Food: A kitchen where family and food go together
Growing up surrounded by a large extended family, it’s no wonder Cathy Oelrich enjoys cooking for a crowd. She and her husband Bill get the opportunity to do that, or at least to a small extent, every Wednesday night. That’s when Cathy’s cousins, Amanda and Matt Wendt stop by for dinner. The family includes almost-five-year-old Kiki who has been helping Cathy in the kitchen since she could stand on a stool. “The stool helps her reach the counter top so she can be involved in whatever we are making,” she said. “And she’s a pretty good cookie decorator, too.”
“We like to experiment, and try new recipes,” Cathy said. “And we get to do that when we have company.”
Both Cathy and Bill work full time; Cathy as the circulation supervisor for the Star Journal and Buyers’ Guide and other papers in the Multi Media Channels group, and Bill is employed by Trigs in Rhinelander. Like many working couples, the Oelrichs divide the kitchen duties (Bill prepares wild game and fish and Cathy does most everything else) and like to have on hand a variety of easy to prepare recipes. Cathy said the internet helps with the recipe variety. One of their favorite ways to cook is with a crockpot. They have now added a pressure cooker to the mix.
“It works a lot like a crockpot, but cooks faster,” Cathy said. “Ours is electric, not the kind that sits on the stove top. No worries about it exploding like in the old days!”
Cathy’s dad, Chris Miller, was the family cook growing up, and still is. “I spent a lot of time with my dad,” she said. “So I know how to cook and how to build things.” Her mother, Cheryl does the clean up and laundry.
“When I think about cooking, I think of my family,” Cathy said. “Cooking with my dad; making Christmas cookies with my great-grandma and pies with my grandma and a bunch of cousins.”
Wednesday nights give her the chance to have a table full of food and guests, and may even pass down to the next generation, the family’s love of cooking.
Here are a few of Cathy’s favorites.
Stuffed Peppers
3 or 4 large peppers, any color
1 lb ground beef/turkey/chicken
1 can mushrooms
1 c. minute rice
16 oz tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
¼ c. water
1 c. shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or spray baking dish. Cut peppers in half lengthwise, from stem to bottom. Clean and place in to pan with hole facing up. Brown meat, seasoning to taste. Drain and add mushrooms, rice, tomato sauce, tomato paste and water. Reduce heat and stir until mixture is warmed through.
Cover the bottom of each pepper with cheese. Fill with meat mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes; top with cheese before serving.
Fluff
16 oz whipped topping
2 small boxes of instant french vanilla pudding
2 cans sliced or chunk peaches (if sliced, cut into chunks) with juice
32 oz cottage cheese
1 bag mini marshmallows
In a large bowl, mix cans of peaches with juice and dry pudding mix. Once well mixed, add cottage cheese, followed by whipped topping. Add ¾ of the bag of marshmallows.
This recipe can be made with a variety of fruit and pudding combinations. For example, pistachio with pineapple, or banana with fruit cocktail. You can even use flavored whipped topping. Around the holidays, I use vanilla pudding with french vanilla cool whip.
Pheasant Fajitas
1 lb pheasant (chicken/turkey)
2-3 large peppers
1 small onion
Minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
Season salt to taste
Tortilla shells
Cut pheasant into small pieces. Slice peppers thinly. Sauté peppers, onion and garlic in a fry pan until peppers become to soften. Season meat with seasoning salt and cumin, add to the pan, cooking until meat is done. Serve in warm tortillas with sour cream, cheese and black olives.
Party Punch
2 liter bottle of clear soda or ginger ale
8 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
128 oz bottle of Hawaiian Punch
Orange slices and frozen raspberries for garnish
In a punch bowl, combine all three ingredients. For garnish, slice orange slices to float on top with frozen raspberries.
Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pint strawberries (two pints if the berries are large)
Graham crackers
Milk chocolate ice cream topping
Clean berries, removing tops and centers. Cut the bottom so the berry sits flat. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Scoop mixture into piping bag or small ziplock bag with a small corner cut off.
Pipe mixture into the center of the berries. Crush graham crackers and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle with chocolate topping.
Venison Roast
1.5 lb roast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
Potatoes and carrots
Crockpot directions:
Season meat, place in bottom of crockpot. Cube potatoes and carrots and add to the crock. Combine soups and onion mix and pour over the top. Cook on low 7-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice or noodles.
Pressure Cooker directions;
Season meat, place in bottom of crockpot. Cube potatoes and carrots and add to the crock. Combine soups and onion mix and pour over the top. Add 1 ½ cups of beef broth. Add dry noodles and cook 99 minutes, or follow directions for your specific pressure cooker.
Pot Pies (makes 16)
2 tubes large biscuits – flaky or regular, doesn’t matter
2 cans chicken, drained and rinsed
1 can carrots
1 can corn
1 can peas
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
To make batch of 8, reduce all ingredients to 1 and use a can of mixed vegetables
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Press biscuits out flat to about a 5 inch circle. Spray muffin pan cups, press biscuits circle into the cup. It should overhang on the top. I try and skip every other cup in the pan so the biscuits crisp easier.
In a bowl, mix chicken, vegetable and soup. Scoop into each cup. Crimp overhanging biscuits to create a crust around each cup. Bake 25-30 minutes
Stack Dinner
2 c. minute rice
1 can peas
1 lb ground beef/chicken/turkey
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
¼ c. water
¼ c. ketchup
½ tsp. oregano
Shredded cheese
In a pan, brown meat with seasoning. Drain. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, water and oregano. Simmer until warmed through.
In separate pans, heat peas and prepare rice according to package directions.
Layer rice, then meat mixture, peas and shredded cheese.
Banana Bread (my mom’s recipe)
½ c. sugar
½ c. butter
2 eggs
3 bananas
1 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ c. flour
¼ c. nuts – optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix milk and vinegar in a small glass or bowl, set aside. Cream sugar and butter until well blended. Add eggs. And bananas and milk/vinegar mixture.
Gradually add flour and baking soda.
Pour into a greased loaf pan, bake 55 minutes to 1 hour.
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