My sister Colleen brought some over recently for an OSU football party. Great in Bloody Mary’s or out of the jar. I LOVE THIS RECIPE – Thanks Uncle Dan!
Dan’s Canned Green Beans
½ bushel green beans
3 trays wax beans
Clean and cut one end of the bean off. Use wide mouth canning jars. In the bottom of each jar put 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp dill seed, fresh dill, 1 sliced jalapeño, 3-4 peppercorns. Stuff each jar with beans uncut end up. Cut any tops off in order to make the beans fit in the jar. Pour in the brine and immediately seal the jars as they are filled. Let set for 2 weeks.
Brine:
3 quarts water
1 quart cider vinegar
1 c canning salt
Bring to a boil.
Makes approx 16 quarts.
I have tried to duplicate my Grandmother’s recipe for Butter Cookies for years. Turns out my sister Mary had it all along. One Christmas Eve after midnight mass, my brother Terry and I sat down with a half a gallon of milk and ate an entire jar.
Cut Out Butter Cookies
1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Spry
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
1 TBLS Milk
2 ½ Cups Sifted Flour
Mix together all of the ingredients, using just enough flour to make the dough so you can handle it, then mix in the rest of the flour just until not sticky.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.
Roll out dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheets. Cook 8 Minutes at 325 Degrees
My Scandinavian heritage – Granny and my Great Aunt Grace use to make Sandbakkales all the time. I loved them piled high with Ice Cream.
Sandbakkales
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Butter
1 Egg
3 Cups Flour
2 Tsp. Vanilla
Mix all ingredients. Place into greased Sandbakkale tins (I found mine at my resale store for $2). Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Tap baked cookies out of tins.
Rosettes are an indulgence I only do once a year and really love the fact that they taste so light. They are a lot of work, but like most old fashioned recipes they are well worth the extra effort.
Grandma’s Rosettes
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup milk
½ cup flour
1 ½ tsp vanilla
Heat oil (2-3 inches) in electric fry pan to 350 degrees. Beat egg, sugar and salt in small deep bowl. Beat in remaining ingredients until smooth. Heat rosette iron by placing in hot oil about 1 min. Tap excess oil from iron on paper towels; dip iron in batter just to top edge. Fry until rosette starts to pull away from iron (may need fork to help remove) continue to fry in oil until golden brown. Remove rosette and invert on paper towel to cool.
Heat iron in hot oil and tap on paper towels before making each rosette.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Note: Do a Bread Test on the oil: Place a cube of white bread in the hot oil. If it turns golden brown after around one minute, the temperature is correct.
My younger brother Terry did not want my parents to know that he drank their rum so he filled the bottle with water and carefully put it back in the liquor cabinet. Imagine my mother’s surprise when she found out there was no rum in her rum balls that year.
Rum Balls
3 Cups Crushed Vanilla Wafers
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 tsp. Cocoa
1 Cup Pecans – finely crushed
1/3 Cup White Corn Syrup
1/3 Cup Rum
Mix. Chill in refrigerator. Roll in small balls and coat with powdered sugar and store in Refrigerator.
I have always hated Oatmeal but I LOVE my sister Krissy’s recipe for baked oatmeal. It is the consistency of bread pudding and is a real treat for a special holiday brunch.
Baked Oatmeal
2 ¼ cup quick cooking oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
¾ cup raisins or craisins
½ cup walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
3 1/3 cup skim milk
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 Spray a 8 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine oats, sugar, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. In a medium bowl, combine milk, egg whites, oil and vanilla and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into the baking dish. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until center is set and firm to the touch. Cool slightly. Serve topped with milk or yogurt and fruit if desired.
This is my all time favorite appetizer. Like a potato chip… you can’t eat just one! You can lighten it up by using low fat cream cheese and sour cream.
Pumpkin Pie Dip
1 (8oz) Package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp ground ginger
Thin ginger cookies
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Gradually add the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger; beat until smooth.
Serve with ginger cookies.
Sister Colleen loves these two recipes below. Guarantee that if she likes them, you will too.
Layered Mint Chocolate Fudge
12oz pkg semi sweet choc chips
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white confectionary deluxe baking pieces (or 4 sq white almond bark)
1 TBSP peppermint extract
1 drop green food coloring
In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chips with 1 cup sweetened condensed milk; add vanilla. Spread ½ the mixture into a wax paper lined 8 or 9 in square pan. Chill 10 min. Hold remaining chocolate mixture at room temp. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt white baking pieces with remaining sweetened condensed milk. Add peppermint extract and food coloring. Spread on chilled chocolate layer; chill 10 min or until firm. Spread reserved chocolate mixture on mint layer. Chill 2 hours. Make 1 ¾ pounds. Note: can use microwave to melt chocolate and almond bark.
Meringue Forgotten Kisses
2 egg whites
Pinch salt
Pinch cream of tarter
2/3 cup sugar
10 oz choc mint chips
Food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites until stiff. Add salt and cream of tarter. Add sugar. Fold in mint chips and food coloring. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Turn off oven and leave in oven overnight.
Happy Holidays and Bon Appetit!
