I thought we were supposed to get April showers not snow squalls. Momma Said, “AAUUGGHHH!” I need sunshine and I need it fast. I guess Mother Nature will give us what we want, if we can just wait long enough.
Everyone in the area is getting all geared up for the upcoming ramp dinners. They are a local delicacy (that I don’t care for) and it is a spring ritual for a lot of people. The old timers said that ramps were used to clean the blood and get rid of all of winter’s toxins. Momma Said, “No matter how bad the medicine tastes, just hold your nose and take it.” With ramps I would have to hold my nose because I don’t like to smell them before or after they are eaten. YUCK!
I have dug them by the bushel, but have never eaten one. They just make you smell so bad after you eat them that it makes me sick. It was really bad in school when you had to sit close to someone that had eaten ramps the night before. And let me tell you, the smell comes out of both ends. So, no thank you to the smelly little green things.
I talked a little last week about spring cleaning, (which I haven’t started yet), and I wanted to give you some cheap solutions to get you through. Cleaning the windows can be done cheaper with a mixture of vinegar and water and don’t throw out you old Advocates. Newspaper is a great way to clean your windows and leave no streaks. Momma Said, “You can kill two birds with one stone, by recycling the newspaper and you don’t have a bunch of cleaning rags to wash when you are done.”
Also, when working in your flower garden you can use old newspapers as a weed barrier under you new mulch. Just place the newspaper wherever you want to stop weeds and cover with mulch. They will slowly compost into the soil and help with nutrients. Momma Said, “Reuse, recycle and help the planet.”
Potato Casserole
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 30-ounce bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, lightly thawed
One 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups shredded sharp yellow Cheddar
1 1/2 cups lightly crushed corn flake cereal
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, an additional 2 minutes.
In a bowl, toss together the cooked onions and garlic, hash brown potatoes, condensed soup, sour cream, Parmesan, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cups Cheddar. Spread the mixture in a 9-by-13 inch casserole dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Top the casserole with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, corn flake cereal and melted butter.
Bake in the oven until it bubbles around the sides, about 1 hour.