The Stilwell Family Cookbook

Second Edition

Copyright 2013

Smashwords Edition

The Images in this book were

created by and all rights owned

by John Stilwell

Other nonfiction Books:

100 Ways to Save a Dollar Without Lowering Your Lifestyle

The Independent Author's Handbook

Science fiction Books:

The Puppy of Doom and Other Stories

In the Image of Gods

Death Is…

Tank (audio book)

Table of Contents

Forward

Appetizers & Side Dishes

Bosnian Salad

French Fries (oven baked)

Gravy

Hot wings (Easy Buffalo Sauce)

Italian Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Mashed Potatoes

Reubens

Sautéed Shrimp

Tom Kha

Main Dish

Barbecue Shrimp

Chicken Cream of Broccoli

Chicken Cream of Mushroom

Quick Chicken Soup

Easy Chicken or Turkey Noodle Soup

Old Fashioned Chicken Vegetable Soup

Curry Chicken

Dirty Rice

German Pork chops

Flavored Hamburgers (four flavors)

Hawaiian Chicken (crock pot)

Jerk Chicken (crock pot)

Lasagna

Lattice Top Chicken

Liver and Onions

Louise’s Casserole

Macaroni and Cheese

Mock Lobster

Pot Roast (crock pot)

Roast Chicken

Blue Cheese Pepper Steak

Chicken Fried Rice (Low salt)

Salmon bake

Salmon Croquettes

Stuffed Green Peppers

Tuna Casserole

Vegetable Soup

Lunch

Bratwurst

Cream Cheese & Olive Sandwich

Fried Egg Sandwich

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

Liver Sausage and Pickle Sandwich

Breakfast

A quick look at fried Spam

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Crescent Sandwich

Creamed Tomatoes

Fried Herb Potatoes

Hash Browns

Joey’s Omelet

Seafood Omelet

Soft Boiled Egg

Bread

Colonial Bread

Chocolate Chip Bread

Golden Egg Bread

Desserts & Snacks

Abas

Apple Crisp

Brownies

Chocolate Chow Mien Cookies

Crapes

Flavored Ice cubes

Frosting (chocolate)

Gingerbread Men (Christmas)

Pecan Fingers (Christmas)

Pie Crust

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Seeds

Ribbon Cookies (Christmas)

Rhubarb Pie

Rice Crispie Treats

Sugar Cookies (Christmas)

Toffee Squares (Christmas)

Tree Bark

About the Author

Forward

A lot can be learned by looking at what meals a family serves at their table. With each generation, recipes are passed down to the next. The best survive while the weaker perish. Making a family meal can be a wonderful way to relive a moment in the past and remember those who came before us.

Every family tree have interesting people who lived in interesting times. The oldest Stilwell recipe (vegetable soup) in this book dates from the 1800's. While not in the direct line, Frank Stilwell was a near contemporary of grandma, mom-mom Stilwell. He was likely to have eaten this recipe or one very close to it.

Frank would have been in his forties when mom-mom was born if he hadn't been gunned down in 1882 by Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. Three days earlier Frank had bushwhacked Wyatt's brother thus becoming the cause of the famous Shootout at the O.K. Corral.

Another contemporary of mom-mom was Mary Stilwell, wife of the inventor Thomas Edison. Sadly, she died of typhoid at the young age of 29, in 1884. Mom-mom happily survived into the second half of the 20th century.

Grandma Stilwell, circa 1915

Mom and Dad met during World War II. Mom was a college student hunting for a husband. Dad was a dashing young bombardier. They met at a party and married one month later. It was a fast romance but then there was a vast war going on.

After the war dad became a college professor. He was proud of being the one who taught mom to cook. This resulted in the Stilwell recipes being handed to the next generation. As a child, I recall mom making many of dad's favorites. Two of note were liver sausage and pickle sandwiches and the ever horrifying cow heart soup. While the sandwich were pretty good, the nightmarish soup has been deleted with malice from the family legacy, not to be inflicted on the generation.

Mom became a good cook in her own right. She adjusted some of the old and added new recipes of her own. Her contribution was ensuring good yet simple to make meals. At money was often tight, one of the lesser dishes managed to lived on. Her trick to get us to eat our "War Steak", liver and onions was to serve it with bacon. Cooked in bacon grease and one of the rare occasions we were served bacon, we looked forward to the meal. This dish is a legacy of the Great Depression and World War II, something people frequently ate at the time. This was a hard time with starvation sometimes a threat.

Mom, circa 1950's

Of note is Grandpa Gillette. There is only brief advice from him in this book. Grandpa was the nephew of King Gillette of the Gillette razor fortune. Grandpa used to visit his uncle when King was just a barber. Then King invented the disposable razor and history was made. Grandpa eventually tried to found his own glove making business but with no success. However, he did sell popcorn that was so perfect that the movie theaters in south central Wisconsin would buy it from him by the car full. No joke.

With my generation, the cookbook suddenly becomes cosmopolitan. Joey was the family's trained chef. Janet became a professor and moved to Louisiana. She added to the family culture some terrific Cajon recipes. Janet's house was one of the ones were flooded when Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the New Orleans's levies. Janet was among the missing before she reappeared two weeks later in a refugee camp in Texas.

I became a world traveler adding few recipes of my own. In 2003 I printed the 1st edition of the Stilwell Family Cookbook as a present to my family. The concept was to mix pictures of everybody throughout the cookbook much like a family calendar. The difference is that you throw the out calendar when the year is over.

Janet has asked for a new copy of the cookbook ever since she lost her own when her house was flooded in Katrina. This is finally it. Being now the 21st Century, it is in electronic form with additional recipes.

If you have internet connectivity you can click on links scattered through this book and watch youtube videos that walk you through the instructions. I will likely post additional videos after the publishing of this book. To find them, go to youtube.com and search using the keywords, "Stilwell family cookbook".

Circa 1963

Appetizers & Side Dishes

Bosnian Salad

This is from my travels. It is great on a hot summer's day with rotisserie chicken!

2 Pealed cucumbers

3 Tomatoes

1 Yellow or Vidalia onion. (Your choice. Vidalia is sweeter.)

Wine vinegar

Feta cheese (optional)

The goal is even amounts of diced tomato, onion, cucumber with a little feta cheese mixed in.

1. Dice the cucumber, onion and tomatoes into similar small cubes. Add to a big bowl.

2. Add a quarter cup Feta cheese (optional).

3. Sprinkle wine vinegar all over it and mix well. I use a good quarter cup.

French Fries (Oven baked)

1 large Idaho potatoes per person

Olive oil

Black pepper. (Could instead use paprika or diced garlic)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pealing the skin is optional. Using a chef's knife or french fry cutter to slice the potatoes into fries.

3. Coat the fries with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with black pepper.

4. Spread the fries on a baking pan, one layer thick. Bake at 400 Fahrenheit for twenty minutes. Turn the fries over, halfway through.

Gravy

Sometimes it's nice to make it from scratch the way people used to do.

The drippings from the cooked meat

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Milk

1. Remove the meat and any soft clumps, skin, etc... from the roasting pan. Put just enough water in the roasting pan to cover the bottom and put the pan back into the oven for 5 - 10 minutes.

2. In a dish, slowly mix the flour in a little water until there are no lumps.

3. Skim off any excess grease from the roasting pan.

4. Slowly add the milk/flour mixture to the hot mixture in the pan while stirring.

Honorable mention to Hot Wings

Buffalo wings are a late 20th century pleasure. Great Buffalo sauce can be poured on chicken sandwiches and tenders. One of the best and easiest recipes for the sauce is merely to mix equal amounts of Texas Pete's hot sauce into melted butter.

Italian Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (Low salt)

If you are on a salt restricted diet, you'll find you can't eat anything! I was there one year.

½ cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 clove finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1. Mix together and pour on salad.

Mashed Potatoes

1 large Idaho potato per person

1/3rd stick of butter or margarine

1/4 cup Milk

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into small chunks and boil for 20 minutes. They are done when a fork can easily sink into them.

2. Drain water and remove the potatoes from pot. Place in a mixing bowl.

3. Add butter and mash with a masher or hand mixer. A mixer will ensure the texture is very smooth. Add a small amount of milk until the desired creaminess is achieved.

Note, left over mashed potatoes are great for breakfast the next morning. Shape the mashed potatoes into patties, season with black pepper or Italian seasoning and fry in a pan until crispy brown on both sides.

Reubens

A little party snack.

2 package corn beef. (chop it thin)

1 small can sauerkraut

Mayonnaise

Party rye bread

Swiss cheese

1. Mix the corn beef, sauerkraut and mayo together and spread on the rye bread.

2. Top with Swiss cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes.

Sautéed Shrimp

This is a great appetizer for your family or dinner guests. Have a glass of white wine with it to start your dinner off in style.

Click on the picture to view the video

10 jumbo shrimp

4 table spoons of butter

2 table spoon of extra virgin olive oil

Spices

1 tablespoon thyme

1 teaspoon cyan pepper (season to taste)

or

1 clove of diced garlic

or

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning

1. Remove the shell from the shrimp. Remove or leave on the tail depending on your personal preference.

2. Put the butter into a small frying pan. Melt on a medium heat.

3. Add the shrimp, and spices. Mix so the shrimp is coated.

4. Cook the shrimp one minute on a side or until it no longer looks clear. Overcooking the shrimp with result is a hard flavorless piece of meat.

5. Serve immediately.

6. The sauce is wonderful all on it's own. Add about 2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan to increase the volume of the sauce. Serve sauce is a dish. Dip pieces of French bread into it.

Tom Kha (spicy Thai chicken soup)

Thai cooking is a great experience. There are great soup mixes you can buy. If you don't have one, this recipe I came up with will get you pretty close to the real thing.

1 chicken breast - cut into cubes (½” x ½”)

1 tablespoon cooking oil

3 large mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter

13.5 Oz coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

1/8 teaspoon red pepper powder (cyan pepper)

10 ¼ Oz chicken broth

1. In a frying pan, melt the butter and brown the sliced mushrooms for 4 minutes. Set aside.

2. Cut the chicken into cubes (½” x ½”). In a frying pan, with the oil, sauté the chicken. Cook the chicken all the way, about 5 minutes on medium heat.

3. In a small pot, combine the mushrooms, chicken, coconut milk, chili power, red pepper and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add more pepper & chili power if you want it really hot!

Main Dishes

Barbecue Shrimp (Cajun)

This is a wonderful contribution from Janet that replaced mom-mom's vegetable soup as the traditional Stilwell Christmas-eve meal. It is great with unbuttered French Bread and a glass of wine! The sauce is so wonderful for dipping your bread in, you may want to double it! .

1 lb fresh shrimp per person

1/2 lb butter

1/2 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper

2 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1. Melt butter in a flat baking pan.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir frequently.

Janet, early 1960's

Chicken Cream of Broccoli

My favorite was using Campbell's Cream of Dijon. Sadly it is no longer sold.

1 lb boneless chicken breasts

1 10 3/4 oz can of Campbell’s Cream of Broccoli soup

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Pour the oil into a hot frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken breasts.

2. Pour in the soup and a half soup can of water, and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add more water as needed. If the chicken is cooked too long, it will become hard.

3. Serve the creamy sauce on the chicken. Lightly sprinkle Italian seasoning on top.

Chicken Cream of Mushroom

1 lb boneless chicken breasts

1 ea 10 3/4 oz can of Campbell’s Cream of Broccoli soup

1 tablespoon fresh, chopped parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

And if you are serious...

1 cup fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter

1. Slice the mushrooms and sauté in butter for 15 minutes.

2. Pour the oil into a hot frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken breasts.

3. Pour in the soup and a half soup can of water, and the mushrooms on top. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add more water as needed. If the chicken is cooked too long, it will become hard.

4. Serve the creamy sauce on the chicken. Lightly sprinkle the parsley on top.

Three Chicken Soups

Quick Chicken Soup

This is a must when you are feeling sick because you are very hungry, have the flu or a sore throat.

3 cups water

2 chicken bullion cubes

1 green onion (Scallion)

Tabasco sauce (optional but recommended!)

1. In a small pot add the water, crumpled bullion cubes and diced green onion.

2. Bring to a boil. Cook for one minute.

3. Serve in a coffee cup. Add a couple drops of Tabasco sauce to give it a kick. This is especially wonderful if you have a sore throat.

Easy Chicken or Turkey Noodle Soup

This is fast and a great way to reuse leftover rotisserie chicken or roasted turkey.

1 lbs of raw or leftover rotisserie, roasted chicken or turkey.

2 cups of egg noodles

2 cloves of garlic

2 chicken bullion cubes

2 carrots

1 medium onion

1 stalk of celery

Tabasco sauce (optional)

1. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken bullion cubes.

2. Cut the chicken/turkey, carrots, onion and celery into spoon sized pieces. Add to the water.

3. Finely dice the garlic and add to the pot.

4. Boil for a half hour. Add water as needed.

5. Add the noodles and boil for another twenty minutes or until the noodles are cooked.

Serve in a bowl. If you want to kick it up, add a couple drops of Tabasco sauce.

Old Fashioned Chicken Vegetable Soup

Here is some authentic old fashioned flavor. Canned soup is nothing like this delight. It will take all afternoon. So, have some company and some wine!

1 "fryer" chicken

16 oz can stewed tomatoes

2 chicken bullion cubes

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 medium onion

5 cloves (not bulbs) of garlic

5 carrots

5 celery sticks

Water

Tabasco sauce (optional)

1. Fill a large pot with water and boil the fryer (remove the bag of giblets first) for 1 hour. It is done when the meat fall off the bone.

2. Meanwhile, cut the carrots and celery into spoon sized pieces. Put aside.

3. Dice very fine the onion and garlic cloves. Set aside.

2. When the chicken is done, remove it from the pot. Keep the broth.

3. Remove the chicken from then bones and dice into spoon sized pieces.

4. Add the chicken, stewed tomatoes, chicken bullion, black pepper, onion, cloves, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook on medium for 1 to 2 hours. Add water as needed.

Serve it in a bowl. Add a couple drops of Tabasco sauce to give it a kick.

Curry Chicken

Shame we didn’t grow up with this. Mom and dad oddly didn't bring this back from their trip to India. It had to wait until I grew up and I made the journey myself.

1 lb cubed chicken breast

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon finely diced yellow onion

1 clove finely chopped garlic

1/8 teaspoon ginger powder

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon finely chopped cilantro

1 cup water

1. Brown the cubed chicken in oil on medium for approx 17 minutes.

2. Add the onion and garlic and cook for two minutes.

3. Add the yogurt & cook for 2 minutes more.

3. Add the curry, ginger, cilantro & water. Cook for 15 minutes. Stir frequently.

4. Remove the chicken and boil off most of the water from the sauce.

Good served with rice.

Dirty Rice (Cajon)

Good with biscuits.

Click on the picture to view the video.

1 lb spicy sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)

3 green onions (scallions)

1 cup rice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup water (likely will need to add more during cooking)

1 chicken bouillon cube

1. Pan fry the sausage until mostly cooked. Then drain as much grease as possible. If there is no grease to drain then the dish is going to turn out bland. You are going to sprinkle something like garlic salt on the dish when you serve it.

2. Add diced onions and all the rest and cook on medium for a half hour. Stir several once in a while and add water as needed. In general, once the rice is cooked, the meal is done. The water should be all but cooked off before serving.

German Pork Chops

You can't live in Wisconsin without picking up a little German. This is good with mashed potatoes & gravy.

1 lb pork chops

1 tablespoon oil

15 oz can of sauerkraut (drained)

1. Pour the oil in a frying pan. Heat the pan to high. Once it is very hot, brown both sides of the pork chops. Don't cook it all the way through. Over cooked pork is very tough.

2. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the drained sauerkraut and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the mixture over once in a while to ensure it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Flavored Hamburgers (four flavors)

The flavor of a basic hamburger is very hot or miss. You can guarantee a memorable burger if you mix in some spices before you cook them.

1. Powdered onion soup mix is the most common thing to mix into hamburger meat to make it an impressive burger. It is basically beef bouillon and dried onions. Cook the patties in you favorite fashion.

2. If you want to make the hamburger taste like lamb, mix into one pound of ground beef a heaping handful of diced fresh mint leaves. Cook the patties in you favorite fashion. (Click here to see the video)

3. If you want the burger to taste more like pot roast, , mix into one pound of ground beef a tablespoon each of beef bouillon, rosemary, sage and thyme. Cook the patties in you favorite fashion.

4. For a great blue cheese burger, you'll need equal parts blue cheese and butter. Mix the butter and blue cheese with a blender and form in disks the size of a quarter. Encase one disk inside each hamburger patty. Cook the patties in you favorite fashion.

Hawaiian Chicken (crock pot)

3 lbs boneless chicken breasts

16 oz pineapple slices (drained)

15 oz mandarin oranges (drained)

8 oz maraschino cherries (drained)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1.5 oz stir fry seasoning

1. Cut the chicken into strips and add all together in a crock pot.

2. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Jerk Chicken (crock pot)

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1 small -medium yellow onion

1/4 cup catsup

1.5 lb boneless chicken breast

3 tablespoon McCormick Caribbean spice

1/2 cup water

1 chicken bouillon cube

1. Cut the chicken, peppers and onions into strips.

2. Pour everything into crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.

Lasagna

1 lb Italian sausage

1 lb mozzarella cheese

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

15 oz can tomatoes

2 ea oz cans of tomato paste

10 oz lasagna noodles

3 cups cottage cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 tablespoon parsley

2 beaten eggs

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon salt

1. Dice the sausage into very small pieces.

2. Brown the sausage. Drain the grease.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients (not the mozzarella) and mix together.

4. Boil the noodles for 10 - 12 minutes, until soft.

5. Cut the mozzarella cheese into thin slices.

6. Place half the noodles in a 9”x13”x2” baking dish.

7. Spread half the cottage cheese on the noodles. Add half the mozzarella then half the meat sauce. Repeat this layer. And cover with noodles.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

9. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. If refrigerated, bake an extra ten minutes.

Lattice Top Chicken

Click on the picture to view the video

1 lb cubed chicken breast

1 lb mixed veggies (i.e. broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts)

10 oz can cream of potato soup

1/2 cup shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese (2/3rd inside, 1/3rd on top)

2.8 oz Durkey fried onions (3/4th inside, 1/4 on top)

4 pieces crescent dough (2 inside, 2 on top)

1. Half Pan fry and cube (cut into 1” cubes) the boneless chicken breast.

2. Mix the chicken, soup, frozen veggies, 3/4th of the cheese, 2/3rd Durkey onions together in baking dish.

3. Cut 2 pieces of dough into strips and put into the mixture as layers.

4. Bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

5. Cut the remaining dough into strips and put on top in lattice pattern on top. Cover with remaining onions. Cook 14 more minutes.

Liver and Onions (War Steak)

I common meal across the country during the 1930's and 40's. The Great Depression was also when hotdogs became a common meal. But that's another story.

1 lb beef or calf liver

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3rd lb bacon

1 medium yellow onion

Parsley

Salt and black pepper

1. Cook the bacon in a frying pan. Do not throw the grease away!

2. Salt and pepper the liver and dip it in flour.

3. In the frying pan, brown both sides of the liver in the bacon grease.

4. Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle a little parsley over the meat.

5. Slice the onion into rings and spread over the meat.

6. Put a lid on the pan and cook on medium low for ten minutes.

Good with mashed potatoes.

Louise’s Casserole

This is a zesty dish.

Click on the picture to see the video.

1/2 lb hamburger

1 medium yellow onion

15 oz can tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon parsley

3/4 lb American cheese

8 oz egg noodles

Parmesan cheese

1. In a large frying pan, brown the hamburger and diced onions. Drain the grease.

2. Add the rest (not the parmesan) and simmer on medium for 30 minutes. Turn the mixture over once in a while to ensure it doesn't burn on the bottom. Add extra water is it looks like it is drying out.

3. When served, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Macaroni and Cheese (4 servings)

This goes back several generations. It's nothing like the box mixes we serve our kids today. I like it even better as a left over. Lactose intolerant? Use Kraft or Cracker Barrel cheddar. They are lactose free!

1 pot of water

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups macaroni

1/2 lb mild cheddar cheese

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 cup crushed potato chips (if desired)

1. Boil the macaroni & oil in a pot of water for 20 minutes.

2. Cut the cheese into 1/2” sized cubes and set aside.

3. Drain the macaroni well.

4. Mix the macaroni together with the cheese and pepper and put into a 2 quart casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mock Lobster (serves 2)

1 lb haddock`

2 stick butter

2 cloves of garlic

1. Boil the haddock in water until cooked. There will be a lot of white foam on top of the water when it is done.

2. In the microwave, melt one stick of butter with one diced clove of butter/margarine in a bowl. Do the same in the second bowl.

Serve with fish on a dinner plate with a small bowl of garlic butter next to it. Eat with fork, dipping the fish into the garlic butter.

Pot Roast (crock pot)

Good with garlic bread.

3 lbs beef roast

1 medium yellow onion

1 cube beef bouillon

3 large carrots (peeled, cut into 1” pieces)

3 potatoes (peeled, cut into quarters)

2 tablespoon rosemary

2 tablespoon thyme

2 tablespoon parsley

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup water

1. Important! Cut the roast into a couple of large chunks and sear the sides in a very hot frying pan.

2. Cut up the potatoes & carrots. Mix everything together with the meat in a crock pot.

3. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Roast Chicken

Serve with steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy. Although Chickens go back to the 7th Century BC. Although eggs were a staple, roast chicken it wasn't a common meal until the 20th Century. In the 1800's it would have been served only on special occasions.

1 broiler or fryer chicken

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon butter

Salt

Black pepper

1. Wash one whole broiler or fryer with water. If there is a bag of giblets inside, remove it.

2. Salt & pepper the inside and outside.

3. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning on top.

4. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour. Paint butter all over the skin after 15 minutes. Note, the chicken is done when the legs move freely.

Honorable mention to great Steaks

Great Steaks start with a good piece of meat such as a New York strip, T-bone or tenderloin. A simple but wonderful way to jazz it up is to rub a tablespoon of rosemary all over both sides of each steak before grilling or broiling.

Blue Cheese Pepper Steak

I picked this one up in South America. I also ran across this in Bosnia.

2 beef steaks - I prefer New York strips. Tenderloin would also work.

8 oz blue cheese

1/2 stick butter

½ cup plain yogurt

4 tablespoons crushed black peppers

1. If the pepper kernels are whole, you can crush them with a crab mallet. Spread the kernels on a cutting board and press down on the one at a time with the crab mallet until they shatter.

2. Spread one tablespoon of crushed pepper on a plate and press one steak into it. Pour a second tablespoon onto the plate and press the other side of the steak into it. Repeat for each steak.

3. In a bowl, combine the blue cheese, butter and yogurt. Mix until smooth.

4. Cover a broiling pan with aluminum foil. (We don’t want the juices to escape) Broil the steaks six minutes on one side and four minutes on the second side. This time can be less if your meat is thin or you want rare steaks. (Broil. Do not grill!)

5. Remove the broiling pan and liberally spoon the blue cheese sauce on top of the steaks. Broil for two more minutes. The sauce will start to turn brown.

Great served with mashed potatoes and a tossed salad. The sauce is also great on the mashed potatoes!

Chicken Fried Rice (Low salt)

1 cup rice

1 chicken breast - cut into cubes (½” x ½”)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 cups sliced mushrooms

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon thyme

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 cup sherry

1. If you don't have a rice cooker, cook the rice in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes.

2. In a frying pan with the oil & pepper, sauté the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.

3. Add the mushrooms, thyme and sage to the chicken and cook for two minutes more. Set aside until the rice is done.

3. Drain the water from the rice. And add the rice, sherry and the Worcestershire sauce to the chicken. Mix occasionally until the rice begins to brown.

4. Want to kick it up? Fry two eggs until the yoke is hard. Chop it up and mix it into the rice.

Great served with a bowl of Tom Kha!

Salmon bake

2 ea 14 3/4 oz cans red (best) or pink salmon

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon margarine or butter.

1 clove diced garlic

1 tablespoon parsley

1. Drain salmon (save the juice for salmon croquettes) and remove bones & skin. Break the salmon onto bite sized pieces.

2. Mix salmon with diced onion, diced garlic and put into a small baking dish.

3. Sprinkle on top, the parsley, the lemon juice and lay down thin layers of butter.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

Good served with crescent rolls and steamed asparagus!

Salmon Croquettes

What is a salmon croquette? It's kind-a like a crab cake. This recipe is very savory. I used to ask for this each year as my birthday meal when I was growing up.

2 ea 14 oz cans red salmon (save the juice!)

3 tablespoon butter

1/3rd cut flour

1 cup salmon juice (from canned salmon)

3 tablespoon finely chopped yellow onion

3 tablespoon chopped parsley

3 eggs (2 for rolling in)

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

6 drops Tabasco sauce

1 tsp ea, black pepper & paprika

Saltines

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1. Drain salmon (save juice) and remove bones & skin. Shred the salmon into tiny pieces.

2. Next make cream sauce. On the stove melt butter in the salmon juice (drained from the cans) then mix in flour. If there is not enough salmon liquid then add milk to make up the difference.

3. When sauce is smooth, add chopped onion and parsley and bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and beat in one egg. Cook 1 minute on medium-low.

5. Take the pot off stove and add the paprika, pepper, celery salt, lemon juice, Worcestershire, tobacco sauce.

6. Lastly, add the salmon and mix well. Chill for two hours, or up to over night.

7. Shape into patties. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in crushed saltine cracker crumbs.

8. Pan fry in oil until lightly brown.

Stuffed Green Peppers

This is pretty much a whole meal in a single package.

1 lb spicy ground sausage

6 large green peppers

3 green onions (scallions)

1 cup rice

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup water (likely will need to add more during cooking)

1. Cut the green peppers in half and clean out the insides. Set aside 1/2 cup of diced green pepper. This can be taken in small amounts from each bell pepper.

2. Boil the pepper halves in water for 3 minutes. Then drain and set aside. You want them to just start to turn limp - partially cooked. Too limp and they'll fall apart when you fill them.

3. Pan fry the sausage until mostly cooked. Dice it up into small pieces. Drain as much grease as possible.

4. Add 1/2 cup diced peppers, diced scallions and all the rest and cook on medium for a half hour. It is done when the rice is fully cooked. Stir frequently and add water as needed. The water should be all but cooked off before serving.

5. With a spoon, scoop the mixture into each of the pepper halves. If you make more peppers than you want to eat right away, put the extra's in sandwich bags and freeze them to bake in the future.

6. Bake the thawed peppers 15 minutes at 350 degrees. If they are frozen then bake them for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tuna Casserole

We loves this as kids because it was dinner made out of potato chips! Hey, the novelty worked for us. As an adult, I have upped the black pepper to make it spicy.

Click on the picture to view the video.

5.5 - 9 oz regular potato chips (crushed)

10 3/4 oz can Cream of mushroom soup

12 oz chuck light tuna in oil or water (drained)

4 - 7 oz can “pieces & stems” mushrooms (drained)

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

10 3/4 oz milk (use empty soup can to measure)

1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese

1. Crush the potato chips and mix in all but the cheese together in a baking dish.

2. Cover top with the grated cheese.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Vegetable Soup

This is the soup recipe Mom-mom & Pop-pop Stilwell grew up with. It dates back well into the 1800's!

2 soup bones

1 lb stew meat

2 stalks celery

2 yellow onions

1 tablespoon parsley

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon salt

6 Oz can white corn

1/2 a head of cabbage

15 Oz can stewed tomatoes

2 large potatoes

3 carrots

1. Boil the soup bones in a large pot for 1 hour.

2. Cut the stew meat into bite sized pieces.

3. Reduce heat to medium and remove the soup bones.

4. Skim the grease off the top and add the stew meat.

5. Cut the onions, potatoes, carrots, celery into small pieces.

6. Add everything to the soup and cook for 1/2 hour.

This is great with French bread for dipping into it.

The soup is better if cooled and let sit in the fridge overnight.

Lunch

Here are some of Dad’s favorite sandwiches that we all loved.

Honorable mention goes to Bratwurst.

Serve with a glass of soda or beer and chips on the side.

Before we start, Bratwurst is as big a part of a Wisconsin summer as crabs are to Maryland. Every town has it's favorite home town recipe. The flavors and texture can change wildly. I recommend Johnsonville and Hillshire Farms brand. I see Johnsonville everywhere nowadays. They were even for sale in Costa Rica! Back in the 1960's we would freeze them and give them out a presents to our East Coast relatives.

It is traditional to boil the brauts in beer first They are plenty good if you decide to skip this step and go straight to throwing them on the grill. Cooking at a lower heat decreases the problem of grease flare ups. Be sure they are cooked all the way through. The outside casing needs to be just a little bit charred.

Serve on a hotdog bun with a little ketchup, Dijon mustard and raw onions!

Cream Cheese & Olive Sandwich

This is surprisingly refreshing on a hot summer day.

2 slices of bread

Cream Cheese

Spanish olives stuffed with pimiento

1. Spread cream cheese on a piece of bread and cover with olives that have bene cut in half.

Fried Egg Sandwich

One of Dad's favorites

2 slices of bread

1 Egg

Ketchup

1. In a frying pan, fry the egg. You want the yoke hard.

2. Lightly toast the bread if it is too flimsy.

3. Lay the egg between two pieces of bread, and covered it with ketchup

circa 1943

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

This kicks up a classic grilled cheese sandwich. We mainly made this during the fall and winter. Dad claims to have come up with it in the late 1930's when was a teenager working as a soda jerk.

2 pieces of white bread

1 slice of American or Kraft slices

4 tablespoons of butter

1 tomato (sliced)

Miracle Whip

1. Microwave the butter in a bowl for 15 seconds at a time until it is melted.

2. Use a small brush to paint the butter on both sides of both pieces of bread.

3. Place the cheese between the two pieces of bread. Set it in a frying pan on high heat until brown. Flip and brown the other side. The cheese will melt, holding the bread together.

4. Remove the sandwich. Immediately open the sandwich and place on the cheese, one large slice of tomato. Spread Miracle whip on it. Close the sandwich.

Liver Sausage and Pickle Sandwich

2 slices of bread

Liver sausage

Sweet or dill pickle slices

1. Spread the liver sausage on one of the piece of bread and cover with pickles. Cover with the other slice of bread, as is the way of sandwiches.

As kids we used to argue which was better,

sweet or dill pickles!

Breakfast

Christmas holiday circa 1990

Like most families, milk and cereal was the school day breakfast. The weekend was when there was time to cook. The sound of the old fashioned coffee percolator's bubbling gurgle was a pleasant sound to wake up to. In the 1960's and 70's, the classic weekend family breakfast was eggs and toast with perhaps the a half of grapefruit on the side. Bacon was only occasional but became common with my generation.

Nobody is happy having the same meal over and over. It needs to be mixed up once in a while. Swap out the toast with hash browns or crispy corn beef hash. A nice change from fried eggs and scrambled eggs can be an omelet or soft boiled eggs.

Bacon was an extra treat. Sometimes we had instead was thinly sliced, fried Scrapple or SPAM. SPAM was a critical food source in the World War II effort. It is still very popular today in places like Hawaii. SPAM is a real crowd pleaser when cut thin and fried to where it is just becoming crispy.

Where there is no mystery meat in Hormel brand SPAM, this can't be said about Scrapple. It is an East Coast side dish and comes as a brick. It is mainly corn meal with black pepper and a small amount of ground mystery meat. You cut it thin and fry it just like SPAM.

Creamed Tomatoes

Mom would make this in the fall when we'd harvest the tomatoes. It makes for a wonderful light breakfast.

Click on the picture to view the video.

1 tablespoon butter

3 large ripe tomatoes

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup milk

All purpose flour

Toast

1. Melt the butter in frying pan on medium high.

2. Cut the tomatoes into slices and place them in frying pan. Add pepper. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until they have turned to mush. You may need to add water while they are cooking. Add it one tablespoon at a time.

3. Put the milk in a bowl and beat in several tablespoons of flour with a whisk, until it becomes thick.

4. When the tomatoes are well cooked, mix in the milk/flour.

Serve in a bowl. Dip toast into it to eat. A little bacon on the side wouldn't hurt.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Crescent Sandwich

Heading out the door bright and early for a road trip? This is easy to eat on the go.

1 tube of crescent dough

2 eggs

Grated cheddar cheese

Bacon bits

1 tablespoon butter

1. Separate the raw crescent dough into triangles and lay it out on a tray.

2. Crack the eggs and pour into a bowl. Sprinkle some black pepper on it. Mix the egg well.

3. Cook the scrambled eggs in a frying pan in the normal way. You want it to finish as a single patty or loaf.

4. Remove the cooked egg loaf and cut it into one inch by four inch rectangles. The length needs to match the size of the dough pieces.

5. Place one rectangle on the dough triangle. Sprinkle bacon bits and cheese on top. Roll each dough piece into a crescent roll.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 minutes or until the bread starts to turn brown.

Fried Herb Potatoes

If you make this with chicken, sprinkle some garlic salt on it while it is cooking.

2 large Idaho potatoes (peeled & cubed)

1 cup cubed chicken, pork or hamburger formed into 1/2” balls.

1 medium yellow onion (cut into 1” pieces)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon sage

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon black pepper

1. Microwave the potatoes for five minutes. Then cut into small cubes.

2. Heat the oil on high. Add the potatoes and spices.

3. Fry cubed potatoes & pepper in oil on high for ten minutes.

4. Mix in the rest and cook for five more minutes or until potatoes & meat are done.

Serve this dish with a fried egg.

Hash Browns

(Click here to view the video.)

2 large Idaho potatoes (peeled & cubed)

4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon black pepper

1. Microwave the potatoes for five minutes. Then cut into small cubes.

2. Heat the oil on high. Add the potatoes and spices.

3. Fry cubed potatoes in oil on high for ten minutes. Turn the potatoes every minute.

Want t kink it up? Cook some bacon. Cook the hash browns in the potato the bacon grease instead of the olive oil. The olive oil is better for your heart but not as flavorful.

A nice variant is to instead of Rosemary and thyme, use only "Old Bay" or only Italian seasoning.

Joey’s Omelet (1 serving)

Click on the picture to view the video.

2 eggs

1 teaspoon black pepper

Grated mild cheddar cheese

1 small can “pieces & stems” Mushrooms

1 small diced onion

Oil or butter

1. In a bowl, vigorously mix the raw eggs & pepper.

3. Heat the pan to medium and coat the whole bottom with oil or butter.

3. Pour the eggs into a large frying pan, in the shape of a disk. Cook on medium heat until firm.

4. Flip the egg disk over.

5. Cover the disk with the cheese, mushrooms and onion. Fold the half the disk, so that the cheese, etc... are inside. Cook both sides until lightly brown.

Seafood Omelet (1 serving)

Want to jazz it up. Here is a nice twist to the old favorite.

2 eggs

Grated pepper jack cheddar cheese

1 cup mixed seafood (fresh or leftover)

Old Bay Seasoning

Oil or butter

1. If you buy a bag for frozen mixed seafood, be sure what you plan to use it thawed out. You can make your own out of shrimp, scallops and/or squid. If the seafood is raw, in a frying pan with a little butter or oil, sauté a mixture of seafood. This will take maybe one minute. Don't over cook. Set the cooked seafood aside in a dish. Note, the seafood must be in spoon sized pieces or smaller

2. In a bowl, vigorously mix the raw eggs.

3. Heat the pan to medium and coat the whole bottom with oil or butter.

2. Pour the eggs into a large frying pan, in the shape of a disk. Sprinkle the Old Bay seasoning over the egg. Cook on medium heat until firm.

3. Flip the disk over.

4. Cover the disk with the cheese and mushroom disk. Fold the half the disk, so that the cheese, etc... are inside. Cook both sides until lightly brown.

Soft Boiled Egg (serves 1)

We had an Oster egg cooker that steamed the eggs. The traditional way is a to boil it in water.

2 eggs

1 table spoon butter

Black pepper

Salt

Sliced bread

A rubber oven cleaning glove is recommended.

1. Toast several pieces of bread.

2. In a serving bowl, put one tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with black pepper.

3. Heat a small pot of water to boil. Add to it the eggs, still in the shell.

4. Remove the eggs after one minute if you want the white not completely cooked. After two minutes if you want only the yoke raw.

5. The eggs will be hot. Wearing a rubber glove on one hand helps a lot. Holding the egg over the serving bowl or the sink, hit the side of the egg shell with a butter knife to crack it. Carefully open the egg. With a spoon scoop out the egg and put it into the small bowl that contains the butter. Repeat with the second egg.

6. Using the spoon, chop up the egg, mixing it with butter and pepper.

Salt to taste. To eat, dip pieces of toast into the egg.

Homemade bread

In the 1990's I bought a bread maker. I miss DAK industries. They may be gone but I still have my Turbo Baker II. Here are a couple of my favorite bread recipes. They are presented as if you have bread maker. You can use the below for any bread maker or bake the old fashioned was in bread pans.

Colonial Bread

Want a taste from the early days of the country? Try this recipe. It'll make an interesting side to a meal such as Soup. It is also good as a sandwich bread.

3.5 cups of white bread flour. (Not all purpose flour)

1/3 cup corn meal

1 package of yeast

1.5 cups of boiling water

1/3 cup molasses

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon salt

1. In a bowl, mix the corn meal into the boiling water. Stir until it is smooth. Let cool for 30 minutes.

2. Stir in the molasses, salt and butter.

3. Add the yeast and flour. Lastly, add the cornmeal mixture.

4. If using a bread maker, select White bread and press start. The bread maker will kneed the dough, let it rise and bake it.

Chocolate Chip Bread

This is a great dessert bread. It will look like bread but taste like a sweet roll.

3 cups of white bread flour. (Not all purpose flour)

4 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons white sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

1 package of yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter

1 egg (room temperature)

1 cup milk (Luke warm)

1/4 cup water

1. Pour everything into the bread maker except the chocolate chips

2. On the bread maker select white bread and press start.

3. When the DAK Turbo bread maker machine beeps five times, five minutes before the end of the second bread kneading cycle, add the chocolate chips.

4. The bread maker will automatically kneed the dough, let it rise and bake it.

Golden Egg Bread

This is a great dessert bread. It will look like bread but taste more like a sweet roll.

2.5 cups of white bread flour. (Not all purpose flour)

5 tablespoons white sugar

1 package of yeast

5 tablespoons corn oil

2 eggs (room temperature)

1.5 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water (Luke warm water)

1. Pour everything into the bread maker except the chocolate chips

2. On the bread maker select white bread and press start.

3. When the DAK Turbo bread maker machine beeps five times, five minutes before the end of the second bread kneading cycle, add the chocolate chips.

4. The bread maker will automatically kneed the dough, let it rise and bake it.

Desserts & Snacks

Have stale popcorn, crackers or chips? Spread them on a cookie sheet and put into an oven heated to 200 degrees for 10 minutes. It'll taste as good as new. - Grandpa Gillette

Circa 1915

When baking desserts, if the pan is shiny then bake at the recipe’s temp. If the pan is not or is glass or Teflon then bake 25 degrees lower.

Always measure level. Do not pack down the flour. Do pack well brown sugar. Sift if the recipe calls for it. - Mom

Abas

This is a great Peruvian beer snack spelled habas . I ran across abas on one of my travels. It's is an addictive snack akin to popcorn. It starts out as interesting. Later you discover you've eaten the whole bowl!

1/2 to 1 lb of large lima beans (Raw, not canned beans!)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt

1. Soak the lima beans in water over night.

2. Pull the skins off and separate the beans into halves.

3. In a small frying pan heat the oil on medium high. Do not put the beans in until the oil is hot.

4. Fry the beans for 2 - 3 minutes then let cool on paper towels. Careful not to let them burn.

5. Salt to taste.

Apple Crisp

Mom would make this in the fall when we'd harvest the apples.

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

5 tart Macintosh apples (peeled & sliced)

1/2 cup cold margarine (cut into pea sized pieces)

Apple Concentrate (if the apples are too tart)

Lemon juice (if the apples are too tart)

1. Spread sliced apples in a 9” x 10” baking dish. If the apples aren’t tart, add two tablespoons of apple concentrate and one tablespoon lemon juice. If the apples are dry, add two tablespoons of water.

2. Lightly mix the margarine in the flour & sugar. It'll form into little balls.

3. Cover the apples with the margarine/flour/sugar balls. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are soft.

Brownies

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cup flour

1 cup chopped walnuts (if desired)

1. Mix everything together and pour into a 9”x13”x2” pan.

2. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Chocolate Chow Mien Cookies

We called this Christmas cookie, spider cookies. Go figure.

Click the picture to view the video.

9 oz Chow Mien Noodles

16 oz semi sweet baking chocolate

1. Melt the chocolate in a large bowl.

2. Pour the noodles into the bowl and with hand, mix until the noodles are totally covered with chocolate.

3. Spread out wax paper on a counter top. Put the noodles into small piles (say, 2 tablespoons each) on the wax paper and let cool.

Crapes (sweet filled pancakes)

1 egg

½ cup sugar

pancake mix

1 ½ cup milk (enough to make the mixture runny)

Fruit reserve, chocolate fudge, Nutella or any other sweet filling.

1. In a large bowl combine the sugar, egg, milk & pancake mix. Mix with a blender.

2. Grease a small frying pan with butter. Preheat pan then lower to between medium and medium low heat.

3. Pour ¼ cup of the pancake mix in the pan and swirl pan to spread the mixture out very thin. The thinner the better.

4. Flip when large thin crape when it begins to brown. It is done when both sides are brown.

5. Remove crape from the pan and stack on a plate. Make as many crapes as desired.

6. One crape at a time, spoon filling on it and roll it to make a cylinder.

Flavored Ice cubes

Mom was on a budget when we were little. This was a fun activity for us kids. It made us feel like were really cooking. We used to wrap the ice cube in a napkin when we would eat them. Now a days, there are ice pop molds with handles that make it easier to old this treat.

Kool-aide drink mix

1 cup sugar

1. Mix the Kool-aide (any flavor) with sugar and ½ the recommended amount of water.

2. Pour into an ice tray and freeze over night.

Frosting (chocolate)

Ever wanted to make your own cake frosting? This how mom used to do it.

1/3 cup butter

1 each 16 oz box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 dashes of salt (flick of the wrist while holding a salt shaker)

1/2 cup cocoa

1/3 cup hot coffee or milk

1. Slowly add 1/3 cup of hot coffee or milk to mixture. Beat until ready to spread.

Gingerbread Men (Christmas cookie)

1/2 cup. Crisco

1/2 cup. sugar

1/2 cup. Molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cup. flour

1/2 teaspoon Ginger

1 teaspoon soda dissolved in 1/4 boiling water

1. Cream the Crisco & sugar together.

2. Add the remaining ingredients (the flour last) and chill over night to firm it up.

3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes and bake on a greased cookie sheets at 375 degrees for 7 - 9 minutes (until dough flattens & gets lightly brown on edges).

4. Cool for one minute before removing from pan.

TIP. Cinnamon candies were put on gingerbread men (for their hearts) before baking.

Honorable mention to Homemade Ice Cream

In this day and age, it is often hard to remember the neighbor's name. But back in the 1950's and 60's the kids still ran playing in packs up and down the street. Neighborhood parties were common. I recall the annual Fourth of July cookout. The cool Dad's would huddle together with their ice cream makers. The competed for the best flavor. Consistently, the best was old fashioned Peppermint Ice Cream.

What worked very was to take a leftover Christmas candy cane. Put it into a bag and crush it with a hammer. Add this to your favorite vanilla ice cream recipe. It the candy cane shards will melt some as the ice cream is made.

Pecan Fingers (Christmas cookie)

1 cup butter (softened)

4 tablespoon powdered sugar

2 cup chopped pecans

powdered sugar for rolling

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon cold water

1. Mix ingredients and chill until dough is firm.

2. Take a small amount and roll to the size of a finger. Put on greased a cookie sheet.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until light brown.

4. Roll in powdered sugar when still a little warm, covering with as much powdered sugar as they can hold.

Pie Crust

1 1/2 cup flour

5 tablespoon cold milk

1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon Crisco

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Mix only enough milk to make the dough just barely stick together (not soft

& sticky). Do not over mix. Lightly mold into two balls before rolling.

2. Roll out dough between sheets of wax paper until thin. Remove wax paper on both sides of dough carefully so not to tear the dough.

3. Flip it into greased pie pan. Add pie filling and then lay on the top crust. Press and flute edges of the pie dough.

4. Punch holes in top with a fork. Paint lightly the pie crust with a little milk to improve browning. Sprinkle a little sugar on top.

TIP: For a two crust pie, increase to 2 cup four & 1/2 cup + 1 Teaspoon Crisco and alter the milk as needed for the right consistency. Make one ball of dough a little larger than the other (larger ball for bottom crust) to ensure enough dough to cover. The crust will be a different consistency each time due to the weather & ingredients (vary the amount of milk to get just the right consistency). If the crust is too moist it will be heavy. If not enough milk is added the dough will fall apart. Roll the dough out ONLY ONCE, if re-rolled the dough is likely to be tough. - Janet

Pumpkin Pie (makes 2 pies)

3 cups pumpkin (or 1 can)

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon Ginger

1/2 pint cream

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs (beaten)

1. Combine the ingredients and pour into a crust pie.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes or until pumpkin filling appears firm in the center. A knife will come out clean with done.

Pumpkin Seeds

You eat the shell and all. It will have a natural buttery flavor. If kept dry, they are good for two years.

Click on the picture to view the video.

1 large pumpkin

1/4 cup salt

1/2 cup water

1. Remove the seeds from pumpkin. Rinse with water until clean.

2. Soak the seeds for overnight in a bowl of heavily salted water.

3. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet one layer thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the seeds over after seven minutes.

Ribbon Cookies

A Palmer Family Xmas cookie

1 cup + 2 tablespoon shortening (Crisco)

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 1/5 cup all purpose flour

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Later add:

1/2 cup chopped candied cherries

1 melted unsweetened chocolate square

2 tablespoon poppy seeds

1. Mix the first set of the ingredients together and divide the dough into 3 parts.

2. In part 1, mix in the cherries. In part 2, mix in the chocolate. In part 3, mix in the poppy seeds.

3. Layer the dough in a wax paper lined bread loaf pan. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Cut the dough loaf into slices. Bake at 350 degrees for approx 8 minutes.

Rhubarb Pie

1 1/3 - 2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon butter

4 cup cut-up rhubarb stalk (not the leaves!)

1/2 cup flour

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Clean (wash & remove outer surface of rhubarb) & cut into small pieces.

3. Mix the rhubarb, butter, & sugar. Pour into a dough filled pasty dish. Dot the top with melted butter using brush.

4. Cover the pie with dough and bake for 40 - 50 minutes. The Pie is done when fruit begins to bubble out of crust holes and dough gets light brown.

Rice Crispy Treats

5 cups rice crispies

3 cups small marshmallows

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1. Melt the butter in large saucepan on low heat.

2. Stir in marshmallows until melted.

3. Stir in rice crispies.

4. Press the mixture into a 13” x 9” pan. Let cool then cut into squares.

Sugar Cookies (Christmas)

1 cup. butter (softened)

2 cup. Sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon cream of tarter

1 teaspoon soda

4 cup. flour

1. Cream well together the butter & sugar. Then beat the raw eggs into it.

2. Mix in the vanilla, nutmeg, cream of tarter, baking soda and flour.

3. Refrigerate mix until hard.

4. Roll the dough out thin on lightly floured surface & cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Sprinkle with colored sugar. Place on greased cookie sheets.

5. Bake at 425 degrees until lightly brown on edges.

TIPs:

Dip the spatula into flour as needed to keep cookies from sticking.

Roll the dough only when hard.

Keep the unused dough in the refrigerator during the cookie cutting process helps keep the dough hard for cutting.

Toffee Squares (Christmas cookie)

1 cup butter (softened)

2 cup flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg yolk

2 large milk chocolate Hershey bars

1. Cream the butter and sugar. Beat it until light and fluffy.

3. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla.

2. Spread it very thin on 11 x 26 inch greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with edges).

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes (until lightly brown).

4. Melt chocolate bars in microwave or in double boiler.

5. When the cookie crust is still hot from the oven, spread melted chocolate over it then sprinkle with nuts.

6. Let cool then cut into small squares.

Tree Bark

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 package saltines (crushed)

8 oz bag of chocolate chips

Small bag of chopped black walnuts

1. Coat the baking sheet with butter or spray with Pam. Cover the baking sheet with crushed saltines.

2. In a microwave, melt 2 sticks of butter and brown sugar. Then pour over the crackers.

3. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

4. Cover lightly with chocolate chips and nuts and cook for two more minutes.

5. Let cool then break into pieces.

About the Author

John Stilwell was born and raised in Wisconsin. In the 1980's he was regularly published in popular computer magazines. He was a contributing author to three Commodore Computer books. He earned two degrees in Electrical Engineering. Today, he is an engineer by day and an author and artist by night.

He has traveled extensively overseas with his hobbies being various and regularly changing. They have ranged from studying massage to bungee jumping. In the late 1990's he learned to draw and produced a respectable quantity, selling an occasional piece.

In 2008's he and his daughter enjoyed doing science projects together, documenting them as YouTube videos. Some include a leaf blower powered one-man hovercraft, a solar powered hot air balloon cam and various magnetic levitation curiosities.

By 2010 he was back into serious writing, focusing on books and articles.