Maggie Dunegan

Maggie Dunegan of Bruce is the daughter of last week’s cook, Patricia Zinn. She and her family (husband Dustin, and sons Zachary, 6, and Logan, 10 months) moved to Bruce in 2012.
If she had to narrow down a favorite food, depending on her mood, she likes Chinese. Stir fry is something she likes to make because there are so many variations. She likes to include sugar snap peas and broccoli. Cheesecake is her favorite dessert “in any form or fashion”–again, depending on her mood, but her topping of choice would probably be cherry or blackberry.

Maggie uses some of her grandmother Faye Zinn’s dessert recipes. One in particular is a layered scratch chocolate cake. She brought in another old cookbook, a 1966 Merry Christmas Coahoma County Cookbook, that her mother found among Faye’s recipes. It included Hawaiian fudge which is not chocolate, and fruit cake cupcakes.
Dustin’s favorite dessert is banana pudding, so he really likes the banana pudding poke cake, and meatloaf. “It’s very basic, but my family likes it,” she said about her meatloaf. She uses ground beef, dry soup mix, egg, Worcestershire, splash of milk, ketchup and seasoned bread crumbs.”

Back to desserts, she says her banana pudding doesn’t taste like grandmother Audrey Cook’s, and she has tried her grandfather, Jack Zinn’s chocolate pie, but someone in the family said her meringue didn’t look like his.
“Everything Pa Gordon made was delicious,” she said, but she has not attempted to make his dressing, and her candied sweet potatoes don’t taste like his.

She makes the easy one-dish roasted smoked sausage and vegetables quite a bit. “Every time you can use foil, use it. It saves on clean-up!” That is something she learned from her dad. “The wild rice and sausage is a good potluck dish. It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, and it travels well.” She makes it for holiday gatherings.
Son Zachary is a picky eater, but he likes the lasagna. She says it tastes like “glorified hamburger helper.” She doesn’t use ricotta cheese or onion because he doesn’t like things with what he calls “ingredients” in them. “He’s not big on veggies,” she said, admitting to grinding up spinach and adding it to cheese quesadillas or something like that. “I have to get sneaky,” she said.
She has cooked pretty much every night since she married and she enjoys it. Her Thursday night supper last week was grilled flat iron steak, baked sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli.

She fries cabbage using bacon, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper. She adds a touch of brown sugar, which gives it a sweet and savory flavor she really likes.
Like her mom, she tries to figure out how to make things she has eaten somewhere else. She and a friend have been working on TGI Friday’s Jack Daniel sauce, but says they haven’t even gotten close yet. She does a lot of recipe tweaking and never follows one exactly.

Roasted Smoked Sausage and Vegetables
1 pkg. smoked sausage, sliced diagonal
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into bite size chunks
1 red onion, but into bite size chunks
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into bite size chunks
1 carrot, cut into bite size chunks
(Or any vegetables you choose)
Put chopped veggies in large Ziploc bag. Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and one small packet of Italian seasoning. Shake to coat. Use a 9×13 baking dish lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Cook in preheated 450° oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add sausage. Cook 15 more minutes. Makes about six servings. Great served with rice and a green veggie.

Banana Pudding Poke Cake
1 box butter or yellow cake mix
2 boxes instant banana pudding
4 cups cold milk
3 sliced bananas
1 tub Cool Whip
Nilla wafers
Bake cake according to directions. Cool for five minutes. With handle of wooden spoon, poke holes almost to bottom of cake every 1/2”. In medium bowl, stir together instant pudding mix and milk. Add half the sliced bananas. Pour over cake immediately before the pudding sets. Spread evenly over surface, working back and forth to fill holes. (Some filling should remain on top of cake.) Refrigerate one hour or until pudding sets. Spread whipped topping evenly over cake. Just before serving, top with remaining bananas and Nilla wafers.

Wild Rice & Sausage Casserole
1 lb. sausage
1 box wild rice
1 can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Brown and drain sausage. Mike rice according to directions. Mix can of soup, sausage, rice, and half of cheese in casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake in 350° oven ‘til heated through and cheese is melted.

American Lasagna
1 box oven ready lasagna noodles
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 pound ground beef
18 slices Velveeta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
Brown ground beef and drain. Add spaghetti sauce. In 13×9 pan, layer noodles, meat and cheese slices three layers thick. Pour heavy cream around edges and over the top. Bake at 350° until cheese is bubbly and cream is thickened, about 30-40 minutes. Great with garlic bread.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/2 lbs.), cut into florets, stems peeled and sliced or diced
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 450°. Toss broccoli florets with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper on baking sheet. Spread them out and then roast, without stirring, until edges are crispy and stems are crisp tender, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Hawaiian Fudge
(1966 Merry Christmas Coahoma County Cookbook)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup rich milk or cream
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 cup pecans, chopped
Few drops green food coloring
Combine sugar, milk or cream and pineapple. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until mixture reaches the soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add pecans and coloring. Let cool slightly, then beat until creamy. Pour into greased pan. Cut in squares when cool.