Minestroni Soup

Here is my favorite soup recipe.

½ pound ground sausage
1 medium onion chopped
3 large stocks celery chopped
4 Large carrots pealed and sliced
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can french style green beans un-drained
2 teaspoon beef bouillon
1 clove garlic pressed
¼ teaspoon basil leaves
½ teaspoon oregano
½ tablespoon parsley
1 can tomato sauce
3 cups tomatoes un-drained
3 cups water
1 cup macaroni shells (Small) or 1 cup pearl barley

In a large stew pot or dutch oven:
· Brown and drain the grease from the sausage.
· Add remaining ingredients except macaroni or pearl barley.
· Simmer till carrots are tender. (Or you can put all the ingredients into a 3 quart crock pot for 8 hours.)
· About 30 minutes before serving add macaroni or pearl barley. You may need to add more water if the soup is not very runny. (the pasta or pearly barley will use up more of the liquid then you will think.)


Makes 12 servings.

I will often double this recipe. It is a great meal to take to someone especially with fresh homemade bread or rolls.

To freeze cook every thing except adding the pasta or pearl barley. Put into freezer containers, label and freeze. When you go to use it then heat it up and add the proper amount of pasta or pearl barley.

Mexican Bean Salad

I have had several people ask me for this recipe. I love to take it to pot luck dinners because it makes so much and everyone seems to love it. At least I don’t take much back home with me.
Bean Salad
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Red Beans
1 Can Pinto Beans
1 Can Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)
1 Can Corn
1 Can Hominy (I like to use white for the color contrast)
1 Can Black Olives cut in half
1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Chilies
2 ripe Avocados cut up
¼ Cup finally dices Red Onion
8 oz. Shredded Cheese
Green Chili Sauce
Salt

Open all cans. Dump the Garbanzo beans in a sieve and completely rinse. Add the rest of the beans, rinse again and let them drain as you add the corn and the hominy. Let most of the liquid drain and then put it all into a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, cut up olives diced onion and avocados. Add salt to taste and green chili sauce if you need it spicier. Add the cheese just before serving. Serve with corn chips, but it is goods just plain. If you aren’t going to use all the salad save some back and don’t add the cheese until you do serve it. As the salad sits the cheese will dissolve. This doesn’t change the yumminess of the salad but it will start to look not so tasty.

Pie, Pie Me Oh My I like Pie!

Perfect Cherry Pie *I usually make 1 ½ times this recipe for my pans. It just makes a fuller pie.

Pastry for 2 crust pie
3 C pitted tart frozen cherries
1 C Tart cherry juice
1 C sugar
2 T quick cooking tapioca
1 2/3 T cornstarch
1/8 tsp almond extract

Thaw cherries until most of the free ice has disappeared. Drain off the juice; measure 1 cup juice and stir it into mixture of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch in saucepan. Heat rapidly until thickening is complete. Boiling is not necessary. Set aside to cool.

Add cherries and almond extract into pastry lined 9” pie pan and dot with butter. Cover with a lattice top crust. Seal and flute the edge. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar.

Bake in hot oven (425) for 30 to 35 minutes, or until nicely browned. For brown under-crust, bake on lowest oven shelf.

Country Blueberry Pie

*I usually make 1 ½ times this recipe for my pans. It just makes a fuller pie.

Pastry for 2-crust pie
3 C frozen blueberries
Blueberry juice
Water
¾ C sugar
2 T quick-cooking tapioca
1 ½ T cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice

Thaw blueberries until most of free ice has disappeared. Drain off juices, measure and add water to make ½ cup liquid; stir into mixture of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch in saucepan. Heat rapidly until thickening is complete. Boiling is not necessary. Set aside to cool.

Add berries and lemon juice to cooled thickened juice. Pour filling into pastry lined 9” pie pan and dot with butter. Cut vents in top crust; cover pie, seal and flute edge.

Bake in hot oven (415) 30 minutes, or until nicely browned. For a brown undercrust, bake on lowest oven shelf.


Deep Dish Apple Pie

Pastry for 2-crust pie
1 C sugar
¼ C flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
8 C sliced peeled apples
1 T lemon juice
2 T butter

Put apples and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine sugar (amount of sugar depends on tartness of apples, but you may need 1 ½ cup), flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and add to apples. Stir to combine. Put into a pastry lined 9” pie pan. Dot with butter and top with pastry. Rolled 1” larger then top of pan. Cut vents (I always cut a heart in my apple pies) and seal edge. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake in hot oven (425) about 50 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is browned.


Tawny Pumpkin Pie
*this in the same recipe as on the Libby’s pumpkin can.

Unbaked 9” pie shell
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (1lb) can pumpkin
¾ C sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 2/3 cup light cream (I can caned milk)

Blend together eggs and pumpkin. Stir in sugar, salt and spices. Blend in cream (canned milk) pour into 9’ pie shell and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake 40-50 minutes until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack for 2 hours.

Sugared Nuts

Sugared Nuts

¼ cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbls. water
¼ tsp. vanilla
3 ½ cups nuts (Walnuts, pecans, Almonds ect)

Place the first five ingredients into a heavy sauce pan. Over medium-high heat stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour in nuts and mix, stir continually until syrup becomes completely sugared over the nuts.

My family used to make this when I was a girl. As an adult I often wanted to make them but didn't have the recipe. A friend made them to serve at an open house for her son who was going on a mission. Well I got the recipe Yeah!!!

These are as good as what you buy at the fair.

That Punch

This is a very good Summertime punch. We also serve it every Thanksgiving and at weddings. My niece named it "That Punch"

Well it is perfect for a hot summer day!


That Punch Serves the Whole Gang

1 12 oz. can Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
1 12 oz. can Frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1 Large Can Pineapple Juice
2 Liters of Sprite
Mix up the orange juice and lemonade according to directions on the package, replacing some of the water with ice cubes.
Mix all the ingredients and enjoy.

Pumpkin Dip

My Mother made this great pumpkin dip for Thanksgiving. We couldn't get enough of it. So I got the recipe for it.

It is a rich and creamy dip. The sour cream gives it a light taste.

8 oz Cream Cheese softened
2 cups powered sugar
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ cup sour cream
1 can pumpkin

Beat cream cheese until it is smooth.
Add powdered sugar and mix till smooth.
Add ginger, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well.
Add sour cream and pumpkin and mix well again.

Eat it with ginger snaps.

Pie Crust from Grandma Wood

3 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 ¼ cup Crisco (I use Butter)
1/3 cup very cold water
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Vinegar

Makes 3 to 4 crusts. (Freezable)

No instructions were given, but you mix the flour and salt together, cut in the Crisco (butter). Mix egg with water and vinegar and add it slowly like most pie crust recipes.

I find the dough is very soft and a little sticky. I divide it up and pat into a round. I then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for an hour or two.

Roll out on a floured counter.

One of our favorite things to do with the scraps is to roll them out, place them on a cookie sheet and cut into strips. You can sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar and bake in a hot oven. Very tasty pastry strips.