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.