Sour Cream Dressing for Baked Potatoes - Della G.

I forgot to take a photo, but I'm sure you can guess what it looks like.  That said, don't make it.  It should be called "Miracle Whip Dressing for Potatoes."  The miracle whip makes it taste like a hot potato salad and was just weird.    I'm glad I did a half batch.

Sour Cream Dressing for Baked Potatoes
1 C sour cream
2 C Miracle Whip
Garlic salt
Onion salt
2 t sugar
2 T parsley flakes

Beat for several minutes.  Refrigerate.

Stuffed Green Chili Peppers (aka. Chili Rellos) - Shirlene L.

When I saw that I had this recipe I nearly jumped up and down.  Green Chili is to New Mexico what Potatoes are to Idaho (but crazier), BBQ is to Tennessee, Crab Cakes are to Maryland (I hope to find out how amazing they are, my husband claims they are amazing), etc.  The recipe calls for canned whole green chilies, which I am sure would work fine, but since it is green chili season, I bought, and roasted my own.

Basically, toss the chilis in vegetable oil and place on a hot grill until the skin is well done.  Make sure to keep an eye on them, they can burn if not careful.  then I skinned, deseeded, and deribbed as best I could.  These weren't too spicy so I didn't need gloves to prepare them, but I did have to keep my hands away from my eyes.  :)

Lessons Learned:

• I only did 7 and wasn't paying attention to the recipe and did 3 eggs.  This is too much for just 7.  That said, after researching a recipe for Chili Rellenos, I found this step-by-step guide to making chili rellenos and learned I didn't coat the peppers heavily enough with the batter.  So I probably only needed 2 eggs to do the 7.  So I would say the recipe makes 10-15 chilies.
• Don't use shredded cheeseIt worked okay, but in the above guide they used a long wedge piece and I think that would be better and they would be prettier.  Ours were very flat.

• I used Mozzarella cheese, since I was out of sharp, and it was really good.  Some recipes called for queso fresco, a Mexican cheese, so really any cheese will work.  But I plan to use sharp next time (when you come Mom) to see the difference.

FYI:  Green Chilis come in various heats, I would say ours were med.

As for how it was received, it was a mixed review.  The three older in the family loved them and ate the 3 younger's chilis.  Basically, the three younger found them too hot, I think I will go to the stand and get mild chilies and see how they feel about them.   They were pretty easy to make, and would be a breeze if you used canned chilis, so this recipe will be going into our repertoire, at least for the older of us.

Bottom Line:  If you like spicy food and green chili (which I do!!!) this is the recipe for you.  But for the little kids, feed them mac and cheese or PB&J.  Our youngest ate an almond butter and honey sandwich instead and the other two split a can of bean chili.  They claimed that it was the appropriate thing to eat since we had chilies.

 Stuffed Green Chili Peppers
 3 cans - 4 oz whole green chilies (or 10-15 med roasted chili peppers, skinned, deseeded and deribbed)
3-4 eggs, separated
Sharp cheese, or your favorite cheese
Flour

Break peppers open, wash out seeds. Put cheese in pepper and fold pepper over it.  roll in flour.  Beat egg whites until stiff, then beat egg yolks and fold yolks into whites.  Dip cheesed peppers into egg mixture and fry in a greased pan until cheese melts and egg is fried to a golden brown.  (Egg can go runny so don't do more than 3-4 eggs at a time). Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Chinese Pork and Rice by Lillian G.

Did Lillian put in a ton of recipes, or did I just get them all?  Good thing she makes good, regular food, because that is my specialty too.  This was easy and good.  I used leftover Sunday roast and it worked perfectly.  I sauteed the onions and peppers as I was browning the rice because I like it better, but if you like them crisp, it would be just as good to add them when the recipe says.  I was worried that it would be too salty so I didn't add the salt, just the soy sauce, and that was a good call.  We definitely didn't miss the salt.  The next time you have leftover roast, you should try this.

Chinese Pork and Rice by Lillian G.

2/3 c uncooked rice
2 T oil
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 1/2 c boiling water
1 1/2 c diced, cooked pork
1 bouillon cube
2 tsp soy sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped

Saute rice (and vegetables if you like) in hot oil until golden brown.  Add salt, water , bouillon, and soy sauce.  Turn heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes.  Add all the other ingredients and 1/4 c more water.  Cover and cook 10 more minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

Potatoe Burgers - Mildred M.

Let's just start by asking, What is Savory Salt.  I went online and found this recipe.  I thought this would be a good time to try it since new recipes are on the agenda.  It smells wonderful!  I put it in my Magic Bullet nut chopper and it ground it fine like the recipe says.  It worked great!!!

                   *  Exported from  Master Cook II  *
 
                           Savory Salt Substitute
 
 Recipe By     : Reader’s Digest Great Recipes for Good Health
 Serving Size  : ?   Preparation Time 10 min.
 Categories    : Spice, Seasonings
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    1      tablespoon    black pepper
    1      tablespoon    celery seeds
    1      tablespoon    onion powder
    2 1/4  teaspoons     cream of tartar
    1 1/2  teaspoons     garlic powder
    1 1/2  teaspoons     powdered orange peel
    1 1/2  teaspoons     arrowroot
    1 1/2  teaspoons     sugar
      3/4  teaspoon      sour salt (powdered citric acid)
      1/2  teaspoon      white pepper
      1/2  teaspoon      dill weed
      1/2  teaspoon      dried thyme -- crumbled
      1/4  teaspoon      plus a pinch of powdered lemon peel
      1/4  teaspoon      cayenne pepper
 
      Place all the ingredients in a small electric coffee grinder, spice
 grinder or blender.  Grind for 10 seconds or until the mixture is fine.
      Insert a funnel in the top of a a glass salt shaker, pour the mixture
 into it and tap the funnel lightly to fill the shaker.  Cover the rest of
 the mixture tightly and store in tin a cool, dark, dry place.  makes about 1/2
 cup.
 
 Nutrition data per teaspoon:  6 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, 1 g
 complex carbohydrates, 1 mg sodium. 

                       - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 NOTE: Clipped from the Dallas Morning News.  Note from clipping: This recipe will

 stay fresh for several months.  Look for powdered citrus peels on the spice shelf

 of the grocery store.  Check fruit preservatives for powdered citric acid.

              - - - - - - - 

This recipe was really starting from the Bare Bone Basics. Wait, maybe I should have grown all the plants to make Savory and killed my own cow. That would have been a lot of fun. I am being wa....y too sarcastic.
 I used diet lean meat so I had to add oil to the pan so it would not stick. The potatoes kind of take on a hint of pink. They smell really good cooking. These would be about 1/8th a lb. of meat each. They are a generous serving, but it is your potatoes and your meat mixed all together. Add a few 'fresh" vegetables and this would be a really good way to stretch your burger when feeding a family on a small budget. It tastes similar to meatloaf but not quite the same. We really liked it and I would definitely make this again. It kind of reminds me of a dutch oven potatoes and burger type of combination. The one thing I did change and add to the recipe was add salt. Even though we don't add a lot of salt to things, this did need it. If you had the real Savory Salt as specified you may not need any added.


   
Potato Burgers - Mildred M.  

1 lb. Hamburger                                             1 Onion chopped small 
3 Lg. Potatoes                                                 1/8 tsp. ea. Salt & Pepper 
1 tsp. Savory Salt                                           1/4 tsp. Dry Mustard  

Grate potatoes and onions. Mix all ingredients well. Form into patties and fry. Serve on buns or as a main dish. Patties may be topped with cheese. You may grill them if desired.

Pop Corn Balls - Maurine G. & Amanda P.

These are excellent.  My sister makes pop corn balls for Dad for Monday nights quite often and I think this is the recipe she uses.  No wonder she uses this, it is wonderful!!!  With me how can you go wrong with anything that is caramel.  The recipe does not say how much popcorn to pop so I did about 7-8 quarts I know it will work with this much because I almost made the wrong recipe.  I had the corn popped when I realized I was gathering the ingredients for the wrong one.  I shifted gears and moved forward.  The recipe covered the pop corn well and made a little over 2 doz. balls that were a little larger than a baseball but a little smaller than a softball.  A good sized helping of pop corn.  The recipe takes less than a half hour from start to finish.  That almost includes clean up.  Great treat!

Pop Corn Balls - Maurine G. & Amanda P.

2  2/3 C. Brown Sugar (1 lb.)                                   1  Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1  C. Karo Syrup                  
1  Cube Butter                                                          7-8  Quarts popped Pop Corn

Stir the first 3 ingredients together over med heat until dissolved.  Bring to a boil still stirring and add the condensed milk slowly, continuing to stir as not to stop the boiling candy.  Cook 5 min. stirring occasionally so candy does not burn or stir the whole 5 min.  Pour over popped corn and stir until all the corn is covered.  As soon as the mixture is cool enough to mold, butter your hands and make into balls quickly so they will stick together and place on waxed paper.

Pear Jam with Pineapple by Pearl H.

This recipe sounded yummy and unique, all but the maraschino cherries.  I decided that raspberries are the same color as maraschino cherries so they would be a good substitute.  Just kidding!!  I looked cherry jam and raspberry jam up in the Ball Blue Book.  Those recipes don't use commercial pectin, they have you boil the fruit until you develop the natural pectin.  Some fruits, like raspberries, have a lot of natural pectin and only take a minute, and some fruits, like apricots, take 25 minutes.  Cherries take 2 minutes to develop the natural pectin, so I decided that raspberries would be a great substitute.  It doesn't hurt that there are a few raspberries left in my garden, just enough for this batch of jam.  The jam is super yummy!!  I love the pineapple flavor with the pears and raspberries.  You should definitely make it!!

Pear Jam with Pineapple by Pearl H.

2 1/2 c ground pears
1/2 c maraschino cherries and juice
1/2 c crushed pineapple
1/4 c lemon juice
1 pkg MCP pectin
5 1/2 c sugar

Mix everything, but the sugar, together in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then add the sugar.  Bring back to a boil and boil for 4 minutes.  There are not instructions in this recipe for processing times, but the MCP pectin instructions say to process cooked jam for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.  The Ball Blue Book recommends 15 minutes in a boiling water canner for most jams.  You can take your pick.  I think you just need to make sure the jar is sealed.

Jumbo Raisin (Craisins) Cookies — Betty H.

For starters, I don't care for raisins, at all!  So I substituted Craisins, which I do love.  The recipe just says to cook for 5 min, without it being clear on what temp or whether it is once it boils or otherwise, so I just cooked the Craisins over high heat for 5 min, basically until they boiled.  Then I moved them to another bowl to cool and put them in the freezer to help them along.  Then I made the rest of the cookies.  When it was time for the Craisins I drained the remaining water and added the frozen nuts, which cooled the Craisins the rest of the way.  Otherwise, I would have had to wait probably another 30 min or so, and I am lazy.  I am assuming that if you were using raisins you may not need to drain any water.  Also, once the Craisins were rehydrated they looked just like chopped cranberries, so I am curious if you used chopped fresh cranberries how that would work.

As for the cookies, the dough was tasty, but a little saltier than I prefer.  Then the cookies got baked and they were hard as a rock.  It may be partly my fault.  I added a little extra flour (2-3 T) since I live at such a high altitude, and drained the water since I was worried the dough would be too runny, so I am sure that contributed.   That said, the flavor as just so-so.  I may try them again just to see, maybe even add almond flavoring.  But they weren't my favorite.

Jumbo Raisin (Craisins) Cookies
1 C Raisins (Craisins)
1/2 C water
1 C sugar
 1/2 C shortening
2 eggs
2 C flour
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t soda
1/8 t allspice
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 C chopped nuts

Pour water over raisins or Craisins and cook for five minutes.  Cool.  Preheat oven to 400-degrees.  Combine dry ingredients.  Cream sugars, shortening, and eggs.  Add dry ingredients, mix thoroughly.  Add raisins or Craisins, vanilla and nuts.  drop by tablespoons.  Bake 10-15 min.

Sour Cream Gems by Marjorie C.

So, this recipe has an identity crisis.  It is in the cookie section, but I am pretty sure it is really a muffin, so I am labeling it as both.  I cooked a muffin tin worth and tried the rest as drop cookies to see what would happen, and they work fine both ways.  Obviously, I left out the nuts and raisins, so they could change the recipe a little.  We did feel that they could use a little salt.

Sour Cream Gems by Marjorie C.

1 c thick sour cream* (I think that means the kind I buy at the store)
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 c raisins
1/2 c walnuts
2 c flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda
Salt ?

Bream the sugar, sour cream and egg.  Sift dry ingredients, add slowly, and beat well.  Add raisins and nuts. Bake at 350, in greased cupcake tins, for 10-15 minutes.

*Can be made with 1 c sour milk and 1/2 c shortening instead of sour cream.

Deep Fry Cookies - Maurine G.

These cookies are quite tasty.  They are a cross between, Ebelskivers (spelled wrong but it won't give me the correct spelling) and Cake Donuts.  They were really quick to make and not much mess because I had everything I needed already.  The flavor is very pleasant.  I thought they would seem more greasy than they do.  I only made half of a recipe and got 14 cookies.  The main problem I had was the tempreture of the oil.  I started when I thought it was hot enough and it really wasn't.  The first two took a minute to start cooking.  The middle ones cooked very well and the grease got too hot by the last ones so the middle was not done.  If I make them again I would cook them a little lower temperature than donuts.  Maybe 325o and make sure the grease is really ready before I start frying. 

Deep Fry Cookies - Maurine G.

2  Eggs                                                                 2  C.  Sifted Flour
1/2  C. Sugar                                                        2  tsp. Baking Powder
1  Tbs. Grated Orange Peel                                  1 tsp.  Salt
2  Tbs.  Softened Butter                                        1/4  C. Orange Juice
1/4  C. Milk

 Beat eggs until thick, beat in sugar, orange peel and butter.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk and orange juice.  Drop batter by tsp. into deep fat frier and fry until light brown and turn frying 2nd side until light brown.  Drain on wire rack with newspaper underneith to catch the drips.  Dip in glaze while still hot.
Glaze
1  C. Powdered Sugar                                           2  Tbs. Orange Juice
1/4  tsp. Grated orange rind
Mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Dip the cookies and allow to cool or eat warm like donuts.

Devils Food Cake - Myrtle R.

If you are looking for a dense, delicious cake, this is the one for you!  Add to the fact that my husband made it for my birthday, and he is not known to be a baker, and you know it is a keeper.  It makes 2 9x13's so you will want to 1/2 for regular use.  To do 1/2 an egg, I find it best to scramble the egg then measure 2 T and discard the rest.  Or you can just 2/3 the recipe which makes a thicker cake.  That is what we did.  It his isn't a strongly flavored cake, but it is delicious.  If you want a strongly flavored chocolate cake, I recommend Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. But is you just want a dense, mild, chocolate cake, make this one.

A few notes:

•When adding the soda it expands quickly.  My husband and the kids have decided this may be a part of their science experiment next year.

•the original recipe has a really bad sorted ingredient list, this one is better

•the original recipe doesn't have adding the vanilla in the instructions, we added it with the sugar.

•if you 2/3 the recipe, we baked it in a 9x13 pan on 350 for 35-45 min (it took 43 for us, but we are high altitude so it may be different if you are lower.

Devil's Food Chocolate Cake

3 eggs

3 C sugar

1 t vanilla

1 t salt

3 1/2 C flour

1/2 C cornstarch

3 C sour cream

1 1/2 C hot water

1 scant C cocoa

1 1/2 t soda

Beat eggs until light, add sugar and vanilla and beat well.  Add 1/3 of sifted dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the sour cream.  Repeat until all is gone.  Boil water and add cocoa, stirring until mixed in.  Add soda (note, this will expand rapidly, use a larger bowl or dump quickly - we chose option 2).  Add to cake and blend well.  Bake 375 for 30-35 minutes.  Makes 2-9x13 cakes.

Cream Caramels - Rua J.

If you already made this Krystal post yours and I will delete mine.  I had to make this for my Merry Window Caramels so I posted.  I use a caramel recipe similar to this one for some of my Christmas Candy.  This is almost fool proof except adding the cream too slowly so the candy curdles.  We love caramel and it is used for so many things.  This is more labor intensive for popcorn balls but it can be used for them or you can use it for a caramel topping for ice cream.  Just don't cook it as long.  You stop cooking as soon as you add the last of the cream and it boils together so it won't separate.

Cream Caramel - Rua Jones

4  C. Sugar                                                        1/4  tsp. Cream of Tarter

2  C. Karo syrup                                                1/2  tsp. Salt
4  C. Whipping Cream (un-whipped)                  2  tsp. Vanilla

Mix sugar, salt and Cream of Tarter together in heavy 4 quart pan.  Stir in  Karo and 1/3 of the cream.  Cook over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved and it is boiling slowly.  Cook to softball.  If this seems too hot, reduce heat so candy will not scorch.  Slowly add another 1/3 of cream.  (Heat may be turned up to med-high when adding cream if you watch it carefully and turn it down again after each cream portion has been added.)  Do not allow boiling to stop or candy will curdle.  Cook to soft ball again.  Slowly then add last 1/3 of cream keeping mixture boiling.  Cook to firm ball.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour out into buttered 9 x 13 pan.  Let cool.  Cut into squares wrap in waxed papers, individually.  Store in covered tin box or in fridge in sealed container.  Will keep 2-3 wks. 

Plain Cake and Frosting for Plain Cake by Lillian G.

Plain cake is a great way to describe this.  It is just a yellow cake.  It is yummy.  My mom always used this recipe to make strawberry shortcake, but I used Lillian's frosting recipe.  I made the chocolate variation because, as I have mentioned, my husband only recognizes desserts with chocolate.  There is a typo: The recipe says to add 1/2 c milk 3 different times, but you are only supposed to add it the first 2 times, for a total of 1 c milk.

Plain Cake by Lillian G

1/2 c shortening

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 c milk

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients, Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture.  Add 1/2 c of the milk, then another 1/3 of the dry ingredients; repeat.  Beat well.  Bake at 350, 20-25 minutes for layers or 30-35 minutes for a 9x13 pan.  Cake should spring back when touched.  

Frosting for Plain Cake by Lillian G.

4 T shortening (I used butter because I knew I liked it better)

1 tsp vanilla

1 T corn syrup

1/4 c canned milk

Enough powdered sugar to make it spreadable

Optional: 2 heaping T cocoa

Beat until smooth.

Rhubarb Cake - Lillian G.

 Some of our family LOVE Rhubarb Cake, others do not.  We have made a recipe similar to this recipe for years.  It is a very moist, almost pudding like texture because of the rhubarb.  The main difference between the one we have made for years is the crumb topping on this cake.  I personally prefer the one below with the rhubarb topping instead of the buttery crumb topping.  I would rather NOT use the added fat calories in the crumb.  I would rather have my calories sugar calories in the rhubarb sauce.  But you must understand, I like the tangy flavor of rhubarb. 

A dollop of whipped cream adds eye appeal when serving but I didn't have any that day. 
I will post the recipe as written in the cookbook.  I will also post the topping from my other recipe so if you want to try either way you have the recipe.








Rhubarb Cake - Lillian G.

1/2  C. Shortening                                              1  tsp. Baking Soda
1  1/2  C. Sugar                                                 1  C. Sour Milk
1/3  tsp. Salt                                                      2  C. Flour
1  Egg                                                                1  1/2  C. Diced Rhubarb
1  tsp. Vanilla

Cream shortening, sugar and salt.  Add egg and beat well.  Mix baking soda with sour milk.  Mix flour with fresh rhubarb.  Add flour mixture to first mixture alternately with the sour milk.  Add vanilla.  Pour into greased 9" x 13" pan .
Topping
1/2  C. Sugar                                                      1  1/2 Tbs. Butter
1  1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Mix together with fingers til crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake 350o F.  for 45 min.

Optional Rhubarb Topping way- Bake cake as directed sprinkling the top with just cinnamon & sugar NO butter added.  Then serve with sauce and whipped cream.
3  C. Diced Rhubarb                                             3/4  C. Water
1  C. Sugar
Boil slowly on stove until Rhubarb is cooked and falls apart.  Serve warm or cold.