When Suzan Colón, author of Cherries in Winter, was laid off from her dream job at a magazine during the economic downturn of 2008, she turned to her grandmother’s recipes. Reading them, Suzan realized she had found something more than a collection of delicious dishes—she had found the key to her family’s survival through hard times.
What is your secret to finding hope in hard times?
Share a family recipe and explain how it came to the rescue for you and your loved ones. The grand prize winner will receive 1) a signed edition of Cherries in Winter: an inspirational gem of a book about three generations of women who find solace in the comfort of their kitchens when hard times hit. It’s Tender at the Bone meets Tuesdays With Morrie and 2) a freshly baked batch of cookies made by the author herself!
Five runner-ups will receive a copy of Cherries In Winter.
To enter, simply post your family recipe and explanation below as a comment.
The Cherries in Winter Sweepstakes begins October 30, 2009, and final submissions are due by 11:59 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) on December 1, 2009.
View the official rules and regulations. And for more on Suzan and the book visit: www.cherriesinwinter.com.
Happy cooking!
My mother invented something we call “Camper’s Delight” (while camping, natch.) You brown any kind of ground meat, and add a can of cheddar cheese soup and heat. Serve over buns or bread. It’s cheap to make but is very satisfying and filling, and tastes expensive, like a liquid cheeseburger. It’s particularly good when it’s cold out…
My mom raised 4 kids on a shoestring with tricks like this, and now I’m teaching them to my kid.
My family has started getting bigger, kids growing up and families branching out. The only time we ever really get together anymore is Thanksgiving (Christmas everyone spends with their individual families now). So, when my family actually gets together, it tends to be a bit crazy and loud. Thr growing boys, men with their beer bellies, and girls home from college are all hungry and looking for a nice big meal. My second cousin is very crafty and found a recipe that everyone (which is a huge feat) likes to eat. It’s called Pumpkin Roll. It’s basically a pumpkin bread mixture baked on a thin cookie sheet. Then, once it’s cool, you spread a cream cheese mixture on it, and roll it up (so the cream inside the dessert). It will look like a cinnamon roll laying on it’s side. And, if you want, you can roll the outer layer in chopped nuts. [You can find the recipe just about everywhere online.]
my family recipe is very easy and i remember my grandmother making this when i was like 5 . we call it red soup and it is just 1 1/2 cups elbow or other pasta cooked as directed, drained. add 1 8ounce can of tomato sauce and then fill the tomato sauce can with water 2 1/4 times. bring to near boil ,add 1 t butter season with salt , pepper, 2T lemon juice.we make it even when we have money its that good
The women in my family, sadly, are not chefs of any kind. The most my grandmother made when I visited was sandwiches and my mom stuck to dinnertime fare such as frozen food, hot dogs and the like. My dad, luckily, loved to cook and imparted some of that love to me (and I in turn am trying to impart that wisdom to my son). Something the three of us could make together, however, was green pea soup. Basically just dice up an onion, a few carrots, and a few celery stalks and put it in a crock pot (set on low) with two cartons stock (chicken, vegetable or whatever is on sale), a few bay leaves, some sort of meat for flavoring (ham hock, ham cubes, sausage, whatever you have on hand) and two packages dried green peas. Cook until the whole pot mushes together or you cannot wait to eat anymore! The conversations and bonding we had over preparing this soup is priceless, especially now that my grandmother is no longer alive. Just make sure to turn the crock pot on…we made the mistake of not turning it on once, but the laughter was enough to get us through until the pizza man arrived!
When I was growing up, anytime there was a big fight in the family I would go hide in a bedroom and play by myself (I was the only girl cousin). The only way to get me to come out was for one of my aunts to cook the famous family banana bread. As soon as I spell it cooking, I can’t help but feel better and run to the kitchen. To this day, when my husband upsets me, I will come home from work to find a fresh pan of banana bread in the oven. Here is the recipe that has been handed down through the McDonald Family.
½ C. Butter
½ C. oil
4 eggs, beaten
2 t cinnamon
2 t allspice
2 ½ C sugar
3 C sifted plain flour
2 t baking soda
1 t. salt
(You can use Self rising flour instead of the three ingredients above)
1 ½ C pecans, chopped
6 medium over ripe bananas, mashed
Cream butter, oil and sugar. Add eggs, beaten well and chopped nuts. Add all dry ingredients. Add mashed bananas. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour in either 1 tube pan (bundt pan) or two loaf pans. When toothpick stuck in center comes out clean, it is done. Don’t overcook. Should still be very moist.
Here’s the thing. My dad doesn’t cook a whole hell of a lot these days. But there was a decade a long while back, between my mother’s death and his remarriage, when, yeah, he cooked his Polish doopa off–to keep me and my brother alive and growing on schedule. And a few of his recipes remain the never-fail kind, especially this one: Bob’s (”preferably Polish”) Kielbasa & Kraut. Family and friends still request it for parties. And when I got married last year, my husband made a special request for it to be served at our wedding celebration. The tastiest and most life-giving example of love we could think to give back to Dad. “Bwah, it’s easy!” says Dad. Yeah, when comfort is key, easy is good. Easy is definitely good.
1 ring of smoked kielbasa (”Preferably Polish.”)
1 ring of fresh kielbasa (”Preferably Polish.”)
1-2 cans sour kraut
2 onions
1 can cream of celery or mushroom soup
pieces of fried bacon (”If you want to build up your cholesterol.”)
Strain sour kraut and rinse. Pre-cook fresh kielbasa. Halve onions then quarter those halves. Simmer onions in juice from fresh kielbasa until soft. Add kraut and start to mix with onions. Add cream of celery or mushroom soup and stir. Cut kielbasa to about 1-inch lengths and add to sour kraut. Hear for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put on low heat and serve.
pour a jar of chili sauce and a jar of red currant jelly over mini meatballs heat & serve it can economically feed a crowd & people love it..thx for contest..
We loved my mom’s version of spaghetti. Her sauce wasn’t thick…may not have even looked like spaghetti sauce…but the taste! Even after all these years, I haven’t been able to get it like hers.
)
She would brown ground beef, add thinly sliced carrots, small can of tomatoes, marjoram, parsley, salt, pepper, half a piece of Knorr bouillon…and a tbsp of tomato paste or ketchup (whatever she had at the time) and a cup or so of water. Let it cook for 1/2 an hour, then mix in the pot of cooked and drained spaghetti.
Simple…cheap.
When in doubt, make spaghetti.
My husband lost his job at Christmas last year and is still out of work. The last few months have been quite stressful and we have been trying to be very frugal.
Luckily we were blessed with an abundant crop of apples this summer-fall. We’ve been eating them fresh, in cobblers, muffins, drying them and even handing them out to the Trick-or-Treaters.
This is one of our families favorite recipes:
Caramel Apple Butter
Fill a large crock pot to the rim with peeled, cored and finely chopped apples.
Stir in 4 cups sugar, 2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. ground cloves and 1/4 t. salt.
Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
Turn heat to low and cook for an additional 9 to 11 hours stirring occassionally.
Add 25 (unwrapped) caramels and cook for 1 hour more (uncovered)
Pour into sterilized containers.
Refrigerate and/or freeze
This is delicious on toast, pancakes, waffles, french toast, as an ice cream topping on gingerbread, etc.
Since gift giving as either had to stop or come to being something home-made (from the heart), I have been giving a jar of my Apple Caramel Butter and a loaf of banana bread or french bread.
When funds and spirits are both low, we often put together fabulous desserts with whatever ingredients we have on hand. This fruit crisp has become our favorite!
Recipe: Easy Apple-Berry Crisp
BY: Virginia C
Ingredients:
1 can apple pie filling
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce*
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal
Preparation/Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10″ x 13″ baking pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine fruit. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, sugar and oatmeal (mixture will be crumbly). Spread fruit mixture evenly in prepared pan. Sprinkle oatmeal topping evenly over fruit. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp (do not over bake). Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream. Can be served cold. *Can substitute one can cherry pie filling for cranberry sauce.
We call this recipe “Candy Cookies” and to us, it’s the smell of Christmas. My mom got the recipe from her best friend in the 1950s and we’ve been making them ever since. Some people call them “no-bake cookies” they’re basically peanut butter fudge with quick-cooking oatmeal stirred in at the last minute. Mix in saucepan: 2 cups sugar, 1 stick butter, 3 heaping Tbl cocoa, 1/2 cup milk. Bring to rolling boil, boil 2 minutes. Turn off heat, then quickly stir in 1/2 cup peanut butter 3-4 cups quick oats (3-minute, not instant), 1/2-1 cup chopped nuts, and 1 heaping tsp vanilla. Stir until you can’t see any white oatmeal, then drop or pour onto foil, parchment, waxed paper, or marble. Break apart when cool. YUM.
We were a family with seven kids,my Mama was a really good basic cook(all we could afford)she cooked dried beans at least twice a week,we all still love them,she’s wash beans,get the beat up old beanpot out,add beans,a hunk of fat back ,water and cook usually part of the day,add water as needed and salt. Everyone loved her big fat biscuits,pinto’s and onions sliced. My parents did really good by us.hard working, .honest and well loved. We didn’t know we were poor,but about everyone we knew lived the same.
MY recipe has sentimental value as well as a tradition. My mother used to prepare this wonderful recipe during special family dinners. I cherish the time spent as a family and know that this is due to the influence of my mother and her warmth and kindness to all. Raised as a child of the depression she was generous, independent and selfless and a frugal individual throughout her life. I try to emulate these wonderful traits.
Pasta Primavera
2 medium zucchini cut into thin strips
2 yellow squash cut into thin strips
1 yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/4 c. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
1 pound bowtie pasta
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until vegetable begin to brown for about 20 minutes.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, for about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixture in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.
My little daughter loves pumpkin pie, so I make it at Thanksgiving but have never been a fan myself. One year after Halloween I thought-why not try using real pumpkin? I looked it up on the net, and it’s real easy. You just cut and peel pieces of the shell and boil them like potatoes, then mash for you pie pulp. It is so, so much better and now my baby gets pies all the time!
One of my mother’s simple but delicious meal was chuck steak cut up and cooked with onions, when done,add a can of tomato sauce, a
can of green beans and a cup of water. Also add salt and pepper.
I use my crock pot so much during this time of year
OLD FAMILY RECIPE FOR SAUSAGE STUFFING
1 lb. bulk sausage
1 lb. cold mashed potatoes
1 grated onion
1 beaten egg
1 TB. grated nutmeg
6-8 slices of grated bread
Mix all ingredients together and place in greased baking dish. Bake at 350 for abt. 1 hr.
This recipe was in my mother’s family for years and was a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition. When my grandmother had to go to a nursing home my mother took over the tradition. When my mother developed cancer and passed away on Christmas Day I have been carrying on the tradition.
Here’s my family recipe. It’s a zucchini egg drop soup.
Slice zucchini in circles. Add a few half circles of onions. Fill the pot with water. Salt and pepper to taste. When zucchini and onions are tender, add an egg you beat into the pot. It’s a Kind of egg drop and zucchini soup. You can change it according to what’s available, peas, etc. It’s a life saver and feeds lots of people.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
Whenever I was growing up, my mom’s lasagna was a special treat. She tended to make quick and simple recipes most of the time, so it was something special to come home and smell her lasagna baking. I always asked for lasagna for my birthday. Whenever someone in the family was having a bad day, they got mom’s lasagna then too. To this day, lasagna is (in my mind) the ultimate in comfort food. I make mom’s lasagna whenever someone needs a pick-me-up.
Mom’s Lasagna
1 box lasagna noodles
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbs parsley
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 pound ground beef
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile brown ground beef along with the onions and garlic. Drain grease. Add tomato paste, water, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer. In a medium sized bowl, mix cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan, and parsley. Drain lasagna noodles. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, layer noodles, half the mozzarella, noodles, the cottage cheese mixture, noodles, remaining mozzarella, noodles, and sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
I grew up very poor, and one of the things thaty I learned to do at a very young was t BAKE. My mom used to say that I really stretched the food dollar with my (almost daily) baking. What I have now is a composition notebook full of recipes that I have collected over the years with titles such as “no-egg Chocolate cake”, “no-oil…”, etc, -and workable substitutions. -recipes that I can flip thru and usually find something yummy to make even if i am short on ingredients. Everyone’s favorite, simple, sweet and versatile:
No-Bakes.
Bring to boil, for 1 minute: 2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup milk. Remove from heat & add: 1/2 Peanut butter, 1/4 cup cocoa, 2 cups oatmeal. drop & cool.
—-I have made these w/ out cocoa, or using margarine vs butter, all types of dry cereals (instead of Oats) and even w/ water instead of milk!
An old standby when times were lean is hamburger gravy. Simply brown ground beef with chopped onions, add flour and water to make grave and serve over potatoes, rice or even just bread. Cheap and filling and it even tastes good.
My dad used to make this recipe and I still like it. I don’t have a name for it but it goes like this:
1 Can of Light Kidney Beans
6 Slices of Bacon, diced and fried up crisp.
2 tbsps. of vinegar or to taste.
salt and pepper to taste.
Put the kidney beans in a medium frying pan. Fry the bacon and drain most of the grease, but leave a little for flavor. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper. Simmer for ten minutes.
It would have to be chicken, potatoes and dumplings. It’s something that always makes everyone feel better. I make it a point to make a big stockpot full when everyone is sick.