Picnic-worthy recipes to share

After a few weeks of no mail, this week I have several pieces to share with you and a couple of recipe requests. This column is so much more fun and interesting when you, the readers, send in recipes to pass along to other recipe collectors and readers. It is easy to get recipes to us. Regular mail or e-mail gets them to us and we would love to hear from you.

Tara Lutes, my friend and co-Sunday school teacher, shared this recipe with me several weeks ago. It is from the Leopold, Mo. Picnic Cookbook that she loves so much. She said her two boys like to make this recipe for the family.

Pizza Casserole

1 pound ground beef, browned

1 onion, chopped

1 scant teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups noodles, cooked

1 can tomato soup

1/3 cup water

2 cups grated Velveeta cheese

Mix all together and pour into sprayed casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Makes 7 to 8 main dish servings.

Jeanette Niederkorn, a friend from the Senior Center made this recipe and enjoyed it so much she hopes you will try it and enjoy it as well.

Greek Corn Bread

4 eggs, beaten

1 stick margarine, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 ounces frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained

1 medium onion, chopped

6 ounces cottage cheese, drained

1 package Jiffy corn muffin or corn bread mix

Combine all ingredients together and pour into a 9-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. This is best if eaten warm.

In a new cookbook given to me recently I came across two recipes that I will be making. Both sounds like something our family will enjoy.

Blushing Orange Cooler

1 (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup cranberry juice cocktail

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup crushed ice

1 cup club soda

In a blender, combine frozen orange juice concentrate, cranberry juice cocktail and sugar. Mix until well blended. Place crushed ice in a tall glass. Pour orange juice mixture over ice. Pour club soda over liquid in glass. Stir slightly and serve.

The next recipe calls for a spice product that I am not familiar with and will need to research it. I will find it eventually, and will pass that information onto you.

Seafood Crepes

1 cup milk

1 cup plus 4 tablespoons flour, divided

2 eggs

1 egg white

Pinch of salt

5 tablespoons butter, divided

1 or 2 green onions, chopped

6 to 8 mushrooms, chopped

1 teaspoon Oregon Favor Lemon Larkin Spice

4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup flaked crabmeat

1/2 cup baby shrimp, drained

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 or 4 small tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, puree milk, 1 cup flour, eggs, egg white and salt for 1 minute. Heat crepe pan over medium heat. Cover bottom of hot pan with 1/4 cup of batter. Cook quickly, until edges of batter come loose from sides of pan. Flip crepe, cooking other side for a few seconds. Remove crepe from pan and repeat with remaining batter. Set aside crepes to cool. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add onions and mushrooms, cooking until mushrooms are tender. Mix in lemon larkin spice, remove from heat and set aside. In a separate saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Gradually add 4 tablespoons flour to melted butter, until mixture is the consistency of gravy. Mix in 2 cups cream, stirring until thickened. Mix in Monterey Jack and ricotta cheese, stirring until melted. In a medium bowl, combine half of the cheese mixture, crabmeat and shrimp. Stir in mushroom mixture, mixing until just blended. To assemble, place about 1/4 cup seafood mixture over each crepe. Secure crepes by folding edges like an envelope. In a large saucepan, fry filled crepes in melted butter, until slightly browned. Place crepes in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. To remaining melted cheese mixture, add 2 cups cream and Parmesan cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture almost reaches boiling point. To serve, place 1 crepe on each plate and top with 1 tablespoon tomatoes. Spoon about 1/4 cup cheese sauce over each crepe.

Last week a recipe was inadvertently omitted from this column, but the commentary was included, so I will share that with you again this week.

My very dear friends Ray and Joan haring shared the next recipe with me before Christmas and I really like it. Even though the recipe calls for specific items, you can be creative and use whatever you want. I also found that one more package of something made it not quite so oily, but play with it as you wish. You might like more ranch flavoring or less dill. But it is a fun recipe and a very good snack item to have around.

Garbage Bag Snack Mix

2 bags Bugles snacks

1 can mixed nuts, cashews or nuts of your choice

2 boxes Cheez-Its

1 bag pretzel sticks

1 bag oyster crackers

1 box Wheat Thins

1 large package Hidden Valley Ranch dry salad dressing mix

2 teaspoon dill weed

1 bottle Orville Reddenbacker's butter flavor popcorn oil

Salt

Put all snack items in a garbage bag and shake well to combine. Sprinkle over the dressing mix and the dill and shake to combine. Pour over all of the ingredients in the bag, the 1 bottle of the butter flavored oil and shake well so that all gets coated evenly. Sprinkle with a little salt. Store in airtight containers.

Recipe Swap readers have a couple of things for you to work on this week. Mari Lynch of Cape is trying to help a friend locate the recipe for mystery fruit cake or otherwise known as refrigerator fruit cake. I hope you can thumb through your cookbooks and help her find this recipe.

Kathy Mace of Advance is hoping for a big snow sometime this winter so she can make homemade snow ice cream. Do you and your family make snow ice cream? Kathy would like to have your recipe. Please send that in for her.

I am out of room for this week. Please try to send in your favorite recipes for the above requests to help these ladies out.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.