#635 - Skillet Chicken Divan

(by Shirley McNevich)

6oz. uncooked spaghetti (broken in thirds)
1/4 cup butter
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TBSP flour
2 cups cheddar cheese (cubed)
1 - 9oz. package frozen pre-cooked chicken pieces (thawed)

Break spaghetti into thirds and cook spaghetti according to box directions--drain and keep warm. In a 12" skillet melt the butter until sizzling. Add broccoli and mushrooms--stir and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables from skillet--set them aside in a bowl. In a separate bowl add the milk and flour--stir until smooth. Add the milk mixture to the empty skillet--cook and stir over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Take out 1 cup of cheese cubes and set aside--add the other cup of cheese cubes to the skillet with the milk/flour. Stir and cook until cheese is melted. Add the hot drained spaghetti, broccoli, mushrooms and thawed chicken pieces to the skillet with the melted cheese/flour/milk mixture. Cook until heated through, then stir in remaining cup of cheese cubes and continue cooking/stirring until cheese is melted and chicken is hot and cooked to your preference.

#634 - Noodle Casserole

(by Shirley McNevich)

3 cups water
1 - 8oz. package egg noodles
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 - 10.75oz. can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 - 9oz. can tuna (drained and flaked)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt

In a saucepan bring 3 cups water to a boil--add salt and noodles. Bring back to a boil while stirring--once boiling, boil for 5 minutes. Add the cup of vegetables, bring back to a boil while stirring and boil 5 more minutes. Add cheddar cheese soup, milk, pepper and tuna--stir well. Heat until hot enough to serve.

#633 - Banana Nut Muffins

(by Shirley McNevich)

3/4 cup Domino's dark brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup mashed VERY ripe bananas
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup chopped English walnuts
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a mixer add brown sugar, canola oil and egg--beat. Add buttermilk, vanilla and baking soda--beat. Add mashed bananas--beat. Add flour--beat. Add 1/2 cup chopped English walnuts--beat. In a small bowl add the cinnamon and 1/4 cup of chopped English walnuts--stir. Spoon batter into paper liners in muffin tins--fill each 2/3 full with batter then sprinkle the cinnamon/nut mixture on top of each. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly touched.

#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.

#631 - Oreo Cookie Balls

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 package Oreo cookies (regular size)
8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1 - 12oz. bag Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate bits
1/2 bar paraffin wax

Grind the Oreo cookies (a few at a time) in a blender or food processor--they should be crushed very fine. In a mixer add cream cheese--beat. Add ground Oreo cookies--beat. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape the sides with a spatula. Roll the batter into balls (about the size of a quarter). Refrigerate them until firm. In a double boiler, add water to the bottom pan and Nestle's chocolate bits and paraffin wax in the top pot--turn heat to medium and melt the chocolate and wax--stir until melted and smooth. Turn heat down to low. Use a toothpick and dip each cookie ball in chocolate until covered--placed dipped cookie balls on a tray lined with Saran Wrap--turn toothpick to remove. Use a little chocolate on the toothpick to cover the whole in each cookie ball left by the toothpick hole. Keep refrigerated.

#630 - Drop Sand Tart Cookies

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup melted butter (no substitutes)
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

In a mixer add white sugar and melted butter--beat. Add eggs--beat. Add baking soda--beat. Add flour slowly--beat. Let batter stand in the bowl for 10 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and stir with a wooden spoon. Drop by 1/2 teaspoonsfuls (NO MORE--use a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to make sure) on to UNGREASED cookie sheets. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cookies stand 30 seconds, then use a metal spatula to transfer them to paper towels. They are very thin, crisp cookies.

#629 - Raspberry Lemonade Cake

(by Shirley McNevich)

1/3 cup Country Time powdered pink lemonade mix
1 cup water
1 - 18.25oz. Duncan Hines white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
Frosting: 6 TBSP milk, 3 TBSP Country Time powdered pink lemonade mix, 1 1/2 cups softened butter, 5 cups Domino's powdered sugar, 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

In a mixer add the water and the 1/3 cup lemonade mix--stir with a spoon until mixed. Turn mixer on low speed--add powdered cake mix, eggs, sour cream--turn speed up to medium and beat for 3 minutes. Grease two 9" round cake pans--pour batter evenly into the two cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Cool cakes 20 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the edges and remove them from the pans--cool them completely. Frosting: in a bowl add lemonade mix and milk--stir until dissolved--set aside. In a mixer add butter--beat until fluffy. Add powdered sugar slowly--beat. Add lemonade/milk--beat until fluffy. Place one of the cakes on a plate and frost it. Place most of the raspberries on top of the frosting (save a few to garnish the second layer). Add second cake on top, frost top and sides with remaining frosting and garnish with leftover raspberries.

#628 - No Bake Cheesecake

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick melted butter
2 TBSP white sugar
4 - 8oz. packages Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 - 12oz. bag frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries--thawed and drained)
1 - 8oz. Cool Whip (thawed)

In a bowl mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and 2 TBSP white sugar. Press this mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 greased cake pan--use a spoon to smooth it out and even it out. Refrigerate the whole cake pan while you make the batter. In a mixer add cream cheese and 1/2 cup white sugar--beat on medium until blended. In a bowl add the drained berries and crush them with a fork or a potato masher. Remove bowl from mixer and add the berries--stir with a spoon. Add two cups of Cool Whip to the batter and stir gently until mixed. Remove cake pan from refrigerator and pour the batter into the crust--smooth it out and even it out. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, add remaining 1 cup Cool Whip to the top before cutting and serving.

#627 - Spice Cake

(by Aunt Ada [Herman] Miller)

1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup Domino's dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Parkay margarine
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup raisins

Put raisins in a saucepan and cover them with water--bring to a boil, then boil for 5 minutes. Drain the raisins and set aside. In a mixer add Parkay, white sugar and brown sugar--beat. Add eggs--beat. Add salt, ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda--beat. Add buttermilk--beat. Slowly add flour--beat until smooth. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the raisins. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Frost as desired.

#626 - Pineapple Cloud Pie

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 Keebler 9" graham cracker crust
1 - 20oz. can Dole crushed pineapple (do NOT drain)
1 - 3oz. box Jell-O lemon instant pudding
1 - 8oz. Cool Whip (thawed)
1 - 11oz. can mandarin oranges (drained)

In a bowl add crushed pineapple and its juice with pudding powder--stir until well mixed. Add Cool Whip and drained oranges (reserve 8 of the orange slices for garnish)--stir. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust, arrange 8 orange slices on top. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

#625 - Hoover Cake

(by Great Grandmother Eva [Mowery] Tharp)

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup Brer Rabbit green label baking molasses
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
1 cup raisins (boil raisins in water for 5 minutes and drain them to soften)
1 cup boiling water

Place the raisins in a saucepan and cover them with water--turn heat to medium and bring to a boil. Once boiling, boil for 5 minutes, then drain them and set aside. In a mixer add white sugar and butter--beat. Add molasses--beat until light. Add cinnamon, ground cloves, baking soda--beat. Add flour--beat. Remove bowl from mixer--add raisins and boiling water--stir with a wooden spoon. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Frost as desired.

#624 - Cheap Cake

(by Great Grandmother Nora [Yordy] Herman)

1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 TBSP butter
1 cup milk
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour

In a mixer add white sugar and butter--beat. Add egg--beat. Add baking powder and vanilla--beat. Add milk--beat. Add flour slowly--beat. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes--test with a toothpick for doneness. Frost as desired.

#623 - Chocolate Dream Cookies

(by Shirley McNevich)

2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks softened butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup Domino's dark brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups (1 - 10oz. package) Nestle's swirled morsels (the chocolate/white chocolate mixed)

In a bowl add cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt--stir and set aside. In a mixer add butter, white sugar and brown sugar--beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time--beat after each. Add vanilla--beat. Slowly add flour mixture--beat. Remove bowl from mixer and add 1 cup of the swirled morsels--stir with a wooden spoon. Drop by teaspoonsful on to greased cookie sheets. Place a few of the extra swirled morsels on the top of each cookie. Bake at 325 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until cookies look puffy (centers are set). Let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing them.

#622 - Quick Quiche

(by Shirley McNevich)

12 slices of bacon (fried and crumbled)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped onions
2 cups milk
1 cup Bisquick
4 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Grease a 10" pie plate and sprinkle crumbled bacon, shredded cheese and chopped onions on the bottom. In a blender add milk, Bisquick, eggs, salt and pepper--blend for 15 seconds on high speed (if it doesn't look blended, beat longer). Pour batter on top of bacon/cheese/onions in the pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown (about 30 minutes). Test with a knife--if inserted knife comes out clean it's done.

#621 - Glazed Apple Nut Bars

(by Mitzie [Shade] Williams - friend)

1/2 cup firmly packed Domino's dark brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 - 15.4oz. package Pillsbury Quick Bread Nut bread mix
2 medium apples baking apples (peeled, cored and finely chopped)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Glaze: 3/4 cup Domino's powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 2 TBSP melted butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 3 to 5 TBSP milk

In a bowl add brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs--beat with a spoon until smooth. Add the quick bread nut mix--stir. Fold in apples and raisins (optional). Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes--test with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely, then make the glaze--in a bowl add powdered sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, vanilla and 3 TBSP milk--stir well. If it's too thick add more milk. Drizzle the glaze over the top. Cut into bars to serve.

#620 - Western Skillet Rice

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 lb. ground chuck
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked Carolina white rice
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup cooked peas
1 cup shredded sharp cheese

Brown the ground chuck in a skillet and in a separate pot cook the peas. Turn heat to medium on the ground chuck and stir in soup mix, water, rice, tomatoes and pepper--bring mixture to a boil. Add a lid, turn heat back to low (simmer) for 25 minutes, stirring once every few minutes. After 25 minutes drain the cooked peas, add them to the skillet and stir. When peas are warm, scoop mixture into your serving bowl and top with the shredded cheese.

#619 - Sweet and Sour Pickles

(by Violet [Bailey] Heimbach - friend)

1 jar of your favorite dill pickles (large size)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. whole pickling spice

Open the jar of pickles and drain off the juice--discard the juice but leave pickles in the jar. In a saucepan add white sugar, vinegar, water--turn heat on high and bring to a boil. Add the pickling spice to the pickles, then pour hot vinegar mixture in with the pickles. Leave lid off until the pickles and juice have cooled. Once cool, put the lid on the jar and place it in the refrigerator. Let the pickles sit in the refrigerator at least 2 days before eating. Keep refrigerated.

#618 - Chili Sauce

(by Grandma Pauline [Tharp] Herman)

1 peck ripe tomatoes
6 green peppers
6 medium onions
2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups Domino's dark brown sugar
1 pint cider vinegar
salt to taste
1 bunch celery

Wash tomatoes and place them in a large pot--cover them with boiling water. After 5 minutes, drain water off of tomatoes. Rinse each tomato with cold water so you can hold them comfortably. Use a knife to remove tomato skins and core the centers (like you would core an apple), then slice into quarters. Rinse the pot you were using and place quartered tomatoes back in the pot. Wash green peppers, slice them, remove the seeds, and chop into small pieces--put them in with the tomatoes. Wash and clean onions--chop into small pieces and add to the tomatoes. Wash and clean celery, chop into small pieces and put in with tomatoes. Add cloves, cinnamon, brown sugar, vinegar, and about 3 TBSP salt (more or less to your taste) to the tomatoes. Stir and turn heat to medium--keep stirring occasionally until boiling. Once boiling, turn heat back to halfway between medium and low heat. Let chili sauce cook for 3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. After 3 hours while chili sauce is still hot, place chili in canning jars (if you don't know how to can using jars and lids, see our 14 day pickle recipe #605).

#617 - 24 Hour Bread and Butter Pickles

(by Kenneth Miller - friend)

9 cups thickly sliced cucumbers (washed but not peeled)
2 cups thickly sliced onions
2 cups white sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed

Place sliced cucumbers and sliced onions in a 1 gallon glass jar OR a stainless steel pot OR a granite pot--set aside. In a saucepan add white sugar, cider vinegar, salt, celery seed and mustard seed. Turn heat on high--stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, pour this juice over the cucumbers. Place Saran Wrap over the jar/pot--let stand for 24 hours. The next day using a large pot, empty the cucumbers and juice into the pot. Heat just until very hot (not boiling). Put pint jars in the oven on the racks and set temp. to 200 degrees. Take the jar lids and rings and cover them with water in a saucepan--bring them to a boil. Put cucumbers/onion/juice in each jar until you run out of the mixture. Take a tableknife and insert it all around the sides and middle of the jars to get the air bubbles out. Put the ring and center piece on each jar and turn tightly. Put the jars on a surface that can safely stand heat. Let them cool and as they cool they will seal themselves. If the jars seal properly, they will last about 2 years. Once you open a jar, refrigerate it. If any jars have buttons that don't go down, use those jars first because they didn't seal.

#616 - Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

(by Shirley McNevich)

1/2 cups butter
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 cups flour
Your favorite brand of peanut butter (about a cup)

In a mixer, add butter, white sugar--beat. Add egg and vanilla--beat. Add salt and baking soda--beat. Slowly add the flour--beat (if it gets too stiff for your mixer, continue by hand using a wooden spoon). Divide the dough into two portions. Flour your counter, add one portion of the dough to the flour, flour the top of the dough and using your hands roll it back and forth until you have a log. Wrap the log in Saran Wrap, place it in a container. Repeat with the second portion of dough and place it in the same container. Refrigerate the dough overnight. Unwrap the rolls from the Saran Wrap and using a knife, slice the rolls into 1/4" thick cookies. Place cookies on greased cookie sheets 2" apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from cookie sheets and let them cool completely. Spread one cookie with peanut butter and top with a second cookie, then lightly press together. Keep leftover cookies refrigerated.