Recipe Exchange Newsletter
Easy recipes using everyday ingredients.

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Betty Ann in W. TN, I have a question about "Mama's Taco Casserole" in the Feb 23, newsletter. I made the casserole tonight. It has a very good flavor, but it has a lot of liquid, and almost seems soggy. Should I have drained the tomatoes, maybe? The recipe didn't say. It does say however to use the black olive liquid.
Thank You, Gloria, Indiana

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Dear Nancy
Still un-able to get all the instructions in the recipe, when it is printed off. In Feb. 9, Feb 10. Feb 12. and Feb 13 . When I print the recipes off, part of the instructions are left out.
Thank you
Charlotte in Tennessee

Comment
I am sorry you have having problems with printing off the recipes. Did you highlight only the recipe(s) you wanted to print the choose the option "selection" rather than "all?" Most days I print off the newsletter on my printer to make sure that the column is not too wide. Sometimes I just don't have time to print it off but eyeball it to see if the column is wider than it should be. I did go back to the days that you mentioned and made the column less wide. Hopefully it will work for you.
Nancy Rogers

Thanks to all who answered on keeping sweet onions longer.
bill Alb. NM

Re: Save Old Iron Skillet

No need for a new one at all....
Go after it with sandpaper of whatever it needs, to get all of the burned stuff off of it, and back to smooth again.

Then re-season it as you normally would.
I was taught to put in about 3/8 inch of salt and lard, and bake it in the oven for a few hours. And repeat when the modern housekeeper uses a detergent on it...........
If it has a wooden handle remove that first.

In the process of casting and manufacturing an iron skillet the temperatures are a lot hotter than you will get on a stove top. Also the tools are a lot harder and sharper than sandpaper is.
bill Alb. NM (a Machinist)

This is for Barb/De. (March 11). She asked for ideas for baby shower favors. Here's a site with directions for "Boo-Boo Bunnies" The idea is to insert an ice cube into the finished product, and it will cure any boo boos that the little ones might have. You can give each guest one, and the washcloths can be bought in a bundle at WalMart for a reasonable cost. Good luck. Hope you like this idea. Congratulations on becoming a Grandma. You're going to love it.
Cheryl in North Olmsted, Ohio
Boo Boo Bunny -- A CraftMall-USA Project
http://www.craftmallusa.com/projects/booboobunny.htm

Hi Nancy and all. I agree with all of the others who have been saying how much this newsletter means to them, and the uh-oh Thursday letters are such a nice bonus. I am going to apologize in advance because I didn't write down the name of the person requesting the recipe for the "White Chocolate Apricot Bars" some time ago. I had copied the recipe from this newsletter, but when I went to look for it I decided that I must have misplaced my copy also. Today when I was copying recipes into folders, as I am trying to get a start on making a cook book of family favorites for the granddaughters, I found the recipe in the ones that I was copying. I apologize also for not keeping the name of the person that sent it in originally, but I certainly do thank them. It is a keeper!
Karen, Il

White Chocolate Apricot Bars
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 package white chocolate or vanilla chips
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup apricot jam (I used almost a cup of jam)

Add 1 cup of chips to the melted margarine. DO NOT STIR! Beat eggs and sugar. Add the chip mixture and vanilla to the eggs and sugar mixture. Add the dry ingredients. Spread 1/2 of the mixture into a greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Melt the jam and spread over the warm crust. Add the remaining chips to the remaining 1/2 of the batter and drop by teaspoons over the jam layer. Bake and additional 30 to 35 minutes.

PS: I have forgotten how to make the degree sign on the computer. I know it was in here several times, but at that time I wasn't working on my recipe book. Thanks in advance.

Nancy,
I want to thank everyone who sent in the appetizer spread recipes I requested. All sounds great and will be most helpful to start my dinner. I could hardly wait to read today's newsletter because I knew the recipes would be there. It is so much fun to read comments and recipes from such a caring and concerned group. I have so many recipes I have copied and used.
Thanks again, Grace

Hi Nancy and Everyone,
I'd like to say thanks to both Carolyn from LA (lower Alabama) and Jean in NC for sharing your recipes for Chocolate Pound Cake.( 3-11- 07) We appreciate your help and will be making both. Thanks to you too Nancy, This newsletter is the Greatest! God Bless You All!
Linda

To Sylvia in FL and anyone else cooking with a cast iron skillet:
Regarding your note in the March 10 newsletter, I have a ceramic top range and the instructions that came with it said to never use a pan made of cast iron to cook in on the cook top. I thought it was because the bottom of a lot of cast iron pans are rough and it would not make a complete seal on the ceramic top. I never would have thought the pan would catch on fire, but the ceramic top does get VERY hot and stays HOT for a long time so maybe that has something to do with it. I have been afraid to try it but I have wondered if others may have used it on a ceramic top with any luck. A friend of mine has the same type cook top and said her instructions did not say not to use it.
purple Grammy in TX

I was wondering if anyone saw the Rachel Ray show last week when she had Peggy Brown on. Peggy had ideas of things to do with kids on rainy days. One of the projects was knitting by using three soda straws. She said to put a piece of yarn down each straw and tape off the tops. Then you tie the bottom threads into a knot. Has anyone tried this? I watched the video over and over, but it really isn’t clear how to get started or how to finish it off. The way I was doing it, started off looking like the right way, but after it was about three inches off the bottom of the straws, it fell apart. I would love to do this with my grand daughter. Can anyone help with this? I would really appreciate it. If I knew of a book that contained this method, I would gladly purchase it.

Also, I have been reading the methods for cleaning up a burnt mess on a stainless steel pan. My remedy is to fill the pan with water and add Cascade dishwasher powder to it. Bring to a boil and boil until the pan cleans and the burnt pieces lift. Be sure to keep an eye on it so the water doesn’t evaporate. Hope this helps.
Sandy in Iowa

Hi Nancy, For the ladies looking for specific recipes, they might try NESTLES www.verybestbaking.com ..I look at it each day, and get my "brownie points." I always save the best for last, which is Nancy's Newsletter.
Margaret, Tulsa

Since I grew up in the south, bratwurst was not a part of my diet. My husband and I have expanded our gustatory horizons in the past and have tried on more than one occasion to cook bratwurst.

We have cooked it in a smoker and found it to be quite bland.

I went online to a Wisconsin "true" bratwurst site and followed their instructions to the letter. I simmered the brats in butter, beer and onions and we then grilled them and served with the onions from the simmer. Again, they were much too bland for us.

Does anyone have a tried a true recipe? We're willing to give them one more try before conceding that they are simply not to our taste.

Thanks in advance, Julia in PA (used to be GA)

Hi Nancy and Furry Friends. This message is for Rosemarie... who is looking for chocolate crumbs. I use a chocolate wafer cookie with no frosting or middle filling.. they are just flat wafer cookies and make great crumbs. I just put them in a large baggie and roll over them with a rolling pin... I dont recall the brand but Im sure most areas should have them... Barb in Ny

Hi Nancy & all, Just a short note this time. For Marge in Ohio, I have burned food several times in my stainless steel pans and what works best for me is to fill the pan with water and add a couple of tablespoons of cream of tartar, or more if a large pan. Let that boil for a little while and then let the water cool. Usually the burned area will come off pretty easily with a little scrubbing. Also, recently a pie I was baking boiled over in the oven and it was smoking quite a bit. Without stopping to think about it, I grabbed the salt and poured it on the smoking area. Then I wondered where I got that idea?? It worked to stop the smoking but I wonder if anyone else has tried that method? When I remember to do it, I put aluminum foil under the pie pan to catch the drips. I hope everyone has had a good weekend. In my area we have had a preview of Spring and it's been great!!
Doris, S. Indiana

A good way to cook a corned beef in a crockpot is to soak it in cold water for an hour, then rinse it and cut off the fat that you can. Put it in the crockpot and pour 6 oz. of thawed frozen orange juice concentrate over it. Cover and cook all day on low. The orange juice cuts the fatty taste and the meat is delicious. Throw away the sauce.

I cook the carrots, onions, potatoes and cabbage in a separate pot, and they do not absorb all of the fat and salt from the corned beef.

Also, Grace wanted an easy spread to put on crackers. This one is good, and does not have to be cooked.

Swiss Cheese Spread
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 c. grated Swiss cheese
2 T. finely chopped parsley

Mix the mayo and cheese well, using just enough mayo to make the mix spreadable. Put it in a small bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. When ready to serve, mold it into a mound with your hands, and sprinkle it with parsley. Serve with crackers.

Another good and easy spread is made with canned deviled ham.

One family size (4 and 1/2 oz.) can of Underwood Deviled Ham, softened
One 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/3 c. catsup
1 t. grated onion (optional)

Mix well and serve with crackers.
Dorothy from AZ/WA

Marge in OH concerning your stainless steel cookware if i burn something in mine i just soak it sometimes overnight with a little dawn with oxy, works for me. I've also read somewhere[ maybe here] if you fill your bakeware up with water and put a fabric softener sheet in it overnight it is supposed to do the trick. I haven't tried this but thought i might on big pans sometime.
Jenny in KY

RE: Government pork received by Mary of Newton Falls.

I wish I could find canned meat like the canned pork commodities put out by the government. I was able to make the best Chili Verde with it. I'm assuming the can you received is between 24 & 28 oz. What I would do is add a couple cans of stewed tomatoes (15-16 oz size), maybe a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic that comes in oil in a jar, a 1/4 of chopped or so of chopped onion, and a 4 oz can (or the equivalent) of chopped green chilies. I would add salt and pepper to taste and let it simmer until the flavors were well blended. You can use more garlic and/or onion, but I don't care much for garlic, so I limit how much I use. You can also thicken this using a flour/water blend after it is thoroughly cooked. It is wonderful with rice or with fried potatoes and pinto beans (if you like them). You can also use it as a filling for green chili enchiladas or burritos you plan to top with sauce and bake.

The meat, as I recall, already has some seasoning, so you don't have to do much, unless you want to, in adding more. I wish I could find commercial canned pork so that I could make more. It is so much faster this way and the meat is more tender. And, it's not too hot - just a touch of "heat" that doesn't detract from the taste. If you happen to like the green chilies enough, you can put 8 oz instead of 4. But, if you've never tried this, stay on the conservative side of quantity. Even my mother liked it and she was in her 80s when she tried it.

As for the beef, I would use that as a base to make beef stew. Just add the cut up vegetables and season to taste, thicken to your taste as well. You can also use the stew to fill a pie shell and top with another pie crust and bake for a wonderful meat pie.

Cut up some onions, turnips and carrots (can also add mushrooms, potatoes and other veggies) into the beef with broth along with some Guinness (or dark stout up to a cup, I think) with some tomato paste and flour mixed in (I'm not giving measurements because recipes have exact amounts for set quantities of beef) and either bake or stew until vegetables are cooked through. Then put in bowls and top with a puff pastry for each serving for a semi-authentic steak-and-Guinness (or beer) Irish meat pie. This is overly general, I know, but if you look at a couple of steak and Guinness recipes, you'll have an idea of how to adjust the quantities to match the amount of meat you have.

So many possibilities are possible with both meats. I hope you get lots of suggestions!! Also try some of the EFNEP sites online for recipes using commodities. Sites that focus on low income cooks who would possibly have more access to these meats often have recipes showing them how they can use them. Good luck, Mary.
Wendy in NJ

This is for Tona from Bama: Regarding the club soda in pancakes and waffles. Yep, I have made them this way and it is great. I have also made a bit of a change now. Instead of the club soda, I use beer. It gives the same lightness. ps: where is Bama?
Barb from Cle Elum, Wa.

This is for Robbie in Bowling Green. Thank you for the peanut butter fudge recipe. Can't wait to try it out. And the marbled variation sounds so yummy.
Jackie in Kansas City

For Mary in Newton Falls, OH in the March 10th letter.

My parents get cans of government meat quite often. As I do a lot of cooking for them they usually give it to me to make something for them. I use it in hot dish recipes that call for hamburger. I make the recipe the same way I would if I used hamburger but put in the canned meat instead of the hamburger. I think the cans are just under 2 pounds so I use it to replace 2 pounds of hamburger. Here is a recipe that is quick and easy I used just a few days ago using the canned beef instead of hamburger. My parents said it was really good. I am going to make the same recipe using the canned pork.

QUICK TOMATO BEEF
20 oz. Ground beef (or 1 can of government meat)
2 - 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 - 14 1/2 oz. can sliced new potatoes, drained
Onion, opt.

Brown meat and onion and then drain. Add tomatoes and pepper to skillet. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring often. Stir in potatoes, heat through.

Hope this helps.
Terese in Sioux Falls, SD

This is for Corinne in Murrieta, Ca....thanking her for the Food and wine magazine recipe for Steak and Sweet Potato Hashbrowns. That recipe sounds wonderful but I am looking for the Sweet Potato and bacon hash recipe that is on the cover. It is either the Jan or Feb issue. If you have that one I would love it if you would share the recipe. Thank you again....
Jackie in Kansas City

Not all of the messages recipes fit into today's newsletter.  More will be posted tomorrow.
Nancy

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