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  • Welcome to my Kitchen

    LAURA ESTES|Updated Sep 25, 2013

    Deutschesfest is over for another year. By the time you are reading this column the trappings of the event will be stored away, the trash picked up and the streets cleaned. Many recipe requests came my way, for items from the bake sales. I am in the process of rounding up the recipes. One request was for Kaese Kuchen (Cottage Cheese Kuchen) That recipe I know by heart, so was able to jot that on napkins or whatever was handy, for out of town visitors. For those who subscribe...

  • Welcome to my Kitchen

    LAURA ESTES|Updated Sep 18, 2013

    Love that German food and wish you could take the weekend menu home with you? The Odessa Memorial Hospital Auxiliary has compiled a cookbook with over 500 recipes of German and local cuisine, entitled “Unser Tagelich Brot, The Staff of Life V”, available at various sites throughout Odessa. The actual recipes for many of the menu items you enjoy at Deutschesfest are in this book. Kuchen, German coffee cake, is one of the easiest to prepare, but like most German recipes, the...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    LAURA ESTES|Updated Sep 12, 2013

    Bake sale season is coming. Odessa area residents received postcards reminding them of the Odessa Museum German Bake Sale held Friday of Deutchesfest, and soliciting donations of baked goods. Though kuchen and pfefferneuse are hot sellers, there are lots of buyers looking for quick breads, yeast breads and rolls, pies, cakes and cookies. Wendy Cronrath, Lacrosse, WA served several baked items at an Odessa, summer event. I don’t usually devote an entire column to one persons r...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    LAURA ESTES|Updated Aug 28, 2013

    So many recipes, so little space. Over the next few weeks, I will get all the submitted recipes published. This weeks column will focus on the most summery recipes, and of course, zucchini. Kathy Ratkowski brought UnPotato Salad to a recent community potluck picnic. Cauliflower is used in place of potatoes to create a low-carb salad. Kathy made note on the recipe that she uses a little less mayonnaise than the recipe calls for, and substituted the light version. UnPotato...

  • Welcome to my Kitchen

    LAURA ESTES|Updated Aug 14, 2013

    Zucchini quiche, stir-fry, and yeast rolls are on the menu this week. Merleen Smith served a Zucchini Bacon Quiche at a recent brunch gathering that garnered numerous recipe requests. She got the recipe from Nancy Floether, who found the recipe in the 2004 August/September issue of Taste of Home Magazine. The recipe is attributed to Sheri Krueger of Black Creek, Wisconsin. Zucchini Bacon Quiche 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigera- tor crescent rolls 2 tsp prepared mustard 6 bacon stri...

  • Welcome to my kitchen

    LAURA ESTES|Updated Jul 31, 2013

    Zucchini plants growing in Odessa gardens are beginning to produce the annual over abundance of this versatile vegetable. There is no end to the number and variety of recipes devised to use up the abundance of fruit produced by this prolific plant. Cakes, breads, cookies, casseroles and salads, the recipes keep coming. Several years ago Cindi Bell, formerly of Odessa, gave me copies of a stack of zucchini recipes that she had collected and developed to incorporate zucchini...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Jul 9, 2013

    Odessa seems to be overrun with skunks this year. Monday of this week I saw three skunks, all in different areas of town. To my way of thinking, that is three skunks too many. Eradicating skunks is probably not a kitchen subject, but de-skunking dogs, other animals and items, could be. Ingredients for a good de-skunking solution are mostly found in the kitchen. Leanna Schafer’s dogs had an unpleasant meeting with a skunk several years ago. She found this recipe on A...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated May 13, 2013

    Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday. Mom might like a batch of Steel-cut Oatmeal Granola Bars for quick snacks or lunch time fare. Several weeks ago, they were a number of granola recipes in a Spokesman Review article. Most contained expensive ingredients not readily available locally, but several called for steel-cut oats. What I did learn from the article is that toasting the steel-cut oats before adding them to any recipe allows them to take on flavors and absorb liquid b...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Apr 26, 2013

    Slow-cooker meal preparation fits nicely into spring activity schedules, allowing home cooked meals to be ready when a quick dinner is required. Fix-It and Forget-It, Feasting with your Slow Cooker, by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good is one of my favorite slow-cooker recipe resources. There is a recipe for just about everything in it. Awfully Easy Chicken, by Martha Hershey of Ronks, PA is a wonderful base recipe for combining chicken and just about any bottled sauce....

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Apr 12, 2013

    First on the menu this week is a correction. I omitted part of a sentence in the cooking instructions for Roasted Brussels Sprouts. The third paragraph of instructions for the recipe should read as follows: Place in oven and bake 15 minutes, turn sprouts with spatula and bake 15 minutes more. Sprouts should be browned and very dark on the edges. I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused. Start your day with Amish Baked Oatmeal, a recipe submitted by K...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Mar 3, 2013

    It is snowing as I sit down this early Monday morning to write the column. Is March going to come in like a lion or a lamb? Either way this yummy, Chunky Apple Cake recipe, submitted by Kathy Jantz, is perfect for late winter and early spring. Additionally it just might be the recipe Nancy Liner has been searching for. The ingredients are the same and if one makes the small goof that Nancy reported making, the results would be the same. Nancy’s error, she reported, was m...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Feb 1, 2013

    Super Bowl and a simmering pot of stew, a recipe sure to please game day sports fans. Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Stew, from www.kraftrecipes.com is easy to prepare. A smoky barbeque aroma develops as your slow cooker does the work and you won’t miss a play of the game. Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Stew 1 Tbsp cooking oil 2 pounds beef stew meat (11/2 inch cubes) 5 carrots (3/4 pound), peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 large onion, cut into chunks 2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered 3...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Jan 21, 2013

    Here it is, as promised, my list of “must keep” cookbooks. If I had to pare my cookbook library to just twelve books, these would be my selections. With these twelve publications I would feel well equipped to prepare edible fare from just about any potable item that came my way. 1. Ann Pillsbury’s Baking Book, 1961 2. Fix It and Forget It Cookbook by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good, 2000 3 Searchlight Recipe Book, Household Magazine, 1945 4. Best of Country Cooking, Rei...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Jan 6, 2013

    Cook what you eat, and eat what you cook. Could this be your resolution for 2013? With rising food costs, meals take a bigger bite out of the family budget. Wasted food increases the cost, with no benefit to family or the budget. According to a CNN report, August 12, 2012, American families throw out 25% of purchased food, amounting to approximately 20 pounds per person a month, totaling from $1,350.00 to $2,275.00annually for a family of four. The article goes on to speak of...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Dec 21, 2012

    Snow on the ground, the last days of school for the year, company coming and the bustle of the season seems to make kitchens the hub of activity. Let’s start off with an easy but a bit unusual, Apple Cranberry Salad, quick to prepare at a moments notice, from ingredients you can keep on hand. I came across this recipe in my dads recipe box. It was written out in his own hand using a fountain pen, but no notation of where or when he got the recipe. My guess would be around 1...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Dec 6, 2012

    “Christmas Time’s a Comin’…..Home for the Holidays”, familiar lines from popular Christmas songs, sounds, sights and aromas bring visions of seasonal delights to our minds. Time to get out your holiday recipes and plot a baking plan. I’ve added a new favorite to my list of Christmas recipes. Faux Pecan Pie was a hit with the family at Thanksgiving. This pie is made with pretzels, and if you choose a nut free brand (not produced in a factory where nuts are processed)...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Nov 22, 2012

    The feast of Thanksgiving is upon us, and as we gather with family and friends to give thanks and celebrate, let us not forget the Thanksgiving part. Here is a quick way to create a visual reminder of all we have to be thankful for. Take fall colored construction paper and cut into strips about 5 1/2 inches by 1 inch. Gather up some fine point marking pens and a stapler or two. Throughout the day or even the several days around Thanksgiving encourage everyone to write things...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Nov 8, 2012

    Several requests for sugar free recipes have come in over the past two weeks. The holiday baking season is fast approaching, and folks who have recently been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes are struggling to find suitable recipes to replace traditional sweets. I have found that it is best to use recipes developed by the sugar free sweetener companies, as each product is a bit different, and none of them cook up the same as granulated beet or cane sugar. Splenda.com...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Oct 25, 2012

    Winter apples are at their prime and these tart, crisp varieties are perfect for cakes, crisps and pies. Joyce McClanahan brought an Upside Down Apple Cake to a recent potluck meal and it garnered several requests for the recipe. Joyce found the recipe on www.relish.com, a great site for seasonal recipes. Recipe directions call for preparing in a cast iron skillet to caramelize the apple layer. I used a heavy non-stick skillet with oven safe handle instead and it worked fine....

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Aug 2, 2012

    Persistence pays dividends. Those hardy gardeners who did not become discouraged by late frost and wet ground, replanted as needed and faithfully tended their plots are reaping the benefits now. Cucumbers and zucchini are beginning to produce and tomatoes ripening. Another benefit of persistence is, I am finally tracking down some elusive, requested recipes. One of those recipes, Mrs. McGillicuddy’s Rice and Red Bean Salad, comes from Jackie Greeenwalt, and it is an ideal d...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Jul 6, 2012

    Outdoor dining season has finally arrived, and with it, some nice melons in the markets. Whole melons by the pound are generally the most economical, but an entire watermelon can be overwhelming for one or two people. I recently created a recipe for a Watermelon Salsa that can be made with readily available ingredients. Previously I had seen several recipes calling for ethnic ingredients not available locally. This is a mild salsa, but adding additional jalapeños would...

  • Welcome to my Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Jun 21, 2012

    Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Borrowing from a wedding adage, this column features a couple of repeat recipes from long past issues, some new recipes and a bit about blue and other colors. Luscious Lemon Bars were featured in one of our first year columns, and then again a few years later. The recipe was requested again following a recent potluck meal, and since there are new readers, here is the recipe. Luscious Lemon Bars 1 cup soft...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated Jun 7, 2012

    Cool spring weather benefits spring vegetables. Spinach, leaf lettuce and peas flourish in cooler temperatures, as do herbs of many varieties. Dill can become a weed this time of year as it reseeds readily and sprouts prolifically. Though it won’t form heads desirable for pickling until later in the summer, the delicate fern like foliage is a wonderful addition to salads, soups and dressings. Take advantage of this flavorful bounty. A row of intentionally planted dill will ben...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated May 24, 2012

    Barbeque season traditionally begins during Memorial Day weekend. Weather is usually conducive to outdoor dining by then, and an extra day off from work or school gives many folks time to prepare for a summer of al fresco meals. Start by making sure the grill is ready to use. Follow the manufactures instructions for cleaning and fueling your unit. Then you will be set to grill your favorite foods, as well as trying some new recipes. My favorite steak marinade is Great Steaks...

  • Welcome to My Kitchen

    Laura Estes|Updated May 10, 2012

    Spring weather in the daytime and winter weather at night seems to be the norm these past few weeks. Not quite ready to trade casseroles for salads, I tried a recipe for Asparagus-Tuna Casserole. The lemony sauce that pulls together this dish is a nice compliment to the tuna. The original recipe called for flavored tuna, but having only water pack variety on hand, I flavored my own with a teaspoon of minced garlic. This makes a lovely springtime meal when accompanied by a...

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