Summer is here and our son is home from college, which means I need to cook a little more than I have the past several months. By "cooking a little more" I mean in volume and frequency. I found myself cooking a few times a week and then warming up leftovers a few nights and it worked. Now I am cooking about every night now and I think my husband is loving it.

I decided to just pull a few recipes out that I thought you might enjoy and maybe it can help kick off your summer as well.

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/4 cup shortening

Mix the oatmeal with the boiling water, stir and cover. Mix the remaining ingredients then stir in the oatmeal mixture. Grease and flour a 9×9-inch pan. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes.

Coconut Pecan Frosting:

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped nuts

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

* Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.

* Carefully spread frosting over the top of the cake.

* Broil until coconut is just brown. Watch very closely. Cool, slice and serve.

Coca-Cola Chicken

1 roasting hen

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 lemon

1 large onion

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

1 can Coca-Cola soda

* Rinse and pat dry the roasting hem, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

* Place in crock pot along with quartered lemon and peeled and quartered onion. Add the bottle of BBQ sauce and can of soda.

* Cover and cook on low all day or on high for 4 hours.

Delicious Crock-Pot BBQ Ribs

4 pounds ribs of your choice

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoons vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoons oregano

* In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the ribs themselves.

* Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.

* Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.

Butter Brickle Frozen Delight

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup white sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping

For crust:

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

* In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup melted butter and white sugar until well mixed. Press into bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake 6 minutes, until set. Cool completely.

For fillng:

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter and pecans until well mixed.

* Lightly pat onto a baking sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until light brown. n Crumble while still hot. Cool completely. n In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in condensed milk until well blended. Fold in whipped topping.

* Spread half of the cheese mixture over the crust in the springform pan. Sprinkle half of the oat crumbles over the cheese mixture, and spread half of the caramel sauce over that. Repeat layers.

* Freeze until firm, remove pan sides and serve cold.

French Toast Casserole

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup butter

2 cups corn syrup

1 loaf French bread, sliced

5 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish: powdered sugar, maple syrup

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

* Melt together brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat; pour into a greased 13x 9-inch baking pan.

* Arrange bread slices over mixture and set aside.

* Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla; pour over bread, coating all slices. Sprinkle with pecans.

* Cover and refrigerate overnight. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden.

* Sprinkle with powered sugar; serve with warm syrup. Makes 6-8 servings

Mountain Dew Apple Cobbler

2 Granny Smith apples (peel and slice into 8 sections each)

2 cans crescent rolls (1 can for each apple)

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups Mountain Dew

Cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

* Wrap each 1/8 apple section in crescent roll dough. Place in lightly greased baking dish. Melt butter & stir in sugar. Spread over apples.

* Pour Mountain Dew over apples. Do not stir. Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans.

* Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. Can be served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Breakfast Delight

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls

2 cups (1 pound) cubed ham

2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed

5 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Dash of salt and pepper

1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Jack cheese

* Arrange rolls on bottom of 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top rolls with ham and potatoes.

* Beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Pour egg mixture over potatoes. Top with cheese.

* Bake in preheated 375 degree oven 30 minutes or until eggs are set.

Have a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.