March 17, 2025 | Posted in:

Pastitsio II (Baked Macaroni with Meat)


Submitted by: The Ladies Philoptochos Society of Saint Sophia
Recipe origin: Greece

“The Ladies Philoptochos Society of Saint Sophia would like to share with you our Pastitsio II (Baked Macaroni with Meat) recipe that appears on page 117 of our cookbook. The recipe was introduced by renowned Greek Chef Nicholas Tselementes in the mid-1930’s who converted a very old recipe of a pasta and meat pie wrapped in phylo into a hearty, delicious casserole of layers of pasta, meat, cheeses and bechamel sauce. This is a version of his recipe. Since it’s publication, pastitsio has graced countless family dinners, party buffets, Greek festival and restaurant menus. You will enjoy making this tasty yet simple to make dish.”

Meat Mixture:
2 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick (½ cup) butter
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
Macaroni:
1 lb (No. 4) macaroni
1 stick (½ cup) melted butter
¾ lb grated Romano cheese
Crema Sauce:
5 cups milk
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk, mixed with 5 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp butter

Prepare the Meat Mixture:
In a pan, sauté the onion in 1 stick of butter until softened.
Add the ground beef and brown well.
Stir in the tomato paste, allspice, salt, and pepper.
Simmer for about 20 minutes until thickened. Set aside.

Prepare the Crema Sauce:
In a saucepan, bring 5 cups of milk to a simmer, stirring constantly.
Before it reaches a boil, slowly stir in the milk-cornstarch mixture.
As the sauce thickens, gradually add the beaten eggs while stirring continuously.
Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside.

Cook the Macaroni:
Boil the macaroni according to package directions, making sure not to overcook. Drain.
Mix the drained macaroni with ½ pound of grated cheese, 1 stick of melted butter, and 1 cup of the prepared Crema Sauce.

Assemble the Pastitsio:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Butter a 10″ x 15″ baking dish.
Spread half of the macaroni mixture in the dish and sprinkle with cheese.
Evenly distribute the meat mixture over the first macaroni layer, then sprinkle with more cheese.
Add the remaining macaroni mixture and sprinkle with more cheese.
Pour the remaining Crema Sauce over the top.

Bake:
Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool slightly, cut into portions, and serve.
Enjoy! 🍽️

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March 14, 2025 | Posted in:

Bobbie’s Sweet Potato Pie – A Classic Recipe for Pi Day


Submitted by: Regina T.
Recipe origin: Southern Cuisine

Pi Day (March 14th) is a celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi), but let’s be honest – it’s also the perfect excuse to indulge in a delicious slice of pie! What better way to mark the occasion than with a comforting homemade recipe that has been passed down through generations?

This Sweet Potato Pie is a true classic, rich with warm spices and a buttery, smooth texture that makes every bite a taste of home. Whether you’re celebrating Pi Day or just craving something comforting and delicious, this recipe is sure to become a favorite!

1 pound sweet potatoes (baked)
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 (9-inch) deep dish pie shell

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Prick the pie shell with a fork several times to prevent air pockets from forming. In a mixing bowl, mash the baked sweet potatoes until smooth. Add the butter and mix well. Stir in the sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and evaporated milk. Mix until fully combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell. Bake for 1 hour, or until the pie is golden brown and set in the center. Let cool before serving. Enjoy!
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January 15, 2025 | Posted in:

A tin of potato chip cookies for a group

Grandma Florence’s Potato Chip Cookies


Submitted by: Sara Levine Rosenblum
Recipe origin: USA

These are an all-time favorite Grandma Florence cookie, one that holiday guests and camp bunkmates requested time and time again. Years later, in my corporate life, these salty-sweet cookies won an office bake-off at Food Network! The crushed potato chips add a subtle salty crunch that is addictive.

Ingredients:
1 pound margarine or butter*
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely crushed potato chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

*Although margarine was a staple in my grandmother’s kitchen (sign of the times!), I (Sara) always use butter!

Cream margarine or butter and sugar. Add vanilla.
Mix in flour. Blend in crushed potato chips. Mix well with spoon (or mixer).
Take a piece of dough (size of a walnut), roll in your hands until smooth and flatten on lightly greased cookie sheet with your fingers (or you can drop the piece of dough and flatten with a fork). I prefer first method.
They spread so don’t make them too big. (Move each a little with a spatula after taking the cookie sheet from the oven so they don’t stick).
Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar when cooled.
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January 12, 2025 | Posted in:

Traditional Slovakian cookies with a handwritten recipe card.

Slovakian Roshky (“Rushki”)


Submitted by: Sarah W.
Recipe origin: Slovakia / Minnesota

Roshky (spelling varies) is probably the most special recipe in our book. It was handed down from our matriarch, who died a few years ago, and her family was from Slovakia. Roshky are Slovak cookies and our family makes them every Christmas; it’s one of our traditions.

6 c. flour
1 lb butter
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp salt
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 c. milk
1 pkg yeast

Filling:
10 oz walnuts, ground fine in food mill or processor
1 c. sugar
6 egg whites
Powdered sugar and flour for rolling dough

In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender. In a separate bowl, dissolve yeast packet in lukewarm milk. Add slightly beaten egg yolks, reserving egg whites in refrigerator for filling, to the milk. Stir into dry ingredients. Knead in a little flour to make the dough smooth and not so sticky. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to make filling, set out egg whites so they are room temperature before beating. Grind nuts finely. Place ½ to ¾ of egg whites in a bowl. Beat the egg whites with a mixer, gradually add 1 c. sugar while beating egg whites until stiff. Fold the nuts in. If too thick, add more egg white.

Preheat oven to 350°. Use a small amount of flour to work a snowball size piece of dough until smooth and elastic. Use equal parts of powdered sugar and flour on the rolling surface and rolling pin as this helps keep the dough from getting tough. On a cutting board, roll into thin squares and then use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 3″ rectangles. Thinner is better, you may want to then roll the individual pieces a bit. Spread a ½- 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each piece.

Roll up the dough, shaping into crescents and press to seal the ends. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place seam down to help hold the filling. Bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

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December 14, 2024 | Posted in:

A slice of homemade mincemeat pie with ice cream.

Merry Meatless Mincemeat Pie


Submitted by: Amy
Recipe origin: England / Georgia

My dad, Bill, loved mincemeat pie, and he and my grandfather would sneak into the kitchen in the night to snack on it. I was afraid of it as a child–why is it called mincemeat? Could someone be trying to sneak gravy into my pie? The flavors are intense and perhaps a bit off-putting for children, and my grandfather’s comments about how it “put hair on your chest” probably weren’t helpful either. In olden days, mincemeat pie really contained minced meat (e.g. venison) along with all the fruit. My mother didn’t use meat, as I recall, but she did use beef suet. I don’t want to hunt for suet, so I go with butter instead. The filling can be prepared and refrigerated several days ahead–it’s a labor of love, so I highly recommend making ahead and finding victi–I mean volunteers–to help with all the chopping. You can simply serve the filling over ice cream, too, and skip the crust-making. May this pie be worth a midnight trip to your kitchen.

Dough for double pastry pie crust
1 ½ lb Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, diced ¼-inch (about 3 large)
1 ½ lb Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, diced ¼-inch (about 3 large)
1 cup dried currants
1 cup golden raisins
¼ cup diced candied orange peel
2 tablespoons finely diced candied ginger
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
Grated zest and juice from 1orange
Grated zest and juice from 1lemon
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 ½ cups apple cider, divided
1/3 cup Calvados or other brandy
1 tablespoon boiled cider (optional)
1 tablespoon milk, for crust
1 tablespoon sugar or sparkling sugar, for crust

Place all ingredients except brandy, ½ cup cider, milk, and sugar for crust in a large heavy saucepan on med heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to med-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, 3 hrs. Mixture will thicken and darken.

Stir in remaining ½ cup cider and brandy. Continue cooking, stirring often, 30 min or till liquid is syrupy and mixture is jammy. Cool to room temp.

Heat oven to 400 °F. Roll one piece of dough to a 12-in circle. Transfer to 9-in pie pan. Roll second dough piece to12-in circle. Spoon filling into pan. Place top dough over filling. Tuck edge of top dough under. Press to seal and create decorative crust. Cut 5 slits in top crust. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake till crust is light golden brown, 25 min. REDUCE OVEN TEMP to 350 °F. Bake till juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 35-45 min. Cool to room temp before serving.

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| Posted in:

A woman standing next to a stove holding up a bread roll.

Aunt Francis’ Dinner Rolls


Submitted by: Regina
Recipe origin: USA

One particularly special recipe in our cookbook is Aunt Francis’ Dinner Rolls. Anyone who knew her and tasted her rolls was always amazed at how awesome they were. She made them for every holiday dinner.

2 tablespoons of Real Butter
2 tablespoons of Butter Crisco
3 tablespoons of White Sugar
1 Cup of hot water
1 packet of Fleischman’s Yeast
½ cup whole milk
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of flour

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and hot water. Add the milk and allow it to cool until lukewarm. Mix the yeast until dissolved in cup per directions on the packet. Once the yeast is dissolved, fold it into the mixture. Next, mix in the milk, egg, salt, and flour. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size. For best results once the dough has doubled beat it down and let it rise again.

Grease 8 muffin cups. Divide the dough, roll it out and cut it with a juice glass (make sure that you flour the bottom of the glass before you cut the dough. Place the dough into the prepared muffin cups, and allow to rise again until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425 ℉.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

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March 4, 2022 | Posted in:

Tequila lime pie

Margarita pie, or key lime tequila pie

I’ve got March Break on the mind. It happens to us Northerners some time in March. We’ve endured as much winter fun as one should have to, and as the days get longer, the birds start chirping a little louder and the occasional patch of muddy grass pokes through the snow piles, we start to think about warm places. March is really a mind jam – you think spring is coming, but there’s still a ways to go, and the days are frustratingly unpredictable. So many many many many of us head south for a week or so, just to give us the strength to endure the slow tease of springs unveiling.
With that in mind, I thought it might be fun this week to look for a recipe that combines the fun of a classic spring break cocktail with the sin of a sticky sweet treat. The result is a stunning dessert that will leave you feeling like you’ve indulged in a romp at a beach side restaurant without the hangover!

Ingredients

4 large egg yolks
1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 C Margarita mix (see below for homemade margarita mix)
1-2 T tequila
1-9 inch prepared graham cracker pie shell
Unsweetened whipped cream (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Position rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350. Whisk together the yolks and the condensed milk. Add the margarita mix and whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in the tequila. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake until filling is lightly, but evenly set and the edges of the shell are lightly browned, 12-15 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 2 hours. Top wedges with whipped cream (optional) to serve.

Home made Margarita mix

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh lime juice
Mix all ingredients. Cook in a saucepan until all the sugar has dissolved, and mixture has thickened somewhat, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Will keep refrigerated about a month.

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February 1, 2022 | Posted in:

Ultimate chocolate chip cookie

The very best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

If you are looking for the ultimate oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, look no further. This is the perfect family recipe. They are chewy and moist and will not last 24 hours, promise! I’ve played around with different ways to incorporate the butter, and have come up with the fastest cookie method ever by simply melting the butter. No stand mixer, no creaming, and it all gets made in one bowl. Yup, one bowl moist delicious cookies you definitely need to make. You will want to create your own cookbook of cookie recipes once you know this recipe!

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup melted salted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

Melt the butter completely.
In a mixing bowl, mix sugars, then pour in melted butter and whisk for a few minutes. Add the egg and mix for a few minutes. Add vanilla.
Dump flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda on top of mixture, and mix with a spatula until mixed. Add chocolate chips and mix.
Refrigerate dough 30 minutes min- I usually cool it for an hour or so.
Heat oven to 350.
Using a cookie scoop or spoons, spoon dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet, about 1 1/2″ apart.
Bake 10 minutes. When the cookies come out, slam the sheet down onto the counter to flatten the cookies. This makes them extra chewy.
Let cool and move to a rack.

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March 27, 2020 | Posted in:

Oatmeal Raspberry Muffin Recipe For Your Family Cookbook

Oatmeal raspberry muffins
I made these muffins the other morning for the family and they were a huge hit. Not only were they moist and satisfying right out of the oven, but they stayed soft the next day too.

Ingredients

1 cup oats
1 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice)
zest of one lemon (optional)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries or raspberries are great here- cranberries would work too, but up the sugar to 1 1/2 cups)
White sugar for sprinkling on top

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375
Line muffin tin with non stick liners, or grease muffin tin
Mix milk and vinegar if you are not using buttermilk
Add egg, vanilla and oil
In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and soda
Mix in frozen berries
Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix with as few strokes as possible until just blended
Spoon into prepared muffin tin, filling 3/4 of the way
Sprinkle with sugar
Bask 20-25 minutes until just set

Cool and enjoy :)
Fresh berry muffins

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June 15, 2019 | Posted in:

Cinnamon Rolls For Your Custom Recipe Book

Ingredient list

4 1/2-5 c. all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Powdered Sugar Glaze:
In a bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and enough half & half (1-2 T.) to make of drizzling consistency.
Instructions

In a large mixer bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the yeast.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, the 1/3 cup butter, and the 1/3 cup sugar just until warm (120-130 degrees and butter is almost melted. Add to the flour mixture, add eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then high for 3 minutes, scraping sides. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour (2 1/4-2 3/4 cups) as you can.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball; place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover, let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour.

For filling: combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the remaining 1/2 cup butter till crumbly; set aside.

Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll dough to a 12-inch square.

Sprinkle filling over the dough square; roll up jelly-roll style, pinch edges to seal. Slice roll into eight pieces; arrange in a greased 13×9 inch baking pan.

Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap; let dough rise until nearly double, about 45 minutes.

Brush dough with half & half or light cream. Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes or until light brown. Frost with powdered sugar icing. Serve warm.

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