Byars keeps family, faith at the table

Myra Byars' life these days revolves around attending church and spending time with her grandchildren, but she’s no stranger to the kitchen.

She was married for 53 years to the now late Hal Byars, and they have two daughters, Sherri Cliburn and Melanie Thornton, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

For 25 years, Byars worked as the switchboard operator and front desk receptionist at Neshoba General before retiring and volunteering at the hospital gift shop—a role she still enjoys today.

“Hal loved to grow things,” Byars said. “He was a gardener. We were farm-to-table long before that was even coined as a phrase.”

Byars said she “learned to cook country” and they grew what they ate. Her husband raised beef, pork, and chickens, and grew tomatoes, peas, butterbeans, string beans, peppers, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and spaghetti squash, long before that was fashionable.

“He just liked to grow and didn’t like to cook—the only thing he really cooked was turnip greens because he said I didn’t know how to cook turnip greens,” she added with a laugh.

Their daughters grew up feeding chickens and gathering fresh eggs.

“We had fields of corn that we sold every summer,” Byars said. “We sold peas, and we had truck patches—we didn’t have gardens.”

She also loved baking for her family, from strawberry and coconut cakes to pecan and lemon pies. Homemade bread was another favorite.

“One thing my grandchildren always expect when they come to my house is chicken and dumplings,” Byars said. “And a pitcher of lemonade in the refrigerator.”

Byars said her best dishes were chicken pie or dressing, and she never made a pasta she didn’t like.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” she said. “We always had plenty of food in the freezer, but sometimes you just had to improvise—we lived so far out you couldn’t just run to the grocery store.”

Now, Byars cooks mostly for herself, often pots of stew or soup in bulk that she can reheat. She still cooks chicken and dumplings or her “own version of green beans” regularly at White Oak Baptist, where she’s been a member for about 50 years.

Byars said the best part about cooking for her was sitting around the table together and seeing everybody enjoy the food she made.

Besides cooking, she loves reading, going to local theater plays, and volunteering at the hospital.

“It’s like going home to see the familiar faces I worked with for so long and meet new ones there,” Byars said. “The hospital was good to me for a long time—I just wanted to give back.”

EASY RICE CASSEROLE

½ stick butter or margarine

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup uncooked rice

10 ½ oz. can consommé

10 ¾ oz. can beef bouillon

Melt butter in skillet; add onion and sauté. In a greased 1 ½-quart casserole, add uncooked rice. Pour the consommé and bouillon over the rice; stir in onion and butter.

Bake, covered, at 350* about 30 minutes or until rice is done. Uncover last few minutes for rice to brown.

HAMBURGER PIE

1 to 1 ½ lb. ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup diced chilies or green pepper

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

½ to ¾ tsp. garlic salt

1 can Hungry Jack biscuits

1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup sour cream

1 egg, slightly beaten

Brown beef, onion and chilies or peppers and add tomato sauce, chili powder and garlic salt and simmer for a few minutes. Separate each biscuit into two parts and line a casserole dish with half of them.

Add 1 cup of cheese, sour cream, and egg to the meat mixture and heat for 5 minutes. Pour onto biscuits and top with remaining biscuits.

Sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes, until biscuits are brown.

BEST FUDGE PIE

1 ½ cup sugar

3 tbsp. cocoa

2 eggs, beaten

½ stick oleo, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1 small can evaporated milk

Mix all together and pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

If you would like to nominate someone to be featured as Cook of the Week, please email Jace Henderson at jace@neshobademocrat.com.