Sandi Stewart Shelton

Sandi Stewart Shelton of Bruce is one of several members of Old Field Methodist Church who brings a dish for supper there every Wednesday night. “We always have a great meal,” she said about the potluck meal they have been having for several years now. One of her favorites to take is mini ham and cheese rolls.

Butter roll and chocolate cobbler are two desserts she makes pretty often, sometimes at home, but especially to carry somewhere. She found the butter roll recipe while looking through an old cookbook and thought it looked good. She made it and “the whole family likes it.” Her mother, Phyllis Stewart, makes it, too, but has a little different version. She also likes to make the rice dressing when taking a dish, because it makes a lot.

Her family eats a lot of deer meat. “We have a freezer full,” she said. Their children, Mikayla and Conner, killed three deer apiece during the last season, when their daddy, Chris, took them hunting. “The deer and gravy falls all to pieces,” she said, and “the marinade recipe has been around for years. It has the best flavor.” She said Chris uses it a lot before grilling. They also all like vegetables–peas, butterbeans, cucumbers, and squash–which they love fried, but also grilled after marinating in Italian, or baked in the oven sprinkled with some Tony Chachere’s seasoning.

She loves cookbooks and her family is pretty open to try something different. She always sticks to the recipe when she’s making something the first time. Other than that, she doesn’t measure a lot. She’s been cooking since she was young, starting supper for her mother while she was at work.
She learned by trial and error, but also from her mom, who “can cook anything”. She says her mother-in-law, Rose Mary Shelton is also a very good cook.

Taco salad is Conner’s favorite and Better Than Pizza Casserole is Mikayla’s. The casserole is  browned ground beef, tomato sauce and a mixture of spices poured over canned biscuits, and topped with cheese. Meat and vegetables are Chris’ favorites. Shelton, a first grade teacher at BES, says the teachers sometimes bring finger foods to school around holiday time, and they usually exchange a lot of recipes following.

Rice Dressing
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. smoked sausage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 bunch celery, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 cups water
Brown ground beef and drain. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Pour in buttered 9×13 baking dishes. (This recipe makes a lot. It will almost fill two 9×13 pans.)?Bake, covered, for one hour, or until rice is tender.

Deer Teriyaki Marinade
1 bottle soy sauce
1/4 bottle Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Wesson oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 garlic bulb, chopped
1 box brown sugar
Marinade tenderized deer pieces for a few hours. Grill for just a few minutes on each side. Do not overcook.

Butter Roll
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk
Butter
Sugar
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Cut shortening into flour. Add two cups milk and stir until stiff. Roll out about 1/4” thick. Spread liberally with butter. Top with sugar. Roll like jelly roll. Cut into 1/2” slices. Place in 9×13 baking dish. In saucepan, mix three cups milk, sugar and vanilla; heat. Pour over roll and bake and for 25-30 minutes at 350°.

Deer and Gravy
2 lbs. of deer tenderloin pieces, tenderized
Flour
Oil
1 pkg. Lipton dry onion soup mix
Water
Salt
Pepper
Flour deer pieces and brown on both sides in a small amount of oil in large skillet. Pour onion soup mix over the top and cover with water. Salt and pepper as desired. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. As it cooks down, keep covering with water. A thick gravy will form.

Chocolate Cobbler
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
2 sticks butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. cocoa
Melt two sticks of butter in a 9×13 pan. Mix flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, milk and vanilla flavoring. Pour over butter. Mix one cup sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle over batter in dish. Put 1 1/2 cups water over dry cocoa mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Mini Ham and Cheese Rolls
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1 Tbsp. mustard
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter, melted
24 dinner rolls
1/2 lb. chopped ham
1/2 lb. thinly sliced Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 325°. In small bowl, combine onion flakes, mustard, poppy seeds, and margarine. Split each roll. Make a sandwich of the ham and cheese, and the rolls. Arrange the sandwiches on a baking sheet. Drizzle poppy seed mixture over the sandwiches. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. These sandwiches are best when served warm.