by Jane Thomson
Above is the frequent lament heard from my son Randall, some 25 year ago, when he would come home from high school and look into the refrigerator. If he was looking for sugared soda pop or chips with greasy dip, he was right. Or perhaps my daughter”'s six-foot-five-inch boyfriend Doug had beat Randall to the snacks (“Thanks, Mrs. Thomson ”“ the cookies were great!”). Years later when my son was a young husband and father, and I was baby-sitting Ella (now 17), I would open his fridge, see leaves, roots and strange grains, and say to myself “There”'s nothing to eat around here.” And there are people who can look into the fridge (if they have one), any time, assess that there”'s nothing to eat, and be correct. Someone please write more about this!
The point I am leading up to is that if possible there should be some wholesome and interesting food for kids to eat when they come home from school. They may have eaten lunch at 11 a.m.. Some may go right to a job after the snack (if they can get jobs). Some kids may have extra-curricular activities after school and be really hungry when they get home. A family dinner later is the ideal. The above-mentioned Randall or Doug could have eaten the following foods after school and still have been hungry at 6 p.m. Both recipes are from the S”'Trib, eons ago.
The first recipe has a very strange name, but is not at all exotic.
DESPERIZED BIEROCKS
(Thinking “bierock” might be an English meat pie, I looked it up in the dictionary but found nothing. I think the originator of the recipe might have been suggesting it as something to make in a desperate hurry, thus the “desperized”.
2 Tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 large onion ¼ “ (or more) black pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef 2 of 8oz. cans refrigerated crescent roll dough (they can be had with “reduced fat”)
1 10oz. package of shredded green cabbage
Mustard for serving, if desired cooking oil spray
Heat oven to 350. Chop the onion coarsely ”“ you should have about 1 cup. In a 12” skillet with a lid, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onion and the ground beef and cook until the beef is crumbled and browned. If there is extra fat, pour it off. Add the cabbage, salt and pepper and cook until the cabbage is wilted. Turn off heat under skillet.
Spray 2 of 12-muffin tins with cooking oil spray, just on the outside rows. There are 8 crescents in each package. Using the outside rows of the muffin tins, put the dough crescents in the muffin openings with the largest part of the crescent in the middle. Put about ¼ cup of hamburger mixture in each indentation. Fold the corners of the dough over it. Bake about 20 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown. Serve with mustard, or ketchup. I have also found that a little barbeque sauce in the hamburger mixture is good.
CHOCOLATE KNOX BLOX
These were the hit of a slumber party my daughter Rose gave in high school.
4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin ½ cup of sugar
½ cup cold water 1 (12 oz.) package semisweet chocolate chips
In medium saucepan, mix unflavored gelatin with sugar; blend in water. Let stand one minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate chips and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted. With wire whip or rotary beater, beat mixture until chocolate is blended. Pour into an 8” or 9” baking pan; chill until firm. To serve, cut into 1” squares.
Also good to have around for after school snacks: Some “baby” carrots, a bag of apples.
