HUMBOLDT — If recipes aren’t quick and easy, Susan Owens said they won’t be found in her recipe files.
Owens, a 23-year employee of USD 257, has spent the majority of her life wandering through the halls of Iola High School.
A 1980 graduate of IHS, she began working for the school district in 1987 as a part-time secretary at the high school and part-time paraprofessional at Lincoln Elementary School. Owens took over from the late Shirley McGrew, guidance office secretary at the high school, when she retired. Two years ago when Barbara Clay retired, Owens became the high school’s registrar.
Owens also met her husband, Rick, at IHS. He is a 1979 graduate. The high school sweethearts were married in 1981 and have two children, Heather and Craig.
The couple live on a farm near Humboldt in a home that was mostly constructed by Rick, who learned about construction from the years he spent in the building trades program at IHS.
With the farm in Humboldt’s school district, daughter Heather attended and graduated from Humboldt High School and then Fort Hays State University. Their son, Craig, chose to attend IHS as an out-of-district student. He is a graduate of Allen County Community College.
IN 1978, during her sophomore year at IHS, Owens participated in a “taste fair” through the Future Homemakers of America organization, which is now Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
“We all contributed a recipe for the FHA cookbook and one evening had a tasting fair in the high school cafeteria. My favorite recipe at the fair was a Mexican salad, a recipe I still use today,” she said.
The Mexican salad can be made with either hamburger or chicken and goes together quickly for a busy weeknight meal, she said.
Owens buys several pounds of hamburger at a time and cooks the entire quantity. What she doesn’t use for the evening meal she freezes in one-pound bags, which can be defrosted for the next quickie meal.
“I also like to cook chicken and put it in the freezer — but it you’re too busy to cook just buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and put the meat in freezer bags to use later. It saves a ton of time,” she said.
Owens said her former IHS home economics teacher and FHA sponsor Jonet Bland, who retired last year from IHS, shared with her the practice of boiling hamburger.
It is just as easy to boil hamburger as it is to fry it for freezing, Owens said. Boiled hamburger does brown up and is not as greasy as when fried.
When boiling hamburger fill a big pot, as through you were going to make noodles, add the hamburger fresh or frozen, bring to boil and cook until the meat is brown. Rinse, cool and add to freezer bags.
“Jonet told me she got the idea to boil hamburger from the American Heart Association,” Owens said.
Many of her recipes come from friends.
Owens likes enchiladas but found their preparation time-consuming.
She said her high school friend Carman Huse’s secret to making enchiladas is to make a casserole. Layering the meat, tortilla shells, sauce and cheese and popping it into the oven for 20 minutes makes for a quick meal.
A staple at the Owens household is a microwave Mexican dish, which combines the meat and vegetables in one dish.
“My family is not big on casseroles but they do like the microwave Mexican dish,” Owens said.
Mildred Williams, a neighbor and good friend of the Owenses, gave her a recipe 20 years ago for broccoli cornbread that serves like a main dish but doesn’t have any meat in it.
“My family likes the broccoli cornbread. On St. Patrick’s I make the cornbread and serve it with a salad and a green poke cake,” she said.
A poke cake is a white cake with holes poked in it. The holes are then filled with green Jell-O and frosted with whipped topping, she said.
On special holidays Owens makes cream cheese cupcakes. These are quick, easy to make and look festive when topped with cherry pie filling, she said.
Owens’ favorite quickie recipes follow.
Broccoli Cornbread
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
4 eggs
10 ounces cottage cheese
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 medium chopped onion
10-ounce box frozen, chopped broccoli, defrosted but not cooked
2 cups cheddar cheese
Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl using spoon combine cornbread mix, eggs, cottage cheese and melted butter. Stir in onion and broccoli.
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 45 to 60 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of baking sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Makes 9 to 12 servings.
Cream Cheese Cupcakes
2 8-ounce cartons cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Box vanilla wafer
Beat above ingredients until smooth.
Line 16-count cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners (foil doesn’t work well). Add 1 vanilla wafer to the paper cupcake liner. Spoon filling on top of vanilla wafer 1/2 to 1/4 full.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Let cool.
Top with favorite pie filling. I use the cherry pie filling but lemon is also good.
The Cake that Won’t Last!
3 eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups oil
2 cups bananas (cut in pieces) approximately 4 bananas
8 ounces crushed pineapple
Combine above ingredients and add
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Stir just until blended.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
Can be made in a Bundt cake pan. Cake is good alone or with frosting.
Mexican Salad
Hamburger or chicken chunks
Lettuce
Tomato
1 can chili beans or kidney beans, drained
Cheddar cheese
Catalina salad dressing
Fritos
Mix above ingredients together. No certain measurements — it depends on the size of salad you want.
Enchilada Casserole
1 pound hamburger
1 can enchilada sauce (I use mild)
1 package soft tortilla shells
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or Mexican cheese)
Pre-heat over 375 degrees. Spray bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking oil.
Put 1 or 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce on bottom of pan and add tortilla shells. Cover shells with hamburger and cheese. Top with more tortilla shells and enchilada sauce. Keep layering until out of ingredients.
This is another recipe you can make as big as you want by adding more ingredients.
You can make with chicken if you prefer.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serve with sour cream or any other topping you like.
Microwave Mexican Dish
1 pound cooked hamburger
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can Mexican corn with juice
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili power
1 can Rotel or 1 or 2 cups salsa, (optional)
Mix all ingredients together and put in a microwavable dish, cover and microwave for 7 minutes. Remove cover and add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Put back in microwave uncovered 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve over Frito or nacho chips.
