Deweese views cooking as hobby

Charlene Deweese’s favorite hobby is cooking, and she enjoys baking sugar cookies to give to friends and fondly remembers her time cooking with her grandmother in the kitchen. 

“I was always with my grandmother cooking while I was growing up, and I grew to love it,” Deweese said. “It’s just one of my hobbies now.” 

Deweese was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and has lived here most of her life. She is married to her husband Ricky and enjoys cooking for him and spending time with their three children, Mandy, Kristin and Austin, and their eight grandchildren. 

Outside of cooking, Deweese works as a loan officer at The Citizens Bank of Philadelphia. 

Deweese said she started cooking when she was about 11 years old, since she and her siblings were expected to have dinner ready when their mother got home from work. 

“I grew up with two brothers and sisters and we all cooked,” Deweese said. “We made everything. We cooked things like pinto beans, fried potatoes, cornbread, fried and baked chicken, and more.” 

Deweese said that nowadays she makes things like steak and shrimp on the grill and traditional meals for holidays, such as chicken and dressing, sweet potato casserole, broccoli salad, and mashed potatoes. 

“I’ll also make soups for my husband like chicken and rice, potato soup, and more,” she said. “For dessert, I make strawberry pies, and recently I’ve been baking sugar cookies that I’ll sometimes give to people. Cooking is just one of my hobbies and I absolutely love it.” 

ROTEL GRITS 

1 lb Bryan sausage, browned and drained 

1/2 large box Velveeta cheese, cubed 

8-9 servings Quick Grits 

1 can original Rotel 

Prepare cheese and sausage. Cook grits as instructed on the package. After grits are cooked, remove from heat. 

Add cubed cheese and stir until melted. Add sausage and Rotel and stir until mixed. Pour into a casserole dish and heat in the oven at 325 degrees until hot. 

SPICY CRACKERS 

1 box whole multigrain saltine crackers 

1 3/4 cup canola oil 

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix 

1 1/8 tsp. Red cayenne pepper 

2 two gallon ziploc bags 

Put all crackers in a 2 gallon ziplock bag. Mix oil, pepper, and dressing mix, and pour over the crackers. Shake lightly until all crackers are covered. Leave in the bag for 6-8 hours, and shake occasionally. 

Move crackers to another ziplock bag or tight container. Use 1/2 tsp of red pepper for a mild flavor. 

CHICKEN LAS VEGAS 

8 boneless chicken breasts 

1 (4 oz) jay dried beef (rinsed and dried) 

4 slices bacon, cut in half 

1 (8 oz) carton sour cream 

1 (10 1/2 oz) can cream of mushroom soup 

1 (10 1/2 oz) can cream of chicken or celery soup 

Almonds, slivered 

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Crumble dried beef into an 8x12 baking dish. Layer chicken over the dried beef, and lay a 1/2 slice of bacon over each piece of chicken. Mix sour cream and soups and spread over the chicken. 

Cook in the over for 2 1/2 hours uncovered and top with toasted almonds. Serve over brown rice.