When Deidre Ewers accepted the role of youth group director at Bethany of Fox Valley United Methodist Church in Aurora , she set a rule of “no cell phones during youth group.” The teens agreed, but quickly countered with a request for “snacks at every meeting.” Ewers accepted the compromise and has been meeting with the group since January. Fortunately Ewers, a Naperville resident and a recent North Central College graduate, enjoys cooking and baking so the weekly snack request has been a fun task.
“My grandma, Doris Ewers, taught me a lot about cooking,” Ewers said. “She made the best strawberry pie ever with cream cheese on the bottom.” Ewers recalls that every year on Christmas Eve, her grandmother hosted a lunch for the extended family. She chose to serve the meal at lunchtime instead of the evening to avoid conflicts with other family plans.
“She also make hamettes,” said Ewers, referring to sweet glazed meatballs made from ground ham. “And she always made lemon fluff and other salads like a macaroni salad. Then she made two pies for dessert — usually a strawberry pie and a butterscotch cream pie.”
This past year, her grandmother hung up her apron due to some health concerns. Ewers, like the rest of the family, knew she would miss grandma’s great cooking.
“So I put together a cookbook for all of my cousins with grandma’s recipes. I also put in pictures of everyone at family events. I included pictures of everyone at Grandma’s house and put in the great-grandkids, too,” Ewers said.
She retyped all of the recipes, but included some pictures of the original well-worn recipes from her grandmother’s recipe box.
“Some were stained and tattered because she used them so often. It was cute to read the way she wrote out directions and the way she abbreviated some of the words. Like for Orzo salad, she wrote Orz Salad.” Not only did the recipes give the directions for a great dish, they also are touching reminders of her grandmother’s personality.
The project was made easier due to an online website, createmycookbook.com.
“It was really fun and easy to use,” she said. “I just typed in the recipes and it took care of the spacing and layout. There are spaces for pictures and other ideas.” The pages can be rearranged and placed in any order desired.
mozzarella stick to make an easy, teen-friendly snack.
Cooking for the youth group also has been interesting.
“They typically do not like it if I bring healthy things. They like anything sweet like muffins or cookies, but sometimes they enjoy something salty like chips. The best snacks are ones that are like finger foods because they can eat them while they are doing other activities.” She recently offered pizza rolls that can be made quickly with a few ingredients.
Ewers notes that the group meets at the church, 2200 Ridge Road in Aurora at 5 p.m. on Sundays, and is open to all interested youth. Unlike some competitive-based groups, the group is focused on friendship and bonding with each other.
“We also do service projects which is great for putting on college resume,” Ewers said. “The group has enjoyed being able to do things to help others out instead of just reading about groups that perform service to others. I think they have learned a lot through service projects.”
To help motivate the group, Ewers has put together a card where youths perform service projects listed on a game card with hopes of getting a completed row like in the game Bingo.
In the coming months, the group is planning a breakfast fundraiser for a mission trip. Ewers said she will be serving a clever breakfast sandwich at the event. She shares the recipes for the pizza rolls as well as her breakfast cup for others to try.
Deidre’s Culinary Cue
Prepared crescent roll dough can be very sticky. To make the dough easier to manage, lightly moisten your hands. Also sprinkle a few drops on the baking sheet to keep the dough from sticking.
Pizza Snack Rolls
8-ounce tube crescent roll dough
32 thin slices of pepperoni
8 mozzarella cheese sticks
1 cup marinara sauce
Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into eight triangles. Place four slices of pepperoni on each triangle, overlapping slices to fit the dough. Unwrap mozzarella stick and place at the wide end of the triangle. Begin rolling dough around the cheese stick, like a jelly roll. Place roll seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping. Makes eight.
Bacon, Egg, and Toast in a cup
4 slices bacon
4 slices whole wheat bread
4 eggs
shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Generously coat the inside of four ramekins, three to four inches in diameter. Fry bacon to render out some of the fat, but don’t let it become crispy. Drain the bacon on paper towels and set aside. Trim the crusts off four slices of breads. Gently press one slice of bread into each ramekin to line the sides and bottom. Place on slice of bacon into the ramekin to form a ring on the sides. Sprinkle about one tablespoon shredded cheddar cheese into the center of each ramekin. Break one egg into each ramekin. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes to desired firmness. Pop cup out of ramekin to serve. Can also be made in a jumbo cupcake pan. Makes four servings.
