Spinning a random post from one Hodgepodge question

 

 This week there is just not time to write a Hodgepodge post.  Sometimes when that happens, I'm able to answer just one question and that works out great.  Not this time, though.  The one question I would have answered would have been about my favorite cookbook(s). 

That would take way more time than I have today, so I'm simply spinning it into a post about cooking magazines, vintage and newer, which I have always enjoyed cooking and baking from.  Most of the text is coming from a draft of a book I'm thinking of publishing about kitchens I have known and loved. 

You may never have heard of Farm Journal, a magazine which was subscribed to by farmers and ranches all over the United States — maybe Canada too.  In the 1960s my family subscribed to it.  Near the back of this magazine was a fairly hefty section just for women.  Loads of wonderful recipes that had been sent in by readers or developed in the Farm Journal test kitchen were featured here.  The recipes for a specific issue of the magazine often had a theme — say, garden produce, gifts from the kitchen, cakes, beef or chicken main dishes, or whatever.  When the Farm Journal arrived in our home and I got my hands on it, the recipes were the first things I turned to.  I imagine a lot of country women and teen girls did the same.  

Farm Journal cover from December 1961

And then, logically enough, Farm Journal began to produce cookbooks.  How I loved these books!  My mother purchased many of them — and later on, so did I.  There was a cookie cookbook, a large, comprehensive Country Cookbook, a freezing & canning cookbook, an Informal Entertaining Country Style Cookbook (one of my top favorites), a chocolate cookbook, a family favorites cookbook, a healthy snacks cookbook and many more.  

The Farm Journal Homemade Cookies cookbook

Thanks to the evocative and folksy writing style of Nell Nichols, the Farm Journal food editor,  I could read those volumes by the hour.  The recipes were so delicious, too.  The chocolate cookbook is completely spattered and freckled with brown from baking so many of the sweet treats.  The Family Favorites cookbook is another from which I made recipe after recipe.

When Taste of Home magazine came out, both my mother and I subscribed.  I had been  cooking in my own kitchen for some time at that point.  I think the reason we instantly fell in love with Taste of Home is that it had that same folksy feeling as Farm Journal.  Indeed, the reason Farm Wife News, of which Taste of Home was an offshoot, had originally been started was that all of the older farm magazines and journals had begun to discontinue their women’s sections.  Understandably, rural women missed that and were thrilled when Reiman Publications stepped into the void with Farm Wife News.  My mother subscribed to that, as did I after it became Country Woman.  Then Reiman branched out even more with Taste of Home, a cooking magazine loaded with recipes, and a staff of field editors from all over the United States and Canada.  I still have every Taste of Home issue I ever received, and I've cooked and baked from them often.  When Quick Cooking, later renamed Simple & Delicious, came along, I subscribed to those too.

When each new issue arrived, I would always find a new recipe — usually many more than one — that I couldn’t wait to try.  My mother was the same, and so was my friend Marilyn — and later, my daughters when they had their own kitchens.  We would so often compare notes about what recipes appealed to our families and which one we would like to try first.  Some of my very best recipes came from Taste of Home or other Reiman publications.  Although I enjoyed submitting recipes to their contests, it came to the point where I was limited into which ones I could send in.  So many of our favorite recipes had come from there in the first place!

I stopped subscribing to any cooking magazines some years ago.  I have all of the recipes I will ever want or need (although that doesn't stop me from pinning more to my Pinterest boards!) and right now I am cooking with very limited ingredients due to a special diet my hubby is following.  And yet a couple of weeks ago in Maine, I picked up a free 2024 issue of Taste of Home in a thrift shop.  Must be I still find them somewhat irresistible!

Another cookbook review:

 

This week I'm doing another cookbook review of a book I've used so often: Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets by Gooseberry Patch.  You can find it on Amazon here, but it looks as if a new edition of it may be coming out in August.  I do love the version I have, but I'm sure the new one will be good as well.  I checked on Thriftbooks and it is out of stock there.  Unlike most of the books I get from Gooseberry Patch, this one was neither a Thriftbooks find nor a cookbook I received in exchange for a recipe.  I actually won this one in a giveaway, and I have been very glad that I did!

As the title notes, there are three categories in the contents of this cookbook: Savory Slow Cookers, Cozy Casseroles, and Speedy Skillets.  Each category has three subcategories: Just 5 Ingredients; Easy Family Meals; and One-Dish Dinners.

From the Just 5 Ingredients! category of the Savory Slow Cookers section, I have made Pennsylvania Stuffed Peppers,  Georgia Tomato Roast, "Rotisserie" Roast Chicken, and Carol's Cheesy Potato Bake.  That cheesy potato bake is so easy, and is a hit at every potluck I take it to.  I use a homemade substitute for cream of chicken soup.  So good!  a couple of want-to-try recipes in this category are Italian Sausages & Peppers and Company Chicken Dijon.  

From the Easy Family Meals category, I've tried the Chicken Sausage & Pasta -- very good!

From the One-Dish Dinners category of slow cooker recipes, the Sausage & Peppers Sauce is a good one.  I've sometimes used a package of frozen red and green pepper strips in place of the chopped green pepper.  I've also tried the Homestyle Chicken Stew, and noted it was "Very good!"

In Cozy Casseroles, from the Just 5 Ingredients! category, I've made John's Spinach & Red Pepper Chicken a number of times.  It is very, very good and so easy.  I don't usually use the full bottle of Italian dressing.  Grandma Hodges' Chile Rice is another I've made quite a few times and it's a good side with hamburgers or any Mexican main dish.

In the Easy Family Meals category of casseroles, I have made the Tex-Mex Spaghetti Pie probably dozens of time.  It is so good and so easy.   I've also tried the Best-Ever., Must-Have Meatloaf, and it is very good but I don't like it as well as my regular meat loaf recipe.  Grandma Jeanette's Mashed Potatoes are just like my make-ahead mashed potatoes, a definite keeper recipe.  I would also like to try the Baked Chicken Chimies and Loaded Cheeseburger Pie from this section.  That last one may go on my menu soon, in fact!

From the One-Dish Dinners category of casseroles, I've made the Easy Chicken Divan numerous times.  I use my homemade cream soup substitute instead of the cream of chicken soup it calls for.  I'd like to try the Layered Ravioli Florentine and the Deep-Dish Sausage Pizza.  I'm pretty sure I've tasted Fu-Man-Chew before.  Decades ago, a lady at a church we visited made a casserole with similar ingredients, and I loved it.  I may have to try this one!

 
Now, from the Just 5 Ingredients! category in Speedy Skillets, I've made the Cheesy Chicken & Rotini and labled it "Excellent!".  On the side dish skillet reeipe Zucchini Parmesan, I've labeled it "Wonderful!"  I've also made the Smoky Cabbage and called it "Excellent!"  I added Cajun seasoning to taste in this one.  A couple of recipes I'd like to try in this category include Beefy Taco Skillet, which sounds intriguing (one cuts flour tortillas into 1-inch squares to cook with the other ingredients) and Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta.

In the Easy Family Meals category of skillet meals, there are several I've made over and over.  Busy-Day Lasagna Toss, Quick Skillet Spaghetti, Mexican Skillet Spaghetti Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo -- I've labeled each "Excellent!" and I've even had granddaughters email me for the recipes.  Cube Steak in Savory Gravy is one I'd like to try.

For the One-Dish Dinners category of skillet meals, I've only tried one of the recipes -- Linguini & Vegetables -- but it was delicious.  "Leftover" Fried Rice sounds a lot like my own homemade fried rice recipe.  One-Pot Sausage Dinner sounds good and easy,  as does Hamburger Gravy, which the recipe suggests could be served over pasta, rice, potatoes, or even pierogies.  It would be fun to try it over pierogies, I think.

So there you have it -- another cookbook review.  I highly recommend this one!

Cookbook review: Grandma's Favorites

 

 I have SO many Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.  It's true that the majority of them are Christmas cookbooks, which I have trouble resisting, but many are books I've received for free in exchange for having a recipe published.  This year I'm hoping to share quite a few cookbook reviews with you all, so you can get an idea which ones you might enjoy adding to your own collection.  

Grandma's Favorites has been redone and now includes photos, 

but the edition pictured at the top of the post, the one I own, is still available on Thriftbooks.  One thing I particularly love about the cover of the edition I have is the inclusion of granny squares.  The strip of granny squares across the top above the title is lovely, and I also like the pretty granny square hot mats or pot holders at lower left.  I'd love to find a pattern to make some of these.

But on to the cookbook review!  The little note on the cover summarizes: "Can't-miss recipes for delicious family dinners, just like Grandma used to make."  Inside, the Dedication is "For everyone who craves the old-fashioned comfort of sharing meals with family & friends ... who know that the secret ingredient is love!" 

 The authors say: "Our most heartfelt thanks to all of you who shared their family's cherished recipes, saved on index cards and scraps of paper."  That sentiment really resonated with me, since in cleaning out the family homestead,  I have come across so very many index cards and scraps of paper with recipes scribbled on them.

Fun fact: Two of my recipes are actually included in this book -- a salad and a dessert.

The table of contents includes just six chapters: Old-Fashioned Breakfasts; Chill-Chasing Soups & Breads; Fresh-Picked from Grandma's Garden; Grandma's Best Supper Dishes; Fun Foods for Get-Togethers; and Something Sweet for You!

Old-Fashioned Breakfasts has a lot of great recipes for breakfast casseroles and other hearty breakfast main courses, as well as for  coffee cakes, muffins, pancakes, French toast, fruit dishes, some homemade jams and even Old-Fashioned Hot Cocoa!  I've made the Frozen Fruit Cups (only I used plastic cups rather than muffin tin liners) often in the past and they are good.  I used to make Butter Dip biscuits in the past also, but this method (using the exact same ingredients) is much easier than the one I used.  I think I will make these, using this method, to accompany a stew the next time our young friends come for lunch.  One of the main-dish recipes, Bacon & Sausage Gravy, looks over-the-top delicious.  Not sure I will be able to resist trying that one!

Chill-Chasing Soups & Breads is filled with recipes and hints for making those classic partners,  bread and soup.  There are at least a half-dozen different chicken soup recipes, as well as many other soups and breads like rolls, cornbread, biscuits, Irish soda bread, and quick breads.  There are several recipes for chili, a New England clam chowder, a creamy shrimp chowder, and a zucchini garden chowder (pictured below) which I've made several times and which we really enjoy.  All in all, this chapter would be a wonderful resource for fall and winter suppers.

Fresh-Picked from Grandma's Garden is a chapter filled with vegetable salads, side dishes, and even quite a few canning recipes for pickles, relishes and jams.  Veggie-Loaded Potato Salad, with cucumber, celery, radishes and green onions in addition to potatoes, with a flavorful mayo-based dressing, sounds really good to me -- or maybe I'm just tired of winter.  My own recipe for refrigerator carrot salad is in this section.  There's a Garden Vegetable Casserole which sounds easy and good, one for Fire & Ice pickles which I'd love to try,  and a couple of jams that sound so deliciously different -- Spicy Apple Pie Jam, and Blueberry-Lemon Jam.  

Grandma's Best Supper Dishes is just what it sounds like: a chapter full of homey supper meals.  Lots of pasta dishes as well as a mustard gravy chicken that sounds fantastic, a pork chop and apple bake, oven sausage & peppers, a fancier tuna noodle casserole, and several delicious-looking slow cooker recipes.  Milk-Baked Fish reminds me of my mother as she often baked haddock or other white fish in milk.  We loved it that way.  Granny's Hot Dogs and Potatoes sounds like a nice dish to have for supper at the cottage some chilly spring evening.  

Fun Foods for Get-Togethers is the next chapter, and it includes recipes for dips, snacks, spreads, sandwiches, beverages and other fun foods.  Deviled eggs, pickles, a cheese ball or two.  Betty's Deviled Ham & Cheese Ball sounds fantastic.  I'm probably odd, but I have always loved the flavor of deviled ham and can almost taste this cheese ball.  There are also burgers, salsa, and much much more.  

Something Sweet for You is a logical ending chapter to a cookbook of Grandma's Favorites.  There are pies, cobblers, cakes, brownies and other cookies, cream puffs, and much more.  My own recipe for double-good blueberry pie is here.  There's a brownie ice cream pie that sounds fantastic.  There are a number of delicious-sounding cookie recipes, including Granny's Cornflake Cookies, which has only three ingredients: corn flakes, butterscotch chips, and crunchy peanut butter, and requires no baking.  There are several nice cake recipes and even a recipe for homemade ice cream!  There's a recipe for pecan pie bars -- like pecan pie, but made in a jelly roll pan.  What a practical way to serve pecan pie to a large family or a crowd!  There's a recipe for cream puffs that sounds scrumptious,  and even a couple of canning recipes, one for canned apple pie filling and the other for apple-walnut maple conserve.

There are so many charming line drawings in this addition of the book, too.  Just a sweet country cookbook with all sorts of classic recipes as well as some truly innovative ones.  I'm glad this cookbook found its way to my bookshelf!

Another cookbook recommendation -- Weeknight Dinners

 

 Here's another Gooseberry Patch cookbook that I highly recommend -- Weeknight Dinners.  This is one that we had a recipe published in.  I have used this book a great deal since it came into our household, and have gifted copies to others.  One of the favorite recipes I've used over the years is sort of pictured at the top left of the cookbook cover: baked potatoes topped with vegetarian chili.  

This cookbook is divided by type of cuisine: for example, meatless, Italian, Mexican, etc.  In fact, the categories include: Meatless Monday; Tuesday is Tex-Mex Night; Wednesday is Italian Night; Comfort Food Thursday; and Just for Fun Friday.  I've made recipes from each of the chapters.  One thing I love about this book is it has a good number of slow-cooker recipes.  In fact, there are so many that there's a special category for Slow Cookers in the index!

Stir-Fry Veggies & Rotini and Chile Relleno Casserole are recipes from the Meatless Monday chapter that we've greatly enjoyed, in addition to the Chili Baked Potatoes.  I want to make the Cheddar Baked Spaghetti, and the Lentil Brown Rice Tacos have been on my want-to-try list for some time.

In the Tex-Mex Tuesday chapter, I have made a slow-cooker recipe, Tex-Mex Chicken & Rice, countless times.  I can't eat frozen corn, so I substituted a can of black beans, drained and rinsed, for the corn.  This meal is delicious and I have often taken it to church potlucks.  Shredded Mexican Chicken is made in a slow cooker also and is perfect for tacos, enchiladas, taco salads, or any Mexican dish.  South-of-the-Border Rice makes a perfect accompaniment to many Mexican dishes, and I have prepared it many times.  Chicken Tortilla Soup was also published along with a review of this cookbook by my friend Linda at Prairie Flower Farm.  It's a really delicious and easy slow-cooker recipe.  

Another nice thing about this cookbook is that not only does it feature main dishes, but also sides, salads, a few breads, and desserts.  In the Tex-Mex section is a recipe for a dessert called Tim's Apple Burrito -- really just a huge apple turnover that serves 5 to 6 and sounds amazing!

Wednesday is Italian Night is a fun chapter filled with want-to-try recipes.  I've made Yummy Chicken Italiano -- another slow cooker dish -- for church potlucks and it goes over well.  Creamy Tomato Tortellini is another I've tried.  It's meatless but so scrumptious. Herbed Parmesan Squash is a good side dish.

In the Comfort Food Thursday chapter is another slow cooker favorite, Jan's Pork Chops & Pierogies.  True comfort food!  Chicken & Broccoli Bake is delicious but only serves two.  I would double or triple that one, and I prefer florets to chopped broccoli.  Dill Potato Wedges is a side dish recipe I've tried and loved.  Swedish Meatloaf is a recipe I'd love to try.  We enjoy Swedish meatballs and this would have a similar flavor.  

The chapter Just For Fun Friday contains the reason I own this book: my own recipe for Slow-Cooked Pork Ribs.  I've also tried Melissa's Hawaiian Chicken, another flavorful slow cooker meal.  Cheeseburger Macaroni is another recipe I've tried and liked.  And there are many, many more in this chapter that I want to try.  Baked Potato Bar and Pizza Butter Muffins, just to name a couple.

Because this cookbook contains such a variety of cuisines, it makes meal planning quite easy. 

Apparently this book has been updated to include photos and a photo cover.  You can check that out here: Updated Weeknight Dinners.

If you should be interested in the edition I have, Thriftbooks has one in good condition for $4.69: Weeknight Dinners.

Whichever edition you choose, I think you would be very pleased with this cookbook.  I know it's a much-used addition to my own cookbook shelves.

A fun surprise in the mail

 

 Last week I received a really nice surprise in the mail.  Although I had advance notice months ago that this package would be arriving in January, of course I had forgotten all about it.  

For years I've submitted recipes and memories, and the occasional craft idea,  to Gooseberry Patch for possible publication. It's always fun to get a note from them letting me know they'll be publishing one of my submissions.  Best of all, that means I'll get a free copy of the book when it's published!

This time the book is Mom's Best Sunday Suppers, -- subtitled Tried & true recipes for gathering family around the table -- and it's a great one from what I have seen so far.

I'll be writing a review eventually, but for now I'll just share the chapter titles: Sunday Dinners with Family; Casual Sunday Suppers; Simple Soup Suppers; Fresh Side Dishes; Pass the Bread, Please; and Treats from Mom's Kitchen.  Just paging through it, I've seen several recipes that fit into our current low-carb eating plan, and I have already tried one recipe, for Crustless Green Chile Quiche.  We thought it was wonderful!

Wondering what recipe I submitted?  It's a favorite recipe for focaccia bread.  The link takes you to a 2015 blog post about it and links to Taste of Home, where I found the original recipe.  Since then, I have tweaked it often, as I mention in the blog post.  In fact, even since submitting the recipe to Gooseberry, I have changed it even more since I no longer have a bread machine.  I have loved the way a bread machine produces perfectly risen dough, but this focaccia bread still turns out great even without one.

Gooseberry Patch has let me know that I'll be receiving another free book in June, when a memory of mine will be published in a fall cookbook.  I'm sure to forget about it, so it will be another truly wonderful surprise!

Making a Christmas recipe book, part 2

 

 I promised to share a couple more ideas for making a special notebook or recipe book just for Christmas recipes.  It really is a great project to work on right after Christmas, when the recipes you used are fresh in your mind and probably still right at hand.  

 However, you could work on this project any time of year, as the spirit moves.  It might be fun to work on during July, for Christmas in July, or anytime in summer to help you feel a little cooler.  Not only is such a cookbook a great way to keep your Christmas recipes accessible; these things would make absolutely wonderful gifts as well, for grown children or for grandchildren.  (I did post about this project a few years ago over on my Christmas blog, so if it looks familiar to someone, that would be why.)

Making a photo book from Shutterfly turned out to be the perfect way to get all of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes in one easy place.  We make a lot of cookies every year, but we do tend to use the same recipes each Christmas, possibly adding in a few new ones.  

The standard 8x8 photo books have 20 pages, so I used 18 of them as recipe pages with a different cookie recipe on each page.  Some of the recipes are from my childhood; others are as new as Christmas 2018. 

On the first page I wrote out some of my Christmas baking memories from childhood.  I actually had written these out years ago for a Christmas memory book, so I just copied and pasted it into a text box on a page in the Shutterfly book.

Then I chose the 18 recipes that I wanted to use and dived into making the recipe pages.  I had photos for most of the cookie varieties.  Shutterfly absolutely walks you through the process of putting photo book pages together.  The recipe book format was a little different than an ordinary photo book because there were so many large text boxes to fill with recipes.  I added in a few of the charming Shutterfly "stickers" to embellish each page.  I didn't overdo it with these pretty touches (though one certainly could be tempted to do so) but just added enough to add color and charm to each page.

The screenshots of some of my pages, below, give you an idea as to what can be done.

 

Every time I get a free photo book offer, I'll make up another of these cookie books.  In that way I just pay shipping. To my mind, $7.99 is a fair price indeed for such a nice and useful product.  I've been able to give many of these as gifts.

Hope this has inspired someone to make a recipe photo book!  If you want more details as to how I did it, let me know and I'll try to help.

A cookbook recommendation: Mom Knows Best

 

 Just in time for Mother's Day, I'm going to share one of my favorite cookbooks with you all.   I love all of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, but this is one of the everyday standouts in my collection.  I received a free copy of this cookbook because one of my recipes, Grammy's Potato Wedges, was published in it.  I've been so thankful for this book and I turn to it often.  There are six sections in the book which include recipes for breakfast, brown-bag lunches, snacks, main dishes, sweets, and a special section of recipes for kids to make.

First up is Grab & Go Breakfasts.  There are egg dishes, cereals, muffins, coffee cakes and more.  I always enjoy baked oatmeal, and this book has three recipes for it -- one with a pumpkin pie flavor (which I have not tried) and one with a peanut butter/chocolate flavor as well as a simpler, more basic recipe.  I made Melanie's Oven Omelet for a ladies' brunch and Country Skillet Breakfast for a supper meal.  Both very good!  There are also French toast and pancake recipes, several smoothie recipes and much more.

Next chapter is Brown-Bagging It.  Lots of portable recipes for soups, sandwiches and salads.  Tuna Egg Salad is one I've tried that was very good, as is Mamaw's Special Tuna Salad, which includes shredded apple along with pickle relish.  Don't shudder at the shredded apple; it's actually very tasty in tuna salad.  Seems to give it a fresher flavor.

Healthy Bites for Snacking is the next chapter, and it is just what it says.  Salsas, dips, frozen treats like yogurt pops and individual fruit salads; hummus, mini pizzas, and much more.  One day I watched my friend Jenn make Paper Bag Popcorn as a quick and easy treat for her toddler.  What a great idea.  This chapter is full of them, and kids are always hungry.  

Dinners for the Daily Dash is the largest section in the book and is subdivided into four smaller ones.  The first of these is One-Dish Wonders.  I've made the Italian Chicken and Penne Skillet and the Spinach & Sausage Soup -- and there are still many more that I want to try.  The second smaller section is Made From Scratch.  From here, I've tried the Veggieful Italian Hot Dish, the Savory Chicken & Rice Soup, Kathy's Italian Zucchini Dish -- and again, still more that I want to try.   From the next section, Ready When You Are!, I've tried Sam's Chicken-Cabbage Soup, Mom's Best Chili, Mother's Sausage Supper -- but there are still loads of recipes that sound good to me.  Lastly in the main-dish section is $5 to $10 Dinners.  The Farmhouse BBQ Muffin Cups are so tasty.  I made the Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes for friends who loved them.  Again, plenty of recipes that sound good that I haven't yet tried. 

The next section is Kids in the Kitchen and includes a variety of recipes of all types  that kids can make or help with.  My potato wedges are in this section.  They have been a huge hit with my kids and grandkids over the years.  There's also a Macaroni Pizza Pie that I've tried -- it starts with a box of mac'n'cheese mix!  The Microwave Mac & Cheese is fabulous.  So good.  I use 3 cups of elbow macaroni or rotini rather than the 2 cups the recipe calls for.  

Lastly is the Sweet Treats chapter.  It includes muffins, cookies and bars, a couple of easy pie recipes, and some recipes for individual mug desserts.  The Blastin' Blueberry Crunch is the only recipe I've tried from this chapter, and it was yummy.  Though I found the recipes for sweets the least enticing in the book, truthfully.  Probably a good thing!

I find this to be a very practical cookbook, filled with quick and easy recipes that families will enjoy.  I highly recommend it to you as well!

Consider making a Christmas recipe notebook (Part 1)

Really -- it will be so helpful to you each year when the Christmas season comes around!  It may seem like a lot of work, but it really is worth it.  I actually refer to mine year round.  And the most convenient time to work on such a project is right after Christmas, when all of your holiday recipes are at hand since you have just been using them.

When I was growing up, my mother always had a Christmas notebook.  It was in a really distinctive pink and white textured binder.  Below you see the notebook in all of its shabby glory, coffee spills and all.  (My mother always had a cup of coffee at hand.  Not a mug; a coffee cup.) 

When I saw that notebook make an appearance around the house, I knew Christmas planning was beginning.  Mom kept lists of gifts she had ordered in this notebook, sometimes in shorthand so snoopers wouldn't know what they were getting.   You can see some of the shorthand entries below.

But she also kept all of her traditional Christmas recipes in this binder.

 

 

I had adapted this idea by keeping all of my Christmas recipes on special Christmas recipe cards.  They were pretty and fun, but really, a notebook, especially a loose-leaf one, is a better idea. 

My sister had an entire recipe box with only Christmas recipes, and that is also a good idea, but the notebook, again, is more practical.

Still, I didn't have one until I had the inspiration to create a Christmas memory book for my adult kids and their families, writing down all the Christmas memories I could think of.  You can read here about how I did that project: How to Make a Christmas Memory Book.

In doing that, I naturally added in all of our favorite Christmas recipes.  I included recipes from my own childhood, recipes from my kids' growing-up years, and recipes from much more recent times.

 Below you see a favorite recipe for Fruity Pastel Spritz.  This is a newer recipe I've discovered.  It uses fruit flavored gelatin powder for color and flavor.  We especially like this for Christmas tree spritz cookies.

I find myself turning often to my Christmas recipe notebook, even at other times of year. We might use a recipe for a Christmas breakfast bake, for instance, at any special brunch or breakfast.  Or some of the salads, side dishes, or desserts for Christmas dinner are ones we might use at Thanksgiving or any other special family dinner.

It really does help to have all of the Christmas recipes in one place; it helps especially when planning a holiday grocery shopping trip or list.

So now would be a great time to make a Christmas recipe book of your own.  You can use my directions for assembling a Christmas memory book to see the binder, page protectors and other materials you might use.  Or, stay tuned for Part 2, which will share some different ideas for making a recipe book.

A sweet Christmas surprise in the mail

 

Oh, what fun!  I got the sweetest surprise in the mail a couple of weeks ago.  This sweet new cookbook was written by author Angela MacRae from the blog Tea with Friends.  Anyone who knows me realizes that I fit the description on the cover to a "T" -- I am also a "baby boomer, thrifter, and flea market fanatic" (though I seldom get to a flea market).  I love vintage Christmas decor and recipes and have an entire blog (Mrs. T's Christmas Kitchen) dedicated to all things Christmas.

Angela had purchased something from my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic, and we corresponded a bit about vintage Christmas recipes, etc.  

 I sent her an extra vintage cookbook of Christmas recipes, just like the one my mother had used when I was growing up.  Isn't it nifty?

 Angela had told me she was writing a vintage Christmas cookbook,  and was interested in vintage recipes and graphics to use.  She had also told me she would mail me a copy of the finished book, but I had forgotten all about that until I received her package.  So much fun!  I have barely had time to do more than page through this delightful book,  but I look forward to reading it soon.

You can find Angela's book here on Amazon, should you be interested in obtaining one of these fun cookbooks for yourself.  

Thank you, Angela!

"Christmas at Grandma's" -- a book review

Every now and then I like to post a book review.  I've done this mostly on my Christmas blog, and mostly for cookbooks.  I thought it would be fun today to review Christmas at Grandma's, a Gooseberry Patch cookbook published in 2015.

This is a book we got for free because my hubby has a recipe in it.  (I do too, but he is the one who "earned" the book with his recipe for Grampa's Sunday Waffles.  My recipe for homemade brown sugar pancake syrup was published in conjunction with it.)

Like all of the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, this is filled with great recipes -- over 200 of them in this book.  There are a few memories sprinkled in here as well.

The first section is titled "Waking Up at Grandma's", and it contains loads of excellent breakfast recipes.  This is the section where our recipes are located.  Some of the others sound fantastic too -- Egg & Cheese Holiday Pie (recipe makes two); Farmers' Breakfast Casserole; Ranchero Breakfast Casserole, and Santa's Cranberry Waffle Sauce.

Next is "Holiday Open House" which includes appetizers, snacks, and several different kinds of punch.  These recipes all sound so good and I am going to get some inspiration for kitchen gifts from some of the snack mix recipes -- like the Grandma's Cocktail Nibbles which sound almost exactly like my great-aunt Bessie's Chex mix -- simply called "Bessie's Mix" in our family.  Some of the appetizers sound perfect for the cookie swap -- like the Holiday Crab & Artichoke Dip and the Ham & Cheese Puffs.

Then comes "All the Trimmings" with soups, breads, salads and sides.  I have made the Italian Sausage Soup and Ruth's Creamy White Chicken Chili from this section, and both are excellent.  Christy's Taco Soup is one that I want to try.  Granny's Baked Macaroni & Cheese and Easy Baked Artichokes both sound wonderful, as do many others.

"Holiday Dinners to Remember" includes main courses, meats, fish and casseroles.  Poppy's Italian Sausage & Potatoes sounds wonderful -- an easy oven meal.  Christmas Ravioli Bake has lots of red, green and white for a seasonal look.  Martha's Green-Chiladas and Turkey Tourtiere are others I want to try.

"Save Room for Dessert" comes next -- and can't you just hear Grandma saying that?  There are cakes, pies, trifles and more.  No cookies -- those are in the next chapter.  Banana Pudding Trifle, Grandma's Creamy Cherry Dessert, and Eggnog Trifle are all recipes I want to try.

Lastly, there's a section filled with "Grandma's Christmas Cookies" -- just like a generously filled cookie jar in Grandma's kitchen!   Chocolate Gingerbread Men and Jam Tarts sound good to me.  This chapter also contains a few beverage recipes, like Poinsettia Punch and a hot mocha drink.  At the end are recipes for treats like fudge and popcorn balls.

Like all of Gooseberry Patch's cookbooks, this is liberally sprinkled with gorgeous illustrations and lovely Christmas tips for decorating, entertaining and more. 

And each chapter is headed by a beautiful illustration like the one below, made to look like a scene within a Christmas ball topped off with a ribbon and a sprig of evergreen.

I love this book and it's a wonderful addition to my Christmas cookbook collection!  Should you want one of your own, you can find Gooseberry Patch books at Gooseberry Patch, on Amazon and Thriftbooks, and often at Cracker Barrel and other country stores. 

Happy Christmas cooking and baking!

Easy comfort food for a fall evening

 Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

The other night I made an easy breakfast-for-dinner meal that others would probably enjoy.  We certainly did, so I thought I'd share it.  These are both recipes that I've made before, but hadn't ever served together in a meal.

This is a very easy oven meal.  It takes almost an hour in the oven -- around 55 minutes for the potatoes and around 40 minutes for the egg bake -- so I can't really define it as "quick", but it does go together quickly and then bakes all by itself.

The main course comes from the Gooseberry Patch book Hometown Harvest, one of my favorites.

 I also happen to have a recipe in this book  (Buttercup Squash and Apple Bake), so I acquired this cookbook for free.

The main course was Spinach & Egg Casserole:

SPINACH & EGG CASSEROLE
2 Tblsp. butter
9 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups baby spinach (more if you like)

Begin heating oven to 350º.  Place butter in a 9-inch square baking dish;  place in oven until butter is melted.  Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl; when butter is melted, pour the egg mixture into the pan on top of the butter.  Bake at 350º for 30 to 40 minutes, until the eggs are set.  Serves 4 to 6 depending upon what you serve with it.

 (I should add that for any egg dish like this, I usually prepare the egg mixture in a blender.  Makes it really fast, and no unmixed eggs.  That's what I did this time and just stirred the spinach in afterward.  But I think it might work nicely to blend the spinach in with the eggs, too -- seems as if it might shred it.  But I haven't tried this so can't vouch for it.)

The side dish I made was my Oven Potato Wedges.

 Image by Taken from Pixabay

 OVEN POTATO WEDGES

4 large baking potatoes, unpeeled, each cut in 8 wedges the long way
2 Tblsp. olive oil
3 Tblsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. to 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
Garlic powder to taste

Put the oil in a gallon size ziplock bag and add the potato wedges. Shake well to coat with oil. Add the remaining ingredients to the bag and shake well again to coat with the cheese and spices. Place the wedges, skin side down, in a single layer in a foil-lined shallow pan. Bake at 350º-375º for 45-55 minutes or until cooked through, brown, and beginning to blister.

This potato recipe is good with egg dishes as well as to serve instead of french fries or chips with burgers, sandwiches, etc. It’s easy but delicious and quite low in fat.

 It appeared in this cookbook: Mom Knows Best.

So I got that one for free, as well.  Some of my very favorite recipes come from Gooseberry Patch books, and I love adding to my collection of free books when they publish my own recipes.  The particular books I've featured here are filled with many great recipes and I turn to them often.

Hope you'll enjoy this yummy menu if you try it.  A fruit salad or applesauce would be good on the side!

Out of a vintage kitchen

 Over the next week or two I'm hoping to feature some fun items that I've found in my sorting and sifting at my childhood home.  I thought I'd start with a few things from the kitchen.  Some of these are available in my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic.  Some others were in the shop, but have sold.  And then there is at least one item pictured here that's not in the shop.  Enjoy the nostalgia ...

From a book called "Cake Mix Miracles"

Kitchen herbs are fun!

Any self-respecting kitchen will have recipes clipped from flour bags.

These are rice paper guest towels.  Who would ever have thought?

From a gorgeous little food coloring booklet.  These are paintings, not photos!

A blotter that came in a box of cereal.

This booklet featuring Homer Laughlin Jubilee dinnerware went to a collector.

Even a family fitness plan!

The Joys of Jello Cookbook has had many incarnations.

This glorious time of year?  Oh yes, let's eat outdoors!

Canning from the victory garden

So there you have it!  Just a few fun memories from a vintage kitchen.  Stay tuned for posts featuring the vintage sewing room, the vintage stationery drawer and more!