Reitha's Minestrone Soup, Milan Style

Ingredients:
1 Cup kidney beans (canned) (drained)
1 Cup uncooked rice (or barley)
1/2 Cup olive oil
2 #2 cans canned tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
4 Cups chopped spinach (frozen)
2 Pinches sage
Salt and pepper to taste
4 quarts prepared soup stock
2 sliced onions
2 T chopped parsley
4 stalks celery, diced
4 Cups shredded cabbage
4 Cups chopped carrots
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese

In large pot saute in hot oil garlic, onion & fresh vegatables for 10 mins. Stir. Add rice, beans, salt & pepper and soup stock. Cover. Simmer until beans & rice are tender (approximately 1 to 1-1/2 hours. SERVES 12 to 16.

(NOTE: You can also add meat to the soup. Slices of cooked beef taste great - added by Matthew Revak)

Reitha's 'Spritz' Cookies

Butter 1 1/2 cups
Sugar 1 cup
Eggs 1
Vanilla 1 Tbsp
Flour 3 1/2 cups

Sugar & Butter - Beat until light and fluffy

Add egg - vanilla

Add in flour, a little at a time, and beat (or mix by hand) just until blended.

Put cookie dough in cookie press and press away onto ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with whatever you like...red, green sugar crystals, colored dots, etc. You may have to lightly press the decors on the cookie to stick.

Bake in a 400 degree oven 5-6 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets 1-2 minutes, then transfer to racks for
further cooling. If you are making a lot, be sure the cookie pans are COOL before re-using as the cookie dough will start to melt.

You want the edges and bottoms to be ever so lightly browned, so you'll have to watch the time. Some of mine took 7-8 minutes because I used the air bake pans - I don't recommend these pans for these cookies. Just good old fashioned aluminum-steel (whatever) pans. Do not use dark pans.

You will also notice the smell of butter cooking...this is such a good thing...mmmmmmmmm!

Reitha’s Baked Potatoes, Carrots & Onions

“Peel and thinly slice potatoes, carrots and onions. Layer them in a buttered 9”x13” pan. Drizzle melted butter on top; sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little water. Cover with foil and bake for one hour at 375° or until done. Take foil off and brown. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top before serving.”


**Again, these are just basic notes she told me, so you can adjust the recipe to taste. - Terry

Candied Yams - Reitha’s Way

“Take one large can of yams, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter and a little juice from the can. Heat thoroughly, stirring carefully not to totally break up the yams into mush.”


**These are the basics as told to me…you can adjust to taste from there. - Terry

Reitha’s Pie Crust

Historical Note: I’ve never found this recipe in any cookbook to date, or even on the internet! Grandma Brummer never could make it right because she always mixed the oil & milk together. Mom also used to make enough pie crust to fit a cookie sheet, fill with apple filling, cover with more pie crust, sprinkle sugar on top and cook until done. The amount of dough and filling at this point are anyone’s guess, but I’m sure with a little trial and error it can be done. Think of Mom while making this crust and it will come out great every time! - Terry

400° oven. Makes crust for top and bottom of an 8” pie; can be doubled easily.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oil (use vegetable oil like Mom did, or Canola)
1/4 cup milk

Measure flour and salt into a large bowl; stir lightly with a fork. Pour oil into a jar, then carefully pour milk on top - DO NOT MIX TOGETHER!!! Pour over flour and mix lightly with a fork until well blended. Roll out between two sheets of wax paper, to fit your pie pan. Fill and bake.

APPLE FILLING (per Mom’s verbal instructions): Peel and quarter apples - boil till tender with a little water, brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice to taste.


CRACKER JACKS: Roll out any left over dough to about 3/8” thick. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar; cut into small strips (1 1/2” x 3”?) and place on cookie sheet. Cook in 425° oven until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes or so.

Reitha’s Banana Bread

Oven: 350˚

Mix together:
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 T. shortening
• 1 egg

Add:
• 1 cup smashed ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup milk

Stir in:
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Let mixture stand for 20 minutes.
Bake for 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Historical Note: Mom used soup cans or loaf pans, and the recipe above is for one loaf…I think! This recipe can be doubled or tripled easily.

Reitha’s Pilaf

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 - 1/2 cube butter (Mom used 1/2 cube, of course!)
2 cups hot water
1 cup rice (Mom used regular white rice; I use Jasmine)
1 pkge. dry Noodle or Chicken Noodle soup (Lipton or any other brand)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat water in a microwave proof glass measuring cup until almost boiling.

Open the package of soup and take out the crumbly soup stuff and add to the hot water; mix well.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet or large sauce pan, with lid, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the rice and the noodles from the dry soup package and cook, stirring constantly until rice and noodles are golden brown…keep an eye on it or it will burn.

Slowly add the hot water mix, stirring constantly (be mindful of the steam facial you may receive).

Bring rice mixture to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer.

Cook for 15-20 minutes.

Fluff and serve.

Serves 4.

Reitha's Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

3 3/4 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c peanut butter

Directions:

Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Mix butter, white sugar, brown sugar and eggs in bowl.

Add 1 c flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture. Mix well.

Add remaining flour and peanut butter.

Stir or mix until flour is well blended.

Make balls of dough and make criss crosses on top of each cookie with a fork. This helps flatten the cookies a bit.

Bake at 350* for 12 or so minutes.

Walt and Reitha's Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar,

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa

Melt 1/2 lb butter with 1 c peanut butter and 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together and press into pan

Refrigerate

Reitha's Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C softened butter

1 1/2 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

With mixer, cream butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs together until fluffy.

Add 1 C of flour mixture to wet ingredients. Either stir by hand or use mixer. Continue adding one cup at a time until all is combined.

Roll dough into balls and flatten on cookie sheet with dampened glass.

Sprinkle with sugar and/or sprinkles.

Bake 8 to 13 minutes, depending on how big the cookies are and how your oven works.