RECIPE SWAP: ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE MORE RECIPES

It never fails, just when I'm wondering what I should write about, I get a call from someone needing a good recipe for punch. I gave her two different ones to choose from, and she was pleased. Later I went to check the mail in the Recipe Swap mailbox and a letter from Melinda Dodd of Cape Girardeau wound up being quite a coincidence. She had photocopied an old newspaper clipping from 1972 that featured her grandmother. The headline of the article read "Punch recipes abound, but Mrs. Davidson's are special." How do you like that? I had a request for punch recipes, of which no one knew about, then an answer in just a few hours. I have always been taught to celebrate in the small things in life and rejoice in them.

Mrs. Davidson, Melinda's "Nanaw," must have been quite an entertainer. The article had many of her recipes, all of which were interesting and festive in nature. For Melinda, and in memory of her grandmother, we will share a few of the recipes from the article with you.

Mrs. Davidson's Punch

4 packages orange Kool-Aid

12 lemons

9 cups sugar

4 large cans pineapple juice

2 large cans orange juice

2 one-half gallon containers orange sherbet

4 bottles ginger ale

Make a punch from the Kool-Aid, the juice from the juiced lemons, sugar, pineapple juice and orange juice. Combine and chill. Set sherbet out of freezer about 1/2 hour before serving time. Put sherbet into punch bowl, pour punch over the sherbet and serve. Serves approximately 70 servings.

Strawberry Lemonade Punch

3 12-ounce packages strawberries, frozen

4 6-ounce cans frozen lemonade concentrate, undiluted

2 large bottles ginger ale

2 large bottles sparkling club soda

Combine the lemonade, ginger ale, and club soda into punch bowl. When ready to serve, pour in the strawberries. There will be strawberries along with punch in each cup served. About 35 servings.

Dried Beef Log

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon horseradish

1/3 cup chopped stuffed green olives

2 1/2 ounces (1 cup) dried beef, snipped

Blend together cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and horseradish. Stir in olives. On waxed paper, shape in two 6-inch rolls, 1 1/2 inch in diameter. Chill several hours or overnight. Roll each log in snipped dried beef. Place on serving plate, offer spreaders, pass assorted crackers.

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The ladies from Altenburg have been busy trying new recipes and would like to share some with you. As you know by now, the recipes come to us unsigned and even I do not know who sends them in. But all the same, we do appreciate the recipes very much.

Cherry Cheese Bars

Crust:

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, divided

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco

1/2 cup coconut

Filling:

1 8-ounce cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch pan. For the crust: Combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in Crisco until crumbs form. Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts and coconut. Mix well. Set aside 1/2 cup crumb mixture. Press remaining crumbs into pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. For the filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Spread over hot baked crust and bake another 15 minutes. Spread pie filling over cheese layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts and 1/2 cup crumbs over the top of the filling. Bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Refrigerate several hours. Cut into bars.

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The next recipe can either be baked for 3 to 4 hours or finished in the crock pot on low for 4 to 5 hours. She also adds that at first it may not sound appealing, but give it a try, for it is wonderful.

Tomatoes and Kraut

1 1-pound can sauerkraut

1 1-pound can chopped tomatoes

1/2 pound bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 3 to 4 hours or placed in crock pot on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Dried Beef Macaroni Casserole

1 cup macaroni, dry

1/2 pound longhorn cheese, cut up

4 hard boiled eggs, cubed

2 cups milk

1/2 pound dried beef, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cans mushroom soup

Mix and pour into casserole 12 to 15 hours before planning to bake or overnight. When ready, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Yummy Left-over Mashed Potato Casserole

8 cups mashed potatoes

1 small carton sour cream

1 small carton French onion dip

2 (3 ounces each) packages cream cheese

Mash potatoes and salt to taste. Add sour cream, onion dip and cream cheese. Mix well. Pour into a 3-quart casserole and bake uncovered at 350 degrees until heated through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Tater Tot Casserole

2 pounds ground beef

16 ounces sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

16 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

1 large bag tater tots

Brown ground beef with onion and season with salt and pepper as desired. Place in 9x13-inch pan, then layer with rest of ingredients and layer tater tots in single layer on top of cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

In the comments following this recipe, she adds that she uses 1/2 carton sour cream, 1/3 bag shredded cheese and 1 small bag of tater tots and celery soup can be substituted for the chicken soup.

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We have only one request from readers this week. It comes from Sherry Hoernig of Benton. She and her husband stayed at a bed and breakfast on their honeymoon and for breakfast they were served a French toast casserole or like an overnight style French toast casserole. She recalls that it was quite tasty and would like to make it for them at their home.

Well, that's all folks. Have a wonderful week, and make your plans to attend the cooking school. I look forward to meeting many of you as we celebrate cooking and, yes, even more recipes. Until next week, happy cooking.