Village Apple Sauce

Original Recipe from:  Carol Coleman

This is the Apple Sauce my kids grew up eating.  I started feeding it to them when they were babies and they still prefer it to any store bought option out there.  Carol taught me how to make this when I was about 12 years old, and it has always been a very special recipe of mine.  You can make this recipe for canning by making several batches (as many as you need to last a year), or you can make it a batch at a time (it freezes well).  I highly recommend canning it as you probably won’t want any other kind after tasting this recipe.  During the years when I wasn’t canning, I would always make it for the winter holidays due to popular request from my family.  

Ingredients

6-1/2 pounds Apples, washed, cored, and quartered.  Note: do not peel.

4 cups Water

2-1/2 cups Sugar

Directions

Cook Apples and Water in a large pan until the skins come off easily.  Using tongs, life out all peels.  Mix in sugar and cook until sauce is chunky to taste.  

Note:  If you prefer a smooth apple sauce, use an immersion blender during the final stages of cooking to smooth out the chunks.  If you do not have an immersion blender, a potato masher or food processor will work just as well.  

Smothered Chicken Breasts

Original Recipe from:  Virginia Bowers-Johnson

This is a very easy dinner, perfect for a busy weeknight.  Put everything together and let the oven do the cooking while you’re helping the kids with their homework, or enjoying a nice glass of wine while you unwind from your day.  If you have a smaller household, this dish tastes great the next day for lunch or dinner.  It also freezes well for an easy thaw and reheat dinner.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

4-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 cup Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup Sour Cream

4 ounces Chopped Mushrooms

1/4 cup Chopped Parsley

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/8 teaspoon Pepper

Paprika to taste

Directions

Rinse Chicken Breasts, pat dry and season with Salt, Pepper, and Paprika.   Arrange in a 9x13 baking dish, or oblong casserole dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream, Mushrooms, and Parsley.  Mix until thoroughly blended.  Pour mixture over Chicken.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until 160 degree internal temperature.  Serve with mashed potatoes or rice, and a vegetable dish. 

Smothered Steak

Original Recipe from:  Bernie Thrush-Bowers

Aunt Bernie loved to share recipes.  She was a very generous soul and believed that whatever she gave would come back to her tenfold.  Her kitchen and dinner table were always a place of joy, full of love and laughter.  This recipe is for your Cock Pot.  Put all the ingredients in the Crock Pot in the morning and come home, after a busy day, to dinner ready to go right on the table.  Family dinner doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming…they should be full of love and laughter!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds Chuck or Round Steak cut in strips

1/3 cup Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

1/3 teaspoon Pepper

I large Onion, sliced

1 Green Pepper, sliced

16 ounce can stewed or diced Tomatoes

4 ounce can sliced Mushrooms, drained

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

10 ounce package frozen French Style Green Beans

Directions

Put Steak, Flour, Salt and Pepper in the Crock Pot.  Stir well to coat the steak.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook on high for 1 hour and then on low for 8 hours, or on high for 5 hours.  Serve with rice.  

Virginia’s Apple Bars

Original Recipe from:  Virginia Bowers-Johnson

Apples are my favorite fruit, and apple season is my favorite harvest.  I love trying new apple recipes as I have yet to find one that I didn’t like.  This is a great recipe from my mother’s collection.  It is easy to make, and low in fat and sugar….so that makes it a guilt-free dessert.  What could be better?  Make up a batch of these apple bars for your friends and family, I’m sure they will like them.  Check out the variations at the bottom of the recipe.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 medium Apples, diced or chopped (I use slices)

2-1/4 cup Flour, divided

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

3/4 cup Margarine

1/2 cups Quick Oats

1/2 Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 cup Water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chicken Casserole

Original Recipe from:  Virginia Bowers-Johnson

This is a very quick and easy casserole from my mother’s recipe collection.  If you cook your chicken ahead of time, this recipe only takes a few minutes of prep time.  It’s perfect for a busy week night dinner.  Add a vegetable or two and you have an easy meal the family will love.  It’s also a great recipe to use left-over turkey during the holiday season.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 Chicken, cooked

2 cups Chicken Broth (from the cooked chicken)

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 package Stove Top Stuffing (chicken flavor)

Directions

Boil Chicken; reserve 2 cups of the Broth.  Take Chicken off the bone and cut (or tear) into chunks.  Place Chicken chunks in 2 quart casserole dish (spray bottom of casserole dish with oil spray). 

In a small mixing bowl, combine the Soup and Mayonnaise, blend together.  Pour over Chicken.  Add 1 package of Stove Top Stuffing Mix dry.  Pour Chicken Broth over top of stuffing. 

Bake in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Original Recipe from:  Doris Ann Griffin-Swiger and Margaret Johnson-Hendirx

I’m not sure who had this recipe first, but I do believe both my aunt and my sister deserve the credit for this recipe.  This is a very good…and easy….pot pie.  It’s also very budget friendly!  When I was a working mom, I would cook and prep as much as I could over the weekend so that during the week, I was just putting dishes together and cooking the meals.  If you boil a whole chicken and cut up the meat, you will find that you can get at least two casseroles out of one chicken.  With all of the prep work done, I actually had time during the week to put a home-cooked meal on the table for my family.  This is also a recipe that the kids can help with. Younger kids can help; teenagers can actually put it all together and do the cooking for you.  Studies have shown that the more involved kids are in the kitchen, the less picky they are about what they will eat.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1-2/3 cups frozen Mixed Vegetables, thawed

1 cup diced, cooked Chicken (Note:  I use 2 cups for a meatier pie)

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup Milk

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix Vegetables and Chicken Soup in an ungreased 9 inch Pie Plate.  In a medium mixing bowl, stir remaining ingredients with a fork until blended.  Pour into Pie Plate.  Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.  

Makes 6 servings.

Pork Chop Bake

Original Recipe from:  Margaret Johnson-Hendrix

My sister, Margaret, always had the best recipes.  Margaret is a very precise cook.  She follows a recipe to the exact instructions.  So when you got a recipe from her, it was always very thorough.  She also never shared a recipe that she had not tried, either to make or at least to have eaten it.  If she recommended it, it was going to be good!  I hope you and your family like this dish.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 Pork Chops, 1 inch thick

4 medium Potatoes, uncooked, pealed, and thinly sliced

4 ounce can Sliced Mushrooms

1 cup Water

1 envelope Onion Soup Mix

Directions

In a large skillet, brown Pork Chops, drain on absorbent paper.

In a buttered 2 quart oblong baking dish layer the potatoes, mushrooms, and chops.

In a small bowl, combine the Water and Soup Mix.  Mix thoroughly.  Pour over the meat.  Cover with foil (or lid).  Bake 1-1.2 hours or until potatoes are tender, at 350 degrees.

Souper Gravy

Original Recipe from:  Lucy Griffin-Bowers

If making gravy intimidates you, this is the perfect recipe for you.  Grandma found this recipe way back in the 1960’s and after that didn’t make any other kind of gravy.  Smooth, no lumps, and fail safe.  My mother, on the other hand, always made traditional gravy.  She was a Gravy Pro.  So I grew up with both schools of thought when it came to gravy.  Personally, I can make any kind of gravy (just like my mother), but I appreciate how easy Grandma’s gravy is to make.  Whether your attempts at traditional gravy are always a disappointment or you’re just looking for a quick and easy gravy recipe, this one is a must try.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 can of Water

2-4 tablespoons pan drippings (beef, poultry, or pork)

Directions

Fry meat until done as desired.  Remove meat from pan; pour off and measure drippings.  Pour soup into pan.  Stir well to loosen browned bits.  Blend (whisk) in Water and Drippings.  Heat thoroughly, stirring often. 

Makes about 1-1/2 cups gravy. 

Good with Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Ham, and Pork

Kay’s Note:  I have substituted Cream of Chicken when preparing fried chicken.  Delicious!

Ursula’s Raspberry Jam

Original Recipe from:  Ursula Hooker

On a recent trip to Washington State I met Ursula, a dear friend of a dear friend.  Last year I had the pleasure of getting a jar of Ursula’s Zucchini Relish.  After one taste, I knew that I needed to meet the woman behind this amazing relish.  Well, when I arrived in Washington, I was given another jar of her relish and a jar of her raspberry jam as a welcome gift.  Then I got to meet Ursula.  She is an amazing woman, and a fantastic cook.  We had so much to talk about while getting to know each other.  One of the great advantages about loving to cook is that it gives you a common interest with so many people and an easy conversation topic.  That conversation almost always results in the sharing of “favorite” recipes, and friendships are formed.  That is what happened with Ursula and me.  When I got home and opened that jar of jam, I tasted the most amazing raspberry jam and knew I had to make some.  Last weekend while making the jam, I remembered that special time and that special woman 2.400 miles away who touched my heart.  For me, that’s what cooking is all about.  Recalling special memories of the people behind the recipes, the people I have made that recipe for, and thinking about the people who will enjoy the dish I am making at the time.  That’s when I put in that most important ingredient every recipe needs to be the best ever….love.  That’s what cooking from the soul is all about.

Raspberry jam is one of the easiest jams to make.  The process from start to finish is very quick.  The taste…well, the taste is fantastic!  If you are a novice to jams, this is the best recipe to start with.  If you’re an “old hand” at jams, you will appreciate just how easy this recipe is to make.  Either way, I encourage you to give this recipe a try.  I know you will love the end result!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 pints (96 ounces) Raspberries:  Wash and crush berries.  Sieve half of the pulp to remove some seeds, if desired.

Measure 6 cups of crushed berries.  

8-1/2 cups Sugar

Half-pint canning jars and lids

 

Directions

Prepare fruit.  Crush 1 cup of berries at a time, using a potato masher for best results.  If using a food processor, pulse to chop.  DO NOT PUREE. 

Measure exact amount of crushed berries into a 6-8 quart saucepot.

Measure exact amount of Sugar into a separate bowl.  Note:  do not reduce sugar or use sugar substitutes as your jam will not set properly for this recipe.

Stir in 1 box of pectin (MHP or Sure Jell) into berries in the saucepot.  Add 1/2 teaspoon unsalted Butter to reduce foaming.  Note:  adding butter really does help keep the foaming to a minimum. 

Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat stirring constantly.

 

Stir in Sugar quickly.  Return to a full rolling boil and boil for exactly 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into prepared jars; fill to within 1/8 inch of the tops.  Wipe jar rims and threads.  Cover with 2 piece jar lids.  Screw bands tightly.

Process jars using the Boiling Water Bath Method.

Fill canner half-full with water.  Bring water to a simmer.

Place jars in canner.  Water must cover jars by 1-2 inches, add boiling water if needed.

Cover, bring to a gentle boil.  Process jars 10 minutes.

Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely.  After jars cool, test each jar to ensure they are sealed by pressing down on the center of the lid.  If the lid doesn’t move, the jar is sealed.  If you have a jar that hasn’t sealed, it is still good to eat just store it in the refrigerator. 

Let jars sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours.

Store in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 1 year.  Refrigerate opened jars up to 3 weeks.

Altitude Adjustments in processing times.

1,000-3,000 feet +5 minutes

3,001-6,000 feet +10 minutes

6,001-8,000 feet +15 minutes

8,001-10,000 feet + 20 minutes

Important Note:  It is very important to start with a clean kitchen and to keep it clean during the cooking and canning process.  Sanitize your sink, counters and stovetop with a bleach water solution before preparing the recipe.  Clean up after each stage to maintain a clean environment.  Glass canning jars should be washed and sterilized in boiling water or run through the dishwasher using the heated drying cycle before filling with the fruit.  Jar lids and rings should be boiled for 5 minutes before using.  Rings can be reused multiple times, just inspect them for dents or rust (throw those away).  Jar lids can only be used once and then should be disposed.

Juicy Apple Rings

Original Recipe from:  Virginia Bowers-Johnson

My mother used to make this quick and easy dessert when I was a kid.  As a working mother, she was very limited on how much time she had to get dinner on the table….with dessert, no less.  We didn’t have dessert every day, but Mother did believe that desserts were needed to make a family dinner special.  I believe it was just another way to keep the family around the table, talking and spending time together.  This dessert has no added sugar and stands on it’s own with or without ice cream.  It’s also a great recipe to let the kids help with.  I always had fun helping my Mother, and then making it on my own as I grew up.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 medium Apples

3-4 cups bottled, unsweetened Apple Juice

Directions

Peel and core apples.  Slice into 1/2 inch thick rings (4 from each apple). 

In a 12 inch skillet heat the Apple Juice until it bubbles, add apple rings in a single layer.  Simmer, turning once (add more apple juice, if needed), until apple rings are amber in color.  Serve warm or cold, with or without ice cream.