OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

My sister, Nola, gave me this recipe many years ago, and it is my favorite oatmeal cookie.  The granola option is something I came up with.

Cookies with granola

Mix together:

          11/2 cups flour

          1 tsp. salt

          1 tsp. soda

Cream together:

          1 cup shortening

          1 cup brown sugar

Add and beat well: 

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Blend in sifted dry ingredients

Mix in:

3 cups oats

1 1/4 cups raisins

1 cup nuts (optional)

Shape in to single layer in gallon-size Ziploc bag.  Place on a flat pan to hold bag, and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours or freeze.*                    

Remove bag from refrigerator an then pre-heat oven to 350^o.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 350^o for about 7-10 minutes, until light brown.

OPTION: Replace the oats with granola (a kind that has oats in it.)    

*Refrigerating the dough is important for a crisper cookie. If you want soft cookies, skip this step and scoop dollops of batter onto cookie sheet. 

JUNGLE JUICE

This is my sister, Donna's recipe.

Dissolve: 1 package (6 oz.) orange jello

         in  1 cup boiling water

Add and mix until dissolved:

              2 cups cold water*

              1 can (16 oz.) orange juice concentrate

Add:       16 oz. Sprite

Yield: 1/2 gallon

 

*For cold water, place enough ice cubes or crushed ice to fill a 2-cup measuring cup, then add water to 2-cup line. 

OPTIONS:  Replace orange jello and orange juice with lime jello and limeade.

BANANA CRUSH

 From my sister, Nola.

Combine and heat in pan:

         1 cup sugar

         1 1/2 cups water

Add:   3/4 cup orange juice concentrate

         2 Tbsp. Lemon juice

         1 large banana, crushed

         1 cup pineapple juice

Freeze in ice cube trays or in thin layer in a pan.

When ready to serve, fill glasses half full with banana freeze and let soften to mush.

Add lemon-lime soda pop (Sprite, 7-up, Sierra Mist, etc.) or ginger ale to fill glasses.

PEANUT BUTTER BARS

This recipe came to me from my daughter, Heather, who got it from her friend, Keri.

Combine:

  

     1 cup butter

     1 cup brown sugar

     2 cups oats

     2 cups flour

     1/2 tsp. salt

     1/2 tsp. vanilla

     1 cup peanut butter (chunky or regular - 

           I like chunky)

     3 eggs

Spread in greased 9x13 pan (pan spray is okay.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min.

Remove from oven and spread 1 cup creamy peanut butter over top, then let cool thoroughly.

Frost and enjoy!

FROSTING

      1/2 cup butter

     3 Tbsp. milk

     3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

     1 lb. powdered sugar (more or less)

Combine on low then whip on high.  If too stiff, add a little more milk; if too soft, add a little more powdered sugar.)

NOTE:  I found this recipe to be very rich and think it would be fine to omit the layer of creamy peanut butter, if desired.

     

BEAN BAKE

Just made this today.  Forgot how yummy it is!

Yield: 6-10 servings
Mix together:

     1 can original B&M Baked Beans or Bush Boston Style Beans 
       (about 28 oz.)   

    1/2 lb. crumbled bacon (or about 9 slices precooked bacon)   

     1 green bell pepper, chopped

     1/2 cup brown sugar

     2/3 cup ketchup

     2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

     1 tsp. dry mustard (or 1 Tbsp. prepared mustard)

     1 medium onion, chopped

Pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole,9x13 pan or CROCKPOT.

Cover with foil, make a few slits in the foil and bake at 325^o for 
3 hours.

For CROCKPOT, cook covered about 3 hours, then partially uncovered for about 3 hours (see picture below.)

 

MAKE AHEAD HINTS:

1. Combine sauce ingredients (sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire and mustard.)
2. Chop onions and put in airtight container such as Glad or Ziploc containers to prevent smell in your refrigerator.
3. Chop bell peppers and put in zip bag.
4. Cook bacon, drain and store in bag.  (I like to use the pre-cooked bacon: put it on a paper towel on a plate, then another towel on top, then microwave 1/2-1 minute.)
5. Store all but the unopened beans in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to cook, dump everything into your pan or crockpot, crumbling the bacon, stir, cover and cook as directed.

NIKKI'S SMOOTH ORANGE DRINK

My daughter got this from her friend, Nikki.  It is similar in flavor to an Orange Julius. 

Combine in blender and blend on high:

      6 oz. frozen orange juice

      6 oz. cold water

      1 cup milk

      1/3-1/2 cup sugar

      1 tsp. Vanilla

      10-12 ice cubes

Options: add one banana.
             Substitute crushed strawberries for the orange juice. 
             Add more ice to make the drink thicker.
             Substitute sweetened tart cherry juice for orange juice, water and sugar. 
             For thicker drink, add more ice.

If you want to make a batch to save for later, you can blend all the ingredients except the ice cubes and store in the refrigerator.  When you are ready to serve, whisk the mix (it will separate), then place some of the mix plus the ice cubes into the blender to crush the ice, then add the rest of the mix as needed. For every cup of mix, add 4 ice cubes. If you are using bananas, put them in before adding the last of the mix.  Blend on high.



My daughter-in-law and I dried some cherries from her tree today.  The recipe said to add sugar, boil, then drain before putting the fruit onto a drying rack.  This left some delicious cherry juice.  I tried using it in place of the orange juice (12 oz. juice and don't add any additional water or sugar) and it was delicious! 

NOTE:  If your blender doesn't crush ice well, there are options. Put the ice in the blender first along with the banana, or a little orange juice, if you aren't using the banana.  Blend until the ice is crushed, then add the rest of the ingredients and proceed with the recipe.  If this still doesn't work, place the ice cubes in a heavy plastic zipper bag and smash with a hammer flat side or meat cleaver smooth side, then place in blender and proceed with directions in this paragraph.

VIP SALAD

 Years ago, my Michigan friend, Linda, went to a local restaurant with a group, and they were served a very delicious salad.  She was so impressed with it, that the next time she and her family were at the restaurant, they asked for the salad.  They were told it was only for VIP's.  Naturally, this made here feel a bit slighted.  They then told her that if she wanted to make reservations for a future time and request the salad, they would make it for her.  She did.  And she picked apart the salad, writing down every ingredient.  The salad below is what she came up with, which she says is very close to the original.  She gave a copy of the recipe to everyone who wanted it.

COMBINE:

       1 can crab meat (7 1/2 oz) OR 1 cup imitation crab torn into small strips

       1 can shrimp (4 1/2 oz.)

       2 cups cooked chicken or turkey breast, diced (chicken is preferred)

       1-2 ribs celery, diced*

       1 cup cubed cheese

       2 cups green or red grapes (seedless)

       1 large can mandarin oranges

       1 cup sliced almonds

DRESSING:

Mix together approximately:

       1 cup Miracle Whip

       Juice from mandarin oranges (slowly add until mixture runs off spoon.

Add: Sugar to taste

*Please note that a "rib" of celery is one piece and a "stalk" is the whole celery, made up of many ribs.