Nana's Good, Good Chocolate Chip Cookies

To add to the Chocolate Chip Cookie collection is of course Nana's recipe that she made all the time. She loved to bake and would always have some kind of treat around for snacking on. I know Papa loves these cookies too.

In the K-5 bowl with the batter or whipping attachment cream together:

1 C. (2 sticks) butter

1 C. shortening

2 C. brown sugar packed

1 C. sugar

4 eggs (add one at a time)

3 T. corn syrup (light Karo)

4 T. water

2 t. vanilla

In a separate bowl whisk together:

5 1/2 C. flour (bread flour can be used as the high gluten content makes for softer cookies).

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

Change attachment to the dough hook and gradually add in the flour mixture until all is just moist.

Fold in:

6 C. (3 12oz. packages total) Chocolate Chips (Nana liked the milk chocolate kind) or part Chocolate Chunks.

1-2 C. chopped nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350º F.

Drop by a small ice cream scoop (cookie scoop) and flatten a little onto ungreased baking sheets. Nana favored baking parchment so cookies never stuck. Silpats work well too. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheets for a couple of minutes and then remove to a wire cooling rack. When just cool, put in ziplock gallon bags, or other airtight container to keep fresh. 

Yeild: about 6 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies–Ghirardelli Style

I am posting the tried and true recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies from the makers of our favorite chocolate chips. Ghirardelli, Nestle, Hershey, they are all good. Some of us like semi-sweet, some milk chocolate, some white chocolate, but they all make great cookies. 

Here is the Ghirardelli recipe for cookies:

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry

2 1/4 C. all purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Mix together in a bowl and set aside

Wet

Cream together on medium speed:

1 C. butter, softened

3/4 C. sugar

3/4 C. brown sugar, packed

Add to mixture on low speed:

2 large eggs

2 t. vanilla

Change to dough hook, or cookie paddles and gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture.

Stir in:

2 C. Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 C. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Drop by tablespoon or cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets. Parchment or silpats are a good choice too. 

Preheat oven to 375º (I don't bake my cookies that high, usually 360º as I like the middles done and not doughy.)

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. 

Yeild: about 4 dozen

Chocolate Chip Cookies–Nestle Toll House Style

This recipe is almost exactly like the Ghirardelli one. This is the one I grew up making and love, love, love it. Nana later refined and perfected her Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but this one works well too. She always made her cookies in her KitchenAid K-5, so the instructions are for that method.

Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry ingredients:

2 1/4 C. all purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

Whisk together in a bowl and set aside.

With the batter or whipping attachment cream together on medium speed:

1 C. (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 C. granulated sugar

3/4 C. brown sugar (packed)

On low speed add:

2 large eggs (one at a time)

1 t. vanilla extract

Change the attachment to the dough hook and gradually add in the dry ingredients until all mixed together.

Stir in:

2 C. (12 oz.) Nestle Toll House Semi-sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 C. chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Parchment or silpats work wonderfully for never stick to the pan cookies.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Yeild: about 5 dozen.

For high altitude (5,200 feet); increase flour to 2 1/2 C. Add 2 t. water with flour and reduce both granulated and brown sugar to 2/3 C. each. Bake drop cookies for 8-10 minutes.

Strawberry/Citrus Salad

This is the same crazy good Spinach Salad that came to Lacy's Bridal Shower and Wedding. Malea found it, made it and we are all addicts now.

Spinach Salad

1  head of lettuce

1 bunch or bag of spinach (preferably baby)

3/4 lb. of sliced mushrooms

3/4 lb. of grated swiss cheese

1 red onion, diced

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

sliced strawberries (up to you how many)

In a frying pan combine:

1/2 c. sliced almonds

3 T. sugar

Cook sugar and almonds over low heat until almonds are golden brown. Watch closely as the sugar will liquefy and can burn fast. Spread on wax paper or silpat to cool.

When almonds are cool toss into salad greens.

Dressing:

3/4 T. poppy seeds

1/3 C. white sugar

3/4 C. olive oil or veg. oil

1  T. grated onion

1 t. salt

3/4 C. vinegar, apple cider kind is fine

2 T. prepared mustard

Blend ingredients in blender and pour over salad right before serving.

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Such a good recipe. A great find on the the internet. Nana did not have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe in her file, but had one from the food network, so I will post that one also. Meanwhile this recipe makes soft, moist sugar cookies that are so good. The dough holds its shape well too, so if you are using big cookie cutters, they don't break trying to put them on the cookie sheet to bake. I did use a spatula to help and it worked great. 

Soft Sugar Cookies

1 C. Sour Cream

2 C. Sugar

1 C. Shortening

4 Eggs

1 t. Vanilla

6 C. Flour

3 t. Baking Powder

1 t. Baking Soda

1 t. Salt

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Combine first five ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients until everything is well mixed. Let the dough chill for about 15 minutes.

Form dough into small balls, or use fun cookie cutters. When rolling dough, use a floured surface and dough should be rolled to about a 1/4" thick. 

Bake until LIGHT golden brown - no more than about 10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, they may seem underdone, but they aren't. Just let them cool on the pan and you will find that they are perfectly soft and moist. I baked mine on a silpat for 11 minutes as they were on the large side. If you prefer sugar cookies that are a little crunchier, just bake them a little longer and maybe roll your dough a tad thinner.

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

This recipe is one Nana found from the Food Network. She had a great eye for good recipes, so this one will not disappoint I'm sure. 

1 C. Butter (unsalted)

1 C. White Sugar

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

1 t. Vanilla

3 C. Flour

2 t. Baking Powder

1 t. Salt

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla. In a second bowl, combine and mix well the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into the creamed mixture about a cup at a time. Chill dough for 3 to 4 hours.

Roll out dough to about 1/4" thick and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You might want to leave out this process if you are going to frost your cookies. Bake on parchment lined sheet pans, or on a silpat. Oven should be preheated to 350º. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Remove from sheet pans to a rack to cool completely. 

Walnut Chicken Salad

Another of Nana's sandwich spreads from her wedding catering days. People loved her little sandwiches because the fillings were so yummy. 

1 Whole Chicken (cooked and diced)
or 5 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

cooked and diced

1 C. Celery (chopped)

1 C. Walnuts (chopped)

2 T. Diced Pimentos

1/4 C. Dill Pickle Relish

Salt & Pepper

1 C. Mayonaise (approximate measure)

Sour Cream (optional)

If you love cheese you can always add grated cheese to this recipe. 

She never made it with cheese as it just made it more expensive to make. 

In a mixing bowl combine chicken, celery, nuts, and pimento. Toss until well blended.

In a smaller bowl combine mayo, pickle relish, salt & pepper maybe a little sour cream and a sprinkle of pickle juice. Stir with a wire whip until blended. Pour over chicken and mix well. Adjust mayo and ingredients to taste. Good to make ahead as flavors will marry well. If spread needs to be loosened up, use more mayo or sour cream until the consistency is good. 

Great on different breads, Nana would use pullman loaves sliced lengthwise instead of the normal crosswise slices to make her wedding sandwiches. She would put a long wheat slice down, put on the spread and top it with a long white slice. Then the crusts were cut off all four sides. Then she would cut it in half lengthwise and pull the left half up slightly taller than the right. Now she would take the electric knife and cut diagonally across both sides making the sandwiches have diamond shapes. I remember cutting so many sandwiches once I lost feeling in my thumb and index finger for a few days. I can't even imagine trying to do it without an electric knife. 

Green Chile Cheese Pimento

Nana's cheese filling for the "little sandwiches" at wedding receptions and luncheons. It is addicting and certain people have been known to just eat it with a spoon. Here it is from her files…

2 lbs. cheese (long horn, cheddar, nothing too sharp)
1/2 small jar diced pimentos
1 small can diced green chiles
1/2 t. tobasco or other hot sauce
1/4 t. garlic powder (optional)
mayonaise
pickle juice
salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Shred cheese with a regular size grate. The fine shred is too fine. In a large bowl toss cheese, pimentos and diced green chiles. In a small bowl mix about 1 1/2 C. mayonaise with the hot sauce and if you wish the garlic powder. Add about 1/4 C. dill pickle juice and blend well. Pour over cheese mixture and mix well. The mayo and pickle juice measurements are pure speculation. I just put in what I think, taste it and decide if it needs more of anything. Salt and pepper to taste. I don't add any pepper and rarely add any salt. Best if made the day before your planned use so flavors can blend well. Often the cheese will sort of "soak up" some of the moisture. To loosen up the mixture to spread on sandwiches, or to use as a dip for crackers just add some pickle juice, or maybe some cream or half & half. Even a little more mayo will sometimes do the trick. Up to you.

The Best Potato Soup Ever!

One of the family favs, I need to give Aunt Leslee credit. Her home is forever open to guests, she is the ultimate hostess. There is always something on the stove or in the fridge for whoever is there and is hungry. She made a big batch of this wonderful soup when we were up there visiting one fall and I had to call her later for this soup recipe. She said she got it from a church cookbook, but had a few alterations all her own. I bought the book and copied down her way. I just made a few gallons of it for Lacy's wedding and everyone seemed to like it, so here is the recipe tried and true.

12 medium potatoes
1 C. chopped onion
1/4 C. butter or margarine
2 C. cream
3 C. milk
1 T. salt
2 C. grated cheddar cheese
4 green onions, finely sliced
1 pound bacon, fried crisp, drained and crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel and quarter potatoes and place in a large pot. Fill pot with water just to cover potatoes. Put on lid; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Saute chopped onions and butter or margarine until onions are tender and browned. Remove potatoes from heat and drain. Add cream and stir together. Mash potatoes until mixture is smooth. Stir in milk, salt and onion/butter mixture. Return pot to stove and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully to avoid scorching. Turn down heat if necessary. Use cheese, green onion and bacon for topping each bowl as it is served. Makes about 12 cups.

Leslee's way:
just peel a couple of potatoes and saute with the onion and butter until tender. Make a couple of packages of the mashed potato flakes (of course with more water or milk for a soup consistency) in a large pot. Add chunky potatoes/onion/butter mixture to pot and add the rest of the ingredients. more cream=thicker soup. more water = thinner soup. I think Leslee puts the green onions, and the bacon into the soup. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, more bacon crumbles, whatever. The bacon bits from Hormel/costco are just fine.

Sherry's speedy for a large crowd way:
Get 1 package (per Gallon of soup you are making) Ore-Ida diced (hash browns) frozen potatoes. NOT the O'Brian kind, just plain. Saute the onions in the butter until tender. Add a little more butter to the pan and saute the hashbrowns just a tad. Not to full browned state, just tender. Then follow the rest of Leslee's way and the soup is delicious and pretty quick. When boiling the water for the potato flakes, you can substitute chicken broth for more flavor.

Broccoli Cheese Chicken

I tried this recipe out last week and everyone liked it. I remember Stacie making this for her family in years past and thought it would be a good menu item. I followed Stacie's recipe except I didn't grill the chicken (no guys were home and I don't know how to grill), and I used fresh broccoli because I didn't have the frozen kind. Oh, and I at least doubled the recipe (and maybe a little more) because we like leftovers for lunches.



Getting the chicken ready to saute. I probably should have cut the chicken up a little smaller, but it was good anyway. I used the wonderful garlic infused oil I got from Bob and Syd. The chicken was pretty darn good just on it's own. Very tasty.

1 cube butter
1 med. onion, diced
1 10 oz. pkg. chopped broccoli
1 1/2 C. uncooked minute rice (don't use regular rice!)
1 c. diced, cooked chicken (grilled is best)
1 c. milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 oz. velveeta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
 
Saute onion in butter, then mix in broccoli and rice till coated with butter.  Add remaining ingredients, except chicken, and stir till cheese has completely melted.  Add chicken.  Put into lightly greased casserole dish and bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Some more of the ingredients as I got ready to put this all together.




I took the chicken out and set it aside after it was done.



I grew out of the pan, so after I knew the rice and the broccoli were well coated with butter, and the velveeta was melted, I transferred it all to a big bowl. Then I mixed in the soup and milk until everything was well mixed and then transferred it all to a baking dish.



We all loved the casserole. I think I might try it with real cheese next time, and top it off with a scant layer of cheese because I am not a huge fan of velveeta. And for Grumpy and I, I will not increase the recipe. It would be plenty just the way it is for us.

After talking to Summer, we think either buttered bread crumbs or maybe even crushed up canned french fried onions would be good on top.

Really a good dish for big families too. The broccoli was awesome, and we liked the chicken sauteed too. I really should learn to grill one of these days.

The All Time Favorite…Mac & Cheese

I remember when Grumpy and I were dating and I decided to make him dinner. I asked him what he wanted to eat and he said Macaroni and Cheese. I was pretty shocked, but went and got a couple of boxes of Macaroni and Cheese. When he arrived for dinner and saw I had made boxed mac & cheese he was very rudely amused. I asked him what he expected and he said you know - cook the noodles and make a sauce and it goes in a casserole pan to be baked in the oven. I didn't know these things as we never had mac & cheese at our house. (Papa was not a fan of pasta dishes in those days). So I decided to learn to make "real" mac & cheese. Found a recipe for a basic cheese sauce and came up with one of our families favorite comfort foods. It is the number 1 requested item for birthday dinners, hands down. I will be making this for Ryker on Sunday for his birthday dinner, so thought I would post the how to. I no longer use a recipe, so went online to find a basic cheese sauce recipe and tweaked it to be what I do. I usually make Mac & Cheese in an oversized casserole pan, like a lasagna pan as leftovers are never a problem. 

Fill your baking pan up to a generous half full of your dry macaroni. Regular size elbow roni works, but we have found we like the larger elbow roni pasta. Put your water on to boil and pour a little olive oil in it. Boil the noodles until tender. Remove from heat and rinse throughly in cool water. Return noodles to your large pasta cooker, or put them in a large bowl. Set aside. 

Make the Cheese sauce. The recipe below will make enough for a normal 9x9 cake pan size. Adjust the quantities according to the size pan you are making.

Basic Cheese Sauce Recipe 

Yield 2 Cups (I double this and then some for our large pans of Mac & Cheese)

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup grated mild Cheddar Cheese

Preparation:

Melt butter; remove from heat. Stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add milk, stirring until well mixed. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Cook for 5 minutes longer; add cheese. Stir until smooth and well blended. If you want a thicker sauce increase flour, if a thinner sauce is required add more milk
Makes 2 cups. I always put in a bit more cheese than called for. I like a cheesy sauce. 

Pour Sauce over noodles and mix well. If the sauce is fairly thick, I sometimes add a little water to get it consistency I like to bake. Spray your baking dish with Pam or some kind of cooking spray. I put half the noodles in the pan and layer a generous amount of grated cheese on top. The rest of the noodles go in and a really generous layer of cheese tops it off. Bake at 350º uncovered for about 30 minutes. I sometimes let it bake a little longer to get a lightly browned, crispier cheese on top. 

The other shocker that night at dinner long ago with Grumpy was to find that he liked ketchup on his mac & cheese. I couldn't fathom that, but then again don't knock it 'til you try it. I have grown very attached to my ketchup and roni. All our kids and many of our grandkids are fellow addicts. Grumpy graduated to salsa instead of ketchup which is not bad, but I like the ketchup still. 

Of course we must have frozen peas with Mac & Cheese because that is just how it's done. Still and forever I suppose. Nana used to like to come over and eat when I made this. I think even Papa Kanaga likes this now. Gramma Dorothy still makes her version (the one she grew her family up on) of Mac & Cheese for the many times she takes dinner in to people. I'm happy I get to make this for Ryker, and all the other grandkids who love their Mac & Cheese. 

Chocolate Icing - Simple and Sweet

I am going to write out the recipe for Nana's Chocolate Cake icing.  Freaks that we are, we love this icing on a german chocolate cake (or a milk chocolate cake; not so much anything dark chocolate), put the cake into a glass and pour milk over it.  Scoop it up with a spoon for a little bit of heaven.  Hey, don't knock it if you haven't tried it.  It's kind of like a chocolate cake milk shake, only not as cold as ice cream. It is something my Dad brought to the marriage. Cake in milk. Who'ave thought?

I guess you could be boring and eat it on a plate with a glass of milk, but now you have to wash two things instead one.  Here goes:

4 T. butter or margarine (the stick kind)

4 T. Hershey's cocoa powder

1 t. vanilla

powdered sugar

a little bit of milk

In a saucepan ( on low heat) melt the butter and stir in the powdered cocoa until dissolved.  Add vanilla and maybe 2 T. milk.  Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar until dissolved and creamy.  Keep adding powdered sugar and milk until you have enough to frost your cake and it is thick and creamy. I learned the hard way to remove the pan from heat while mixing the milk and the sugar.  Only put it on the heat long enough to melt the sugar into the mixture now and then.  If the mixture gets too hot it will set up like concrete and you will have to use a jack hammer to eat it.  (Yes, it was embarrassing when I did that very thing, and took it on a picnic to impress a date.)  I usually double the above quantities for a two cake mix cake in a long pan.  The measurements are just a guideline, you can use more butter or vanilla to taste.  It take less than a quarter cup of milk total to almost a whole poly bag of powdered sugar.  

Variation: If you make it without the chocolate in it, it is great icing for sugar cookies.  You may have to warm it up a little as you ice the cookies to maintain a good spreading consistency.  Of course you can color it any color for this.

I know Nana used to sometimes make up a small batch of this chocolate frosting and put it between graham crackers or vanilla wafers for a treat for the kids/grandkids. Of course there were always "dibs" on licking the pan, the spoon, spatula, whatever.

It's not hard to make, just takes a time or two to get the hang of it. Lick the spoon, the pan - Gotta love it

Nana's Fried Chicken

Ahhhh, Nana's fried chicken. So many memories of her wonderful fried chicken. I remember her old square sunbeam electric frying pan. She would pack it up, along with potato salad, chocolate cake, and some bread and off we would go to cook lunch at the barn for Papa when he was farming in Queen Creek. Everything went on a table he had up in the barn and she would fry chicken. When it was done, she would make her wonderful chicken gravy and we would tear up a piece of bread and put that milk gravy over the top. Holidays like the 4th of July, Easter, Father's Day, etc. were often fried chicken with all the trimmings. She made awesome mashed potatoes too. I made fried chicken today for our house full of sickies. It is the second most often requested birthday dinner from the grandkids. I found myself thinking of Nana's advice when I was learning how to make fried chicken, so I thought I would post her tried and true method.

She would start with a cut up frying chicken. We most often use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but I still think chicken tastes better when I do it with the bones in it. She would do a whole batch of legs once in while as Papa really likes dark meat.

Of course the chicken was always washed clean and salted and peppered. Then she would get out a paper sack, put about a cup of flour in it and drop a few chicken pieces in it. Gather up the top of the sack, and shake it a few times. Now coated in flour, put it in a skillet with some hot oil in it. I now use extra virgin olive oil, Crisco Vegetable Oil, or whatever else you like will do. I put the heat on medium and let it heat up before putting the chicken in. I also use a bowl with flour in it, or even a ziplock to dredge the chicken in as paper sacks are hard to come by these days. I occasionally put a little powdered garlic in with the flour for our tastes.

Nana always said to brown the chicken light brown on both sides and then put a lid on the skillet so the inside of the chicken would get done. I assume the steam created by the lid on would cook the chicken through. Don't put it all the way on the pan though. Set it cock-eyed so there is still air getting into the pan. If the lid goes all the way on, too much steam is created and the crusty part of the chicken comes off in the pan leaving you with naked fried chicken. Not good. As she acquired good pans, she moved from the electric skillets to a good stainless steel frying pan with a heavy bottom. The chicken really browns well in those kinds of pans, and some are even called chicken fryers.

She always said to make sure the chicken is on the fire for at least 30 minutes so it is done all the way through. If the chicken is done, but not as brown as you want it, take the lid all the way off and let the chicken get brown. I turn it often so both sides get really brown.

I love all the little crunchies that get left in the pan that make the gravy so good. Once the chicken is all done and out of the pan, turn the heat up a little and if you need to deglaze the pan, now is the time. Just put a little water in the pan and it will loosen all the crunchies that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. I use the dredging flour to add to the chicken drippings. Brown the flour good and add some milk. I keep adding flour and milk (sometimes some McCormick Chicken Gravy Mix I keep on hand for more chicken flavor) until I get enough gravy to make me happy. Milk will thicken the gravy and water will thin it. If you have the quantity you need, but it is too thick, just add a little water. Salt and Pepper it and you are done.

I have made many memories over the years with my kids and fried chicken. I know it has been on many a lake trip, many 4th of July dinners, lots of Sunday dinners and is very often the choice of grandkids for their birthday dinner. Today it was comfort food for the sickos in the house that are trying to get better. I wish I had thought to take some pics, but I didn't.

Simple stuff. I love that it is something she taught us to love. I will never forget those days eating chicken for lunch with my dad on the farm. She always went "to the trouble" to do those things for us.

Avocados - Green is Good!

Nana always said that Avocados were one of the few foods that is high in Vitamin B. They are also high in fiber.

I can still remember Gramma Kanaga walking Tracy and me to the old Wingfoot Market in Chandler to buy us an avocado. She would slice it up, salt and pepper the slices and we would eat them like it was candy. Nana made avocado sandwiches for us whenever she found good avocados at the markets. She would often toast the bread for Papa as he liked his sandwiches toasty. When I was about nine years old our family went to Germany to live. Papa was called up in what was termed “the Berlin Crisis”. He flew the Berlin corridor to protect aircraft going to and from “free” Berlin. While we were there, Nana would buy the most amazing avocados at the commissary. Once, when traveling in Italy she and papa found huge avocados. They couldn’t believe how big they were. They bought a few to try thinking they would be pithy, but they were wonderful. The love of Avocados has stayed with us through the years. Not that we need a recipe to make these sandwiches, but there are a variety of things we have learned to love on them.

The Basic Avocado Sandwich, Nana Style…
Wheat Bread spread with a little mayonaise. Fresh slices of avocado placed on the mayo and salt and peppered. As mentioned above, toasting the bread is good, or not as you wish. Mostly served on a paper towel with the option to eat the rest of the avocado slices depending on how many sandwiches had to be made. Lots of happy moments enjoying this simple sandwich.

Here are some of the things we have tried…
Croissants, Sourdough orWhole Wheat bread spread with a little mayo. Layer cheese of your choice, some we like are provolone, swiss or monterey jack. Layer sliced avocado. Add a few tomato slices and maybe some alfalfa sprouts. Obviously there are meat choices that are good such as turkey, chicken or even bacon or thin sliced ham. I like them meatless, but they are great on a club sandwich too.

Now the Mexican version - Avocado Torta. Mexican Bollios or Telera Rolls are awesome with avocados. Slice in half lengthwise, butter and turn onto a griddle to lightly toast. Spread with a little mayo and just a touch of mustard. (Yes, mustard, but not too much.) If you can find some Queso Fresco (a variety of Mexican cheese), slice it on the thick side and place on toasted roll. If you like just a little heat, put a few jalpeno slices on and layer some thick sliced avocado. Now some tomato slices and close it up. Sooooo gooood! Got this from the restaurant in downtown Mesa named “Mangos”. Love their food.

Avocado Spreads…
Basically: 1 California Avocado, seeded and peeled, 2 tsp lemon (or lime) juice
In a medium bowl, with a fork mash avocado with lemon juice.

For fun add your choice of the following:

• 1 Green onion, finely chopped 
  
• 1/2 Clove minced garlic 
  
• 1 T. Chopped Cilantro
  
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill 
  
• 2 T. Honey Mustard 
  
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 - 2 T. Mayonaise
• 1 oz. Cream Cheese
• 1-2 T. Jalapeno Relish 
  

There are many flavor variations; substitute other fresh herbs, and seasonings that you like.
Use in place of, or in addition to mayo on many sandwiches.

Nana's Fudge

Lacy is our resident fudge maker as far as I know. She spent some time with Nana learning her technique and getting pans of fudge made for her gift list. I wish I had pictures, but alas, I do not. I have had so many neighbors come up to me and say how much they miss this sweet treat Nana would make for them at Christmas. She and Papa would make a list of who needed fudge in the neighborhood and then she would set about cooking the batches. They would always do a chocolate batch and a blond batch for all of us in addition to their neighbors. Then a bow on the top and a maybe a tag and they would deliver their decadent dishes. This made memories for lots of people.

4 1/2 C. Sugar
1 15 oz. can Evaporated Milk
2 T. light cornsyrup (Karo)
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 pint jar Marshmallow Creme
2 t. vanilla
1 12oz pkg. chocolate chips
2 C. chopped nuts
walnuts, pecans, almonds, you decide.
Combine first three ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil while washing inside of sauce pan down with pastry brush and water. Boil over medium heat to a soft ball - 238º-240º on candy thermometer. Remove from heat. In a mixing bowl combine the rest of the ingredients except the nuts. Pour hot sugar mixture in mixing bowl and beat until smooth and cooled. Add nuts and pour into buttered pan. Cut when completely cooled and set.

Toffee

I made this recipe over and over last year to pack in Christmas tins for my kids and others. Nana used to make this toffee recipe every Christmas, and I so love toffee. I have Nana's recipe here. I remember long ago when we still lived in the house on Allen Circle her getting out her toffee making pan (the one with teflon coating) and stirring up a batch of toffee at Christmas. Now we have scilipats to make our lives easier. I've never had a hard time getting the toffee out of the pan when I use one. Nana gave me my first scilipat and she loved how easy they made candy and baking. After many years, she went to her famous fudge recipes. For my fellow toffee addict Taylor, and all of you, here is the recipe for Nana's wonderful toffee…

Butter a 12 x 18 (half sheet cake) baking sheet, cover with chopped pecans (or walnuts)
and set aside. You can also use a scilipat baking sheet (minus the butter) in your baking sheet for great results. They are the perfect size to fit a half sheet cake pan. (pictured above with the ingredients).

In a heavy bottomed 3 qt. saucepan…
2 C. Butter (1#) not margarine
1/2 C. Water
1/4 C. Light corn syrup (Karo)
2-1/2 C. Sugar
Combine above ingredients over medium high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. Continue stirring until mixture begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low, remove wooden spoon and do not continue to stir.
Clip on candy thermometer and cook syrup to 290ºF (or 145ºC), a soft crack stage.



Remove from heat and pour over pecans in prepared baking sheet.



When just hardened, but still hot:
Sprinkle 1 pound (or so) chocolate chips on candy. Sprinkle densely. After just a few moments chips are soft so you can spread evenly to coat candy.



While chocolate is still warm, sprinkle finely chopped walnuts (2-4 cups) over top and gently press to set nuts into chocolate. After cooled completely you can turn entire block over, melt some more chocolate chips to spread over the back side and coat with nuts. Double coated is good, but a lot more work. I usually just do the one layer chocolate.
Any kind of nuts you like will work, and milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips - whatever your tastes are.

When completely cooled:
I use a clean white dishtowel to turn the toffee out on. I loosen the edges with a sharp knife and then lay the baking sheet upside down over the dishtowel. After the toffee is out of the sheet, peel off the scilipat and turn the whole block over so the chocolate and nuts are once again on top. Break into irregular pieces and store in an airtight container.
Makes 4-5 pounds (about 150 pieces).



Sometimes syrup mixture separates during cooking leaving a buttery looking layer on the surface and a thicker mixture underneath. To save the batch try and correct, add about 1/2 C. hot water and stir well. You may need to add additional hot water, but this should correct and save your batch. I've never had to do this, but got this tip from a candy book.

Taya sent me a pic of the toffee tin they got at Christmas. Thanks Taya.

Apricot Jam

This recipe is a combination of the recipes included in the pectin boxes and a recipe from Jade’s friend in Pima. Jade loved her apricot jam, but she didn’t use pectin and we like the way it thickens, so we combined the two for a jam we really like.

Preparing Jars and Lids
We use pint jars for jam. Wash the jars in hot soapy water (or in the dishwasher) as set aside.
As you are cooking your jam, put the lids into a pan of water and place over medium/low heat until about to simmer. This should take about 10 minutes. Keep hot until needed. Use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out when you are ready to close your jars.



Preparing Apricots
Wash the fruit. Do not remove skins. Cut in half and twist apart. This leaves the pit on one half of the apricot. Remove pit and put the fruit into a food processor. Process until fruit is slightly chunky, not pureed. A hand chopper, or a potato masher can also be used to mash up fruit.

Cooking Jam
9 Cups of chopped apricots
1 Cup crushed pineapple
1/2 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Bottled or frozen may be substituted.
1 t. butter (Optional, but does reduce foaming as jam cooks.)
3 Boxes Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin. I use the yellow label, not the reduced sugar or liquid varieties.
Measure out 12 Cups of sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Combine above (except the sugar) ingredients into 10-12 quart stock pot. Place over high heat and stir constantly until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. This means it boils even when you are stirring it. Stir in the sugar. I pour it in all at once and stir it while it is assimilated into mixture. Return to full rolling boil. When it has achieved a full rolling boil, time for one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and skim off foam using a large spoon. Some like a slotted spoon.

Processing Jars



Ladle into pints allowing at least a 1/4” headspace. I Ladle from the bottom up so the mixture is consistent for all the jars. Taya is filling her jars in the photo above. She did a great job on her first experience with jam. Wipe rims and threads clean and place prepared lids on top. Fasten bands and place into steam canner. (Prepare steam canner according to manufacturer’s directions.) Most steam canners will take 8 pints at a time.

Steam Canner Method 

(May also use a Water Bath Method to process)
Turn steam canner to Hi if using an electric stove. Gas burners may not need to be all the way up to high. Wait for steam to stream from side holes in a steady plume. This plume is usually about 8” out from the side and is sort of a soft plume. Time for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Remove lid taking care to open away from you as the steam can burn you. Using a jar lifter, remove jars onto a kitchen towel a few inches apart and allow to cool. Jars will probably “ping” as you are removing them from the canner. In the event you have one that doesn’t ping, refrigerate and use, or reprocess the jar using a new lid.
Label and date lids on jars and store in a cool, dry place. Once opened, jam should be used in about a month or so.

Swiss Steak

Tracy called me for this recipe yesterday, and I realized I hadn't posted it. I took the photos a while back, but never got around to the post. Sorry Tracy, here it is now…



An all time favorite for the clan. This recipe came to us from my in-laws long ago and far away. Through the years we have come to love it, especially for the “special” dinners. Nana always liked to be our guest when I made this. I don't have the exact quantities down, but I will approximate. Things can always be adjusted to the way you like your food. I generally buy top round for the meat, but london broil works as well as many other cuts. In the original recipe the meat was cut into large pieces, like a serving of steak. I always ended up cutting it into small pieces for the kids, so I just started cutting it in small bite size pieces to begin with. We decided we liked it that way, so I still do that. I usually make this in a small electric roaster, but a crock-pot would work just fine. Grumpy was nice and did all the cutting for the photos here.




The onions should be cut into 1/2" rings. I have cut them thinner, and cut the rings in half but it is just your preference. If you have about 5 lbs. of steak, cut at least 3 good sized onions. I use regular yellow/brown onions, but mayan sweets are good also. Again, personal taste.



In a large skillet, drizzle some canola or light olive oil and bring up to medium heat. Dredge steak in flour and brown in skillet. The meat doesn't have to be done inside, just browned on both sides. When browned transfer to roaster or crock-pot. When all the meat is browned, place the onions in the skillet and saute until nice and brown. They should be tender but not overdone. Add onions to roaster or crock-pot. I have been known to add a little fresh minced garlic to the onions. Our family loves garlic and so I put about 3 cloves (chopped fine) in.

For the 5 lbs. of steak, you will need about 2 quarts of canned whole tomatoes, cut up. I have also used some the tomato mix Tracy and I canned and it is good in Swiss Steak. Pour off the water in the jar or can of tomatoes, but save in case you need the liquid. Cut the tomatoes up to the size you like and add to the roaster. Check to see how much liquid you have. If it seems a little dry for simmering for a couple hours, add some of the tomato juice back in. Consistency should be like a thick stew. Salt and Pepper to taste. I like a good amount of tomatoes, so if you think it needs a few more add until you like the ratio and consistency of your mixture.



Simmer for about 2 hours on medium to low setting. We like our Swiss Steak over rice, so I make a batch of rice in the rice cooker. I got used to the rice in Okinawa when we lived there and the closest thing I can find to that here is the Calrose or SunWest (fancy) brands that I can get at Costco, or even Smart and Final. It is a short grain variety and we like the flavor. I'm sure any rice would be fine - whatever you like. Grandma Dorothy serves her steak in larger pieces so it's like a piece of steak with a thick sauce on it. They have baked potatoes as their side. It's all good.

If you think it needs thickening toward the end of cooking time, just add a little Ultra Gel. It is the easiest to work with. Another way is to make a flour and water (or beef stock) mixture like you would for gravy and add that. It would need to simmer for a while to thicken with that mixture.

I hope you enjoy this dish, it is great for winter nights and to take in to people. It is also something you could make from your bottled/canned food in your pantry.

Tasty, Flaky Pie Crust

Nana was famous for her wonderful pie crust. Always wanting to improve, she was always trying new recipes. This pie crust recipe is the closest one I could find for the original, perfect crust she had perfected.

For a 2 crust pie.

• 2 1/2 C. Flour
  
• 1 t. Salt
  
• 1 Stick of Butter (cold)
  
• 1/2 C. Shortening (cold)
  
• 1/3 C. Water (more or less)
  

For a two crust pie (fruit pie, etc.)
Cream to paint on top of crust
Sugar to sprinkle on top of crust

Combine dry ingredients in bowl and cut in shortening. Cut in butter and start adding in water. When dough just leaves the sides of the bowl, make a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Divide in half for 2 crusts. On a floured surface roll out dough to desired thickness. Roll up on rolling pin, or fold in half to transfer to pie dish. Cut dough to 1/2" below dish edge. Fill with pie filling and roll out top crust. Cut dough 1/2" below dish edge and tuck under both crust edges to edge of dish. This seals the edges. With thumb and fingers crimp the edges to make them pretty. Cut vent holes in top crust and brush with cream and sprinkle sugar. Bake according to pie recipe.

To make pie blinds (pre-baked crust for cream pies etc.) there will of course be no top crusts. After crust is in pie plate, trim and crimp edges. Using a fork, pierce dough several times in the bottom and on the sides. If you have pie wieghts, follow the directions before baking. Bake at 350º until lightly browned. Remove and cool.




Some fun options for pie blinds:
Painted Chocolate Crust
Melt 3-4 ozs. chocolate chips and 1 T. shortening in a double boiler. When smooth, paint onto baked crust with a pastry brush. Chill and fill with filling of choice.

Cream Cheese over Crust
3-4 ozs. Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
Whip soft cream cheese and sugar together. Spread over bottom of baked crust. Pour filling into pie.

Coconut Cream Pie

Another of Nana's famous pies. Loved by all, and certainly was expected at more than one holiday gathering. Our ward has the ladies bring pie to the kitchen on Father's Day. They cut and plate all the different pies and serve the men in Priesthood opening exercises. It is the best attended Priesthood meeting all year. Our guys knew this Coconut Cream was in there this year and made sure they snagged a piece. Love it!



More than enough for a 10" deep dish pre-baked crust.

• 1 1/2 C. Sugar
  
• 1/4 C. Cornstarch (or Ultra Gel)
  
• 3 T. Flour
  
• 1/2 C. Evaporated milk
  
• 4 C. Milk
  
• 6-8 Egg yolks (slightly beaten)
  
• 2 T. Butter
  
• 1 t. Vanilla
  
• 1 1/2 - 2 C. Coconut
  

Combine first six ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Stirring constantly over medium heat, bring to a boil. Mixture should be thickened. Add butter, vanilla and coconut and allow to cool a while, maybe 10 minutes or so. Do not stir filling, pour into pre-baked pie crust and cover with wax paper or plastic and allow to completely cool. Top with stabilized whipped cream and refrigerate before serving.




Nana's pies were a work of art. I wish I had taken pictures of them. She was a pie master for sure.