Nuts & Bolts

1 stick butter
1 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
4 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 C. each Corn, Wheat, and Rice Chex cereal
1 large can mixed nuts
2 C. pretzels, mini melba rounds, or more Chex

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Heat butter until melted in roasting pan.

Remove and stir in sauce and salt.

Add remaining ingredients.

Cook 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spread on paper towels until cool.

Pico de Gallo

1-2 bunches green onion (6)
2 yellow peppers, chopped
4-6 tomatoes, chopped
4 fresh jalapenos, 2 w/seeds
6 oz. jar pickled jalapenos
3 15 oz. cans flavored tomato sauce (Italian herb)
4 cloves garlic, minced
15-20 stems cilantro (1/2 C.)
1 15 oz. can Bush's black beans, drained

Combine and refrigerate overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

MuMama's Banana Pudding

My grandmother, known to us as MuMama, always made this banana pudding during our yearly Beach Week family trip to the NC shore.  We were a crowd of 15, so she did a double recipe.

1 egg
1 large box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding
3 C. milk, scalded
2 blobs butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 bananas
1 box Nilla wafers

1. Line bottom and sides of pan with Nilla wafers and sliced bananas.

2. Scald milk.

3. Mix egg and small amount of milk (not scalded) in measuring cup used for scalded milk.

4. Put pudding mix in with milk/egg mixture and combine.

5. Pour into scalded milk and combine.

6. Drop in butter. Bring to a full, popping boil that can't be stirred down.

7. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

8. Pour mixture over wafers and bananas.

9. Cool to room temperature before serving.

NOTE: All the pictures of banana pudding you'll find online or in recipe books are garnished with whipped cream or meringue or banana slices or Nilla wafers. Not MuMama's. The Nilla wafers got soft in the bottom of the dish (her old Corningware deep square), there was only one layer, and there was nothing but pudding showing on top. I've tried making other kinds, and my family goes into all-out revolt.

In fact, one February, my daughter OG asked for banana pudding for her birthday treat. Trying to make it special, I opted for an online recipe with whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk in it, and a fancy garnish on top. Two weeks later, in March my son asked for banana pudding for his birthday treat, too. The caveat? "This time I want MuMama's banana pudding. The real kind," he insisted. No other banana pudding will do for us!

Boursin

This is a lovely cream cheese spread that is absolutely delicious on crackers.

2 sticks butter, softened
2 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Combine the above with:

1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. dill

If serving at a gathering, shape into balls (makes 2) and roll in fresh cracked pepper. If not, we store it in a covered bowl in the fridge.

Overnight French Toast

French bread (I’ve used all kinds of bread, including gluten-free)
8-12 eggs, depending on quantity of bread
3 C. milk
6 T. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
6 T. butter
cinnamon

1) Grease a 9x13 pan. Cover the bottom (and mostly fill) with torn up bread.

2)  Mix together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour over bread.

3)  Chill 4-36 hours. (I usually do it overnight.)

4) Dot little pats of the butter, and sprinkle cinnamon (or cinnamon sugar for a fun treat!) all over the top before baking.

5) Do not preheat oven. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until it is set up and the top has desired level of crispness, usually 45 min-1 hour.

6) Serve with maple syrup or butter and powdered sugar.

Cheri's Italian Meatloaf

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 lb. pork sausage
2 eggs
1 15 oz. can tomato (stewed, sauce, etc.)
garlic
dried minced onion
salt
pepper
Italian seasoned bread crumbs or crumbled crackers
oatmeal

Mix meats, eggs, tomato, and spices. Add just enough bread crumbs and oatmeal to keep it from being too soupy to shape. (Maybe 1/4-1/2 C. of each?) Shape into one huge—or two small—loaves. Top with a little bit of the Classico-style marina you will serve on the pasta before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. (I use a cookie sheet or pampered chef bar pan or something without super tall sides. If it's sitting down in a 9x13 pan, it will cook, but it will be a little mushier.)

Serve with pasta and marinara and a side salad.

P.S. When I make this, I make six! I use 6 pounds of hamburger and 3 pounds of sausage and a dozen eggs and a couple of huge cans of crushed tomatoes and what feels like a lot of oatmeal and bread crumbs. It freezes beautifully, uncooked, and the leftovers are really delicious. It also makes delicious meatloaf sandwiches with bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, and salt and pepper. Yum!

Beach Week

Pasta Salad

My friend Cheri called this morning asking for this recipe. I told her that there isn't really a recipe, and she said, "Well, there is now." So, here it is, the thrown-together stuff we eat as pasta salad around here:

1 lb. cooked pasta (any severely-shaped variety - campanelle is my favorite)
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing mix, made with cider vinegar and olive oil

Pour dressing over pasta. Add liberal sprinklings of:

Organic No-Salt Seasoning (Kirkland brand from Costco)
rice vinegar (it needs more vinegar kick than the dressing alone provides, but a mild one)
Alnatura Krauter Salz (German seasoning from my friend Regina. If anyone finds a source here in the US, let me know! It is also delicious in homemade salad dressings.)

Stir in:
chopped colored peppers (red, orange, yellow)
chopped cucumber
chopped broccoli
chopped carrots
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 can kidney beans
finely chopped salad greens

Optional:
chopped green onion
chunked cheese (cheddar and pepper jack are especially good)
chunked chicken

Jan Sherbon's Healthy Granola

This is the original (small batch) recipe. See below if making a large batch.

SMALL BATCH

Dry ingredients:

4 C, oats

1 C. wheat germ

1 C. nuts (opt)

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine above dry ingredients. Add combined wet ingredients (see below) and any sort of dried fruits desired, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes to prevent burning.

1/2 C. honey

1/3 C. oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1-2 Tbsp. molasses

LARGE BATCH

Below is the way I make it for my family. It makes a huge amount, but it keeps nicely and goes quickly if you have a large family eating it rather frequently.

Dry ingredients:
1 large bag oats (Costco size - comes two in a box)
1 jar wheat germ (20 oz.)
1 bag coconut (14 oz.)
1 Tbsp. salt
1 lb. pecans, apprx. 2-3 C. (1/2 Costco-sized bag)
2 T. cinnamon
1-2 C. sliced almonds

Combine above dry ingredients. Add combined wet ingredients (see below) and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes to prevent burning.

Wet ingredients:
2 C. light olive oil
1 C. honey
1/2 C. molasses
2 Tbsp. vanilla

"Southern Living" Pound Cake

There are two varieties to this recipe, both published at one time or another in "Southern Living" magazine. They're both good, but don't over-bake them or they'll be dry!

I made the first one for Evie's surprise party. Enjoy!

"Southern Living" Pound Cake, Variety #1

1 lb. softened butter (4 sticks)
3 C. sugar
4 C. flour
3/4 C. milk
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat on low speed 1 min. Scrape sides. Beat on medium 2 min. Batter will be thick.
Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. (I bake it at 300 instead.)
Cool on rack 10 min. then remove to cool completely.

We love this recipe topped with chopped, sweetened strawberries (add just enough sugar to force a juice from them) and fresh whipped cream.


Southern Living Pound Cake, Variety #2

1 1/2 C. butter (3 sticks), softened
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 C. sugar
6 eggs
3 C. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese together on medium until creamy. Gradually add sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Add mixture of dry ingredients gradually, and stir until well-blended. Stir in vanilla. Batter will be thick. Bake at 300 for 1 hour 40 mins.

Beef and Butternut Squash Chili

Again, I made a huge quantity. Feel free to cut it down:

2-3 lbs. ground beef
2 chopped peppers (I used all 4 colors, 1/2 pepper of each color)
2 chopped onions
5 minced garlic cloves
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 can whole tomatoes
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
3 C. kidney beans (or cans - I used 1 each of light red, dark red, and white kidneys)
2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2-4 C. beef broth (or more, depending on desired liquid level of finished soup)
1-2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1-2 Tbsp. chili powder
2-3 C. frozen corn
other seasonings - I added SPG and garlic salt

Brown hamburger; drain well. Saute onion and peppers in olive oil. Add all ingredients except frozen corn. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in corn and cook just until corn is tender (not even 5 minutes).

It was deliciously savory and offset nicely by slices of French baguette spread with Irish butter.

Thank you, Christine, for this delicious recipe!