Banana Nut Muffins

1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 TBS oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup finely chopped nuts, if desired

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl and then add remaining ingredients. Place in muffin tins lined with cupcake holders and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 min.


I’m posting this recipe because I got an email from my friend, Rhonda. She is now living in Kentucky. Below is a cut and paste of Rhonda’s email.

“I am getting ready to go visit a few sisters this morning from my ward and I thought I would give them a thank you note (for "rising" to the occasion) and make them some banana bread.

The recipe that I now ALWAYS use is the one that I got at my first ever RS Enrichment night... Our lesson was on focusing on the new school year: 'School Days'; I remember as if it were yesterday.

Anyway, now more than 7 years later, I am pulling out that original yellow peace of paper, happily making the banana bread that I never knew how to make before I was a member of this AMAZING church.”

Demon Eyes Deviled Eggs

Hard-boil 12 eggs. Remove shells, rinse and dry. Slice in half lengthwise. 

Remove yolks and place in medium bowl. Use a fork to mash yolks well. Add mustard and Miracle Whip in a 2-1 ratio to create a paste. Add pickle juice if mixture is too dry.  Add a little green food coloring.  

Fill egg white halves with yolk mixture, rounding and smoothing top of each.  Use black olive slices to create the eyeball effect.  (Optional: use pimiento-stuffed olives...the pimientos look like the pupils). Use a toothpick dipped into red food coloring to draw tiny wiggly red lines on whites, to simulate capillaries.

Yay for the internet!  I made these for a work Halloween potluck.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 TBS butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp salt

Rinse pumpkin seeds until pulp and strings are washed off.

Boil seeds in salt water for 10 minutes.  Dry seeds on a paper towel.

In a bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, melted butter/margarine and salt.  

Add seeds and mix until seeds are coated with mixture.  Spread on a baking sheet.

Bake 1-2 hours at 225*.  Stir occasionally and watch for burning.  Seeds should be crisp.

It was an assignment in my 1st grade class to copy this recipe off the chalkboard.  Ma still has the original recipe written in my very best 6 year-old print.

Frightening Witch's Finger Cookies

My neighbor dropped this plate off on my front porch on my birthday. For the spider, she took a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, added chocolate sprinkles, m&m eyes, and black licorice legs. She couldn't find little rope licorice, she took a regular piece of licorice and cut it half and then took the half piece and cut that into four skinny pieces lengthwise. I found this recipe for fingers cookies on kraft.com

1-1/4 cups PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, divided

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1-1/2 cups flour

HEAT oven to 325ºF.

RESERVE 60 nuts for later use; process remaining nuts in food processor until finely ground. Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, extract and salt in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in ground nuts. (Dough will be stiff.)

ROLL dough into 60 (3-inch) "fingers," using 1 Tbsp. dough for each. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Press 1 of the reserved nuts into dough in 1 end of each finger for the fingernail. Use sharp knife to make 3 crosswise slits in top of each finger for the knuckles.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 3 min. on baking sheet; carefully transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

Another Good Recipe Blog

I added another great recipe blog link to the list of other recipe blogs.

The Jones girls recipe blog. Click here to visit it now.

Debbie is a very good cook, as are her girls and daughter-in-laws.

Enjoy!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
2 cups (1 pt) half and half
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. sugar
1 bunch broccoli
2 chicken bullion cubes.

Chop broccoli up into bite size chunks. place in pan and fill with enough water to cover broccoli. Cook covered until tender.

In meantime, melt butter, add flour, blend and cook for one minute on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. (Don't let butter brown.)

Add half and half and milk and stir with a wire wish until smooth and thick.

Add half of broccoli chunks to cream sauce. Ostracize the other half with a little liquid from pan and pour into soup mixture

Add 2 bullion cubes to soup mixture and cook on low heat. Add water from broccoli to soup to make soup desired consistency.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Christy. It is delicious. I don't like to use the chicken bullion cubes because it has MSG in it. (Sometimes people are allergic to msg) Instead of using the chicken bullion cubes, I'll us Swanson's chicken broth and cook the broccoli in the broth. I'll get the chicken flavor from the Swanson's broth.

Fixed link

My friend, Rebecca, let me know that the link to the macaroni and cheese recipe didn't work. Ooops. It is fixed now. And you can also get to it here.

Please pass the mac and cheese!

Yakima Fruit Paste (Home remedy for constipation)

Home remedy for constipation
DOSE: 1 – 2 tablespoons per day

1 lb raisins
1 lb prunes
1 lb figs
4 ounces Senna tea (herbal tea – caffeine free - look for it in your health food store)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup lemon juice

1. Prepare tea – use about 2 ½ cup boiled water added to tea and steep 5 minutes

2. Strain tea to remove tea leave and add only 1 pint tea to a large pot, then add fruit

3. Boil fruit and tea for 5 minutes

4. Remove from heat and add sugar & lemon juice. Allow to cool.

5. Use hand mixer or food processor to blend fruit mixture into smooth paste

6. Place in plastic container and place in freezer (paste will not freeze but will keep forever in freezer.)

7. Spoon out what you require each day

Enjoy eating it straight off the spoon.
Spread it on toast or add hot water and make a drink.

If the fruit paste is not working (you are not having bowel movements), then you need to increase the amount of fruit paste you are taking.

If the fruit paste makes you have very loose stools, then you need to cut down on the amount of fruit paste you are taking. Perhaps even taking it every other day in some cases.

I ran across this recipe from my past. I made this recipe a lot when I was serving as Relief Society president and was helping the older sisters in our ward. I think the best way to eat is is as a spread on their toast. Anyway, it's one of those recipies that is nice to have on hand.

Macaroni and Cheese

Click here for a great recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese. The author of the blog "Safely Gathered In" does a great job giving you play-by-play directions on how to make homemade mac and cheese.  And I'll have to say, "amen" to what Abs says about serving this meal:

"Macaroni and Cheese is one of those fall-back meals. Got a babysitter coming in thirty minutes? Mac and cheese it is! Had a bad day? Bring on the mac and cheese! But you don't have to eat those box mixes to get a quick, easy and delicious comfort food. Homemade it is!"

Don't forget to check out the recipe on the link above.

I made up my own recipe for macaroni and cheese.  You can see it by clicking here.

Vanilla Butter Frosting

• 1/3 cup soft butter or margarine (I always use butter)
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar ( powdered sugar) 
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 
• About 2 tablespoons milk.  (I always end up adding more milk)  

Blend butter, sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency.

Variations:

Cherry Butter Frosting

Make above recipe. Stir in 2 Tbs drained chopped maraschino cherries and 2 drops red food color.

I usually put about 8 maraschino cherries in a food processor and chop them up that way. Instead of using red food coloring, I add a little bit of maraschino cherry juice. Also, because the cherries have liquid in them I add less milk when I make this frosting. If you don’t use less milk, the frosting will be too runny.

Chocolate Frosting

Make above vanilla butter frosting with this change: Stir in 1/3 cup baking coco into the 3 cups confectioners sugar with a fork before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Substitute peanut butter for the butter; increase milk to 1/4 to 1/3 cup.

These frosting recipes are from my Betty Crocker’s cookbook. These frosting recipes are so easy to make and tastes a lot better than canned frosting. I use this frosting not only to frost cakes, but graham crackers, vanilla wafers, and for decorating sugar cookies. I especially like the chocolate frosting on graham crackers (always Honey Maid brand) and the cherry frosting on vanilla wafers (always Nabisco brand). Frosted graham crackers and vanilla wafers are a quick snack to make up for sack lunches and they are always a big hit the school's lunch room. I usually packed a few extras to be given away or traded with friends. Janelle’s 4th grade class voted her chocolate frosted graham crackers best cookies of the holiday cookie contest when she was in Ms. Mittman’s class.

Here is a chocolate frosting that is dairy free:

I got the above recipe from this website: https://premeditatedleftovers.com

Some Items Everyone needs in their Food Storage...

I really like this food storage blog. I like how they think about food storage.



I already have these items in my food storage pantry.






Y'all are invited over to my house after the next earthquake and we'll have some of these....



Click here to see the recipe.

Cake in a Mug

For the cake mix:

1 box cake mix
1 (4-serving) size box instant pudding mix (not sugar-free)

Stir together cake and pudding mixes. Place 1/2 cup portions in zipper-seal sandwich bags: Label each: "Cake Mix". (There should be about 12 sandwich bags)

For the glaze mix:

4 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar is another name for confectioner's sugar)
6 Tbs. dry flavoring (ex: lemonade, coco)

Stir together glaze ingredients. Put 1/3 cup portions in separate bags. Label each: "Glaze Mix".

Tuck 1 bag of each mix in each of 12 mugs with these instructions:

Mist inside of mug with vegetable oil spray. Add cake mix, l egg white, l tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon water. Mix well. Microwave on full power 2 minutes.

Stir 1 teaspoon water into Glaze Mix and pour over baked cake.

Click on picture below to see the instruction 

that you can print up and put in the mug with the mixes. 

Makes 12 gift mugs.

Possible flavor combinations:
Lemon cake mix- lemon pudding.
Yellow cake mix-chocolate pudding.
Devi's food cake mix-chocolate pudding.
Pineapple cake mix-coconut pudding
Butterscotch cake mix- butterscotch pudding

I got this recipe out of the newspaper about 10 years ago. (I'm cleaning out my files and ran across it. I thought, I've got to post this!) I gave these away to the sisters in my ward one year. You can buy the mugs from the thrift store or the Dollar Tree. It was a fun, inexpensive gift to give away.

September 13, 2022

I found this recipe online.  It is a lot simpler yet the same results  If you gave it  away as a gift, you'd have to make up another instruction Happy Birthday sheet:

1-2-3 Cake

You need two boxes of cake mix. One can be any flavor you prefer, but the other MUST be Angel Food cake mix.

Mix them together (shake them into a big bowl).

Then simply store the mixture in an airtight container until you get the urge for dessert.

Then just put three Tbsp. of the dry mixture in a big coffee mug and stir in 2 Tbsp of water.\

Microwave it for one minute and you will have a single serving of cake!

Top with fruit, ice cream, whipped cream or whatever! Awesome for those of us who want something sweet every now without making an entire cake!

*Follow Incredible Yummy Recipes for more delicious recipes!

Meat Loaf

1 1/8 lbs ground beef
1/8 lbs sausage
2 eggs
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix well. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for about an hour. (You should check it. The altitude makes a difference in the time it takes to bake through.)

Meat Loaf Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbs vinegar
2 heaping tbs brown sugar
1 tsp mustard
1 shot Worhestershire sauce

This is a recipe from my childhood. I copied over the recipe exactly how my mom gave it to me. My mom fixed it often when I was a kid and we loved having meatloaf sandwiches for leftovers. (She would always double the recipe) I was always fascinated to watch my mom mix up the ingredients with her bare hands in a large mixing bowl! Be sure to use the extra lean ground beef. I like to use the Italian Style flavored bread crumbs from Costco (Progresso brand) when it calls for the dry bread crumbs. It gives it added flavor. Also today when I make this recipe for dinner, I'm going to use ground turkey that I bought from Costco. It has no fat and seems to be just as good as any ground round that my mother used. I've never made the meatloaf sauce so I can't comment on it. It was just with my mom's meatloaf recipe, so I thought I'd include it with the post. My mom noted she got this sauce recipe from Marie Redmond.

Mary, Mary quite contrary. How does your garden grow?

This was our Second Street neighborhood watch block party....




This is some of our garden harvest that I used for the table decorations for our get-together. The pictures were taken by my neighbor, Rebecca, from her garden. The pictures were printed up at Costco photo department and mounted on foam board. It make for a nice way to decorate for a party.

Flying Farmers Chicken Salad

Cook chicken breasts; cool, skin and de-bone Cut into bite size pieces. Combine and let stand overnight in refrigerator.

5 cups diced chicken
2 Tbs orange juice
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs salad oil
2 Tbs vinegar

Next day add:

3 cups cooked white rice
1 1/2 cups seedless grapes
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 13 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup Best Foods Mayonnaise (May need a little more)
Toss together and serve on lettuce leaf.

I got this recipe years ago from an Arcadia Stake Women's conference luncheon. Insted of using cooked chicken breasts, you can use a Costco rotisserie chicken. I made the above picture for dinner last night. I used brown rice, but didn't like is as much as when it is made with white rice. I also threw in a handful of Craisins (dried cranberries).

Almond Cake

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter - melted

Beat by hand:
3/4 cup sugar and 2 eggs

Then add melted butter

Add 3/4 cup flour and 1 tsp almond flavoring

Stir together and pour in greased pan. (I use a Marie Calender pie tin)
Sprinkle slivered almonds on top

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

This doesn't get the beauty award for looks but it makes up for it in taste. (How could it not taste good with 1 cube of butter in it!) I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Christy. It is an easy recipe. I usually triple the recipe when I make it. I made it for Scott's administrator work breakfast this morning. I buy my almond flavoring from my favorite store, Smart and Final.

Italian Chicken and Couscous

This is couscous (pronounced cooz-cooz)

1 TBS oil (olive)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 can (14 1/2 oz) DICED stewed tomatoes, drained and 1/2 cup liquid reserved

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/8 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices

3/4 cup couscous

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Cook garlic in oil, stirring frequently.  Stir in reserved tomato liquid, chicken, onion, oregano, and pepper.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 10 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in center. [NOTE: cooking with raw chicken makes me nervous.  I will use a rotisserie chicken or chicken that I have previously cooked.]  Stir in broth; heat to boiling.  Stir in zucchini, couscous and tomatoes; remove from heat.  Cover and let stand about 5 minutes or until couscous is tender and liquid is absorbed.

Couscous is super tiny pasta--little tiny balls that make it look like a grain.  Find it in the pasta aisle or with the ethnic food.  College roommate Jess introduced me to the beauties of couscous.  I don't know if I've ever made this recipe with zucchini (since I never buy it).  Usually I use bell peppers. 

Rice Pudding

1 cup water

1/2 cup rice

4 cups milk

3/4 cup butter

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 TBS vanilla

Boil water.  Add rice, cook until water gone.  Add milk and butter.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour.  Whip eggs and sugar together with beaters.  Pour slowly into rice mixture, stirring as you go.  Simmer 5 more minutes.  Add vanilla.  Mix and serve.

I'll be honest...the thought of rice pudding always made me a little nauseous.  But I've had TWO roommates now that make it when they need a little comfort food in their life.  And comfort food it is!  Good stuff, warm or cold.  When it's cold, it's reminiscent of ice cream.  Yum.

Ratatouille

(yes...like the movie)

1 medium unpeeled eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

2 medium tomatoes, diced in large pieces

1/4 cup oil (olive)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Cook all ingredients in large skillet over medium heat 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender.

This is courtesy of Betty Crocker.  (And, according to Betty, it's only 12o calories per serving!)  I tried it out because I visited a farm and had lots of fantastic fresh vegetables (including the eggplant.  I've never cooked eggplant before!--hence the new recipe.)  I ate this with yummy wild rice and it would be great accompanying some teriyaki/grilled chicken.  Eat it for dinner then watch the movie!

Helpful Hint

So...last night I was making Hawaiian Meatballs (what a fabulous recipe, by the way...you should try it out!) and I needed bread crumbs. Well, I think I've bought real bread crumbs once in my life, and I sure didn't have any on hand last night. Usually I just crush up saltine crackers and use those. But I was fresh out of saltines too! So I used the next best thing--CHEERIOS! And they worked great. They crushed up nicer than saltines and didn't contribute a weird taste like I was afraid they might. I think I'm going to use Cheerios every time now!

Unfried Chicken (or Fish)

1 cup bread crumbs

1 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 lbs chicken pieces, or one medium chicken cut up

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a plastic or paper bag combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper. Hold the top of the bag shut and shake to mix everything together.

Pour the vegetable oil into a small bowl and, using a pastry brush (or clean paintbrush), brush the chicken pieces with the oil. Put 2 or 3 pieces of chicken at a time into the bag, and shake them until they are well coated with crumbs. Take them out of the bag and put the pieces on a rack that has been placed on a baking sheet. (The rack allows the fat to drain away from the chicken.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, turn the pieces over and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. You can be sure the chicken is done if the juice runs clear (not pink ) when you poke a for into it.

Makes 3 or 4 servings

Fish option: Use 1 lb fish fillets instead of chicken pieces in the above recipe. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes until the fish flakes when you try to pry it apart with a fork.

This recipe is from the cookbook “Clueless in the Kitchen” by Evelyn Raab. That is why the directions are in such detail. Scott’s mother gave this cookbook to the girls as they left for college. It is a great cookbook to give as a gift to someone who is leaving home and cooking on their own for the first time.

Rachel made this recipe the other day for dinner. She served it with rice cooked in chicken broth, and garden fresh tomatoes. Yum! She made it out of chicken tenders that we had on hand in the freezer. Before she coated the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture she defrosted them in the microwave by placing them in a microwave on a plate on high for one minute. Then she ran the pieces under cold water to finish the defrosting process. She also used Italian style seasoned bread crumbs that we had on hand in our 3 month food storage.

Another good web site

I ran across this web site recently while we were on vacation. I think I read about it in the Deseret News. I saw that on the home page there links to recipes and menu ideas.

Sometime I think I can spend the whole day surfing the net looking at all the cool things that people post online.

http://superhealthykids.com/

I put a link to it under other recipe blogs to the right of this page - Healthy Families

Have fun surfing.....

Grapefruit Appetizer

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Boil long enough to dissolve sugar

4 cans (15 oz size) grapefruit
Blend in blender, including juice, to break up pieces.

1 cup maraschino cherries, chopped small (or blended).  Use some cherry juice, but not much

Juice of 1 large lemon (or lime)

Mix all together and freeze in 9 x 13 pan.

Serve a scoopful of frozen mixture in a glass of 7 Up.
I serve the slush with diet soda, because the slush already has a lot of sugar in it. 

Keeps a long time.  Serves a very large group.

The Kroger brand makes "Ruby Red Grapefruit sections in light syrup" in the 15 oz size. I found them at Ralphs grocery store.  I also found Del Monte brand 15 oz cans at Walmart.   I used my mini food processor to cup the cherries very small.  Since we have a lime tree, I have also used the lime juice instead of the lemon juice.  I also buy the maraschino cherries from Smart and Final.  They are cheaper there.

This is a recipe from my childhood, so that means the recipe is over 40 years old. Yikes! I copied the recipe exactly how it was 40 years ago.  I have to say that this is a very good slush appetizer. I don't know why I don't make it more often. As a kid I used to love to eat the slush without the soda.

Interesting Web Pages

I got this link from the columnist Mary Hunt about $5 a meal. It looked interesting, so I thought I'd post it on this blog. Check it out!

Mary Hunt's web page:

http://www.debtproofliving.com/

$5 a meal web page:

http://www.5dollardinners.com/

Natural Fruit Juice Knox Blox

From this post you will learn how to get from this:

To this:

Ingredients

4 c Juice, such as apple or grape
4 Envelopes Knox Gelatine (each envelope holds 1 Tbs Knox Gelatine)

Instructions

In medium saucepan heat 3 cups juice to boiling. Meanwhile, in large bowl, sprinkle Knox Unflavored gelatine over remaining 1 cup cold juice; let stand 1 minute. Add hot juice and stir until gelatine is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Pour into 8 or 9-inch baking dish; chill until firm, about 3 hours. Cut into 1-inch squares.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: In 2-cup glass measure, sprinkle Gelatine over 1 cup cold juice; let stand 3 minutes. Microwave at high 1 minute 20 seconds; stir thoroughly. Let stand 2 minutes or until gelatine is completely dissolved. Pour int 8 or 9-inch baking dish; stir in remaining 3 cups juice. Chill as above. **Try using assorted cookie cutters to create fun shapes.

Kerry Lawrence told me about these made with fruit juice. She likes to make them for her grandkids because it uses fruit juice instead of sugary jello. (Although I think fruit juice also has a lot of sugar in it.) Sam requested that we make it today and we used Ocean Spray Light Cran-Grape juice.

Perfectly Hard-Cooked Eggs

Place Eggs in single layer in a medium sauce pan. Completely cover with cold water. Cook over medium-high heat until water comes to a rapid boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 15 minuets. Drain. Run under cold water or place in a bowl of ice water until cool.

I was in the waiting room of Sam's orthodontist reading Better Homes & Garden Magazine when saw this tip for perfectly hard-cooked eggs. I was excited to share this tip.

Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
l cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
3 cups quick-cooking oats

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix thoroughly shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by teaspoons 1 inch apart onto greased baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger. Immediately remove from baking sheet. Store in tightly covered container.

About 5 dozen cookies.

This recipe is from my Betty Crocker's cookbook. It is my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe. Sam requested that I post this recipe.

Later....

At times I get a little frustrated with this recipe. When I cook the cookies they seem to need need more oatmeal or flour, so I usually end up adding more oatmeal. My goal is to find the perfect oatmeal cookie recipe. I just came across this site dedicated to teach you how to make the perfect oatmeal cookie. Check it out here. Be sure to click onto the recipe link.

Phony Homemade Ice Cream

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon sherbet flavor of your choice. (We like pineapple or raspberry sherbet. Albertsons has great sherbet.)
4 ripe bananas
1 package frozen berries mixture of your choice

Soften ice cream and sherbet. Put in big bowl. Add thinly sliced bananas and frozen berries. Stir with sturdy spoon. Serve immediately. Put leftovers in a container and store in freezer for future enjoyment.

I got this recipe from my Sister-in-law, Christy. It is a delicious easy dessert for summer entertainment. I'm serving it tonight for a dinner I'm hosting for Scott's school administrators. (I mixed it up at 3:00. dinner is at 5:30. After I mixed up the "ice cream" I put it back into the sherbet and other plastic containers and put them in the freezer until we were ready to serve dessert after dinner.

Awesome Food Storage Blog

I just ran across the most wonderful food storage blog. I wanted to share the address on my blog.

http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.com/

You might want to bookmark this one. It looks like a great reference for food storage. I will also post it on the side of my home page.

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

2 C Mayonnaise
1/3 C half and half
2/3 C sugar
3-4 tablespoons strawberry vinegar (Can you buy this? I'll have to check it out.)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3-4 tablespoons strawberry jam
A few drops of red food coloring
Cream together, pour over lettuce and sliced strawberries

My mom sent me this recipe this morning. It looked so good, I was excited to post it. This is what she said about the recipe:

"I finally got a copy of an excellent salad dressing recipe. They used it at a Stake Relief Society social where I was working in the kitchen. This recipe makes a very large amount, so, just cut it down. They put the salad on individual plates with the dressing on it and sliced strawberries on top. I cut the strawberries with an egg slicer. The slices were the perfect thickness."

When I made this dressing, I couldn't find any strawberry vinegar, so I just used rice vinegar instead and it tasted great.  Also, I don't add the half and half because I don't ever have it on hand.  Because there isn't any half and half in the dressing, I add a little extra rice vinegar to thin the dressing down.  I also don't add the red food coloring.  I'm fine with the light pick color the strawberry jam  gives it.  I use homemade strawberry jam when I make this recipe.  You can find out how to make strawberry jam by clicking here.

11/30/2021

After making this recipe for 12 years, it has morphed into this simple delicious recipe:

1 cup mayonnaise  

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

1 1/2 Tablespoons homemade (made from Sure Jell) strawberry freezer jam 

Mix it all together and enjoy.