A Simple Cookbook for Busy People

         Those who follow Wild Women Authors know for the last few months author Diana Stout, who is published in several genres and lengths. To end her current run with us, she’s brought her very own cookbook. To lure her into this venture we promised to try as many of the recipes as we could and can verify each one was a winner in this house. So . . . here’s Diana to talk about The Super Simple Easy Basic Cookbook.

 What made you decide to write a cookbook? Basically, I wanted a hardcopy of all my favorite recipes and one I could share with my two girls, passing down recipes that had become favorites of theirs as well.

What was easy about writing a cookbook? I didn't have to do much research. I had all the recipes at hand, plus I had already tested them all, many times over.

What was difficult? The many drafts I had to edit. There were 49 drafts total—meaning I had to go through the entire book 49 times--and most of those drafts were about formatting, making sure the recipes were uniform in structure and measurements. For example, one draft could be going through and making sure the measurements all read the same. One draft was just to check the punctuation. Another draft was looking for misspellings, missing words, or unclear meaning. Another draft was to make sure everyone's names were spelled correctly, and so forth.

What do friends not know about this cookbook? That they are mentioned in the book. That I used their list of ingredients (which is not copyrighted), then wrote my own directions (which is copyrighted).

        Like Peg Bracken used to do with her cookbooks in telling stories—some that could occupy several pages—I'm doing the same but keeping my stories short, reporting the genesis of the recipe if I could remember. When I had no origin story, I sometimes spoke about why I included the recipe.

        A number of these recipes were used or created during my first marriage when I was on the farm, raising my two girls. I did a lot of canning and freezing back then. I had chickens for a couple years and our beef was homegrown. Those were the days of family get-togethers, meetings with potlucks, holiday and birthday celebrations with friends and family.

Do you have any favorite cookbooks? I do. I have two, both with dog-eared and yellowed pages, and with pages following out. The first is a yellow hardcover three-ring binder-type book, The New Pillsbury Family Cookbook. It was a wedding gift.

        The second is a soft-cover book called, Let's Cook Microwave! by Barbara Harris. Microwaves were brand new at the time, and I had just bought one, not knowing how to make the best use of it. Our county's home extension department did a seminar demonstrating different recipes using paper plates. Back then, that was amazing! There were less than a dozen of us and we were dumbfounded at the simplicity of cooking in a brief time.

Are you using your own cookbook? All the time! Right after I published the cookbook in March of 2018, that summer I was diagnosed with celiac and discovered I was allergic to milk and casein, along with a host of other favorite ingredients. That meant I could no longer use grains, dairy, and those allergen foods. That said, I turned to my favorite recipes and started making substitutes such as almond, tapioca flours, and non-dairy milks. I found a butter-flavored (without butter) shortening I could use in banana bread where the butter flavor was critical to the bread's overall taste.

        I now have a couple Paleo and plant-based cookbooks on my shelf, so they help give me ideas for substitutes.

Will you write these substitutions as a new cookbook? Probably not. I doubt I could create enough recipes to fill a new book. However, as I write this, I got an idea... I could create a cookbook page on my website where I could share some of these substitutions. I wonder if anyone would be interested?

What's next for you? I'm continuing work on my series of seven novellas, where the couples come and go in each other's story, with an antique car touching every story, and the small town of Laurel Ridge connecting everyone. The first novella, Shattered Dreams is available on Amazon as an eBook. I'm getting closer to being able to publish the second in the series. Once all seven stories have been published, I'll do a box set and I'll put them all into one hard copy book.

To learn more about Diana Stout and the stories she creates go to:  https://sharpenedpencilsproductions.com/

 

Buy links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Simple-Easy-Basic-Cookbook-ebook/dp/B07BTVVYRK

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781986910194

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-super-simple-easy-basic-cookbook-diana-stout/1128495469?ean=9781986910194

BAM: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Super-Simple-Easy-Basic-Cookbook/Diana-Stout/9781986910194?id=7895683858503

Social media contacts:

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/writerDianaStout

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScreenWryter13

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drdianastout

Goodreads:  http://goodreads.com/user/show/43124185-diana-stout

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordianastout/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/diana-stout

 

Sample Recipes:

Win Shuler Mock Cheese Spread

Marshall, Michigan, where I grew up and have lived for many years, is home to the infamous Win Schuler’s restaurant and pub. Its cheese spread was popular and eventually was marketed and is sold in supermarkets.

This recipe duplicates that wonderful flavor and was provided by a Tupperware dealer, back when Tupperware parties were the parties to host. Four decades later, I still have that Tupperware and this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb Velveeta cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup horseradish sauce

Directions:

Melt cheese in microwave or double boiler. Add mayonnaise and horseradish sauce, stirring well. Cool.

Serve with crackers.

 

Red Pepper Cream Cheese Seafood Dip

 The first time I ever tasted red pepper relish was during a small reunion of high school classmates with whom I shared a number of classes in the secretarial track and with whom I ate lunch with every day.

 Betty (Crapo) Renner introduced me, all of us actually, to the red pepper relish. Ever since, I’ve become a fan of both the red pepper relish and red pepper jelly.

 The taste is addicting! This recipe makes a great holiday appetizer.

  Ingredients:

1 8-oz package cream cheese softened

1/2 cup sliced green onions (can use chopped regular onion)

1 can crab meat, drained

9-oz red pepper relish

crackers, your choice

 

Directions:

Mix the cream cheese, onions, and crab meat thoroughly. Mound on a plate, then pour the red pepper relish over the top.

Place crackers around the plate and serve.

 

Diana’s Easy Stuffed Green Peppers

KHD:  this was a winner at our house!!!

I prefer stuffed peppers with hamburger; I know others who prefer to use only rice or macaroni. Basically, a pepper can be stuffed with any food you desire. Experiment until you find what you or your family likes best.

 Ingredients:

4 green peppers, large with tops and seeds removed

1 lb hamburger

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup instant rice

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup catsup

salt & pepper, to taste

 Topping:

1 8-oz can of tomato sauce

1/4 tsp of sweet basil

1 tsp sugar

 

Directions:

In microwave or on top of the stove, cook the meat, onion, and celery until done. Drain. Add the rice, water, catsup, salt, and pepper, mixing it all together.

Spoon the mix into the peppers, which are already placed into a 2-qt casserole dish, or an appropriate-sized dish if one bigger is needed. Fill the peppers.

Mix the topping ingredients together in the sauce can, then spoon half of the mix over the peppers. Bake at 350° for about 30-40 minutes, uncovered. Spoon the remaining sauce on top of the peppers during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time.

Quick version: Instead of baking whole peppers, cut up the peppers and cook with the hamburger and onions. It becomes a one-pot meal then.

 Jiffy Mix Corn Casserole

Roger Brown, a math professor I worked with. is a great cook. During the winter, he often brought this corn casserole to our potluck lunches, and it was always a huge hit.

 KHD—another winner at our house—even the notoriously picky eater asked for the recipe so she could take it to her work for upcoming parties. Huge compliment to Diana!!

 

Ingredients:

1 can corn, whole kernel and drained

1 can cream corn

1 cup (8oz) sour cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup (4-5 Tbsp) butter, melted

1 small box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese – optional

 

Directions:

Combine all except cheddar cheese in a bowl. Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish and bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes.

Top with cheese either before baking or after baking, if desired.

This dish can be made using a slow-cooker, as well. Spray or grease slow cooker generously. Add mix. Cook 3 1/2 – 4 hours on low or until a knife inserted into middle comes out clean.

 

KHD—one of the nice things about this book is the way Diana arranged it by appetizers, drinks, soups, main entrees/meat and fish, desserts and a special one to us—Mixes as in make your own bisquit mix or cookie mix.  Several are simple enough for that tweener who is just testing their skills in the kitchen. A few basic ingredients—like the Easy Bed and Breakfast Rolls on page 53—and voila, your kid or grandkid has something neat and easy to share with their pals when they’re over for study dates or toenail painting party.

For a family get together [outdoors, of course, to maintain social distancing] try:  

the Best Barbeque Pork recipe on page 125. It is simple—we used the crockpot—is absolutely delicious and, depending on the number of people served, makes enough for leftovers. One of the nice things about this recipe is the different “flavorings or seasonings” which can be increased, decreased or switched out per personal or family tastes. The meat comes out fork tender and very moist. I chose to serve it with soft Italian rolls, but it’d work over mashed potatoes or noodles or rice.

 Wouldn’t this be a fun gift for a drive-by bridal shower?