Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Art Imitates Life

I have in my possession a painting by artist Queena Stoval that I bought at an antiques shop several years ago. The name of the painting is “March Fury” and on the back is a caption written by the artist in which she writes:
I set hens and raised baby chicks for years.  Whenever a storm came up, the mother hen would panic and I would have to gather some of the baby chicks in my apron and drive the rest to shelter.
In the painting are two peasant women in a rural setting. One of them is hurriedly taking a washing off the line while the other one is shoeing chickens into a barn. In her apron are several baby chicks she has gathered. Overhead, bold streaks of lightning are flashing through dark thunder clouds.
This picture is reminiscent of my mother when her first thought was protecting her brood of children when a storm was imminent. If it thundered in Nebraska, she would be at the door hollering, “You youngens get to the house, a storm is coming!” 
She had a deathly fear of storms and always knew when one was on the way. (I inherited her fear of storms, but not to the same extent.  I try to replace fear with logic…if it hits, it hits)
As soon as we all were present and accounted for, she would herd us into a bedroom and pile us on the bed with orders to stay still and be quiet until the storm was over. We never took this admonition to heart and fought and punched and tickled each other while she paced from window to window, pulling back the curtains to see what havoc the storm was creating outside. We kids never understood this…if she was so frightened of the storm, why did she want to watch it?
I thought about this when I watched the devastating storms ripping across Oklahoma and neighboring states this week. Aside from feeling sorry for the utter chaos and loss of lives and homes, I was mesmerized by the awesome power of nature when conditions come together to produce such unbelievable destruction. The ominous clouds, the driving rain, large hail the size of golf balls. I felt for those trapped in cars with no way out of the storm  and others seeking shelter. And I wondered, how much more can these poor people take?
Like my mother in times past, I couldn’t look away. It brought a realization of how helpless and insignificant we are when Mother Nature shows her power. And we can only watch and wait until the next time and pray there won’t be a next time. 
In the meantime, folks come just a little closer and gather their brood together and give thanks that they still have each other.

Your family will love this!

Loaded Potato Casserole

1 (16oz) container sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (3oz) bag real bacon bits
2 green onions, sliced
1 package Ranch Dip mix
1 (24 oz) bag frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, green onion, and dip mix.
Fold in the thawed hash browns until well coated with the mixture.
Spread the hash browns into a sprayed 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.