We are once again featuring some wonderful cooks from right here in the Ozarks in our Country Christmas Cookbook, and we have some great recipes for ya all to try out. Some of them just might become holiday traditions.
Cooking doesn’t come naturally for me. I can and do cook, but it’s not unusual for supper at the Crawford place to be a bowl of cereal or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have friends who plan out their menu weeks in advance. For us, it’s more like what our mood dictates.
Back in the summer, our oven element went out. Since it was summer, I didn’t think anything of it because we grill a lot. I figured we would eventually get around to fixing it.
Bill kept forgetting there would be no baking with the oven out and would want something like lasagna. More than once, I came home from work to him trying to preheat the non-working oven. Bill forgetting something is not unusual; I have to tell him a several times during the NFL season that we don’t get Monday Night Football.
One night, he had a frozen pizza all laid out and ready to go into the non-working oven. After reminding him, again, I couldn’t bake anything, he questioned what we were going to do with the pizza. I said I could try to broil it, but the bottom of the pizza would not cook. Finally, I decided to throw the pizza onto the barbecue grill. Let’s just say, it was life changing. At least once a week for most of the summer, we had grilled pizza.
I started looking at other things I could “bake” on the grill. Some were good, some were not. I also broke out the smoker more and could throw a whole meal in there with ease.
When my family reunion came up, I made a no-bake chocolate, cream cheese, peanut butter dessert that was amazing, and a big pot of chicken and dumplings, which were also pretty good. I didn’t really care if the oven ever got fixed.
Finally, one day Bill asked if I could make him a pumpkin pie. While I was up for trying it on my grill, I wasn’t sure how it would work out. I told him I could break out my big Dutch oven and get the fire pit rolling, but he decided he didn’t want to try that. I think he was burnt out on my cooking/grilling experiments. The next day, a new element was ordered.
Bill eagerly installed it when it arrived a few days later, and we were back in business. Bill’s first request, other than a pumpkin pie, real biscuits, not my “grilled” biscuits (they were not that good), and the promise I would make turkey, stuffing, homemade rolls and pies for the holidays. He currently wants nothing grilled, smoked, broiled or boiled.
None of my experimental recipes are in our Country Christmas Cookbook, but my no-bake dessert for my family reunion is and trust me, it’s amazing. Look for the No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert under the dessert section.
As we gather with our families for our holiday festivities, let’s all remember it’s not about the food on the table or the gifts under the tree. It’s about being with family and celebrating what we do have, and not focusing on what we don’t.
Most importantly, we should remember the real reason for the season. “For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 WEB)
Merry Christmas from everyone at OFN! May all of your Christmas wishes come true!
Julie Turner-Crawford is a native of Dallas County, Mo., where she grew up on her family’s farm. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Julie, call 1-866-532-1960 or by email at [email protected].
