Anna Johnston
Beaver Lake
Life is so peaceful in our hollow on Beaver Lake. The refreshing water, beautiful bluffs, and the eagles flying high above bring us so much joy. This is our Ozark Life.
Stephanie Wade
Springdale
Ingredients:
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 stick of butter melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter chips
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. Pour mix into 1 deep dish pie shell or split between two regular pie shells
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top is a golden brown
5. Serve plain or with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream
This is my mom’s go to for potlucks because it really is that easy to make. Originally called “Derby Pie” until that was trade-marked by a bakery in Kentucky. This version is my all time favorite. The original uses a full cup of chocolate chips (I add a little more because I like it chocolatey!) and bourbon. It’s a staple when you visit Kentucky, where I am originally from. You’ll most likely have it with bourbon there but this version is my favorite as it reminds me of my mom’s house around any holiday! When you enjoy any leftovers, warm it in the microwave for a few seconds so the center is warm and gooey and enjoy it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
Sally Baker-Williams
Durham, Arkansas
My gram made this chili sauce which is sort of a cross between tomato jam and a tomato relish every summer. Spending time with my Gram in the kitchen, just the two of us was something I coveted. My love of not only cooking but food preservation goes back to these times in the kitchen with her and with my mother. When I preserve food I feel a deep generational pull, even if I am using a new recipe. My ancestry of strong women are walking the kitchen floor with me.
Mayra Carrillo
Springdale
2 lbs of tomatillos
Half a small white onion
Serrano pepper (the more peppers the spicier it gets)
Bag of tortilla chips from your local Latino store
1 spring of Epazote (fresh or dried)
Sour cream and queso fresco
You will put the tomatillos and Serrano peppers to boil. Once they’re fully cooked you will add them to a blender with about 2 cups of water (You can use the water you used to boil the tomatillos and peppers). Add half a small white onion and about a half a table spoon of salt. Blend it.
Once it’s all blended put it in a spot to cook again. Add the spring of epazote to the sauce. Once it’s starting to boil add the chips and turn off the heat. Make sure the sauce covers the chips. You might not need the whole bag. The chips will absorb the green sauce and that’s how you know the chilaquiles are ready.
Serve it on a plate.
Add sour cream and queso fresco to it and then you’re ready to eat.
I’ve been eating chilaquiles since I was little. It’s something you have on the weekend for breakfast. It reminds me of Sunday mornings with my parents and my siblings.
Dorothy Cardiel
Springdale, AR
3 -4 pound of fresh jalapeños (green and red), stems removed, sliced 1/4 inch rounds. don't remove seeds
2 cups of cider vinegar
4 cups of white sugar
1 teas. tumeric
3/4 teas. celery seed
3 teas. garlic powder
Combine vinegar, sugar and spices and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add pepper slices, bring to boil again for 4 minutes. Drain syrup into another pot and continue to boil 6 minutes. Meanwhile pack hot peppers into hot, sterile canning jars. Then ladle hot syrup over peppers in jars. Tap jar several times to release air bubbles. Seal with two-piece lids and process in water bath canner 15 minutes for pint jars. Yields: approximately 3 to 4 pints Serve on top of "anything" – or cracker with cream cheese!
We love home gardening and using and preserving our results. Nothing like the memory and sound of our family saying, WOW, we want more!
Delaney Willard
Cassville, Missouri
For decades, my mother hosted those she loved impeccably well. She even won local recipe contests in my home state up North until they asked her to stop entering and give someone else a chance. One of her signature desserts was French Silk Pie.
Sadly, she was diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s a handful of years ago and in confidence, her prize winning recipes began tasting a little…off…to those who knew her cooking best. In September of 2020, she called and asked me for the recipe of her famous French Silk Pie, a recipe deeply ingrained in her mind and heart until the present, sadly.
I graciously gave it to her, extremely thankful for this recipe book she wrote by hand for me when I graduated and moved out on my own back in 2001. I suppose the torch – or beater – has been passed on to me and it’s now my turn to make her Famous French Silk Pie for her.