Join Barbara and Emily, the multimedia team at Arkansas Valley Electric, as they put together a delicious, old-fashioned dinner. The recipes were each from Arkansas Living Magazines published in the 1980s.  

The Co-op Cookin' Show's mission is to honor our rural roots, spotlight recipes published in Arkansas Living Magazine through the decades, and introduce the co-op family to you as they cook alongside us!  

Arkansas Living Magazine, December 1980

Dinner Rolls

5-6 cups of unsifted flour

2 packages of Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast

1 cup milk

⅔ cup water

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ cup sugar 

¼ cup (½ stick) butter

2 eggs (room temperature)

Add yeast to 2 cups of flour. Heat milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter until sugar dissolves, add eggs. Cool to lukewarm, and add to flour mixture. Beat in mixer until well blended. Start adding to the flour mixture. Beat in mixer until about 4 cups have been added. Work in the rest of the flour. Let rise until double in bulk. Knead about 10-12 times. Make into rolls, and let rise. Bake at 400 degrees.

"A native of Jackson County, Mrs. Ralph Victory, Rt. 2, Bradford, has lived in the Olyphant Community for about 20 years. Her children– Linda, Ralph Jr., Gary, and Johnny– live nearby and all are involved in farming with their father. Mrs. Victory said she worked hard at being a housewife for 35 years. “I made those rolls every day for 10 years.” Now the children are grown up and she’s enjoying bowling, tennis, and golf. Her real hobby is plants and a new enclosed porch is a perfect haven for them. Mr. Victory is a director of Farmers Electric Cooperative."

Arkansas Living Magazine, December 1987

Savory Chicken Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

¾ cup chicken broth

½ cup onion

4 cups cooked rice

3 cups boned cooked chicken

1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons diced pimento

½ teaspoon thyme

¼ teaspoon pepper

Blend soups and broth together, Heat and stir until smooth and hot. Add remaining ingredients except for ½ cup of cheese, and pour into a greased shallow 2-quart casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and continue cooking until cheese is melted. 

"Mrs. Larry McCain, Route 1, Mulberry, is a native of the area and has always lived in the Pleasant View Community. She has taught vocational business education for 10 years at Pleasant View High School and worked at the Fort Smith Post Office for 3 years prior. Malynda has two children– Sam, 10, a 5th grader, and Erin, 7, in the 2nd grade. She sponsors FBLA and is a cheerleader sponsor at the school. Meantime, she is finishing up work on her Master's degree at the University of Arkansas. She and her family attend First Baptist Church at Mulberry. Mr. McCain is a director of Arkansas Valley Electric."

Arkansas Living, December 1981 

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced apples 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt 

⅓ cup butter

¼ cup water

¾ cup sifted flour

1 cup sugar

Place apples in a buttered baking dish (10”x6”x2”). Sprinkle with cinnamon, salt, and water. Mix Flour and sugar and rub in the butter. Drop mixture over apples. Bake in a gas range oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve warm, with cream or ice cream.

"Mrs. Phil Taylor of Clarksville is a native of Johnson County. A graduate of the College of the Ozarks, she majored in home economics. So it's only natural she sews and is a quilter. During the season, she does her fair share of canning and freezing produce from the far they maintain near Ludwig. She works with her husband in their insurance agency just off the square at Clarksville. A son, Phillip, a freshman at the College of the Ozarks, completes the family. She shares their family favorites Mr. Taylor is a director of Arkansas Valley Electric."