Food & Family
Sharing old family favorites
Family Favorites
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Located this Depression Era recipe in a 1951 cookbook that was handwritten by my great grandmother, Eliza. (which is where my name, Lisa, is derived). I doubted it’s simplicity….but it’s a crowd favorite every time.
3 Tbsp Butter, melt in large iron skillet
3/4 cup brown sugar, added to butter
Pineapple slices, cherries & nuts arranged in skillet
Batter:
3 eggs, separated 1 1/2 cups sugar, separated 1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups cake flour 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder
Beat egg yolks until lemon-colored; add 1/2 cup sugar and water and beat well. Add remaining sugar to dry ingredients and sift. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into dry ingredients. Pour over pineapple slices and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool in skillet and turn out onto large platter.
Nanny’s Apple Pie
My son has fond memories learning how to make this pie with his grandmother.
Refrigerated pie crust, (box of 2) 6 medium granny smith apples, diced
1 Tbsp. flour 1 cup brown sugar (can also use white)
4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 stick butter
Grease pie pan and form one pie crust to pan. Mix apples, flour, sugar and cinnamon well and pour onto shell. Cut butter in 4-6 pieces and place on top of apples. Place remaining crust on top and crimp edges together. Place foil around edges to prevent burning and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, if necessary.
Aunt Nancy’s Derby Pie
This chocolate nut pie can be found year round in this family… it’s that good!
1 stick butter, melted 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips 1 pie shell, unbaked
Mix everything (but the pie shell) by hand and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until firm. Great served on the first Saturday in May!
Friendship Tea
Friends like this so much I’ve been known to give a pitcher with the recipe and ingredients as a wedding gift…. more than once!
In a one gallon pitcher combine:
3 Tbsp Instant tea (we use diet/decaf) 1/2 cup Tang
2 cups Sugar (we use stevia) 1/2 cup Lemon juice
1 cup Pineapple juice Enough water to fill pitcher
Hash Brown Casserole
I’ve got family that gets fightin’ mad if this doesn’t make an appearance at every holiday dinner.
1 medium onion, chopped 1 stick butter, separated
2 lbs. frozen cube-style hash browns 1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup 2 cups sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated 2 cups Frosted Flakes cereal
Salt to taste
Brown onion in 1/2 stick butter; set aside. Mix soups, sour cream in large bowl and mix well. Add onion mixture, hash browns, cheese and salt mix well and spread into a 9X13 pan. Top with remaining 1/2 stick of melted butter and crushed cereal. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Great recipe to mix and freeze for baking later.
Holiday Trash
My oldest son loves making “concoctions” and this recipe has changed colors and ingredients to suit any holiday. Keep your favorite cereal to 12 cups, change the candy selection to fit your holiday and you should be good at creating your own “trash.”
8 cups Crispix cereal (or combo of Chex cereals 4 cups Cheerios
1 bag pretzels (any style, break into if too large) 1 can cocktail peanuts
1 bag plain M&M’s 3 bags white morsel chips
Mix cereals, pretzels and peanuts in a large bowl and set aside. Melt white morsels in microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth. (Usually 90 seconds will do) Pour melted morsels over cereal and mix gently until well coated. Add M&M’s and pour onto wax paper to cool. Once cook, break into smaller pieces and store in any type of airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Southwestern Chicken Chili
1 1/2 lb chicken breast 1 Pkg. Ranch dressing
3 cans petite diced tomatoes 1 Pkg. Taco seasoning
2 cups medium salsa Toppings: cheese, sour cream, tortillas
1 can corn, undrained, 14.5 oz
2 cans black beans, 14.5 oz drained/rinsed
Combine all ingredients in a crockpot on low for 4-5 hours. Remove chicken and shred and stir back into mixture. Serve with desired toppings or in a baked potato.
This is a great freezer meal recipe. Place all ingredients (except toppings) into a gallon ziploc bag and freeze until ready to use. Simply thaw in the refrigerator the night before.
Chess Cake
Introduced this to my husband’s family (boyfriend at the time) about 30 years ago….the family still calls this “Lisa Cake”
1 box yellow cake mix* 8 oz cream cheese
3 eggs 1 lb box powdered sugar
1 stick melted butter
Mix cake mix, 1 egg and melted butter together. Mixture will be stiff. Press into 9X13 greased pan. Mix cream cheese, 2 eggs and powdered sugar and pour over first mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Cool before cutting into squares.
*In the past few years I’ve learned that this recipe is also great with other cake mixes. Strawberry, lemon…. even brownie mix.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
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“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
— Quote Source