Deanna Denley Clements

Deanna Denley Clements of Tuscaloosa, and formerly of Bruce likes to bake cookies or make fudge for her kids, especially when they’re home unexpectedly for something like a “bad weather” day.

“I try to keep certain ingredients on hand such as powdered sugar, Hershey’s cocoa, cream cheese, and cake mix. That’s what is so great about the Chocolate Chess Pie recipe–the ingredients are usually things I have on hand,” she said. ?“This is my go-to dish if I need to take  a dessert somewhere  on short notice. I’ve learned to make two at a time; one to give away and one to keep, because daughter Samantha doesn’t like it if I make it without her getting to have any,” she said.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies and Chess Square are also favorites of Zachary, Samantha and Eli, with ingredients also easy to keep on hand. She likes to bake for Zachary and his college roommates, too.
“I don’t mind cooking when I have a long block of time; however, I don’t enjoy the rush of having to come home from work and get it on the table in a hurry,” she said, adding that husband Randy does much of the every day cooking and she is the  “assistant,” because he’s a lot faster and not as conservative with seasonings.

She found Shaquille O’Neal’s family recipe of macaroni and cheese in a magazine. After two years of modifying it every time they made it, they’re satisfied with it and renamed Shaq & Cheese. Deanna likes alfredo pasta when Randy makes it, and they like to add grilled chicken tenderloins which have been marinated in Italian.

Samantha likes crockpot roast for Sunday lunch (with Greek peppers, dry ranch rub, carrots, potatoes, and onions). One of Eli and Zachary’s favorites is Chicken Tikka Masala. “I started making it after I saw a McCormick’s spice pack/recipe card combination for it a few years ago while browsing through the grocery store for meal ideas.  I figured it would be too ‘exotic’ for the boys, so it was very surprising to me when everyone enjoyed it,” she said.

She doesn’t remember cooking much growing up, “but “Momma (Jo Ann Denley) had a microwave cookbook I used to make things from,”?saying this was the height of the 70’s and “microwave cooking was all the rage then.” She remembered making a chicken and rice casserole and also crab dip.

She gets most of her recipes from family and friends and also from magazines. In 2011, she and niece, Abby Hillhouse Rea, made a cookbook of family recipes for Christmas. “I can’t remember what made us decide to do it, but we wanted it to be a surprise to everyone so we had to be sneaky about it, telling everyone I was reworking my recipe collection and asking if they had any good recipes I could have,” saying she enjoyed digging through old recipe files of Momma and Grandmother (the late Maggie Denley).

Chocolate Chess Pie
Melt together in saucepan over low heat:
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
½ stick butter
1 1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
Small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Pour into unbaked pie crust (not deep dish) and bake for 35-40 minutes at 325°.  Serve with ice cream.

Sour Cream Muffins (Biscuits)
1 stick butter, melted
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream
2 c. Bisquick
Whip melted butter and sour cream together. Fold in Bisquick. Bake at 400° in ungreased muffin tin 20 minutes.

Shaq and Cheese
1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1 stick (1/2 c.) margarine
1 Tbsp. flour
1 ½ c. or more of milk
2 eggs
16 oz. package + 8 oz. package Velveeta cheese, diced
8 oz. package sharp cheddar cheese, diced
1 c. bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 425°. In  large pot of boiling water, cook macaroni with oil and salt until al dente. Drain. In  large saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add flour. Cook, stirring, one minute. Add milk and eggs. Cook and stir one minute.  Stir in Velveeta cheese and half the cheddar; cook on low until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. If sauce is too thick, stir in more milk. Add cooked macaroni to sauce.  Stir over low heat  one minute. Taste and add extra salt, if necessary. Pour mixture into large greased casserole dish or baking pan. Top with remaining cheddar and bread crumbs.  Bake 30 minutes or until top and bottom are browned.

Alfredo Pasta
½ c. (1 stick) butter
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 c. heavy cream
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
Pinch salt
6 oz. bag grated Parmesan cheese
1 12-oz. box fettuccini pasta
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Add garlic, cream, pepper and salt; bring mixture to simmer. Turn heat down if mixture reaches a rapid boil. You just want a simmer.  Add cheese gradually and continue to simmer for 8 minutes or until thick. While sauce cooks, bring 4 to 6 quarts of water to a boil and add pasta. Cook pasta about 12 minutes or until done; drain. Spoon pasta onto serving plates with sauce poured over top.

Randy’s Sauteed Mushrooms
3 green onions with tops, chopped
¼ c. butter or margarine, melted
1 lb. fresh mushrooms
¼ c. dry white wine
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Sauté’ green onions in butter until tender.  Stir in remaining ingredients; cook, uncovered, over low heat 30 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies
¼ c. butter or margarine, softened
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
2 c. unsifted all-purpose flour
¾ c. Hershey’s cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
(Can add a little almond extract for a different flavor)
1 c. nuts, finely chopped (optional)
Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. In separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 8-9 minutes.  Do not over-bake. Cookies will be soft. They will puff during baking and flatten upon cooling. Cool on cookie sheet until set, about 1 minute. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.