April comes with cheeks a glowing,

Silver streams are all a-flowing,

Flowers open wide their eyes

In a rapturous surprise.

Lilies dream beside the brooks,

Violets in meadow nooks,

And the birds gone wild with glee,

Fill the woods with melody.

Winds are soft and fields are fair,

Blue the sky and sweet the air.

And the happy, blushing earth

Laughs at every flower’s birth.

Golden days and silver nights,

Hours brim with calm delights,

Lilies chime and blue bells ring,

“Welcome, welcome to the Spring!”

                        Author Unknown

Tips For Tossed Salads

• Always handle salad greens with care.
   

• Wash well, drain and dry greens before storing; chill well before using.
   

• To core lettuce, smack head stem end down on counter top. Then twist the core out.
   

• It is better to tear greens into bite-sized pieces to avoid bruising with knife.
   

• Don’t cut up tomatoes for a tossed salad since their juices thin the dressing and wilt the greens. Use them only for garnishing the salad bowl.
   

• Select only firm, hard, green cucumbers. The skin should have a slight sheen, but if it is highly polished, it is probably waxed and the skin should be removed.
   

• Use wild greens such as dandelion, sorrel or winter cress for a different flavor and texture in tossed salads.

Chicken Squares

2 cups uncooked macaroni

2 to 3 cups cooked chicken

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 cups milk

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

4 hard –boiled eggs

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients, except eggs, together and let stand in refrigerator overnight. Just before baking, add cup up eggs. Mix and baked in an greased 9 X 13 inch pan for 1 - 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into square to serve.

Potato Salad

Potato salad is best made from potatoes cooked in their jackets and peeled and marinated while still warm. Small red waxy potatoes hold their shape when sliced or diced and do not absorb an excessive amount of dressing or become mushy.

Soup Accompaniments

Clear Soups-crisp crackers, cheese pastry, cheese-spread toast strips.

Cream Soups-cheese popcorn, seeded crackers, pretzels, pickles and olives

Chowders and Meat Soups- Melba toast, sour pickles, oyster crackers, bread sticks, relishes toasted garlic brad.

Cheeseburger Casserole

1 pound hamburger

onion, chopped

5 cups mashed potatoes

12 oz. Cheddar cheese

Brown the hamburger with onion. Drain grease. In a 2 quart casserole, layer mashed potatoes. can use fresh or leftovers), hamburger and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hours or until heated through and cheese is melted.

 Any thing that grows under the ground start off in cold water-potatoes, beets, carrots, etc. Anything that grown above ground start off  in boiling water-peas, greens, beans, etc

Put a tablespoon of butter in the water when cooking rice, dried beans, macaroni, to keep it from boiling over. Always run cold water over it when done to get the starch out. Reheat over not water, if necessary.

Frozen gravies or sauces m ay be a little thicker after thawing than when they were freshly made. Adding a little appropriate liquid-milk, broth, bouillon or wine-will thin them to the desired consistency.

 For extra juicy, extra nutritious hamburgers, add 1/4 cup evaporated milk per pound of meat before shaping.

To ripen green pears, just place 2 or 3 in a brown bag, loosely closed, and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight.

Quick breads such as banana, zucchini and pumpkin taste and slice best when served a day after baking. Wrap the cooled bread in foil or plastic wrap; eave at room temperature overnight.

Pickled Easter Eggs

2 dozen hard-cooked eggs

2 cups vinegar

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

spices (if desired)

            Mix vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and spices. Bring to a boil. Place peeled eggs in jars and cover with hot syrup. Seal. Let stand two weeks for best flavor.

Hot Beer Mustard

1/2 cup dry mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

about 1 to 2 tablespoons stale beer

Mix the first four ingredients and stir in stale beer to make a paste.

Note: Remember going down to Giersen’s Corners and using hot mustard on your sandwiches. They always had a chicken bone in the jar to apply it to your sandwich.

Power Packed Snacks

3 to 5 cups Honey Grahams cereal

3cups pretzels, broken  in half

1 - 1/2 to 2 cups raisins

1 - 1/2 cups M and M (plain or peanuts)

Mix all ingredients together. Great for party snacks.

Scalloped Carrots

6 cups carrots, diced

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup butter, divided

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cups Ritz crackers, crushed

Cook carrots until tender, drain. Sauté onion in ¼ cup butter until tender. Add flour, milk and spices. Stir until thick and bubbly. Arrange carrots in layers with cheese cubes in a large baking dish. Cover with sauce and top with Ritz crackers. Drizzle with 1/4  or more cup melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Beef Tips

2 pounds round or sirloin steak (cut in 1 inch cubes and rolled in flour)
2 tablespoons shortening

2 cups water

3 beef bouillon cubes

1/2 cup Burgundy wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion salt

1 can mushrooms

Brown steak in shortening. Add water, bouillon cubes, wine, soy sauce, garlic powder and onion salt. Cook 2 hours. Add mushrooms. Serve over noodles.

Cupcakes Easter Baskets

Prepare your favorite cake mix according to directions and bake according to package directions for cupcakes. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, before moving from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter or oleo, softened

2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon water

4 drops green food coloring

1 - 1/2 cups flakes coconut

Red shoestring licorice

Jelly Beans

In a small mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar; spread over cupcakes. Combine water and food coloring in a large re-sealable plastic bag; add coconut. Seal bag and shake to tint. Sprinkle over cupcakes.

Using a skewer, pole a hole in the top on opposite sides of each cupcake. Cut licorice into 6 inch strips for handle; insert each end into a hole. Decorate with jelly beans.

Crispy French Toast

1/2 cup egg substitute

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

dash ground nutmeg

12 slices day-old French bread (3/4 inch thick)

1 - 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes

            In a shallow dish, combine the egg substitute, milk, orange juice, vanilla and nutmeg. Add bread soak for 5 minutes, turning once. Coat both sides of each slice with cornflake crumbs. Place in a 15 X 10 inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes; turn. Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until golden brown. Makes 12 slices.

Wipe Away Your Tears

When cutting onions, avoid burning watery eyes by following the simple steps below:

• Use the sharpest knife possible.

• Chill onions for 15 minutes before chopping

• Cut onions near an open flame such as a candle or gas burner.

• After you’ve done chopping, wipe away any leftover onion oil (which produces the eye-tearing agent) with a daily kitchen cleaner.

Mary Hoff worked at the Platteville Journal  before she got married.  After a few years, she started a column at the Tri-County Press and also covered Cole Acres Notes. When the Tri-County Press was sold to Bill Hale in Lancaster,  he asked to carry the column in the Grant County Independent.  Mary says she writes, "just to keep my mind from getting rusty." 

mjandmjh@pcii.net

"Be sure to send me your comments, recipes, or helpful tips."