Crock Pot Pintos

Pinto Beans by Al Grasmoen

 Soak pinto beans overnight in water with 2 teaspoons soda

Wash the beans with clean water and place in crock pot with 1 cut up medium onion

1 cup chopped ham

1/3 c chili powder

2 tablespoons dry mustard, 1 tablespoon oregano

Onion salt to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon tarragon leaves

Cool slowly in crock pot or 8 hours or until fully cooked

Never fail fudge

This recipe comes from Edna Brock and Vernetta Ogden, two beloved women from my home church and two awesome bakers!  

Fudge was a favorite of grandma's, though we can't seem to find her recipe.

Place 10 large marshmallows and 1 stick butter in the top of a double boiler.  Heat over simmering water until melted.  In a separate saucepan, mix together 3/4 c evaporated milk and 2 c granulated sugar and boil for 2 minutes.  Place 1.5 c chocolate bits, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 c chopped nuts in a heatproof bowl.  Combine both cooked mixtures and pour over the chocolate mix.  Beat slightly, and pour into a buttered dish to cool. 

Shortcake

This recipe is as written.  There are no clear directions for baking. I would assume 350 or 375 for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Shortcake by Mother Spencer

2 cups flower

½ tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp shortening

¾ cup milk

Use olio and ¼ cup sugar for shortcake

Beef Brisket

Beef Brisket by Catty Bruce (pre-cook 1 day prior)

Wrap lightly in foil after sprinkling with package onion soup and 1 cut up onion

Bake 6 hours at 275

Remove and pour off juice into container.  Cool and slice.  Rewrap meat and refrigerate. Store juice.

The next day, bake 1.5 hours at 275. Heat juice and serve in bowl.

Au Gratin potatoes

Ham and au gratin potatoes have always been my favorite meal that grandma made.  Here is her potato recipe:

Cook 6 medium potatoes in boiling salted water until tender.  Drain, peel, cool, and dice.  Place potatoes in a 9x13 greased baking dish.  Melt ½ c butter add ½ c enriched flour.  Add 4 cups milk and cook over low heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat. Add 1tsp salt, and 2 cups grated cheddar cheese.  Stir until cheese melts.  Pour sauce over potatoes. Sprinkle top with 2 cups grated cheddar.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

Preserved Lemons

 A little over a month ago, I read this post about preserved lemons.  While they didn't sound delicious, they looked pretty, and with 11 or so lemon trees in the orchard, we have an abundance.  So, I decided I would try the recipe.  I made 6 jars and gave 5 away, keeping one for us.  The hardest part is the waiting. You have to wait 4 weeks for them to process.  Talk about delayed gratification!

Well, this weekend marked the 4 week mark, meaning they were ready to try.  I had handed them out to cooks I know who I thought would appreciate them, cooks who I also thought would be forgiving if they were the worst cooking experiment ever.  

I tentatively opened the jar yesterday (fearing that no heated processing would leave us with a foul mess) and was delighted to take a whiff and smell only lemons (listerine-like lemons, but lemons none the less).  I cut off a little piece and enjoyed it.  I won't go eating the whole jar full, but I enjoyed it.  

I decided we would try the lemon fettuccine (only we don't have fettuccine on hand, so we used some other random type of pasta).  I followed the recipe and left out the parsley (I'm not a fan). And it was DIVINE!! I absolutely loved it!  It helps that roasted garlic is nearly unbeatable in my book, but it was all good. The lemon was present, but not overwhelming.  And somehow the preserved lemons were less sour? bitter? something than other lemon pasta recipes we've tried.  

I am looking forward to trying the preserved lemon bruchetta and the preserved lemon couscous! 

The World's Best Hot Fudge

I am starting a recipe series. This one kicks it off. My grandma was a sucker for an ice cream Sunday.  Her all time favorite was chocolate ice cream with marshmallow topping.  But a close second was a hot fudge sundae.  She had this in a newspaper clipping.

 Combine ½ c whipping cream & 3 Tbsp butter in a heavy 1 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until butter melts and cream comes to a low boil. Add 1/3 c sugar and 1/3 c brown sugar. Stir until dissolved.  Reduce heat.  Add pinch of salt and ½ cup unsweetened sifted cocoa, preferably dutch process.  Whisk until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Serve immediately.  To store, use a glass jar, then reheat by placing jar in boiling water until fudge becomes smooth.

Recipe collection

I've been working on creating a scrapbook about my grandma to share with my family at her memorial.  For me, a big part of my memories involves her cooking.  She was a good cook and always made a good dinner when we came.  She was also indulgent and loved sweets, and I will always remember her snickerdoodles and her fudge. 

When I went through her recipe box, I found many recipes I remembered and others that simply sounded yummy.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting those recipes.  Some that I've tried and others that simply are awaiting their time in our kitchen.