Meredith Palmison's idea of relaxing is a casual evening in with family and friends watching a football game and eating. Or watching a movie with her girlfriends and sharing a bottle of wine and eating.

"Sometimes I'll have my girlfriends over with a glass of wine, chips and queso. A little flat bread pizza and cut it up. Something easy like that," she says. "We love to spend time with our family. We love to be together and cook together. We love to hang out and watch football – Purdue or the Colts. I should say Butler Bulldogs because I went to Butler. but it's more for basketball than football."

A resident of Fort Wayne, Palmison says that she and her husband, Andy, do not have any children.

"Just the furry ones," the 28-year-old legal assistant says, referring to the couple's two Welsh corgis, Hank and Tinker Bell.

In addition to volunteering as an animal rescuer advocate with her husband, Palmison is a member of the Junior League of Fort Wayne. "I've been with them a year. We moved to Fort Wayne two years ago. Neither of us are from Fort Wayne. I grew up in Goshen, and Andy is from Cleveland. This is a good halfway point," she says.

Q. What's your favorite cookbook?

A. I know I should come up with one, but I love to collect Junior League cookbooks. Many of the women in my family are in Junior League, so when I say I got a pot roast recipe from a Junior League cookbook, they'll say, "of course." That Ranch Potatoes recipe is from a Junior League cookbook

Q. How many cookbooks do you have?

A. I have five Junior League cookbooks, and my entire (cookbook) collection is 35.

Q. What do you do to keep meals healthy?

A. I think people overlook canned or frozen vegetables. While fresh is best, I keep frozen and canned vegetables on hand to throw in a meal, such as chicken and vegetables. I only like to grocery shop once a week. So keeping fresh is hard.

Q. You plan your meals?

A. To budget, I try to get something that will be used in two meals. A head of lettuce can be on burgers and be a salad, too. He (Andy) loves my baked pasta. He wants it every Sunday. He'll ask for it. It's a great meal. Some weeks it's sausage, some weeks it's chicken.

I'm a menu planner, but I also like to have stuff in case anyone stops by.

Q. What do you do with leftovers?

A. I try to cook a meat one night and use the leftovers later in the week. I'll do chicken breasts one night and chicken Caesar salad the next night. That's as close as I can come with Andy. He doesn't like leftovers. I (also) eat them for lunch.

Q. What dish do you make better than anyone else?

A. People rave about my chili. People who don't like chili like that chili recipe. That recipe is modified from three other recipes.

Q. What vegetable do you eat most often?

A. Broccoli. We eat it raw for snacks, in casseroles, stir fried. I'll put it in a pasta dish.

Q. If you could take one person with you to buy groceries, who would it be?

A. If it's not my mom (Carol Rhudy of Goshen), I would say I'm taking my aunt Barb (MacDougall of Indianapolis). She can get just the right amount of food and just what everyone wants and needs. We have a lake cottage that everyone comes to and when we go grocery shopping, Mom and I will say, "How many people do we have? How much do we buy?" and Aunt Barb will say, "We have 11 people and we need 3.75 pounds of meat." It's a joke. But she can cook for a large group and make it just perfect. Some of my fondest memories are big family meals at the lake.

Eastwood Salad

1 pound fresh spinach

1 head romaine lettuce

1 (16-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 cup nuts, such as walnuts

1 (8-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and cut up

1 (8-ounce) can pitted chopped black olives

8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese

Chopped green onions, to taste

Dressing:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/3 red wine vinegar

1 cup oil

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon onion powder

Tear spinach and lettuce into pieces. Mix spinach, lettuce, oranges, nuts, artichokes, olives, cheese and green onion in large salad bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in blender. Blend well, pour over salad and toss gently. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Winning Recipes from the Junior League of Indianapolis,

5th Edition

Pasta Pep-Up

16 ounces mostaccioli or similar tubular pasta, cooked and drained

1 pound ham or chicken, cooked and cubed (may also substitute sausage, turkey or beef)

1 (10-ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 (48-ounces) jar spaghetti sauce

16 ounces shredded mozzarella

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Mix pasta, meat, vegetables, sauce, 8 ounces of cheese and seasonings in a large bowl. Pour mixture into to greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. If baking immediately, bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, then top with remaining 8 ounces (1 cup) shredded cheese and bake additional 10 minutes. Let cool and serve. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Slow Cooker Chili

1 pound spicy ground sausage

3 cups chopped onion

2 cups chopped green bell pepper

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 (4-ounce) small can tomato paste

1 (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer (such as Budweiser or Coors light)

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning

1 teaspoons ground black pepper

3 (14 1/2 -ounce) cans chili-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

Green onions, as desired

Crackers, as desired

Sour cream, as desired

In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add ground sausage and cook until browned. Drain well, transfer to slow cooker. Add onion and green bell pepper to skillet and cook 8 to 10 minutes till tender. Add garlic and tomato paste and stir in. After mixed in, add beer and cook 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker. Add chili powder and next seven ingredients through tomato sauce to mixture in slow cooker. Cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours. Serve in mugs and offer green onions, crackers and sour cream for garnish. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Ranch Potatoes

8 potatoes

1/2 cup (one stick butter), melted

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

Cut unpeeled potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Combine butter, parmesan, salt, garlic powder ad paprika in large mixing bowl. Add potatoes and toss until coated with mixture. Place potatoes on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Note: Turn potatoes half way through baking process to prevent them from sticking. Makes 8 servings.

Winning Recipes from the Junior League of Indianapolis,

5th Edition