Cool Evening Treats

A couple of cool evenings, and all I can think about are two favorites my Mother always made for us growing up...

Mother’s No-Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1 stick butter
3-4 T cocoa
½ cup peanut butter
3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
2 t vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Boil sugar, milk, butter, cocoa for 1 ½ minutes. Remove from heat, add peanut butter, vanilla, oatmeal and nuts. Beat until blended and drop on wax paper. Cool and eat. Most of the time, these barely made it from the pan to wax paper before we ate them up!

Mother's Real Hot Cocoa

4 Mounded Tablespoons of Hershey cocoa
1 cup Granulated sugar
A dash of salt
½ cup of Carnation Powdered milk

Start stirring in 2 cups of hot water to above mixture, keep stirring over low heat to keep all the lumps out. Add in a large of Carnation evaporated milk, and keep stirring over low heat, bring up to a boil and remove from heat. According to her directions, you will need to get Daddy to taste, and adjust if needed – add a little sugar or milk as needed. According to Mother, Daddy needs to be around for this recipe to be a success! So best wishes on your own! Serve with mini marshmallows…. And no bake cookies for a yummy treat on a cool evening!

A note about my early cooking skills from my Mother

Here is a recipe from one of my first Girl Scout summer camps...I included this in a letter home that summer, and my Mother has kept it all these years.

When I asked my Mother to contribute to my Tasty Plate project, she sent this note:

Shonda was in Girl Scouts and announced she was making our family dinner. She cooked everything by herself, I did not even get to be in the kitchen. She set the table with proper placement of silverware, napkins and even prepared dishes under covers! We all sat down and uncovered our meal revealing spinach and cream of chicken soup! : ) We ate as if it were a feast. Then daddy & I had to leave out and he said, "WHAT WAS THAT?!!!" We of course went to Dairy Queen! She was soooo proud of herself!

At 8 years old Shonda wanted me to help her go on a diet! I told her no seconds or extras, only her meal at school. When she got home, like most days when I wasn't working, I had cookies coming out of the oven. She came in and said momma can I get off my diet for just five minutes? That is what I taught my daughter!!!!

"The Plan" for this blog

I am an organization fanatic - and work best with a plan and 'to-do' list in front of me...

To give you just a taste...every Friday I will update this blog with a new entry including...

1. Breakfasts

2. Lunch - Supper or Dinner, depending on where you are from!

3. Holiday Favorites

4. Cookin' Out

5. Special Treats and Eating Out

6. Grand Finale - Desert!

7. Childhood Memories - Girl Scouts, 4-H, and Family

8. Remedies...from the oldest recipe boxes

Now, you know what to look forward to!

Let me know what you think - and be sure to share your fondest memories of tasty plates!

How the Tasty Plate got started...

Can you think of family without thinking of some great food? Well, I can barely get through a story of what we did, where we went, or who we saw, without adding something about a tasty dish. I started this project in 2000 – nine years ago. At that time, I gathered up a lot of recipes and stories, and then we moved to our new home, and life as gone fast and furious since.

A few months back, I was talking to a fellow student who lives in Tennessee; and before the end of our conversation memories of a childhood trip through the Smoky Mountains entered my mind. Along with memories of my sister (Mistie) biting me as we rode in the back of the truck in the camper topper (ooh she will be mad that I brought that back up again!), collecting Kachina dolls and seeing real, live Indians – I recall picnics of bologna sandwiches along the side of the road, and feeding the bears grapes (although I think there were signs along the way that said “Do not feed the bears!”)

Again, I thought of my unfinished project, and decided this was the year to complete it!
Sometimes I look down at my hands as I am driving or typing, and I see someone else’s! My mothers, my grandmothers...When I walk in a movie theatre, or in the hospital lobby, and smell popcorn popping…I think of fun times with cousins all flopped out in front of Aunt Claudia’s fireplace! And around the holidays, I think of the table full of candies that Aunt Chris whipped up every year. And, gathering up at Granny and Grandad Foster’s for Christmas always gave good opportunities for Aunt Barbara and Uncle Paul’s yummy treats!

I can’t get through the grocery store without seeing a buttermilk pie – and thinking of how good Granny Moore’s pies were; and how sad that anyone would have to buy one in a grocery store! Driving by Poncho’s restaurants, I think of the special treats of eating out with Granny and Grandad Foster. Do you ever look for Foremost dairy products when you are shopping? I still catch myself looking for the familiar white and orange-red cartons that were always plentiful in Granny’s fridge.

Over the past 10 years, seems like we’ve lost a lot of our family and friends… and with that loss, many of my most fond memories are filled with our gatherings…great fun, visiting, sharing, story-telling, and of course, some yummy food!

Our “cookbook” grows as our families grow – I was thinking about how diversified our foods have become as we have added new people in our lives. Never would I have considered noodles a staple for holiday fare until I met the Tomasek’s, nor would Johnny Gibson think about eating cream of wheat and rice dishes until he got me! Since we have this unique blending of family and friends, I hope you all enjoy the benefits of these tried and true family favorites.

I have asked all of our family, including some friends we cherish as family, to share their “tasty plate full of memories”… and here you have it, a compilation of it all. Keep sharing with me, as you will see that I have designed this project to be expanded for years to come!

Love you all – thanks for the memories!

Introduction and Welcome

Today I begin to blog about a lifelong love of creating tasty plates! Seems every occasion in my life has called for a new recipe, or attempting to re-create a family favorite...and thought I would attempt to share those recipes and stories with my friends and family online.

You may wonder where the name comes from - Shon D'Amore Recipes...if you know me well, you will see the resemblance to my maiden name - Shonda Moore. Several years ago, when I was working for FoxValley Corp out of Wisconsin, I had to call in a weekly order for products - and over the years, we were finally computerized. When that happened, I started receiving confirmation of those orders - and the order taker (whom I had worked with for several years) noted my name as "Shon D'Amore" - sounded pretty smart and French - so, I decided then that would be my "pen name" for the day I found the time and energy to write.

Now, if you don't know me well - you will also need to understand that I have a strong southern drawl - and my name can become quite long when heard by folks unfamiliar with the Texas dialect! To be honest, just about everything I say becomes quite long and drawn out! You should have been around here as we tried to teach 2 young boys to spell - "sounding words out" was a nightmare around here! but, that is another story...

Since I am now attempting to write about my lifelong love of creating tasty plates, I decided the moment was appropriate to utilize my pen name! Besides, is sure expresses my love (amour) for creating and serving up some fantastic dishes...

So, here we go...let me know what you think! And, Be sure to share with me your favorite dishes and memories associated with them - I am always looking for a new tasty plate!

Love to you all!
Shon D'amore