Fresh Fruit Orange Dip

An easy and delicious dip to serve with fresh fruit. Recipe found in Marilee's Recipe Box.

4 eggs

1/3 cup butter or oleo – room temperature

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice + 1 tablespoon

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 small pineapple, peeled and cut in fingers

2 medium apples, cored and cut in wedges

2 medium oranges, peeled and cut in slices

2 medium bananas, sliced

In the jar of an electric blender, combine the four eggs, 1/3 cup of butter, ¼ cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of orange rind and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Blend on medium for one minute. While the blender is running, add the specified amounts of orange juice and lemon juice.

Pour mixture into top of double boiler. Stir constantly over simmering water until the mixture thickens. This will take about 10 minutes.

Cover and chill. Makes approximately 8-10 servings. Serve with the cut up fruit.

This makes a beautiful and delicious light dessert or can be served as an appetizer.

My in-laws lived in Orlando for several years and had an abundance of fresh fruit. They had 2 orange trees, a grapefruit tree, and a lemon tree in the back yard. The lemons they picked from that tree were the biggest lemons I had ever seen. Much bigger than any I had ever seen in a grocery store.

My children loved to visit their grandparents and help them harvest this fruit. My oldest son would climb up on the ladder and hand the fruit down to the younger ones. They usually picked the fruit as they needed it until it became so ripe they had to gather it all. Those were times of good food and great memories.

Graphic from The Graphics Fairy.

Marilee's Pear Chess Pie

My beautiful mother-in-law loved pears; really she loved fruit of any kind I believe. There is a recipe in her handwriting in a box I have with other recipes of hers. This looks like a winner.

1 29-ounce can Bartlett pear halves
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Line a deep 9-inch pie pan with pastry. Crimp edge for a high pastry. Prick with fork and bake at 425 degrees F. for 5 minutes.

Drain pears well. Reserve 2 pear halves for garnish. Chop remaining pears.

Cream butter with sugars and salt until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in flour, vanilla, sour cream, pecans and chopped pears. Turn into the pie shell.

Slice reserved pear halves. Arrange them on top of filling and bake at 325 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven. Cool thoroughly.

Enjoy!

In the picture above my mother-in-law at a very young age of 18 at Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee with her roommate, Helen Adcock, in 1941. Helen is on the left, Marilee Davis Shubert is on the right.

Irene's or Baker's One-Bowl Brownies?

As any of you who have read my blogs in the past knows, I am a total chocoholic! I could eat chocolate all day long; but alas, I fear I would get very, very sick by the time the sun went down.

Some days I can’t find a scrap or morsel of the smooth, velvety sweet that Hershey seemed to make famous. The other day I was digging in my pantry trying to find even a sweet tart, ANYTHING that had sugar in it. I was tired of eating a bowl of Special K with Splenda every day. Now don’t get me wrong, I do like Special K, and I prefer to sweeten cereals and iced drinks with Splenda. It’s much better than the “Pink” one or the “Blue” one!

Then I remembered my Aunt Irene’s brownies that she served sometimes when she didn’t have the famous Duncan Hines Brownie Mix in the house. They were just as good to me and better yet, she said they were so easy she stirred them up in a hurry.

That’s what I needed – something in a hurry. My sweet tooth was about to get the better of me.

I found that I did have a box of Baker’s chocolate squares in my pantry and there was the recipe for Irene’s One Bowl Brownies right inside the box! Why, the One Bowl Brownies must be a Baker’s recipe – you mean Aunt Irene didn’t just come up with it all by herself? Ah, well. It’s still chocolate, right?

BAKER’S ONE BOWL Brownies

4 squares BAKER’S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

¾ cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup coarsely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending near sides of pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour and nuts; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container.

Makes 24 servings, 1 brownie each. Serve with a large glass of milk.

Cream Cheese Brownies: Prepare batter as directed, using 4 eggs; spread into prepared pan. Beat 1 pkg. (8 oz.) softened PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg and 2 Tbsp. Flour until well blended; drop by spoonfuls evenly over brownie batter. Swirl with knife several times to marbleize. Bake as directed, increasing baking time to 40 minutes.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies: Prepare batter as directed, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the butter and 2 Tbsp. of the sugar. Spread batter into prepared pan. Melt reserved butter. Add to reserved sugar along with 2/3 cup peanut butter, mix well. Spoon over batter in pan. Swirl with knife several times to marbleize. Bake as directed.

My only trouble with this delicious chocolate snack: I did not grease the foil well enough and they stuck. But, hey, I’m not above digging that chocolate out of that pan!

Thanks BAKER’s Chocolate!!

Graphic by June at Art Freebies

Mildred's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Our mother's delicious cookie starts with the following recipe. Several of the younger generation likes to make these into large chocolatey sweet and gooey treats they can share with their friends. A cousin, Brooke, has even entered cookies made from this recipe in the 4-H Club competition in her hometown.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Texas pecan pieces

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer til creamy. Beat egg into mixture. Combine flour, salt and baking soda and mix into creamed mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate pieces and pecans. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes. Remove to foil on counter top. Place next batch on cold cookie sheet. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Try your hand at this great cookie that will be the favorite of all the kids in the neighborhood!

Mildred Smith Hicks holding oldest son, Don Earl Hicks in circa 1943 photo found in scrapbook belonging to Sue Hicks Breakall

Maedelle's Chocolate Cake

Some of you have read my posts on my genealogy blogs about my mother and her twin sister. They had the most fun when they were girls, confusing boyfriends, teachers, and even their parents. They often told of the time my mother turned the water hose on their daddy and he told her to stop. She wouldn't and so he gave chase. When they ran around the house, the poor innocent twin was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. She got the discipline ~ not my mother!

Maedelle cooked more often than mother and I'm sure she had a lot of recipes in her head. She didn't have many written down on paper. But I'm sure her son will attest to the fact that she could cook. When our family prepared the family cookbook, "One Slice at a Time," she gave us several recipes to include. I want to share this one that is so easy and so good ~ the ingredients will fool you!


Chocolate Cake

1 package chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix)
1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1 cup water
3 eggs

Mix above ingredients well and pour into two round 9-inch greased and floured cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until done.

NOTE:
If you are using cake mix without pudding, reduce the mayonnaise to 1/2 cup and increase water to 1 1/2 cups. Use your favorite frosting.

Enjoy and think of those twins when you make this delicious cake.

With Gratitude Fort Wolters Wordless Wednesday

Photograph by Judith Richards Shubert 2009 (c)
Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto County, Texas

GeneaBloggers Cookbook Now in Living Color

I had the distinct pleasure of participating in the creation of a great cookbook. I submitted a recipe that my grandmother, Edna Alice Puckett Gailey, made often for our family Christmas dinners. The Geneabloggers has published this first edition with the leadership of Coleen McHugh of Orations of McOhodoy!

The book has 35 recipes submitted by 18 fellow geneabloggers from around the world, and has step-by-step instructions, with many stories about the recipes and the families who enjoyed them through the years.

GeneaBloggers has posted an announcement of the Cookbook's release and you can read about it here. Thanks to all of the great editors and our own special "techie" guru, Thomas, for putting together a great cookbook.

Get your free copy today by clicking here and downloading in PDF format (file is approximately 5MB).

Judy

Irene's Funeral Cake

I'm sure most of you have a favorite pound cake. My dear, sweet uncle Raymond loved everything his wife cooked, but this cake was one of his favorites. He liked to call it "Irene's Funeral Cake" because she always baked it when there was a death in the church family.

They both said that the moist center you get when the cake is baked is an indication of a perfectly baked pound cake.

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1 cup Crisco shortening
3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring
1/2 teaspoon orange flavoring

Directions:
Combine flour, salt, and soda and set aside. Cream sugar and Crisco shortening together; add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each. While continuing to mix, start adding flour mixture, then milk - a little of each at a time - ending with the flour mixture. Add lemon and orange flavoring. Batter will be thicker than a regular cake batter. Pour into a greased and floured tube or bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Trying my Hand at Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I remember my sister-in-law's homemade macaroni and cheese! It was delicious. She prepared it for one of our many family get-togethers in Nashville several years ago. I had never eaten any but the kind you make from a box. Now I'm not saying that the boxed version is not good ~ the kids won't eat anything BUT ~ but after tasting the "real deal" I never wanted anything but her Macaroni and Cheese.

I didn't get her recipe, but she would have given it to me. The other night when I decided to give it a try I didn't take the time to call. So mine didn't taste exactly like I remembered it, but it was good. At least the adults thought so. The kids at my table on this particular evening only picked at it.

I first went to the computer (as usual) and googled baked Macaroni and Cheese. Several versions popped up. I chose FoodNetwork.com and a recipe courtesy of Alton Brown. I altered it to fit the ingredients in my pantry and hoped for the best.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 large egg
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6 ounces colby cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste

TOPPING:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the macaroni until almost done.

While the macaroni is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and pepper and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk and onion. Simmer for ten minutes.

Quickly whisk the egg into the hot liquid. Stir in 3/4 of the cheeses. Season with salt and black pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a buttered 9 x 14 oblong glass casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt butter in a sauce pan and toss the Ritz cracker crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the cracker crumbs. Bake for 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for at least five minutes before serving.

Mr. Brown suggests you save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese! Now I've never tried that!


Graphic by June at Art Freebies

Marilee's Congealed Salad

Left to right: Ray Allen Shubert, Marilee Davis Shubert,
Martha Conner Shubert, Bonnie Boles Shubert, R. H. Shubert

This was one of my favorite dishes. My mother-in-law, Marilee Shubert, made it for family gatherings and I'm sure the other women in the family made it as well. She is in the beautiful red dress in the picture above with two of those women, her mother-in-law, Martha, and sister-in-law, Bonnie.

This congealed dessert makes a very pretty sporting its pale green color.

1 box (3 oz.) lemon flavor gelatin
1 box (3 oz.) lime flavor gelatin
1 cup hot water
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 pint cottage cheese
1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 can (No. 2) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped nuts

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. While still hot, stir in sweetened condensed milk. Cream together cottage cheese, cream cheese, and mayonnaise. When gelatin mixture begins to congeal, add cheese mixture, pineapple, and nuts. Put into mold and chill until firm. To serve, unmold and garnish as desired.

Makes 18-20 servings.