Old Family Recipes

Old family recipes are the best. They are the recipes that are handed down to us and we in turn hand them down to the next generation. They are remembered and used over and over again. This is because not only are they delicious, but they usually hold happy memories.

Many may remember as a young child helping their mothers and/or grandmothers prepare old family recipes. Usually these recipes were time consuming since everything was made from scratch. And the recipes usually were not written down anywhere.

Sometimes the actual quantities of the ingredients used were very vague. I remember always asking, "How much should I put in?", and getting a reply like "Oh just sprinkle some on."

The recipes below are three of my old family recipes, written from memory.

Scalloped Potatoes

About 6 Potatoes
About ¼ cup diced onions
About 4 tablespoons flour
About ¼ cup butter
About 2 ½ cups milk

Cut potatoes into thin slices. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle about one tablespoon onions and one tablespoon flour on top of the potatoes. Add about one tablespoon butter on top. Place another layer of potatoes on top. Then the onions, flour and butter. Continue layering all these ingredients, ending with butter on top. Pour milk over all ingredients. Cover and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Carefully mix it up a little, but try not to break up the potato slices. Cover and bake another 15 minutes. Then uncover and bake another 60 minutes until potatoes are done.

Beef Goulash

About 2 pounds beef round, but into small cubes
About ½ cup shortening or oil
About 1 cup onion, diced
About ½ cup celery, diced
About 1 clove garlic, minced
About ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
About 1 can tomato paste
About 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
About 1½ cups water
Salt and Pepper
About 3 tablespoons flour
About ½ cup water

In a large skillet or frying pan, cook onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms until tender. Remove from pan. Cook beef in pan until brown. Add onions, celery and mushrooms to the beef. Add tomato paste, 1 ½ cups water, salt and pepper and mix together. Cover and let simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Mix together flour and ½ cups water. Add to beef mixture, stirring well. Cook uncovered for about another 15 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice.

Rice Pudding

About 1 ½ cooked rice
About ½ cup sugar
About 3 eggs, beaten
About 1 teaspoon vanilla
About ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
About 2 cups milk
About ½ raisins

Mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Add milk and mix together. Stir in the rice and raisins. Pour the mixture into an ungreased two quart casserole dish. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes at 350 degrees. Liquid should be absorbed. If not, add a little more rice and cook about ten minutes longer.