Facebook luncheon club

The Facebook Luncheon Club was started from seeing posts with recipes and pictures of food on Facebook. Ann Gibson and Billie Davis are two of those participating. Ann kept seeing  posts with pictures and recipes of food, and after talking with Billie and suggesting a club, Billie set up the page the next day. “Anything with food, I’ll jump on,” said Billie.

Ann describes it as a collective idea of a few people on Facebook who are always posting what they are cooking with pictures of meals. “The idea is to meet once a month, take a dish you’ve cooked, along with the recipe,” said Ann. They described it as a  “cooking and eating club.”

Ann Gibson and Billie Davis

The Club had their first meeting September 8. Those able to attend were Billie Pryor Davis and Ann Gibson, whose out-of-town sister-in-law Wilma Gibson, joined them. They plan to meet every second Saturday of the month at 11:30 a.m. at the Lodge Hall in Calhoun City. Others who participate in the Facebook exchanges and plan to attend include Keith Thacker, Donna Cole, Rose Diamond, Tony Parker, Melissa King and John Pryor.

For the first lunch, Ann brought a squash casserole and chocolate chip cake, and Billie brought baked spaghetti. Ann is still adjusting on her chocolate chip cake recipe, but submitted a “no fail” Easy Bundt Cake recipe that she has made many times, adding that she uses yellow cake mix and adds German chocolate-caramel icing the most. Ann also included some recipes with Greek influence that she picked up while visiting her daughter’s in-laws in Greece.

Billie included a favorite recipe of her mother’s, chicken and broccoli. She has been making it for years when company comes and once served it for a bridal luncheon at her house several years ago. Ann takes a cheesy alfredo sauce, shrimp, pepper, garlic salt and mixes with bowtie pasta. Billie uses chicken bouillon or broth in cooking her green beans, but said Margie Bryant told her to used a large can of Double Luck green beans and a 1/2 stick of oleo, and just cook them down.

Billie likes to prepare meals and not much sweets, but Ann likes to make desserts. She calls herself a chocoholic, saying Earthquake cake is delicious and “rich, rich, rich!”  She likes to make things she can take to work. They talk a lot about cooking and Billie posts her menus on Facebook for Sunday night, her “big night for cooking.” She cooks for all her family and friends, takes food to work, and to other people. Ann starts on Friday night searching for main dish and casseroles for the weekend. She loves allrecipes.com and Billie, who grew up in a cooking family, is a big fan of Pinterest.

Squash Casserole
Ann Gibson
2 cups cooked yellow squash
1 can cream mushroom soup
2 eggs
1 cup toasted bread crumbs
1/4 cup oleo or butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup grated cheese
Mix onion and mushroom soup well.  Add eggs and mix.  Add the squash that has been cooked in salted water, then mashed.  Beat well and add sugar.  Pour half squash mixture into a well greased casserole dish; sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the bread crumbs.  Add other half of squash mixture and spread with rest of cheese and bread crumbs.  Melt butter and pour over top.  Bake about 45 minutes at 325 degrees, covered.

Easy Bundt Cake
Amy Poynor
Any cake mix – don’t go by instructions on the box
Any cake frosting – those that are in the tubs
4 eggs
1 cup water
3/4 cup oil
Mix all together (yes the frosting too), can add chopped pecans.  Pour into a greased bundt pan and cook at 350 degrees until springs back or toothpick comes out clean.

Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Dip)
Ann Gibson
Goes as a side with meat and in Greece with Souvlaki (a pita bread wrapped around roasted meat chunks tomatoes cubed, and onions)
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup sour cream
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill
Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix until well combined. Using a whisk, blend the yogurt with the sour cream. Add the olive oil mixture to the yogurt mixture and mix well. Finally, add the cucumber and chopped fresh dill. Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Greek Potatoes
Ann Gibson
3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 1/2 cup olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled 1 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup beef stock or chicken stock 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the potatoes in a single layer in a 13-x-9-inch baking dish and pour the oil over them. Add the garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste and toss well to coat with the oil. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Add the stock, toss and bake for 10 minutes more. Add the lemon juice, toss and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the potatoes are cooked through. If you like, preheat the broiler and broil the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with the fresh oregano and serve at once.

Baked Spaghetti
Billie Pryor Davis
1 ¼ pounds of ground chuck
1 cup of onion
1 cup bell pepper
1 cup celery
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can whole tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
¾ tablespoon Italian seasoning
¾  teaspoon granulated garlic
1 Tablespoon of sugar
Shredded Parmesan and Cheddar cheese (I sometimes use Asiago cheese as well)
12 oz. pasta of choice (we like angel hair)
Brown meat, onions, bell pepper and celery together with salt and pepper.  Drain well.  Add granulated garlic, italian seasoning and sugar along with the tomatoes.  Cook for approximately 1 ½ hours and then check for seasonings.  Add if necessary.  Cook pasta and drain.  Begin layering in the casserole dish as follows:  layer of meat sauce, layer of pasta, then parmesan and cheddar cheese.  Repeat layers depending on the size of the dish.  I usually have some meat sauce left over to put in the freezer.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Margaret Pryor’s Chicken and Broccoli
Billie Pryor?Davis
6 to 8 chicken breasts
2 pkg. Chopped broccoli
8 oz. Carton sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup Velveeta cheese
3 tablespoons Sherry
3 tablespoons milk
1 pack cheddar cheese, grated
Slivered almonds
Parmesan cheese
Boil breasts.  Cook broccoli according to package.  Layer broccoli and deboned chicken.  Sprinkle with half of the grated cheese, garlic powder, and dot with butter.  Heat sour cream, soup, Velveeta, milk, and Sherry.  Pour over chicken.  Sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar, almonds, and Parmesan.  Bake at 375 until hot and bubbly.  Good with rice.