When the idea of Recipe Swap was first discussed, I had my concerns that people would be too busy to take time to write in or to share recipes. Boy, was I wrong! I am so excited and thrilled that we have had such a wonderful response with this week being our best yet. Congratulations readers on a job very well done! so with that, let's get right to the recipes.

Cynthia Kothe who works at the Humane Society has recently tried two recipes that turned out so great she wants to share so everyone can enjoy them.

Crown Pork Roast with Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing

1 T. salt

1 T. pepper

2 t. dried thyme

1 (16-rib) crown pork roast, trimmed

2 c. Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing (recipe following)

1/4 c. butter or margarine

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans ready-to-serve chicken broth

2 T. orange liqueur or orange juice

2 T. grated orange rind

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

optional garnished: kumquat leaves, sugared kumquats, grape clusters, crab apples

Combine first 3 ingredients; rub over all sides of roast.

Fold a piece of aluminum foil into an 8-inch square; place on a rack in a roasting pan. Place roast, bone ends up, on foil-lined rack.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Spoon 2 c. Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing into center of roast; cover with a 12-inch square of heavy-duty foil, and fold over tips of ribs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours longer or until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove foil; let roast stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Pour pan drippings into a skillet; add butter, and cook over medium heat until butter melts. Add flour, whisking until smooth; cook, whisking constantly, until caramel colored.

Stir in chicken broth and next 4 ingredients; cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and thickened. Serve with roast. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing

2 c. dried cranberries

1 c. orange liqueur or orange juice

2 pounds mild ground pork sausage

4 c. coarsely chopped celery

1 1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. butter or margarine

2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans ready-to-serve chicken broth

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 t. dried thyme

2 (6-oz.) packages pork stuffing mix

2 T. grated orange rind

2 c. chopped pecans

Combine cranberries and liqueur in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Brown sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles; drain, reserving 2 T. drippings in skillet. Set sausage aside.

Add celery and onion to reserved drippings; cook over medium-high heat 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add butter and next 4 ingredients; cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until butter melts.

Combine the cranberry mixture, sausage, stuffing mix and seasoning packet, orange rind, and pecans in a large bowl, stirring well.

Spoon 2 c. stuffing into crown pork roast; spoon remainder of stuffing into a lightly greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; uncover and bake 10 additional minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 12 servings.

Note: You can make the stuffing the day before it is needed. Place it in a large bowl; cover and chill until ready to bake. If not preparing a roast, spoon all stuffing into two lightly greased 11x7-inch baking dishes; bake as directed.

Thank you, Cynthia, for sharing that wonderful sounding recipe. It makes me want to plan a party just so I can try it.

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Becki Essner of Cape Girardeau sent in a family favorite that her family enjoys on cold evenings. Her family eats a lot of soup, and this is one sounds great.

Italian Bean Soup

2 (16 oz.) cans navy beans

1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes

1 onion, finely chopped

smoked ham, diced into small pieces

garlic powder, to taste

Italian seasoning, to taste

water, to desired consistency

small sea shell macaroni

Simmer the first 7 ingredients together until heated through and flavors are well blended. Just before serving, add small sea shell macaroni and cook until tender.

Serve with garlic bread sticks.

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While we're talking about soup, Joan Weeks of Cape Girardeau sent in a Mulligatawny Soup recipe. I'll be eager for her to tell me how it turns out when she makes it the next time. Becki, if your family loves soup as much as you wrote in your note, you must meet Joan Weeks. She is the "Soup Queen." She also loves soup and has developed more than 100 original recipes, all of which are excellent.

Joan wrote in a note to me: "Fans of Seinfeld will remember the Soup Nazi. One of his famous soups was Mulligatawny. Maybe some readers would like to give it a try."

Mulligatawny Soup

3 lbs. chicken, cut in pieces

1/4 c. butter

1/2 c. chopped carrots

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

2 greening apples, cored and chopped

1 T. flour

2 t. curry powder

2 qts. chicken broth

2 whole cloves

pinch mace

few sprigs parsley, chopped

1 T. sugar

1/4 t. pepper

1 T. salt

Saute' chicken pieces in heated butter until well browned. Stir in carrots, green pepper and apples. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until mixture is brown. Sprinkle in flour and curry powder. Add broth, a little at a time. Season with all remaining ingredients. Cook to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer gently until chicken is very tender.

Remove chicken from soup and cool until it can be handled comfortably. Strain the soup, working vegetables through a sieve. Then, return to the kettle and heat. Strip chicken from bones (discard bones and skin) and add to soup. Serve with steamed rice. Serves 6 to 8.

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In response to a recent request by Greg Illers for a coffee cake recipe, Doloris Meyr of Cape Girardeau shares a recipe that she got from a family member. Doloris says that it is delicious and freezes well.

Yeast Coffee Cake

1 1/4 c. scalded milk

1 T. sugar

1 cake yeast or 1 pkg. dry yeast

1 1/2 c. flour

2 eggs

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

Mix first 4 ingredients and let rise 1 hour. Then add remaining ingredients to make dough. (Beat ingredients together with beater.) Add flour to make a soft dough, about 3 cups. Let rise to about double in size. Roll out on lightly floured surface 1/4-inch thick. Let rise again 1 hour or until very high (30 to 40 minutes). Bake in 375 degree oven. Makes about three 9x13-inch coffee cakes.

Coconut Coffee Cake Topping:

8 T. heavy whipping cream

pinch salt

1/2 t. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

1 c. coconut

Beat with beater the cream, egg and sugar. Add coconut, salt and vanilla. Spread on unbaked coffee cake. Bake in moderate oven 350 to 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

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Orene Holland of Cape Girardeau was looking for a recipe for old-fashioned sorghum molasses popcorn balls. We received a recipe for Cracker Jack that came out of a Household Searchlight recipe Book copyright 1938. The recipe does not give instructions for making it into popcorn balls, but the person who sent it in says she remembers as a child they did form the mixture into balls.

Cracker Jack

1 c. sorghum molasses

1 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 T. butter

3 qts. popped popcorn

Melt butter. Add sugar salt, and molasses. Boil to the hard crack stage (will form brittle threads in cold water). Pour over corn, stir while pouring. Spread in thin layer to cool. Break in pieces.

Note: The hard crack stage on a candy thermometer would read 285 to 290 degrees.

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Jewell DaWalt of Patton is looking for sourdough starter and friendship starter. And in reply to her request, Karla Essner of Scott City sent a starter and bread recipe. Karla also has starter she is willing to share. She is willing to bring it to Cape Girardeau and share with those who want it. Karla has been making this recipe since 1991 and has all 93 feeding dates on record. Now that's a good starter.

Sourdough Bread

Feed to start:

3/4 c. sugar

1 c. warm water

3 T. instant flake potatoes

Feed starter as often as every 3 to 5 days, or wait as long as 6 to 8 weeks. After feeding, let the quart jar of starter stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours, covered with cheese cloth. Use 1 to 1 1/2 cups of starter to make bread or to share starter with a friend. Refrigerate remaining starter, covered with a tight lid.

To make bread:

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. corn oil

1 t. salt

1 1/2 c. starter

1 c. warm water

6 c. all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients in order, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition. Add flour a cup at a time. Cover mixing bowl with wet towel and let dough rise overnight, or until it touches the towel. Punch down and knead to a soft, delicate dough, adding flour only as necessary. Divide dough into three equal parts. Knead each on a floured surface until no longer sticky. Place in loaf pans prepared with cooking spray, or freeze in plastic bags for later use. Let rise under a damp towel for 4 to 5 hours, or until doubled in size. Bake to a golden brown at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

We have another Sourdough starter recipe that came out of very old cookbook from Alaska. This recipe was sent in by Deborah Jennings.

Starter for Sourdough Hot Cakes or Bread

1 cake or package yeast

1/2 c. warm water

1 c. flour

1/2 c. water

1 T. sugar

Mix above ingredients and put in quart jar and put in warm place until bubbles appear and it starts to rise. Put cap on jar and store in refrigerator.

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Helen Childs of Cape Girardeau started quite a stir when she requested a recipe for spiced tea. We have had an enormous response to her request and that is wonderful! So, here are a few of the recipes that we received this week.

Spiced Tea...To Beat All Others

6 c. water

1 t. whole cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

2 1/2 T. black tea

3/4 c. orange juice

2 T. lemon juice

1/2 c. sugar

Combine water, cloves and cinnamon. Heat to boiling. Add tea, cover and steep 5 minutes. Heat separately the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar to boiling, stir and add to hot tea. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

The person who sent in this recipe said she uses frozen orange juice, bottles lemon juice and tea bags so it's easy to make. She also always makes a double or triple batch to keep on hand in the refrigerator. She says it beats any other recipe she's tried.

Jodi Thompson of Jackson has a recipe with a little different twist.

Spiced Tea Mix

1 (15 oz.) jar orange breakfast drink mix

1 c. sugar

1 c. instant tea powder

1/2 c. sweetened lemonade powder

1 package unsweetened cherry Kool-Aid

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

Mix together all ingredients well. store tightly sealed. To serve, stir 2 T. of tea mix into 8 ounces of hot or cold water.

Jean L. Martin of Cape Girardeau shares an interesting Sugar-Free Russian Tea mix that will better suite our diabetic friends. I'll have to remember this recipe for use at the Cape Senior Center. Thank you for sharing this one with us, Jean.

Sugar-Free Russian Tea

4 1/2 t. sugar-free orange drink mix

3 1/2 t. sugar-free lemonade mix

artificial sweetener equivalent to 16 t. sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground cloves

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container. To prepare one serving, add 1/4 t. of mix to 3/4 c. hot water; stir well. Yield: 1/4 c. mix.

Mabel Blattel of Cape Girardeau sent in about eight different spiced-tea recipes and one of them in particular sounds really good.

Spiced Tea

1/2 pound tea

4 T. grated orange peel, dried

2 T. grated lemon peel, dried

1/4 c. whole cloves

2 4-inch cinnamon sticks, crushed

1 T. grated nutmeg

1 c. (1/4 pound) candied orange peel

Mix together and store in glass jar or tea canister. This makes a lot but will keep all winter.

To prepare, steep desired amount in boiling hot water, strain and sweeten as desired.

And last, but certainly not least, is my friend Brandy Conyers. She shares the recipe that she made and gave away as Christmas gifts for friends and family.

Spice Tea Mix

1 c. Tang

1 c. instant tea

1/3 c. sweetened lemonade mix

1 c. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

Mix ingredients together and store in sealed container. Makes about 2 1/2 c. mix. Stir before using. To Prepare, use 1 to 2 T. of mix to 1 c. of boiling hot water.

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To close this week's Recipe Swap we have three requests.

Amber Larson and her family eat a lot of pasta dishes, mostly as evening meal entrees. She is looking for more interesting ways to prepare and serve pasta.

Opal Rodgers of Cape Girardeau is wanting to make old-fashioned rice pudding for her daughter. Personally, I love good rice pudding, and when I was expecting our children, that was one thing that really tasted good to me. But before I share my recipe I want our readers to share theirs with you.

Alice Niswonger of Cape Girardeau ate a piece of Brown Sugar Cream Pie at an Amish restaurant in Northern Indiana during the summer and thinks it was some of the best pie she has ever eaten. Surely, with all of the wonderful pie bakers we have in the area we can help you out.

Special thanks to everyone who wrote in this week. It sure makes for an exciting and informative column when we have such fantastic reader participation. See you next week!

~Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Senior Center. Her cookbook collection numbers more than 2,000.