cream cheese and 2 tablespoons margarine with enough powdered sugar to be creamy.

Terry Watts
St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church

Easy beer bread
Mix the following together and place in greased loaf pans.

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 12-ounce can of beer (not light)
  
  You may vary the flavor by adding ingredients such as the ones listed below:

• Fresh grated parmesan cheese and four cloves of minced garlic OR
• Chopped sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and garlic
  
  Bake bread at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Melt 3/4 stick of butter, pour over bread and bake additional 15 minutes.

Tomato basil soup

• 6 to 8 tablespoons Butter
• 1 large onion
• 3 to 4 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 6 to 8 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped*
• 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves (if using dried basil, 3 to 4 tablespoons)
• 1/2 to 3 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon white pepper
• 14 20-ounce regular strength chicken broth
• 12 16-ounce petit soup pasta
• Cook onions and carrots in butter until limp. Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt, sugar and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Puree and set aside.
  
  In a separate pot, bring broth to boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook until pasta is tender and soaks up most of the broth. Stir broth and pasta into puree. Serve with Parmesan cheese, sour cream and croutons. Add additional chicken broth if soup needs to be thinned out.
  
  *When using canned tomatoes, I use two large cans or one of the large bulk cans. If the juice in the can is “watery,” drain off most of it and add some tomato paste later to thicken if necessary.