GARLIC-HERB CHICKEN BREASTS FOR TWO

1 envelope garlic and herb salad dressing mix

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Combine salad dressing mix and cheese in a large zip top plastic bag. Add chicken and shake well to coat.

Remove chicken and place in the prepared baking pan and bake at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes. Until the juices run clear and chicken is cooked through.

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PINEAPPLE-ORANGE PUNCH

4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 2-liter bottle chilled ginger ale
Fresh pineapple wedges for garnish, optional.

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Combine juices in a large bowl or pitcher; mix together well and chill at least 2 hours.

Stir in the ginger ale and serve in a punch bowl with fresh pineapple or serve in tall glasses over ice. Garnish with fresh pineapple wedges, if desired.

1950s HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP

This recipe is one my mother got from a Hunt's Tomato Sauce can when I was a child in the 1950s.  It is as good today as it was then.  It was always a good way to warm up during those cold Indiana winters of my childhood.  It is still a favorite with my own grandchildren today.

2 Tablesp. Wesson, pure vegetable oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced celery
2 8-oz. cans Hunt's Tomato Sauce
1/2 teasp. whole pepper
1/8 teasp. thyme
2 sprigs parsley
3 cups beef stock or bouillon
1/4 teasp. salt
1/2 teasp. pepper

Cook onion, carrot and celery in oil 5 minutes.  Add Hunt's Tomato Sauce, seasonings, and parsley.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.  Strain and add beef stock, salt, and pepper.  Heat together.  Makes 4 servings.

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CRISPY RANCH CHICKEN BITES

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing
2 1/2 cups finely crushed sour cream and onion potato chips

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces, place in a bowl. Add the salad dressing and stir to coat; allow to stand 10 minutes. Add potato chips and toss well.  Place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake chicken, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until juices run clear.

Yield: 4 servings

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COUNTRY BREAKFAST PIE

This is an old Ozark Mountains recipe.

1 pkg. bulk sausage
1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
2 tbsp. chopped onion
4 eggs
1 cup cream
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Cook the sausage until browned and greased is cooked out, stirring to crumble; drain. 

Mix the cheese and sausage together and sprinkle into the pie shell. 

Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl; add the peppers, onion, and cream.  Pour the mixture slowly into the shell over the sausage and cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until set.

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ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND VEGETABLE PASTA

1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage

1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 celery ribs, diced
1 1/2 cups yellow squash, shredded
1 1/2 cups zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 jar (26-oz) marinara sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
8-oz uncooked rotini pasta, cooked

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add sausage and cook sausage, stirring to crumble, until no longer pink. Remove from skillet and discard drippings.

Add the oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat; add onion and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until softened, stirring often. Add the celery and continue to cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the squash, zucchini, and carrot.

Return the sausage to the skillet and stir in the marinara sauce, vinegar, butter and thyme. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, 30 to 35 minutes or until veggies are tender. Stir occasionally during cooking.

Meanwhile cook rotini according to the package directions; drain.

To serve, pour sauce over the rotini.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Cooking Club Magazine 2011

SWEET-AND-SOUR SPARERIBS

Please note this is a 1950s recipe when no one was in a hurry. This is not a quick recipe you can prepare and serve within an hour, but it is worth that extra hour of your time. 

This recipe comes from the 1958 Good Housekeeping cookbook pictured below.  This recipe is in the China section.

3 1/2 lb lean spareribs, in 2" squares
2 large onions, sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablesp. soy sauce
2/3 cup canned pineapple juice
1/3 cup water
1/2 teasp. salt
1/8 teasp. pepper
1 tablesp. cornstarch
1 tablesp. water
Hot fluffy rice

Preheat broiler 10 min., or as manufacturer directs.  Place spareribs close together in broiler pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Broil, turning once, until deep brown on both sides.  Place onions in Dutch oven or kettle with 2 tablesp. pork fat from broiler pan; sauté 2 min.; add brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, 1/3 cup water, salt, pepper and ribs.  Cover; simmer over low heat 2 hrs.  Remove ribs; thicken sauce in saucepan with cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablesp. cold water; replace ribs in sauce.  Serve at once over hot fluff rice.                                                   Makes 6 servings.
To Vary: Add 1 cup drained canned pinapple chunks.

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JO MARIE'S ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP FROM AUTHOR DEBBIE MACOMBER

Debbie Macomber is one of my favorite authors and I love her books about the Rose Harbor Inn. The main character in those books is Jo Marie who owns and operates the inn. Debbie has shared this recipe for the soup Jo Marie makes to share with her friend.

Note: Click on recipe to enlarge for easier reading.

Source: Debbie Macomber

EVERLASTING YEAST (SOUR DOUGH STARTER)

NOTE: Sour dough starter takes 3 days before you can use it. It does, however, go together quickly and easily. Sour dough bread is worth the wait.

When I was a young housewife in Indiana many, many, years ago, a family friend shared this recipe for a delicious sour dough bread starter using mashed potatoes.  Can be used to make great sour dough bread!

1 cup mashed potatoes
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
3 cups lukewarm (98 degrees) water
Add a yeast cake, broken
1 tsp ginger (the first time you make this)

Mix together and allow to stand for 3 days before using.

Feed with the following every 3 to 5 days:
3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup warm water

Let sit out all day or night, then refrigerate.

Note: When you feed the dough, don't repeat the starter ingredients.

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CHEESE CRACKER BAKED CHICKEN

This recipe is from my vintage recipe collection.

My mother loved cheese crackers; I'm not so fond of them.  But then I don't eat chicken anyway.  But she taught my children to love cheese crackers, too.  This proved a good way to prepare chicken when they wanted something different.

1 lb chicken, skinned and boned
1 regular size box Cheese Nips, crushed
1 carton (8-oz) sour cream
melted butter

Crush the Cheese Nips and sprinkle some in the bottom of a greased 9 X 13-inch baking pan or dish.  Dip the chicken in the sour cream then roll in the Cheese Nips.  Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake at 350 degrees around 45 minutes until the chicken is done.