Snicker Salad

If you were to attend a family gathering with my husband's family, you would find Snicker salad being served. Until I met my husband, I had never heard of this recipe. Everytime I make this, I question my husband on whether or not it really is a salad.



Snicker Salad
2 snickers candy bars
2 apples
8 ounces Cool Whip

Chop apples and snickers bars and put into serving bowl. Add cool whip. Stir.
This quantity serves 4. For family gatherings, the recipe can be doubled or tripled.

Hamburger Casserole

As I thumb through recipes and cookbooks contemplating what to blog about, I find myself drawn to recipes that remind me of someone or something special. This is a recipe I remember making in high school. I don't know it's origin. My father is one of those people that likes his meat, potatoes and veggies to be in their separate place on his dinner plate. He's not much for casseroles. This Hamburger Casserole is the one casserole that my Dad eats and actually loves. My Dad turns 90 in a few weeks, I think I will make this for his birthday dinner.



Hamburger Casserole
Into a well buttered casserole dish, place layers in order . Season each layer with salt and pepper.
2 -3 medium potatoes, sliced
2 -3 carrots, sliced
Can of peas (drained, saving liquid)
1 onion, sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
Over top of vegetables, placed 1 pound of ground beef, browned and drained.
Combine liquid from peas with can of tomato soup and pour over the top of ground beef.
Cover. Bake at 325 for 2 hours.

Commericials Aren't Just on TV

A few months ago my husband, his family and I had dinner at The Lamplighter in New Ulm, MN. The waitress announced the Friday night special as the Pork Commercial. Everyone else at the table was quite excited. I seemed to be the only one who only knew a commercial as something you watched on T.V. I inquired as to what was a commercial. As a non Minnesota native, it seemed I'd run across another term that was indicative of this area. Just like the hot dish, the commercial is a well known term in the Gopher state. After getting the definition of a commercial, I realized I had eaten one before. In my case it was a beef commercial and we called it an open faced roast beef sandwich.

Foods We Can't Live Without #3

Have you ever had the discussion about the foods you would want if you were stranded on a desert island or if you could only have one or two foods what foods would it be? For me one of them would be pizza. Is there a pattern here in "Foods We Can't Live Without"? Potatoes, Chocolate, Pizza...no items from the four food groups here. Although, they are now saying dark chocolate is good for you, especially as you age. Thank goodness there's something I really love that is good for me. Okay, I know, in moderation!

Pizza made it's first appearance in the United States in the late 19th Century. Pizza, as we know it today, originated in the Midwest. In 1943, Pizzaria Uno originated in Chicago and the original pizza delivery company Dominos, in Detroit in 1960.


My first memory of eating pizza out was at one of the early pizza chains, Shakey's. It was an occasional Friday night treat to go to Shakey's. I remember watching them make the pizzas and singing along with the player piano.

Everyone has their favorite type of pizza, deep dish, thin crust, thick crust, lots of sauce, a little sauce , lots of cheese and so on. Crust, it's all about the crust for me, no thin crust pizza for me.

What's your favorite kind of pizza?

Foods We Can't Live Without #2

I should have made this Foods We Can't Live Without #1 because Chocolate is the number one food I could NOT live without.

My very best friends, Karen and Larry, came to visit us last weekend. We went to the Durham Heritage Museum to see the Chocolate The Exhibition. This exhibtion was created by Chicago's Field Museum. After closing at the Field Museum this exhibit began a 10 city tour .

Did you know chocolate originated 2000 years ago on trees that only grew in Central and South America? Today the Ivory Coast region exports the most chocolate and the Netherlands imports the most. The first chocolate bar was produced in 1847.

In the 1600 and 1700's, long before Starbucks, there were Chocolate Houses. The first Chocolate House was in London in 1657. Many admitted only men. Others admitted anyone who could afford the entrance fee.

If this exhibition comes to a city near you, take the time to go see it, chances are you will learn some things about chocolate, besides how delicious it is.

Nana's Quick Chocolate Cake

The quick chocolate cake we often enjoy is a recipe passed down from my best friends mother and my son's grandmother. Cancer took Nana from us too soon, as it sometimes does with our loved ones. This is one of those recipes you pass on and everyone loves. It's easy to make...hence the title...and oh so delicious.



Nana's Quick Chocolate Cake

4.6 oz box cook and serve chocolate pudding - cook as directed
1 box chocolate cake mix (any kind, do not make as directed)

After pudding comes to a boil, add box of cake mixture. Mix well, it will be a little lumpy.
Spread into 9 x 13 pan (grease and flour pan first) - sprinkle with 10 oz bag chocolate chips(nuts optional)

Bake according to time and temperature on cake mix box.

Spices of Life...Need to Be Replaced

A few months ago I had the opportunity to replace all of my spices at a very reasonable price. My local "bargain" store had received a truck load of spices. I was curious, just how long do dried spices last? I was fairly certain they didn't last as long as some had been in my spice collection. I googled the McCormick Spice Company website to find out. Let's just say many of my spices were WAY past their prime. When my son was home at Christmas, I was telling him my spice story and he recounted the number of houses that some of the spices had residency.

I feel like some of my spices are what could be called "single use spices". They are used in one recipe and tossed in the drawer and forgotten.

Remember those clippings I mentioned in my first post? One of those clippings, "Spice Advice" from the February 2002 issue of Better Homes and Gardens gives some spice substitutions, an alternative to buying a spice you might only use once.

Instead of.... Use...

Ground allspice... Ground cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves
Ground anise... Crushed fennel seed or a few drops of
anise extract
Ground cardamom... Ground ginger
Chili Powder... Dash hot pepper sauce, plus equal
measures ground oregano and cumin
Ground Cloves... Ground allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg
Ground cumin... Chili Powder
Ground ginger... Ground allspice, cinnamon, mace or
nutmeg
Ground mace... Ground allspice, cinnamon, ginger or
nutmeg
Dash ground saffron...1/4 tsp. ground tumeric

"Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I'm taking with me when I go." Erma Bombeck