FRUIT COCKTAIL DROP COOKIES

This recipe was from an old Christian Church in Idaho many, many years ago.

1 can (1 lb size) fruit cocktail
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets and set aside.

Drain fruit cocktail saving 1/3 cup of the syrup. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add the egg to the sugar mixture and beat well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Add the dry mixture to the sugar mixture along with the reserved 1/3 cup of syrup. Stir in the walnuts, raisins, and fruit cocktail. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned.

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen (I made larger ones. I got 2 dozen of the size pictured.)

 

CHEESY MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE

3 cups cooked, mashed potatoes

1 egg, separated
1/2 cup shredded low-fat process American cheese
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped green onion
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 egg white
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp shredded low-fat cheddar cheese, if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the mashed potatoes and egg yolk; stir until well blended. Stir in the cheese, bell pepper, green onion, and celery salt.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the 2 egg whites at the high speed of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the potato mixture.

Gently spoon the potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the paprika evenly over the potato mixture. Bake the casserole for 25 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle the top with the shredded low-fat cheddar cheese, if desired. Serve immediately while hot.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

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DOWNHOME OATMEAL WITH FRESH BLUEBERRIES

 

1 cup water

1/2 cup old-fashion oats
dash of salt, optional
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh blueberries*
1 tablespoon cream

In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil; stir in oats and the salt, if using (best for you to omit salt if you can). Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend and the blueberries over the hot oatmeal. Drizzle with the cream.

*May substitute frozen blueberries that have been thawed.

 
Yield: 1 serving

MASON JAR FRENCH DRESSING

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1 small finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp celery seed

Beat all ingredients together and store in a covered jar in the refrigerator. Makes 3/4 quart.

Note: Blender works great for blending this dressing.

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OATMEAL PIE

 This is another old recipe clipping my late mother had taped onto a page in an old spiral notebook.

CHICKEN CASSEROLE

This chicken casserole recipe is from a 1975 magazine called THE WORKBASKET. The Workbasket was a small magazine that was chocked full of recipes, knitting and crocheting instructions. Many a rural housewife waited anxiously for the local mailman to drop her monthly edition into her mailbox. My mother was one of them.

2 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp monosodium glutamate, optional
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 cup crushed potato chips

In greased 2-qt casserole, combine ingredients, topping mixture with cheese and chips. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until bubbly.

CITRUS-TARRAGON ROAST CHICKEN

This recipe takes a food our ancestors grew up on, chicken, and dresses it up for a modern recipe. Did you grow up eating fried and/or roasted chicken? I can still remember my grandpa killing the chicken and my grandma plucking the feathers off. 

1 lemon

1 orange

4 sprigs tarragon

6 tbsp butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1 (4-5 lb) roasting chicken

Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

Grate 1 tablespoon zest and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from the lemon. Grate 2 teaspoons of zest and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the orange. Reserve half of each fruit.

Chop 2 springs tarragon. In a bowl, using a fork, mash together citrus zest, citrus juice, chopped tarragon and butter. Season with the salt and pepper.

Using your fingers, gently loosen skin from breast meat and spread the butter mixture underneath and over the skin. Place the reserved fruit halves and remaining tarragon in the chicken's cavity. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and add 1 cup of water. Roast at 375-degrees around 1 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer, inserted into thickest part of a thigh away from bone, registers 170-degrees and the juices run clear. Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil for 10-minutes before carving. Drizzle with the pan juices and butter from the bottom of the pan.

Yield: 8 servings

My version of a recipe I saw in a '23 First for women

ORANGE PECAN SWEET POTATOES

This is an old recipe from the ARGO Cornstarch folks.

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp Argo Corn Starch
1 cup orange juice
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Spray a 3 quart (13 x 9-in) baking dish with cooking spray. Add sweet potatoes and pecans to dish. Combine brown sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan. Gradually add orange juice, whisking to blend. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Pour over sweet potatoes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until edges are browned and bubbly.

BEST-EVER ORANGE SPONGE CAKE

This recipe isn't exactly vintage but it is old. I got it from a McCall's Cooking School in the early 80s.

3/4 cup (6) egg whites (do not discard yolks)
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (see directions below)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
6 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tbsp freshly grated orange peel
Confectioners' sugar

In large bowl of electric mixer, let egg whites warm to room temperature - about an hour.

To measure flour: sift about 2 cups of flour once on a sheet of waxed paper; fill cups lightly to overflowing; with spatula cut off excess to make 1 3/4 level cups. Sift flour with the salt; set aside.

With electric mixer at medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when beaters are slowly raised. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, with electric mixer, using the same beaters at high speed, beat egg yolks until very thick and lemon-colored - about 3 minutes. Do not underbeat. Gradually beat in the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar; continue beating until mixture is smooth.

At low speed, blend flour mixture and orange juice alternately into the egg-yolk mixture, beginning and ending with flour and guiding batter into beaters with a scraper. Add orange peel. With a whisk or rubber spatula, using under-and-over motion, fold yolk mixture gently into whites.

Pour batter into an ungreased kugelhopf pan or a 10-inch tube pan without a removable bottom. Bake at 350 degrees 50-55 minutes for the kugelhopf or 35-40 minutes for the tube pan. Cake is done when it springs back when pressed lightly with finger.

Invert over a bottle and cool completely. See note below.

Using an up-and-down motion, run a thin spatula around edge of cake and pan. Invert cake and shake to release; place on serving plate. Sift confectioners' sugar over top of cake. To cut cake use a serrated knife. Cut gently using a sawing motion.

If you used a nonstick pan or sprayed your pan, do not invert on bottle. Invert on a wire rack to cool 30 minutes. Turn cake out onto the wire rack and cool completely.

Yield: 12 servings

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ASPARAGUS OMELET

This recipe is from the White House Cookbook, 1894

Boil, with a little salt, and until about half cooked, eight or ten stalks of asparagus, and cut the eatable part into rather small pieces; beat the egg and mix the asparagus with them. Make the omelet. Omelet with parsley is made by adding a little chopped parsley.

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