GREAT NORTHERN BEANS SOUP

1 lb Great Northern beans, soak overnight in 8 qts water; rinse and drain
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 to 3/4 lb diced ham
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon basil
freshly ground black pepper

Add 6 cups water to the beans and add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 1 to 2 hours until the beans are tender.  Add more water during cooking, if needed.

SOUR CREAM RAISIN DROPS with ORANGE FROSTING

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup raisins
Orange Frosting (recipe follows)

In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; blend in the egg and vanilla extract.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream.  Mix well after each addition.  Stir in the raisins.  Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until set.  Cool on wire rack until completely cool and frost with the Orange Frosting below:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
4 tsp milk

Beat the butter; blend in the orange peel.  Add sugar alternately with the milk until light and fluffy. 

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen cookies

Note: File Photo

EASY HUSH PUPPIES

2 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 tsp salt
2 tsp onion flakes
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
hot fat (in the interest of health, I recommend updating to a healthy oil)

Combine the cornmeal, salt, onion flakes, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.  Add the buttermilk to the cornmeal mixture and mix well.  Heat canola oil (1-inch deep) until hot.  Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil an cook until browned.  Cooking should take a couple of minutes.

Yield: Approximately 2 dozen hush puppies.

Excellent served with fish.

MOM'S WASHDAY DINNER

Remember when it took all day to do the family laundry with the old wringer washer and clothes lines?  I can even remember watching my grandmother washing clothes in the big old black pots over a fire in her backyard.  There was little time left for cooking, thus washday dinners.  This one is made with potatoes and smoked sausage.

1 T. butter
1 medium onion, sliced
2 to 3 large potatoes, sliced
2 T. flour
1 can tomato juice, or V8 juice
1 pkg smoked sausage, sliced
water
salt to taste
1 cup shredded cheese

In a large casserole pan, melt butter.  Line bottom of pan with thick layer of onions.  Add generous layer of potatoes, sift flour over potatoes.  Pour can of tomato juice over top.  Cover with thinly sliced sausages.  Add water to cover.  Add salt to taste.  Bake slowly for 3 hours.  If sausages begin to brown too much, turn them over.  When done (potatoes are tender and casserole is bubbly), sprinkle with the cheese and bake 10 more minutes.

OLD TIME THREE CHEESE ENCHILADAS

8-oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated
8-oz Cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb Velveeta cheese, cut-up
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans chopped green chilies
1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk
1 lb hamburger
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
8-oz tomato sauce
22 flour or corn tortillas, your choice

In a skillet cook the hamburger and onion until meat is crumbled and browned and onion is transparent.  Drain and return to skillet.  Add the chili powder, cumin, and tomato sauce; cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.  Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheeses.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the evaporated milk, green chilies, undiluted cream of chicken soup, and Velveeta cheese.  Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until the cheese is melted.  Set aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a long casserole dish.  Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll to form the enchiladas.  Place side by side in the prepared casserole dish.  Spoon the cheese/soup mixture over the enchiladas.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

This is another recipe that my mother clipped from an old newspaper years ago.  I found it, after her death, among her boxes of clippings.

six or seven slices of white bread (I would recommend whole-wheat)
12 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb sausage, browned, crumbled, drained
1 tsp fennel seed
3 1/2 to 4 cups milk
2 tbsp chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste

Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or pan.  Line the bottom of the dish with the bread.  Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over the bread.  Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees or until bubbly and browned.  Done with a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serves 12.

Note: May also add some cooked, crumbled bacon, if desired.

AMISH POTATO SALAD

When asked for her potato salad recipe years ago, the late Amish Cook Elizabeth Coblentz said she didn't have a recipe. She went on to say she just started putting it together and the family always ate it and thought it was good. After being asked often for the recipe, she came up with the following:

2 1/2 lbs potatoes, which have been cooked until tender
6 eggs, hard-boiled and cut-up
1 cup celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups salad dressing (mayo-type)
2 teaspoons yellow prepared mustard
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt

Dice potatoes or put through slicer, whichever you prefer. Stir the potatoes, eggs, celery and onion together in a bowl. Then in a separate bowl, stir salad dressing, mustard, vinegar, sugar, milk, and salt together. Pour dressing over the potato mixture and stir together.

SCOTTISH MEAT PIE

This recipe is cut from an old Hunt's Tomato Sauce can.

3 cups diced, lean leftover, cooked meat (beef, lamb, etc)
1/4 cup Wesson, pure vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 teasp. salt
1/4 teasp. pepper
dash nutmeg
2 Tablesp. cornstarch
1 cup bouillon
1 8-oz can Hunt's Tomato Sauce
1 cup cooked peas
Pastry dough (2-crust recipe)

Brown meat in oil. Add seasonings. Dissolve cornstarch in bouillon. Add to meat. Pour in Hunt's Tomato Sauce; simmer 5 minutes. Add peas. Line a 1 1/2-quart casserole with pastry, saving part of dough for topping. Pour in the meat filling. Top with remaining crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serves 6.