Aunt Jill's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This is a recipe my Aunt Jill gave me and has been a favorite ever since. (This recipe may be a little "Well, duh! I know how to boil water!" But my Aunt made this recipe for me when I was still learning how to cook. And boy did it help! She lovingly wrote out an entire box of recipes for me that I still use as staples in my meal menu.)

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
3 to 4 cups cooked rice
1-1/2 lb. ground beef formed into meatballs and cooked (See recipe for Spinach Meatballs)
2 to 3 cups sweet and sour sauce (see recipe)
1 lg. can chunk pineapple (save juice, you will use it)

Cook rice first. While it is cooking, prepare meatballs and cook them. In large pot prepare sweet and sour sauce reserving pineapple chunks. Put cooked meatballs into pot with sauce. Stir gently to coat meatballs and mix in pineapple. Serve over cooked rice. Serves 6.

Spinach Meatballs
Ingredients
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen, chopped spinach, drained well
1/2 med. onion, finely chopped (I substitute dried onion flakes to taste, not sure how much I use)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 to 1-1/2 lb. ground beef
2 to 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 slices dry bread, in crumbs (Veggie Thin crackers are also yummy!)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Blend together well and form into half dollar sized balls. Coat cookie sheet with tin foil. Place meatballs on cookie sheet and place on highest oven rack. Broil on "low broil" setting and turn once. (Watch carefully so they don't over-cook.) Or bake at 500 degrees F in center of oven for about 10 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups water and/or pineapple juice
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
4 heaping Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in cold water (about 1/3 cup water)

Bring water and/or juice to a boil. Add vinegar, sugar, and ketchup. Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture returns to a low boil. Pour some cornstarch mixture into liquid a little at a time and stir constantly. Continue adding cornstarch mixture until sauce thickens to right consistency. Remove from heat and keep covered until ready to use.

*At Chinese restaurants, I also see them include sweet bell peppers with the pineapple. This is very good but my tummy doesn't like peppers. But I thought I'd throw the suggestion out there.

Pumpkin Bread for machines

Boxcar Brown Bread

Boxcar Brown Bread

2 loaves (or 5 mini loaves...or 30 muffins)

Ingredients

3 cups raisin bran cereal (I used stale Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds)

1 stick softened margarine

1 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour no problem)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 more cups raisin bran cereal (again, Honey Bunches of Oats)

1) Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

2) Spray the bread pans with no-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

3) Pour hot water over the first 3 cups of cereal and margarine in a mixing bowl.

4) Add brown sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, milk, lemon juice, and cinnamon.

5) Mix with a wire whisk or electric mixer until smooth.

6) Mix in the last 2 cups of brain cereal.

7) Pour the batter, evenly divided, into the bread pans (or muffin tins).

8) Put the pans into the oven and bake for 50 minutes. Poke a toothpick into the center to see if they're done. If not, bake the bread for 5 to 10 minutes more and test again.

9) Let the bread cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then remove from the pans and let the bread cool on a wire rack.

10) The bread will be easier to cut the day after it is baked.

This recipe can also be made into 2 1/2 dozen muffins. Bake them in paper-lined cups for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

French's Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can CAMPBELL'S® Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) cut green beans*, drained
1 1/3 cups FRENCH'S® French Fried Onions

Directions
1. MIX soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
2. BAKE at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.
2. STIR. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.

*Tip: You may substitute 2 (9 oz. each) pkgs. frozen cut green beans, thawed or 4 cups fresh, cooked cut green beans.

Joe Johnson's Butternut Squash soup

makes about 1 gallon soup
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3 medium butternut squash

4 oz (1 stick) butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped

3 granny smith apples, peeled cored chopped
2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth
3 Tbsp molasses (optional)

1 qt half & half
8 fresh sage leaves*
salt and pepper to taste,
garnish (sour cream, chives, sharp cheddar cheese, etc.)
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Roasting the Squash

Preheat Oven to 400°F

Carefully slice squash in half length-wise. Spray or brush with oil, lay on sheet pan and bake for about 1 hour until skin turns brown and blistered.

Let cool completely, then peel off the skins, and chop.

Making the Soup

Preheat stock pot on medium heat

Melt butter and sauté onion, carrots, celery until translucent.

Add the apples, cook slightly (about 1 minute) Add soup broth, squash chunks, molasses

Let simmer on medium heat for about 1 hour 15 minutes

Purée the soup with an immersion blender or with a standing blender


Return to medium low heat. Stir in the half & half, let warm up but do not let it boil

Add fresh sage, salt and pepper to taste

Garnish as desired


Stores great for leftovers

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*if using fresh sage leaves add towards the end of
cooking the soup. If using dried sage (1 Tbsp) add at the
beginning while sautéeing vegetables.

Aunt Jill's No-Cook Homemade icecream

PEACH variation - Follow the basic vanilla recipe, but use only 2 quarts half-and-half, eliminate vanilla extract and use only 1/2 tsp. salt. Dilute 2 large pkgs. peach jello in 1 cup boiling water, and cool slightly before adding to cream mixture. Also, add 2 cans of Kern's peach nectar and 8-10 fresh peaches coarsely pulsed in the blender (more or less until it's peachy enough for your taste.) Canned peaches will work, but aren't as tasty as fresh peaches.

CHOCOLATE VARIATION: Follow instructions for basic vanilla recipe, but cut half-and-half to 2 1/2 quarts and vanilla to 1 tsp. Add chocolate syrup until it suits your chocolaty taste. In addition, Larry likes me to melt 4 cubes of unsweetened chocolate and then stir it into the cold cream mixture while stirring so it gradually solidifies into tiny chocolate-chip speckles and gives a twang of bitter taste to contrast the sweet.

Ingredients:
BASIC VANILLA RECIPE:
3 quarts half-and-half
1 pint heavy cream
1 + cups sugar to taste (should be just slightly too sweet)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt


Directions:
Combine all ingredients in an ice cream freezer canister and insert paddle. Use ice and rock salt alternately in layers, continuing to fill freezer as it melts. When ice cream is thick, remove paddle and serve.


Number Of Servings:Makes 4 quarts

Preparation Time:15 minutes

Chocolate Mint Grasshopper Pie

What You Need

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Oreo Flavor Instant Pudding

1-1/2 cups cold milk

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided

6 OREO Cookies, chopped

1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
green food coloring
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Make It

BEAT pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP and chopped cookies. Add peppermint extract and green food coloring to taste and color preference. Spoon entire mixture into crust.

COVER with remaining COOL WHIP; *drizzle with melted chocolate.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours or until firm.

*How to Drizzle Chocolate

Dip a fork into the melted chocolate; let the chocolate drip off the fork tines as you move it back and forth across the top of the pie.

Strawberry Feta Salad

1 head romaine lettuce, torn
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 Tbsp sugar
Kraft Creamy Poppy Seed dressing

In saucepan, combine almonds and sugar. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar turns to liquid and starts to coat almonds. Stir until all almonds are coated and caramel colored. (Careful, they can quickly go from golden to burned!) Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine all ingredients. I didn't measure how much dressing I used. Just keep tossing the salad until it looks coated to your preference.

Tina's Mandarin Orange Jello Salad

1 small package orange Jello (3 oz)

1 (16-oz.) carton cottage cheese

1 (8-oz.) container Cool Whip

1 can (11 or 16 oz) mandarin oranges, cut in half and drained

20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drain and squeeze liquid through a sieve (best if drains for 24 hours before use)

Mix dry Jello with cottage cheese until dissolved. Add oranges and fold in Cool Whip. Can decorate top with remaining mandarins. Cover and keep cold. Firms up if chilled before serving.

• I like to make this the night before a big meal so I can worry about one less dish the day of.
• For more than 8 people, I like to double this recipe. It stores well and gets eaten up fast! Especially by the kiddies!
  

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Yield: (5) One cup containers

Ingredients

2 cups crushed strawberries
4 cups sugar
1 box SURE•JELL® Fruit Pectin
3/4 cup water

1) Crush strawberries to yield 2 cups strawberry mash. (I like to use a food processor and just make sure they still have chunks left...much less time consuming than hand crushing)

2) In large bowl, thoroughly mix mashed strawberries with 4 cups sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) In a small sauce pan, mix 1 box SURE•JELL® Fruit Pectin with 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring for 1 minute.

4) Stir pectin mixture into strawberry mixture. Continue stirring for 3 minutes.

5) Fill plastic containers to within 1/2" of the top and then cover with lid.

6) Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use.

Store extras in the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator.

Chicken a la King (or The One with the Peas)

½ cup frozen peas

½ cup sliced mushrooms

2 Tb butter

2 Tb flour (3 Tb)

½ Tsp salt

1.25 cup milk

1 beaten egg yolk

1 ½ cup cooked chicken

2 Tb lemon juice

½ Tsp paprika

4 halves English muffins or 1 ½ cups cooked rice

In a sauce pan, melt margarine. Add flour and salt and mix well, keep stiring. Add milk all at once and mix continually with wire whisk until lumps are gone. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Gradually stir ½ cup hot mixture into egg yolk (move by spoonfuls). Return all mixture to saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat just until it returns to a boil. Add chicken, paprika, lemon juice, half cup frozen peas. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes so peas can cook.

Makes 4 servings.