Ethel's Icebox Rolls

I promised to let my characters from The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club take over the blog from time to time. Up next is Ethel, the geriatric waitress at the Green Apple Grill. Jake, the owner of the restaurant, suspects she calls everyone "honey," "sugar", or "darlin'" because she can't remember their names. When she's not fussing at people for failing to clean their plates, she's sharing some of her favorite recipes with Jake. Here's the recipe for her delicious... 

Icebox Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 pkgs (1/4 oz) of Fleishmans dry active yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup of water with a tbsp of sugar on top
6 cups of flour (more or less, depends on how it feels)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water
2 eggs

Directions:

Cream the shortening, sugar & salt. Add the hot water, then the cold. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add to the mix. Add the dissolved yeast, then the flour. 

Ethel says once it's all together the dough is so thick she can't hardly beat it with a large spoon. That's the only reason she shared this recipe with Jake. She needs him to do that final stirring. Let the dough rise for an hour or so. Cover and refrigerate and you can use this to make dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls when ever you want.  

Roll out the batter on a pastry cloth and use a glass to cut it into circles. Put the circles in a non-stick baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

For a change, you can use the dough to make cinnamon rolls. Just dip the circles of dough into melted butter, stretch it into  long oval and roll it in a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Tie it in a knot and bake as directed above! 

Ethel says to serve them with love, honey! 

Valor Knows No Age

A couple years ago, Mr. Eddings and I took a cruise around the British Isles with stops in Ireland, Orkney, Scotland and France. When we travel, part of the fun is meeting new people, so we always opt to be seated with others instead of having a private table. We are usually seated with folks who are close to our age, and arguably would have similar interests.

This time we were seated with two nonegenarians. At first, we were disappointed. What common ground would we find with these men in their 90's?

Then we got to know them and discovered that they were both WWII veterans.

George and Joe had been friends since high school. After Pearl Harbor, they volunteered when the country went to war. George was a soldier in the European theater, was captured by the Nazis and spent time in a POW camp. Joe was an airman, flying bombers out of Burma. They both survived the war, came home, married, had families and meaningful careers. In an ironic twist, George married a German girl who came to the States for college,

Both men were with their wives for more than 50 years, so they know a thing or two about faithfulness and making a love last. When we met them, they'd both become widowers, but their friendship was as strong as ever. Each year, they take a trip together and this particular year, they hoped to visit the beaches of Normandy when we stopped in France.

We are losing our WWII vets at a rate of 550 a day. My hubby and I count ourselves blessed to have been able to spend 12 days getting to know these two.

To all our vets, to our current airmen, sailors, marines, soldiers, coasties and their families, please accept my heartfelt thanks for your service to our country. You are my heroes!

Jake's Lazy Man Chili

This week the weather is brisk in Coldwater, Oklahoma, the fictional setting for my Coldwater Cove series. Folks are turning up their collars against the wind that whistles down from the tired peaks of the Winding Stair Range and off the choppy surface of Lake Jewel. Jake Tyler, an ex-marine who's also the chief cook and bottle washer of the Green Apple Grill, has put his Lazy Man's Chili back on the menu. 

When he has time, Jake likes to cook from scratch, but sometimes he takes a few shortcuts. The results are still fantastic. Here's his easy recipe for chili soup guaranteed to warm up your insides:

Ingredients:

Spicy V8 juice (48 oz.)

Chili Beans (2 cans)

Pinto Beans (2 cans)

Kidney Beans (2 cans)

Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies (10 oz. can)

Bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)

Onion diced

Mushrooms (1 cup sliced)

Ground Beef (2 pounds)

Minced Garlic (1 Tablespoon)

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Chili Powder (1 Tablespoon)

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a stock pot. Be sure to drain the pinto and kidney beans before adding. Cook on medium heat. Chop up the peppers, onion and mushrooms and add to the mix. You can also add half a package of frozen corn if you wish. It adds another pop of color to the bowl.

Jake likes to use a steamer/strainer to cook his ground beef. It drains the excess fat without sacrificing flavor. Or you can brown it in a skillet. If you prefer to use ground turkey or venison, either works well. Season the meat with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, minced garlic and chili powder. Add to the stock pot. 

Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat till it's bubbling gently. Let it cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally. 

Jake's Green Apple Grill customers garnish their chili with chopped jalapenos if they're feeling adventurous and shredded cheddar if they're not. Serve in a deep bowl. You'll want a Methodist's portion. (That means a lot!)