November 9, 2020
Over the Years: Doris’ Top Five
Since 2007, Doris has submitted countless recipes to be featured in our bi-annual magazine. And, as many of you already know, in 2021 we will become a new company as we merge with Western Fraternal Life! While it’s exciting, it’s also bittersweet as we will be saying “goodbye” to our infamous Dining with Doris column.
As promised in the final Dining with Doris feature in the Fall/Winter 2020 edition of the Benefit News, we’ve collected a list of Doris’ all-time favorite recipes. So, just for your stomach’s pleasure, here are her top five favorite recipes over the years:
Twice-Baked Potatoes (Spring/Summer 2008)
6 large baking potatoes
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
6 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
Wash potatoes and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until done. While potatoes are hot, cut an oval in the top of each potato and scoop out the insides, leaving the skin intact. Mash the potatoes and add sour cream, butter, egg, salt and pepper; mix well. Stir the bacon into the mixture. Put this mixture back into the potato skins. Cool thoroughly and freeze on a cookie sheet. Store in a plastic bag after the potatoes are frozen.
To serve, bake on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 35 to 50 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. When the potatoes puff up and are nicely browned, they are ready to serve. Entertaining is made a little easier when you can have these ready.
Grasshopper Pie (Fall/Winter 2010)
Chocolate Pie Shell
18 chocolate wafers, crushed (OR)
48 chocolate sandwich cookie halves, filling removed and crushed
5 tbsp melted butter
Mix the crushed wafers and melted butter and press into a nine-inch pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for five minutes. I find it much more inexpensive to use the chocolate sandwich cookies.
Filling
2/3 cup whipping cream
24 marshmallows
2 tbsp white crème de cacao
2 tbsp green crème de mint
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Heat the 2/3 cup cream on low heat with the marshmallows until melted. Cool. Add the crème de cacao and crème de mint to marshmallow mixture. Fold in the whipped cream and pour into pie shell. Chill for several hours or freeze. Six to eight servings.
Red Pepper Stroganoff (Spring/Summer 2013)
2 pounds tenderloin, sirloin, or less tender cut of beef, cubed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 whole medium dill pickle, diced
3/4 cup Burgundy wine
2 bouillon cubes
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 green Bell pepper, sliced lengthwise thinly
1 red Bell pepper, sliced lengthwise, thinly
2 cups cultured sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Brown the beef cubes in a skillet in butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry until well browned and remove from pan. In the same pan sauté the onion and mushrooms. Return the meat to the skillet. Add the chopped tomatoes, dill pickle, wine, bouillon, water, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Simmer until tender. Tenderloin will be done in the least amount of time, sirloin will take about 15 minutes and less tender cuts of meat about 30 minutes. Stir in fresh pepper slices 10 minutes before serving and simmer. Just before serving stir in sour cream and garnish with parsley when serving. Serve with noodles or mashed potatoes. Serves 8.
German Apple Torte (Fall/Winter 2013)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
4 cups apple slices, slice very thin
2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together and blend in the flour. Spread dough into bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan. Spread sliced apples evenly over dough. Be sure to use firm apples. Combine cream cheese and sugar and mix until smooth. Beat in vanilla and eggs for 2 minutes. Pour over apples and sprinkle top with sliced almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until top is light brown. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.
Sweet Sour Carrots (Spring/Summer 2018)
4 to 5 cups carrots
6 slices bacon, cut up
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small onion
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Peel the carrots lengthwise and cut into strips. Boil the carrots in salted water until tender. Fry bacon in another pan. Remove the bacon from the pan and add sugar and flour and blend. Add the water, vinegar, and seasonings and cook until thickened. Add the bacon, onion, parsley, Worcestershire, and cooked carrots. Heat through until bubbly. Serves 8.