MELBA’S SWAP SHOP
TASTE TESTING IS ALLOWED
DEAR MELBA: A meatloaf dinner is not complete in our house without tomato gravy! It is good on mashed potatoes, the meatloaf, and tops off a great hot meatloaf open-faced sandwich.
This recipe comes from my motherin-law, Pauline Metzger Smith, of Broken
Arrow. I had never heard of such until I married into the family 43 years ago.
Please be aware that most of the measured ingredients are estimates of the original dashes or shakes of this and squirts of that! Taste testing is allowed.
TOMATO GRAVY
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce 1 can (15 ounces) diced or crushed tomatoes
1 can (10 ounces) tomato soup ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Mix all ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Leftovers (if any) can be refrigerated for a short time or frozen.
SALAD GONE FOWL
— Marvin Wier, Yukon
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dehydrated chopped onions
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
DEAR MELBA: Readers can use this chicken salad recipe for tailgate parties. I like the rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, and this is another way to use them.
CHICKEN SALAD
4 cups cooked, cubed chicken 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 cup chopped seedless grapes 1 cup chopped nuts, optional ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
¼ cup sour cream
In large mixing bowl, combine chicken, celery, grapes and nuts. In small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, mayonnaise and sour cream. Add to salad mixture and toss to mix well.
— Jewel B., Oklahoma City
DEAR MELBA: I noticed someone wanted chicken salad recipes. I use the rotisserie chicken from the grocery.
— Dorothy P., Oklahoma City
CHICKEN SALAD
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped sweet peppers ½ cup minced onion
1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing, approximately 4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Lettuce
In large mixing bowl, combine chicken, celery, peppers, onion, salad dressing, lemon juice and cheese. Mix well. Serve immediately tossed with fresh torn lettuce or cover the chicken salad and refrigerate until serving time before adding lettuce.
POUNDCAKE PROCESSION CONTINUES
DEAR MELBA: Mary M. asked for pound cake recipes. This is my mother’s recipe, and it makes a wonderful cake. She had three different “cafes” in Hobart before taking the position of manager for the Hobart Country Club. This recipe calls for 1 box of powdered sugar and 1 sugar-box cake flour. This should equal approximately 3 ¾-cups sugar or unsifted flour.
MAUDE PETERS’ POUND CAKE
1 pound margarine, softened 1 pound box powdered sugar 6 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 powdered sugar-box full of cake flour
Heat oven to 325 F. Grease tube pan. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat margarine and sugar. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
Gradually combine sugar mixture and the sugar box-full of cake flour, mixing well after each addition. Put in prepared tube pan and bake 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test for doneness after 1 hour. Cool in pan on wire rack 10-to-15 minutes before turning out onto serving plate. — Jimmie N. Patee, Oklahoma City
Verda Faye Holland, of Oklahoma City, shared a similar recipe but included adding ½ cup milk “or as much as needed.” She suggested serving it plain or with your favorite frosting.
TATER JUNCTION
— Melba
DEAR MELBA: One thing that makes my potato salad extra good is that I make the dressing myself. To begin, make the cooked salad dressing.
COOKED SALAD DRESSING
¾ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1 egg
¼ cup water
½ cup sugar — Arkansas Reader 2 tablespoons flour ¾ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 teaspoon celery seed
In top half of double boiler, mix vinegar and butter. Cook until hot. In medium mixing bowl, stir together egg and water. Add sugar, flour, salt, mustard and celery seed. Gradually stir into hot vinegarbutter mixture. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Cover and store in refrigerator until needed to complete the potato salad.