Here is a favorite recipe that a friend of my Mom passed on to us. It is easy and good and a great way to use up that old bread.
Ingredients
6 slices day-old bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup hot water
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place bread in a greased 2 quart baking dish. Combine water and brown sugar; pour over bread. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.
I thought I had lost this favorite recipe. I recently found it among my Mom’s recipe collection. I used to make it for the Holidays and the kids loved it. I’m not a huge fan of jello, but I do like this salad.
Ingredients
2 cups boiling water or juice
1 package cherry jello (6 ounce)
2 cups sour cream
1 can dark sweet cherries, drained
1/3 cup slivered almonds
Directions
Mix jello with boiling water or juice. Let cool to room temp. Add sour cream and beat until smooth. Chill until almost thick. Add cherries and almonds and pour into jello mold. Chill. Unmold and serve.
Mexican BeansMy daughter has a friend, Monica, who is from Mexico and cooks totally awesome and authentic Mexican food. She shared her favorite bean recipe with us. It is simple and plain, but delicious. It has taken my daughter and I quite a few attempts to perfect these beans. One of the secrets is using the right kind of beans. You must use Peruano bean (also know as mayo coba). Pinto beans don’t work. You can sometimes find these beans in your local supermarket or at a Mexican market. Another tip is to slightly overcook the beans. This makes them smoother and creamier. (see my updated tips below)
Ingredients
1 bag of Peruano beans (Mayo Coba)
3 serrano chiles, (more or less depending on preference)
Directions
Cook beans according to package, add salt to taste. As mentioned before, slightly overcook beans. Don’t drain them unless you have an excess of water. Remove the stem from the peppers and fry the whole peppers in a skillet in a small amount of oil until they are brown and soft. Add beans to hot pan with chiles and smash together. Add more water if needed to make the beans smooth and creamy. They should be the consistency of apple sauce. Monica recommends mashing them a little in the pan before pouring into the skillet, this helps reduce splattering.
Nani Tip:
I have been cooking my beans in the crock pot. Put the beans in the crock pot and cover with at least 3 inches of water over the top. Add more water as they cook to keep about an inch of water on the top. Cooking time will vary with crockpot. You can use high or low. My crock pot takes about 8 hours on high. Just be sure to cook them til they are very well done. They shouldn’t be hard at all. Do not drain off excess water. I was having trouble getting the beans mashed up, so I have been using my electric mixer and mixing the beans in the crock pot until they are fairly smooth. Then I pour them into the frying pan and mix them with the peppers. Add more water if necessary, they shouldn’t be too thick. They will thicken when they set.
Nani Tip
Cooking peppers in the pan can create some unpleasant fumes, so you can roast them in the oven. I then just add some olive oil to the pan along with the peppers and beans and heat through.
Nani Tip
As mentioned the Mayo Coba beans aren’t sold in all stores. In the midwest Cub Foods carries them and in the Southwest Safeway carries them.
Grapefruit PieMy parents and in-laws both spent their winter months in warm climates; one in Texas, one in Arizona. Grapefruit was plentiful and they both enjoyed making this pie in hopes of using up some of their many grapefruit. So if you have lots of grapefruit and don’t know what to do with them, give this pie a try.
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 3 ounce box strawberry or cherry jello
3 grapefruit, sectioned and strained
1 9″ pie crust, baked
Whipped topping
Directions
Cook sugar, water and cornstarch until thick and clear. Add box of Jello and stir until dissolved. Chill until mixture begins to set. Add grapefruit sections and pour into baked pie shell. Chill. Serve with whipped topping.
Morning Glory MuffinsThis is certainly one of my favorite recipes for muffins. I am sure it will be one of yours too. With all the good ingredients in them I like to think that they are somewhat healthy as well as delicious.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 cup coconut
1 1/2 apple, peeled and chopped
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Combine flour, soda, salt and sugar in large bowl. To this add carrots, raisins, nuts, coconut and apples. Stir. Combine eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla in separate bowl. Add this mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Bake in prepared muffing pan for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Directions
Heat oil in skillet, add garlic and prosciutto and saute for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in olives, vinegar, salt and pepper. Transfer drained pasta to a serving bowl, gently toss sauce and basil to the pasta. Garnish with pine nuts and serve at room temperature.
Nani Tip
To toast pine nuts, put them in a small dry skillet over medium heat and toss frequently until golden brown.
Tunisian TagineI have a son-in-law who is from Tunisia. At Christmas he brought this dish to share with us. It is one of his favorite Tunisian recipes and he needed a little of his own comfort food for the Holidays. He got the recipe from his mother. We all liked the dish, but I think many Americans might douse it in catsup or salsa!
Ingredients and Directions
2-3 chicken breasts
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of water
2-3 potatoes cut in 8
1 egg
3/4 cup of parsley
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
Directions
Put the chicken breasts and potatoes in a 9×13 inch pan. Cover with the water and olive oil and bake at 350 degrees until chicken and potatoes are tender. Shred the chicken. Mix all rest of the ingredients and add the shredded chicken and potatoes to it. Add several tablespoons of the juices from pan that chicken was cooked in. Pour everything back into the 9×13 dish and bake until set, about 35 to 45 minutes.
Here is a super easy favorite recipe that you can put in the crockpot in the morning and forget about it until dinner time. Substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and you have a great vegetarian recipe.
Ingredients
2 cans (15 ounce each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
4 green onions, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
Directions
Place all ingredients in crockpot, cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream, cheese or tortilla chips if desired.
Here is a favorite recipe that a friend of my Mom passed on to us. It is easy and good and a great way to use up that old bread.
I thought I had lost this favorite recipe. I recently found it among my Mom’s recipe collection. I used to make it for the Holidays and the kids loved it. I’m not a huge fan of jello, but I do like this salad. 
Here is a healthy favorite recipe. These muffins are delicious and very filling. You will love them.
Here is a super easy favorite recipe that you can put in the crockpot in the morning and forget about it until dinner time. Substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and you have a great vegetarian recipe.