PINEAPPLE CHEESE BALL

 pkgs (8-oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
dash of salt, optional

Stir crushed pineapple into the cream cheese. Gradually add in 1 cup of the pecans, bell pepper, onion, and salt, if using. When mixture is well blended, form into a ball. Roll the ball in the remaining cup of pecans. Chill until serving time. Serve with an assortment of crackers and celery sticks.

 This is a file photo from TOH used for reference only.

BANANA-PRALINE MUFFINS

This is a Better Homes & Gardens recipe from the 1980s.

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp dairy sour cream

1/3 cup chopped pecans

3 small bananas

1 slightly beaten egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 1/2 cups packaged pancake mix

In a small bowl stir together brown sugar and sour cream; stir in pecans. Set aside.

Mash bananas. In a medium mixing bowl stir together egg, sugar, oil and mashed bananas until well blended. Add pancake mix, stirring just until moistened. Grease muffin cups or line with paper bake cups; fill 2/3 full with batter. Drop 1 teaspoon of pecan mixture atop each muffin. Bake in 400-degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

file photo for reference

LOUISIANA CHICKEN GUMBO

1 small 3-lb fowl

4 tablespoons fat, butter or bacon fat

1 (1-lb) thick slice ham, diced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 quart hot water

2 cups sliced okra

1 sprig thyme

2 dozen oysters

1/16 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon file' or 3 tablespoons sassafras leaves

Clean chicken and cut into pieces. Sauté chicken in fat in heavy frying pan until browned, turning frequently. Add ham and onion and sauté about 10 minutes. Add salt and water; bring to a boil, and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until chicken is tender. Add okra and thyme and simmer 1/2 hour longer. or until okra is tender. Remove chicken from the bone and return to stock. Add oysters and cayenne and cook until edges of oysters curl. Add additional seasoning if needed. Just before serving stir in file' or sassafras leaves. Serve at once in hot tureen with boiled rice or serve in hot soup bowls. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

file photo for reference only

This is an old Gone with the Wind era recipe.

SWEET 'N' SOUR BRISKET

1 (3 to4 lb) beef brisket

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup chili sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 medium onions, sliced

1 cup sliced celery with leaves

3 small cooking apples, cored and cut into wedges

2 tbsp cornstarch

Trim fat from brisket and discard. 

To make marinade, in a bowl sitr together vinegar, apple juice, chili sauce, brown sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Place a large plastic bag in a large bowl. Place the meat in the bag and pour marinade over the meat. Close the bag and chill 12 up to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Remove meat from bag, reserving marinade. Place meat in a 3-quart casserole dish or a 9"x 13" pan. Top meat with the onions and celery. (Note from Linda - a chef at a resort once told me to always cook meat over the onions, so that's what I do.) Pour the reserved marinade overall. Cover and roast in a 325-degree oven about 3 hours or until the meat is very tender. Add apples during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the meat, veggies and apples to a serving platter, reserving the juices. Cover meat to keep warm.

For the gravy, strain reserved juices and measure 2 1/2 cups. In a medium saucepan, stir cornstarch into 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Add the reserved 2 1/2 cups juices and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook, stirring another 2 minutes.

To serve, thinly slice the meat and pass the gravy with the meat.

Yield: 10-12 servings

file photo for reference only

EASY CHERRY SQUARES

This recipe is from 1960s Iowa.

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 can cherry pie filling (or your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 16 x 20-inch jelly roll pan and set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, gradually add the sugar to the butter creaming at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well at low speed after each addition. Add the flour and lemon juice and mix until well combined. Pour the mixture evenly onto the prepared jelly roll pan. Mark off 15 servings by making three across and five down. Place a heaping tablespoon of the pie filling in the center of each of the 15 sections. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle powdered sugar over all.

file photo

CREAM APPLES

This is an old German recipe.

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
6 large apples, pared and cored
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup finely ground almonds

In a large, covered skillet, combine the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with the water. Arrange the apples in the liquid and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until apples are just tender. Remove the apples from the liquid and refrigerate them. Just before serving: Heat the heavy cream to lukewarm. Beat the egg until thick then gradually beat in the 1/3 cup of sugar and the lukewarm cream. Add the ground almonds. Pour over the apples.

Yields six servings.

clipart photo

MIZ NELLIE'S END-OF-SUMMER RELISH

This is an old recipe from my childhood days in Southern Indiana.

4 cups onions, ground
4 cups green tomatoes, ground
4 cups cabbage, ground
5 1/2 cups green bell peppers, ground
3 cups red bell peppers, ground
4 cups cucumbers, ground
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp celery seeds
6 cups sugar
2 tbsp mustard seed
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
4 cups cider vinegar
2 cups cold water

After grinding the vegetables, place them in either a stainless steel or enameled pot; add the salt. Let stand overnight in the refrigerator.

Next day, pour off the liquid from the vegetables. Rinse well and drain again. Add to vegetables the celery seed, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, vinegar, and cold water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Pack into 8 hot pint jars. Seal and place in a hot water bath and process for 3 minutes.

file photo - not this exact recipe

TOP PERSIMMON PUDDING

2 to 2 1/2 cups persimmon pulp

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon 

3 cups sweet milk

Mix sugar, egg yolks and butter into the persimmon pulp. Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk to the persimmon mixture. Add egg whites that have been beaten stiff just before putting in the oven. Bake at 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

This recipe won the persimmon pudding contest at the 1955 Persimmon Festival in Mitchell, Indiana.

Guidepost photo

STOVETOP MUSHROOM MEATBALLS

This is an old recipe I got from my late mother-in-law. She got it from a co-worker at a factory in Bloomington, Indiana approximately fifty or sixty years ago.

Mix 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 soup can of water until well blended.

Combine the following ingredients:
1/4 cup of the soup mixture
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup bread or cracker crumbs
2 tbsp minced onion
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 beaten egg

Mix the above ingredients well and shape into meatballs about 1 1/2-inch diameter each. Brown in a skillet in 2 tablespoons of shortening. Pour off the excess drippings. Add the remaining soup mixture to the skillet, cover, and cook over a low heat for about 20-25 minutes. Baste occasionally during cooking.

File photo for reference only.

OATMEAL BREAD

This recipe is from my hometown newspaper in Indiana. This page was dated Wednesday, April 8,1987. It was in the good food/good health section.

1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water (95-105 degrees)
3/4 cup skim milk
2 tbsp dark molasses
3/4 cup uncooked quick oats or regular oats
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter or margarine, softened
About 2 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour

In a small bowl, soften yeast in water for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve. Meanwhile, scald milk by placing in a small saucepan and heating to just below boiling when tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan.

In a large bowl, mix together molasses, oats, salt and margarine. Pour hot milk on top and stir to melt margarine. Cool to lukewarm.

Add yeast and enough flour to make a stiff batter; beat well. Add enough extra flour to make a soft dough, and turn out onto lightly floured board. Knead dough, working in extra flour only as needed to keep dough from sticking to board. Knead until smooth, light and elastic, with little air bubbles under the surface (about 5 to 8 minutes).

Place in warm greased bowl, turning dough over once to bring greased side up. Cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Place in warm place (80-85 degrees) away from drafts.

When the dough is doubled in volume (1 1/2-2 hours), punch down, form into ball and let rise again until almost doubled in volume (30-45 minutes). Shape into loaf and place in lightly oiled 9" x 5" loaf pan. Grease top lightly. Let rise again until almost doubled in volume (50-60 minutes) or until dough does not spring back when touched.

Bake at 375 degrees until loaf is lightly browned. Tip loaf out of pan and thump bottom with fingers to test for doneness (a hollow sound). If not done, return to oven for a few more minutes. Cool on wire rack before wrapping up.

Yield: 1 loaf of 18 slices
Per slice 2 g fat and 87 calories

File photo for reference