Thompson enjoys cooking for family

Sharron Thompson said she’s been cooking ever since she was a young girl thanks to help from her mother and she makes meals for her family almost every night.

Thompson, Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) coordinator at the Choctaw Health Center, said her mother, Belfree Willis, taught her how to cook simple things like biscuits, beans, peas, and turnip greens.

“My mother was a single parent raising three children, so she had to work a lot,” Thompson said. “With me being the oldest out of my siblings, she began teaching me how to cook when I was young in order to help her out.”

Once Thompson started living on her own, she strived to carry on cooking and find new recipes to try for herself.

“My favorite part of cooking is trying new things and creating something I’ve never made before,” Thompson said. “I enjoy being experimental. I am currently trying to teach my granddaughter Journeigh how to cook. I don’t let her handle a lot of the hot stuff, but when I’m making biscuits, I’ll give her some of the dough and instruct her on how to roll it out.”

Thompson said she cooks for her family every day, and mainly prepares supper. She cooks vegetables, various meats, biscuits, cornbread, and more.

She said she also enjoys making casseroles, and the Dorito casserole is a personal favorite.

“I like to do outside cooking like frying chicken and fry bread, you make biscuit dough and then fry it instead of baking it,” Thompson said. “I cook those things over an open fire for special occasions like birthdays. I also like to make desserts such as cakes or a low-fat banana pudding.”

Thompson currently lives in the Pearl River community and is married to Ricky Thompson. She has three children and five grandchildren. She began working with the Special Diabetes Program at the Choctaw Health Center in 1998 and recently became the activity manager for the program in 2019 and is now the coordinator this year.  

DORITO CASSEROLE

1 pound of ground beef

1 bag of Doritos

1 can of chili beans

1 Can Rotel tomatoes

1 can of cream of chicken soup

2 cups grated cheese

1 pack of taco seasoning

Layer Doritos on the bottom of the casserole dish. Cook meat and drain fat. Add chili beans and taco seasoning to meat and place on top of Doritos.

Add cheese on top of the meat. Mix Rotel and cream of chicken soup and pour the mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

APPLE DUMPLINGS

5 apples

1 (10 count) can of biscuits

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 stick margarine

1 teaspoon apple pie spice

Peel, halve, and core apples. Roll out biscuits to about the size of a saucer. Wrap biscuit dough around the rounded side of the apple half and tuck edges into the cored part of the apple.

In a casserole dish, place apples flat side down. Combine the sugar, water, margarine, and apple pie spice and bring to boil for a minute. Pour the mixture over the apples.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Baste occasionally.

SQUASH CASSEROLE

2 cups cooked yellow squash

2 eggs

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup of grated cheese

2 cups Ritz Crackers

½ cup of margarine

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup evaporated milk

Boil squash and onion until tender. Drain and mash squash and onion. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and mix well.

Pour into the baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Top with cheese about 10 minutes before the casserole is done baking.