Diane Harrison

Diane Harrison of Calhoun City got started making her cookbook, “Diane’s Favorite Recipes”, just recently when she had her mother, Nida Weaver, to show her step-by-step how to make chicken and dressing. At this time Diane began getting some of her recipes onto the computer, and besides this work in progress, she says she has a “library of cookbooks.”

She loves chocolate, and calls herself “a sweet person,” saying she got her love of desserts from her grandmother, the late Laverne (Big Mama) Hubbard, who always cooked a dessert with every meal. She laughingly says she blames her grandmother for her “being healthy.”

Diane’s holiday signature dishes are congealed salads, asparagus casserole and desserts, especially cherry cream cheese pie and jam cake (from her grandmother’s recipe). She always tries new recipes for Christmas, along with the old stand-bys. The chocolate spice cake is made from scratch, but is easy, according to Diane, and she likes easy. She also enjoys making casseroles.

This past Christmas she took a day to make candy, saying that some was “hit or miss.” The Rolo candies with pretzels and pecans were the easiest, she said, but her favorite was peanut butter fudge.

Every July 4 and Christmas, she and her husband, Nathan, host a meal at their home for friends. Usually on the fourth, the food is centered around barbecue, for which they prepare a lot of side dishes. Their Christmas menu varies, and this year it was heavy hors d’oeuvres, and the girls added an ornament swap. Their Super Bowl party is always held at the home of Mike and Shirley Lucius, and that menu might be steaks or chicken and dumplings, but this year they are serving soup. Shirley has requested Diane’s five-can soup.

Diane and three of her lady friends go out to eat each Friday for lunch, which they started in 2005. This group, plus a few more, take a yearly trip which has included San Francisco, Boston, and British Columbia. Eating is a big part of their trips, and “not conducive to Weight Watchers,” laughed Diane, because they love to try new food when they travel.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
1 can condensed milk
1-8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 graham cracker crust
1 can cherry pie filling
Let cream cheese stand at room temperature until softened. In a medium bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk; add lemon juice and vanilla and beat until well mixed. Pour filling into crust and top with cherry pie filling.

Chocolate Spice Cake
1 tsp. soda
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp.vanilla flavoring
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 sticks margarine
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 cup water
Sift soda, flour and sugar together. Set aside. Separately mix buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon; set aside. Bring to boil margarine, cocoa and water. Add sugar and egg mixture and beat until well mixed. Pour into a greased and floured 13×9 baking pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350°.
Icing
1 stick margarine
3 Tbsp. cocoa
6 Tbsp. buttermilk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 cup chopped pecans
Mix margarine, cocoa and buttermilk in saucepan; bring to a full boil.Sift sugar into cocoa mixture; beat lightly. Add vanilla and nuts. Pour over warm cake.

5-Can Soup
1 can Bush chili beans
1 can Mexicorn
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can vegetable beef soup
1 can tomato soup
Corn chips
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Mix beans, Mexicorn, Rotel and soups in pan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10-20 minutes. Serve over corn chips. If desired, sprinkle with cheese and add a dollop of sour cream.

Chocolate Pie
(Nida Weaver)
3 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 stick oleo
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 baked pie shell
Mix sugar, flour, cocoa in boiler. Add beaten eggs and milk, oleo, salt and vanilla. Mix well and cook on low heat, until thick. Pour into pie shell and top with meringue.
Meringue
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 Tbsp. sugar
Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy peaks form. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Asparagus Casserole
2 cans asparagus, drained
4 boiled eggs, sliced
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 lb. cheddar cheese
1 stick oleo, melted
1 stack Ritz crackers
In a casserole dish put a layer of asparagus, layer of sliced eggs, can of soup and 1/2 lb. of grated cheese. Repeat layers. Melt oleo and pour over one stack of crushed Ritz crackers. Sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Easy Crockpot Roast
2-3 lb. chuck roast
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing
1 pkg. dry Ranch salad dressing
1 pkg. dry brown gravy mix
1 cup water
Place roast in crockpot and cover with all the dry seasoning mixes. Add water to roast. Cook on low 8-10 hours, or on high for six hours.