Potato Salad

Everyone loved Mom's potato salad.  I remember helping her
mainly by peeling the potatoes. It had to be made while the potatoes were hot,
so I peeled hot potatoes.  It seemed that she always used white baking potatoes.
This recipe is probably 1/2 of what Mom used to make for our family.

6 medium sized baking potatoes(boiled w/ skin on)
6 hard boiled eggs
1 c miracle whip
2 ts vinegar
1 scant Tbls mustard
1/2 finely chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste.
Peel potatoes. Mix everything together while potatoes are hot.

Add more Miracle whip if it needs to be more moist,
usually needs it after it sits for a while.( I actually added  more MW, a
little more vinegar, & a little more mustard to taste.)

Pastry for 2-Crust Pie

Mom's crust was some of the best.
She never touched it with her hands.

2 c all-purpose flour
1 ts salt
more than 3/4 and less than 1 c Crisco
4 1/2 Tbls ice water

Add salt to flour
add Crisco and cut with
knife and fork until it looks like cornmeal.(no big clumps)
Add Tbls of water one at a time tossing with fork
as you do.  Roll in a tight ball in wax paper and
refrigerate for at least 30 min.

When you're ready to make pie...
Divide in 1/2 and roll out between 2 sheets of wax paper.
No flour. Place in pie pan by removing one side of paper
and then invert it into pie plate and peeling off second piece
of paper. Help it off by scraping with a knife if you need to.

Roll the top the same way.

Apple Pie

Pastry for 2 crust pie.

2 lb tart apples, peeled and sliced
1  c sugar
1 ts cinnamon,( a little extra)
4 tbls flour
dash salt
2 Tbls butter

Roll out 1/2 pastry and place in the bottom of a  9 inch pie plate.
Trim & refrigerate until apples are ready.
refrigerate other 1/2 of pastry.
Mix sugar, flour cinnamon and salt.
sprinkle over apples. Toss lightly.
Turn into pastry lined pie plate, mounding in the center.
Dot with pieces of  butter.
Roll out remaining pastry & adjust over filling.
Cut about 4 slits in the top.
Trim and crimp edges.
Mom then put a little milk on a piece of wax paper
and dabbed the pie crust with the milk.
Bake 45-50 min. at 425 or until apples are
fork tender and crust is brown.

Whities

Here's something to go with Mom's Chocolate Sheet cake.
I've served these at my house many times.  I usually double
this and bake them in a deep pan about 17 x 11.  Bake them a
little longer when doubled. I don't double icing.


1/2 milk
2 c flour
2 c sugar
3/4 c butter
2 ts almond
4 eggs

Bake in cookie sheet.

375
18, 20 min.

Icing
2 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 butter
1 1/2 ts almond
3 tb milk

Can ice hot or cool.  Hot it soaks in. Good either way.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is the second dessert Mom always had in her freezer.
She didn't add the cinnamon to it but I always do.



2 c flour
2c sugar
4 Tbls Cocoa
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c butter
1 c water
2 eggs beaten
1 c buttermilk
1 ts soda
1 ts van.
(I add 1 ts cinnamon)

ICING
6 Tbls milk
4 Tbls cocoa
1/2 c butter 1 box powdered sugar
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour & sugar.
Bring to boil cocoa, butter, oil and water. Pour over flour & sugar mixture.
Mix well.
Add remaining ingredients.
Pour into Greased & floured 11 x 17 inch pan.
Bake for 25 to 25 min. Until it pulls away from the pan.

Icing.
Boil milk, cocoa, & butter.
Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and nuts.
Frost cake immediately on removal from the oven.

Banana Split Pie

Pat says Mom often made this for Mike's Birthday.  It is one of his favorites!

Bundt Cake

Pat had Mom's recipe, so here it is!

Layered Salad

I have no idea if my memory is correct, but I think I remember Dad coming home from something at the drugstore where Ruth (or one of the other nurses) had made this salad. Dad was hooked! It's one of the few, if not only times, I remember Dad liking something so much that he got the recipe and and started making this himself....many times from that point forward. (I want to think this was around the early 80's but I am not certain.) It became a staple for Christmas Eve dinner and at some point was delegated to me. I generally make an additional, small casserole (or a section of a very large one) without the bacon so our family non-carnivores can enjoy it as well :)  Annie

2 - 3 c. fresh spinach, chopped

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T sugar

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

2 - 3 c. lettuce, shredded

8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T sugar

10 oz. package frozen peas, uncooked/thawed

1/2 c Bermuda onions or scallions, sliced

1 c mayonnaise

1 c Miracle Whip

1 - 2 c Swiss cheese, shredded

Sprinkle raw spinach over the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinkle salt, pepper and sugar over spinach. Top with the following layers; bacon, lettuce, eggs and water chestnuts. Sprinkle again with salt, pepper and sugar. Layer peas and then sliced onions. Combine equal parts mayonnaise and Miracle Whip and spread across entire top of salad. Spread shredded cheese across top. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving and overnight is best. Serves 8 - 12.

I've always found I need more mayo and MW mixture and more cheese than this indicates to cover the top entirely. When I make it for Christmas I always double the spinach, lettuce and maybe water chestnuts but not everything else. I probably add about 3 more eggs and a half package of peas. I don't usually add more bacon or onions and I don't think I change the seasonings.

Mom's Dressing (Loretta)

 

This recipe is from Nora and she said

"I've made this dressing for the past 10 years and rely alot on the smell for the correct amount of poultry seasoning and sage. "

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped onion
3 1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk + 2 pieces)

Sautee

In Large Mixing Bowl combine:

1/2 loaf of bread, broken into pieces
1/2 load of bread, toasted, broken into pieces
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. sage
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. peppter
Add 7 or 8 crushed saltine crackers

Add:

2 cups of milk
1 cup of chicken broth
3 beaten eggs, plus spash of water

Add Sauteed mixture, place in 9 by 13 pan.

Bake at 350 covered for 1 hour, uncover and bake at 275 for one hour.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day!

I can't remember doing anything special for food on Valentines Day..
It was all about candy and cards!!
I do remember going to Nana's house for lunch on Valentines Day,
It was a real treat since we usually ate at school.
How smart was she to have us once a year and make it special?
I have my grand kids all the time and its no big deal!!!

Easter

We never ate Easter Brunch at home when we were growing up.
Our Grandma Foster (Nana) always took us out to eat.
For years we ate at the Town House Hotel, I think until they had a fire(?)
After that we moved around, probably until there got to be too many of us and we
moved to homes.( I remember being at Victory Hills Sheila's first Easter.)
Loretta and Jeanne took turns having it for years, now Nancy, Anne and Barb
usually take turns hosting.


Typical Easter Menus

Eggs
Escalloped Potatoes
Cinnamon Rolls
Strawberries with powdered sugar
Italian sausage
Honey Baked Ham
Bundt Cake

Grandma DeCoursey's Rolls, Cinnamon or Parker House

In Mixing bowl
2 c boiling water
1/3 c Crisco
1/2 c sugar
1 ts salt
mix and wait for mixture to cool a bit. (leave you finger
in for a minute..can't be hot. must mean its close to body temp!)

in small bowl add
1 ts sugar
5-6 ts. Active dry yeast
1/4 c lukewarm water ( barely warm)

beat 3 large eggs and add to yeast mixture.

Add yeast mixture to cooled water mixture.
I use Kitchen aide mixer to add in 8 1/4 cups flour.
I use reagular beater for 1st 5 c. flour, then
switch to kneading attachment for last 3 1/4 cups. don't over knead!

When it forms a ball I cover it and put it in the fridge
overnight.  Or leave out to rise quicker, must double in size.

Roll the dough out any way you want.
I do lots of little sections, fold them in half and
put them in a pile until they're all rolled out.


For Cinnamon Rolls
 I melt 1 stick of butter, add 1 c sugar to it and 4 heaping
ts. of cinnamon. Spread this mixture on each section, roll up  and then cut into
rolls about 1/2 inch thick. I have to make 2 of the cinnamon mixtures,
I do not double it because it gets too hard.  Its better if I just make it twice.

I put rolls in pan right next to each other, let rise at least 1 hr.,and then bake at 405 until I see them,
starting to turn brown...just barely...about 7 mins. or more.

I make icing in blender and pour over rolls at any time..hot or cold.

For Parker House Rolls
Just cut rolled dough into small circles,
dip in melted butter and fold in half.  Bake the same way.

Moms Party Dip

We knew something was happening if Mom made this dip. It was either Bridge, Christmas Eve, or some kind of party. My Grankids love it.   I asked Mom about the recipe once and she said it was from a recipe for clam dip but she had to leave out everything someone in the family didn't like, so she left out ketchup, horseradish, red peppers and the clams.



1 8  oz cream cheese, softened
about 3 heaping Tb miracle Whip
several dashes of worcestershire sauce
best with grated onion but onion powder will do
little sprinkle of garlic salt or powder
add cream or 1/2 & 1/2 if you want it runnier

Best with potato chips.

Eva's Artichoke Dip

2-8 ounce blocks  of cream cheese or you can use neufchatel. 

3/4 stick melted butter

blend. 

1 can (13.25 oz)regular can of Artichokes that are quartered and drained. 

Add to mixture saving one out for decoration.

top with Parmesan cheese

Bake for 20 min. at 350 degrees.....is that easy or what.  xoxoxo

Escalloped Potatoes aka Cheesy potatoes

We usually have these for Easter Brunch and Christmas eve dinner. Doubled it will fill crock pot.

2 pds frozen hash brown potatoes(thawed)
1/2 c melted butter
1 ts salt
1/4 ts pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c cheddar cheese
1/2 c onion( I use onion salt)
2 c sour cream
2 c corn flakes crushed and mixed w/ 1/4 c melted butter

Mix everything excepet corn flakes, then sprinkle corn flakes on top.
bake at 350 for 45 min.

Italian Cream Cake

Mom always had some of this in her freezer. She froze it in single layes, iced and ready to go.

1/2 c margarine
1/2 c vegtable shortening
2 c sugar
5 eggs seperated
2 c flour
1 ts soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 ts vanilla
1can (31/2 ounces)angel flake coconut
1 c pecans

Frosting
1 8oz cream cheese softened
1/4 c margarine, room temp
1 ts vanilla
1 box powdered sugar
chopped pecans
Heat oven to 350.
Cake
 Cream margarine & shortening; add sugar and beat until smooth.
 Add egg yolks & beat well..
Sift together flour & soda and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add cocnut & pecans. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
Poor into 3 greased cake pans.
Bake 30-35 min. or until cake tests done...cool.
Frosting. Beat cream cheese and margarine until smooth;add sugar  & mix well
Add vanilla & beat until smooth. divide into 3rds & uste one part for each layer.
top with pecanss if desired.
I've always used butter instead of margarine
and its almost better if it sits a day before serving.