Guilt-Free Iced Cocoa Cooler

 If you choose to use a 'regular' envelope of cocoa mix   I can't vouch for any  guilt  issues;  I  just know that  using Swiss Miss's   25-calorie 'diet' cocoa  and any of the sugar-free versions of flavored 'coffee' syrups makes a superb, chocolate-y treat.

Using a heat-proof  measuring cup,  put 2 TB hot water in the cup with the contents of one envelope of  instant  cocoa  mix. Mix well.  Stir in cold coffee, milk or water until the cup measures 1/2 c.  Add 1 TB flavored syrup or soda such as  kahlua, amaretto,  vanilla, Irish cream, or peanut butter.

Pour over a tall glass filled with as much crushed ice as you can possibly  cram into it.  Top with whipped cream  or whipped topping if desired.

I always use cold coffee,  and   vary the syrups, usually using Kahlua, vanilla or hazelnut.  DaViinci  and Toscani  each make  about 50 sugar-free syrups including  mango, cinnamon, gingerbread, lime, eggnog, toasted marshamallow, blue raspberry, and buttered rum.  We use them to make our own  'diet'  flavored yogurts, using non fat or low fat plain yogurt and a small splash of syrup.    There are lots of other delicious ways to use them too, in baking,  cooking, milkshakes and other beverages. 

Reuben Dip

Unless you're having a party or are feeding a football team you may want to  halve this recipe, which makes a very large dish of  hot, bubbling cheesy goodness to scoop up or spread on rye, pumpernickel or  crackers.   You may decide to freeze half the recipe, without mayonnaise, and add  it when  baking it later.  Leftover spread makes a fabulous sandwich,  or omelet  filling.

It's interesting that there's no corned beef in this, and half the cheese is cheddar, and --hey --where's the thousand island  dressing?   It may be a  non-traditional  recipe as far as reubens go, but certainly delicious! Credit goes to Pioneer Electric's Country Living Magazine.

Finely chop 18 oz of dried beef ( from a jar) and a 28 oz can of drained  sauerkraut. Stir together, then add 1 cup real mayonnaise, 8 oz shredded Swiss, and 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese.  Place in a non-aluminum baking dish, cover, and bake in preheated  350 oven  for about 30 minutes, til bubbling and hot throughout.

I've  microwaved  this dish on reduced power, but  like the texture better when baked slowly in the oven.

Amish Apple Butter

Last week I had a really interesting experience - an invitation to a large Amish event in Holmes County, Ohio. http://www.visitamishcountry.com/

Most people think that the main location for the Amish is in Lancaster County, PA, but in fact, the largest population in the US is in the Holmes County, OH area. I have occasion to deal with some delghtful Amish produce growers and resellers all over the country.

Because of disease/liability difficulties & higher-tech issues relating to supermarkets being able to trace the meats back to their source, most big companies stopped buying meat from small farmers. This  and   all the poultry & livestock 'megafarms'  that have sprung up, have caused  most  of the Amish to switch from dairy and livestock farming to growing vegetables. Lots of them market their harvests through each local Amish community's produce auctions, created to facilitate volume marketing for them. Restaurants and brokers purchase the veggies for their own use as well as distribution through supermarket chains and restaurant suppliers.

There are some obvious problems the Amish experience, mostly due to not having the same ag educational background that most farmers do today, nor access to research via technology - no phones, no internet, and many do not watch videos.  But, extension agents and others provide expert advice and they are certainly interested and ready and eager to improve their  growing methods.

Thus, my invitation to an all-day seminar on produce growing. The presenters were the Amish themselves. It was held in an Amish livestock auction barn,with rough plank auditorium-style seating. There were about 20 of us "English" as well as about 600 Amish men and women from as far as Missouri, Michigan, Virginia, Canada, NY, Indiana, PA, and Wisconsin. Some came by buggy. Most Amish hire drivers with vans for for distance trips such as this. It was a wonderful experience; the Amish are welcoming, friendly people. They served a hot lunch with a variety of delicious fruit pies for dessert. Mid-morning they'd passed out a photocopied Thanksgiving prayer that reflected on the growing and harvesting seasons. We didn't realize at the time that this prayer would be sung as grace just before lunch. The sound of 600 a capella voices singing this prayer to the tune of "Amazing Grace" was simply beautiful.

Back to the Apple Butter recipe that got this discussion started ~~ A number of people had requested we bring them Amish cheese and Amish apple butter from some of the many shops in this huge tourist attraction. We got there too late Thursday night to find anything open, and had to be at the auction barn at 6:30 a.m. the morning of the seminar - and then took a route home than didn't take us past anywhere to buy those things. It was Friday afternoon and we had a 4 hour drive ahead and Friday night plans, so we we scooted home without bringing any of the requested treats.

If you have a lot of apples you need to use up, or just love good apple butter, here is a recipe from Marcia Adams' "Cooking from Quilt Country" cookbook. Marcia is an award-winning food columnist who hosted a PBS cooking show long before the Food Network was ever imagined. She lives near Ft. Wayne, Indiana and had befriended many Amish in the area, becoming an expert on Indiana Amish cooking and lifestyles. Her shows featured Amish recipes, as well as a quick feature on an antique and a beautiful quilt. http://www.wbgu.org/community/documentary/MarciaAdams/Kitchen/MAKitchen_index.html

Marcia traveled the country filming her shows and doing cooking/speaking engagements. I was fortunate to get  to help with cooking shows she did at a  Home Expo in the mid 90's. I did some prep work for her onstage - chopping and stirring - as she cooked. She was calm and lovely,   elegant in speech and manner. If I am not mistaken, she had a heart transplant a few years later. I recall seeing her home in her Christmas- themed recipe book and being surprised that unlike her homey, very simple country-focused cooking and TV program, her house is ultra-contemporary.   In any case, this is Marcia's recipe, made in an "un-Amish" slow cooker instead of a copper kettle over and open fire.

Amish Apple Butter ~~ 7 cups unsweetened applesauce, 2 c apple cider, 1 1/2 c honey, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice. Combine in a crock pot and cook on low for 14-15 hours. Pack while hot into 4 hot pint jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes after the water begins to boil again.

(If you plan to enjoy it right away you need not process it in a waterbath at all!)

Grand Prize Sausage & Rice Casserole

This quick recipe (15 min. prep; 20 min baking) comes from QVC's recipe contest cook book and was submitted by a viewer- Jan Siefert of Kankakee, Illinois. If you are 'turkey'd out' it's a tasty change.

Sausage &; Rice Casserole Brown 1 lb bulk pork sausage in a skillet, drain excess fat, and add 1 cup each chopped green pepper, chopped onion and 1 1/2 c. chopped celery. Saute til tender, cover and set aside. Combine 1 envelope dry chicken noodle soup mix with 2 1/2 c. boiling water in a saucepan. Stir in 1/2 c. Uncle Ben's uncooked rice (orange box ) and simmer 20 minutes.  Or, to save time, use  1 1/2 c precooked from an Uncle Ben's rice  pouch, skipping  the  simmering.  Add sausage and 1/4 tsp salt. Pour into greased or sprayed baking dish. If you'd like extra crunch and flavor, sprinkle the top with 1/2 c slivered almonds. Drizzle with 2 TB melted butter and bake in a preheated 375 oven for 20 minutes.

This will serve 4-6 as an entree.  As a  delicious side dish,  use  half the sausage and proceed as directed.

Oreo Muffins

Don't you think muffins sound healthier than cupcakes? Really, there's not much difference...a tad more texture, and muffins aren't usually frosted.  Muffins   have  as many calories as any cupcake - or more -  so it may take some denial on your part to justify indulging in these chocolatey,  crunchy-topped treats without (much) guilt.  They're a big hit anywhere you take them and look irresistible.

In a large bowl combine 1 3/4 c. flour, 1/4 c. sugar, 3 tsp. baking powder. Cut in 1/3 c. cold butter or margarine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.*   Beat 1 egg with 1 c. milk, Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in 16 coarsely  chopped Oreo cookies. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.

For the topping, combine 3 Tb. flour, 3 Tb. sugar and 5 finely crushed cookies.  Cut in * 2 TB  cold butter until  crumbly.  Sprinkle about 1 Tb. crumb mixture on each muffin. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 16-18 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.   In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 c. vanilla chips with 1 TB shortening, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled  muffins. Makes 12.

* grate  very cold butter into the mixture for easiest incorporation

Sweet-Potato Salad and Opal's Dreamy Date 'Pudding'

 Sweet-Potato Salad is an unexpected and colorful addition to holiday meals, fall pot-lucks ( around here they're called "carry-in's") and family meals. I've tried a few similar recipes over the years and this one remains the favorite. My best guess is that it came from a  magazine -maybe  Woman's World, in the 80's.

Cook 2 lbs sweet potatoes ( just boil gently) until they are barely done. Mushy potatoes will make a totally different dish! Sizes vary a lot so toss them on the hanging scale in the produce dept. to see what you have, probably 3 or 4 potatoes. Cool, then easily pull the skin off and cut in quarter-size cubes. They'll break down slightly when stirred, so keep them fairly large.   In a large bowl mix 1/2 c sour cream with 1/2 c mayonnaise, 1 heaping TB of brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and salt. Gently add the sweet potatoes, 1/2 c. raisins, 2 large apples, chopped ( leave the skin on) and 1/2 c chopped pecans. Chill for several hours before serving. This makes a large bowl to serve a dozen people, but the recipe is easily halved.

Sweet potatoes are still best just baked, then topped with with butter and brown sugar and salt.. ... and good for us, too. I recall years ago a nutritionist was asked to choose only one food that was the most perfect for humans, nutritionally, and she named sweet potatoes.



Along with pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake, a tradition in our family is Grandma Opal's Date Pudding which originated with my kids great-grandmother, so it's at least 100 years old. It is not much like pudding or anything else I can describe, other than to say it's essentially a date- nut cake, dried, and mixed with whipped cream and let chill for 8-12 hours, and becomes a heavenly fluffy 2dessert. It's quick to make and very inexpensive but a surprise taste treat. In all the zillions of recipes I have read over the years, I have not seen anything like this anywhere.

Beat 2 eggs by hand, add a pinch of salt, then add 1 c. brown sugar. Mix well. Mix in 1 c. flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1 c. chopped dates ( buy them already- chopped for ease, in the same area you find raisins) and 1. chopped walnuts. This won't look like the usual cake batter. Pour onto a heavily-greased or sprayed 15" jellyroll pan ( cookie sheet with sides), and bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Let it cool in the pan. Trim off any burned edges and discard, then cut or tear the rest into nickel- sized cubes. Spread onto paper towels in 1 layer, cover with more toweling, and let side overnight on your kitchen counter to dry. The next day, whip 2 c. heavy cream til stiff, and fold in the cake cubes. Chill at least 6 hours or overnight. It's dreamily delicious! It looks festive served in stemmed glasses.