Happy to be mentioned!

Hey all,


Well the results of the Second Annual Pullet Surprise contest are in. Sadly I did not win, but hey I was at least mentioned. Check out some of the other recipes tho - sure do sound good. I gotta get myself a camera!! http://pbetouffee.blogspot.com/

Shopper's Delight

This was one of my husband's favorite comfort foods. The smell when it was cooking drove him crazy and he would just keep asking when do we eat!! So put in the oven and go shopping, or whatever, and when you get home your dinner will be nearly ready. Found this recipe many years ago in a cookbook called, "An Invitation To Dine". It was published to benefit The Robert Crown Center. My oldest son's mother-in-law, Janice Whitsell, did the illustrations. Twas a good recipe book.

Shoppers Delight

3 lbs stew meat

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2/3 cup cooking sherry

Combine ingredients in casserole (don't brown meat). Cover and bake for 4 hours in 300 degrees. Serve over noodles, rice or mashed potatoes. I also added a can of mushrooms. Even better next day!

Grandma's Bon Bon's

This recipe actually was from my wonderful friend, Lois Winjum. My Mom and I were visiting her one day and she served us these lovely Bon Bon's. My Mom was so taken with them that she began making them like they were going out of style. Everyone she knew rec'd Bon Bon's. Both Lois and my Mom are gone now, but every Christmas I have so many people tell me that they sure miss my Mom's Bon Bons. She truly became the Bon Bon Lady.

Bon Bons

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup walnuts or pecan

2 T butter

Mix together and shape into balls (1 T. per ball). Refrigerate 2 hours

Melt together, 1 cup choc chips and 1 cup butterscotch chips.

Roll balls in mixture. Place on cookie sheet and freeze until firm.

May be stored in freezer.

Makes about 25 Bon Bons

Thinking about my Mom

Somehow I can't think about cooking and baking without thinking about my Mom. My Mom, Zelma Opal Archey loved cook books and recipes. Her old cookbooks are bulging with clipped out recipes from magazines and newspapers. She was a very good cook - not fancy - more comfort foods. Always meals with the 4 basic food groups. Think baking was her real forte. Her pies, cakes and cookies made my Dad a very happy man. Always used lots of butter and real whip cream. My Dad is 94 and still going strong - so guess it didn't hurt him. Some folks are just lucky I guess.

When my Mom found a recipe she liked, it became her own and it is amazing how often we all say, Grandma's banana cake, Grandma's meat loaf, Grandma's macaroni salad, etc, etc. We will being saying that for years to come. Isn't that a nice legacy?


Her kitchen was her domain - so much so that when I got married and realized that I had a husband that wanted to eat 3 meals a day and expected me to prepare them - I was in deep trouble. Even tho I spend a great deal of time helping my Mom in the kitchen - she did the cooking - I did some chopping , set up and clean up. Needless to say I was soon asking lots of questions about cooking and begging her to send me her recipes. All of those recipes ended up in a cook book I made for all my kids and they are still all using them.

One of my former son-in-laws said that Grandma Archey was born to serve and think we all agreed with that. Whenever you came to visit, you always got your favorite foods. My oldest son, Eric loved her tapioca. She always whipped the eggs whites and folded them in making this wonderful light airy pudding with a hint of vanilla and lemon. She tripled the recipe so Eric would have enough.



Evan always got his favorite, Pistachio Surprise. Eddy his Peanut Blossom Cookies. Don't think Ethan had a favorite, just liked them all. The girls, Erin, Elin and Elie Jo, all loved her Chocolate Chip cookies, her Bon Bon's and banana cupcakes. She made sure she had them all waiting when we arrived.

There was always a huge dinner waiting for all of us when we arrived. All those heavenly smells greeted us at the door.

Think the amazing thing about her was, that most of her life she put up with terrible swollen feet and legs. I know they were very painful, but she would not let them keep her from doing what she loved to do.







One day my Dad brought home a beautiful domed glass cake dish and told Mom that he never wanted to see it empty. I never did.



After spending 55 Christmas's with my Mom and Dad, there came a time when she and Dad were not able to spend Christmas with all their grandkids anymore, so she baked and baked. Her whole huge dining room table would be filled with every kind of cookie and candies you could imagine. She worked for days and put together boxes for everyone of her grandkids and their families and mailed them. It was a huge project for she and Dad. They were both in their late 80's by then. But she would have it no other way.


For my 65th birthday, my mother baked me a birthday cake even tho we asked her not to, because we were going to celebrate the following weekend and my sister-in-law was going to bake me a cake. My Mom said that everyone should have a cake on their real birthday. She made her famous banana cake that she had been making for years. My Dad said it took her all day. When we went over to their house that evening she ask me to help her frost the cake, which I did. It was truly a very special cake and one I will never forget. It was the last thing my Mom ever baked and she passed away 6 weeks later. She was 88 years old. That was 5 year ago and I still think about her everyday and miss her so much - we all do. But we are still cooking her good food and we all think of her when we do!

Sausage Brunch Bake

Here is my entry for "Pullet Surprise". Have been making this dish every Christmas for years. One year my husband said I am sick of the same old dish every year -let's have something new. I said OK. That year when my 7 kids came home for Christmas they all complained that we did not have the Sausage Brunch Bake - they said it was a tradition. From then on my husband never complained and we had it every year from then on. Neat thing is - now since my children are all grown with families of their own, we do not all get together on Christmas Day anymore, but when they call that day, everyone of them have fixed the Sausage Brunch Bake. To all their credit they have experimented and used different cheeses and other wonderful additions.

We always served our Breakfast Bundt Cake with this. All could be made ahead!!

This year there were only 3 of us together on Christmas Day and I halved the recipe and it came out fine.

Since I am a new blogger and just getting started, I do not have a camera yet. Boo hiss!! After seeing all your wonderful pictures - maybe I will ask for one next Christmas and will send you a late picture. It is really quite beautiful right out of the oven. Rather like a large golden souffle!!

Sausage Brunch Bake

1-1/2 Lb Bulk Pork Sausage

12 Beaten eggs

3 Cups milk

4 slices bread, torn up

2 cups shredded American Cheese

1-1/2 t. dry mustard

1 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

Brown sausage and drain. Mix rest of ingredients together and add to sausage. pour int0 greased 9"x 13" baking dish. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or till nearly set in center. Let stand 10 minutes. Serves 8-12