FISH
I use one frozen haddock fillet, which I purchase from the Reedsville Seafood Company, typically I will put it on a piece of aluminum foil so I can wrap it around the fish. I drizzle olive oil over the fish and add seasoning. For this version I just sprinkled my herbs de provence blend with lavender that I purchased at the Peace Valley Lavender Farm. I will also add salt and pepper. I bake in the oven at 400º for 40 minutes you have to watch the fish and can adjust the time for your taste as I tend to cook mine longer than most.

GREEN BEANS WITH ALMONDS
Take one can of green beans, can be regular cut or French cut, drizzle with olive oil and add salt, pepper and any seasoning you like, again in this version I used the herbs de provence blend. Bake at 400º for 40 minutes stir occasionally then about 10 minutes before time is up add the almonds.

Another variation for the fish is to drizzle it with Italian dressing, again wrapping it in the foil packet so that you can open it will cooking to check if it is done cooking.

Cake Batter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 oz red food coloring
2 level tablespoons of cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat the shortening, sugar, eggs, food coloring, cocoa, salt, buttermilk and flour to create batter. Then mix together the vinegar and baking soda then stir into the batter – do not beat. Pour the batter into two 9-inch round pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick into center of cake to check if it fully baked. If batter sticks to the toothpick it is not ready to be removed from oven.
Once removed allow the cakes to cool for about five minutes an then turn cake out onto wire cooling racks.

Icing
1 cup sugar
1 cup crisco
1 cup milk
5 scant tablespoons of flour (do not use cornstarch)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together the sugar and crisco. Then cook the milk and flour until thick; allow it to cool and then blend in the sugar and crisco mix. Stir in the vanilla. Spread on to cooled cake.

1 cup sour cream
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup miniature marshmallows (if my memory serves me correctly she always used the colored variety pack)
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup mandarin oranges

1 large bok choy
2 packages of ramen noodles (throw away the flavor packets)
3-4 Tbsp butter or oil
4 oz. sliced almonds
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Dressing
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar ( I always use balsamic vinegar)
1/3 cup oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Mix the dressing ingredients, stir well and refrigerate. Chop the whole bok choy, cutting the stems into 1/2” chunks, chop the scallions including green and refrigerate. This part can be done ahead of time, but as I mentioned earlier, as long as you keep the topping in dry storage and don’t add until ready to eat it will be okay.

In skillet with butter, saute crumbled ramen noodles and almonds. Watch very carefully you want them to be uniformly browned but not burned – stir constantly. Remove from pan and cool slightly. It will get very hot. I recommend using a pan with deep sides or even using a pot to make it easier to stir without having to worry about the pieces going on the floor.

Mix together with the bok choy and scallion mix and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Add the dressing right before serving. Toss well and enjoy!

Dough:
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 package rapid rise yeast

1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat the water milk and butter. You only want to heat this to where it is warm to the touch, once it reaches this point I take it off the heat to allow the butter to finish melting. Then create a well in the flour mixture and pour the warm liquid into the well. Mix and then kneed for 5 minute. The dough will be smooth and elastic. Roll the dough out to a rectangular shape to fit on a 12 x 15 1/2 cookie sheet. You can sprinkle some corn meal onto the sheet (optional) then transfer the dough to the sheet and allow to rise while you make the filling.

Filling:
3/4 pound ground beef
Green peppers
Onion
Chili powder
Garlic salt
White pepper (optional)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
Shredded cheese (recommend Mexican blend or cheddar)

Brown the meat and add the peppers and onions and allow to cook. Add the spices and once the onions and peppers have had a chance to cook add the tomato sauce. Transfer the filling to the dough – you want to create a line down the middle with equal amounts of dough exposed on both sides. Cover the dough with the shredded cheese basically I just use one or two handfuls but again this can be adjusted to your taste. Using a knife, cut approximately one inch strips in the dough along both sides of the filling. Braid the dough overlapping alternate strips of the dough until the entire loaf has been braided.

You can coat with an egg wash but it is not necessary. Bake at 400º for 20 minutes allow to cool slightly and cut in approx. one inch increments and enjoy.

1 can whole kernel corn and juice
2 eggs mixed
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour (approx.)
2 tsp salt
pepper
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 spoon baking powder (my grandmother just used a spoon from the drawer)

Combine ingredients, sifting the flour into the mixture. You want the mixture to be the consistency of pancake batter. In frying pan add butter Crisco and allow to get hot before adding the corn mixture to the desired size. You can mix ahead of time, but don’t add the baking powder until you are ready to cook the fritters.

I don’t think it is possible to ruin this dish as far as the ingredients go. I have changed my ingredients and quantities with the end result always being delicious. The most important part is to take the time to squeeze the juices out of the spinach/onion mixture and baking it long enough so that the phyllo dough is nice and golden brown. You want a crispy pastry not a soggy one.

Ingredients:
Olive oil for frying
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 bags of fresh baby spinach or 3-4 10 oz. pkgs frozen spinach
1/2 cup parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup or just one container crumbled feta cheese
Salt and pepper (optional)
10-12 sheets phyllo dough
Olive oil/melted butter for phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly oil a 9×9 inch square baking pan.

Heat approx. 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Once cool you need to squeeze out the juice to help prevent the phyllo dough from getting soggy. I have found that the easiest method is just to use your hands and squeeze so be sure the mixture is cool enough to handle.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, feta, salt and pepper. I use a Mediterranean blend of salt I purchased from Tait Farm. It is a coarse salt with herbs and I add approx. 1/2 Tbsp-basically I just dump some into the palm of my hand and eyeball it. Stir in spinach mixture.

Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil/melted butter (you can use a mixture of the melted butter and olive oil or use one or the other). Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process until you have used half of the sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot. You can prepare ahead of time and freeze when you bake it, adjust the time to 1 hour.

Crust:
1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker (One pack plus two crackers smashed)
1/4 Cup Sugar
4 Tbsp Butter

Combine ingredients and press in bottom of spring form pan.

Filling:
3 8 oz. Packages of Cream Cheese (room temp.)
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 19 oz. can pumpkin
2 Tsp vanilla
1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. Ginger

Blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, pumpkin and rest of ingredients one at a time until batter is well blended. Pour over crust, bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave in for another hour. Remove from oven and let stand for two hours. Refrigerate. (The original recipe said to bake for 35 minutes but it was not long enough so I am recommending 45.)