EASY PEACH CRISP

 

1 can (16-oz) peach pie filling

1 box (7 1/2-oz) yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
3/4 cup chopped pecans or slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Very lightly spray an 8-inch square baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray

Pour the can of pie filling into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pie filling. Cut butter into thin slices and lay over the cake mix. Sprinkle the chopped nuts over all.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

This recipe is great served warm with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon.

File Photo

CINNAMON CRESCENT ROLLS

 

Ingredients:

2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls 
1 stick butter, softened 
½ cup white or brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, combine butter, sugar and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Separate dough into triangles. Spread each triangle with about 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon
butter mixture. Roll up each crescent roll. Firmly press ends and seams to seal.

Place each cinnamon filled crescent roll onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350°F. for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. In small bowl, blend all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm rolls.

Note: I have had this recipe several years. I have no idea where I got it.

file photo

CHICKEN PARMESAN DIP

This is a Campbell's recipe, so I am leaving their product brands in.

1 can (12.5 ounces) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
2 packages (about 6 ounces each ) hard bread sticks

 Heat the oven to 350°F.  Stir the chicken, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl.

Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.  Spread half the sauce over the cream cheese.  Top with the chicken mixture.  Drizzle with the remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

 Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.  Serve with the breadsticks for dipping.

Campbell's file photo.

OLD FASHION TIPS FOR COOKING CHICKEN

Thought you might enjoy this old post from my Grandma's Vintage Recipes blog.

I ran across these old fashion tips for cooking chicken and thought you might enjoy reading them.

• For extra-crisp fried chicken, dip each piece in buttermilk before coating with flour.
• When time permits, let coated chicken stand for 30 minutes until dry, then sprinkle any moist spots with more coating before frying.  Moisture creates steam, which causes breading to fall off.
• For a moister whole chicken, place breast side down for the first half of cooking time so the juices run down into the breast.  Turn breast side up for the last half of cooking time to get a nice browned chicken.

BROWN SUGAR AND CINNAMON PECANS

These nuts are great to have sitting around at parties, but they are also good to put a handful into a zipper-type snack bag and stick in a lunchbox. These nuts are also great packaged and given as gifts.

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon pecan-praline flavored ground coffee*
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (omit if too hot for children's lunchboxes)
2 cups pecan halves

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, coffee, orange juice, cinnamon, and red pepper, if using. Stir well to mix. Stir in the pecans, coating well. Remove from the heat.

Spread the coated pecans on a lightly greased 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring at 5 minutes and at 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Break nuts apart.

*Or other flavored coffee of your choice.

 Note: File Photo

SOUTHERN BEATEN BISCUITS

This is another old recipe I found in my late mother's box of recipe clippings.  This appears to have been from her local newspaper.  I am posting it because I love the way it is written!  The recipe was submitted by a Mrs. Campbell.

1 quart flour, heaping
1 teacup* lard
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cold water

Mix lard and flour as for pastry.  Add baking powder and mix thoroughly.  Dissolve sugar and salt in water and add, mixing the dough with a spoon.
Knead 15 or 20 minutes, or until it blisters.  Bake in moderate oven for 35 minutes, in greased pan.  Cut into squares to serve.

*A teacup measures about 3/4 of a standard measuring cup.

file photo

SWEET BERRY BRUSHETTA

 

10 slices French bread (1/2-inch thick)

5 tsp sugar, divided
6-oz fat-free cream cheese
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup fresh blackberries
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tsp confectioners' sugar

Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet; lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Broil 3 to 4-inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, almond extract and remaining sugar. Spread over the toasted bread slices. Top with the berries and almonds. Dust berries with the confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.

Note: I have had this recipe for probably around ten years. I can't remember but I probably got it and the photo from a Reimen's Publication.

ORANGE PINEAPPLE SALAD

 

2 small (4-serving size) pkgs orange-pineapple gelatin

1 can (11-oz) pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can (11 3/4-oz) mandarin oranges, drained
1 large carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 cups large curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix the cottage cheese with the whipped topping. Stir in the gelatin powder to blend well. Gently fold in the drained pineapple, oranges, and pecans. Refrigerate until serving time.

Note: File Photo

DUMPLING TOPPED CHICKEN STEW

2 tbsp butter or margarine

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 tube (7-oz) refrigerated biscuits

1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk 

 
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 pkg. (16-oz) frozen mixed vegetables

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried onion flakes, optional

Melt butter or margarine in a Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink; stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, separate biscuits and cut each in half; set aside. Add milk, soup, vegetables, poultry seasoning, and onion flakes to the chicken in the Dutch oven and mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Quickly place the biscuit halves in a single layer over the stew. Sprinkle tops of the biscuits with the paprika. Place lid on Dutch oven and reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the biscuits are light and fluffy.

Note: File Photo of a similar recipe.

MEATBALL VEGETABLE STEW

If you love beef stew but don't really have the time to cook the beef and make the stew, try this recipe that uses meatballs. You can even speed up the process by using frozen ready-made meatballs.

4 cups water
2 medium russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium carrots, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1 large onion, cut into chunks
2 tbsp beef bouillon granules
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 tsp browning sauce, optional

In a large Dutch oven, bring the water to a boil. Add the russet potatoes, carrots, onion, bouillon, bay leaf, thyme, basil, salt and pepper. Return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the above simmers, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into 1-inch balls. Add meatballs to the Dutch oven along with the sweet potatoes and zucchini. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for another 15 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the peas. Combine the flour and cold water; stir into the stew along with the browning sauce, if using. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for a couple of minutes until thickened.

Yield: 6 servings.

Note: This is a file photo.