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BeeGee's Take-To-Work Breakfast Casserole

10/24/2025

Her name was Barbara, but I never called her that as it didn't really fit her. Barbara was my sister. My dear friend, whose last name began with G, became, BeeGee, and she loved it.

Now, that was my nickname for her, but she had one for me as well, so it was a two-way street. My friend was also a respected colleague, and I always told her she had forgotten more about media than I would ever know. Oh, she was also a wonderful cook.

The recipe I am sharing here is one she always made when we had those...Work Spreads. You know, pot-luck at work! According to her, it was her go-to because she could easily adapt it to what she had on hand, or what she was in the mood for.

This breakfast casserole needed to be served warm, and as she had to drive over 30 miles to work, she had a carrying case designed to keep food toasty. She brought along Maple Syrup, which she warmed prior to serving. It is a heavy recipe, and some people at work would even had extra toppings, like Cool Whip.

BeeGee had a lot more experience than I, and she was willing to share her knowledge and provide guidance. I proudly stood on her shoulders, always acknowledging her for the efforts she made on my behalf. Her impact on my career I have always deeply appreciated as, through the years, I fully understood the necessity to mentor and bring along those coming up behind me.

My dear friend, BeeGee, is no longer here, but her contributions to my life will never leave me. She loved to give me a hard time about the amount of clothing and shoes I owned, especially when she helped me with a garage sale where store tags still dangled from garments. She was kind, and giving. I hope you enjoy reading over her breakfast casserole and think of how in life food, like people, enrich us in countless ways.

BeeGee's Take-To-Work Breakfast Casserole

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees
Coat a two quart baking dish with non-stick spray.

1 Pound Sausage (she used hot)
6 Frozen Waffles, Toasted and Torn into smaller pieces. (She would also use various types of bread, such as cinnamon-raisin).
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (Your choice)
6 Eggs
2 Cups Milk (She used whole)
1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
She varied this recipe by using bananas, cranberries, blueberries or raspberries.

Cook and drain sausage.

Combine the waffles (bread), sausage and most of the cheese, pour into dish.

Whisk eggs, milk and pepper.

Pour over waffle mixture.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Uncover and bake approximately 45-60 minutes. Check at 45 minutes and insert knife. If clean, remove from oven.

Top with remaining shredded cheese.

Let rest before serving.

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Aunt Deanie's German Pancakes/Dutch Babies

10/23/2025

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German Pancakes

There are many recipes I could contribute from my Auntie because she was a gourmet cook with a gourmet kitchen, who always looked fabulous IN the kitchen.

My Aunt Deanie (her name was Madina, but she preferred to be called, Deanie), was the beautiful older sister of my Mother. She was my one-and-only Aunt.

Now, about the German Pancakes, which we called Dutch Babies. In a restaurant, these are served from the hot pan, straight from the oven and prepared table-side. Heaps of real butter are added first, then warmed lemons squeezed over them, topped off with sifted powdered sugar. Not a dish to be be eaten with any regularity.

Although she cooked these at home, her real joy was going to the Ol' South Pancake House and ordering them. Honestly, being in a restaurant with her could make me cringe on occasion. She was one of those truly strong women (like my Mother), she knew what she wanted and was keen to let others know as well. So, when ordering these pancakes, she gave very specific instructions...extra lemon, very warm, extra butter, extra powdered sugar on the side.

Throughout her life, she was truly my second Mother, I spent a lot of time with her and her home was my second home. I loved being with her for a plethora of reasons. While my Mother had a sense of style that was classic, her evening wear was flash, and I learned so much from her. However, her big sister tended to be trendy, and flash which intrigued me from an early age.

In the kitchen she always looked like a fashion model. A model wearing an apron. Unlike my Mother, she cooked while teaching me, sharing her tips, plus she liked the help. She clipped recipes from the newspaper and gave them a try. She checked the grocery store sales in the newspaper each week, and made her list. But, like her younger sister, my Mother, she had her staple dishes she cooked with regularity.

My Aunt and my Mother would get together and do home canning with fresh vegetables. This was something they decided to stop doing when they realized they were not really saving money, and it was less expensive to simply buy the food already in the store. However, canning worked for them as a pair in the kitchen. Creating dinners? Not so much. When together, one cooked, the other kept her company.

I will add more of her recipes as Whisking Up Treasured Recipes continues.

AUNT DEANIE'S (MADINA) GERMAN PANCAKES/DUTCH BABIES

Preheat over to 450 degrees.

1 Tablespoon Butter
½ Cup Whole Milk (adjust milk type to your preference)
½ Cup Flour
2 Eggs-Slightly Beaten
Dash Salt
Dash Cinnamon
Splash Vanilla (may be omitted)
Warmed Lemons (optional)
Powdered Sugar (optional)
Syrup (optional)
Butter (amount used on regular pancakes)

Place butter into a 9-inch square baking dish, and put into the preheating oven.

Whisk milk, flour and eggs together in a large bowl. Add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir.

When ingredients are fully combined, remove baking dish from oven, pour mixture in, return to oven.

Bake for 15 minutes (time could be less depending on the oven).

When ready, it will be puffy and the edges will be slightly brown. Once removed from oven, it will lose the puffiness. Immediately add butter. She used ample, like on regular pancakes.

While the pancake is baking, warm lemons by placing on pan and putting in oven for a few minutes, or microwaving (time depends on size). Keep warm until the pancake is ready to serve.

This is where you do things to your taste. The options are: Liberally squeezing warm fresh lemon juice over them, sprinkling them with powdered sugar, using syrup or syrup reduction.

German Pancakes may easily be used as a savory dish.

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Mildred's Corn Casserole

10/22/2025

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This easy to make casserole goes great with any dinner. But, for me it holds special memories of family time with Gerry and his Mother and Father at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My mother-in-law, who made delicious dishes everyday of the year, always made this for those two holidays only. The holiday dinners were served on the china she received when she and my father-in-law were married. They were the most happy couple, having met just after WWII.

Because we loved it so much, she shared the recipe with Gerry one day and he scrawled it on a piece of lined paper. That paper, all these years later, is still the one we refer to for making this dish. We make Mildred's Corn Casserole at Thanksgiving, Christmas or whenever we feel inclined. On holidays we honor Mildred by using her china.

Mildred's Corn Casserole

Preheat Oven to 400 Degrees

Combine
2 Cans Cream Corn
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Cup Milk
2 Eggs-Slightly beaten
1 Tablespoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper To Taste
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
Spray 9x13 Casserole Dish With Nonstick Spray.

Combine all ingredients in bowl, then pour into casserole pan.
Pour melted butter on top.

Bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

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Barbara's Hamburger Pie

10/22/2025

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This recipe was created by my big sister. Barbara, when she had two small children. It is easy, tasty and the recipe may be varied in many ways. She preferred cooking elaborate steak dinners, or making homemade noodles or dumplings -- cooking for children is always a challenge, so she had this in her arsenal.

My sister was older than I, and she blazed a trail for me in so many ways, including cooking. She was a natural, and while both living at home, my mother who discouraged me from cooking, always welcomed meals prepared by my sister because she needed no instructions. My Mother was right, the meals prepared by Barbara were always perfectly prepared and mouth-watering.

Although she made this pie for her children, she actually did not care for ground beef. She shunned dips and sandwiches as well. When we were together and sandwiches were served, we ate them with forks, something I still do. I was in high school when she married, so when I visited her I always asked her to make this kid-friendly dish.

Years later when I had learned to cook, she took the time to type the recipe out for me on a pink sheet of paper she pulled from her...From the desk of...pad. She knew I still loved this pie.

All these many, many years later, I use ground chicken and mix up the spices a bit, but I still pull out that pink piece of paper to make this dish. That paper is still pink, but it has seen better days.

I think she would get a chuckle out of me selecting this dish to honor her.

BARBARA'S HAMBURGER PIE

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees

1 Can Biscuits (premade pie crust may be used, but should be precooked about 5 minutes)
1 Cup Taco or Picante sauce
1 Chopped Onion
1 Pound Ground Beef (ground chicken may be used)
1 Sliced Tomato
Seasonings to taste.

Thoroughly spray a 9 inch pie plate with non-stick spray.
Press biscuits into plate. A premade pie crust may also be used instead of biscuits.
Sauté chopped onion in olive oil until transparent.
Add ground meat, and brown.
Add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste.
Stir taco/picante into mixture.
Pour into pan, top with grated cheddar cheese and arrange the sliced tomato on top.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes.

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Effie's Pecan Pie

10/21/2025

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By PAMELA BARKER
Oct. 21, 2025

In my life I have been fortunate to experience many great foods by many great cooks. I mean cooks because that is exactly what they were. Yes, chefs have served up creations extraordinaire, too that's another story, for another time.

My mother cooked food steeped in the history of our country...chicken, beef, pork, potatoes and garden fresh vegetables when available. She could take a boneless rump roast and cut it into steaks to match any butcher. Her method was cutting against the grain with knives, kept their sharpest by my Father and his whet-rock.

Her gravies were beyond compare and she worked magic with any sort of dough. She considered herself a basic cook, and she did not care to tarry in the kitchen. She simply got it done. Because of her culinary style, I did not cook with her, but watched her cook with admiration. Teaching cooking was not what happened in our kitchen. However, I did learn through observation. My job was to properly set the table, which I still do. Dinner was family style, with the food placed on the table and passed from one to the other. Table manners were taught and expected around our table.

There is much I could write about food and my immediate family, but I will stop here and share my first recipe, one of my Mother's favorites, one she got from her mother-in-law, my paternal grandmother. This is a recipe I have never made and will never make, but I honor her, M. Patricia.

EFFIE'S PECAN PIE

Cream together:

1 Cup Karo Syrup
1 Cup Sugar
1/8 Pound Butter

ADD;

2 Slightly Beaten Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Chopped Pecans

Bake in unbaked pie shell at 200 degrees until done, approximately one hour.

Let cool before slicing.

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whisking up
treasured recipes
Pamela Barker

BeeGee's Take-To-Work Breakfast Casserole

Aunt Deanie's German Pancakes/Dutch Babies

Mildred's Corn Casserole

Barbara's Hamburger Pie

Effie's Pecan Pie

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whisking uptreasured recipesPamela Barker

BeeGee's Take-To-Work Breakfast Casserole

Aunt Deanie's German Pancakes/Dutch Babies

Mildred's Corn Casserole

Barbara's Hamburger Pie

Effie's Pecan Pie

Author

Archives

Categories

whisking up
treasured recipes
Pamela Barker