Tomato Aspic, with Starbursts

Something glorious happened in 1978.  Something... obscenely wonderful.  The M&M/Mars company put out a cookbook.  A cookbook filled with strange and exotic uses for their products, uses hitherto undreamed of.

My favorite chapter is called "Conversation Starters."  This is the main dish section.  Yes.  The main dish section... of the cookbook dedicated to candy.  It is aptly named, but I think a better title would be "Where Angels Fear to Tread."

Tomato Aspic

Try this shimmering tomato mold with tuna or chicken salad.

2 tablespoons (2 envelopes) unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup water

4 cups tomato juice

2 (1-11/16 oz.) pkgs. STARBURST Fruit Chews (22 candies)

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

4 drops hot pepper sauce

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

1/3 cup sliced green onion

Salad greens

Mayonnaise

Combine gelatin and water.  Let stand 3 to 4 minutes.  In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup tomato juice and candies.  Melt over low heat, stirring until smooth.  Add celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and gelatin mixture.  Stir until gelatin melts.  Blend in remaining tomato juice, green pepper and green onions.  Pour into an oiled 6-cup mold.  Chill until firm, 4 to 5 hours.  Serve on salad greens with mayonnaise dressing.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.  

Verdict:  This is awful.  Just awful.  It is like cold wobbly tomato soup... with Starbursts.  You may think, optimistically, that the two might somehow meld together.  No.  Not at all.  It is much like maple syrup on spaghetti, or frosting on broccoli.  

This is a landmark occasion in Time Travel Kitchen history, because husband was unable to eat even one bite.  He ran full tilt for the sink and spat again and again to remove the taste from his mouth.  I ate a bite, but it was not easy. 

Baby ate a bite without even pulling a face, but I have also found her eating her own poop.

I am excited to try the beef stew recipe from this book!

Spiced Prune Drink

Better Homes and Gardens Blender Cook Book [1971]

I will now admit that I have never actually drunk prune juice before now.  This is terrible, because all know it to be a warrior's drink. 

This is an improvement even on the original noble beverage. 

Spiced Prune Drink
1 cup prune juice, chilled
1 8-ounce carton plain yogurt
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in blender container; blend till combined.  Makes 2 to 3 servings. 

Verdict:  Quite pleasant, actually!  Sweet and tangy.  Could use a bit more cinnamon.  Besides which, the combination of intestine scouring prune juice and colon cleansing yogurt prepares the mighty warrior's body for battle.  Ever tried to fight Romulans and Borg while bloated and not-so-good feeling?  Not easy.  Down a gallon of this, and I guarantee you, that will not be a problem.  Just make sure you do so... well before you plan to defeat your enemies. 

Unless your enemy is constipation.  Which it well may be.

Husband thought it was too thick, but Baby claimed it was a delight both for the taste buds and the fingers.

 

 

 

Pot Roast Stroganoff, Confetti Dressing, Mocha Roll

Better Homes and Gardens Blender Cookbook [1971]

This book is special for its insistence that everything, everything, can be made in a blender. Of particular note is the chapter entitled "Timesaving Breads." I also like the title of "Jam and Relish Jamboree"; but that may just be because I feel that jamboree is an excellent and underused word, as well as my love of weak puns.

I have never been more thankful for this important blender tip: if you squeeze some dish soap in after use, then fill halfway up with hot water and blend, you will have a clean blender. This is useful when one is using a blender four times in the same meal.

Menu:
Pot Roast Stroganoff
Hot Noodles
Lettuce
Confetti Dressing
Mocha Roll
Beverage

Pot Roast Stroganoff
2- to 2 1/2 pound beef chuck roast
3 tablespoons salad oil
1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed tomato soup
1 cup cream-style cottage cheese
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 small onion, but into pieces
1 clove garlic
1 3-ounce can mushrooms, drained
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water
Hot cooked noodles

Trim meat; season. Brown in oil in Dutch oven. Put next 5 ingredients in blender; blend smooth. Add mushrooms; pour over meat. Cover; cook at 325 degrees about 2 hours. Place meat on platter. Skim fat from sauce. Combine flour and water; add to sauce. Cook and stir till thick; season. Serve on noodles. Serves 6.

Confetti Dressing
Stir dressing before serving so tiny bits of onion, olive, green pepper, and celery are dispersed throughout the zippy dressing--
1 cup salad oil
3/4 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon sald
2 green onions with tops, sliced
1/4 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
1/2 small green pepper, cut in pieces
1 stalk celery, sliced

Put all of the ingredients into the blender container; blend till vegetables are finely chopped. Chill mixture. Stir the mixture before using. Spoon mixture over salad greens. Makes approximately 2 1/3 cups dressing.

Mocha Roll
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup packaged pancake mix
Confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 4 1/2 ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder [I left this out]
Sifted confectioners' sugar
Shaved chocolate

Place eggs and salt in blender container; blend till frothy. Add sugar and vanilla; blend till smooth and thick. Add pancake mix; blend to combine. Spread in greased and floured 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Loosen sides; turn out onto towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Starting at narrow end, roll cake and towel; cool.

Place milk; instant chocolate pudding mix, and coffee powder in blender container; blend till ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Unroll cooled cake; spread with mocha filling. Reroll and chill. At serving time sprinkle with sifted confectioners' sugar and top with shaved chocolate. Makes 10 servings.

Verdict:

Pot Roast Stroganoff: Fine. It was nice and tender, and the sauce was fine. Not great, but within the bounds of reason.

Confetti Dressing: Sort of watery and bland. It is canola oil, white vinegar, and some bits, really. I suppose it looks kind of festive. The name leads one to expect more joy and celebration, though. It is the 70's, so maybe this would be better with a high degree of inebriation. There IS a cocktails section of the book. Anyone want a go? Only one of them has sauerkraut juice!

Mocha Roll: I was most skeptical of this one. Pancake mix and instant pudding? Really? I like pancakes and pudding, so I figured it couldn't be too bad. And it wasn't. It was really tasty. Nice and smooth and filled with pudding. Pudding! I didn't have any chocolate to shave, but I found some chocolate covered raisins in the back of the cupboard and proclaimed it Good Enough. Four of us polished off the whole thing in short order. It was actually better than a lot of real cake rolls I've had, not counting my sister's pumpkin cake roll with cream cheese filling. All of us would eat it again, and one person said that lemon pudding would be fantastic in it. Ooh, maybe with a raspberry sauce over the top...

I will confess though, I did not make the pudding in the blender. Why would I, when I have this?

Apple Bread

Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library [1971]

I usually try out more unusual recipes, but while going through my avocado-green recipe card file, I came across... this. It looked delicious. It was under "Recipes Children Can Make." It seems to be a member of the Upside Down Cake family. It involves butter. How could it go wrong? And I had Honey Crisp apples. Have you tried those? They are delicious. New favorite apple, guys. Besides, I made cake out of beets, so there is a sort of symmetry about making bread out of apples.

Anyway.

Apple Bread
Melt in baking pan, 9x9x2 inches . . 2 tablespoons butter
Mix with fork in small bowl . . . . . . 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle sugar mixture on melted butter in pan.
Cut into thin slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 apple

Arrange apple slices in rows on sugar mixture in pan.
Sprinkle over apples . . . . . . . . . . . a few raisins

Stir together with spoon in large bowl . .
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
(105-115 degrees)

Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Gold Medal flour*

Beat 2 minutes or until batter drops from spoon in sheets.
Add and beat until smooth . . . . . . . . . .1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal flour

Drop batter by small spoonfuls over apples and raisins in pan. Cover pan and let rise in warm place until double, 50 to 60 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove cake from pan by turning upside down onto serving plate.
*If using self-rising flour, omit salt.


Verdict:

It's.... DELICIOUS. Thank you, Betty Crocker! This is fabulous! It's a dang apple upside down cake! I didn't have any raisins, so I used frozen blueberries. Highly recommended, for it was tasty times indeed. It was also super easy and fast, especially for a yeast-based food, so the awesomeness is compounded.

Husband and I polished it off within about 12 hours, and that was only because we were trying to be responsible. One of those servings had vanilla ice cream. Then we ran out of ice cream. :( It was more than tasty without it, though! It is at its best warm, so take that into consideration when you make it.

Because you will.

You will.

Bacon Strip Pancakes and Apple Butter Sourdoughs

Some time ago, a reader requested I make these bacon strip pancakes, as seen on Mr. Breakfast (whom I adore). How could I possibly refuse? It is pancakes plus bacon. Hooray! Pancakes! Plus bacon! Hooray! What day is it?

HOORAY.

Bacon Strip Pancakes [1962, from the back of an Aunt Jemima pancake mix)
(4 servings)

12 slices of bacon
2 cups prepared pancake batter
softened butter
maple syrup

Just about the best breakfast that ever greeted a hungry family! And it's as easy as this: Shake up Aunt Jemima batter according to package directions. Place cooked bacon strips on the griddle and pour batter over each strip. Bake 'em golden brown on both sides. Couldn't be easier - couldn't taste better! How about Aunt Jemima Bacon Strip Pancakes at your house tomorrow!

Unfortunately, I was so excited by the prospect of pancake-coated pork fat (fried in pork fat), I did not read the instructions carefully.

No matter.

Mmmmmmmmmm.

Verdict: Have I mentioned that it is bacon, coated with pancake? Fantastic. One does feel a little wrong, though, with a plate of bacon pancakes fried in bacon grease that you then spread with butter and soak with syrup. So wrong, and yet... so right.

But let's not stop there.

Apple Sauce Sourdoughs [Alaska Sourdough, 1976]

On hot, well greased skillet drop Sourdough [sourdough pancake batter, but any pancake batter will work fine] making small pancakes. Dip a small teaspoonful of sauce in center of each cake. Add a few drops of Sourdough batter, covering the applesauce. Bake until bubbly. Turn carefully, cooking well on the other side. Serve hot on warmed plates. Dust Sourdoughs with powdered sugar.


Verdict: Instead of applesauce, I used apple butter. Because apple butter is delicious. HOW have I never done this before?? Is this something that everyone else knows about but me? Genius. Genius! (Hooray!) It is like the pancake version of jelly doughnuts. I'm trying this again with raspberry jam. And strawberry jam. And apricot jam. And whatever other kind of jam I can get my hands on. Husband demands that both of these recipes appear again. He will be obliged. Probably on Christmas morning. And several times before then.

Maybe Halloween?

Hooray.

Yorkshire Meat Balls, Fruit Pudding Cake

The Thrifty Cook: Tasty budget recipes by the food editors of Farm Journal [1974]

Whilst perusing my collection of cookbooks, I came across these two recipes for which I just happened to have ingredients. Serendipitous! The fact that Yorkshire pudding is one of Husband's most favorite things in the whole wide world, coupled with his love of cake, seemed to indicate that this would be a good day for him.

Or would it. *dun dun dun* I lacked but one ingredient,one which does not fail to strike fear to Husband's heart and send chills down his spine... fake cheese.

Yorkshire Meat Balls
Topping in meat balls tastes like Yorkshire pudding--an ideal main dish for company.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 c. ketchup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tblsp. parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tblsp. water
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
3 tblsp. melted regular margarine
Fast-fix Cheese Sauce

Thoroughly combine ground beef, ketchup, onion soup mix, parsley, pepper, 1 egg and water. Form mixture into 24 balls and place in 6 rows of 4 meat balls each in a well-greased 13x9x2" baking pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat 4 eggs until foamy; blend in milk and margarine. Add dry ingredients all at once; beat with rotary blender just until smooth. Pour over meat balls. Bake in 350 degree oven 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with Fast-fix Cheese Sauce. Makes 8 servings.

Fast-fix Cheese Sauce: Combine 3/4 lb. process cheese spread (Velveeta), cubed, 1/3 c. milk and 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until cheese is melted. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Fruit Pudding Cake
Good inexpensive dessert. You can use leftover fruits instead of the fruit cocktail. Use 1 1/2 c. fruit and 1/2 to 2/3 c. of their juice.

1 (1 lb. 1 oz.) can fruit cocktail
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Whipped dessert topping

Place fruit and juice in mixing bowl; add egg and vanilla. Sift flour, white sugar, salt, and baking soda over it. Beat with spoon until smooth. Pour into greased 13x9x2" baking pan. Sprinkle on brown sugar and nuts. Bake in 325 degree oven 40 to 45 minutes, or until pudding begins to pull away from the sides of pan. Cut into squares and serve with whipped dessert topping. Makes 9 servings.

Verdict:

Yorkshire Meat Balls: YES, "Meat Balls" is two words. I love Yorkshire pudding. This is much like meatbally toad-in-the-hole. The meatballs are a little salty from the onion soup mix, but other than that, it's really nice! Especially when bites are dipped in beef broth, an activity which transports Husband into raptures. BUT WAIT. There is NO beef broth there is, in its place... cheese sauce. But not just cheese sauce. Cheese sauce is fantastic. This, this here, is fake cheese sauce, the kind that instantly forms a rubbery skin both on its own surface and on the back of your teeth.

When Husband realized that one of his favorite things had been replaced with one of his least favorite things, his sadness was pathetic to behold. He gamely ate one pudding-imprisoned meatball with "cheese" sauce before sighing and making beef broth. After a few bites with "cheese" sauce, I joined him. The cheese sauce isn't bad, it's just not... not... right.

Fruit Pudding Cake: Tasty times! And better than eating straight-up fruit cocktail. Fruit cocktail is the worst. I don't even remember buying it! How did it get in my pantry? How does it always appear at the back of the pantry? I think bad wizards must put it there.

Anyway, this was moist and delicious, with a lovely topping. The grapes were still squidgy and unnatural, but really, one can only ask so much. It's a cake, not a miracle machine.

Porcupines, Baby Green Limas, Festival Peach Salad

[1972]

Porcupines
Baby Green Limas
Festival Peach Salad
Chocolate Parfaits [not made]

Yes, it is time for the 70's once more! How I have missed them.

Porcupines
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup uncooked rice
1/4 cup milk or water
2 tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
dash of pepper
1 tbsp. shortening or drippings [I used... olive oil drippings.]
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix beef, rice, milk, onion, and seasonings. Form 4 medium balls. Fry in melted shortening, turning frequently, until light brown (but not crusty) on all sides. Add tomato sauce, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Cover; simmer 45 min. over low heat. Add a small amount of additional water if liquid cooks down too much. 2 servings.

Baby Green Limas

You'll need about 1 1/2 lb. Lima beans in shells. Snap pods open; remove beans. Or cut thin strip from inner edge of pod with knife; push beans out. Cook, covered, in 1/2 to 1" boiling salted water 20 to 30 min. Season with butter, salt, and pepper. 2 servings

To save time, use 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen Lima beans. Cook as directed on pkg.

Festival Peach Salad
1 fresh peach or 2 canned peach halves
1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 tbsp. toasted slivered almonds
1 tbsp. chopped maraschino cherries, well drained
1 tbsp. flaked coconut
lettuce leaves [yes, yes, I know, I failed on this one!]

Peel, halve, and pit fresh peach; sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Mix cottage cheese with almonds and cherries. Fill centers of peach halves with cottage cheese mixture; sprinkle with coconut. Serve on lettuce leaves. 2 servings.


Chocolate Parfaits
Alternate layers of ice cream and Quick Chocolate Sauce (p. 85) in parfait glasses.

Quick Chocolate Sauce
1 pkg. (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 can (5 1/2 oz.) evaporated milk
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. peppermint flavoring (not oil of peppermint), if desired

Melt chocolate over hot water. Beat in milk and salt. Blend in peppermint. Serve hot or cold. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Verdict:

Porcupines: Delicious! Yes, yes, I know the picture is reminiscent of rather more unappetizing things, I've got a family recipe for this, but it uses tomato soup, is baked, and makes a ton. This is far more manageable for my family, and I think it tasted better as well. They are called porcupines, see, because the rice is like quills on a porcupine. Try this one out! It is delightful. But cut down on the salt.

Baby Green Limas: Oh my word lima beans are foul. I saved time by using that new-fangled freezer section you've heard so much about, and followed the package directions exactly. Did you know you're supposed to microwave those suckers for 10-12 minutes?? They were pasty and horrid. I choked down about 4 beans, and chucked the rest in the garbage after Husband had scraped the rest of his back into the bowl.

Festival Peach Salad: This tastes weird. Separately, I like all these ingredients. Combined, it is just... weird. Not terrible, just really odd.

Chocolate Parfaits: Still recuperating from the breakfast parfaits.

Chicken a la King

Today's guest post is from Alison, The Domestic Engineer. I have found that the 1970's has a mysterious allure. Alison is not immune, and her recipe comes from the 1974 edition of the Campbell's Soup cookbook.

Chicken a la King
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken, ham, or turkey
2 tablespoons diced pimiento
Dash pepper
Toast

Cook onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Blend in soup and milk; add chicken, pimento, and pepper. Heat slowly; stir often. Serve over toast. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

The recipe is called Chicken a la King and sounds fancy even though it's just a mixture of cream of chicken soup with chicken, onions, and green peppers and served over toast. Not too daring of a recipe really but it was out of an old cookbook and a big hit with the family that my husband wants it again! I should be more daring next time though and try something even older or bizarre sounding.

Also, now that I think of it, this recipe really is pretty much like Hawaiian haystacks but on toast rather than rice and without the extra toppings. I'm going to try and branch out further next time because this is kinda fun! I'll also keep my eye out for some cool old cookbooks at Goodwill!


That is some nice looking Chicken a la King, Alison! I would eat it.

Pizza Potatoes and Lemon Butter Peas

Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library [1971], Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook [1972]

I think this will be the end of the 70's for a while. And none too soon, either. Yeeeeesh. The 1970's was not the most wonderful of times in culinary history. I tell you what though, time travelers, they are fun. Just avoid the food and drink lots of water.

Trivia Question: What baked good, invented in the late 60's, became so popular in the 70's that almost every one of you has eaten it?

Hint: One of the main ingredients is green.

Sometimes, one is in the mood for potatoes. Sometimes, one is in the mood for pizza. But what does one do when both moods strike at once? The 70's would not leave us hanging on such an important question.



Pizza Potatoes
A pre-measured time saver that's easy on the budget, too!

1 package of our [Betty Crocker's] scalloped potatoes
1 can (16 ounces) tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 package (4 ounces) sliced pepperoni [Thank you, Betty, I was going to drop a whole pepperoni sausage on top. My face, how red it would have been.]
1 package (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Empty potato slices and packet of seasoned sauce mix into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Heat tomatoes, water, and oregano to boiling; stir into potatoes. Arrange pepperoni on top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes. 4 servings.

Hamburger Pizza Potatoes: Substitute 1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained, for pepperoni; stir into potato mixture.

Sausage Pizza Potatoes: Substitute 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage, browned and drained, for pepperoni, stir into potato mixture.




BUTTERS FOR VEGETABLES

Almond Butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; stir in 2 or 3 drops almond extract.

Almondine Butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; add 1 tablespoon toasted slivered almonds.

Lemon Butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Mustard-Dill Butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; add 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard and 1/4 teaspoon dill weed.

Olive Butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; add 1 tablespoon sliced or chopped ripe olives.

Oriental Butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; stir in 1 teaspoon soy sauce.

Seasoned butter: Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; add 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt and dash pepper.

Enough for 1 package (9 or 10 ounces) frozen vegetables or 1 can (16 ounces) vegetables.


Verdict:

Pizza Potatoes: Like many things 70's, slightly overwhelming. The processed, pre-made seasoning mix, plus the pepperoni, plus the cheese made it really salty, probably about the same level as ramen with two packets of seasoning. Like other people have done when they were teenagers. Not me. Other people. If it weren't for the saltiness, though, and the anathema I feel towards buying anything packaged that I can make 10x better and cheaper (I am here referring to the boxed scalloped potatoes), I'd make it again. There was sauce, cheese, potatoes, and pepperoni. I have weaknesses. I tried making it again with sliced, boiled potatoes, but the magic was gone. Further research must be done.

Husband loved it, and did not think it was salty at all. However, Husband regularly eats food provided by the military. Let this factor in your judgment.

Lemon Butter Peas: While eating them, I retraced my steps to make sure I had put the lemon juice in. I had. They did not taste of lemon. They tasted of peas. I am intrigued by some of these other variations, though. Almond extract? Soy sauce?

Chili Enchiladas and Carrots Bouillon

Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library [1971], Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook [1972]

This time, I went crazy and just pulled out two recipes from Betty Crocker instead of making a set meal plan. I know! Nutty. But there you are. Sometimes one wishes to make extraordinarily unfussy food, and the 70's is prime real estate for that sort of thing. It was a time of using lots and lots of processed food. especially if your name is Betty Crocker.

This recipe used the other half-package of American cheese I had gotten for the Hot Dog Cheesies. Husband felt very sad. I reminded him that he himself had picked this recipe from a list of options I had pulled from the recipe card file. He said he should have looked at the ingredients instead of just looking at the pictures. I expressed surprise that he had not. He declared this to have been a foolish decision. I concurred. And promised ice cream.

I then inquired as to whether or not he had looked at the ingredients for the Pizza Potatoes he had also picked out. He had not. Oh dear.



Chili Enchiladas
2 cans (15 1/2 oz. each) chili without beans
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups shredded process American cheese (about 8 ounces)
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
1/4 cup cold water
Cornmeal

Heat oven up to 350 degrees F. Mix 1 can chili, 2 tablespoons of the onion and 1 cup of the cheese; set aside. Stir baking mix and water to a soft dough. Gently smooth dough into a ball on floured cloth-covered board. Knead 5 times.

Divide dough into 8 equal parts; shape each part into a ball. Roll each ball into a 5-inch circle on board dusted with cornmeal. Bake on hot ungreased griddle about 1 minute on each side or until light brown.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chili mixture on center of each enchilada. Roll up; place seam side down in ungreased baking dish, 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Spoon remaining chili over enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining onion and cheese. Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. 4 to 6 servings.

Your own soft tortillas rolled with chili, onion and cheese. Accompany with shredded lettuce and chopped red tomatoes.




Carrots Bouillon
1 can (16 oz.) carrot slices
2 teaspoons instant minced onion
1 teaspoon instant beef bouillon
1 bay leaf

In covered saucepan, heat carrot slices (with liquid), onion, bouillon and bay leaf to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.

4 servings.

Substitutions:
For instant onion: 2 tablespoons minced onion.
For instant bouillon: 1 beef bouillon cube.


Verdict:

Chili Enchiladas: There was a lot of American cheese in this. It continues to grow on me in a strange way, and I think I could really get to like it if I ate it more. There was a lot though. It was everywhere, like stringy plastic. The "tortillas" made of Bisquick were maddeningly difficult to make. Cornmeal was absolutely useless to prevent sticking. I have made tortillas before. These were 100 times harder to make than actual tortillas made of flour and shortening. Husband really liked how they were a little crunchy, though. Sadly, this same crunchiness made them so frustrating to fill and roll. In the end, each one snapped into three pieces with cold chili sticking them together. By the time I had it put together, I was starting to realize that I could have picked a better "unfussy" recipe. Just because it's processed doesn't mean it's easy.

The taste, though, was kind of all right. It was basically chili with biscuit pieces in it and 'cheese' on top. I will endorse this recipe for your use, if you replace the tortillas with tortillas and the cheese with cheese.

Carrots Bouillon: I foolishly assumed the recipe used fresh carrots instead of canned carrots, and did not realize the truth until I was making dinner. So, to substitute for the canned carrots, I overcooked the carrots. They were good though! Except for the overcooking, of course. It was like carrots from beef stew. If they had been canned carrots, this would have been wayyyyy too salty. And gross. It's an easy recipe that dresses up carrots a little bit, so I will not hesitate to recommend it. Just use fresh carrots, and don't overcook them! Oh, and in case you did not know, whoever finds a bay leaf in their food gets a kiss from the cook. So there's that.

Next Time: Is it pizza? Is it potatoes? Who can say.

Hot Dog Cheesies and Vegetable Soup

Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library [1971]


70's. We meet again.



Hot Dog Cheesies
Drop into a saucepan of boiling water (2 cups).....8 frankfurters
Lower heat; cover and simmer 5 to 8 minutes.
Spread 1 side of.................................................8 slices bread
with..................................................................soft butter
....................................................................prepared mustard
Place bread slices on baking sheet.
Top each slice with............1 slice process American cheese

Place a frankfurter on top of each cheese slice. Fold over to make a triangle shape. Fasten with wooden picks. Melt in small pan over low heat
.............................................1/4 cup butter

Brush each triangle with the melted butter.

Set oven control at broil and/or 550 degrees F.
Broil sandwiches with tops 4 to 5 inches from heat about 2 minutes or until golden brown. 8 servings.

Serve with mugs of piping hot vegetable soup.


Verdict: I made this right after the cocky leeky, because we were hungry and sad. I like hot dogs, I like cheese, I like bread, I like melted butter, what could go wrong? Answer: really not very much. They are absolutely fine. The melted butter soaked into the bread and made it delicious, and the hot dogs got a little burned (as hot dogs should properly be). The only fly in the ointment was the cheese. I remember liking American cheese as a child, but it is kind of awful. Husband said it was the worst thing I had asked him to eat as part of this project, and that is saying something! Feels kind of plastic-y in the mouth. While eating it, I also recalled that we called it Barbie doll cheese, because of its resemblance to melted fashion dolls. Were the cheese to be replaced with, you know, cheese, these would be really good, actually. The serving size is accurate, though. One of these is enough. After eating two of them, one feels slightly wrong.

Also, canned vegetable soup is terrible.

After cocky leeky, hot dog cheesies, and canned vegetable soup, we felt we deserved ice cream. Later that night, I felt ill. The next day, I ate American cheese straight, because it sounded delicious at the time. And it was. Weird.

Feel free to comment on how nice Husband is. Because he is.

Betty Crocker's Prize Sheep

Last installment of Betty Crocker's New Cooking for Two Cookbook [1972]! I hope you have enjoyed them.

Children, I'm sorry to say that your pet prize sheep, Ramsey, got a little sick while you were at school. We tried everything, but we just couldn't save him. We had to take off the fleece so we could see what the problem was better, then your mother spent minutes and minutes rubbing an herbal salve onto every inch of him. Finally, we had to amputate his legs. Because of the illness. Didn't work, so we had to keep amputating. In the end, I'm afraid he just didn't make it.

Lucky for us, and for him, we have this home cremating machine, so we could send him off in honor. He should be just about done now.... oh, look at that. Terrible! Just didn't get hot enough. He's not burned at all! Just a little... crispy... Tell you what though, we can put him here and make it like a Viking funeral! We'll just place some of his favorite things around him so he can have them in the happy sheep afterlife, where he eats tasty grass and frolics in daisies all day long. You know how much he loved cabbage. And... noodles. And mother's spicy raisin cupcakes and pineapple-cheese salad.

Barbecued Lamb Riblets
Hot Buttered Noodles
Panned Cabbage
Pineapple-Cheese Salad
Spicy Raisin Cupcakes


***Thanks to Mitchell and Webb. :D (warning: mild language)***

Sourdough Pancakes

I know, I know, you're thinking "Hey, those are just pancakes. I know about pancakes." But wait! Hold on to your phaeton, because I am about to lay down for you some knowledge. Knowledge about sourdough.

*Sourdough has been used for ages by many world cultures to raise bread.
*It is basically slow-acting liquid yeast.
*Not all sourdough tastes the same. Each culture has its own unique taste. You have probably tasted the San Francisco strain, which is sort of tangy. There's a Bahrain strain that tastes of almost nothing. I don't get the point, but people who hate the taste of sourdough like it.
*It is like having a pet [or, technically, billions of pets] that isn't messy, smells nice, and periodically gives you fresh bread.
*It self-replicates if you feed it. After you take some out for a recipe, stir in some flour and water. Result: infinite sourdough starter. It is basically like owning a tribble.
*You can buy starters online, get some from a friend, order it for free from here, or grow your own. I got mine from the Pioneer Foodie.

In the 70's, as part of the get-back-to-nature Mother Earth sort of movement, sourdough got a little spike of popularity. And for good reason.

Sourdough Pancakes
2 cups sourdough starter
2 T. sugar
4 T. oil
1 egg
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

Mix sourdough starter, sugar, egg, and oil. Dilute baking soda in a little bit of warm water, and stir in gently just before you are ready to cook the pancakes. Cook the pancakes.


Husband said these are his new favorite pancakes. I had to add chopped blackberries so they would not float away, so light and fluffy were they.

Betty Crocker's Gelatin Foolishness

More from Betty Crocker's New Cooking for Two Cookbook! [1972]


Ah, an arrangement of complementary foods nestling together harmoniously. Gelatin, pears, tomatoes, radishes, and peas, all melded together in a jellied loaf.

Wait a second, back that truck up.

Betty Crocker's Festive Culinary Dragon

This festive culinary dragon accompanies a recipe for Chinese Beef and Rice. As much as this does not make sense on first glance, think about it! How handy would it be for wok cookery to be able to shoot super-heated flames out of your nose?

However, upon Googling, it seems that the only reason for a Chinese dragon to shoot fire out of its face would be as a sign of divine displeasure, for punishing evildoers. This can only mean that this dish has incurred the wrath of God.

Chinese Beef and Rice
2/3 cup rice
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 bouillon cube
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups diced cooked beef

Cook rice in hot oil over medium heat until golden brown. Add salt, water, bouillon cube, and soy sauce. Cover; simmer 20 min. Add rest of ingredients. Cover tightly and simmer 10 min. more. (It may be necessary to add a little more water.) All water should be absorbed at end of cooking time. If not, remove cover and allow liquid to evaporate. 2 generous servings.

Amazing Juggling Cow

Another installment from the Betty Crocker New Cooking for Two Cookbook [1972].

Ta daaaaaaaaaa! What a talented cow! But you may ask: why is the cow juggling? For that, let us look to the menu.

Roast Beef au Jus
Browned Potatoes
Tomatoes Vinaigrette
Hot Rolls
Ice Cream with Raspberry-Currant Sauce
Brownies

I present two options. You may choose your favorite, or come up with a different one.

1. The cow is super pleased to be a part of dinner! It is juggling the side dishes to show its pride and satisfaction at finally realizing its life purpose. "Hooray!" the cow exclaims. "I will be the freshest most succulent delicious part of this meal. I have been eating extra food and taking many naps so that my flesh might be highly marbled and tender, that I may please the humans who shall partake of me."

2. "Look! Look! I can juggle! I can juggle, see? See? You can't eat a juggling cow, can you? Can you? I'm ever so entertaining!" "No. We will eat you because you are delicious." "But I stepped in my own poop today! And I've just hooved all the side dishes! Now they are fouled with poop. So you can't eat me after all I guess! Ha ha!" "Hm. That is true. We cannot eat poop rolls. We will just have to make do with what's left." "Yes! Yes! WAIT." *snick blurble*

Oh, you silly jolly cow!

Grapefruit Imperial

[1972]



Do you remember Sugar Girl and her Anthropomorphic Zoo Animals, and I said I had lost the cookbook? Good news! I found it. Hooray! This is a cookbook produced by the Imperial Sugar company, and features many recipes for children that each involve large amounts of sugar. Awesome!


Grapefruit Imperial

You will need:
2 grapefruit
Imperial Brown Sugar
Maraschino cherries
Knife, citrus knife, measuring spoons, aluminum foil, pot holder

Work plan:
Place sheet of aluminum foil over grill of broiler pan. Turn on broiler, asking for help from mother if necessary. [It was not necessary.] Slice grapefruit in half. Cut around each section and remove the center. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Imperial Brown Sugar over top of each grapefruit half. Arrange grapefruit halves on broiler pan and place under broiler. Cook until sugar melts and edge of grapefruit turns delicate brown [about 10 minutes]. Remove from broiler. Put 1 cherry in center of each half.

Serve:
Should be served at once. Serves four. Grapefruit Imperial is delicious at breakfast but is also good at other meals.

Idea:
Sprinkle grapefruit halves with grated orange rind when grapefruit are almost ready. Return to broiler and finish cooking.

Use foil covered muffin tin, rather than broiler pan.


Verdict: It does look festive, doesn't it? This would be lovely for a fancy breakfast. Some of the sugar pooled up and caramelized like on the top of creme brulee. I still prefer icy cold grapefruit with a sprinkle of sugar, but this was an interesting change. And it's got a cherry on top!

Betty Crocker's Chicken Hat

Another gem from Betty Crocker's New Dinner for Two Cookbook [1972].


This is a narcissistic chicken sporting a jaunty bread-and-pear chapeau.

What more can be said?

Chicken Salad
For variety, use 1/4 cup chopped salted almonds in place of bacon.

1 cup cut-up cooked chicken (large chunks)
1/2 cup cut-up celery (1/4" pieces)
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 or 2 hard-cooked eggs, cut up
1/4 cup finely broken crisp bacon

Toss chicken, celery, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together. Mix in mayonnaise. Carefully fold in eggs. Chill thoroughly. If desired, serve in tomato cups or on drained pineapple or avocado slices on salad greens. Sprinkle with the crisp bacon. 2 servings.

Teenage Kitchen Fondue with Mini Meatballs and Psychedelic Dessert Fondue

Remember the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library, from which we discovered the Meal in a Muffin Tin? One of its best features is that there is an entire section labeled "Fondue."

Well! Now it is time for some time travel back to 1971 for some of that business!

I know that were I a teenager, I would not be averse to a party centered around melted cheese.

Menu:
Mock Cheese Fondue
Vegetable Relish Sticks
Psychedelic Dessert Fondue
Milk



Mock Cheese Fondue (Apple Juice)
2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed Cheddar cheese soup
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup apple cider or juice
Dippers (below)
In earthenware fondue pot, heat soup and garlic over low heat to just below boiling; remove from heat. Stir half of hot soup into egg yolks*; blend into remaining soup. Stir in cider; heat through, stirring constantly. Transfer pot to source of heat at table. Adjust heat when necessary to keep fondue warm. Swirl dippers in fondue. 4 servings.

Dippers: Cut-up cooked frankfurters, cooked Mini Meatballs (FONDUES card 12), dill pickle chunks, cut up French bread and cauliflowerets.


Mini Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Sauces (below)

Mix all ingredients except sauces. Shape mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls into 3/4 inch balls. Prepare sauces. Cover meatballs and sauces; refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving.

In metal fondue pot, heat salad oil (2 inches) to 375 degrees; transfer pot to source of heat at table. Adjust heat when necessary to maintain temperature of oil.

Spear meatballs with fondue forks and place in hot oil. Cook until crusty on the outside, juicy inside. Dip into sauces. 6 dozen meatballs.

Sweet and Sour Sauce: In small saucepan, heat 1/4 cup chili sauce and 1/4 cup grape or plum jelly, stirring constantly, until jelly melts. 1/2 cup.

Honey-Soy Sauce: Mix 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. 3/4 cup.

Sauce O' Gold: Mix 1/4 cup prepared mustard, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon rosemary leaves and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. 1/2 cup.




Psychedelic Dessert Fondue
In dessert fondue pot, pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 package (6 oz.) fruit-flavored gelatin. Stir to dissolve. Adjust heat when necessary to keep fondue warm. Spear Dippers (below) and swirl in fondue, then dip into whipped cream or chopped nuts. 4 servings.

Dippers: Angel food or pound cake squares, marshmallows, pieces of fresh fruit.


Verdict:

Teenage Kitchen Fondue: It's... hot cheese soup! Hooray! I chose this meal for two reasons: 1.) it uses cider instead of wine or beer, and as I have mentioned before, I'm a teetotaler and b.) Psychedelic Dessert Fondue. I presume the reason it is specifically for teenagers is the absence of alcohol. On the down side, it is made of hot cheese soup. Gahhhh. As a thing to dip other things into, it was pretty tasty. As a fondue, it was terrible. Like a fat-free cheesecake. Still, we happily dipped all the recommended dippers into cheese-flavored sauce. I really love French bread, cauliflower, meatballs, and sausages dipped in cheese.



Husband declared that although it was tasty, next time we did fondue he demanded there be cheese involved. I concurred.

Mini Meatballs: Can't go wrong with a mini meatball! We ate about half with the fondue, and then I saved some for spaghetti the next day. I am clever in this way.

Psychedelic Dessert Fondue: Oh my goodness look at that title. So awesome. Or... groovy? I don't know what the cool kids were saying those days. The very title of this recipe was most of the reason I chose it. On the down side, it is hot Jello water. It was fine, but we decided that our pound cake and stale marshmallows were better without being dipped in the hot Jello water. It sort of dissolved the outside of the stale marshmallows into a slick goo, while keeping the inside much like chewing gum.

On the other hand, I can see how kids would really like this. Kids like dipping their food into things, poking things with sticks, and bright colors, so I really think they'd be into this in a big way. This would go over well at a birthday party or somesuch thing, especially if, as suggested, there was whipped cream (or sprinkles!) to dip the food into AGAIN.

Overall: Pretty satisfying, actually. The hot cheese soup dipping may sound gross, but it's actually pretty good. We probably ate a little too much, including most of a cauliflower.



*This is known as tempering. You sloooowly drizzle hot liquid into eggs, while whisking. The point of this is to gradually bring the temperature of the eggs up so they blend smoothly into the mixture instead of instantly becoming chunks of scrambled egg. I think we can all agree this is a good thing.