Everyone has their favorite way to make tuna salad. This is mine.

tuna, white or albacore in spring water
hard boiled egg, chopped finely
2 or 3 tsp. cream cheese
mayo
dab of dijon mustard
shake of salt and pepper
1/2 -3/4 of an apple, chopped without skin
small amount of onion, preferably vidalia, finely chopped
a bit of chopped celery, not tons of it

Mix it all together.
You have to really smoosh the cream cheese into the tuna.
Don't buy a mealy or soft apple--you want a nice hard one, kinda sweet.

Sometimes I slice a few green olives and place them on top of the tuna once I put the tuna on the bread. The main thing that makes this good is to add cream cheese to whatever ingredients you use. Oh, and because you have the cream cheese, you still need the mayo, but you won't need as much mayo as with normal tuna salad.

Preheat to: 350 degrees

8 ounces mozzarrella cheese
8 ounces parmesan cheese
2 cups Hellman mayonnaise
1 loaf of white, round bread, uncut loaf
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts

Drain artichoke hearts--this means TOTALLY drain.*
Chop artichoke hearts finely--better if done with food processor/chopper.

In a microwaveable dish, mix the two cheeses and the mayonnaise.
Cook on high in microwave for 2 minutes. (mixture WON'T be totally melted.)

Cut off top of bread and scoop out the inside of the loaf.
Save inside pieces to use for dipping.

Stir the cheese and mayonnaise mixture thoroughly.
Add artichoke hearts and mix.

Put that mixture into the scooped out bread.
Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly, around 20+ minutes.

Serve with the bread pieces--dip into cheese mixture.

*Really let those artichoke hearts drain in a colander for a long time, or at least more than a couple minutes.

This has been my favorite banana bread recipe since 1977.
This recipe is from the 1976 edition of the Favorite Recipes from Associated Women for Harding Cookbook, from Harding University.

Preheat to: 325 degrees

3 or 4 overripe bananas*
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
chopped nuts, optional

Mash bananas with fork.
Stir in other ingredients.
Pour into buttered loaf pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

*Make sure your bananas are overripe, like pretty dark if not black.
If they aren't ripe enough they don't meld well with all the ingredients.

Amounts of ingredients are variable depending on how much you want to make.

fresh broccoli
carrots
red onion
pasta - the ruffly one
mayonnaise - about 1/2 cup
bottle of Paul Newman's Caesar Salad Dressing

Cook pasta and drain. You can use whatever pasta you want.
Cut broccoli stems off so you just have the florets.
You can very lightly steam the broccoli if you want, or leave it raw.
Use your potato peeler to do shavings of carrots, or julienne them.
Chop onion. You can use whatever onion you like.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Note: Depending on how much of this you are making, you might not need the full bottle of salad dressing. If I'm doing a regular size box of pasta I sometimes only use 3/4 of the regular sized bottle of dressing. But it totally depends on your taste and the amount of ingredients you use. So start with smaller amounts of mayo and salad dressing, mix it up and taste it, then adjust accordingly.

Best after chilled for a few hours.

2/3 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
1 T. parsley flakes
1 T. dry minced onion flakes
1 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp. seasoned salt

Mix all ingredients together well and let chill for several hours.
Serve with raw vegetables: carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, celery.

Note: I have used fresh onion in this instead of the dry minced onion and it is just not as good for some reason. Try fresh onion at your own risk.

Preheat to: 350 degrees

large can of yams
brown sugar
light cream
melted butter
cinnamon
nutmeg
marshmallows

Cook yams and drain off most of syrup.
Mash well with mixer.
Blend in all other ingredients to taste, except marshmallows.
Put in casserole dish.
Top with marshmallows.

Bake at 350 until marshmallows are melted and browned on top.

Note: You can really vary the ingredients in this and the amounts of the ingredients. I have added pineapple, or coconut, and I think I made it with an egg one time. So just experiment.

These brownies and the icing recipe below come from the 1976 edition of the Favorite Recipes from Associated Women for Harding Cookbook, from Harding University.

Preheat to: 350 degrees

1/2 cup plus 2 T. cocoa
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Combine eggs, sugar, and oil.
Stir in the dry ingredients.
(you can add nuts here, 1 cup, if you like nuts in your brownies)

Pour into greaed and floured 9 X 13 inch pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Note: DO NOT overcook! Start checking them at 23-25 minutes. It all depends on how hot your oven actually gets. If you cook them too long, they will get hard once they cool. Of course if you don't cook them long enough, they will fall apart.

They are great without icing, but if want icing:

Icing:
2 cup sugar
4 T. cocoa
8 T. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes.
Beat until mixture begins to thicken.
But don't overbeat this!
Pour over the brownies while they are still in the pan.
Very fudgy icing.

Note: if you just want enough brownies to fill an 8 X 8 square pan, cut everything above in half.

This is good at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Part 1--Cake

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin (not pie filling if getting canned, just the pumpkin*)
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs on high for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Stir together dry ingredients. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread on greased and floured 15X10X1 inch pan. Bake @ 325 degrees for 15 minutes (cake should be cooked till done). Turn out onto towel coated with powdered sugar. Starting at narrow end, roll towel and cake together.
COOL COMPLETELY!!!!

*When I used fresh pumpkin with this it wasn't as good, so try to just buy plain canned pumpkin.

Part 2--Filling

1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
4 T. butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond

Beat together part 2 ingredients until creamy.

Unroll cake and spread with filling. Roll cake and filling up together.
Wrap in foil and chill several hours.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and slice to serve.

Preheat to: 350 degrees

1 box Lasagna noodles cooked, rinsed, and drained

1 lb. mozzarella cheese

Sauce:
1 lb. ground beef
2 large cans tomatoes, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
2 T. brown sugar
chopped onion, small (optional)
garlic cloves, smashed or garlic powder
garlic pepper seasoning
marjoram
thyme
bay leaf--1 or 2
oregano--not too much of this
basil

Cheese Mixture:
lg. container ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley flakes

Brown ground beef in large frying pan 1-2 inch deep, drain off any grease.
Add tomatoes, chopped, along with liquid from can of tomatoes.
Add tomato paste and brown sugar.
Add onion and spices. Use spices to taste--at least 1/2 tsp of each. I use less oregano and more basil.
Rinse the tomato paste and tomato cans with water and add to sauce.
Stir well.
Cook over low heat for at least 1 hour. Add more water if necessary for longer cooking.

If using fresh mozzarella, remove from water and drain a bit. Then slice it into fairly thin layers, whatever you can manage.

Mix ricotta, eggs, parsley and parmesan in bowl.

Layer in baking dish--sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella.
Use whatever order you like but start with sauce and end with a layer of mozzarella and the last of the sauce on the very top.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-60 minutes until entire mixture is bubbly--make sure the center is completely cooked.

Let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.

low fat and low cholesterol

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
egg white
Italian herbed bread crumbs*
olive oil

*can make your own bread crumbs, then add Italian seasonings:
garlic powder, oregano, basil, garlic pepper, marjoram, rosemary
and if you use store bought Italian bread crumbs add a little garlic salt to them.

Place each chicken breast in plastic bag or between saran wrap.
Beat each one flat with mallet.
Dip into egg white.
Dip into bread crumbs and coat thoroughly.

Cook over medium heat in nonstick pan in small amount of olive oil.
Cook about 10-20 minutes, depending on how many are in pan and heat level.

This recipe is lower in fat and cholesterol and tastes as good as fried chicken.

2-4 chicen breasts, boneless, skinless
1 can enchilada sauce*
1 jar med-large salsa or picante sauce
1 jar/can of green chiles (optional)
1 can refried beans
1 pkg flour tortillas
1 pkg shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg shredded monterey jack cheese
(note-get enough cheese to put in tortillas and to top them at end)
1 large onion
butter
sour cream
guacamole

Boil chicken or cook it however you want.
Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Fry chopped onion in butter (or olive oil) until clear. Set aside.
Chop up green chiles if you are using them. Set aside.
Heat refried beans. Set aside.

In a pie plate or a frying pan, mix enchilada sauce with salsa or picante sauce.
Note: you can use either salsa or picante or a mix of both.
Tip: if you want a smoother sauce, put salsa through a blender for a few seconds.

Now comes the messy part.

Take each tortilla one by one and first dip into the enchilada sauce/salsa mixture.
Coat tortilla lightly on each side.
In center of tortilla, place some refried beans, onions, chicken, green chiles if using them, and cheese.
Roll up the tortilla and place seam-side down in rectangular baking dish - like the pan you use for lasagna.
Repeat for all tortillas until you have used up ingredients.
Place rolled tortillas close together in the pan.
Top with any remaining sauce/salsa mixture.
Cover all with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until everything is heated through, cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with a side of sour cream and a side of guacamole.

*Note: I have made these without the enchilada sauce, one time when I forgot to buy it at the store. I had a large jar of salsa and a small one of picante sauce and I just used those and the enchiladas turned out fine.

1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups oats

In heavy saucepan on top of stove, bring to a boil:
butter, milk, cocoa, sugar

Boil for 1 full minute at a full rolling boil.
Add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir and let cool a bit.
Take off heat.
Add 3 cups oats.
Drop onto waxed paper or foil sprayed with Pam by spoonfuls.
Let cool before eating.

Preheat to: 400 degrees

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. milk
4 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla, eggs and milk.
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together.
Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture.

Chill dough 2-3 hours or use immediately.
Roll on floured surface.
Cut into desired shapes.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes (check at 8 min.)
Makes 6 dozen 2 inch cookies.
Frost with vanilla frosting (see below).

Vanilla Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
about 2 T. milk

Sift the powdered sugar to get out lumps.
Mix with butter.
Stir in vanilla and milk and beat until smooth.
Use enough milk to make it a spreadable consistency.
Then add food colorings.

8 cups cleaned, cut spinach
2 chopped onions
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour
6-8 cups milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and spinach in butter until mushy.
Add flour and stir till bubbly.
Add milk and continue stirring till thick.
Remove from heat and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Blend 1/2 the soup in a blender when cooler for a richer flavor.
Then add back in to mixture and reheat when ready to serve.

NOTE: For Cream of Mushroom soup substitute 2 pounds sliced mushrooms for the spinach. Add 1/8 cup dry white wine with other seasonings.

Preheat to: 400 degrees

Chicken Breasts, skin removed

Seasonings:
garlic salt
rosemary
basil
sage
pepper
marjoram
thyme

Use whichever seasonings you like.

Your choice of the following:
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Onions
Mushrooms
Carrots - julienned or thinly sliced

Use one or all of the vegetables in this.

Place each chicken breast in center of large square of foil.
Sprinkle seasonings to taste on top of chicken.
Place sliced or chopped vegetables on top of chicken and around it.
Place a square of butter or margarine on top of all if desired.
Close foil and crimp all around to seal all inside.

Place foil packets on cookie sheet.

Bake @ 400-425 degrees for 20 minutes (or longer if doing many).

Can serve by placing foil packages on individual plates and opening at table
or place chicken and vegetables on plates ahead of time.

VARIATION:

Can also top chicken with more italian seasonings, chopped or whole canned
tomatoes, and serve with pasta for an italian chicken dish.

From: Susan
Preheat: don't - see below

2 cups hot water
1 pkg yeast
1 T. salt
1 T. sugar
5 cups white flour + 1 cup

Mix all ingreds with 5 cups of flour.
Dump out on kneading surface on top of 1 more cup of flour and knead that cup of flour into the dough.
Knead.
Let rise till fills bowl, about 30-40 minutes.
Cut in half.
Spray cookie sheet with pam and sprinkle corn meal lightly onto sheet.
Pull each half into loaf shape and lay onto cookie sheet.
Put slash marks into each with kitchen scissors.
Let sit out on counter for 10 minutes uncovered.
Put in cold oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

From: Susan
Preheat to: 350 degrees
Makes: 2 loaves

2 cups hot water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. pkg yeast
2/3 cup powdered milk
1 tsp. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups white flour

Mix all but flour together, yeast floats on top.
Add flour, knead in last cups.
Knead into ball.
Let rise till doubled.
Punch down.
Let rise again.
Punch down and cut into loaves and knead into shapes.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Preheat to: 350 degrees

1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion, optional
garlic salt to taste
2 cans french style green beans
4-6 servings of instant mashed potatoes, prepared
2-4 slices American Processed Cheese

Saute onions (you can put as much or as little onions as you want).
Brown ground beef with onions.
Add salt, pepper, and/or garlic salt to the meat and onions.
Drain off any grease--use your judgment here. If you drain off every single speck of grease, the meat tends to taste too dry, so leave just a smidge.

Prepare 4-6 servings of instant mashed potatoes. You can use real mashed potatoes as well--but instant are quicker and work just fine. I usually make about 6 servings, but you should adjust this to how much you want in the potato part of the dish.

Choose what baking dish to use:
I often make this in a loaf pan, but it can also be made in a pie plate, or a square pan 8 X 8. A larger rectangular pan will be too big unless you double the recipe.

In your dish, first spread out the ground beef and onion mixture.
DRAIN your green beans, then spread them out over the ground beef.
Spoon your mashed potatoes over the green beans, sort of sealing the top.
Top with slices of American Cheese (I use Kraft Deluxe American Cheese, not cheese food. Have also used cheddar and monterey jack on this.)

Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese has melted--about 20 minutes or so.

From: Susan
Preheat to: 350 degrees

Filling:
one can cream of chicken soup
chopped onion
garlic (chopped or pressed)
can of chopped green chilies
about half a cup plain yogurt
chopped up leftover chicken

Grate some Jack cheese

Assemble:

Heat flour tortilla over stove burner to make it limp
Place big spoonful of filling
Sprinkle some jack cheese
Roll that baby up and place in a greased pan

Make sure you have a cup or more of filling left over after rolling all your
enchiladas. Thin (just slightly) the leftover filling with little bit water
and pour it over the enchiladas.

Heat in 350 oven about 20 min (or nuke it til hot)

Sprinkle top with cheese. If they are hot enough, you don't have to put them
back in oven, the cheese just melts on top.

I've decided to try and store the recipes here in this blog. That way friends and relatives can add their own recipes (at least i think it will work that way!) and also make comments on a recipe if they wish.

If I know where I got the recipe from I will list it, otherwise its something I've seen in a number of places, or that I've had forever and don't know where it came from.

Abbreviations are as follows:

T. = tablespoon
tsp. = teaspoon
C. = cup
pkg = package