Back during the Spanish-American War when I was in my high school home economics class, we learned that the day’s main meal should contain a meat or meat substitute; a carbohydrate (potatoes, rice, corn, etc.); a green, yellow, or leafy vegetable (beans, carrots, collards, etc.); and a raw vegetable (cucumber, tomato, radish, celery, etc.).
Well, we made peace with the Spaniards – and during the 50-plus years since, I still follow this advice from my teacher, Miss Meadows. Today’s recipe fits those requirements.
It is a recipe using new red potatoes from Linda Freeman of Deep Branch Baptist Church in Varnville. The 200-or-so-member church celebrated its centennial last year and has a full range of Baptist church activities. The Rev. Glen Samples has pastored the church for the past two years.
Linda has been a member of Deep Branch for 15 years or so. She and her husband Johnny, a member at Sand Hill Baptist Church, have a son, Ronnie, who lives in Cummings, Ga. Their children from John’s previous marriage – Tammy Freeman Gaskins and Johnny Freeman – both live in Aiken.
Linda, who works with Millennium Real Estate in Port Royal, is busy with her church. Teaching Sunday school is part of this, but so is the Sunshine Choir for young children and WMU. In the Wednesday night children’s meeting, the youngsters (varying in age from 2-9) enjoy Bible study, music, puppets, etc. The number participating continues to grow.
When not doing her realtor job, taking care of home responsibilities, or participating in church programs, Linda enjoys gardening and crafts – but the thing she probably likes most is the church softball league. Deep Branch has men’s, women’s and youth teams in the league sponsored by the Allendale-Hampton Association – and Linda is involved with Deep Branch’s teams as director and coach.
The new potatoes you find this spring will be best for this recipe, but if they aren’t available, use any small potato. The new little red ones are best because they taste good and hold their shape. This is a good recipe to serve as a side dish for poultry, beef or pork. You could probably assemble the dish, refrigerate, and then bake later. Another way would be to bake it two or three hours before serving, then reheat. We thank Linda for sharing with us this good, often-to-be-used recipe for the summer’s new potatoes.
Whatever your cooking schedule, you will want to try this attractive, good-tasting dish soon for … Sunday Dinner.
New Potato Bake
1 10¼-ounce can broccoli cheese soup
½ cup sour cream or yogurt
¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
7 small, red potatoes, quartered
2 medium onions cut into wedges
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh chives for garnish
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine soup, sour cream and hot pepper sauce. Add the quartered potatoes and onions, toss to coat well.
Into a 12×8-inch baking dish or 2-quart casserole, spoon potato mixture in an even layer. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Garnish with the chives. Serves 6-8.
Note: You may want to cover the dish with aluminum foil to bake, then uncover for the last 15 minutes of cooking.