Family Recipes Along the Way

This is just to easy to even call it a recipe. Its more of a "how I make it" thing.  I'm sure there are amazing meatloaf recipes out there but this is the one that my family loves, requests, and craves.  Everybody thinks I do something special to it.  I don't. Its embarrassingly easy.  In a large mixing bowl (I use the bowl to my Kitchen Aid mixer) add: 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 pounds of ground meat depending on how large of a meatloaf you want.  You can use what you like or a mix of various kinds of ground meat.  I use 80/20 ground beef.   2 eggs 1 envelope of dry onion soup mix (2 envelopes if you make a bigger loaf) 1 sleeve of saltines (crushed)  I smash them while they are still in the sleeve and pour them into the bowl Ketchup ( I eyeball it but I would guess around 1/4 cup) Mix well. A Kitchen Aid mixer does a great job and saves mushing it with your hands.  Shape it into a loaf and place in a 13x9 baking dis...

1 pie crust, baked 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 t. salt 1 1/2 cups water 4 eggs, separated 1/2 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup lemon juice lemon zest 3 T. butter 1/4 t. salt Preheat oven to 325 degrees  Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, salt, and 1 1/2 cups water in a heavy saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water to make a smooth paste. Gradually whisk into boiling sugar mixture. Boil mixture until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks and lemon juice. Gradually whisk egg yolk mixture into hot sugar mixture. Return pan to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in grated lemon rind and butter or margarine. Place mixture in refrigerator and cool until just lukewarm. In a large glass or metal bowl, combine egg whites, 1.2 teaspoon lemon juice per egg white, and a tiny bit of van...

This is it!  I can't tell you how many times I've been asked for this recipe. For a long time I kept it under wraps because making and selling these was a major part of my fundraising for the Pine Ridge Mission Trips.  I simply needed to be able to sell them.  But, those trips are no longer so i am happy to share it now.  I got this recipe from a lady in Louisiana when we were living there.  3/4 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup molasses 1 egg 2 cups of flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1/2 tsp. salt Cream shortening and sugar.  Add egg and molasses and beat until well blended.  Sift together dry ingredients and mix until a stiff dough forms.  Form into walnut sized balls.  Roll each ball in sugar and place on a cookie sheet.  Flatten with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar.  Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

4 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2-4 teaspoons white sugar 1/8 teaspoon each: paprika, onion powder 1 tablespoon poppyseeds

I love these pickles.  Even now every time I eat one it takes  me back to my childhood and watching my grandma make these ... and of course eating them.  Everything is better with these pickles.    I've made them before and although time-consuming, they are amazing!  You will need an old pickling crock to make these.  One like this.  Usually they can be found at ACE Hardware stores.  This one is an old one that was given to me by my aunt. 2 gallons cucumbers (small ones are best) Mix one pint of canning salt with a gallon of water and bring to a boil. Place cucumbers t in a large pickle crock and cover with the boiling salt water.  Let stand one week in a cool place. On the 8th day: Drain and cover with boiling water. On the 9th day: Slit cucumbers lengthwise and cover with hot alum water (hot alum water - 7 level teaspoons alum to 1 gallon of water) On the 10th day: Drain and cover with boiling water. On the 11th d...

There are a lot of peanut butter fudge recipes out there but this is one that has been our family's favorite.  Mom made this every year at Christmas and we think its the best! 1 stick butter 1 can Pet milk 3 1/2 cups of sugar A small jar of peanut butter 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream Put peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and marshmallow cream in a large bowl. Combine butter, Pet milk, and sugar in a large pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour hot ingredients over the peanut butter mixture and stir well.  Pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan and store in the refrigerator.

A tradition in our home on Thanksgiving and Christmas morning.  Ingredients 2 packages Grands buttermilk biscuits 1 cup sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar (packed) Directions   Preheat oven to 350 degrees  Grease one 9 or 10 inch Bundt( pan. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters.  Add the biscuit pieces to the cinnamon/sugar mixture and shake to coat.  It works best to add a few at a time. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat.  Boil for 1 minute.  Pour over the biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees  for 35 minutes.  Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate.