#960 - Hot Sausage Sandwiches

(by Shirley McNevich)

long sandwich rolls
hot sausage OR kilelbasa OR bratwurst
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 large onion
olive oil

Wash, slice and remove seeds from all of the bell peppers--cut all peppers into slices, then cut each slice in half. Wash and slice onions, then slice into pieces the same size as the sliced peppers. Place sliced peppers and sliced onions in a large bowl--pour some olive oil over them (your choice of amount) and toss until they are mixed and coated. Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil and spray it with Pam. Dump the coated peppers in the center of the foil and fold up the sides of the foil and close the top (if you're making alot of peppers and onions, you may have to use an extra sheet of foil on the top). Place the entire pack on the grill near the flame and cook until the peppers are tender. As peppers and onions are cooking, start cooking hot sausage (or kielbasa, bratwurst) on the top shelf of your grill according to package directions. When hot sausage is well heated, place one hot sausage on each long sandwich roll and top with heaping amounts of grilled peppers and onions. You can adapt this recipe for indoors by placing the foil pack of peppers and onions in a large baking dish--bake at 350 degrees until peppers and onions are tender. Prepare hot sausage (or kielbasa, bratwurst) according to package directions.

#953 - Grilled Peppers

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
olive oil

Wash, slice and remove seeds from all of the peppers. Cut all peppers into slices, then cut each slice in half. Place sliced peppers in a large bowl--pour some olive oil over them (your choice of amount) and toss until they are mixed and coated. Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil and spray it with Pam. Dump the coated peppers in the center of the foil and fold up the sides of the foil and close the top (if you're making alot of peppers, you may have to use an extra sheet of foil on the top). Place the entire pack on the grill near the flame and cook until the peppers are tender. Use as topping for burgers, hot dogs, and steaks. NOTE: if you want to grill onions at the same time, do not put them in the same foil packet as the peppers or the onions will overwhelm the flavor of the peppers.

#855 - Italian Hamburgers and Rice

(by Shirley McNevich)

4 frozen hamburger patties
1 medium chopped onion
1 green pepper (cut into strips)
1/2 red pepper (cut into strips)
1/2 yellow pepper (cut into strips)
1 - 26oz. jar of your favorite pasta or spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
2 cups Minute white rice (uncooked)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper

Spray Pam on the inside of a skillet. Add the chopped onions to the skillet. Salt and pepper each side of the hamburger patties and cook them in the skillet with the onions over medium heat until done to your liking. Make sure you brown both sides of the patties. Add the green, red and yellow pepper strips and cook until tender. Add the spaghetti sauce and water--bring to a boil. Add the uncooked rice, place a lid on the skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until the rice is done and all ingredients are hot. Remove skillet from the burner, add the cheese to the top and put the lid back on until the cheese has melted.

#632 - Chow Chow

(by Shirley McNevich)

(besides the vegetables listed, you can add any other vegetables EXCEPT corn--corn will make it spoil)
2 medium chopped onions
3 green tomatoes (cut into bite sized pieces)
3 tomatoes that are just starting to ripen (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 chopped green peppers
1 chopped red pepper
1 head of cauliflower (OR 1 - 16oz. bag frozen cauliflower)
1 small head of cabbage (cut into bite sized pieces)
3 large cucumbers cut into bite sized pieces (DO NOT peel them)
4 chopped ribs of celery
1 - 9oz. package frozen lima beans
1 - 16oz. package fresh or frozen baby carrots
1 - 40oz. can kidney beans (drained)
1 - 40oz. can great northern beans
1 pint cider vinegar
5 cups white sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. mustard seed
5 cups water
salt

Get a 12 quart pot or canner--sit it on the counter for use later.

Bowl 1 - add chopped onions with 1/2 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 2 - add chopped green tomatoes and chopped tomatoes starting to ripen with 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 3 - add chopped green and red peppers with 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 4 - add chopped cabbage and 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 5 - add cucumbers with 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

In a saucepan, cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces--cover with water and add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil--boil for 3 minutes, then drain water off and dump cauliflower into the large pot/canner.

In the saucepan add the baby carrots--cover with water and add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil--boil for 7 minutes, then drain water off and dump baby carrots in the canner with the cauliflower.

In the saucepan add the lima beans--cover with water and add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil--boil for 10 minutes, then drain water off and dump lima beans in the canner with the cauliflower/carrots.

Chop the 4 ribs of celery and add to the cauliflower/carrots/lima beans.

Dump the drained kidney beans and drained great northern beans in with the cauliflower/carrots/lima beans/celery.

In the 5 bowls that you prepared and set aside, hold each over the sink, use your hand to catch the contents, and drain the saltwater off. Once you've done this to each of the 5 bowls, dump the contents of each of the 5 bowls into the large pot/canner. Pour the cider vinegar, white sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed in the pot on top of the other ingredients. Finally, pour 5 cups of water into the large pot/canner. Use your hand to stir up everything until mixed--do NOT use a spoon or it will pull the beans apart.

Place large pot/canner on the stove over medium heat--cook and stir until hot but not boiling. Once hot, taste the juice--if too sour add more sugar, if too sweet add more vinegar. Wash your canning jars, place them right side up on the bottom rack of your oven, set oven to 200 degrees. Place the center part of your canning lids (not the rings) in a saucepan on the stove with water--heat until boiling, then turn heat back to low. Take 1 jar out as a time and pack it with chow chow and fill within 1/4" of the top of the jar. Use a soup ladle and cover the the top of the chow chow with chow chow juice. Use a tableknife and shove it down the sides of the jar 4 times around to get the bubbles out. Use a dishrag to wipe any juice off of the top of the jar. Use a fork to get a canning lid from the boiling water--place it on top of the chow chow jar. Place the canning ring on top--tighten lid as tight as you can. Repeat until all chow chow is gone. Set finished jars on a heat proof surface. The lids will pop after a few hours. If there are any jars that have lids that have centers that didn't go down (and are still raised), use them first. Chow chow will keep for about 2 years. Makes about 16 pints.

#523 - Italian Sausage Entree

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. Italian sausage (your choice of spiciness, flavor, etc.)
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
canola oil
1 envelope Spatini spaghetti sauce mix (NOTE: Spatini has been discontinued and has now been replaced with Lawry's Original Style Spaghetti Sauce--you can see it here http://www.lawrys.com/main/product.aspx?ProductId=127 )
1 small can Hunt's tomato paste
1 large onion
3/4 cup water
oregano
garlic
salt

In a large pot add water and a pinch of salt--bring water to a boil, then boil sausage for about 30 minutes (after about 10 minutes, carefully poke holes in the sausage with a large cooking fork to make the fat boil out--pierce with a fork to check tenderness after 30 minutes). Wash and chop the onion and peppers. On a separate burner add canola oil to a skillet and sautee the chopped peppers and onions. Once they are tender add the Spatini, tomato paste, water, oregano, and garlic. Stir and taste--if you like the sauce a little sweeter add a little white sugar at a time until you get the flavor you desire. Drain sausage, cut into bite sized pieces and add the sausage pieces to the onions and peppers--stir and heat until you are ready to serve.

#370 - Mexican Casserole

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 lb. lean ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. chili powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup mayo
2 TBSP chopped onion
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup water
3 medium thinly sliced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2" baking dish. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, then drain off the excess fat--season to your taste with salt and pepper and set aside. In a small bowl mix together the cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise and onion--set aside. Stir the Bisquick and water together until a soft dough forms. With floured fingers, pat the dough into the prepared baking dish, pressing the dough 1/2" up the sides of the pan. Layer the browned ground beef, tomato slices, green pepper, red pepper, and yellow pepper over the dough layer. Spoon the sour cream and cheese mixture evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake, uncovered 25-30 minutes or until the edges of the dough are light brown. Cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

#139 - Freezer Pickles

(by Grandma Dora McNevich)

7 cups sliced cucumbers (unpeeled)
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups white sugar
1 cup chopped onions
1 chopped green pepper
1 TBSP celery seed
1 1/2 TBSP salt

Wash and slice cucumbers. Mix sugar and vinegar in large bowl, stirring until dissolved. Add cucumbers, onions, green pepper, celery seed, and salt. Stir with a spoon. Divide evenly into 3-4 pint sized plastic containers. Freeze. When ready to eat, thaw one container at a time and refrigerate.

#101 - Creamy Crab Dip

(by Terri Stewart - friend)

1 - 8oz. package Philly cream cheese
1 TBSP dry white wine or vermouth
2 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. prepared white horseradish
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 pound lump crab meat
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and wine. Blend well. Mix in onion, horseradish, salt, and pepper. Fold in crab meat. Transfer mixture to a small shallow baking dish and sprinkle with almonds. Bake 15 minutes or until almonds are golden brown and mixture is hot and bubbly.

#99 - Three Bean Salad

(by Hannah Garman - friend)

1 - 14/16oz. can kidney beans
1 - 14.5oz. can yellow wax beans
1 - 14.5oz. can green string beans
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions (optional)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Drain and throw away the juice from the cans of beans. Put the beans in a large bowl. Add carrots, onions, celery, and green pepper to the beans. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, oil, and vinegar and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool for 20 minutes. Pour this mixture over all other ingredients and mix well with a spoon by hand. Cover and refrigerate overnight.