~Tamera

Chicken and Rice

1 cup long grain rice, uncooked

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can water

1 can milk

1 chicken (or several chicken breasts), cut up

1 package dry onion soup

Spray 9"x13"casserole pan with Pam. Mix Rice, both cans of soup, water and milk and half the onion soup mix. Pour into casserole. Top with uncooked chicken. Sprinkle with the other half dry onion soup mix. Cover and bake for 2 - 2 1/2 hours at 350. (Or until chicken and rice are done.) Don't over cook or the chicken will be dry.

Blue Ribbon Lemon Meringue Pie

1 9 inch pie crust

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 egg yolks

Mix sugar, salt, cornstarch. Add water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat stirring until thick and clear. Add egg yolk and mix slowly, stirring constantly. Return to heat a nd cook one minute more. Add butter and cool. Pour into pie shell.

To make meringue:

Beat 3 egg whites until shiny and peaks form. Fold in sugar and vanilla. Beat one more minute. Spread meringue on lemon filling. Seal edges to crust. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

Mix flour, shortening, sugar, and salt together. In small bowl mix vinegar, egg and water. Beat well. Add this to the flour mixture. Blend until mixed. Shaped into a ball and chill fifteen minutes. Divide in half. Roll into a circle between parchment paper or wax paper. Several inches larger than the pie pan. Prick holes in crust before baking for pre-cooked crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes for a single pie shell. Fill as desired. This makes two nine inch single pie shells or one double.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll

3/4 cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs beaten

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped

FILLING

1 cup powdered sugar

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 15x10x1 bar pan lined with wax or parchment paper. Grease and flour our spray paper. Sift flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Beat eggs, sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add pumpkin then stir in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pan. Spread evenly and sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 15 minutes or until center springs back. Loosen edges of cake with knife and invert onto a clean damp tea towel covered with powdered sugar. Peel off wax or parchment paper. Trim edges and roll up from short side to short side. In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth. When cake has cooled, unroll and spread with cream cheese filling. Reroll cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Remarkable Fudge

4 cups sugar

1 can (14 oz.) evaporated milk

1 cup butter

1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 pint marshmallow cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

Butter the sides of a heavy 3 qt. sauce pan. Add the sugar, milk and butter. Cook over medium eat, stirring to soft ball stage (236 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat, add chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, vanilla and nuts. Pour into a butter pan, spread out and cool.

Grandma Beech's Swiss Steak

1 medium round steak, tenderized

2 cans beef broth

salt and pepper, to taste

flour

olive oil

Take one medium round steak. Have the butcher tenderize it while you are still at the market. It is free and they can do it while you are shopping (this is an important step, so don't skip it). Cut into serving size pieces. Coat the steak with a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Brown meat in hot skillet with 1/2 cup olive oil. Brown on both sides to seal in juices.

Remove meat from skillet. Add flour to oil and drippings in pan to thicken. Add 2 cans of beef broth. Simmer till thick. Put meat into casserole dish, cover with gravy, cover and bake in 300 oven for 3-4 hours until very tender. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes.

Pepper Steak

1 pound beef top sirloin, cut 3/4" inch thick, boneless

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

salt and pepper, to taste

2 green bell peppers, diced

3 green onion, thinly sliced

2 cups beef broth

2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 beefsteak tomato, diced

hot cooked rice or noodles

Cut sirloin steak into 1/8 inch thick strips. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium -high heat. Brown beef. Season with salt and pepper, add paprika and beef both. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add bell peppers and green onions. Combine water and cornstarch and stir into broth. Stir constantly until sauce boils and thickens. Add diced tomatoes and cook until heated through. Serve over rice or noodles.

Rice and Raisins

4 cups rice, cooked

1/2 cup raisins

sugar (to taste)

2 tablespoons butter

milk

dash cinnamon, optional

Put one cup of cooked rice in a bowl. 1-2 teaspoons of butter and sugar. Add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/8 cup raisins. Mix and heat until warm in microwave. Enjoy!

Almond Rocha

1 cup butter (not margerine)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped

1/2 very large Hersey bar

Add butter to sugar in heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook to the brittle stage when dropped into cold water. Remove from heat and add chopped nuts. Pour immediately onto buttered cookie sheet. Set chocolate squares on top of hot candy. Spread out as soon as it is melted. Sprinkle with nuts. Break in pieces when cool.