Tonya Taber of Jamestown may not have had a lot of cooking experience as she was growing up, but once she got started there was no holding her back.

“I didn’t cook much when I was growing up, but I did bake pies and cakes when I was seven,” she says. “I pretty much lived with my grandmother on weekends and school holidays. She was always baking pies – peach, apple, berry, coconut cream and banana cream. There were always big family dinners on Sundays, so she was always baking pies. She would have me help whether it was measuring, rolling or making thumbprints filled with jam from the leftover dough.”

“I always said I became a mother at 10, because I babysat while my mother worked second or third shift,” she adds. “Basically, I started cooking out of necessity. I once burned boiled potatoes”

“I had two children from my first marriage and he had one. We had two more, then my mother passed and we took in my two sisters,” she recalls. “We started with a lot of casseroles and crock-pot meals. We added tacos to stretch the meat and used other tricks. I remember coming home finding friends here with my son and daughter and thought, ‘Okay, a vat of spaghetti, it is!'”

The couple bought a large home that had been vacant for several years, requiring extensive renovations. She made sure there was an area with shelving set aside for her cookbooks and recipe collection when they finished the kitchen.

“I’ve collected recipes throughout the years and when I taste something, I ask for it (the recipe) if I know the kids will eat it. If I find a recipe I like, I make it exactly as it’s written. The next time I tweak it.”

She has figured out how to make her son’s favorite prepared item found in the freezer section of the supermarket.

“I decided it was time to figure it out, because the sauce was bitter and the chicken was rubbery.”

They have comfort foods in the winter and more time-consuming meals on weekends.

“I was once the cake baker extraordinaire. I’ve made Big Mac cakes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cakes, but the kids just want my cakes- chocolate cake, etc.

She’s an avid reader and especially enjoys historical autobiographies and “true crime.”

“Whether fiction or non-fiction, I like to read about the 1700 and 1800s. I read two books on weekends and at camp I like to sit on the porch and read. The kids run off. It’s so peaceful. We’re at camp all summer, every summer,” says the petite woman. “We travel quit a bit and when the mood hits me, I like to sew. I’ve never been much of a joiner, basically because I never had much time.”

In the midst of raising a very large family, she commuted to SUNY Fredonia where she took paralegal certification courses three evenings per week.

The busy wife and mother is the Paralegal for Corporation Counsel for the City of Jamestown. Her husband, Phil, owns an insurance agency, AW Access, LLC.

“We both love to watch the Food Network.”

The couple’s 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter are the only children that remain at home. Their older children are now settled in Los Angeles, Buffalo and Jamestown and Mrs. Taber’s sisters live in Colorado. They have a 4-year-old grandson, as well. For the last three years they have claimed a long-haired stray cat, who Mrs. Taber says “adopted us.”

She has contributed some tried and true recipes. Among them are her kids’ favorite quick bread recipes.

“My kids won’t touch the bananas. They want them to go bad, because they want me to make Banana Bread.”

When the Chicken Casserole recipe was given to her the ingredient list included milk, which she omits, because she says it is not necessary. She uses the Mexican Pizza recipe, which she has “had for years,” as her go-to recipe when she is looking for a quick meal.

Mexican Pizza

Bisquick

Milk

Make regular biscuit recipe from box, spread onto a round pizza pan (like a pizza crust) and prebake approximately 5-6 minutes. Leave oven on.

1 lb. ground turkey (or beef, your preference), made into taco meat per instructions in taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

Mexican cheese

After the crust has pre-baked, top with 1 can of refried beans, meat and Mexican cheese. Bake until the crust is done and cheese is bubbly and browning on the edges. Let sit 5 minutes. Slice like pizza and serve with your regular pizza toppings.

Chicken Casserole

1 large chicken breast

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1-8 oz container sour cream

1 box stuffing mix (prepared)

Bake chicken until done, then cube into 1″ chunks. Place chicken in 8 inch square baking dish. In a bowl mix the chicken soup and sour cream until well blended. Pour over the chicken and mix together. Top with prepared stuffing. Cover with tin foil, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Shepherd’s Pie

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 can corn

1 can cream of mushroom soup

c milk

Mashed potatoes (leftover or boxed)

In a skillet, brown ground turkey. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Add drained corn, mushroom soup and milk. Mix. Simmer 5 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish (round or oblong). Top (in a ring around the outside) with the potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Zucchini Hors D’oeuvres

3 c grated zucchini

1 c Bisquick

c chopped onion

c parmesan

2 T parsley

c oil

4 eggs, beaten

tsp. each: seasoned salt, oregano, pepper, garlic salt

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 13×9 baking pan. Bake at 350 until golden on top. Let set before serving. Can be served warm or cold.

Banana Bread

1 c sugar

c butter

1/4 c shortening

2 large eggs

3 crushed bananas

c cold water

2 c flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. soda

tsp salt

Cream sugar and shortening. Stir in eggs and bananas. Add dry ingredients and water alternately. Blend well. Pour into greased and floured bread pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour (or until done). Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

2 c sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c oil

3 c grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

3 c flour

c raisins/nuts/coconut (optional)

Beat together eggs and sugar. Add dry ingredients and oil. Mix well. Stir in zucchini, mix well. Stir in raisins/nuts/coconut (if desired). Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Fruit Salsa with Chips

For the Salsa:

1 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

8 oz. raspberries, chopped

1 pound strawberries, diced

2 T sugar

1 T brown sugar

3 T raspberry preserves.

Mix all fruits with sugars and preserves, stirring well. Cover and chill at least 10 minutes.

For the chips:

10-10″ flour tortillas

Butter cooking spray

2 T cinnamon sugar

Cut tortillas into wedges, place on cookie sheet(s), spray with butter spray and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 approximately 10 minutes. Let cool. Serve with prepared salsa.

Beef Stew

2 lb chuck roast (cut into 1″ cubes)

c flour

2 tsp salt

t pepper

3 T oil

2 c water

1-8 oz. can tomato sauce

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 chopped onion

1 bay leaf

5-6 carrots chopped into bite size pieces

4 potatoes, chopped

c water

2 T flour

In a Ziploc bag, add flour, salt and pepper. Shake the beef cubes in flour mixture. In 5 qt ditch oven brown the coated beefs chunks. Stir in 2 cups water, tomato sauce, bouillon cubes, celery, bay leaf and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 hours or until meat is tender. Remove bay leaf. Add carrots and potatoes. Cover and simmer an additional 30-40 minutes until vegetables are tender. In a small jar with a lid, mix cup water and 2 T flour, shake well. Add to stew mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens.

Chicken and Dumplings

3-4 lb chicken (whole)

2 T olive oil

6 c water

4 chicken bouillon cubes

1 t. salt

t pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

1/3 c flour

c water

1 c mixed frozen vegetables.

Dumplings (recipe follows)

In 5 qt. Dutch oven, brown chicken in olive oil. Add water, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper and onion. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth. Remove bones and cut chicken into small pieces (I always salt the chicken at this stage because the dumplings seem to soak up the salt, leaving the stew a bit bland). Skim fat from broth. In a small jar with a lid, add 1/3 c flour and c water. Shake well. Stir into broth. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens slightly. Stir in chicken and vegetable, bring to a boil. Drop dumpling dough by round tablespoons onto boiling stew mixture. Reduce heat, cover tightly, cook 15 minutes until dumplings are fluffy. Turn off heat. Let sit an additional 15 minutes before serving. (DO NOT TAKE THE LID OFF UNTIL STEW HAS BEEN SITTING THE ADDITIONAL TIME)

Dumplings

1 c flour

2 t baking powder

tsp salt

2/3 c milk

2 T oil

1 egg, slightly beaten

In a medium sized bowl, combine all dry ingredients well. Add milk, oil and egg. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.