A Groovy Cookbook

My daughter and her husband were in Lexington, Kentucky two weeks ago to attend the Breyer Horse Festival. While they were in town they stopped at a Goodwill store and picked up several cookbooks for me. One was a very colorfully illustrated General Foods Corp. book titled The Well Dressed Dessert, copyright 1969. The recipes are all rather mundane featuring Cool Whip, Jello, etc. It is the groovy illustrations that make it so fun. My scans really don't do justice to the colors. The little cupcake hippie cracks me up. Another interesting feature about the book is that it is double sided easel style. The recipes are so involved that you simply must have that book upright on the counter so you can follow all the detailed steps :). Just kidding of course. The recipe suggestion under the cupcake hippie is:

Kicky Kupkakes

"Hoist the party flag and show off your fine touch with custom-made cupcakes. Use your favorite mix baked in colorful foil baking cups."

Use 4 cups (or one 9-oz. container) of thawed Cool Whip. Thinly frost tops of 24 cupcakes with plain, flavored, or tinted whipped topping. Decorate a few cupcakes at a time, keeping remaining cupcakes chilled. Garnish with chocolate curls; grated chocolate; chopped nuts; whole, sliced , or slivered almonds; chopped candied fruit; or maraschino cherries.

Microwave Spinach Lasagna for National Lasagna Day

According to various food calendars today is National Lasagna Day. Why they would give a traditional oven baked dish a day in the middle of the summer is beyond me. Who wants to turn on their oven for an hour or so at the end of July? Not me.
I happened to have a little boxed set of cookbooks setting by my computer and one of the books was Microwave Main Courses Quick & Easy. May be there is a lasagna in there, Yes! This book was published in 1987, that might be before no boil lasagna noodles were available. I would definitely use them for this dish.

Spinach Lasagna

"This cheese-rich version of lasagna is made with spinach filling and is a good choice when you need to plan and prepare ahead. It can go directly from the refrigerator to the microwave, completely assembled."

15-1/2 ounce jar meatless spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles

1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese

10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the spaghetti sauce with the water, oregano, basil, parsley and salt. Pour one third of the mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch square microwaveable dish. Lay half the lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, half the spinach and 1 cup mozzarella cheese over the noodles. Pour half the remaining sauce over the top. Layer the remaining lasagna, ricotta, spinach and mozzarella over the sauce, in that order. Pour the remaining sauce on the top and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Cover the dish with a double layer of transparent wrap. Chill for several hours or overnight. Microwave on Medium (50 percent) for 25 to 35 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Let the dish stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

The boxed set is titled No Nonsense Cookbook Trio and was available from Avon. It contains three slim volumes by Irena Chalmers, Microwave Main Courses Quick & Easy, Muffins & Quick Breads and Cookies For Holidays & Every Day.

Veggies recipes from Fresh-from-the Garden

These attractive illustrations are from Miriam B Loo's Fresh-from-the-Garden Cookbook copyright 1980. She and her husband founded the Current Company. Years ago I would order from them occasionally and they use to have an outlet store around here. I hadn't seen or heard about them in a quite a few years so I googled them and was surprised to see that they are still in business. The book has eight pictures that are so lovely they could be framed and used to decorate a kitchen.
The cookbook features recipes for commonly grown garden fruits and vegetables.
I don't care for beets but this salad actually sounds pretty good.

Beet and Tuna Salad

1-1/2 pounds fresh beets, cooked and cubed

8 lettuce leaves

1 7-0z. can Albacore tuna, chilled and well-drained

3/4 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup real mayonnaise

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup minced green onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 eggs, hard-cooked and chopped

Chill beets. Arrange lettuce leaves on 8 salad plate. Place beets, tuna, and celery in bowl; toss. Blend mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill weed, garlic, onion, salt and pepper until smooth. Blend dressing with beet mixture. Portion salad onto lettuce leaves. Top each serving with chopped egg.

There are six green bean recipes. Here are two of them

Green Bean-Walnut Toss

1 pound fresh green beans, cut in bite-size pieces, cooked

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup sliced green onion, including some greens tops

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Springs of fresh dill and parsley for garnish.

Drain cooked beans and cool in shallow dish. In blender or food processor, place remainder of ingredients. Blend until almost smooth, but still with some pieces of walnut and onion showing. Taste for additional seasoning. Pout over beans and chill for 2 hours or more. To serve, garnish with sprigs of fresh dill or parsley. Also good served on lettuce leaves with tomato wedges. carrot curls, and black olives. Serves 6

Herbed Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans, cooked

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt.

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Drain cooked beans. Melt butter or margarine in saucepan; add onion, garlic and celery. Saute for 4 minutes. Add parsley, rosemary, basil, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Add beans and toss; cover and heat through. Toss again before serving. Serves 6 t0 8.

Formating Woes?

Lately I just can't seem to get my posts of format correctly. I use double spacing and paragraph breaks and they just don't show up when posted. When I try to edit the post I insert the spacing and when I click post it still comes out the same. This doesn't happen everytime, that is what makes it weird. I know it is hard to read a recipe that is not double spaced and I find this very frustrating. I wonder if it Blogger or me.

Peach Plum Pie- Dairy Association Cookbook

I received an award from Patty at http://atticfullofclutter.blogspot.com/. She blogs about all sorts of interesting things and always has loads of great photos so go visit her soon for a visual treat. I think I am suppose to pass this on but I am not too good at that sort of thing so if you have a retro blog consider yourself awarded :).

Because I have been coming across so many hot dog recipes I decided to start a new blog just for those recipes. It is http://hotdogsweinersandfranks.blogspot.com/. I cross posted some of the recipes here and will post new ones as I find them.

Today I came across another book I didn't realize I had; modern approach to everyday Cooking. It is an American Dairy Association book from 1966. It is a ring bound book and larger that the usual promotional books. In the back of the book there is a section titled Helpful Information on Dairy Food. Each description starts out like this: Ice Cream- what is it? Cottage Cheese- what is it etc. It seems to me that is rather unnecessary. You would have to lead an awfully sheltered life not to know what ice cream, milk and cottage cheese were. Maybe some people weren't familiar with yogurt in 1966 but the rest well...

Here is their Peach Plum Pie recipe, a good use for summer fruits.

Peach Plum Pie

1 baked pie shell, 9-inch

Filling:

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup regular all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks, beaten

2 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 drops yellow food coloring

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 cup (4-6) diced red plums

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

2 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

To prepare Filling: In a 1- 1/2-quart saucepan combine sugar, flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cook 2 additional minutes. Blend a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan. Cook 1 minute (Do not boil.) Stir in butter, vanilla and food coloring. Cool slightly. Pour into cooled pie shell. Chill. To prepare topping: In a small sauce pan combine sugar, water and plums. Cook until plums are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice; sieve and cool to room temperature. Just before serving arrange sliced peaches on top of filling. Spoon on plum mixture.

Frankfurters in Crust

This is yet another retro recipe card with wretched photography. I don't think any one would be serving the franks in crust with franks and potatoes. The menu suggestion on the back was Frankfurters in a Crust, Waldorf Salad, Creamed Spinach and Strawberry Sundaes. A photo of the bowl of salad or even the creamed spinach would have made a more appealing card. Not surprisingly, this recipe is from the Budget Dishes section.

Frankfurters in Crust

8-ounce package refrigerated quick crescent rolls


1/3 cup mustard-pickle relish


6 frankfurters


2 tablespoon evaporated milk


1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls to a rectangular shape, pressing seams together. Spread relish over pastry, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Place frankfurters in rows of three down center of pastry; bring sides of dough together over frankfurters and press to seal; press ends of dough to seal. Place seam side down, on an ungreased baking pan. Perforate top of crust with the tines of a fork; brush with evaporated milk; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 15 to 20 minutes -until golden brown. Slice crosswise to serve. Serves 3 to 4.

Recipe card: 1973 Curtin Publication, Inc.

Burger Layer "Cake"

This "cake" really seems to be two big Salisbury type steaks sandwiched together, and little different way to use hamburger.

It is from a Jan. 1976 Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce newspaper ad. The text warns against accepting any imitation sauce. Good cooks "know imitations just can't stand up to its unique, original flavor."

Burger Layer "Cake"

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons catsup

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

6 teaspoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, divided

2 pounds ground lean beef

2 tablespoons oil

1-1/2 cups sliced onions

1 cup diced green pepper

1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained

1 tomato, diced

Combine first 3 ingredients, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and 5 teaspoons Lea & Perrins. Add meat; mix lightly. Divide mixture in half. Shape each half into 8-inch circle. Place on lightly greased jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 450 degree oven 10 minutes. Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion, green pepper and mushrooms; saute 5 minutes. Add tomato, 1 teaspoon Lea & Perrins and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes longer. Sandwich half of the vegetables between meat rounds. Top with remaining vegetables. Serve in wedges. Serves 6.

A Cookbook I Don't Have- Creole Style Green Beans

While going through my box of old clipping I came across this ad. It was on the back of a page of recipes. It is a large ad from the old style ladies magazines. I thought gee I don't have that one. A little further down the box I found a Good Food Magazine from 10/1973. Flipping through it I found the ad below:

Another ad for the same cookbook. I have never seen this book. I have a small hardback Del Monte tomato product book and a Del Monte canned fruit and vegetable booklet but alas not this ring bound book. I will have to keep and eye out for it. Here is the recipe from the second ad:

Creole Style Green Beans

"A tangy tomato sauce and bacon- and green beans go Creole. This dish teams well with pan fried chicken or fish steaks."

6 slices bacon, diced

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

1 can (16-oz.) Del Monte Peeled Tomatoes

1 can (16-oz.) Del Monte Blue Lake Cut Green Beans, drained

Cook bacon until crisp; remove from skillet. Add onion and green pepper to 3 tablespoons bacon drippings; cook until tender. Blend in flour, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Add tomatoes. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add beans, Heat. Top with bacon. 6 to 8 servings.

Taco Franks And Mac Bake from Creamettes

It seems like every cookbook or recipe booklet I pick up has a recipe featuring hot dogs, frankfurters, wieners or what ever you chose to call them. It could just be selective vision at work, I have frugal recipes on my mind lately.
This recipe is from Tried & True Money Saving Meals, 1981, from Creamettes and Borden. Creamettes brand is of course the makers of macaroni, spaghetti and egg noodles. This little booklet even features a section titled Elegant & Inexpensive. Sorry I have a hard time thinking of macaroni as elegant. The Taco Franks comes from the appropriately titled Money-Saving Main Dishes section.

Taco Franks And Mac Bake

1 (7-ounce) package or 2 cups uncooked Creamettes Elbow Macaroni, cooked as package directs and drained

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup margarine or butter

2 (10-3/4 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup

1 cup water

1 (1-1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 pound frankfurters, cut into quarters

Buttered soft bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large skillet, cook onion and green pepper in margarine until tender. Stir in soup, water and taco seasoning.; blend until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil; simmer 10 minutes. In large bowl, combine cooked macaroni, tomato mixture and frankfurters, mix well. Turn into greased 2-quart baking dish, top with crumbs. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings