ILLINOIS FINEST COOKING

Cherry Grove Church of Lanark, IL submits its cookbook filled with 129 pages of delicious recipes. The book is soft-backed, spiral bound and sells for $8 plus $3 postage. To order, contact Rose Lindstrom at 15278 Carter Rd., Lanark, IL 61046, or call her at (815) 493-2474.

Orange Julius
Tricia Poffenberger

6-oz. frozen orange juice
1/4 C. sugar
1 C. milk
1 C. water
1 tsp. vanilla
10-12 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients together in a blender for 30 seconds.

Autumn Fruit Salad
Fairy Derrer

1 (6-oz.) pkg. lemon Jell-O
2 C. hot water
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (16-oz.) can whole cranberry sauce, chilled
2 apples
1 C. celery, diced (opt.)

Dissolve Jell-O in the boiling water. Add the crushed pineapple and juice. Chill until partly set. Stir in cranberry sauce, diced apples and celery. Chill well.

Mushroom Casserole
Carol Sturtevant

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C. chopped onion
1/2 C. chopped celery
1/2 C. chopped green pepper
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. salad dressing
Grated cheese
6 slices white bread, buttered and cut into 1-inch cubes

Saute mushrooms in butter. Put half of the bread cubes in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish and add the mushrooms, onion, celery, and green pepper. Mix salad dressing, eggs and milk together. Pour over the vegetables. Put rest of bread cubes on top. Frost with cream of mushroom soup. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 300° for 60-70 minutes. Just before removing from the oven, sprinkle with grated cheese.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Sticks
Chris Johnson

1 C. margarine
3/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, separated
2 C. flour
2 T. cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Beat margarine very lightly. Add 3/4 C. sugar and brown sugar and cream together. Add vanilla and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in flour and 2 T. cinnamon. Grease a 10xl2-inch pan. Press the mixture out evenly in the pan. Beat the egg white and spread over batter. Combine 1-1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon, sprinkle in pan. Bake at 275° for 35-40 minutes. Cut in stick-sized shapes while warm.

Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Renee Welch

1-1/4 C. long grain rice, uncooked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/4 C. butter, melted
1/4 C. milk
1/4 C. French dressing
6-8 chicken breasts
3-oz. Parmesan cheese

Mix liquids together and add uncooked rice. Pour 1/2 the mixture in a greased 9xl3-inch pan. Cover with chicken, then rest of mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake 2-1/2 hours at 275°. Can be uncovered the last 20 minutes if too moist.

The Cookie Jar Recipe
Rosetta Appel

2-1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. (2 sticks) butter
1 C. granulated sugar
1 C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with a mixer until fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture, beating until blended. Stir in your choice of flavors (see below). Drop by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes.

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies: Use 2 C. Baker's chocolate chips.

Double Chocolate Brownies: Mix 1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa with flour mixture. Add 2 C. Baker's semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Raisin Cookies: Stir in 2 C. of dark raisins, yogurt covered raisins or chocolate covered raisins.

Applesauce Oatmeal: Add 1/2 C. applesauce and 1-1/2 C. oats.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: Mix 1/2 C. peanut butter and stir in 2 C. Baker's milk chocolate chips.

22 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING www.aiec.org

Our Lady of Good Counsel PSR of Renault submits its cookbook filled with 88 pages of fabulous recipes. The book is hard-backed, spiral bound and sells for $10 plus $5 shipping. To order, contact Heidi Nottmeier at 4113 Nottmeier Lane, Fults, IL 62244, or call her at (618) 458-6522.

Taco Soup
Elaine Marquart

1 lb. hamburger
1 med. onion
1 (15.5-oz.) can kidney beans
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (17-oz.) can whole kernel corn
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 (32-oz.) can tomato juice

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain. Add rest of ingredients and heat thoroughly. Simmer at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve over tortilla chips or with crackers.

Green Beans and Hamburger Casserole
Bernice Zeiger
1 (16-oz.) can green beans, reserve liquid
1 lb. hamburger
1 med. onion, chopped
3 med. potatoes, sliced
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 can cream of celery soup
1 C. grated cheese

Brown beef with onions in a skillet, stirring until crumbly. Place potatoes in a greased 6x10-inch baking dish. Spoon beef mixture over potatoes. Combine beans and garlic salt in a bowl. Spoon over hamburger. Combine soup and bean liquid and spread over beans. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 45 minutes at 350°.

Pizza Dip
Heidi Nottmeier

Corn Chips
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (14-oz.) jar pizza sauce
1/3 C. onion, chopped
1-1/2 C. Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 (6-oz.) can ripe olives, drained and chopped
2-oz. sliced pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350°. Press cream cheese in the bottom of a 9-inch glass pie pan. Spread pizza sauce over cream cheese and layer remaining ingredients in order listed. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve with corn chips.

Apricot Baked Ham
Carol Nottmeier

5-7 lbs. fully cooked ham
20 whole cloves
1/2 C. apricot preserves
3 T. dry mustard
1/2 C. lightly packed brown sugar

Score the surface of the ham with shallow diamond shaped cuts. Insert cloves into cuts. Combine preserves and mustard. Spread over ham. Pat brown sugar over apricot mixture. Place ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes per pound or until ham is heated through and thermometer reads 140°.

Gooey Butter Cookies
Debbie Doiron

1/2 C. butter, softened
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (2-layer) pkg. butter recipe yellow cake mix
1-2 C. confectioners' sugar

Beat the butter, cream cheese, egg and vanilla in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in the dry cake mix. Chill, covered for 30 minutes. Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of confectioners' sugar and roll into balls. Arrange on cookie sheets lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes 3 dozen.

August 2002 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 23