Recipes

Mexican Lasagna

Cinco de Mayo will be here before you know it. Here's a popular recipe from Sylvia's kitchen that offers a south-of-the-border twisted version of a traditional Mediterranean favorite.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2-1/2 cups water
2-1/2 cups picante sauce or salsa
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
¾ cup finely sliced green onions
1 can (2.2 ounces) sliced black olives, drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Combine beef, beans, oregano, cumin and garlic powder. Place four of the uncooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 13x9x2 baking pan. Spread half the beef mixture over the noodles. Top with four more noodles and the remaining beef mixture. Cover with remaining noodles. Combine water and picante sauce. Pour over all. Cover tightly with foil; bake at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or until noodles are tender. Combine sour cream, onions and olives. Spoon over casserole; top with cheese. Bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. About 12 servings


Roquefort Dressing

With spring comes salad time. This is a more recent hit from Sylvia's kitchen. A great bleu cheese dressing with just a little kick. (Nancy Swenson’s favorite)

1 quart mayonnaise
¾ pound bleu or Roquefort cheese
4 tablespoons dry mustard
3 tablespoons malt vinegar
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
4 tablespoons horseradish (hot and heaping)
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire
1 ½ teaspoons onion salt
1 ¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon savory salt
2 ½ teaspoon red wine

There were no detailed instructions with this recipe, but it's pretty straight forward. Mix all this together and you'll have a lot!



Ratatoiulle

Wondering what to do with that eggplant and zucchini? Here's a good, healthy dinner from Nancy Swenson's repertiore. Steve and Nancy serve it on top of angel hair with some french bread on the side.

1 medium eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound)
1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
4 medium tomoatoes, each cut into fourths
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Prepare 5 cups cubed eggplant by washing and paring, if desired. Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes. Prepare 2 cups sliced zucchini by removing stem and blossom ends and cutting into 1/2 inch cubes. Cook and stir all ingredients until heated through. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Serves 6-8. NOTE: Nancy cuts back on the salt; otherwise it's pretty salty for our taste. She also uses yellow or orange bell pepper instead of green pepper.


Maple Nut Ice Cream
Guttormson Style (5-14-1969)

This recipe is straight from LeRoy's collection. The title above is as he wrote it. Home made maple nut ice cream was one of his specialties. You will pay more for the nut meats. To figure out what size bag you'll need, you'll have to find out how much you could get for 39 cents in 1969 and multiply it by the inflation rate...

2 eggs
4 cups milk
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups cold whipping cream
4 tablespoons mapeline
1 39¢ bag of nut meats

Beat two eggs into two cups of milk. Add 1 cup of brown sugar. Place over low heat until sugar dissolves. Stir often. Add two cups of cold milk, 2 cups of cold whipping cream and 4 tablespoons of mapeline. This mixture is now ready for the freezer. Chop nut meats and add to mixture when freezer starts to pull heavy.


Mint Meringue Cookies

It's Easter. Try making Sylvia's Meringue Cookies. They're great for brightening up the cookie plate and crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth good!

2 egg whites
Dash of salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 or 2 drops mint flavoring
Green food coloring

Beat egg whites until foamy; add salt and cream of tartar; slowly add sugar, beating steady, until glossy. Fold in chips, flavoring and coloring.
Heat oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Drop meringues from teaspoon onto well-greased cookie sheet. Place in oven and turn off oven. Leave at least 5 hours to dry in oven; even overnight. Don’t peek!
Mom’s meringues were a perennial favorite for holidays, especially Christmas. There were also pink (cherry), yellow (lemon) and blue (rum).