FRUIT BASKET UPSET

When I was 12 years old or so my parents bought me 'The Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls'.  This recipe was one of the first ones I made from it. It's good and fruity, sweet and cold. I still love it! 

1 can (8 oz.) fruit cocktail, drained 2 bananas, peeled & sliced 1 sm. apple, cut into sm. pieces 1/2 c. halved seedless green grapes 1/2 c. sliced strawberries, if you like 5 maraschino cherries, cut up 1/4 c. miniature marshmallows 1/2 c. whipping cream 2 tsp. maraschino cherry juice or 1-2 drops red food coloring Place all ingredients, except last 2 ingredients, in large bowl. In a small bowl, beat with rotary egg beater until stiff whipping cream. Tint whipping cream with last ingredient. Fold whipped cream into fruit. Spoon salad into serving bowl; trim with fresh strawberries and green grapes. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with cinnamon toast. 4-6 servings

FALL

Fall is in the air.  The leaves on the trees are changing color and littering the ground.  The air is cool and crisp and the rain falls, cold and damp.  This is my favorite time of year.  Time for steaming pots of homemade soup simmering on the stove and cups of hot chocolate in steaming mugs topped with whipped cream. Flavors of apples and pumpkins... YUM!  What are your favorite fall flavors?

Someone's In The Kitchen...A New Beginning

This song brings back memories!  It was a favorite to sing on car rides when I was a kid.  And, like this song, I think food is a way to share memories and good times. When I'm in the kitchen I'm joined by generations of family cooks. That's what food's all about, after all.  Memories, comfort, family, love...  So, this blog is getting new life. Come on into my kitchen and set awhile!

POPPY SEED SLAW DRESSING

I used to work as grill cook for the VFW in the town I lived in at the time. This is the recipe for the coleslaw dressing we used for the Friday night fish frys.  I love this one because there is NO mayo involved. Kind of sweet and very good!

1 pint of crisco oil
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 lbs sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dry Mustard
1 1/2 Tablespoons Poppy Seed
1 1/2 Tablespoons Salt
chopped onions
Mix well with mixer.

Just toss it with your slaw mix and you're all set!

Mrs. Schoonover's Bar-B-Q's

This was a recipe my Mom made a lot during my junior high and high school years. I had almost forgotten it when an old friend on Facebook told me that his mom had gotten the recipe from my mom years ago and she still made them and they referred to them to this day as 'Mrs. Schoonover's Bar-B-Q's'. What a nice flood of memories it brought back.


2 lbs. ground beef
2 cans Chicken Gumbo Soup
Salt
Pepper
Small amount of ketchup
1 T instant onion soup mix (optional)

Brown the ground beef. Drain and add remaining ingredients. Heat and serve on hamburger buns.

Homemade Fudge Brownies

In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until well mixed. add butter and shortening. Combine flour, cocoa and salt. Stir into egg mixture and mix well. Grease a 9x13 inch pan and pour batter into the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool in pan and enjoy. How many you end up with depends entirely on how big you cut the pieces. :) Bright and yellow. All that butter and eggs and sugar.....mmmmmmmmmmmm Chocolatey! NOW it's looking really good! Cooling in the pan. Earl wanted his with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Yum!!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Christmas is almost upon us (ok...not really. I'm just thinking ahead for a change.) and I found this recipe. What a perfect gift idea, yes?? I think so. Little bottles, a custom label and ribbon. How cute would that be? The vanilla beans are a little expensive, but since you can reuse them for at least a year they'd be worth the investment.

Ingredients
10 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
1 liter vodka

Directions
Place the vanilla beans in the bottle of vodka and seal. Store in a cool, dark area such as a kitchen cabinet for 3 weeks, shaking the bottle every week. Three weeks is the minimum, store it 6 months for the best flavor. After using, replace with more vodka. The same beans will continue to flavor the vanilla for up to a year.

Did you know that imitaion vanilla is made with synthetic vanilla from glycoside found in the sapwood of certain conifers and from coal extracts? Ugh! So I'll be making my own from now on. Here's an interesting site about vanilla and where it comes from. http://www.joyofbaking.com/Vanilla.html

And here's another good site. You can buy vanilla beans here, too. http://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/ Enjoy!