My Favorite Cookbook

As you can see this cookbook has seen a lot of use. I have tried to find another copy but have had no luck. It came out in 1970.

I have used so many of the recipes, but I substitute Grade B Maple syrup for the honey. It tastes so much better!

Simple Soup for the Calorie Concious.

Stracciatella Soup

• Cook 2 chicken breast tenders in water with a little bit of rock salt.

• Throw some spinach in and basically you have Stracciatella soup.

• For others not so concerned with watching their weight - you can add in capellini pasta.

• Add a little Parmesan cheese.

My granddaughter says “I want soup, I want soup!”

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is a quick recipe:

• Peel and cut potatoes

• 6 gloves of garlic (split open) in water while potatoes are boiling.
  

• Boil potatoes until tender (the smaller the size you cut the potato into will determine how long you need to boil)

• Mash potatoes with butter and half & half.

Yum!

Potatoes Au Gratin

Here is how I make Potatoes Au Gratin:

• Slice potatoes really thin, like a chip.
• Casserole dish 2” deep.
• Dice onions thin
• Vermont light sharp Cheddar cheese mixed with mild white cheddar.
• Butter (I am a serious butter-aholic. So I use 1-2 sticks of butter. I frequently make big casseroles so it depends on the amount I am making.)
  

Layer potatoes, salt, pepper, butter, onions, and cheese. Add another layer. You will get about 3 layers of potatoes.

Pour whole milk over it till casserole dish full.

Bake in oven at 300 for about 2 hrs.

Enjoy!

A Few Cheater Ingredients

I don't make my own pastas. I have no time to make pasta from scratch. Barilla is my favorite pasta to use. Gelson's Market sometimes has gourmet pastas. I love Celentano's large jumbo frozen ravioli. They are as close to home made as I have ever had. I don't like the tiny little square raviolis.

I use pasta for large parties because it is easy to make and not mega expensive and you can "dress" them up. And who doesn't like pasta. I will do my own sauces when I have time and my own meatballs.

If I am in a hurry I will make a cheater sauce. I will use Prego Mushroom Sauce and add to it. Add fresh tomatoes, extra spices, Worcestershire sauce and my meat. Prego makes a really decent sauce.

I'll even use it as a starter sauce, or add it in if I didn't make enough sauce or if my sauce is too thin, too close to serving time, I will use it for thickening. Just grab a jar of Prego and fix it!

I will reveal my own sauce soon...

4th of July BBQ

Since everyone asked me how and what I did to the meats I cooked up on the BBQ, I thought I would share with everyone.

Chicken Marinade:

• Salt
• Lowery's Seasoned Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Juice from 1 1/2 large navel oranges
• Paprika

Left the chicken to marinade over night. Yum!

Pork Marinade:

• Trader Joe's Fire Roasted red and yellow peppers
• Sliced Onions
  
• Garlic Powder
• paprika

I cut a pork tenderloin into thin pieces and then left it to marinade over night until the BBQ.

Steak Marinade:

• Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Diced Onion
  
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Paprika

Leave the meat to marinade over night.

Enjoy...