Monday, January 30, 2012

1/26/12

It seems that it still does know how to snow, but apparently mother nature is going to do away with it in short order.  Thanks to some neighbors for plowing out my driveway and doing some sidewalk shoveling.  Each warm day means one less that it can be snowy with a blustery wind blowing it about.

I was very off schedule in not congratulating the new High School Royalty.  I am out of the inner circle and do not know a good share of the participants. Attending the girl’s basketball games has helped me in being acquainted with more students as I go to support a great granddaughter on the Reserve team. But best wishes do go to Queen Jessie Nihart and King Nathan Stark, both of whom I do know.  I remember years and years ago when my daughters were participants and what a great experience it was.  Back then there were 12 or 13 nominees. One daughter remarked to me, “Oh, Mom, if I could just be one of the 13!”  She was and imagine her amazement when they called her name as the year’s queen!  Mom and Dad were pretty proud, too.

Would you call the men in the white coats to come after me if I told you I have over 200 cookbooks?  I have decided to move a great percentage of them out of my household.  As I was going through one box of them, I noticed one I had bought for a dollar at a garage sale.  It is a l961 Farm Journal cookbook featuring make ahead, no-watch and jiffy shortcut recipes. I decided to glance at it before I put it in the TO GO pile. I was surprised to find several recipes dated that I had used in 2001! One in particular fascinated me. Since I had all of the ingredients on hand, the next thing I knew I was preparing it for my lunch.  I will give you the word for word recipe and then tell you how I did it.
                                              
POTATO-STUFFED FRANKS
12 frankfurters (better known as hot dogs at my house)
Chopped onion, optional
3 cups seasoned mashed potatoes, as you would do them for a regular meal
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Paprika
Here is where I let my own ingenuity take over.  I cooked four Russet potatoes, mashed them, seasoned with whole milk, butter and whipped generously.  I happened to have a package of BAR S all beef hot dogs opened. Since I was doing this for just me, I split three hotdogs and placed them cut side down in a round casserole dish.  If you like onions, sprinkle dried or finely chopped ones on top of the meat. Then with a large serving spoon, make generous fluffy rounds of potatoes.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese and  paprika.  I did not have any paprika so I omitted it.   Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately  with sauerkraut.

Two ladies said they would put the sauerkraut on top of the hotdogs!
Experiment at your own risk.  I was very pleasantly surprised how well I liked the casserole and warmed the leftovers for supper the same day!

While I am using my own method of preparing recipes, I will tell you how I make rice pudding that was a favorite of ours as kids which my mother made in an iron skillet on the kitchen wood range.  I have modified it as she did not pass on a recipe. It happens to be a favorite of one of my older sons. Since he had a birthday recently, we won’t say how big the number was, and I knew he was stopping by on Sunday, I made some for him.  I was thinking as I did it and wrote down what I put in it.
                                  
DEPRESSION DAYS RICE PUDDING
2 cups water
2/3 cup white rice
2 cups milk
2/3 cup white sugar or Splenda
2 heaping tablespoons corn starch
3 eggs
Vanilla and touch of nutmeg
Salt to taste
In a heavy sauce pan, heat water to boiling, add rice and salt.  Turn down heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Combine sugar, corn starch. Wet with a little milk or water.
Add eggs and blend well. Add milk to rice and heat until near boiling, add sugar, egg and cornstarch mixture.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Add vanilla and nutmeg. Serve warm or cold. I am going to put my Farm Journal cookbook on the SAVE pile. Hope you saved the recipe for peanut butter bars which I gave your very recently.  At  last week’s basketball game a friend told me that she had baked them and how good they were.  On the way out after the game an “older gentleman” (I can say that because he is several year younger than I am!) told me how good that recipe was. I told him that I had not baked them. He remarked, ”Well you should”!

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