<p>Rhubarb pie is high hurdle. Strawberry rhubarb pie is tolerable.</p>
<p>Agree that couscous is a terrific side dish. I’d love to hear flavoring suggestions. I usually put in parmesan and would like to find something healthier.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you another low brow kitchen staple for me – Campbell’s beef consomme. A little goes a long ways. I like to do the fancy frozen French green beans from TJ’s in just a little bit of the beef consomme and some mushrooms. It’s also great to for cooking rice. </p>
<p>Making your spinach lasagna tonight, wnp. Thanks again for the recipe. </p>
<p>Sewhappy - When you start to put the spinach in you will surely think that I gave you the wrong amount. As you know, spinach cooks down, but every time I make the recipe I am tempted to cut down on the amount. I have, once or twice, but really it is better with the full load!</p>
<p>“Hanna where did you get rhubarb in November?”</p>
<p>I think she had frozen it. It freezes extremely well.</p>
<p>One more Campbell’s soup: the condensed French onion soup makes a terrific glaze/sauce for chicken, pork chops, tofu, whatever you like. The ultra-simple recipe on the label (brown the protein, add soup and a bit of brown sugar, simmer, that’s it) is very good.</p>
<p>Couscous rules. Try the whole wheat couscous if you haven’t before.</p>
<p>Have to try this method for cooking spinach–it so easy.</p>
<p>Re: green bean casserole: </p>
<p>This was a staple of any holiday meal that my MIL (from OH) cooked. One year, I found a gourmet version in one of the foodie magazines and convinced her to make it. IIRC it called for fresh green beans, making your own cream sauce, and toasting the onions, etc. </p>
<p>My MIL said she liked it, but most of the guests took a serving just to be polite. (We had leftovers.) Later, everyone complained that we didn’t serve MIL’s version of the green bean casserole (can of cream of mushroom soup, green beans, etc.) After that, I gave up. People like that green bean casserole.</p>
<p>^^^I did that exact same thing-making the gourmet green bean casserole with fresh green beans. Same thing- everyone was wishing for the classic version instead.</p>
<p>I think it would be fun to try-maybe overcook the beans to get closer to that wonderful “can” texture and stick with the can onion rings. The trick is to gradually improve it!</p>
<p>Fresh or frozen green beans are better than canned IMHO, just steam them till they’re fairly soft. That way you get a creamy casserole without a metallic flavor.</p>
<p>To freeze rhubarb, just cut it into chunks and put it into freezer bags without washing it. It has to be dry. Suck the air out with a straw and freeze. You can also cook it into sauce with a little water and sugar and freeze the sauce – this will keep practically forever.</p>
<p>These last few posts got me thinking–how many of you have recipes from the 50s/60s that you got from your parents or inlaws that would make you smile (because they’re not particularly healthy or trendy) but taste pretty good? Here’s a typical recipe from my late MIL’s collection.</p>
<p>Strawberry Desert
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1 can crushed pineapple (sweetened with juice)
1 can Thank-you pie filling (strawberry)</p>
<p>Open cans and fold in all ingredients. Then fold in large Cool Whip. Freeze and serve.</p>
<p>As a society, I think we’re more conscious of nutrition and recognize that whole, unprocessed foods are more healthful. It’s fascinating to me how food/recipes reflect what’s going in society at a particular time. I’m putting together a cookbook of my late MIL’s recipes that I’ll give to her kids and grandkids for Christmas. As I was going through her recipe collection to choose those for the book, I was struck by how much she was affected by the I Hate to Cook Cookbook and how many convenience/prepared foods she used in recipes. She never really changed her way of cooking, even after trends changed. That being said–she lived to be 83 and died of COPD. (She smoked!). Never had cancer or diabetes. Took medication for HBP, but wasn’t overweight.</p>
<p>1 Bag Morningstar Crumbles
1 Large Can Vegetarian Baked Beans
2 cans diced Tomatoes (your choice, Del Monte has interesting versions)
1 Bag Frozen cooked onions & peppers, diced
Chili powder & other seasonings to your taste </p>
<p>Simmer in a large, covered deep skillet on the stove. </p>
<p>Sometimes I add some Pizza Sauce if I feel it isn’t “Saucy” enough. </p>
<p>It is a recipe I made up for one of my vegetarian kids & everything is in freezer or cupboard & is easy to throw together.</p>
<p>Browse through these Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974 and the hilarious commentary. Careful reading these at work if you’ve never seem them before; may cause choking laughter.</p>
<p>Hanna–those WW recipe cards are priceless! I’m going to post that link in an email to a few friends. I was drinking tea while reading and almost chocked when I got to the celery log and the drink with skim milk and orange pulp!! Love it. </p>
<p>Shaslik is the Russian word for shish kabob–meat on a skewer. The shish kabob in the photo looks gross–like burnt logs.</p>
<p>Bromfield, I like the looks of that frozen strawberry dessert. Just a few ingredients, easily assembled and no doubt very tasty.</p>
<p>My mom would make a cherry cheesecake recipe with graham cracker crust. It was made with philadelphia cream cheese and cherry pie filling. It was from the 70s. I would love to make that one again.</p>
<p>People were lots thinner in our parents generation. They ate high calorie stuff but not so much of it. Sometimes I think that I eat overall less when I allow myself some of the bad stuff – sugar and butter, to name a few.</p>