# Family recipes/traditions that others don't understand.



## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Just what the title says.

My grandmother used to make meat balls in grape jelly and chili sauce. It was actually quite tasty, but try convincing others of that fact.

She also used to make a cucumber Jell-o mold that involved lime Jell-o and mayonnaise. Was not, am not a huge fan of it, but it tastes better than you might think. She doesn't appreciate mention of the Thanksgiving she removed the top of the mold only to find it didn't set -- the best I can describe it is as, "The Jell-o went vlooop." Since this event happened in the late seventies, she feels I should let it go, and that it wasn't that funny to begin with. 

My mother used to love Kidney Stew over cornmeal mush which smells, to me, like someone's bladder exploded. 

Pepper Streak is my fave meal from childhood, but all right-thinking people should understand that. Served over mashed potatoes instead of rice.

My family dips grilled cheese sandwiches in ketchup, always Heinz, and my husband spreads Miracle Whip on his. Tonight, my grandmother and I used ketchup on the chicken potpie I made, and my husband looked at us like we were demented. This from the man who thinks you shouldn't heat hot and cold things at the same time, because when the cold front meets the warm front you risk a tornado in your stomach. 

My husband's family has kielbasa for Christmas -- the other stuff, too. One year, before I was a part of the family, my sister-in-law volunteered to handle it. Everybody loved it, and said they would like seconds. She told them that that was all there was, and it had seemed like plenty. I think some are still carrying a grudge.

edited, because it's grape jelly, not GREAT jelly. Still, I'm told with a name like Smucker's, it has to be good.


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## kguthrie (Feb 23, 2009)

I don't how strange this is, but my sisters use mayo on their fries instead of ketchup.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> Just what the title says.
> 
> My grandmother used to make meat balls in great jelly and chili sauce. It was actually quite tasty, but try convincing others of that fact.


I make those meatballs! Actually, mine are with grape jelly, ketchup & cranberry sauce. And they're awesome!

My family always makes giblet gravy to go with turkey dinners. We chop up the giblets & neck bone meat and add a chopped boiled egg as well. These days we share Thanksgiving dinner with my daughter's in-laws. Her mother-in-law can't quite wrap her mind around the giblet gravy thing, so there's always two types of gravy.

Speaking of in-laws and turkey dinners, I don't much care for my mother-in-law's dressing (neither of us stuffs a turkey, so we call it dressing), and she doesn't much care for mine. Hers is too mushy for me, mine's too dry for her (and I like a lot more celery and onions in mine than she does).


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

My mother used to make this weird orange jello thing that was loaded with shredded carrots and crushed canned pineapple... it looks like regurgitated thanksgiving dinner, but it's actually pretty good, once you get past the texture.




(BTW, GREAT jelly made sense to me  )


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

My family's (Dad's side of the family) traditional favorite is Homemade Chicken & Dumplings with Red Gravy. The dumplings are rolled thin, sliced and dropped into chicken stock. The dough is made only of flour, chicken broth, salt & pepper.  The Red Gravy is made by cooking garlic and crushed/dried red pepper in hot oil and adding chicken broth. It is thickened by adding a bit of the dumpling dough. The kids in the family never ate the Red Gravy because it was too hot. No one seems to remember just where Red Gravy came from!

My kid's favorite meal was Mac & Cheese, spinach and corn. It was my attempt to get them to eat a veggie! My son would mix the 3 together!   Looks nasty, but he still loves it that way today!

We also would rather have mexican food for holiday meals than the tradition turkey/dressing stuff.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

That meatball recipe is a classic that everyone was passing around in the 70s. Here's one version:

*Grape Jelly Meatballs*
Grape jelly meatballs are a popular appetizer for holiday parties and get-togethers.

Meatballs

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
* 1/3 cup onion -- minced
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1 egg -- beaten
* 1 tablespoon fresh parsley -- minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup Crisco vegetable shortening -- to brown meatballs

Sauce

* 1 12oz bottle chili sauce
* 1 10oz jar grape jelly
* Meatball Directions

Combine the first 9 ingredients, mixing well. Shape into 1" meatballs. Cook in an electric skillet in hot shortening over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until browned. Cool meatballs by draining on paper towels. Discard grease.

Simmer Sauce Directions

Combine chili sauce and grape jelly in a medium saucepan (or same electric skillet); stir well until jelly is melted. Add meatballs and simmer UNCOVERED on low for 30 minutes (to thicken the sauce), stirring occasionally. Serve hot meatballs with toothpicks out of the skillet or a crockpot or chafing dish set on low to keep warm. Makes about 5 dozen 1" meatballs.

Makes about 4 to 5 dozen meatballs, depending on size.

You can make it even easier by using a bag of frozen meatballs.

We have a family variation on the lime jello salad called "Aunt Cuyler's Lime-Cheese Salad." It involves lime jello, mayonnaise, cottage cheese, and walnuts. I like it about once a year and usually make it for my father on Thanksgiving.

I don't think the giblet gravy is odd. Isn't that how everybody makes gravy? I've never put a hard-boiled egg in it, though.

Mayo with fries is the only way they are served in Belgium. You'll also get fries with every single thing you order, no matter what it is and no matter if it doesn't seem to make sense -- ie, beef stew with fries on the side. I would have preferred some nice crusty bread, but whatever. We went out for Thai food and yes, they served fries.

When my husband and I were first dating, he took me to his parent's house and his mother made me a grilled cheese sandwich with sweet pickle relish and Miracle Whip. I don't hate many foods but I loathe Miracle Whip and sweet pickle relish is a close second. Needless to say, I was unable to eat my sandwich. He ate it for me and we stopped at McDonald's after we left. When we got married, I told him there would never, ever, ever be a jar of Miracle Whip in the frig, and there hasn't been. He doesn't seem to have missed it too much. I also will only use Hellmann's mayonnaise (unless I make my own). And ketchup has to be Heinz.

L


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## Kindle Convert (Nov 8, 2008)

LOL!  Leslie, sounds familiar!  My husband grew up thinking Miracle Whip was mayo!! I set him straight when I introduced him to Hellmann's.  Everything that calls for mayo that is made in my house is made with Hellmann's, if he chooses to add "salad dressing" to his after it hits his plate, he's welcome to do so.  That's how it works in our house.


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

kguthrie said:


> I don't how strange this is, but my sisters use mayo on their fries instead of ketchup.


*Not strange at all...I mentioned in the weird food combos thread that my friend turned me on to french fries with mayo a couple of years ago. Not very good for you but tasty )

My mom loves the grape jelly meatballs and even called me up to tell me about them. I had read about them but haven't tried them yet...what's not to love about grape jelly and chili sauce? I just never thought of putting the two together *


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## LaraAmber (Feb 24, 2009)

My mom gets frustrated that Dad and I both think corn bread is a breakfast food.  She would make cornbread and leave it out for making stuffing later, then the next afternoon the pan would be empty.  She complained to me about having to make cornbread again for the stuffing, and my response was "well duh, if you didn't tell dad hands off it's breakfast: corn bread with butter and maple syrup."  I got a huge sigh out of her "you're just like you're father."

My dad was raised on a dairy farm, so let me tell you, margarine does not come near our dining table, and our family can polish off a jug or two of milk in one meal.  He also has ice-cream almost every night for dessert.  (He's an athlete, he burns it off.)  My in-laws use margarine on their table and it just ruins the taste of everything.

The other one people don't get are Teddy Bear sandwiches: grilled PB&J.  The peanut butter gets all melty and the insides are piping hot.  Yum.

Lara Amber


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

LaraAmber said:


> The other one people don't get are Teddy Bear sandwiches: grilled PB&J. The peanut butter gets all melty and the insides are piping hot. Yum.


I've actually tried this on my Foreman Grill. While it's not bad or anything, I don't think it's anything all that special either.


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## LaraAmber (Feb 24, 2009)

How did you do it on your foreman grill?  Or does it have a griddle surface you can switch out?

I don't even want to think about how many calories are in one between the peanut butter, the jelly, and the butter smeared on the outside.

Lara Amber


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

LaraAmber said:


> My dad was raised on a dairy farm, so let me tell you, margarine does not come near our dining table, and our family can polish off a jug or two of milk in one meal. He also has ice-cream almost every night for dessert. (He's an athlete, he burns it off.) My in-laws use margarine on their table and it just ruins the taste of everything.


After WWII and the Korean War, my parents both swore they would never eat margarine again, and they didn't, so we never had it in the house growing up. Because butter is what I am used to, that's all we ever have in the house, too.

L


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

LaraAmber said:


> My dad was raised on a dairy farm, so let me tell you, margarine does not come near our dining table


For a period of time margarin or oleo was illegal in WI.


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

Will have to get my mother to try this recipe cuz I can't cook.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Kindle Convert said:


> LOL! Leslie, sounds familiar! My husband grew up thinking Miracle Whip was mayo!! I set him straight when I introduced him to Hellmann's. Everything that calls for mayo that is made in my house is made with Hellmann's, if he chooses to add "salad dressing" to his after it hits his plate, he's welcome to do so. That's how it works in our house.


Miracle Whip was mayo when I was growing up and Velveeta was cheese. Wonder Bread, or something close, was bread. Margarine was butter.

I made my mom spaghetti a couple times while her appetite was still there, and had to apologize to my husband before hand for what I was about to do to one of his favorite meals -- loads of Velveeta melted into the sauce. But it's in my genes, so I sorta liked it again. He ate a good bit of it, too. Because my grandmother lives with us, we still have Velveeta in the fridge, but all the years before that we never did, and it never occurred to me to buy it.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> Miracle Whip was mayo when I was growing up and Velveeta was cheese. Wonder Bread, or something close, was bread. Margarine was butter.


Hellmann's was (and still is) mayo, Kraft American slices was cheese, Pepperidge farm white was bread, and Land o'Lakes butter in 1/4 lb. sticks was butter.

Once in awhile, my mother would buy my sister and I Wonder Bread as a special treat (!). My sister would take the middle of the slice of Wonder Bread out of the crust, then roll it up into a little ball, then eat it. She could easily go through half a loaf doing that.

L


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## Sailor (Nov 1, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Hellmann's was (and still is) mayo,...


For those who may transplant from the East to the West side of the USA, Hellmann's is called *BEST FOOD'S* Mayonnaise over here. I wouldn't use anything else. 
But not today...<insert green queasy smiley here> ...and yet I still look at the food threads! 

Back to my Pepto Bismol and Ginger Ale...

-sailor


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

sailor said:


> For those who may transplant from the East to the West side of the USA, Hellmann's is called *BEST FOOD'S* Mayonnaise over here. I wouldn't use anything else.
> -sailor


I've always seen that on the back of the jar -- and I've always wondered why it has a different name "west of the Rockies." Anyone know?

L


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

We used Miracle Whip, Kraft American Cheese and Margarine when I was growing up and still use it to this day.  I like Mayo but just have to have the Miracle Whip on a sandwich, also in potato salad (which I don't make very often).  We also made Giblet Gravy and I didn't know anyone who didn't until I was an adult (we also did not put a hard boiled egg in it and I never heard of that until this thread).  I have never grilled a PB&J sandwich and have also never had meatballs with grape jelly and chili sauce (but I might try the recipe).  My Mom loved cornbread in a glass with ice cold buttermilk (yuk) and would always make sure there was enough left over cornbread from dinner so she could have it that way.  This was pretty hard because I come from a family of 7 kids and my Grandmother & an Aunt and Uncle stayed with us for several months each year, (12 people in a 4 bedroom house, crowded to say the least) Mom spent the day cleaning, doing laundry and cooking every day.

Leslie, I don't know why they use a different name here in the "west" but we also don't have White Castle restaurants here in the west, if we want White Castle burgers we have to buy them from the frozen food section in the grocery store, just not the same.  I can't think of them right now but there are several brands that have different names east vs west.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

My mom always made the best bunless chili cheese dogs. Slice the hot dogs into thin "penny" slices. Brown them in a skillet. Add a can or 2 of Chili (I prefer Hormel with beans) and about 1/4 to 1/2 of a block of 
Velveeta. Heat until Velveeta is melted. Toss in a handful of diced onions. Spoon into a bowl and eat. (Or over a piece of bread. It does look like a bowl of dog food, but it's SO good.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

Miracle Whip actually tastes closer to homemade mayo than any other - but it is Hellmans all the way in our house - hubster hates Miracle Whip. And I do think they changed the recipe for it because the last time I got a tiny bottle for myself it didn't taste the same and I just figured my memory of it was better than the taste of it now.  

The chili sauce grape jelly thing for meatballs still makes a great appetizer to make for parties - people really love the nostalgia of it I think. You can also do the Hillshire little smokies in it for a change up. 

I'm trying to think of my strange things - but they all seem pretty normal to me lol  but here you go and you all can decide....

clam pie (ground clams, potato, onion in a pie crust) 
Long Island Hurry-Up  (potatoes and onions and salt pork simmered together) btw this was a main meal when we were really strapped growing up 
Samp
mashed potato with raw onion (chopped very finely) served with fried clams or eels 
fish head chowder (exactly what it sounds like) 
venison anyway - but breakfast sausage - OMG yummy
potato pancakes as a meal
oh and another from my childhood - creamed salt cod on baked potato (Sunday dinner lots of times-- again when things were tight  )


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> I made my mom spaghetti a couple times while her appetite was still there, and had to apologize to my husband before hand for what I was about to do to one of his favorite meals -- loads of Velveeta melted into the sauce. But it's in my genes, so I sorta liked it again. He ate a good bit of it, too. Because my grandmother lives with us, we still have Velveeta in the fridge, but all the years before that we never did, and it never occurred to me to buy it.


*What does the Velveeta do for the sauce? Sounds interesting.*


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

The meatball sound good to me.  I'll have to try them.  
If I'm making a red sauce and I don't have any wine in the house I always throw in a little grape jelly.  It gives the same flavor.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

We always put a hard boiled egg in giblet gravy. We lived in Wisconsin in the 50's and my folks always got the margarine/oleo, it was white with a packet of coloring if you didn't want to eat lard looking stuff  Cornbread in buttermilk - yummy! Meatballs in great grape jelly was always a favorite at office pot lucks.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

B-Kay 1325 said:


> Leslie, I don't know why they use a different name here in the "west" but we also don't have White Castle restaurants here in the west, if we want White Castle burgers we have to buy them from the frozen food section in the grocery store, just not the same. I can't think of them right now but there are several brands that have different names east vs west.


 - Edy's in the East = Dreyer's (sp?) in the West
- Shoney's in the East = Bob's Big Boy (I think) in the West
- Hardee's in the East (or at least in the South) = Carl Jr's in the West
- White Castle burgers are very similar to the Krystal in the South - but notthe same company (we used to get the frozen White Castle burgers & add mustard because that was as close as we could get to Krystal burgers)


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## PJ (Feb 25, 2009)

My mom still makes potato pancakes for dinner - always with homemade pea soup (mmm).

We also have a tradition of having pierogi (potato, cheese & onion) with bacon on top for dinner on New Year's Eve every year and they are always served with Italian sausage and canned peaches and apricots.  It's an annual production project that has been passed down now through at least 4 generations.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

chynared21 said:


> *What does the Velveeta do for the sauce? Sounds interesting.*


Makes it the color of burnt sienna, taste vaguely cheesy, thickens it, and adds to the fat content enough to put your arteries at risk.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

LaraAmber said:


> How did you do it on your foreman grill? Or does it have a griddle surface you can switch out?
> 
> I don't even want to think about how many calories are in one between the peanut butter, the jelly, and the butter smeared on the outside.
> 
> Lara Amber


I just put PB and Jelly on the bread, stuck it in the Foreman as a sandwich, and let it do its thing. No butter on mine though.

My older Foreman didn't have removable grill plates, but my new one does. Either way, clean-up was fairly easy with a sandwich (but not as easy on the older one with things like meats).


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## AFS_NZ_IT (Feb 3, 2009)

I always get my husband a Panetone for Christmas.  It is an Italian fruit cake.  My mom shudders if I bring it to her house.  But hubby is in heaven.  We also have a jar of Nutella in the house.  Nutrition wise it is about the same as peanut butter, but I think my kids school thinks that I am a weird mom for giving my kids chocolate sandwiches.  

Summer squash casserole was difficult for my hubby to stomach when we were first married and I still haven't tried to make him green bean casserole yet.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Meemo said:


> - White Castle burgers are very similar to the Krystal in the South - but not the same company (we used to get the frozen White Castle burgers & add mustard because that was as close as we could get to Krystal burgers)


My husband says White Castle is Not At All like Krystal. One of them has mustard or something. He likes White Castle. Hates Krystal. I don't see the attraction of either!  (Hmmm. . . .maybe if they were deep fried. . . .)



Ann


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

AFS_NZ_IT said:


> I always get my husband a Panetone for Christmas. It is an Italian fruit cake. My mom shudders if I bring it to her house. But hubby is in heaven. We also have a jar of Nutella in the house. Nutrition wise it is about the same as peanut butter, but I think my kids school thinks that I am a weird mom for giving my kids chocolate sandwiches.
> 
> Summer squash casserole was difficult for my hubby to stomach when we were first married and I still haven't tried to make him green bean casserole yet.


hmmmm peanut butter and Nutella sandwich - may have to try that out - I know it isn't what you said but it was my first thought.

Oh and your summer squash casserole reminded me of my cucumber casserole - I haven't made it for a few years but I will this year again when all the cucumbers come in all at once


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## rla1996 (Oct 28, 2008)

Leslie said:


> That meatball recipe is a classic that everyone was passing around in the 70s. Here's one version:
> 
> *Grape Jelly Meatballs*
> Grape jelly meatballs are a popular appetizer for holiday parties and get-togethers.
> ...


When you say "chili sauce" do you mean the kind you put on hotdogs, Salsa, or Tabasco type sauce?



CS said:


> My older Foreman didn't have removable grill plates, but my new one does. Either way, clean-up was fairly easy with a sandwich (but not as easy on the older one with things like meats).


Try getting some Dawn Power Dissolver (available in the dishsoap aisle). I love the stuff for cleaning my Foreman grill. Is also good for getting the grease buildup off of the range hood  and other such places in the kitchen that grease tends to build up. Also works great for cleaning BBQ grills, meatloaf or chicken bake pans... or anything else that's caked on like that.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

rla1996 said:


> When you say "chili sauce" do you mean the kind you put on hotdogs, Salsa, or Tabasco type sauce?


Chili sauce from Heinz:


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Meemo said:


> - Hardee's in the East (or at least in the South) = Carl Jr's in the West


Sadly, they're the same company, but don't have the same menu. I would pay good money for a Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

luvmy4brats said:


> Sadly, they're the same company, but don't have the same menu. I would pay good money for a Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger.


Funny you should say that...I could kill for a Hardees Hot Ham and Cheese. Carl's Jr. doesn't sell them.


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## chynared21 (Oct 28, 2008)

MichelleR said:


> Makes it the color of burnt sienna, taste vaguely cheesy, thickens it, and adds to the fat content enough to put your arteries at risk.


*LOL...I love the color of burnt sienna  *


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

Luv, Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger used to be really good but the last one I had was pretty yucky.  I don't know if they have changed the way they make them or if I just went to the wrong store but I will not order one again.  We used to have Hardee's here in Tucson but I think they closed them all after money difficulties or something anyway, I really miss their Roast Beef Sandwich's, I think they are better than Arby's.  Funny how that works.

Sebat, I would have never thought to put grape jelly in a recipe that called for wine, doesn't the sweetness of the jelly change the overall taste of the sauce?


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

PJ said:


> My mom still makes potato pancakes for dinner - always with homemade pea soup (mmm).
> 
> We also have a tradition of having pierogi (potato, cheese & onion) with bacon on top for dinner on New Year's Eve every year and they are always served with Italian sausage and canned peaches and apricots. It's an annual production project that has been passed down now through at least 4 generations.


in our house the potato pancakes are the dinner - for some reason everyone ends up standing in the kitchen eating them as quickly as they come out of the pan - some with a little sugar on them and some with salt and some with applesauce.

try frying up some onions in the bacon grease (I know clogged arteries but so yummy) and them putting that on the pierogi --


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## PJ (Feb 25, 2009)

rho said:


> in our house the potato pancakes are the dinner - for some reason everyone ends up standing in the kitchen eating them as quickly as they come out of the pan - some with a little sugar on them and some with salt and some with applesauce.
> 
> try frying up some onions in the bacon grease (I know clogged arteries but so yummy) and them putting that on the pierogi --


We like them with sour cream.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I've not read this thread before.  Jellied meatballs, wow!

My mom enjoyed collecting recipes and trying them out.  When my brother and I were in grade school, I think, she made jellied meatballs.  We refused to eat them.  (And there wasn't much we refused to eat.  It wasn't done in our house.)  I guess Dad ate them, he ate anything mom fixed.  The jellied meatballs became legendary in our family.  Mom would occasionally say, wistfully, that she thought they were pretty good, but she never made them again!

We would have a lime jello & pear salad that our family called "Foo-Foo" at all major holidays.  The recipe is somewhere here on KindleBoards, I posted it at Thanksgiving.  Search for Foo-Foo in Not Quite Kindle.    Very yummy.

With a mother from Minnesota (you knew she was from Hibbing, didn't you ) of course we used Land O' Lakes butter.  Eventually we moved to margerine after she had a heart attack when she was in her 40s.

My mom made a batch of chocolate chip cookies every week as long as I lived at home.  She needed to, they went that fast.  Like the meatballs, her chocolate chip cookies were legendary, but in a good way--I could trade them for anything at school.  I rarely did, nobody had anything I wanted.  Four people stood up at her funeral and remembered her chocolate chip cookies.  She also made close to 100 dozen cookies at Christmas, different kinds, to give away and for the family to eat.  (One kind, of course, was chocolate chip.)  

My grandmother in Hibbing made soup out of stew beef and a small chicken, cut up, and tomatos. There was probably onion in there, too. It resulted in a beautiful orange-gold broth that she would put her home-made noodles in.  I called it "orange soup" which confused my friends at home in Maryland no end--they thought she made soup from oranges.  That was always what we ate for our first meal when we got to Hibbing.  I think I trace my love for really good soups from her soup.  (We only ate Campbell's at home.)  Dinner that evening would be the stew beef and chicken, with polenta.  (Corn meal mush).  Mom used to laugh at the expensive hoity-toity polenta served in restaurants now.  She said they ate it growing up because they were too poor to eat anything else.  It is good, though.

My dad was raised in an Eastern Orthodox Czech family, and there was some tradition about him, as the oldest son, eating an onion and running around the house at New Year's, or was it Christmas?  Don't know any more about that.

Betsy


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> My grandmother in Hibbing made soup out of stew beef and a small chicken, cut up, and tomatos.


I've made many beef stews and many chicken soups but would never have thought of combining the two. An interesting idea...

Both my parents grew up in wartime Europe, in different countries. As a child I often heard stories about the hardships they faced. My dad's family sent the kids to distant relatives in the country because the people on farms at least had enough to eat. My mom's family didn't have that option, they somehow muddled through. I remember my mom telling me what a special treat it was when they got an egg. _One_. They would hard-boil it and quarter it so that she and her two brothers and my grandmother could each get a quarter (grandfather was off to war). To this day when I quarter and chop eggs (like just recently for egg salad after Easter), I think of that story and am thankful that my own childhood and now my daughter's were/are not clouded by hunger and deprivation.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Susan in VA said:


> I've made many beef stews and many chicken soups but would never have thought of combining the two. An interesting idea...


I should say that the beef wasn't cut up, like a beef stew; it was like a small roast, but it was a really cheap cut--she called it stew beef. When it was served, it more or less fell apart, it was so tender. With tomatos and polenta it was very good. We would spoon some of the broth over the polenta.

I won't even talk about Grandma's strudel.

Betsy


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Betsy,
Ever have potica? I'm guessing_ yes_.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Potica/Detail.aspx


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Are you kidding?  We served it at my wedding.  I've made it once.  My mom would make it from time to time.

Remarkably, the Honey Baked Ham Company sells a reasonable potica (pronounced poh-TEET-zah for you Yankees, of any type).  At least they used to.  They might call it something else.  I'll have to look.

Betsy


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Are you kidding? We served it at my wedding. I've made it once. My mom would make it from time to time.
> 
> Remarkably, the Honey Baked Ham Company sells a reasonable potica (pronounced poh-TEET-zah for you Yankees, of any type). At least they used to. They might call it something else. I'll have to look.
> 
> Betsy


See, I knew_ you _knew.

A lot of people do love it with ham.

I'm part-Slovenian so I had a potica making great grandmother, and would wait for that Christmas care package. My grandmother doesn't make it, but there are enough people who still do. Got a half a loaf offered to us right before Easter while out running errands. It's part of small town living -- a continual trading of sweets and Tupperware.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

sebat said:


> Funny you should say that...I could kill for a Hardees Hot Ham and Cheese. Carl's Jr. doesn't sell them.


Oh how I miss Hardees Hot Ham and Cheese! There just aren't any Hardees anywhere near me!


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## sam (Dec 31, 2008)

My favorite family recipe that hardly anyone has ever heard of is Plum Dumplings...I get hungry just thinking about them!

I think they are so good because you can only get them during August/September when Italian plums are in season.  

The easy way, for those of us without kitchen skills, is to get a package of Rhodes dinner rolls.  Let them raise according to the package.  Next wrap the plums in the bread dough and let them raise for another 20-30 minutes.  In a large pan of gently boiling water, boil the dumplings for 15 minutes.  When they are done place in a bowl and drizzle melted butter over the top of them.  Usually about a stick for every 6-8 dumplings, it is to your taste.  We put the bowl in the middle of the table and everyone takes a dumpling or two, I say two, in a bowl and opens them up with a spoon.  Take some of the butter out of the bowl you served them in put on the dumplings, then put sugar over the top.  Enjoy!  P.S.  Be careful of the pit!

My mom tells stories of her sisters and brother eating these on Friday nights for dinner when they were growing up when the plums were in season.  My grandmother would have to make sixty or seventy of them each Friday.  (This was when Catholics could not eat meat any Friday during the year, not just during Lent!)

I hope you enjoy this Bohemian recipe!

Sam


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

B-Kay 1325 said:


> Luv, Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger used to be really good but the last one I had was pretty yucky. I don't know if they have changed the way they make them or if I just went to the wrong store but I will not order one again. We used to have Hardee's here in Tucson but I think they closed them all after money difficulties or something anyway, I really miss their Roast Beef Sandwich's, I think they are better than Arby's. Funny how that works.
> 
> Sebat, I would have never thought to put grape jelly in a recipe that called for wine, doesn't the sweetness of the jelly change the overall taste of the sauce?


It has been quite awhile since I had one. I've probably eaten there only 3-4 times in the last 18 years. The upside is I have Chik-Fil-A..which I see is now in CA, UT, AZ..but not NV..That is just wrong. Everybody should have access to Chik-Fil-A.

I do like Hardee's Hot Ham and Cheese, but don't like their burgers.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Dinner tonight - Gizmos (or microwaved, soft quesadillas)

1 burrito size tortilla
shredded cheese (your choice..I use Cheddar and Mozzerella)
diced green/red/yellow peppers
sliced green onion
diced green chili (I use canned)
cooked chicken or steak (I buy the frozen stuff that's already cooked and cut into strips)
sour cream
salsa

put cheese on the tortilla...How much is up to you. Don't use too much, you'll be folding the tortilla in half. Make sure you spread it all the way to the edge. Toss on some peppers, onions, green chili, chicken and or steak. Use some or all of the ingredients..again, how much is up to you...

Put in Microwave for 1:30. Fold in half and turn..put in for another 1:00.

top with sour cream and salsa.


Yum. But so not healthy!


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

We always made our giblet gravy with hard boiled eggs as well. My mother made a jello dish that was pistachio jello, whipped cream, little marshmellows and pineapples. I love angel food cake, so for my birthday she always made an angel food cake for me. I've never been able to make one that didn't collapse. We always made homemade chili with pinto beans and served it with jalapeno cornbread. Now I'm hungry and sitting in a hotel room and I doubt if any of these are on the room service menu.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

sam said:


> My favorite family recipe that hardly anyone has ever heard of is Plum Dumplings...I get hungry just thinking about them!
> 
> I think they are so good because you can only get them during August/September when Italian plums are in season.
> 
> ...


Sounds pretty yummy.


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## hazeldazel (Oct 30, 2008)

ohmygawd!!!!  I don't have the only family on planet earth that eats Jello Salad?!?!  Our version is made with lime jello, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, a can of crushed pineapple and you use the syrup for the cold liquid part.  There is a mayo sauce too.

DH refuses to try it.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

B-Kay 1325 said:


> Sebat, I would have never thought to put grape jelly in a recipe that called for wine, doesn't the sweetness of the jelly change the overall taste of the sauce?


Sorry, guess I missed this before.

Don't use more than a spoon or 2. It will give the flavor without making it to sweet. If not using jelly, I usually throw in a spoon of sugar to kill the acidity anyway. That's how my Italian grandmother always did it.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

hazeldazel said:


> ohmygawd!!!! I don't have the only family on planet earth that eats Jello Salad?!?! Our version is made with lime jello, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, a can of crushed pineapple and you use the syrup for the cold liquid part. There is a mayo sauce too.
> 
> DH refuses to try it.


My grandma makes something similar that also includes 7Up. It's one of my favorites.


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## Cowgirl (Nov 1, 2008)

No matter how expensive the steak or restaurant I have to put ketchup on it. I was in Denver at a very good restaurant and  asked the waitress for ketchup.  The chef actually came out to ask me if I was from Bufalo or Detroit.  I told him I was orignally from Buffalo NY and he said he every time somebody asked for ketchip on his beuatiful steaks they were from either Buffalo or Detroit.


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