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Amid such signs of spring as conversation about Marlin Houses and Wren Houses, reports of robins and night crawlers, the Open Line moved into a new month and a new season during March. And before long, such problems as how to get stains out of snow boots will be replaced with how to get grass stains out of little boys light jeans. Soon, we will all be ready to run the great Tomato Growing Race. Happy Spring, everybody, and welcome to another edition of the "Best of the Open Line".
HOMETOWN LASAGNA
1 pound ground beef or sausage
1½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon basil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups tomatoes
2 small cans tomato paste
1 ten ounce package wide (lasagna)
noodles
3 cups Home Town Cottage Cheese
2 eggs
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Mozzarella cheese
Brown and drain meat.
Mix
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon basil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups tomatoes
2 small cans of tomato paste.
Add mixture to meat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cook one ten ounce package of wide (Lasagna) noodles, drain and rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile mix:
3 cups Home Town Cottage Cheese
2 beaten eggs
2 teaspoons salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons parsley
½ cup Parmesan cheese.
In greased 9 by 13 inch pan place ½ of noodles in bottom of pan, spread ½ of meat mixture. Repeat with rest of the ingredients in the same order. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Let stand 20 minutes then cut into squares.
CHEESE BALL
Cheeses must be at room temperature. You will need 8 ounces of Cream Cheese and a 5 ounce jar each of Roquefort or Blue Cheese, Smoky Flavor Cheese and Cheddar Sharp. Mix cheeses with a fork adding ½ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce and 1 teaspoon onion flakes or ½ teaspoon onion juice. Mix until smooth. Line a small mixing bowl with wax paper and scrape cheese into bowl. Chill at least 4 or 5 hours or overnight. Turn out on plate.
MISTER ED'S RUSSIAN DRESSING
1 cup white sugar
1 cup oil
½ cup vinegar
½ cup chili sauce
½ cup catsup
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, grated fine
Blend all ingredients well and store in covered container.
A calorie counting Open Line listener was interested in sautéed mushrooms, which, she understood, was a dieter's delight. Her request was answered by a long distance Open Line call from a listener in Aurora, Illinois.
SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned
and quartered
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 small onion, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
pinch of powdered tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in heavy skillet. Sauté onion and mushrooms for 15 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and cover. Remove from heat and let set for five minutes.
(Note: You may only be able to find tarragon in coarse form. But it's easily pulverized using the back of a spoon in a saucer.)
OPEN LINE PHONE NUMBER: Cedar Rapids 365-9405 (Area Code 319) (no longer that number: it is 365-0600)
OPEN LINE ADDRESS: OPEN LINE, RADIO STATION WMT, CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 52406.
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You can still make raised doughnuts at home if you follow this recipe called in by an Open Line listener.
RAISED DOUGHNUTS
1 cake yeast
1 pint of milk
2 cups flour
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Dissolve 1 cake yeast in 1 pint of cooled scalded milk. Mix in 2 cups flour and let stand till light and bubbly. Beat 4 egg yolks plus one whole egg. To egg add:
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Start adding the 5 cups of flour to which you've added 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Make a very soft dough. Let raise till double in bulk. Roll out ½ inch thick and cut. Let stand a few minutes until light and fry in hot fat.
GLAZE: Mix 1 pound sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon cream and enough water to make medium thick paste.
Here's another dressing recipe. You can put this on the table with Mr. Ed's and give everybody a choice.
HOMEMADE FRENCH DRESSING
1 cup sugar
½ cup vinegar
1 can tomato soup
1 soup can salad oil
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Mix in a bowl by hand and then bottle and shake well before using.
CANDIED PINEAPPLE: Cook 2 cups sugar, l cup water and 1/3 cup corn syrup to 234°. Add well drained pineapple and cook until pineapple is well glazed, simmering slowly. Remove pineapple and after dry, store in covered container. The syrup can be used over and over and finally used to top ice cream.
Here's another one of those conversation recipes. Serve this one unannounced and when somebody at the table asks what makes this chocolate cake taste so good you can tell them .......... sauerkraut!
SAUERKRAUT CAKE
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
2¼ cups sifted all purpose
flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2/3 cups rinsed, drained and chopped
kraut
Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with water to egg mixture. Stir in thoroughly rinsed and chopped kraut. Grease and flour 8 inch square or round pans. Bake 350° for 30 minutes or until done. (Mrs. Clarence Scobee, Grinnell, Iowa)
St. Patrick's day produced this green cookie recipe. It's also a nice cookie to serve during the green time of the year ..... Spring!
GREEN COOKIES
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/8 teaspoon green food coloring
1 cup sugar
1 six ounce package chocolate chips
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, peppermint extract, and green food coloring until foamy, then gradually beat in the sugar and beat until it holds its shape. Fold in chocolate chips and drop by spoonfuls on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Bake in 250° oven for fifteen minutes then turn off the oven and leave cookies in overnight or until oven is cool. (Mrs. Bob Workman, What Cheer, Iowa)
GRAPE TAPIOCA
Mix 2½ cups grape juice
¼ cup tapioca
½ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt.
Let stand five minutes. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Cool 20 minutes.
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At the suggestion of many of the Open Line listeners, here's some of the most requested homemade formulas used on the Open Line. All have been used and come highly recommended.
OPEN LINE PLANT FOOD
1 teaspoon Epsom Salts
1 teaspoon Salt Petre
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/3 teaspoon household ammonia
Mix above ingredients in a gallon of tepid water. Use every four to six weeks on house plants. On the day you plan to use the plant food, just water the plants with it instead of plain water. It will keep until all is used.
BABY CLOTHES WHITENER
1/3 cup powdered dishwashing compound
½ cup powdered non chlorine
bleach
1 gallon warm water
Use in plastic container. Soak clothes with stains in the solution before laundering.
UNSHRINKING WOOL GARMENTS
To one pint of vinegar add two pints water. Boil garment for 25 minutes. Reblock to original shape and size desired before drying. Works best on tight weaves and in all cases is used at your own risk.
CLEANING STEAM IRONS WITH MIRACLE WHITE
Add four ounces Miracle White to four ounces tap water and pour into an empty iron. Let stand overnight. In the morning turn on for 30 minutes. Turn off. Let cool. Drain and fill with fresh water, rinsing several times before using. To prevent buildup, repeat once a month.
OPEN LINE WINDOW CLEANER
Mix one cup rubbing alcohol with one cup cold water and one tablespoon white vinegar. Use in spray bottle.
TEFLON CLEANER
Mix 2 teaspoons baking soda, ½ cup liquid bleach and 1 cup water. Boil five to ten minutes.
HEARD ON THE OPEN LINE
To heat small amounts of left overs, use an egg poaching pan with the individual cups. Saves lots of pan washing. Only thing that doesn't work is left over mashed potatoes. They seem to get runny when heated in the egg poaching cups.
Singe pin feathers on poultry after dressing over burning alcohol if you don't have a gas stove. Matter of fact, the caller who gave this hint said she uses this anyway and she has a gas range. Pour a little bit of rubbing alcohol in a jar lid and light it with a match. It produces a low even flame just right.
To keep poached eggs from sticking, try greasing bottom and sides of pan before filling with water. Or add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water before adding the eggs.
Treat mealy bugs or little white spots on house plants by dipping a cotton tip in alcohol and soaking spots with rubbing alcohol. Repeat 2 or 3 times
In lengthening hems of dress, after ripping out the hem, place a cloth dipped in vinegar under the old hem seam and press with a hot iron. It will completely iron out old marks.
When using meat tenderizer to remove old blood stains (and you can by wetting spots first and rubbing tenderizer into stain and roiling up in towel to let stand overnight) be sure to use unseasoned meat tenderizer.
Make homemade coffee pot filters of white paper towels. Cut to any size you need. Note: use only white paper towels for this money saving hint.
Somebody said mayonnaise shines house plant leaves. Apply and wipe off excess being careful not to get the mayonnaise on the underside of the leaves.
To get the squeak out of shoes, pour a little rubbing alcohol into the shoes and let spread over the inside of the shoe bottom by tipping from side to side. Let dry and then put on shoes and wear. If you're in a hurry, no need to let dry.
For homemade furniture polish, mix one third cup each of boiled linseed oil, turpentine and vinegar.
To keep cheese, wring a cloth out of vinegar water and wrap cheese in it. Wrap in waxed paper and store in refrigerator.
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Here's a recipe that caused a lot of comment from the Open Line and mostly from ladies who tried the recipe. Some didn't have good luck the first time. After talking to the lady who called in the recipe we decided to avoid disappointment your first try, be sure to beat the batter until well blended after adding the flours. This determines the texture of the bread.
CASSEROLE RYE BREAD
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1½ tablespoons margarine
1 cup warm water
2 packages dry yeast
3 cups milk
3 cups white flour
1½ cup rye flour
Heat milk, sugar, salt and margarine together and cool to lukewarm. Measure warm water and dry yeast into a bowl. Stir until dissolved. Stir in lukewarm milk mixture and flours. BEAT UNTIL WELL BLENDED. Cover and let rise free from draft about 50 minutes or until double in bulk. Stir batter down and beat vigorously about ½ minute. Turn into 1½ quart casserole, well greased. Brush carefully with milk and bake uncovered for about an hour at 375°. Butter top well after baking. (Mrs. E.W. Hovorka, Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Did you know you can make your own marshmallows at home? You can, and it can be fun. Here's the recipe.
HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS
Mix 2 cups granulated sugar and ¾ cup water. Simmer to soft ball stage. Remove from fire. Soften 2 tablespoons gelatin in ½ cup cold water. Place on large platter and pour hot syrup over dissolved gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Let stand until partially cool, then whip until thick and white and until mixture will nearly hold its shape. Add one teaspoon vanilla and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour into straight sided pan lined with equal parts of cornstarch and confectioner's sugar mixed together. (The mix will automatically cover the sides when you pour in the mixture). Let stand until cool and firm (but not in refrigerator). Cut in squares with scissors and dust with powdered sugar.
Here's two ways to make a pecan pie. The first is a White House special and the second is a short cut version.
LADY BIRD'S PECAN PIE
½ cup butter, softened to
room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
Unbaked pastry shell
Allow butter to stand in covered mixing bowl at room temperature until extremely soft. Add sugar, syrup, salt, and vanilla. With a sturdy hand rotary beater or with a mixing spoon, beat until thoroughly blended. Add eggs and beat hard just until blended. Fold in pecans. Pour into unbaked pastry shell and bake at 375° on racks directly below medium racks. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until top is toasted brown and filling is set in center.
KARO PECAN PIE
1 cup dark Karo syrup
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecan halves or chopped
Mix together adding pecans last. Pour into unbaked nine inch pastry shell and bake at 400° for 15 minutes then 350° for 30 to 35 minutes.
I have to include one more recipe even though it's not complete, but I'm sure that many of you who have a rosette iron will know how to make them. When they are baked they are flat, but when they are done, you roll them quickly into open end cones. I suppose they can be filled.
MRS. PRULL'S COOKIES
First boil ½ pound of rock candy in one pint of water, Cool. Add 4 eggs, 1½ cup sugar and mix thoroughly. Then add 1 cup melted butter, 2 teaspoons anise seed (ground), 2 teaspoons cardamom seed (ground fine), and 3 cups plus two tablespoons sifted flour. 1 teaspoon of batter makes one cookie. (Mrs. Mamie Prull, Monticello, Iowa)
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