My Grandmothers Cookbook

My Grandmother ~ Born 100 Years Ago!

It's hard for me to believe, but April 1, 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of my grandmother Elizabeth Rose von Hohen's birth! When you think about 100 years going by, especially this past 100 years, it's mind blowing to think of the changes she witnessed. As a little girl Elizabeth would take the reins of the cart and ride down a long narrow lane to the country road which lead to the farm where she would pick up milk for her family. She took pride in the responsibility given to her at such a young age. Ten decades later this little country girl now has a new website to honor her and to offer her Grandmother's Cookbook ~ comfort foods made with love. I am so proud to have had such a wonderful grandmother and even more proud to have the opportunity to share her stories and recipes with the world!

I am excited to share with you two healthy recipes which have been in our family well over 100 years. They are Hungarian Peasant Meal and Oatmeal Cookies, both brought here from the old country by my great-grandmother, Anna. The Hungarian Peasant Meal is a dish I was unaware of until we started putting our cookbook together. My mother told me it was a staple for their family back in the 1930s and 1940s because it was inexpensive. She said she has vivid memories of my grandfather putting a big lump of butter on the boiled red potatoes. He would then break off a piece of potato and take a scoop of the cottage cheese mixture and pop it into his mouth! Delicious! This is so yummy ~ you just have to try it! It is quick and extremely easy to make. In fact, this is the perfect recipe for a beginner to try.

Hungarian Peasant Meal

One thing we had lots of times for dinner was this meal. My mother told us in the old country they called potatoes “feld hendles,” field chickens, as they took the place of meat.

Boil 6 to 12 medium red new potatoes in their jackets in salted water for about ½ hour or until soft. They are done when a fork easily goes into the potato. Mix 1 pound of cottage cheese with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and paprika. Add a heaping tablespoon of sour cream and ½ cup chopped scallions. Toss cottage cheese mixture together and sprinkle with paprika.

Serve potatoes in their jackets. We just peeled them on our plates, sprinkled with salt and pepper and a lump of butter. Serve with two or three heaping tablespoons of the cottage cheese mixture. Delicious!

Oatmeal Cookies

1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Cups Oatmeal
1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
½ Cup Raisins
½ Cup Coconut

Cream together sugar, butter and eggs until light and fluffy. Add flour, oatmeal and baking soda. Add nuts, raisins and coconut. Mix well. Drop from a teaspoon on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipes makes a big batch of cookies. They are so delicious you'll find yourself eating a handful at a time!

Carrie J. Gamble is co-author, editor and publisher of Grandmother's Cookbook, a collection of comfort food recipes, treasured memories, wildflower watercolors and feelings from the heart. Details and more delicious recipes of Carrie's grandmother, Elizabeth Rose von Hohen, can be found on their website. The perfect gift for Mother's Day, Weddings and Birthdays. http://www.grandmotherscookbook.com/.

Thanks to Carrie Gamble for providing today's post.

Audrey :)

Lemon Squares

I'm a lemon lover. Here's a great recipe that is easy to make and lemony flavored.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix flour, butter and powdered sugar. Press into bottom of a 9x9 casserole dish. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Beat remaining ingredients until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust. Bake 25 minutes longer. Cool and cut into bars.

Audrey :)

Apricot Jello Mold

Apricot Jello Mold

1 large can apricots with juice
1 large package orange jello
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/4 cups cold water
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Cool Whip

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add cold water and apricot juice. Chill until almost firm. Cut apricots into bite sized pieces. Add apricots, marshmallows and nuts. Mix very lightly. Pour into mold and refrigerate until set. Top with Cool Whip and cheese.

Audrey :)

Recipe Cards

Do you have recipe cards you use for cooking? Here are some ideas for keeping the recipes in front of you.

Get a glass. Put a fork in the glass. Now put the recipe card in the tines of the fork. Your recipe is now stanging up in front of you.

Put a clamp on the outside of a cabinet. You can now hang your recipe on the clamp.

Do you have another tip for using recipe cards?

Audrey :)

Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

This is a fun casserole using stuffing as a "crust" and then filling with cubed turkey or chicken.

1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups seasoned stuffing mix
1 - 2.8 can french fried onions
1 can cream of celery soup
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
1 - 10 ounce package frozen peas, thawed

Mix the butter and water and stir until butter melts. Pour the water over the stuffing mix and toss lightly to coat. Stir in half of the onions.

Spoon the stuffing into a 9 inch baking dish. Press the stuffing up the sides to form a "crust."

In a bowl, combine the milk, soup, turkey and peas. Pour into the baking dish, on top of the crust. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with remaining onions and cook 5 minutes longer.

Note: Try other soups such as cream of mushroom or cream of asparagus. You can also use mixed vegetables instead of peas.

Audrey :)

Cocktail Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup minced onion
1 egg
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon worchestire sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup shortening
10 ounces of grape jelly
12 ounces of chili sauce

Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, onions, milk, egg, parsley, worchestire sauce, salt and pepper. Shape into one inch balls. Melt the shortening in a skillet and brown the meatballs. Once meatballs are done, remove them from the skillet. Heat the chili sauce and grape jelly in the skillet until the jelly is melted. Stir constantly. Add the meatballs back in and coat them completely then simmer for 30 minutes.

Audrey :)

Ground Beef Dip

I love appetizers. There are times that I have just appetizers for dinner. I thought I'd share some appetizer recipes with you.

3 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
2 large green bell peppers, diced
3 large tomatoes
1 large brick of pepper jack cheese
1 pound velveeta cheese, cut into 1 inch squares
hot sauce to taste
tortilla chips

Brown the meat and green pepper. Drain. In a food processor, puree the tomatoes. Then heat in a skillet. (not with the beef). Add the the cheese pieces and stir until blended. Add hot sauce and meat mixture. Heat through and sever hot.

Audrey :)

Tupperware Pitcher Giveaway

Congratulations to mom2anutball, our pitcher winner!!

Would you like to win this Tupperware One Gallon Pitcher? I'm giving it away.

There are several ways to get an entry into this contest. Number one is mandatory. The others are all optional for additional entries.

1. For your first entry, you must leave me a comment telling me your favorite beverage that you might store in this pitcher.
2. Friend request me on Facebook http://profile.to/audreyokaneko/
3. Join the message board at http://athomeresources.com/Message_Board/index.php and post at least an introduction.
4. Sign up for the monthly newsletter. It says "you are signing up for the monthly newsletter"

Please leave one comment for each entry. Open only to U.S. residents over the age of 18. Contest is open through April 5th 11:59 p.m. pacific time.

Audrey :)

Cooking Chicken

We eat chicken at least a few times a week for dinner. I love buying the boneless skinless chicken breasts at Costco. They come 12 to a package and have 2 in each of six packages. We preare them in many ways so we get a lot of variety. The chicken breasts for tonight are marinating in an apricot sauce. I combined apricot jam with a can of apricots in heavy syrup. The taste is wonderful. I will cook the apricots with the chicken.

Another of our favorites is to coat the chicken in ranch dressing and then roll in either crushed corn flakes or bread crumbs.

How do you like to cook chicken?

Audrey :)

Cream of Chicken Soup

I love turkey breast cooked in the crockpot with cream of chicken soup. I also love most any vegetable in a casserole with cream of chicken soup. Share here what you like to use cream of chicken soup on.

Audrey :)

Pinwheels

We love to make pinwheels here at home. Instead of high calorie bread, we use low fat, low calorie tortillas, roll them up and then cut into bite sized pieces.

You can put turkey and cheese in them, tuna in them and we love cream cheese and salmon in them.

If you're having guests over, pinwheels look wonderful on trays for serving.

Try this chocolate-peanut butter dessert pinwheel:

Filling:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons chocolate chips
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/4 teaspoons confectioners sugar
3/4 teaspoon butter
2 tortillas

Glaze:
1 tablespoon chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon hot water

For the filling; melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave. Cool just slightly. Stir in the cream cheese, peanut butter and confectioners sugar until blended. Spread on tortillas. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

For the glaze, melt the chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter in microwave. Stir in hot water until smooth. Drizzle over the cold wraps and serve.

Audrey :)

Egg Substitute

Do you use egg substitute? If so, do you use a specific brand? I found a recipe to make your own egg substitute:

3 egg whites
2 tablespoons instant nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon water
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Makes one serving, equivalant to one egg. There are 64 calories in this one serving.

Audrey :)

Breakfast Burritos

One of the many breakfast meals I enjoy is a breakfast burrito. We start with low fat tortillas and go from there. They are a great way to use up leftovers. If you have left over meats or poultry, heat them up in a frying pan. Add in leftover potatoes. We love potato wedges and so the next day we'll chop those up and add them to our burritos. Add in cheese and any left over veggies you might have. Roll it all up in the tortilla and serve.

Are there other ingredients you like in your breakfast burritos?

Audrey :)

Parmesan Chicken

I found this recipe this morning Parmesan Chicken. I used mayonnaise instead of yogurt. I also used garlic powder with a bit of salt added. I choose not to use butter, just to save on calories. Finally we added one more spoon of parmesan cheese.

The chicken was delicious. We'll absolutely make this dish again. Yum!!

Here's my version:

1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup mayonnaise

Sauce:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 ounces of sour cream

I found chicken breasts on sale at Albertsons but as the original recipe states, I'm sure this would be great on dark meat as well.

We are very calorie conscious here. I used low fat mayonnaise, low calorie soup and low fat sour cream. We each spooned on our own gravy and we also made potatoes that we spooned the gravy on.

Thanks to Kristy for this awesome new recipe on our "make again" list.

Audrey :)

French Onion Soup

I love onion. French onion soup is one of my favorites:

2 cups sliced onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup butter
1 can tomato soup
1 can beef broth
1 soup can of water
1/2 soup can of red wine
croutons
cheese (optional)

Saute the onions and garlic in butter until tender. Add the remaining ingredients (not croutons) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and croutons and serve.

Audrey :)

Flavored Butters

I love flavored butters to put on bread, potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Green Herb Butter

1 1 /2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh parsely, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chives, mined
salt and pepper to taste

Cream all ingredients together. Allow to sit for about an hour. Then chill slightly. Form into a log and rechill. Slice and serve.

Apricot Lemon Butter

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup dried apricots
4 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Stew apricots by covering with water and cooking over low heat until soft. Drain water. Let cool, puree. Cream together all ingredients. Allow to sit for about an hour. Then chill slightly. Form into a log and rechill. Slice and serve.

Orange Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup orange marmalade

Beat butter until fluffy. Add marmalade and beat until completely blended. Chill in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Butter

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Blend all ingredients together. Chill and serve.

Do you have a favorite flavored butter?

Audrey :)

Lasagna for the Crockpot

We made a lasagna last night in the crockpot and it was delicious. You can really make this your own recipe by adding other ingredients. Since I didn't quite follow a recipe, I'll tell you step by step what I did:

I bought ground turkey. It was just over a pound. I browned the meat with chopped onion. Once the meat was brown I added in one jar of Prego sauce (don't throw away the jar). You can use any brand and even make your own.

Once the meat was done, it was time to create the lasagna. I spooned a bit of the meat sauce on the bottom of the crockpot. I then used whole wheat lasagna noodles. I generously coated the noodles with ricotta cheese, then broke to fit the crockpot. I chopped up one head of cauliflower and one head of broccoli. A handful of each of these went on top of the noodles. I love spinach so I threw in a handful of spinach leaves. I topped this with italian blend cheese. I repeated the layers twice more.

Remember that jar you saved after browning the meat. Put a quarter cup of water in the jar and shake to create a very runny tomato sauce. Just before plugging in the crockpot, pour the water over the top of the top of casserole.

Cook on high for 4 hours. After four hours, I took off the lid and pushed the top noodles down to absorb a bit of the liquid. I turned it down to low and cooked one more hour.

We served with garlic bread and a salad and everyone loved it.

Audrey :)