my moms cheesecake recipe

 

crust

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

mix and press into an 8" pie plate

filling

soften an 8 oz package of cream cheese.  beat until fluffy.  gradually blend in 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 TB lemon juice, 1/2 tsp vanilla and a dash of salt.  add 2 eggs, one at a time.

pour filling into crust.  bake at 325' until set - 25-30 minutes.

topping

combine 1 cup sour cream, 2 TB sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  spread over pie.  bake 10 minutes longer.

cool and then chill in the fridge. 

my moms fudge recipe

 

5 minute fudge

2 Tb butter

1 small can evaporated milk (2/3 cup)

1 2/3 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

toppings (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.  Stir vigorously until all melted.  Pour into a buttered 8" can and decorate if desired.  Cool and cut into squares.

family recipes

 i am done moving all my recipes that were saved on paper from the green binder and just laying around loose paper to my new notebook systems.  i saved the best part for last - family recipes written out by my mom.  i always thought she had the best handwriting.  i wanted to make sure i had something handwritten by her to remember how cool her writing was.

i didn't even realize until just now that she too had a big binder of recipes for years and years,  over time the binder broke, her way of cooking changed, and perhaps she even did her own cull of recipes.  Now it's just some loose pages, some of which my dad gave to me.

I absolutely did not want to get rid of her originals, and I found (yet another) blank notebook in the basement, this one standard paper size, and pasted in her originals

 my whole childhood and well into my teens, my mom would spend a lot of time and effort before christmas to make huge treat boxes for both sets of grandparents - cookies, chocolate, sweet bread, and her most excellent caramel corn.  i always was recruited for this one, to do the stirring every 15 minutes.  she would make so much of this every year, but it was so good and the only time of year we got to have it.

 

there is a 100% chance i will never make this cake, but i couldn't not keep the recipe.

 please enjoy this magazine page from 1984 (!) which was a fancy ass meal when i was a kid.  my mom never messed around and made the puff pastry, just the chicken, but i do remember this dish and i recall making it in my early 20's, the occasional time i was flush enough to be able to afford to buy both chicken AND bacon on my minimum wage paycheque.

 

 

REMINDER - bean salad

 That's it.  That's the whole reminder, that my mom's bean salad recipe is so, so good.

Sunday Dinner - my mom's split pea soup recipe

 The weather changed suddenly and horribly to winter early this year and now we have had daylight savings and it's dark all the time and cold and snowy and I hate it.  I am NOT a winter person, even though I made this pretty snowflake craft out of paper bags and will make more once I get my hands on more paper bags

I pulled out the big ole green binder to find my mom's pea soup recipe because pea soup sounded so comforting.

We had meat and cheese  - pimento cheese! - and bread and some raw veggies too.

My Mom's Pea Soup - with some changes from me

2 cups dried yellow split peas

1 1/2 - 2 lb smoked ham hocks

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1-2 potatos, chopped

1 TB salt

2 litres water

Wash peas in a sieve under cold water - discard any that are discolored.  Place peas in a heavy 5-6 quart pot and add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.  Remove the cover and simmer 20 minutes more.  Transfer the ham hocks to a cutting board and pull off the ham, cut into bite size chunks and return to the pot.  Simmer until peas and vegetables are tender, and adjust seasonings.

tomato tart from the past

 This tart first showed up on my blawg in 2006 (!!!!!!!!) but my mom was making it for years before that.

 We make it with store bought dough so it's super simple; just saute some onion and garlic until soft and starting to brown, spread over the dough, leaving a border, and top with sliced tomatos and whatever kind of cheese you like - we usually use mozza and feta.  Sometimes we stir basil and/or oregano into the onions and garlic.  Adding some fresh or sauteed spinach would be amazing!

It's a quick easy meal that is best when you can get your hands on some beautiful tomatos.  

Happy Wednesday!

My mom's waffles recipe and her waffle maker

I pulled out my mom's waffle recipe and her waffle maker on Sunday to make the kids THE BEST waffles ever.  So light and crisp.  The recipe makes a small batch, so if you have a big group to feed, you might want to double it.

The waffle maker is a double sided style, so you pour the batter in, close the lid, flip the whole thing over and make another waffle on the other side.  My favorite kind of waffle maker.

My Mom's Tetrazzini

I don't know how to start here after my last post, so talking about one of my mom's recipes feels like the thing to do.

My mom's tetrazzini has always been a favorite of mine - I used to think it was so classy! 

Noodles and cream of mushroom soup!  What could be better?

Some days, not much.

I made this one not long after she passed away, with some leftover rotisserie chicken. It felt good to make this meal for the kids, even though both are so picky - The Girl will eat some of the noodles, but not the chicken, and The Boy will scrape off the cheese and eat the chicken but isn't so much a fan of pasta.  I like it all.

I am thinking about going through my posts and starting a new label, maybe family recipes?  to note all the good stuff my mom shared with us.  There's a lot.  Also check out my Sunday Dinner label - most of the Sunday dinners I cooked for my mom and dad are posted too.  And I also have a family label, for  memories.  I am slowly searching key words on the blog to look for untagged posts that I want to add to the categories.  The Sunday Dinner label will return - we are back to having Sunday dinners with my Dad, and as soon as I get organized (ha!) the posts will start again.
Sadly, some of my older posts won't update with new labels, so I will have to start remaking some of this delicious stuff and posting so it can be labelled.  The things I must do....

Blueberry muffins for G

Every weekend I make a batch of blueberry muffins for The Grandfather.

They are one of his favorite things ever.

These are serious muffins - low in fat and sugar, and high in fiber.
My kids are not fans.  What a shock!

I've taken my mom's recipe, which she has noted on the paper came from the local hospital, and made a few changes over the multiple times I've made these.

Blueberry Muffins for G

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3 TB vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp grated lemon or orange zest

1/2 cup Bran Buds cereal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350'.  Line 12 muffin cups with liners.

Beat egg, stir in milk, oil, vanilla, zest and bran buds.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Stir again and add in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined.  Gently stir in berries.

Spoon into prepared cups and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Baci di Cioccolati - the best chocolate cookies

I rarely look at "stats" for my blog, but every year starting in November, my daily visitor numbers start to climb, when everyone begins looking for cookie recipes for holiday baking.  My number one post each year is always for shortbread - here - but I want to share another recipe with you today, in case you are looking for a simple, amazing, knock your socks off cookie recipe. 

My mom makes these every few years, and I made them a couple of months ago for a work potluck and handed out the extras to some co-workers, and the next day I had to make about 15 copies of the recipe to hand out, they were so popular.  These are delicious and truffle-like and gorgeous.

This recipe comes from the book Dishing: Calgary Women Cook.

Baci di Cioccolati

Rosemary Harbrecht

Makes 4 dozen

10 oz semi sweet chocolate

2/3 cup butter

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

   pinch salt

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup dried apricots, choppped

1 cup white chocolate chips

Gently melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or microwave.  Let cool.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until thick.  Add the vanilla and melted chocolate and butter.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix well.  Fold in the dried fruits, and then the while chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 325'.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased or lined cookie sheet.  Bake 12 minutes, until the tops are crackly, puffy and shiny.  They will remain soft after baking. 

Zucchini Sticks with Hollandaise Sauce

I remember when I was a kid that my parents would have company over and sometimes my mom would make zucchini sticks with hollandaise sauce. I LIVED for these nights. Seriously, this dish would make it onto my last meal menu.

The zucchini sticks are basic - sliced zuke dunked in beaten egg, then tossed in seasoned flour and fried in an inch or 2 of oil until nice and brown. Drain briefly on paper towels so you don't burn your little mouth.

I make my hollandaise sauce from the recipe my Mom gave me, from Best of Bridge - here. The best, seriously.

If you're underweight and need to put on a few pounds fast, make up a big ole batch of this. If you're a pudge like me, make it once every 5 years and dream about it the rest of the time.

Presto Pasta - Chicken Tetrazzini

I can't believe it's been a couple of months since I last took part in Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights! And speaking of time flying, summer is over! And how the hell is it October??? The time, it really do fly.

Anyhoo, this week I am sharing a dish I learned how to make when I was just a young lass. I don't know where my Mom got the recipe from, but it has always been a favorite of mine. Chicken Tetrazzini. I love this, especially in the fall and winter. It's hearty, warming, tasty and easy. And you can have it on the table in around an hour.

I've made a few changes since I first copied down this recipe in my Sara's Cookbook #1 all those many years ago. My tetrazzini, let me show you it.

Ok, heat 1 tb of oil in a medium or large pan over medium high heat. Chop up a small onion and 2 or 3 garlic cloves. When your pan is hot, add the onion and cook, stirring, until starting to soften. Add the garlic and cook a couple more minutes. Then add some skinless chicken - this dish is going to make 4 servings, so I usually use 2 breasts or 4 drumsticks - and brown the chicken on all sides.


Then add a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, 3/4 of the soup can of milk, and a can of mushroom pieces (drained). Whisk until smooth. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, turning chicken pieces once or twice.


While the chicken and sauce are simmering, cook yourself up some pasta, enough for 4 people (maybe 1/2 lb? I never measure). Stir the pasta into the sauce. Pour the pasta into your baking dish and top with the chicken.


Top with grated parmesan cheese.


Bake at 400' for 20 minutes.


Slice up the chicken breasts, plate up and enjoy!



Check back with Ruth next Friday for the weekly Presto Pasta Roundup!

Mothers Day Week - Lemon Bread

Here's the last Mothers Day post. This was fun and brought back a lot of memories about me and my mom in the kitchen. I found this recipe the other night while looking for another one of my mom's recipes to post. I loved helping my mom make this because she'd "let" me squeeze the lemons (Yeah right let me...who likes to do that? NO ONE. That is what gullable children are for.) I haven't had this in years and years, but I can remember exactly what it tastes like. The sugary shock of the lemon juice poured over top, the crumbly cake...I might need to make this very soon.

Lemon Bread

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
rind of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar

Combine shortening thru lemon rind and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350' for 1 hour. Mix together the sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake while still hot. Let cool and remove from the pan.

Mothers Day Week - Potato Pancakes

Anyone who knows me knows I am a real potato fiend. When I was little, I'd eat them at every meal if I could.
My mom taught me how to use the blender to make these. She'd serve them with sausage or ham, and sometimes on their own for a special breakfast.
Serve with applesauce, sour cream or butter.

Potato Pancakes

2 eggs
1/2 small onion
1 tsp salt
pepper
2 tb flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 cups cubed raw potato

Put 1/2 cup of potato, plus all other ingredients in a blender. Cover and process on "Grate" until all the potatos have gone through the blades. Add the rest of the potatos and blend, but leave a little chunky.
Heat pan over medium high heat. Add a splash of oil, and spoon 2-3 tb of batter per pancake. Serve right away.

Mothers Day Week

Like most people, my mom taught me to cook. She taught me to enjoy cooking, to be brave and experiment. That if those experiments don't work out, it's not the end of the world. Mom taught me that cooking is a family affair.
Even now when my parents come to visit, or when we go to their house, all four of us cram in the kitchen to help.
That is a tradition I will pass on to my child one day too.
So to celebrate my mom, every day this week I'll be posting a recipe that she taught me.

Happy Mothers Day to my mom, and to all the moms out there.

Muffins That Taste Like Donuts

this is one of the first recipes she taught me to bake. And they really do taste like donuts!

1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a second bowl, combine the oil, sugar, egg and milk.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix only to combine.
Pour into muffin tins and bake at 350' for 20-25 minutes.
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
Turn the muffins out immediately and while hot, dip the tops in the melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar.
Let cool.

Saturday night dinner - crab cakes

This is a recipe my mom gave me. It is adapted from a recipe from Canadian Living magazine.

Crab cakes with chipolte mayo.

Sobeys sells a top-quality brand of crab removed from the shell, picked over etc. There is enough crab in the bag for 2 recipes of this, or 1 crab cake recipe and something else yummy.

CRAB CAKES
200 g crab, cleaned and picked
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow or orange pepper
1/4 cup chopped green or red onion
1 egg
2 tb bread crumbs, plus more for dredging
oil for frying

MAYO
1 or 2 canned chipolte peppers (depending on how spicy you want it) with adobo sauce
1/2 cup fat free mayo
dash worcestershire

To make mayo: finely dice chipoltes. Mix all ingrediants together.

To make crab cakes: Squeeze as much liquid as possible from crab. Add the peppers, onion, egg and bread crumbs. Add 3 tb of the chipolte mayo and mix together. Form into patties and lightly bread in the extra crumbs.

Fry over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Serve with mayo and lemon.

Beef and Broccoli

My mom used to make this for special occasions when I was young. It's been a long time since I had it, but I found myself pulled to both beef and broccoli at Sobeys last night. It was darn tasty.

1 lb steak, cut into strips
1 Tb paprika
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups beef broth
Handful chopped green onions
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped in bite size pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tb cornstarch
2 tomatos, cut in wedges
Hot cooked rice

Toss the steak with the paprika. Melt 1 or 2 Tb butter in a large pan, and lightly brown meat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add broth, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the onions and broccoli, and cook covered for 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch into the soy, add and cook until thickened. Add the tomatos and cook until the tomatos are just heated through.
Serve over rice.

Hot Pepper Jelly

Speaking of the best recipes, here's my mom's recipe for Hot Pepper Jelly. It is good with cream cheese (try garlic cream cheese) and crackers, in sandwiches, and brushed on chicken and stuff.

I usually just seal the jars with wax as we eat it so quickly.

3 red peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
6 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bottle of liquid or 1 pouch of powdered Certo
red food coloring if needed

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a pot, and cook over medium high heat. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a boil. Add food coloring if you want. Add Certo and boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, skim off foam, and pour into sterilized jars.

Makes about 6 small jars.