Perfect for a Cold Night - Hamburger Minestrone Soup

Try this delicious and easy soup recipe - made enough for four and the same amount to freeze.

HAMBURGER MINESTRONE SOUP
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup cubed potatoes
1 cup cubed carrots
1/2 cup cubed celery
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 No. 2 can tomatoes
1/4 cup rice
1 small bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. basil
Salt & pepper
1½ quarts water
Brown hamburger & onions. Add potatoes & bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients. Cook 1 hour. Put grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Family Party - Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Every year for at least 25 or so, we have a giant sleepover Christmas party with Doug's family. It's complete chaos, lots of noisy kids, fun & games, and no sleep. But wonderful. My food assignment, among several, was a fruit salad. And I just happened to have a recipe! This poppy seed dressing would be good on any salad. I doubled the fruit portion, and only used about half of a single recipe of the dressing. It goes a long way, especially since the juice left in the fruit tends to dilute the dressing.

FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING
1 can pineapple chunks
1½ to 2 large Delicious apples
1 avocado (optional)
1 banana
1 can mandarin oranges
Flaked coconut
Miniature marshmallows
Dressing:
1 cup pineapple juice
2 well beaten egg yolks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 lemon & 1 orange
1/3 cup sugar
Cook until thick. Add few drops lemon extract. Cool. Add 1 heaping tbsp. poppy seeds and 1/2 cup mayonnaise.

Christmas Dinners - Salad (2) / Trifle / Impossible Pumpkin Pie

It seemed a little strange to not be making a huge Christmas dinner this year. It's the "off" year, which means everyone is off having fun somewhere besides home. We had a lovely invitation from my nephew's wife, phenagled by my wonderful sister, to join them for Christmas eve. My assignment was to bring a green salad. I decided to bring Geralee's recipe for this easy and delicious salad.

SALAD (2)
Lettuce
Grapefruit
Oranges
Avocado
Onions
with Catalina French

Geralee's food assignment was Trifle. Here she is holding the dessert she made. This recipe was attributed to Aunt Julie, but Geralee has made Trifle every year of Bruce's 40++ years of life, according to Bruce. She makes it with Danish Dessert, which is equally yummy to using Jello. And I prefer raspberries over strawberries. I have made Trifle every year since Coray's mission to England. We're a Trifle-loving family!

TRIFLE
Use flat bottom punch bowl. Line bottom of bowl with Lady Fingers or Angel Cake. 2 pkgs. Of jello slightly set. Pour over cake while runny. Let set. Drain fruit (2 pkgs. Strawberries). Use 1 pkg. vanilla pudding layer, fruit & pudding over jello. Set and serve garnished with whipped cream.

For Christmas day, I made this Impossible Pumpkin Pie. Note that there is no crust - perfect for Doug, who scrapes the filling and leaves the crust every time. Including this time! He didn't notice there was no crust until he got to the bottom. A pretty good pie, but I prefer crust over pie, so I like the traditional version best.

IMPOSSIBLE PUMPKIN PIE
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 large can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin or 2 cups
2½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. vanilla
Beat until smooth (2 min.). Pour in pie plate & bake 375°F (high alt.) 350°F (reg.) for 50-55 min. Serve with whipped cream.

Salads for the Shelter - Pineapple Cheese Salad / Delicious Salad / Orange Cream Cheese Salad / Bean Salad (3)

While it is a wonderful thing to do and a great time of year to do it, I can't take credit for overwhelming generosity. I had many of the ingredients in my fridge ready to expire, left over from too much food for Thanksgiving. Before anyone gags, I have properly checked expiration dates and they're all safe. And Doug won't eat the cream cheese. Great solution for us all - not wasting food and hopefully someone will appreciate a salad or two.

PINEAPPLE CHEESE SALAD
Bring to boil one #2 can crushed pineapple & 3/4 cup sugar. Add 1 pkg. Knox gelatin which has been dissolved in 1/3 cup cold water. Stir till mixed well. Set to thicken. Add 1 cup shredded cheese & fold in 1 cup whipped cream. Pour in 8" square pan. Chill.

By the way, I had to look up #2 can. It's a 20 ounce. In the "olden days" cans were numbered with some kind of system. I used to know what the numbers were but have lost that in the recess of other unused facts. I still love Google. Today at the grocery store, a lady asked if I knew what scallions were. I told her I was pretty sure they were green onions. Then I asked her if she would like me to "google" it and she said OK. Well, I was right and she was grateful!

DELICIOUS SALAD
1 large pkg. orange jello
1 large bottle maraschino cherries
1 large can whole pineapple
1 can pimentos
2 cups chopped celery
1 pint whipped cream
2 pkgs Philadelphia cream cheese
Set jello with boiled cherry & pineapple juice until slightly thickened. Add celery, pimentos, pineapple, cherries & cream cheese. Blend in whipped cream & set.

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE SALAD
6 oz. pkg. orange jello, set
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 small can pineapple tidbits
1 can mandarin oranges
3/4 cup cubed cream cheese
Set
Thicken pineapple juice. Cool & mix with 1 pkg. whipped topping mix. Spread on top of salad & sprinkle with nuts.

Confession here - I used Cool Whip on top, but I bet it would be really good with the pineapple cream topping.

BEAN SALAD (3)
1 can yellow beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 can green beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
Dressing:
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
Salt & pepper
Mix & pour over vegetables. Set in refrigerator for at least one or two days.

Cathedral Window Cookies

Sometimes when I tell people this recipe title, they think of the cookies that you carve out a spot and then melt a life saver to make a little window. Not this recipe. These cookies look like stained glass when you cut them. I didn't use an entire bag of colored marshmallows because it was a large bag. I'm glad I didn't. Still I was afraid that I had used too many. I molded the cookies into about six small logs, which made it more manageable than trying to make one big log. After chilling, they hold together well, and taste great. So here's the dilemma with this recipe - the raw egg. Years ago, I don't think they worried about eating raw eggs like they do nowadays. Just have to say at this point that I love Google. You can ask any question and get the answer! I just "googled" raw egg substitute and got a great list of alternatives. The one I chose was 2 tbsp. cornstarch. Tasteless and safe. I added it with the powdered sugar.

CATHEDRAL WINDOW COOKIES
1 square margarine
1 bar German chocolate
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 pkg. small colored marshmallows
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut
Melt margarine & chocolate in pan stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat. Add sugar & egg to chocolate mixture. Pour mix over marshmallows & nuts. Stir gently. Shape into roll & roll in coconut. Wrap in wax paper & refrigerate. Keep in fridge until used. Cut in slices to serve.

Sugar Cookies Times Three

There are three recipes for sugar cookies in the collection. I decided to stick with a sure thing, so I chose to make the recipe that I must have given to Mom. I got it from my friend Betty, so I recognized it right away. I did use one suggestion from the "Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies" recipe, though. I mixed some sugar with the flour that I used to roll the dough out on. It made it easier to pick up the cookies and I'm guessing that it tastes better too. So here's a trick that I'm pretty sure I made up. Rather than frosting the cookies, I like to use the pastel mint chips (Hickory Farms type). The small mints work best but the large ones are OK too if you cut them in smaller pieces. After baking the cookies about 7 minutes (5 isn't enough), you take them out of the oven and put the mint chips on top. Then put them back in the oven about 30 seconds. Spread with a knife, and voila! Minty frosting.

SUGAR COOKIES (2)
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Cream together.
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Roll 1/4 inch thick. Chill about 1 hour. Bake 400°F 7 min.

Here are the other two recipes for sugar cookies:

OLD FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES
(Newspaper Clipping)
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup beet sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
In mixing bowl, cream shortening, butter or margarine, and sugar. Stir in each egg thoroughly; then add flavoring. Gradually fold in sifted dry ingredients. Work with about half the dough, keeping the remainder chilled. Roll dough out on board, lightly dusted with mixture of 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup sugar, to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut in desired shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a hot oven (350°F) for about 7 to 9 minutes. Cool on cake rack on paper toweling. Makes about 7½ dozen 2-inch cookies.

SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter
1½ cup sugar
5½ cups flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1½ tsp. soda
1½ tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
Cream sugar & butter. Add eggs & vanilla & almond extract. Sift dry ingredients. Add milk & dry ingredients. Roll 1/4 inch thick. Bake 400°F 8 to 10 min.

Divine Divinity

Whew! That's what I said as I put away my candy thermometer. I think I've made all the candy I'm going to make for a while. All that's left now is the gifting - and the eating, unfortunately. I'm not quite sure why I saved Divinity to the last, but I've always been a little intimidated by it. After a few tips from Geralee, I think I did a pretty good job. She said to be sure that the last stage is cooked to a hard crack (rather than hard ball as the recipe says). I used my Kitchen Aid for the beating phase and just kept beating till it started to thicken and lose its gloss. Then I finished a bit by hand and dropped it by teaspoons on my baking mat (still out of waxed paper). While it's not quite as perfect at Geralee's, it's still pretty good. Oh, and as for the saying that you can't make Divinity on a stormy day - Chris tells me that it's a matter of the barometer. If you re-test your candy thermometer and adjust for the difference, then you should be OK. I always use the cold water method as a backup.

DIVINITY
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites beaten well
1/2 cup Karo
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
Boil sugar, water, and Karo until it makes a soft ball in cold water. Then take out 1/2 cup full and beat into egg whites. Boil the rest of the syrup until it makes hard ball in cold water. Pour into egg whites and beat until it thickens, then add nuts and flavoring. Pour on buttered platter or drop by teaspoonfuls. For variety, color it and add different flavors to it.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

That's really the title. I've been making these cookies since I was a young mother. It was fun to find the recipe in Mom's collection. The recipe is taken from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. When I was trying to carefully manage my food budget, I looked for and tried several different chocolate chip cookie recipes. This became my recipe of choice for one reason - you could get more cookies per one egg, than any other recipe I tried. The fact that it really is a great tasting cookie and never fails also helps! These have become a Christmas cookie several times - here you see them with Andes Peppermint Chips, but I've also made them with red & green M&Ms.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
2/3 cup shortening (part butter & part shortening)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 pkg. chocolate chips
Oven 375°F Bake 8-10 min.

Minted Salt Water Taffy

I've made taffy a lot, but never this kind. We used to make taffy for Family Home Evening, and just last summer Camille wanted her boys to have this fun experience. So I hunted down my recipe for Honey Taffy. Here's a great variety to try. It seemed to cool quite quickly, which made it more difficult to pull, but I think it turned out great and tastes really good. Hint: Essence of Pepperment is another way to say Peppermint Oil - not peppermint extract.

MINTED SALT WATER TAFFY
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1½ tbsp. butter
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup hot water
1/2 tsp. essence of peppermint
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Melt the butter (do not brown); add the grated chocolate. Combine the sugar, syrup, salt, and water. Cook over high heat until sugar is well dissolved. Lower heat slightly and cook without stirring to the hard ball stage (when tested in cold water the syrup will hold a ball when molded between thumb and finger). Remove from heat, add the melted chocolate and butter, and stir only to blend. Pour out on a buttered marble slab or large platter. As candy cools slightly, fold in the edges. When cool enough to handle, pick up and stretch. Add the flavorings and pull until it will hold its shape when stretched out into a long, thick rope. Cut in bite-size pieces. Wrap separately in waxed paper. It will make about 90 pieces.

Minted Nuts

Now here's a recipe that turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected. And it sounds so easy! The challenge came from the marshmallows. I added about a cup of the mini's rather than the large. Same rule applies - about 8 mini's to one large. The challenge came in the stirring and the spreading. The whole mass looked like pecans caught in a giant spider web. I thought perhaps this would be a better Halloween treat! Anyway, with a little patience and two forks, I was able to separate the whole lot into small, bite-size chunks. I let them stay out on the waxed paper over night, which allowed them to dry. I'm sure any nut would be good. I used just over a pound of pecans, which added to my persistence. I wasn't about to waste that many nuts!

MINTED NUTS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. Karo syrup
8 marshmallows cut
1 quart nut meat
1 tsp. mint flavoring
Cook sugar, water, & Karo syrup to a soft stage or ball, when dropped in cold water. Take from stove and add marshmallows, stir until dissolved. Add flavoring. Pour over nuts. Mix well and pour on wax paper.

Unusually Good! - Light Fudge

This was my second try at making this fudge. I'm nothing if not persistent! It sounded really good and I remember Mother making this fudge. So I gave it a second chance. The recipe, which was attributed to Mom's club friend Lois Johnson, says to cook it to a firm (real firm) ball. But don't. I think she meant soft ball stage that really formed a ball and not too mushy. My first attempt I cooked it too long. Before I beat the fudge, I added the fruit and nuts, but I think it might have been better if I had waited till the fudge was nearly done. My fudge turned pink as I stirred the cherries. Maybe that was OK - its quite festive this way. It has a nice tangy taste from the sour cream, but not too strong.

LIGHT FUDGE
4 cups sugar
1/4 lb. butter (real)
16 oz. sour cream
Melt butter, add other ingredients. Slow boil to firm ball stage (real firm). Pour into greased dish. Cool till warm. Beat & add vanilla, Maraschino cherries (dried good), nuts or pre-cooked raisins or any kind of fruit you like.

The Trick to English Toffee

I have struggled over the years making toffee, but I never give up because that's one candy that we all love. When it's done right, it's wonderful. One classic problem when making toffee is that the butter starts to separate and leaves a watery mote around a clump of brown sugar. Well, last year I had the AHA moment. My honorary second mom, Betty, was a good friend of my mom. Her daughter Jenna was glued to my side through my entire childhood. Well, Jenna sent me a recipe book of her mom's recipes a couple of years ago, so I looked up Betty's secret to toffee. She said to always cook it on high heat, and if you'll notice in my recipe below, it also says to cook on the highest heat. Somehow in the copying of Mom's recipe to my own file, I left out that important note. Well, never again. I made this toffee tonight in about 15 minutes. High heat - no separation. Can't wait to cut it!

The first recipe is the one I used - the following two are also in her collection.

ENGLISH TOFFEE
Cut coarsely 1 cup nuts into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Turn stove unit onto top heat. Into heavy pan place the following:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 lb. butter
3 tbsp. water
Stir with wooden spoon throughout time of cooking. Mixture should appear fluffy at all times during cooking. Mixture will start to leave the sides of the pan when it turns amber with cooking smoking slightly. Pour immediately over nuts. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Indicate squares while warm. Cool & break.

Note: I used almonds tonight but I often use walnuts. And instead of chocolate chips, I used Hershey milk chocolate bars.

ENGLISH TOFFEE (2)
1 lb. butter
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 cup ground almonds
2½ cups sugar
1 lb. sweet chocolate or 9 5-cent plain Hershey bars
Chopped Walnuts
Cook butter, water, sugar and syrup to hard cracked stage (310°F). Remove from heat and add almonds. Pour into buttered pans (cookie sheets). Have chocolate melted; pour over toffee then sprinkle with walnuts. Let cool, then break into pieces. If using candy bars just lay on hot toffee and spread with knife.

FAVORITE TOFFEE
1/2 cup water
1 lb. butter
2¼ cups sugar
1 cup coarsely ground almonds
Melt butter in heavy sauce pan. Add sugar & water & bring to boil. Add almonds & cook over high heat. Stir candy constantly as it nears end. Cook until brown. Pour quickly into buttered pan. Cool & bread as is - or spread with melted milk chocolate & sprinkle with chopped toasted almonds.

Oh Fudge!

Here are several fudge recipes - two of them I tried. The first was the Marshmallow Rocky Road Fudge. First because I love nuts and marshmallows, easy decision. I had to adjust this recipe a bit because I didn't read the recipe closely enough. I looked at the evaporated milk line and saw 1 can instead of 1 cup. I'm not sure that it shouldn't have been one can if Mom wrote 1 c. Anyway, since I had already added the full can, which is 1-1/2 cups, I adjusted the rest of the recipe to match. Turned out fine - I just had extra of the fudge layer. It's really good!

MARSHMALLOW ROCKY ROAD FUDGE
3/4 cup broken walnuts
1 12-oz. pkg. chocolate pieces
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups tiny marshmallows
1/4 tsp. salt
Sprinkle walnuts evenly over buttered pan 9 x 9 x 2. Butter sides of 2 quart heavy saucepan. In it combine sugar, milk, & salt. Heat & stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to rolling boil & boil 2 min. Stirring. Remove from heat immediately stir in chocolate & vanilla. Beat until chocolate is melted. Cover walnuts with 1/2 fudge. Top with tiny marshmallows pressing gently into fudge. Spread with remaining fudge.

Now, since there are two more chocolate fudge recipes all very similar, I decided to only make one of them because I didn't necessarily want or need two more huge pans of fudge! The recipe I tried was a bit different from other easy fudge recipes I've made in the past using marshmallow cream. This recipe called for marshmallows, and since I had just bought them, this recipe one the draw. Here it is:

FUDGE
4½ cups sugar
1 cube butter
1 lg. can milk
Boil together stirring constantly for 7 min. Pour over 1 lb. marshmallows, 2 pkg. chocolate chips. Stir until dissolved. Add nuts & put in fridge to chill.

And here's the other recipe:

EASY FUDGE
4½ cups sugar
1 tall can milk
1-1/3 cubes margarine
1 pint marshmallow topping
2 giant Hershey bars
1 lb. chopped nuts
2 tsp. vanilla
Combine sugar, milk, margarine in saucepan and boil for 6 min. stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and while still hot add chocolate, marshmallow, vanilla and nuts. Blend together and pour into two dripper pans or one large cookie sheet (buttered). Cool in refrigerator overnight. Before cutting, take from refrigerator and sit in room temp. for about 1 hour.

Yummy Gifting - Cranberry Nut Bread

My friends and neighbors are going to benefit (I hope) from my efforts this season. What better chance to try all these recipes for cookies and candy? Well, the home teachers are coming early this month, and my sweet home teacher can't have sugary sweets. So I looked to the collection for something appropriate for gifting but not in the candy section. Cranberry Nut Bread! Still seasonal, not quite as sweet. This recipe was from a magazine clipping. I followed it exactly, but when it came to pouring it into the pans, it didn't pour. The batter was quite thick, which worried me. Much thicker than banana bread, for instance. Anyway, I resisted the urge to add another egg or more liquid, and stayed true to the recipe. I used two smaller pans, rather than one large one, so I reduced the cooking time to 60 minutes. It looked a little dry, possibly too done, when I removed it from the oven. So I decided a little orange glaze might help. Just dumped - powdered sugar and orange juice till it seemed the right consistency. Of course I had to cut one loaf to make sure it was worthy of gifting. Well, I thought it was delicious, but Doug's first word when he tasted it sealed the deal - "WOW!" He liked it, so I guess this is a good gift idea. Hope the home teachers like it!

CRANBERRY NUT BREAD
Grease bottom only of a 9x5x3 in. loaf pan. Line pan with waxed paper cut to fit pan bottom; grease the waxed paper.
Rinse, sort, and cut into halves 2 cups (about 9 oz.) fresh cranberries.
Coarsely chop and add to cranberries 3 oz. pecans (about 3/4 cup, chopped). Set aside.
Melt and set aside to cool slightly 2 tbsp. butter or margarine.
Sift together into a bowl and set aside:
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1¾ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Combine:
1 egg, well beaten
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
Stir in the melted butter or margarine. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients all at one time. Stir only enough to moisten all the dry ingredients. Add the nuts and cranberries and 1 tsp. grated orange rind (grated through colored part only; white part is bitter).
Stir just until blended (do not overmix). Turn into prepared loaf pan and spread to corners.
Bake at 350°F about 70 min., or until a cake tester or wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in center of loaf.
Remove from oven; cool 10 min. in pan on cooling rack.
To remove bread from pan, first loosen by running spatula gently around sides. Cover with a cooling rack. Invert and remove pan. Immediately peel off waxed paper and turn bread right-side up. Cool bread completely before slicing or storing. To store, wrap tightly in aluminum foil or other moisture-vapor-proof material.

My Favorite Christmas Cookies - Thumb Cookies & Date Pin Wheels

I have loved Thumb Cookies, aka Angel Thumbprints, since I was little. Mother made them and then I started making them for my family. Then I realized that I was the only one eating them. My good fortune. I love the way the walnuts taste baked on the outside of this cookie. You can also fill the thumbprint with jelly, but I prefer frosting.

THUMB COOKIES
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix all together then add 1 cup sifted flour, 1/4 tsp. salt. Mold into balls the size of a walnut, then roll in egg white and finely chopped nuts. Bake five minutes in 350°F oven. Take out and make a depression with the thumb in each cookie then return to oven and bake until brown. Then take out and cover with colored icing.

My other favorite cookie is Date Pin Wheels. This is also one that Mother made every year. The recipe was from a newspaper clipping. I know my sisters make this cookie, but it's not one that I have made very often. The recipe wasn't very specific in the instructions. You need to roll the dough out before you spread it with the date mixture. Then you roll it up and wrap it in waxed paper. Chill it a couple of hours, and then slice the roll with a sharp knife in 1/4 inch slices. I loved the way they turned out! This is probaly another cookie that I would eat all by myself. And that's OK!

DATE PIN WHEELS
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg (beaten)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
Cook dates, sugar and water slowly until thick. Add nuts and cool. Cream shortening, brown sugar and vanilla. Add egg. Sift flour, salt and soda. Add to creamed mixture, making a stiff dough. Spread dough with date mixture and roll up like jelly roll. Chill in refrigerator for two hours. Bake at 375°F from 10 to 12 minutes.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! - Caramels & Peanut Brittle

House decorated - check. Shopping done - almost. Wrapping - I've started. But I've got lots of recipes to try before I run out of the best excuse ever to make yummy treats. I started with the caramels this week. I've made caramels before, but it was a very long time ago. The instructions for this recipe were very precise, and I followed them to the letter. My main dilemma is knowing how many degrees to subtract from my candy thermometer reading. I read on a website today that you subtract 2 degrees (F) for every 1000 feet above sea level. I think I'm about 4500 feet so that would be about 9 degrees. But I wasn't that careful. And I have a very cheap candy thermometer. If I were to be a serious candy maker, I'd invest in a decent thermometer. However, these caramels are perfect, if I do say so myself. And I didn't subtract any degrees from my thermometer reading because I was worried about under-cooking it. Warning - it takes a very long time to make caramels - maybe an hour of stirring, but they're worth it.

CARAMELS
2 cups sugar
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 pint whipping cream
Shake salt
Mix sugar & syrup together. Add 1/3 of cream & boil to 230°F. Add 1/3 more cream and bring to 230°F then add 1 inch square of butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and bring to 234°F. Break 1 cup nuts on bottom of 9 inch buttered square pan. Pour mixture on top. Cool in refrigerator.

Today I made Peanut Brittle. This recipe was attributed to Lucile F. Can't for the life of me remember who that might be. The instructions say to cook it till it spins a two-inch thread. I had to look that one up! I got the answer from the same website that told me about subtracting 2 degrees. You get some of the syrup and hold the spoon over the boiling candy, and then let the syrup drip off the edge of the spoon. It will start to spin a thread - a little stream of syrup that kind of stays on the end of the spoon. Also the temperature reading according to this chart said 215 to 235 degrees. For what it's worth! Then after I added the peanuts, I stirred for about a half hour - really. Seemed like forever, and then suddenly it was done. So have everything ready that needs to be added at the end and have your tray buttered and ready to pour. I took Mom's advice and didn't add 2 teaspoons of soda - only 1, but I did add 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Why not? And notice Mom's note about the recipe - it must be good if she says so.

PEANUT BRITTLE (GOOD)
2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup (white)
1/2 cup water
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla (?)
2 tsp. soda (?) (I didn't use 2)
Cook syrup, water & sugar until it spins 2" thread. Add peanuts to cooking mixture & continue cooking stirring constantly until syrup turns light golden brown. Take off stove & add soda. Add vanilla & butter. Pour on buttered plate or trays & break when cold.

Leftovers - Yummy Rice Dish

It's always a dilemma when you come to the last of the turkey. What to do with that last little bit. I've been waiting for the right opportunity to make this recipe, and I'm glad I did. This recipe was attributed to "Bob's Mother" - my sister's mother-in-law. It did live up to its name. Lori called it "comfort food." Must admit it was good. I didn't have cream of mushroom soup, so I used cream of chicken. And sadly I forgot to add the mushrooms. I love mushrooms, so I know that would have made it even better. And it calls for canned chicken, but leftover turkey works great!

YUMMY RICE DISH
2 tbsp. butter
2 cups diced celery
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 4-oz. can mushrooms with juice
Simmer till transparent. Add 1 can mushroom soup, 1 can chicken with rice soup, 3/4 cup uncooked rice, 1½ cup water. Mix together and put in dripper pan & cover & bake 1½ hrs. at 325°F. Twenty minutes before done add 1 can boned chicken or turkey & 1 cup cashews or almonds.

All Over but the Nap! - Feather Rolls / Aunt Frances's Rolls

Over too quick! All that work and it's over in a flash. Wow, we had a delicious meal, and four generations participated. We used many of Mother's recipes and I had wonderful helpers in my daughters, daughters-in-law, sons, and granddaughters. Here are the two roll recipes we used today. The Feather Rolls were the ones that Mother always made. Aunt Frances's recipe is the recipe that I have used for years because it's easy and makes delicious rolls.

FEATHER ROLLS
2 yeast cakes [5 tsp.]
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup scalded milk
1/3 cup melted shortening
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs well beaten
4 or 5 cups flour unsifted
Mix yeast, warm water & sugar & let stand 20 min. Add to milk when cool & shortening, salt, eggs. Add flour. Dough will be sticky. Put in refrigerator over night. Two hours before serving take out & knead for 10 min. Lightly spread with butter. Cut like jelly roll 1" slices. Put in muffin tins. Let rise 2 hours. Bake 10 min. 425°F. Beulah says use water instead of milk and let dough rise once before refrigerating.

AUNT FRANCES'S ROLLS
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
Add 1 can (large) milk and 1 can hot water
2 beaten eggs
1 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup oil (butter)
Add flour to make soft dough. Knead 10 min. Let raise. Roll out and let raise again. Bake 10 min. @ 425°F.

Traditions Old and New - Green Bean Casserole / Yams and Apples / Creamed Onions / Cranberry Jello Salad

We always have Green Bean Casserole. Even now - and I remember it from my childhood, or at least teen-hood. My favorite part is the fried onions!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
1 or 2 pkgs. French cut frozen green beans [these are always better]
Cook & drain. Add 1 can mushroom soup, undiluted. Put in casserole. Place canned onion rings (Fancifood) on top and bake 25 min. at 325°F.

We always called this Yams & Apples. I haven't made this recipe in years - not since Caryn got her yummy Sweet Potato Souffle recipe, which is more like dessert. But everyone seemed to really like this one. Here's one tradition that might be revived.

APPLE-YAM CASSEROLE
Slice alternately in a casserole dish 3 or 4 cooked yams and 2 or 3 raw apples, peeled.
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1/2 square butter
Mix in 2 cups hot water
Boil together until thick and pour over casserole. (A small amount of lemon juice may be added to sauce.) Bake 1/2 hour at 350°F.

The Creamed Onions are one tradition that my family hasn't really embraced, but since Geralee was coming to dinner today I made them for her. This is one delicious cream sauce - so rich - and I accidentally used a cube of butter instead of a half cube. Mmmm.

CREAMED ONIONS AMANDINE
3 cups small whole onions (about 24)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 cup cream
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salted almond halves
Cover onions with boiling salted water and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until just tender; drain, reserving 1 cup onion liquid. Heat butter in a saucepan; blend in a mixture of the next four ingredients until bubbly. Remove from heat and gradually add 1 cup reserved onion liquid and cream, stirring constantly. Bring rapidly to boiling and cook 1 to 2 min. longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add cheese and stir until melted and well blended. Pour sauce over onions and turn into a serving bowl. Top with the almond halves.

As soon as Geralee tasted the jello, she said, "Is this Mother's salad?" So apparently I did it right. It was delicious - I liked it much better than I remember liking it when I was young. Guess my taste buds matured or something. I spread whipped cream on top to serve.

CRANBERRY JELLO SALAD
1 lb. fresh cranberries
1½ cups sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tbsp. orange rind
6 oz. cherry jello
2 cups hot water
1 cup shredded apple
Grind cranberries & mix with sugar, orange juice & orange rind. Let set 2-4 hours. Drain juice & save to use with jello. Measure juice from berries & water to make 1 cup. Dissolve jello, add ingredients & set.

Dessert First! Carrot Pudding / Lemon Pie / Pecan Pie / Fat-Boy Apple Pie

We always make pies first because they're easy to do the day before Thanksgiving. Here are some wonderful recipes my girls helped make yesterday, in addition to our favorite traditional pumpkin, jumbleberry, banana cream, and Chips-Ahoy Chocolate pie.

Mom's specialty was a delicious carrot pudding. This recipe was written in the back of the Household Searchlight cookbook, with the notation that it was her mother's recipe. Sad to admit it, but this was my first time making it. I think it turned out - we haven't tasted it yet, but it looks great. Many years go, cousin Kathi gave my sisters and I a steamer and she included some helpful tips for how to use it. Mom used to steam it in a shortening can or quart jar. In the recipe she says to use shortening or suet, with no amount given. I called Marian and she said maybe use 1/4 cup, so I used half a cube of butter. Mom made a Butter Rum sauce by melting rum-flavored Life Savers. You can't buy those any more, so I bought some rum flavoring. Haven't tried making the sauce yet, but I found a recipe for caramel sauce on SimplyRecipes.com which sounds exactly like the one Marian told me about on the phone from Arizona. Since I failed to write it down, I'm going to use this recipe and try adding a few drops of rum flavoring. Here's the recipe:

CARROT PUDDING
1 cup grated raw carrots
1 cup grated raw potatoes
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk or 2 eggs
2 tbsp. boiling H2O
To carrots & potatoes add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, milk. Add shortening or suet. Dissolve soda in boiling water & add the raisins, nuts. Steam 3-4 hours.

Now for the pies - my favorite of all desserts. I remember the day when Mom cut this recipe out of the newspaper. It was SO much fun to find that actual clipping in Mom's files. Here it is:

FAT BOY APPLE PIE
PREPARE:
Your regular one-pie crust recipe. This will make two pies. Roll them out and flute the edges high in a couple of 9-inch pie pans.
PEEL AND CORE:
About 8 apples. Don't use bottles or canned - they ain't the same. Slice them up and then put them into the crusts and top with a little cinnamon and some lemon juice, and about a half cup of sugar for each pie.
PREPARE A TOPPING OF:
1½ cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 or 2 cups chopped pecans
1½ cups margarine (2 or 3 cubes)
COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS:
Get your hands in there and mix it until it is a nice crumbly mixture.
PUT TOPPING ON PIE AND:
Make sure that none of the apples peek through the crumb topping, then bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 for another 45 minutes.
SERVE WITH:
Thinly sliced cheddar cheese. Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.
NOTICE:
This pie lives up to its name - it's fattening, delightful, and will draw raves. Bake enough of these and maybe he'll get you that new wardrobe, even if you don't become a skinny old girl!
Thanks to Lori for peeling the apples!

Lemon meringue pie is one I haven't mastered; in fact I might have made it only a couple of times. I've had requests for this recipe to show up here, though, so here it is. Luckily, Caryn makes this every Father's Day so she got the assignment to make it for us. Tyler helped with the lemon squeezing. It looks beautiful, and I'm sure will taste delicious.

REAL LEMON PIE FILLING
2 cups water
1/3 cup lemon juice (real)
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
Dash salt
Bring to boil & thicken with 2 tbsp. flour & 3 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup sugar. Cook until clear & done - about 5 min. then mix another 1/2 cup sugar with 2 beaten egg yolks and add a little hot custard to them. Then add eggs mixture to lemon. Cook a few minutes. Pour HOT filling to baked HOT crust. Beat egg whites. Add 1/8 tsp. cream tarter. Beat stiff & add gradually 4 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla. Brown in medium oven.

One of my favorite pies is Pecan Pie. This recipe varies a bit from the one I've always made. It's from a newspaper clipping. Hope it's good!

PECAN PIE IMPERIAL
Unbaked pie shell, 10-in.
3 eggs
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup light cream or half and half
2 cups whole pecan halves
In large mixing bowl beat eggs; add sugar and beat until thick and smooth. Blend in corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Stir in cream. Fill pie shell with pecans. Pour custard over nuts. Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 1 hour or until set. Makes 8 servings.

Can't forget the pie crust. Camille made this crust for Cam's Jumbleberry Pie. It's a recipe from the collection that I usually make. The secret is using very cold water, and very minimal handling. Flaky crust every time!

PIE CRUST (2)
2½ cups flour
1 cup shortening
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
[Cut shortening into flour & salt.] Mix together water, vinegar & egg. Stir into other ingredients.

Today's Thanksgiving Day!

Anybody out there remember "My Picture Book of Songs"? That wonderful big yellow songbook from my childhood has a family favorite song that we sing every Thanksgiving:

"Today's Thanksgiving Day, and we have a treat

Because there are so many-y-y-y yummy things to eat!"

We've already sung it several times in anticipation of eating ourselves sick. Wait - we've already started doing that! I've been feeding about 20 people all week, besides getting all the wonderful things ready for the big event. I'll be able to check off about 10 recipes for today alone.

And for Dessert - Best Ever Apple Pudding

Here's another recipe that I used to make for special occasions. I doubled the recipe for a 9x13 pan, but I did not double the sauce - no need, it makes plenty.

BEST EVER APPLE PUDDING
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup soft butter
1 egg
2 large unpeeled apples, shredded (2 cups)
1 cup sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Gradually add sugar to butter, creaming well. Add egg & beat hard. Shred apples medium fine, add at once to creamed mixture. Stir in sifted dry ingredients, add walnuts. Bake in greased 8" or 9" square pan at 350°F (moderate) about 45 minutes. Cut in squares. Serve hot with Best Ever Pudding Sauce, whipped cream or caramel sauce. Makes 8 or 9 servings. (Good re-heated.)
Best Ever Pudding Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light cream
1½ tsp. vanilla
Dash nutmeg
Heat butter, sugar & cream together over very low heat 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until blended & slightly thickened. Don't let sauce boil. Add vanilla & nutmeg. Serve hot on hot pudding or plain cake. Makes 1½ cups.

Not - 12 Hour Butterhorn Rolls

It didn't reallly take take this long to make these rolls. I must admit that I was intimidated by the title. The advantage to this recipe, though, was that I could start it in the morning, go to church, and have hot rolls by dinner at 6. I used 5 cups of flour, and brushed the dough with melted butter before cutting into wedges. I think this roll has a nice flavor and consistency. For more roll recipes, see June (I think). I made four batches in one day!

12 HOUR BUTTERHORN ROLLS
1 yeast cake (2½ tsp.) dissolved in
1/4 cup water & 1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup sweet milk, scalded & cooled
Add:
3 well-beaten eggs
3 tbsp. butter, melted (or more)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 cups (or more) flour
Knead well. Let raise about 5 hours. Divide in half. Roll into 8 in. or 9 in. diameter and 1/8 in. thick. Cut into 16 pieces, wedges and roll (starting with wide end). Don't place too close. Rise 3 to 4 hours. Bake 11 to 13 min. in 400°F oven.

A Family Favorite - Baked Beans

Here's another recipe from my mother-in-law, Vera. We've made this recipe for years and love it. I made it in my crock pot rather than the oven. And who knows what a half bottle of catsup is? I just dumped. I have no idea how big the bottles were when Vera started making this recipe. I drain the bacon grease before cooking the onions and peppers so that I can rationalize that it's not that fattening.

BAKED BEANS
1 large can pork & beans
1/2 lb. bacon (cut in pieces & warm through - not crisp)
Take out bacon & add to beans. In bacon grease warm & soften 1 onion & 1/2 green pepper (chopped). Take out of grease & add to beans. 3 tsp. worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 bottle catsup. Bake at 250°F 3 hours.

Don't Need a Funeral to Love These - Potato Casserole Supreme and Scalloped Potatoes

I knew that one recipe wouldn't be enough for 20 of us, so I tried two different variations of what we lovingly call in Utah "funeral potatoes." These came by the nickname because they're frequently served at family luncheons after funerals. For both of these recipes, I used frozen grated hash browns. SO easy! The Potato Casserole Supreme is a recipe from my mother-in-law, Vera. The Scalloped Potatoes is I'm sure from Geralee, but it's not noted on the card. Be sure to add salt to this recipe.

POTATO CASSEROLE SUPREME
Boil 6-7 potatoes with jackets. Cool, peel, shred.Grease 9 x 13 pan.Heat 1/2 cup. Margarine, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1½ cups grated cheese, 1 pint sour cream, 1/3-1/2 cup grated onion.Mix above and pour over potatoes. Mix lightly with fork. Sprinkle with 1 cup crushed corn flakes with 2 tbsp. melted butter mixed in. Bake uncovered 350°F 45 min. Good.

SCALLOPED POTATOES
Use grated cooked potatoes. Use 9 x 13 pan. 5 or 6 potatoes. A little onion grated. Pour 1 pint whipping cream over. Dot with margarine. Top with grated cheese & bake.

Gearing Up for Thanksgiving - Cranberried Ham

Lots of happy noise at our house this week. Our whole family is coming home for Thanksgiving. What a great chance to try new recipes! I'm going to blog each recipe separately just for convenience sake, but this and the several following were all for Sunday dinner. It was quite a feast! This Cranberried Ham was from a magazine clipping, and I'm really glad Mom clipped it out. It was delicious - even non-ham-lovers liked it. I used a spiral cut ham and baked it in my roaster.

CRANBERRIED HAM
3 cups currant jelly
2 cups white corn syrup
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 9- to 12-pound boned, rolled, fully cooked ham
3 cups whole cranberries
About 2½ hours before serving: Start heating oven to 325°F. In large skillet mix currant jelly, corn syrup and ginger; cook over medium heat until syrupy. Place ham in foil-lined baking pan. Brush it all over with some of jelly mixture. Then bake it, allowing 10 minutes per pound, or about 2 hours, brushing frequently with jelly mixture. About 15 minutes before ham is done: Over medium heat, cook cranberries in rest of jelly mixture, uncovered, for about 7 minutes. When ham is done, place it on a large heated platter. With a large, sharp knife, slice it, partway through, into about 18 slices, being careful NOT to cut all the way through ham. Now, spoon some of cranberry mixture in between every 2 of the ham slices. Pour leftover cranberry mixture into a bowl. Serve ham roll hot, cutting each slice completely through, then in halves. Pass bowl of cranberry mixture. Makes 36 to 48 servings.

Salads for Sunday - Fruit Salad and Orange Salad

A lot of family for Sunday dinner - great chance to try some new recipes. Here are two salads they're getting tomorrow.

ORANGE SALAD
2 pkgs. Orange jello
2 cups boiling water
1 can frozen orange juice
1 can mandarin oranges
1 small can crushed pineapple & juice
1 cup cold water
Mix jello & boiling water, then add 1 can orange juice & stir well. Add mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple & water. Set in fridge till firm.
1/2 cup sugar
2 heaping tbsp. flour
1 can #2 pineapple juice
5 tbsp. butter
1 cup whipped cream
1 beaten egg
Chopped nuts
In the meantime cook sugar, flour, pineapple juice, egg & butter until thick. Cool, add whipped cream. Pour over jello mixture & sprinkle with nuts.
[I didn't use the nuts because I wanted this salad to get eaten!]

FRUIT SALAD
1 pkg. of lemon jello
Heat 1 cup pineapple juice and dissolve jello
1½ cups pineapple chunks
1 cup orange sections
24 maraschino cherries (I don't like this many)
16 Marshmallows cut fine.
When thickened whip 1 cup cream and fold in.
(Very Good)

For this salad, I used pineapple tidbits from the large can. It gave me exactly 1 cup of juice and 1 1/2 cups of pineapple. A regular size can of mandarin oranges is just about a cup. I used 12 maraschino cherries and cut them in half. And this recipe was obviously created before the days of miniature marshmallows. Believe it or not girls, I remember those days! So I estimated that about 8 minis makes a large - or about 2 cups.

Popcorn Poppin' - Caramel Corn and Popcorn Nut Crunch

It's Thanksgiving week and so I'm gearing up! What does popcorn have to do with Thanksgiving, you might ask. Well, you have to have caramel popcorn to munch on in the even while you play games. It's just tradition around here. I'm including two recipes here, with possibly more to follow. This first recipe calls for peanuts, which I didn't have. So I added cashews. Even better! This is a crunchy, dark popcorn. You have to work fast while stirring and spreading it out because the caramel hardens quickly.

CARAMEL CORN
2 quarts popped corn
1 lb. brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 cup Planters peanuts
Keep popped corn in oven at warm. Combine all ingredients except vanilla, peanuts and popcorn. Cook over moderate heat to hard crack stage. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, mix nuts and popcorn. Pour syrup over mixture in a fine stream. Work in quickly. Mix well until all kernels are coated. Spread on cookie sheet and break into pieces at once.

I also made Popcorn Nut Crunch. Yum! This seems a lot like Poppy Cock, a light coating with lots of nuts. I used slivered almonds, not shredded (whatever that is). I didn't use a candy thermometer on this one because I wanted to be true to the recipe. It took just about 10 minutes to start to turn light brown, so I gave it a minute or two more. You have to work fast with this one too - a lot of the nuts ended up at the bottom of the bowl.

POPCORN NUT CRUNCH
2 quarts popcorn
1-1/3 cup pecans
1 cup shredded almonds
1-1/3 cup sugar
1 cup margarine
1/2 cup white Karo
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix popcorn & nuts on a cookie sheet. Combine margarine, sugar & syrup in saucepan. Bring to boil 10 to 15 minutes. Stirring often until mixture turns a light brown. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over popped corn & nuts & mix to coat well. Spread out to dry & break apart. Store in tightly covered container.

Apples Galore! - Apple Dessert

My friend Chris gave me a big sack of apples, so I've been perusing through the collection for some good uses. I hesitate to make too many things knowing that I'll be the one eating up the leftovers (which I did tonight). Last night I made the Apple Dessert. It's really good served warm with ice cream. This recipe makes about four servings, and was attributed to Aunt Ruby (my grandfather's second wife).

APPLE DESSERT

1 egg well beaten
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup grated apple (1 large apple)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Mix and pour into buttered Pyrex dish. Bake 30 min. at 350°F. Raisins or chopped dates may be added. Serve with whipped cream, just cream or any sauce. It raises nice, then falls as it browns.

Company for Dinner - Cherry Salad and Apple Walnut Crisp

It's great to have company come for dinner because I have guinea pigs! This Cherry Salad recipe somewhat resembles the version of the salad that I actually made. I decided that it was already sweet enough and didn't need a can of sweetened condensed milk. So that was eliminated. Then I had bought bananas because for some reason I thought I needed them for the salad I was going to make. Well, this recipe didn't call for bananas, but they got used anyway because I had no other use for them. And they added nicely to the salad. I actually only made a half recipe and froze the cherries and pineapple (together, and labeled for future use). Oh, and I left out the nuts for Coray's sake. Would have been better with them, but I wanted the salad to get eaten.

CHERRY SALAD
13 oz. Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 medium can pie cherry filling
1 medium crushed pineapple
Crushed nuts
2 cups small marshmallows

For dessert, I made the Apple Walnut Crisp - and I did include the walnuts!

APPLE WALNUT CRISP
4-5 apples, pared, cored, and sliced to measure 4 cups
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup walnuts
Arrange apples in 8x8x2 inch greased pan (or shallow casserole) and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Work in butter until crumbly; add walnuts. Evenly sprinkle mixture over apples. Bake at 375°F, about 35-45 minutes until topping is brown and apples are tender. Serve warm with whipped cream, plain cream, or ice cream. Makes 6 servings.