Baked Beans

Baked Beans
Submitted by Miriam Pretzer in 1986
comments by Becky Matson (granddaughter)

1 c. navy beans
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. light molasses
1 t. dry mustard
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 lb. bacon, cut in chunks

Soak beans overnight or use fast method. Simmer till tender, about 1 hour. Drain, reserve liquid. I used canned white beans, also called great northern beans, so I skipped these three steps. I drained and rinsed the beans. In baking dish add beans and remaining ingredients. Add 2 c. of bean liquid. I used water. Mix well. Cover. Bake 300 degrees for 5-7 hours. Add more liquid if needed. Serves 8.

Tender Oven-baked Pork Ribs and Baked Beans

Tender Oven-baked Pork Ribs
by Bev Edmon

1 rack of pork ribs
1/2 cup dry rub- your favorite mixture of seasonings
1 cup favorite BBQ sauce

(You can do 2 racks of ribs at the same time if your roasting pan is large enough.)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil. Coat rack of ribs with dry rub on both sides. Place rack meat side up in roasting pan. Add 1 cup water. Seal pan with Saran Wrap then with aluminum foil. Crimp edges to keep all the moisture inside. Bake for 2 hours. Carefully uncover. Steam has built up inside the pan. Pour off liquid that has accumulated. Brush ribs on top with BBQ sauce. Place back in oven for 1/2 hour. (At this point, you could also put rack on grill to brown.) Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Slice rack in 2 rib sections. Serve with extra sauce.

Baked Beans
by Joanne Matson

2 cans Bush's "Original" baked beans
1/2 large onion, diced
2 strips of thick bacon
Ketchup, about 1/2 c.  
Mustard, about 1-1/2 t.
Brown Sugar, about 1 T.
Vinegar, about 1 t

Dice bacon and cook in frying pan. Remove from pan and add to beans. Saute onion in bacon fat for a few minutes; add to baked beans. Add remaining ingredients, to taste, and cook in Crockpot on high for about 3 hours (while I was at church).

Serving suggestion: Add a light spinach salad and enjoy with family!

Dessed Up Pork Chops

DRESSED UP PORK CHOPS
by Bev Edmon

Serving size: 1 pork chop
425 calories, 37 protein, 30 carbs, 17 fat,

8 pork chops, with or without bone
4 cups dry seasoned Pepperidge Stuffing Mix
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced white onion
1/4 cup Craisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter

Prepare stuffing: Melt butter in a large skillet, saute celery and onion until soft. Add dry stuffing mix, Craisins, and pecans. Mix well. Add chicken broth gradually, until stuffing is moistened and sticks together easily. (You may need to add less broth or more depending on how dry the stuffing mix is.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place pork chops on a roasting pan or baking sheet. Take approx 1/2 cup of stuffing and mound it on top of the pork chops, covering completely. Use all the stuffing mix. Bake in oven for 30 - 45 minutes, depending on thickness of pork chops (3/4 inch is best). Slice a chop open to check. You don't want them to be pink inside but you don't want them dry either.

Note: You can add 1/2 cup browned Italian sausage to the stuffing for a little extra kick

Sausage Cheese Balls

Sausage Cheese Balls
Submited by Michelle
(A recipe straight from Mom)

Ingredeints:
1 lb cheese (about 4 cups shredded)
1lb bulk sausage cooked, crumbled, and cooled (I will rinse it if it is fatty)
3 c biscut mix (like Bisquick)
3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix Cheese, sausage and Bisquick. Add in water and mix.
Form into 1 inch balls. Place on greased baking sheet.
Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from sheets.

These can be frozen and reheated in the oven or microwave

Fresh Salsa

Fresh Salsa

Submitted by Andrea N. in 2011

2 Large Sweet Onions

15 Roma Tomatoes

2 Large Jalapenos

Juice of 1 Lime

4 Cloves of Garlic (diced, minced, or pressed)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro [optional]

Extra pickled jalapenos + juice [optional]

Dice all the ingredients. I'm lazy and I like a food processor for this. If you use a food processor dice the ingredients in small amounts and dump them into a bowl. Make sure to remove the seeds from the jalapenos and wash your hands thoroughly. Once everything is all diced up, mix it, taste it, add more stuff if you want. Usually tastes better after being refrigerated for a few hours.

This recipe makes a LOT so invite a bunch of friends over or make less. Eat with chips or spoon.

Crockpot Chili

Crockpot Chili

submitted by Beverly Pretzer Edmon in 2011

1 lb. ground beef (or 99% fat-free ground turkey)

1 cup chopped onion

30 oz canned pinto, kidney or black beans (I use a combination)

30 oz tomato sauce

30 oz diced canned tomatoes

¼ cup chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Brown ground beef or turkey in non-stick skillet. Drain grease.

Put cooked meat in crockpot. Add other ingredients. Stir until mixed. Set crockpot on low and leave for 8-10 hours. Adjust seasonings during last hour of cooking, adding more spice if you like.

Makes 9 cups of chili

1 cup beef chili 267 calories, I cup turkey chili 195 calories

Brown Sugar Brownies

Submitted by Viola Turgeon in 1986
comments by Becky Matson

Ingredients:
1/2 c. margarine, melted (I used organic butter and melted it in the microwave in a glass bowl)
2 c. light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten (after melting butter and pouring into mixing bowl, I reused the bowl to whip up the eggs with a fork)
1-1/2 c. flour (I used a mix of white flour and white whole wheat flour, about 50/50 mix)
2 t. baking powder (make sure you use baking POWDER, not SODA or you will have a yucky mess)
1 t. salt
chopped nuts (Mom and I usually omit the nuts because when growing up my brother Michael was not a fan of nuts)
1 bag butterscotch chips

Directions:
Beat margarine and sugar together; blend in beaten eggs. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and beat into the first mixture. (We don't have a sifter so we mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl using a fork. Mix in butterscotch chips by hand.) Spread in greased 13 X 9 X 2 pan; (I thought the dough looked too thin in a 13 X 9 pan, so I used a 9 X 9 glass pan.) sprinkle with nuts over the top and bake at 350 degrees about 30 min.; cut in squares or strips while warm. DO NOT OVERBAKE

My mother also calls these Butterscotch Brownies. Whatever name they go by they are delicious!

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

Submitted by Mike (Roland Pretzer's Grandson)

14.5 ounce can black beans

8 ounces cream cheese (cut into 8-12 cubes)

1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

4 ounces diced green chilies

14.5 ounce can green enchilada sauce

1.5 lbs chicken

6 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 400

Cut chicken into small cubes, place in large skillet, cook until done.

Add cream cheese, diced green chilies, and 1/2 can of enchilada sauce to chicken, stir while heating until creamy. Stir in black beans.

Spray non-stick cooking oil into bottom of 9x11 baking dish. Using a large spoon scoop mixture into tortilla, sprinkle mozzarella into tortilla, roll, and place in dish. Repeat for all tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Place in oven on middle rack and bake 15-20 minutes. It is done when tops of tortillas appear golden brown and slightly crispy.

Diet Coke Sloppy Joes

Diet Coke Sloppy Joes
Submitted in 2010 by Mandy S.
Comments by Andrea N.


16 oz lean ground beef
1 cup Diet Coke
10 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste (we used garlic salt)


Brown beef in skillet and drain. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook for 30 minutes or until sauce thickens. (Ours thickened up pretty quickly. It was quick, easy, and really tasty.)

Scotcheroos

Scotcheroos
Submitted in 1986 by Aunt Joanne
comments by Michelle

1 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 c Rice Krispies
1 c chocolate chips
1 c butterscotch chips
1 T butter

Heat sugar and corn syrup untill it starts to bubble. When it starts to bubble add peanut butter. When melted add Rice Krispies. Spred in 13x9 buttered pan (I used cooking spray). Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips and spread over top (I added a tablespoon of butter to help keep the chocolate soft once melted. you can melt the chocolate in the microwave over medium heat for a minute or two). Allow to cool and cut into squares (this is best done before it has set completely and chocolate has hardened).

Homemade Pretzels

Homemade Pretzels

Submitted in 1986 by Aunt Irene

comments by Michelle






3 pkg dry yeast (I used the fast-acting/rapid-rise yeast)
1 t sugar
1 C lukewarm water (120 degrees)
Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. If your yeast when mixed with sugar and water bubbles, it is active and ready to go.
4 cups scalded milk (heated to 185 degrees)
½ c Spry (vegetable shortening)
1 bottle (12 oz) beer
1 T salt
5lbs Nightingale flour (this is a pastry flour found in Frankenmuth, or you can use 20 cups all purpose flour, take out 10 T, and add in 5 T Corn starch… sift it all together)
2-3 cups all purpose flour
Course Salt for sprinkling on top
Lye or baking soda water

Melt Spry in milk while warming. Add beer to hot milk, add flour and salt. When mixture is lukewarm, add yeast mixture. Knead last of flour in with hands. Turn on board and knead slightly. Once the dough is mixed, it can be immediately made into pretzels. Use a golf ball size (or slightly larger) ball of dough, roll it into a 12-14” strip, twist the ends around each other and secure to center of pretzel.

Drop shaped pretzels into lye (baking soda) water. (put 8 cups of water, and 3 T Baking Soda, if using lye, use 4 T to 2qt of water, and be careful!). Keep the water just under boiling. Pretzels will glaze and rise slightly when dipped. They will rise to the surface when ready. Remove on slotted spoon and place on well-greased pan.

Salt tops with coarse salt before baking.

Bake in oven 475-500 degrees until browned. (about 10-12 minutes, I use a stone, if you use metal pans, lower the cooking time)

Makes about 5 dozen medium sized pretzels.