Here are 2 family favorites. We could not celebrate a holiday without the Broccolli Casserole. Yummy!
Barb/DE

The Best Broccoli Casserole
1 Cup Mayo
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Cup grated cheddar cheese
1 onion chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 boxes chopped broccoli

Cook broccoli in microwave 5 mins and drain. Put in casserole. mix rest of ingredients in well. Top with 1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs. Bake at 300º for 30 mins.
Barb/DE

Hungarian Beef Casserole
2 lbs round steak cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3T olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 T flour
1 can mushrooms and broth
1/2 Cup celery chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 T Worcestershire
salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat in oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook til golden. Stir in flour slowly. Add rest of the ingredients and mix well. Turn into a greased 3 qt. casserole. Bake uncovered at 325º til meat is tender @ 1 1/2
hours.
Barb/DE

Thanks to all that sent in recipes for the Jell-O pretzel dessert. I made some yesterday and it is delicious. Thanks again and Happy New Year to all in Nancyland.
Sue in GA

Each day as I work on the site and the newsletter, I watch out my office window the children in the neighborhood playing. Christmas has changed how some of the children play. The little girl that loved to push her kitten down the street in her doll's baby buggy has traded the buggy for a bicycle with training wheels. Her Grandma who has a hard time keeping up with her now spends her time riding down the street on her new electric scooter. (The scooter is the kind that used to be where you push with one foot and the other foot is on the scooter. Grandma's is the motorized version of this.) The little kitten has grown up a lot and spends his time chasing down the sidewalk after the bicycle and Grandma. Ditto's entertainment now consists watching birds in the mornings and in the afternoons the little girl, Grandma, and the kitten.
Nancy Rogers

Nancy,
Lucille in Ky, in the 12/30/08 newsletter, my spaghetti sauce recipe has a mixture of browned Italian sausage and hamburger in it. Maybe this is what you are thinking of?

Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
1 1/2 lb. browned ground beef
8 oz. or 1/2 pkg. mild (*or spicy hot) ground Italian sausage, browned with ground beef
8 Roma tomatoes, fine diced (you may want to use more) OR
1 (28 oz.) can whole Italian style tomatoes, cut up and undrained
1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 lg. onion, finely diced
1 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (15 oz.) can tomato puree
2 to 3 cans (8 oz. ea.) tomato sauce
1 c. dry red wine
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper - or to taste
1 bay leaf
12 oz. dried pasta, cooked and drained
shredded Italian cheese

Brown ground beef and sausage till browned in large skillet. Meanwhile, combine remainder of ingredients, minus the pasta, in crock-pot. Cover and cook on high heat till meat is browned. Add browned meat and cover; turn crackpot to low and cook on low heat for 8 to10 hours. Or you may cook on high heat for 4 to 5 hours. Remove bay leaf and discard. Pass pasta and sauce and cheese. Makes 6 or more servings. *Depends on your taste buds! Posted on Nancy’s message board under Italian. Chris in NM

To the person who sent in the vinegar pie crust recipe, one of my aunts always used to make hers that way and she had the best pies and pie crusts! You will really like your pie crusts made with vinegar!
Have a great day!
Chris in NM

Cindi in Nebraska: I checked Google for apeels. They appear to be chips (like chocolate or white chocolate chips). Check out this website:
http://www.candywarehouse.com/guittardapeels.html.
I'm sure you could substitute almond bark; however, melting your cinnamon candies in water would make a mess of your almond bark (or chocolate) - it's still
water-based.
Doris in Oklahoma City

Top 100 Recipe Sites

This is for Laurie in Spring Lake, MI. Yes, you most certainly can freeze bananas. I do all the time. I always have bananas that turn to dark to eat. I just put them in a freezer bag with the peel on and when I get ready to make banana bread, I just take out what I need, thaw and start baking. To Joseph J and Chris, thank you for the key Lime Pie recipe I requested. I gave them to my friend last night and she was so pleased.

I wish everyone a very good New Year.
Jean in TN.

Hi Everyone. I hope you enjoyed the holidays. In regards to freezing bananas, I do it all the time. I don't mash them first. I just put the ripe bananas into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze until I am ready to used them. The peels turn black, if they weren't before, but the banana inside is perfect for breads or other bakings. This way if a recipe calls for three bananas, you know how much to use.
Sandy in Iowa

Here are some of my favorite pancake recipes, and also my favorite waffle recipe for Carla in Ks. who was requesting TNT recipes for both in the Dec. 31 newsletter. Happy New Year to everyone in "Nancyland", and especially to Nancy and Ditto! Thank you for all you do!

Best In The World Pancakes
Mix: 2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt (you can cut down)
1/4 cup sugar

For 10 to 12 pancakes, mix in bowl:
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. melted butter
Beat together well. Add 1-2/3 cups pancake mix and cook on hot skillet till golden brown on both sides. We like our pancakes thinner, so I use more milk than what it calls for. These are a lot like buckwheat cakes.

Keep dry mixture sealed tightly in bowl to use another time. It keeps a long time.

Honey Apple Pancakes
1-1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. apple pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
3/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. cooking oil
Beat eggs, juice, milk, honey and oil together in small bowl. In medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add liquid to dry ingredients all at once and stir to combine, but still "lumpy". Fry on hot skillet, using about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Makes 10 to 12 delicious cakes.

Quick Sourdough Pancakes
1 pkg. active-dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
2 cups milk
2 cups Bisquick baking mix

Soften yeast in warm water. Add milk to beaten egg. Add Bisquick and beat with a hand beater, or wire whip, until blended. Stir in the softened yeast. Let batter stand at room temperature for about 1 hour and a half hours. Do NOT stir! Cook on lightly oiled skillet until pancakes are golden brown on both sides. Makes 2 dozen 4 inch cakes.
I have been making these for years and we love them.

Buttermilk Waffles
2-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup cooking oil, or melted shortening

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Combine beaten eggs, buttermilk and oil. Pour into dry ingredients and whisk till just blended and dry ingredients is moistened well. Cook in hot waffle iron, that has been oiled (can use cooking spray). This makes quite a few. I freeze them and package up and give to the grandkids, as makes a quick breakfast for them on school mornings. I usually double the recipe, and get about 28 waffle squares.
Judy (in Alaska)

Does anyone know if there is a clone for sweetened evaporated milk using Splenda? I have a friend that is a diabetic and she loves to cook and bake but she will not eat anything that is not on her diabetic list. Nancy hope you had a great holiday with family and friends. That is what makes the world a wonderful place and I thank God every time I say my prayers for you and our Nancyland family. The best of the New Year to you and Ditto.
Jean Cecil VA/FL

o Laurie in Spring Lake, MI.
If I have over ripe bananas I just toss them ( unpeeled) in the freezer. When I am ready to make banana bread or a cake I take them out and peel one side and let them slightly thaw enough to mash. You'll never know you have used frozen bananas.
Grannygirl in Ohio

This is for Laurie in Spring Lake. You can absolutely freeze bananas. Put the entire banana, still in the skin, into your freezer. The skin will turn black, but it doesn't affect the banana at all. When you want to use them, just peel, defrost, and then mash. No one in my house likes to eat the bananas when they get overly sweet, but everyone loves banana bread. I found that this is the best way to save what otherwise I would have thrown out. When you're ready to bake, just take the accumulated bananas out of the freezer and you're ready to bake.
Nancy Z-R in S FL

To Nancy and all our group, I wish you a Happy New Year and may God Bless You in the coming year.
wisemama

Thanks so much for all the entries for peeling hard boiled eggs. They should be really helpful. Also, I love to hear in newsletter from the ladies that live up north about the snow and weather. I live in San Antonio Tx. and only dream of a white Christmas! It sounds so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Kim

Laurie in Spring Lake Mi I freeze bananas all the time and when I have a big amount I use my blender and freeze in bags of measurement for banana bread or cake. I add some chopped nuts to the bag before freezing ,then when I make bread or cake the nuts are already in it.
Mary Ann Upstate N Y

Nancy,
I just wanted to wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope that you and Ditto have a great day tomorrow. I am trying to make myself stay awake with Sweetie to watch the New Year's Eve celebration on television. The Peach (instead of the ball) drops here in Atlanta at midnight, and there are a lot of festivities at Underground Atlanta (I don't want to go because of the crowds, but since it is televised, I try to watch it.).

Again, Happy New Year and thanks to you and Ditto for such a great community newsletter. I love "visiting" each day that the newsletter is printed.
Pat Morris (AtlantaPat) and Sweetie

Nancy, I'm needing recipes for Lemon Frosting for a pound cake. I know there should be a lot of different ones out there, so if any of your readers have any lemon cake frosting recipes, I would love to get them. I'm not looking for a glaze. Thank you and I hope everyone has a great New Year.
Sue in
North Carolina

Could anyone help me find an easy recipe for Spinach Dip. I recently tried some and love it. I would appreciate it if someone could give me a recipe for it. Thanks in advance.
Sharon in Lutts, Tn

Hi all, Happy New Year! I have a challenge for you. My nephew, by marriage, is a chef and he would like to make Bulgarian desserts. Does anyone have pie, cakes, etc that he could use? I know he would really appreciate your help.
Thanks, Anita in Camarillo

This is for Laurie in Spring Lake, MI who asked about freezing mashed bananas. I freeze bananas all the time but I don't bother mashing them first. I just throw the whole banana in the freezer and take some out when I want to make banana bread or banana cake. If you do freeze them whole, you might want to defrost them in a bowl or on a plate, as they tend to ooze a little when they defrost. They don't take too long to defrost although I never timed it. I always take them out the night before I want to bake and put them in a bowl in the fridge. They are defrosted by the next day. Freezing the whole banana works really well for me although I'm sure freezing them already mashed would work also. Might even be a little less messy! :)
Beth in Chicago

Well it is now 2009 and I wish everyone a very healthy New Year as well as many birds for Ditto and all other furry babies.

Margaret, Tulsa - what a wonderful idea!(hard boiled eggs in pockets) now why didn't I think of that when kids were small. now I can use it for great grandkids that I babysit regularly. Thank you
my grateful thanks to whoever sent in the lamb stew recipe. it was made last night and enjoyed by all.

Kay in N.C That turkey carcass was a disaster waiting to happen. Although I admire the cat/dog cooperation, I find it hard to believe that their owners do not know enough to NOT give bones to their animals (or put them where they can't reach them). ESPECIALLY turkey/chicken bones.
Sybil from Sherbrooke
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

Love the newsletter - I find when I freeze sour cream it isn't the same consistency when I go to use it. Is it still o.k. to use it anyway I want to or does it change depending on whether I bake or use in a casserole?
Gina

Happy New Year's Day to all Nancylanders.
I wish you all great health and great wealth in 2009.

I want to tell Chris in NM that I made her Cabbage Soup and that I really like it. I will certainly make this again in the future. I used the bacon that's already cooked and just cut it up into the soup, no extra grease. Thanks for the recipe, Chris.
Barb in OKC

Low calorie and easy pasta dish for the new year.

Pepper Pasta
1 pound penne pasta
1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 banana pepper, 1 large onion
or 1 bag frozen mixed peppers and onions (my choice).
1/2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 tbsp chopped basil leaves
S/P to taste

Cook penne pasta to your preference of doneness. Cut bell peppers and onion into 1/2 inch wide strips if not using frozen package. Heat the olive oil and add the peppers and onion cooking until just tender (about 10 minutes) Stir in sugar, vinegar, basil, salt and black pepper. Heat through.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
Judy/Buffalo

Laurie in Spring Lake Mi I freeze bananas all the time and when I have a big amount I use my blender and freeze in bags of measurement for banana bread or cake. I add some chopped nuts to the bag before freezing ,then when I make bread or cake the nuts are already in it.
Mary Ann Upstate N Y

Gramj It is the pie crust recipe I use all the time and when I was a farmers wife I made 7 pies at once sometimes and it never failed me I add 1 tsp baking powder to my flour is all the difference to yours. Mary Ann in cold Upstate N Y Happy New Year to all.
Mary

Nancy I would like to apologize for answering the past 2 newsletters this morning, but we weren’t online the past 36 hours! Guess Quest had a problem with our ISP here in the Tularosa Basin and unplugged them! We do have broadband, so don’t know if it was just us or everyone with our ISP! We read the headlines in our morning paper a while ago and found out what happened.
Chris in NM

Carolyn, Rochester, New York, you are a sweetheart! Thanks so much! I just like to cook and scout out new ideas just like all of Nancy’s “family”! Thanks again!

Billie in Fl, I don’t use the Pastene tomatoes, I use either Hunt’s or store brand of petite diced with herbs. I would assume since they are in a spaghetti sauce, they are diced tomatoes, though. We can’t get Pastene brand here in southern NM.
Chris in NM

JL in South Jersey, thank you so much for your Pork Schnitzel With Sour Cream recipe in the 12/31 newsletter! I want to make that very soon!

Roz in Indy, I have never even thought of using our veggie steamer for hard boiled eggs! I will now! Our veggie steamer came with an insert bowl for steamed rice. That is the only way I make ours!
I made this dip yesterday and took it in to share with everyone during my shift yesterday. Everyone loves it! It isn’t too hot and a great salsa for those who can’t eat spicy foods.

Mexican Caviar
2 (4 1/2 oz.) cans chopped black olives (I use sliced)
2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chili peppers
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (I use fresh when I have them)
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 dash seasoned salt

1 dash – or more - cilantro

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients. Cover and chill overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature with your choice of chips. I use nacho chips. I made this one day to take to a birthday party. I didn't have any green onions, so diced 1/2 of a very large sweet onion. I think this addition or substitution made this recipe even better! I had several people ask for this recipe. This is a very good salsa! Chris in NM

For Carla in Kansas who wanted a good T & T waffle recipe, here is one I posted some time ago on the message board. It was given to me by my ex’s grandmother back in the 60’s.

Waffles - T & T
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks, well beaten
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 egg whites, beaten stiff

Sift dry ingredients together. Stir in milk gradually. Stir in egg yolks and butter. Gently fold in egg whites. Heat waffle maker. Cook waffles following manufacturer's directions, 4 to 5 minutes each or till light goes out. Mine usually take about 6 - 8 minutes. You want them kind of crispy.
Chris in NM

Now, this is a great breakfast for a cold morning like today! I make it quite frequently. I found it in Taste of Home years ago and it is a favorite, especially the syrup! You can serve it with fresh fruit on top and sausage or bacon on the side! That’s what we do.

German Pancake T & T
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Buttermilk Syrup:
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar

Place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour the butter into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; add the batter. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the first five syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Dust pancake with confectioners' sugar; serve immediately with the syrup. Yield: 8 servings (about 2 cups syrup). Chris in NM

Another syrup recipe Mom used to make and I have also is so easy and fast!

Waffle/Pancake Syrup T & T
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup of water

Mix all ingredients in a small pan on the stove till incorporated and heated up. Add 1 tsp vanilla and stir. Now you can pour over your pancakes or waffles! Very good!
Chris in NM

Happy New Year All!!
Nancy this is for the person(don't remember who) looking for a way to make popcorn in their microwave.

It is a recipe I got from Food Network after seeing Alton Brown do it on his show. It is as good as any I have ever bought and sooo much cheaper.

1/4 cup good quality popcorn
2 teaspoons olive oil( or oil of choice)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or popcorn salt
Paper lunch bag
Stapler
Toss the popcorn with the olive oil, salt, and jalapeno seasoning mix in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over and staple the bag twice to close. Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are about 5 seconds between pops.

NOTE: Popcorn salt is a super-fine salt that is designed especially for sticking to food such as popcorn. It has the taste of regular table salt, but its granules are much finer.
Jean in NC

Hi Nancy: For Eleanor who wanted a really good pie crust. This is it! I have used this recipe for at least 45 years, when a lady gave it to me. She told me she baked 4 pies everyday for her family.

Tender, Flakey Pie Crust every time. Makes 5 crusts

Mix together in a large bowl the following:
4-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 TBLS. brown sugar

1 lb. lard, cut into pieces as you
Add to the flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender until it
resembles cornmeal.

beat one egg in a cup with a fork and then
Add:
1-1/2 TLBS. vinegar
and enough water to make 3/4 cup.
Mix well and then add water mixture gradually, until dough can be formed into a large ball and is completely moistened If more water is needed though, it can be added a small amount at a time..
Try not to put your warm hands on the dough any more than necessary, as this will toughen the dough.

I put the ball on wax paper and place in the fridge for about a half hour.

Take out and cut into 4 sections equally. I moisten my counter top and place wax paper on it, then flatten the roll and roll out the 4 sections , one at a time for what I need, flouring my rolling pin as I go. This will make two -2-crust pies and one -1-crust pie. However, if you want to keep any left over, in the fridge
it will keep for two weeks, and it can be frozen for three months.

Your gonna love it!
Laurine in NNY on the border

Nancy: For Tender Pie Crust every time, I forgot to say that I always put ice cubes in the egg/vinegar/water mixture. The colder the better. I have also used 5 cups of flour with success. So 4-1/2 to 5 cups of flour are just fine. Sorry I forgot to tell you that.
Laurine in NNY on the border

To Ella in CA: Our secret is out! Until last year, I always used my mother's pie crust recipe -- one that always got good reviews. My mother used milk instead of water. Last year I used the same pie crust that you used -- the roll-yourself Pillsbury brand. This year I used the Shop-Rite brand and sons raved about the pie. I used Gala apples -- usually use McIntosh. I think the filling came out particularly well.
Mary Kay in New Jersey

Thanks to Barbara in GA
Bill in Delray beach Florida
Diana T in middle TN
Thanks for helping me out in the search for "Dying is No Excuse".
I contacted my local library in Delray Beach and they ordered it. and called yesterday that it was in. I can't wait to read it. Happy holidays to Nancy and of course Ditto.
Barbara in Delray Beach Florida

The following is a recipe using Chocolate Cool Whip. 15 servings or more depending on size of servings.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 jar caramel ice cream sauce
Chocolate Cool Whip

Prepare a box of chocolate cake mix as per instructions on the box. Bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Remove from oven and cool cake for about an hour. Prick holes in cake with a large fork. Spread caramel ice cream sauce evenly over cake, all the way to corners. When cake is cold, frost with Chocolate Cool Whip. Can sprinkle finely chopped nuts or coconut over cake.
Angie/Buffalo

Nancy, Ditto and Nancylanders: May this be the best year ever for all the members of this wonderful site that Nancy so competently over sees and manages. Happy New Year Everyone! In the 31 Dec Newsletter, Candy was wanting the site for trading books. The site I have used for the past several years is: wwwpaperbackswap.com.

It's a great site for trading paperback and hard back books as well as CDs. The requester, after qualifying pays nothing and the shipper (person offering a specific book) pays only media rate postage.
Mr. Myron Drinkwater - Lake Forest, CA

Candy wanted links to Paperback Book Swaps.
These are the ones I use.
The first 2 are great!
http://www.paperbackswap.com
http://www.bookmooch.com/

I signed up for this one also but the first 2 keep me busy so never listed anything on it.
http://www.titletrader.com/

I can highly recommend the first two.
gramaj

You can either go to Bookins (hard backs, paperback, and I believe
DVD's). You pay $4.45 for a swap. (postage prints out when you mail a book)

Paperback swap is a free site--you earn points. You pay postage when
you mail. I've used both of these---you can find lots of great reads.
Linda in Tx.

This is for Candy in the Dec 31 issue. The book swap is called "Bookmooch" I've sent out several books to people who were looking for ones I had. It works on a point system.
http://bookmooch.com/
Leasa in Iowa

For Candy the place where you can swap your used books for other books is at www.paperbackswap.com
and Beth in PA

I see that many of you have aerogardens and would like to know if any of you have tried different ways of making your own seed holders. I see on the net that there are different ways of doing your own, but I wanted to know if any of you have tried this. As the seed kits are so expensive to buy, anywhere from $18 to $24 I would like to try and make my own trays. Any help would be appreciated. this is one site I found that looks promising:
http://blog.junglin.com/my-homemade-seed-kit-for-aerogarden/
Roz in Indy