"Cheese Soup"

As great of a cook as my grandma was, when I was a kid that didn't exactly matter. I always loved going to my grandma's house because she would buy things that I liked (mostly spaghettio's). She'd ask what I wanted for lunch and I would always get spaghettio's. I'm sure she thought I was an ingrate, but she always gave it to me. A few years ago, I decided to try my favorite meal from grandma's again. It was awful! I'm sure she knew that, but she was good enough that she gave it to me without question. That's what grandmas do I suppose. I think if she'd given me this cheese soup, I would've liked that too.

Ingredients:

• 1 Quart water
• 3-4 chicken bouillion cubes
• 2 c. diced potatoes
• 2 c. diced celery
• 1/2 c. diced onion
• 1 c. sliced carrots
• 1 pkg. frozen broccoli & cauliflower
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 8 oz. velveeta cheese

Heat the water and cubes till the stock is prepared. Put in potatoes, celery, onion, carrots and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the frozen package and soup, simmer until blended and vegetables are tender crisp. Add the velveeta cheese. Heat, but don't boil after cheese is added. Once cheese is mixed in and heated through, serve with salt and pepper to taste.

"Yummy Chicken"

My grandmother was an excellent seamstress. She was always sewing and patching up things, and I remember one time I was wearing purposely distressed jeans (as is the style). I couldn't figure out why she was asking so many questions about my jeans that day. Finally she asked my mom why she was letting me run around with such worn-down clothes. My mother told her that was the style and they were supposed to look like that, and she was just utterly shocked. I still laugh whenever I look at distressed jeans and think about my grandma's amazement that people actually go out with worn-down jeans.

Today's recipe is called "Yummy Chicken" and it's a rather apt name!

Ingredients:

• 1 c. raw rice
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 can water

In bottom of 9x13" pan, place rice and water. Place chicken breasts over rice and sprinkle the onion soup over the chicken. Mix together the soup and water and pour over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove the foil and brown in the oven just before serving.

"Stuffed Rolls"

This was the main dish I served for my in-laws just this last Sunday. I was a little worried about how it would turn out, but it actually was a fantastic dish! Everyone loved it, although it took us a while to figure out how to eat it. At first we were cutting it with a knife, but that was difficult so we just started eating it with our hands. It was a little messier, but a whole lot easier!

Ingredients:

• 12 Hard Rolls
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• salt + pepper to taste
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. mustard
• Dash of Worchestershire Sauce
• 1/4 rounded tsp. parsley flakes

Cut off tops of rolls and remove some of the inside so it makes a bowl (you can save the insides for dipping if you like). Brown together the beef, onion, celery and salt and pepper in large pan. Drain and put back in pan. Add soup, ketchup, garlic, mustard, worchestershire sauce, and parsley. Simmer until the celery is about half cooked. If the mixture becomes dry, you can add 1/4 cup of water.

Fill rolls with mixture. Put tops back on rolls and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

"Stuffed Mushrooms"

I made these mushrooms for the first dinner I cooked for my in-laws. I was very happy when my mother-in-law asked me for the recipe and started telling me about all the different times she could use the recipe. I always like it when someone enjoys something so much they want to share and be a part of it. Cooking is a family and a community experience, and it's one of my favorite things to share that experience.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. roll pork sausage
• 1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• 1 lb. large mushrooms.

Remove the stems from large mushrooms, and place on large baking sheet. Brown and drain the pork sausage. Mix in the cream cheese and parsley before stuffing into the mushrooms. Carefully transfer to the oven (they tend to want to fall over). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until mixture is heated through. Serve as appetizers while they're still hot and you're finishing with the main course.

"Mexican Fondue"

Here's an easy, quick fondue. My family makes these kinds of fondues for the Superbowl. We're always trying new recipes, and I think this will have to be the next one.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 4 oz. can diced green chilies
• 1/2 lb. velveeta cheese

Brown beef and drain. Stir in refried beans. Add tomato sauce and green chilies.  Put in fondue pot. Add cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

One thing my grandmother always made were these fabric circle centerpieces for tables. She made one for my older sister, but I was still in high school when she passed away. I was able to get the fabric she had for making the centerpieces, and I hope to finish making the centerpieces that she had started for her family.

"Autumn Apple Salad"

In the cookbook, the salad section isn't very "green." Most of the salads are fruit and jello salads. Alyce lived in a generation that wasn't as "nutritionally aware" as we are. Her recipes focus a lot on being a hearty, filling dish. A good pork chop and mashed potatoes was her favorite, and vegetables were generally an afterthought to add color to the plate. So as I've started making these recipes, I've found that it's important to add vegetable side dishes. I do love a good fruit salad though, and this one is perfect.

Ingredients:

• 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1 pkg. lemon jello
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. apples, peeled and diced (roughly 2 apples)
• 1 c. celery, diced
• 1 c. nuts
• 1 c. whipped cream

Boil crushed pineapple (do not drain) and sugar for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add jello mix and cream cheese. Stir till well blended, let cool. Once cool (but before the jello has set), mix in apples, celery, nuts, and whipped cream. Place in fridge and give time to sit.

The whipped cream makes it lighter and fluffier than regular jello. Mix up again before serving to really highlight the fluffy texture. This is one my husband and I really enjoy!

"Chicken Bakes"

This is another quick and easy recipe for when you don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner. You can use chicken breasts or canned chicken, whichever you have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. cooked and diced chicken (about 3 breasts)
• 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz. cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cube + 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp. chives
• 2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• Bread crumbs

Mix together chicken, cream cheese, soup, butter, pepper, and chives. Unroll and separate the crescent rolls. Place small amount of chicken mixture on each and roll up, making sure to seal the edges well. Roll crescent rolls in bread crumbs and bake for 25 minutes at 350.

There is also a tasty sauce that you can pour over them when they're cooked. With or without it, they're delicious!

• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 c. milk
• 3/4 c sour cream

Heat together and pour over crescent rolls if desired.

My grandma loved chickens and cows; her kitchen was decorated with them. I would always get her a chicken decoration for Christmas. She had quite the collection after a few years, and my mom has a few things in her house after she passed away.

Cheesy Potatoes

This recipes called for a "rounded tablespoon." This means you have as much heaped on top as you do in the 'bowl' of the spoon. Just dig your tablespoon into the flour and don't level it; it's that simple, I promise!

Ingredients:

• 10 potatoes, cooked and cubed
• 2 cubes (1 c.) melted butter
• 2 rounded Tbsp. flour
• 2 c. milk
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 lb. Velveeta (or Kraft slices) cheese
• Bread crumbs
• 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Place the potato cubes in a 9x13" pan. In a pan, mix together butter, flour, milk, and diced onions. Cook sauce on medium heat until thickened. Add velveeta cheese and blend until smooth. Cover the potatos cubes, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bacon. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

My grandma grew up during the Great Depression, and so she learned the hard way just how to put together meals on a budget. I remember how she would, even years later, scour the newspaper for coupons and clip them all out carefully. There are even some coupons still in the cookbook that she attached to the corresponding recipes. Hopefully one day I can be as good at recipe budgeting as she was.

"Baked Pork Chops... Easy and Good"

This is another delicious recipe. The thing I love about this one is that it's something that you can throw together and just let it do its own thing. It does take two hours to cook, so even though it's easy, make sure you get started on it early. Otherwise you'll end up eating at 9 pm like I usually do.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 pork chops
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 Tbsp. worchestershire sauce
• 1 c. ketchup
• 1 onion, thinly sliced

Spray bottom and sides of 9x13" pan with "no stick" spray (I love that it's called "no stick" spray; it was probably the new convenience item when she made this recipe). 

Place pork chops in bottom of pan. Mix together soup, worchestershire sauce, and ketchup and spread over chops. Spread the thinly sliced onion over the top. Cover and bake at 375 for 2 hours, turning once.

Serve with rice or pasta.

Pork chops were one of my grandma's favorite staples. She would always make pork chops with country gravy and mashed potatoes with some corn or green beans on the side. I remember going over to her house and eating it all the time. I loved it!

"Best Ever Sloppy Joes"

This is a big hit from my grandma's cookbook. This was the recipe she always made for Halloween (though I think I spent most of my time eating my candy instead). All the family would get together for Halloween, the kids would go around the neighborhood and when we'd come back the adults would have these sloppy joe's and the kids would trade candy with each other.

The thing I love about this recipe is that it is all from scratch. They taste SOOO good, and they don't use any pre-mixed spice packages (which is always a plus for me- I'm a purist when it comes to making food). This recipe's made for big gatherings! I usually half it and it still makes plenty.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. hamburger
• 2 1/2 c. chopped onions
• 1 c. chopped green pepper (I use jalapenos)
• 1/4 c. diced celery
• 4 cans tomato soup
• 5 Tbsp. vinegar
• 5 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 5 1/2 tsp. worchestershire sauce
• 5 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. ketchup

Brown together: hamburger, onions, green pepper, and celery. Drain fat and add the tomato soup, vinegar, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce, salt, and ketchup. Cook until vegetables are tender and mixture is of desired consistency.

Put on some hamburger buns, and add a mixed green salad as a side dish. Then enjoy making a big, sloppy mess with your family and friends!