CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

2-1/2 cups regular all purpose flour (unsifted)
1/2 cup cocoa
2-1/2 t baking powder
1-1/2 t soda
1 t each salt, cinnamon
3/4 cup soft butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 t each vanilla, grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.  With a rotary mixer beat together the butter and sugar until they are smoothly blended.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.  Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.  Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan.  Bake in 350 oven for about 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 15 minutes.  Turn out n wire rack to cool thoroughly.  Drizzle glaze over cake.  Cut in thin slices to serve.  Makes 10 to 12 servings. 

Glaze:  Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 T milk and 1 t vanilla.  Beat until smooth. 
Good also with cream cheese frosting.

Well, it's kind of weird thinking about taking a great thing like chocolate and then mixing it with zucchini!  It kind of fell apart after I cooled it and turned it out onto a wire rack, but I pieced it together and glazed it.  It was all right, not super great.  I think I'd rather blend zucchini in a bread rather than in this cake.  It just added a strange taste to the cake.

SHRIMP SALAD

Small cooked shell noodles
Small whole or cup up cooked shrimp
Finely cut celery
Small amount finely cut green onion
Mayonnaise or sandwich spread

Mix together and season with salt, paprika, parsley, and egg slices.

Note she doesn't give any measurements with any of these ingredients, so you just have to fake it.  I put a lot of sliced egg on top (see pic) just because I like that.  I thought it turned out pretty tasty.

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN

Coat fryer parts with seasoned flour and brown.  Add 1-2/3 cups pineapple chunks with syrup plus 1/2 cup water.  Cover and let simmer 40 minutes.  Uncover and simmer 15 minutes more.

This is really easy, but it's just okay.

BAKED CARROTS

2 lbs. carrots
2 bunches green onions
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1 t celery salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Trim, scrape, and shred carrots.  (about 8 cups).  Trim and slice onions using part of the green tops.  (about 3/4 cup)  Combine carrots, onions, sugar, salt, and celery salt in a large bowl.  Toss to mix well.  Spoon into an 8 cup baking dish.  Dot with the butter or margarine.  Cover and bake at 325 for one hour.

This was all right considering it's baked carrots which generally aren't too exciting.  Everybody had a small helping, and that was it.  Plenty of carrots left over.  I just don't think this is a go-to recipe, but if you're wild about carrots I'd try it.

MICROWAVE REUBEN CASSEROLE

1 can (16 oz.) sauerkraut, drained
1 can (12 oz.) corned beef, broken into small pieces
2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/4 cup bottled thousand island salad dressing
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 T butter or margarine
1/4 cup pumpernickel bread crumbs (or other bread)

Place sauerkraut in 1-1/2 quart glass dish.  Top with corned beef and then shredded cheese.  Combine mayonnaise and thousand island dressing.  Spread over cheese.  Top with tomato slices and set aside.  Microwave butter in small glass bowl on "roast" (70) or until melted.  Stir in crumbs ad sprinkle over tomato slices.  NO COVER.  Microwave for 12-14 minutes on (70) or until heated through (about 150F).  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I can't believe I even made this one, let alone a double batch enough to feed all the boys.  I've never purchased canned corned beef before, so that was new.  I think this recipe must have come along in the age when cooking an entire meal in a microwave was a brand-new idea.  When assembling this, I just kept looking at it and shaking my head, very bizarre looking.  It actually wasn't too bad, and the whole thing was eaten, so I'm glad I followed through and made it, but wow, the way it looked!  Not something I'll make again, but I can see why she probably liked it because I know she loved reuben sandwiches!

GERMAN BARS

4 eggs
1 pkg dark brown sugar
2-1/2 cups flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
dash of salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
powdered sugar for glaze

Cream eggs and sugar.  Sift flour with cinnamon, cloves, and salt into egg mixture.  Mix well.  Add walnuts.  Spread on greased 12" x 18" cookie sheet (jelly roll pan).  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until just done.  Remove from oven and immediately spread glaze over.  (1 cup powdered sugar with water).  Allow to cool.  Then cut into bars.

This was one of my dad's favorite cookies.  I made them at Christmastime, but they just didn't go over that well, maybe because there were too many other cookie choices?  I had a few, and they were all right.  I'll probably give this one another chance just for the sentimental value, but if they don't get eaten next time, I'll not make them again.  (Sorry, I lost the picture)

TRADITIONAL SUGAR COOKIES and also BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

3/4 cup shortening (part butter soft)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla or 1/2 t lemon extract
2-1/2 cups flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and flavoring.  Blend in flour, baking powder and salt.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour.  Heat oven to 350.  Roll dough 1/8".  Cut out and place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 6-8 minutes til barely brown on bottom.

When cool:

1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
2 T milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
food coloring

Combine butter and sugar at low speed in small bowl of electric mixer.  Blend in milk, vanilla, and salt.  Beat at high speed 5 to 8 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy.  Color if desired all or a portion.  Can be used with decorator tube.

I always make these two together because I always frost mine.  Plus, mine are a little thicker, so it takes about 12 minutes to bake.  For the holidays I usually make a double batch.  You may need to add a little more powdered sugar to make it thick enough to stay on cookies.  These cards go right back into my good file!

SPRINGERLE COOKIES

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t anise extract
2 t anise seed

Beat eggs.  Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.  Sift flour, then sift again with baking powder and salt into the egg mixture.  Mix thoroughly.  Stir in anise extract.  Chill.  Roll out 1/4" thick and press out dough with floured mold.  Cut between squares.  Place on greased cookie sheet sprinkled with anise seed.  Let stand at least four hours to dry.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Cool and store in a tightly covered container.  (Let age 2 weeks to mellow flavor)  Makes about 2 dozen.

First of all, this is one of my mom's famous cookie recipes.  Everybody looks forward to these delicious licorice-flavored gems with the perfect texture of chewiness.  There's a special rolling pin she used that has the designed squares on it that you can probably still find in a specialty cooking store, but luckily she bought me one a long time ago!  This is a holiday favorite.

THREE LAYER WALNUT BARS

1st layer:
1 cup margarine
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch

Cream margarine and sugar.  Add flour and cornstarch.  Blend well.  Pat the crumbly mixture onto  a
11 x 17 x 3/4" cookie pan or jelly roll pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 300.

2nd layer:
4 eggs
4 T flour
2 t vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 lb. brown sugar
1/2 t baking powder
2 cups chopped walnuts

Beat eggs with brown sugar.  Add flour and baking powder.  Blend well.  Add vanilla.  Stir in nuts and coconut.  Pour over first layer and bake 15 minutes at 300 and 5 additional minutes at 350 to brown if needed.  Cool.

3rd layer:
1/2 cube margarine
1 4-oz. package cream cheese
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

Beat until smooth and spread over 2nd layer.  Chill for easier slicing.  Cut into 1" squares.

I had high hopes for this recipe knowing how much I like 7-layer bars.  I thought it was pretty good, but nobody else liked it.  And when I say that, I mean that when I gave out cookie plates to various people at Xmas, they said to me "What was that thing in the foil on the plate?  That wasn't very good."  Granted people probably shouldn't say that when given free cookies, but maybe they just were trying to make sure I didn't make that again?  So sadly I will chuck this card into the trash. 

WALNUTS (Crunchy Spiced)

1 cup sugar
5 T water
2 t cinnamon

Cook gently to 230 to 234 degrees (spins thread)

1 t vanilla
2-1/4 cups walnut halves

Stir until mixture begins to harden.  Turn out on waxed paper and separate with fork.

This recipe appears to come from a friend of hers, Grace Olson, so thanks Grace for this easy recipe.  Really tasty and probably could use a mixed nut blend as well.  It's pretty sweet.