Falkner retiree doesn't know how to sit still
Sep. 22—FALKNER — When Betty Richardson was growing up, she didn't spend time cooking in the kitchen with her mother. Her place was the cotton field.
"Mama would make us a full breakfast every morning, then we'd go to the field, and she'd have a big meal ready for us to eat at lunch," Richardson said. "She'd spread a big quilt under a shade tree and have fruit jars of vegetable soup, or butterbeans, peas and biscuits. And always a jug of tea. Those were the best times. Boy, that was good in the field."
And then in the evening, Richardson's mother would have an elaborate meal on the table.
"And I don't mean one little pan of something," Richardson said. "I'm talking 10 or 12 things. She could throw a meal on the table in a heartbeat."
When Richardson and her husband, Danny, married 47 years ago, she could make the basics — cornbread, peas and potatoes.
"If I got ready to make something, I'd make Mama come up here to the house," she said. "She wanted to do it for me, but I said, 'Mama, I can't learn that way.' So she stood behind me and taught me to make things like chicken and dumplings, and gravy."
Richardson, 66, is the middle of three girls born to the late Marvin and Gladis Brock. She graduated from Falkner High School, then went on to work several places. She retired in 2018 from Ashley Furniture in Ripley, after working there for 20 years.
"Danny and I cut yards in our retirement," she said. "We have about 11 we do. We can't sit still. We have never been able to sit still."
On Sundays, Richardson's family gathers at her house or at her sister's for a big lunch. She and Danny have one daughter, Amanda Barkley, and her husband, Nick; and three grandchildren.
"We have anywhere from 10 to 16 here on Sundays," she said. "Just about everybody at church has been to my house or my sister's house to eat at least one time."
Lunch might be pot roast, chicken strips, peas or beans, corn, potatoes, slaw and cornbread. Or lasagna, spaghetti, salad, slaw, corn, potatoes and garlic bread.
"There's two things we're going to have every Sunday, even in the winter, and that's slaw and corn," she said. "And we always have one or two desserts."
Richardson usually tries a new recipe about every other week, and she always serves it at Sunday lunch to her "guinea pigs."
"If my family likes it, it goes in my cookbook," she said. "I have two homemade cookbooks — one's just for sweets. I started putting them together when I first got married. I don't know what happened to my original one — it got lost. I'm not sure if it fell into the garbage can and got thrown away or what. But I've made a new one."
DO YOU KNOW A GOOD COOK? Send your nominations to Ginna Parsons, Cook of the Week, P.O. Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Or you can call (662) 678-1581 or email them to ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.
COCONUT CAKE
CAKE
1 box Duncan Hines butter cake mix
1 stick butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
FROSTING
16 ounces sour cream
2 cups sugar
2 cups flaked coconut
8 ounces whipped topping
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 bag frozen coconut
For the cake, combine cake mix, butter, eggs and milk. Bake according to directions on the box in two 9-inch greased and floured cake pans. When layers are cool, cut in half to make four layers.
For the frosting, combine sour cream, sugar, 2 cups flaked coconut, whipped topping and coconut extract. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle and pat 1 bag frozen coconut onto frosted cake.
PECAN PIE BARS
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon milk
Unroll crescent dough into a rectangle; press onto the bottom and a half-inch up the sides of a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Seal seams and perforations. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine egg, sugar, pecans, corn syrup, melted butter and milk. Pour over the crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool completely before cutting. Makes 2 dozen.
SAUSAGE RICE CASSEROLE
1 pound ground breakfast sausage
Chopped onion
Chopped bell pepper
1 cup uncooked rice
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 can chicken broth
1/4 cup water
Mushrooms (optional)
Brown sausage with onion and bell pepper. Add raw rice, carrots, broth and water, and mushrooms if using, and cook over low heat until rice is tender.
PATSY'S MEXICAN CASSEROLE
1 pound ground beef or sausage
Chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can Cheddar cheese soup
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
Doritos or corn chips, or 8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
Brown beef or sausage with onion; drain. Add soups and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve as a dip with Doritos or corn chips, or stir in cooked noodles for a casserole.
PECAN FUDGE CAKE
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 stick butter
6 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
Prepare cake according to directions on the box, and bake in a 9x13-inch pan.
Place butter, milk and cocoa in a saucepan and stir over low heat until butter is melted. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Stir in pecans. Pour over warm cake.
SWEET AND SOUR MACARONI SALAD
16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup vinegar
2 cups mayonnaise
5 tablespoons sugar
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
4 medium-large carrots, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
Boil macaroni in water until tender. Drain, then add oil and stir to keep it from sticking together. Set aside.
Combine sweetened condensed milk, vinegar and mayonnaise and mix well. Add sugar and mix well. Add cooked, drained macaroni, bell pepper, carrots and onion, and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
CINNAMON FLOP
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk
Cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Combine granulated sugar and flour. Add milk and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of mixture. Combine brown sugar and chopped nuts and sprinkle over all. Pour melted butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Combine confectioners' sugar and milk to make a glaze. Add more sugar or milk to reach desired consistency. Pour over the top.
STRAWBERRY-PINEAPPLE SLUSH
9 cups water
5 cups sugar
2 large boxes strawberry gelatin
2 (46-ounce) cans pineapple juice
1 (15-ounce) bottle lemon juice
8 (2-liter) bottles ginger ale, chilled
In a large pot, bring water, sugar and gelatin to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and gelatin. Chill about 1 hour or until slightly thickened.
Stir in pineapple juice and lemon juice.
Divide mixture among 8 quart-size resealable ziptop bags (you'll have about 3 1/2 cups per bag). Seal bags and freeze until firm.
To serve, let 1 bag of juice mixture stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Empty bag into a large punch bowl. Add 1 chilled 2-liter bottle of ginger ale. Break up mixture with a spoon until it is a slushy consistency. Serve immediately. Makes 8 batches of punch.
CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise in planks
Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add sweet potato planks, cover, and cook over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover and let thicken.
