Pot of gold

Excitable and fast-talking, my Aunt Glenna was a complete hoot.

The youngest of three sisters, she did not fit inside the ordinary mold of a youngest sibling, or the pattern of the birth order theory.

Instead of expecting her sisters to make decisions and take responsibility for her, Aunt Glenna refused to be the baby. She was an equal with Aunt Sis and my Grandmother Iva. It was like being around the three amigos when they huddled together in the kitchen to share the monumental moments of their lives and cook.

And when the three cooked together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

I remember one holiday that there were at least 30 different types of dishes sitting on the counter top to taste.

Although my grandmother cringed at the thought of anything cooked in a Crock Pot, Aunt Glenna loved the new-fangled gadget.

She read the instructions, bought cook books with recipes designed specifically for its use and used it almost daily. She loved finding new ways to use the Crock Pot because it gave her time to devote to her passion, reading.

It was nothing for her to read two or three books a day.

Her husband, my Uncle Bill, loved to come home to a house filled with the aroma of one his favorites, Apple Walnut Dump Cake.

It's extremely easy to make and very aromatic.

Lightly coat the inside of a 3 1/2 quart Crock Pot with butter before dumping one 21-ounce can of premium apple pie filling.

Combine one 18.25-ounce box of yellow cake mix with one
1/2 cup of unsalted butter until crumbly before dumping on top of the pie filling.

Sprinkle
1/2 cup each of chopped walnuts and almonds on top of the cake mix with a light sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon.

Cover with the lid and cook on the LOW setting for 2 hours, lifting the lid only once to check if done. If needed, let finish cooking up to an additional hour.

Serve warm in bowls topped with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or both -- if you want to really be indulgent.

NOTE: You can change the type of pie filling and nuts to your desired taste, just remember to keep the ingredients you use in the same order as the recipe.

Recently, I discovered several cookbooks with Aunt Glenna's recipes for use in a Crock Pot.

It's a hectic lifestyle we all find ourselves living, and, if you're like me, I'm always looking for ways to make sure my family has home cooked meals.

I'm using my five various sized Crock Pots every week and trying all her recipes.

As an interested reader, what would you like to try?

I would be happy to post more recipes, just ask me.