RECIPE SWAP: RECIPES FOR EASTER AND LOVING FAMILY

It just doesn't seem possible that Easter is this weekend. It seems like we were just planning Christmas menus, and now we're doing the same for Easter. I hope that each one of you has a wonderful day filled with joy as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. In the midst of the excitement of the Easter Bunny and hunting for candy and eggs, be sure to spend time with the children, making sure they understand the real Easter story.

Betty Lou Vogel of Cape Girardeau has a delicious recipe for Easter Gelatin Salad. She submitted this recipe to be included in the Cape Senior Center cookbook. I have made it several times and it would be a nice salad to go with your Easter ham.

Easter Gelatin Salad

2 small packages strawberry gelatin

1 1/2 cups hot water

1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

2 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

lettuce leaves, optional

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Cool slightly. Add next four ingredients. Place mixture in freezer for about 10 minutes. Place half of mixture in 10-x-10-inch dish. Return to freezer for about five minutes. Spread sour cream on top. Pour remaining gelatin mixture on top. Chill at least six hours in refrigerator. May serve on lettuce leaf, if desired. Serves 12 to 15.

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We have a few recipes shared this week by Lorna Bohnert of Altenburg. Each of her recipes is easy to prepare and sounds delicious.

Mexican Wedding Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pecans

1 (No. 2 size) can crushed pineapple, undrained

Hand mix all, pour into greased 9-X-13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool.

Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 stick margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix all together well and frost cake.

Lorna adds that this next recipe, Crock Pot Beef, is very good. It would be a good recipe for busy moms. Put it all together in the crock pot, turn it on and let it cook all day while at work.

Crock pot Beef

2 pounds stew meat

1 package onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup water

Combine all ingredients and put in crock pot. Start on high then turn to low for several hours, until meat is very tender.

Sometime back we had a request for rice pudding. Lorna also sent a favorite recipe for this delicious dessert.

Rice Pudding

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups milk, scalded

3/4 cup long grain rice, cooked

3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla; stir in milk. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Stir in rice and raisins. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place casserole dish into a deep baking dish or pan, pour boiling water in baking pan to within one inch of top of casserole dish.

Bake 40 minutes, or until set.

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For your Easter menu you might consider a different broccoli casserole sent in by Joan Weeks of Cape Girardeau.

No Name Broccoli Casserole

Place a package frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained, in a greased casserole. Top with your favorite stuffing, then top with your choice of a can of cream soup mixed with a little milk. Bake in a moderate oven until thoroughly heated.

Joan adds that she makes her stuffing with crumbled hamburger buns, celery, onions and sage. For the canned soup, she suggests cream of mushroom, cream of celery, cream of chicken, potato or cheese.

Want to add some zip and zing to your chicken salad? A Cape Girardeau cook says the next time you make homemade chicken salad, instead of using mayonnaise, try a new dressing instead.

Chutney Dressing

In a food processor or blender combine:

1/4 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons chutney

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon finely shredded lime or lemon peel

1 clove garlic, quartered

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cover and process until smooth. Gradually add:

2 tablespoons olive oil till combined.

To make your chicken salad a real treat, top with cashew nuts. Place prepared chicken salad on leaf of lettuce. Surround with fruit such as kiwi, strawberries or melons. This makes a colorful meal. Complete with hot bread or rolls. Add a chocolate dessert for a finish and you'll think you've died and gone to heaven.

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A wonderful Cape Girardeau cook inquires about pot roast. She loves unusual and different recipes of all kinds, but she would like for readers to respond to her request for different and "unusual" pot roast recipes. The two she shares today sound wonderful, and yes, they are different than any we have shared with you.

Exotic Pot Roast

4 pounds boned and rolled rump or top round of beef

3 tablespoons oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 square unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano

1 can (1 pound) onions

1 can (1 pound) baby carrots

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

Brown meat in oil in Dutch oven. Pour off excess fat. Add garlic and chopped onion. Sprinkle with salt. Stir until onion is slightly browned. Combine tomato sauce, wine, chocolate, chili powder, orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg and oregano. Pour over meat. Cover, simmer until meat is tender, some three hours. Drain onions and carrots. Add to kettle. Cover and simmer till vegetables are heated. Place meat in center of platter. Surround with vegetables. Sprinkle with almonds. Serves 6 to 8.

Red-Eye Pot Roast

4 to 5 pounds boneless rump or chuck roast

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 cup dry red wine

2 pieces orange peel (orange part only), each about 1 by 2 inches

4 whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1 clove garlic, minced

12 small boiling onions, peeled

Place meat in Dutch oven. Combine tomato sauce with 1/2-cup of wine and add to meat along with remaining ingredients, except onions. Cover and place in slow oven, about 300 degrees for three hours. Add remaining wine and the onions. Cover and cook an hour longer. Remove meat and let stand a few minutes before slicing. Skim fat off juices. Serve over meat slices.

You may thicken with a cornstarch and water paste, if desired.

As always, we will close recipe swap this week with a few reader requests.

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Diane Sides of Cape Girardeau enjoyed Horseradish Mashed Potatoes at the Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville, Tenn. She was in Nashville cheering on the Southeast Missouri State Indian basketball team when they were playing in the tournament. Does anyone have this recipe so she can enjoy them at home?

Also from Cape Girardeau, Gladys Gaunce would like to take good homemade cream pies to church dinners. Does anyone have a good chocolate cream pie recipe to share with her? She does not want to use boxed chocolate pudding and pie filling mix.

Amber Larson of Cape Girardeau is looking for two recipes. Her first request is for Buttermilk Pie. She has been looking for this recipe for some time and has had no luck. Her second request is for a good hamburger stroganoff. She made this recipe before, and like all of us, she can't find it now. Please help Amber with her recipe dilemma.

Also from last week, we have the request for batter dipped and deep fried corn on the cob. I hope we can come up with this recipe because I would like to try it myself.

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And one last recipe for you was shared by a Cape Girardeau cook. I think it appropriate to share this recipe as the Easter weekend approaches. Have a very blessed Easter holiday, and I'll see you next week.

Grandma's Recipe for a Loving Family

4 cups of love

2 cups of loyalty

3 cups of forgiveness

1 cup of friendship

5 tablespoons of hope

2 tablespoons of tenderness

4 quarts of faith

1 barrel of laughter

Take love and loyalty, mix it thoroughly with faith. Blend it with tenderness, kindness and understanding. Add friendship and hope. Sprinkle abundantly with laughter. Bake it in sunshine. Serve daily with generous helpings. Serves one entire home forever.