Recipe Swap: Recipes for a winning high school band

The Central Marching Tigers band recently competed in Washington, Mo., on a beautiful day in the high school football stadium. It was a good competition, and we felt good about our performance but not sure what place we would win. With great joy and much excitement, we celebrated with the band students at the buses after the announcement, "In first place in field competition, Cape Central." We were thrilled and the band students were pleased with their day.

Another exciting thing that came out of the day was that the host school had put together a cookbook for sale. My husband Scott went to the concession stand and came back with a cookbook. It is a nice 135-page book filled with recipes from band members and their families. I was so pleased to thumb through the book during the competition of the division after ours. Several people sitting around us in the stands went out to purchase a copy for themselves. It was fun to visit with them about some of the recipes.

All of the recipes today are from "The Washington High School Marching Band Cookbook"; I hope you enjoy the ones I have selected.

Raspberry Jelly Spread

2 cups mayonnaise

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 jar raspberry jelly

Spread nuts in pie pan. Combine remaining ingredients, except jelly. Pour cheese mixture into pan. Chill then invert pan onto serving platter. Spread jelly onto pecans and chill. Serve with crackers.

Salmon Spread

1 (8-ounce) package low-fat cream cheese

2 (6-ounce) cans skinless, boneless salmon, drained

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 teaspoon or to taste liquid smoke flavoring

1/2 teaspoon or to taste dried dill weed

1/4 teaspoon or to taste garlic salt

Soften low-fat cream cheese in microwave, about 1 minute on 30 percent power. Stir in salmon, onion, smoke flavoring, dill weed and garlic salt until well blended. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving if possible. This spread keeps several days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. This spread is great on crackers or sourdough bread. Keep the ingredients on hand for emergency hors d'oeuvres for guests or for a snack supper. This is a pantry-ready, poor man's version of lox and bagels.

Jumpin' Bean Salsa

3 big tomatoes

Jalapenos, chopped

Shoe peg corn, drained

Chili beans

Italian fat-free dressing

Green onion, diced

Black-eyed peas, drained

Black beans, drained

Green, red, yellow peppers, chopped fine

Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all; mix together. Serve with tortilla chips.

Blackberry Lemonade

4 cups water, divided

1 cup sugar

1 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 cup blackberries

1 or 2 drops blue food coloring, optional

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water and sugar to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice, lemon peel and remaining water. Cool slightly. In a blender, combine 1 cup lemon mixture and the blackberries. Cover and process until blended. Strain and discard seeds. Pour blackberry mixture and remaining lemon mixture into a pitcher. Stir well. Add food coloring if desired. Refrigerate until chilled. Serve over ice.

Coconut Almond Balls

2 (10-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

3 cups flaked coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

1 cup whole almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the top half of a double boiler melt the chocolate and condensed milk, stirring frequently. Pour melted chocolate mixture over the coconut. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Mix well until the coconut is completely coated. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Press one whole almond into the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Check after 8 minutes as the bottoms tend to burn easily. Remove from oven and cool.

Coconut Crunch

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup flour

1 1/4 cups coconut

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup pecans

1 small box vanilla instant pudding mix

1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix

2 2/3 cups whole milk

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Mix first 5 ingredients and brown lightly in a greased 9-by-13-inch pan at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. Divide in half. Press half in pan and save the other half. Let cool. Mix pudding and milk. Fold whipped topping into pudding. Pour over crust and sprinkle the rest of the coconut mixture on top. Refrigerate.

Goulash with Spaetzle

2 pound lean stew meat

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 cup flour

Oil for browning

2 cups water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch nutmeg

Put beef in bag with 1/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, seasoned salt and paprika. Shake bag to coat beef. Take beef out of bag and shake off excess. Brown both sides of meat in a large saucepan. Add rest of flour from bag and stir. Pour water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaf, dry mustard, caraway seeds and vinegar into pan and stir. Cook 2 hours until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with spaetzle or egg noodles.

Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Casserole

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups quick-cooking oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup milk

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Additional milk

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in the raisins and pecans. Pout into a buttered 3-quart microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir. Cook at 50 percent power for 6 minutes or until oats are tender and done. Serve warm with additional milk.

I hope you will find a few of these dishes interesting and they will find their way into your recipe files. Have a wonderful week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.