Going on vacation

I will be gone for about 10 days, so there won't be any new posts in the meantime.  Check back after that for more recipes from down deep in the recipe card file!

SPICY PINEAPPLE PUNCH

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
20 whole cloves
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
2 cup orange juice
1 28-oz bottle ginger ale

In a pan combine the sugar and water.  Squeeze the lemons.  Set aside and put the peels of the 2 of the lemons into the sugar water mixture along with the whole cloves.  Bring the liquid to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Simmer five minutes.  Then set aside to cool to lukewarm.  Remove the lemon peels and whole cloves.  Add the lemon and the pineapple and orange juice.s.  Chill thoroughly.  Just before serving add chilled ginger ale.  Makes about 3 quarts.  Note:  You can use 4/5 quart champagne instead of the ginger ale.

This is pretty good.  It does have a spicy kick to it.  It's not my favorite, but I would probably make it again.

ZUCCHINI STUFFING CASSEROLE

4 medium zucchini sliced 1/2" thick
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 T margarine
2-1/4 cup herbed stuffing cubes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Cook zucchini in a little boiling salted water until tender.  Drain.  In saucepan cook carrot and onions in 4 T of the margarine until tender.  Remove from heat and stir in 1-1/2 cup of the stuffing cubes, the soup and the sour cream.  Gently stir in zucchini.  Turn into 1-1/2 qt. casserole.  Melt remaining margarine and add remaining cubes.  Toss gently and top casserole.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  Serves 6-8.

This is one recipe that I've been making for years.  Even if you don't like zucchini, you'll like this.  Want your kids to eat veggies?  This is the one.  Try it!

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE

2 cups cut-up rhubarb
2 cups halved strawberries
1 cup sugar
4-1/2 T flour
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
2 T butter

Make pastry for 9" pie plus enough dough for lattice work top.  Fill shell with fruit and pour over the mixture of sugar, flour, and spice.  Top with bits of the butter and put lattice work crust on top.  Brush top crust with milk and sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on.  Bake at 400 about 40 minutes or until juice begins to bubble well.  Serve warm.

Delicious for all rhubarb lovers and great with ice cream!

LEMON LUSH

1-1/2 cubes margarine
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix together.  Press into 9x13 baking dish.  Bake at 350 until lightly browned, about 25 minutes.  Cool

1 cup powdered sugar
1 8oz package cream cheese
2 cups cool whip

Have cream cheese at room temp.  Mix with powdered sugar and cool whip and spread on cooled crust.

3 cups milk
2 packages lemon instant pudding
2 T lemon juice

Beat until thick.  Spread on top of cheese mixture.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Top with cool whip.  Keep in refrigerator overnight.  Serves 15.

What a cool name!  Don't get to use the word "lush" too often.  This is very sweet.  I was hoping to get more of a lemon meringue taste out of this dessert, but it's really not tart at all.  Fun to make, nice presentation, but probably not making this again.

FAVORITE CABBAGE SALAD

1 small head cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 T mayonnaise
2 T vinegar
1 T sugar
1/4 t salt
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In large bowl combine cabbage, green pepper, and onion.  In a small bowl combine mayo, vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Pour over cabbage mixture and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours.  Stir in bacon just before serving. Six servings.

This is all right.  Probably good if you topped a pulled pork sandwich with it, but as a stand-alone coleslaw type recipe it's not my favorite.  Everybody took one helping, and some finished it, some not.  I probably wouldn't make this one again.

SELF-FROSTED YELLOW CAKE

Oven 350
1-1/3 cup flour                                                               Topping:  1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup sugar                                                                                   1/2 cup warm water
2-1/2 t baking powder                                                                  1/3 cup sugar
3/4 t. salt
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla

No need to sift flour.  In large mixer bowl combine all ingredients.  Cream well and put in greased 2 qt. deep casserole.  Spoon topping over and bake 40 - 50 minutes or until it tests done.  Cool 2 minutes.  Loosen edges with knife and invert onto serving plate (You can serve direct from casserole.)  Good with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.  (For chocolate cake just add 2 envelopes premelted unsweetened chocolate to the cake batter.)

I've been making this since high school.  It's not pretty, but easy and oh so good warm from the oven......

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 t soda
1/2 t salt

Combine margarine and peanut butter and blend in the sugars.  Beat in the eggs.  Sift dry ingredients together and add.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cooked sheet.  Flatten with fork and sprinkle a little cane sugar on top.  Bake at 350 about 10 minutes.

This recipe is very special because it was handed down from my mom's mom to her, so really my grandmother's recipe.  There is no better peanut butter cookie than this I don't believe.  The crunchy peanut butter works great, and they're the perfect chewiness that you want in a cookie.  Plus they have the cool criss-cross fork pattern on top just like when I used to buy my lunch in elementary school and you'd get that big peanut butter cookie with the imprint on top, perfect for holding in the sugar sprinkle.  Make this and fill your cookie jar and watch how fast they disappear!

Notice how there's already one missing off the rack, didn't even make it through the cooling process!

BANANA NUT BREAD

2 cups flour, sifted
1/4 t salt
1 t soda
1-1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour milk
1 t vanilla
1 cup mashed banana
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup melted margarine
3 eggs
2 cups chopped walnuts (1 cup is okay too)

Sift dry ingredients and add banana, milk, eggs, butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and then stir in nuts.  Put in large greased and floured bread pan and bake at 325 for an houor or until done.

This bread tastes good.  I think I had a better recipe off the bag of bananas at the store, but I'm not sure what difference it makes.  Banana bread is always good!

ORANGE "JUICES"

1 6oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 ice cubes

In electric blender, blend until ice is completely pulverized.  Serve immediately.

I've been making this recipe for decades since she first made it.  This is a keeper, and make sure to have plenty of ingredients on hand because guaranteed you'll be making more than one batch.  Keep 'em coming!  Plus, any recipe with the word "pulverized" in it you know is good!

SCALLOPED POTATOES

1 can Campbell's Cream of Onion or Mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 t (scant) salt
1/8 t pepper
4 Cups thinly sliced raw potatoes
1 T butter or margarine

Blend soup, milk, salt, and pepper.  Butter a 1-1/2 qt. casserole.  Arrange alternate layers of potatoes and sauce.  Dot top with butter and sprinkle with paprika.  Cover.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until potatoes are done.  Cubed ham or sliced hot dogs can be added.

The comments I received are, "Why is this gray?"  "This is bland."  "I could eat it, but I wouldn't knock myself out for it."  Sadly this recipe is no longer appealing to modern taste buds.  There are much better scalloped potato recipes out there, but this one was probably really popular 40 years ago.

SUGAR CONES

2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 T corn starch
2 T melted margarine
1/2 cup water
If flavoring is desired, use 1/2 t extract flavoring or 1/4 t candy flavoring

Whip egg whites until soft peaks form.  In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients until smooth.  Add desired flavoring and color.  Combine with egg whites and mix well.  Makes 5 large or 10 regular size cones.

This recipe was part of a kit from "The Cone Factory" which consists of a microwave safe plastic semi-circle grid with 3 plastic cone forms.  The idea here being that you grease the grid, pour 1/4 cup batter and spread out and bake in the microwave for about 3-1/2 minutes, peel off and form around cone shapes to cool.  This turned out to be quite a comedy of errors.  First I tried putting a nonstick spray on the first batch, no good.  The batter was totally stuck.  Then I tried basting the grid with canola oil, no good, stuck again.  Then I tried 1/2 cup batter on a Crisco-slathered grid, this time coming off a little bit better.  I finally resorted to just a big cookie sheet with Crisco on it and baked at 300 watching it till it turned a little brown on top and cut off hunks and wrapped it around the cone shapes (which is what you would have to do if you didn't have this kit circa 1987.)  The cones (or pieces of cones) did taste good, so we just ended up putting the hunks in the bottom of an ice cream bowl with the ice cream on top, but I have relinquished the kit over to my daughter-in-law Lauren who will have much more patience to maybe try again.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Into large heavy pan place 2 lbs. confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, and 1 can evaporated milk.  Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until ingredients melt.  Continue cooking to soft-ball stage (235F on candy thermometer).  Remove from heat, quickly stir in 1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow cream and 1 jar (18 oz) peanut butter.  Pour into 2 8x8x2" greased pans.  Cut into squares when cold.  Makes 5 lbs.

First of all, there's nothing more delicious to smell than peanut butter fudge in the making....mmmm.  I used a candy thermometer and at the precise moment poured it all into one oblong buttered pan instead of the 2 pans.  Unfortunately it got really dry and crumbly and flakes when you cut it.  Still tastes good, but I have a better recipe for peanut butter fudge that I already make at Xmas.  In all fairness however, this recipe apparently came from someone named Edna, so nice try Edna!  It smelled great anyway.

SWEET 'N' SOUR BAKED CHICKEN

2-1/2 T. margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrots
3/4 cup catsup
1 cup pineapple juice
1 T. vinegar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 T soy sauce
3/4 t. salt
dash of ground ginger
1 - 1-1/2 cups pineapple chunks, drained
1-3 lb. fryer chicken cut up

Preheat oven to 400.  In medium skillet, heat margarine until melted.  Add onion, green pepper, and carrots and cook five minutes, stirring.  Stir in catsup, pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and ginger.  Cook, stirring until mixture boils.  Add the pineapple chunks.  Arrange chicken pieces in 13x9 baking dish.  Pour sauce over all.  Bake covered 45 minutes, then uncovered 30 minutes.

This was totally easy, but unfortunately shows how times and tastes have changed.  The main consensus was that sweet and sour chicken should not be on a bone in the first place but should be in chunks like at a Chinese restaurant.  The final word on this?  All I heard was, "It's edible."  Certainly not too encouraging.  No one wanted more and had to throw the rest away.  Rats, and I love sweet and sour.....

CHOCOLATE MINT CHIFFON PIE

Soak 1 envelope gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. 
Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 t salt, 1/2 cup cocoa.  Add slowly 3/4 cup scalded milk.
Beat 4 egg yolks and add to cocoa mixture.
Cook over boiling water until thickened.  Stir in gelatin.  Chill until thick and syrupy.
Beat 4 egg whites with 1/2 t. peppermint extract.  Whip 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Fold into chocolate mixture.
Pour into a vanilla cookie crumb crust.
Chill until firm, about 3 hours.  Serve with whipped cream.  Makes a 9-inch pie.
Variation for Mocha Chiffon Pie:  Substitute 3/4 cup coffee for the milk and omit the peppermint.

This pie is delicious!  I actually made my own crust with Nilla wafers.  I didn't use a double boiler because I don't have one, so just stir quickly because it doesn't take very long at all to get to a pudding-type consistency.  Also didn't take long in the refrigerator before it's time to add the egg whites and cream, so keep an eye on it.  I just spread Cool Whip over the whole pie.  Needless to say, this pie was gone!

BACARDI COCKTAIL

Simply squeeze half a juicy lime or lemon into a shaker.  Add 1/2 t. sugar, a generous jigger of Bacardi light, 1 t. grenadine, and ice.  Then shake away.  Serve on the rocks or in a cocktail glass. 

By the way, the original daiguiri (1896) was made with Bacardi rum, and the best still are.  So popular, the NY Supreme Court ruled that a Bacardi Cocktail is not a Bacardi Cocktail unless it's made with Bacardi rum!  (Wouldn't want to go to jail or anything for using the wrong rum)

This drink is really sour.  Suggestions were made to cut down on the lemon and add more cherry.  But maybe after two or three or more, it would taste fine!