Grandma LaVetta Bushman's Tortilla Soup

My grandma submitted this recipe to her Mesa, AZ Westwood Ward cookbook.  I typed it exactly as written. The one thing that didn't seem quite right in the recipe, was it said to fry the tortillas, then put it in the pan and add all the other ingredients.  I did this, and the fried tortillas became mushy in the soup.  I don't know that my grandmother intended this.  Why fry it to have it be all mushy later?  I wish it was a little more clear.  So, next time I make this, I will fry the tortillas and put them as a garnish on top of the soup.  The picture I took is with the tortillas all mushy in the soup.  It still tasted good, but didn't have the best texture.  Despite this, it was nice to think of my grandma, and wished she were here to show me how she really makes it. 

LaVetta's Tortilla Soup

1 pkg. corn tortillas
1 onion
1 can green chilli
1 large can of tomatoes
1 qt. milk
3/4 lb. Mexican Cheese

"Break up tortillas; fry in shortening.  Saute onions.  Place tortillas in pan; add other ingredients.  Heat slowly to boiling point.  Do not boil.  Salt and pepper to taste." -LaVetta Bushman

p.s. I added corn to the recipe to give it a little more texture. -Krisi Summers

Mildred's Raised Cornmeal Rolls

This is my Grandma Church's typed up recipe of her raised cornmeal rolls.  I went ahead and made cinnamon rolls with the rest of the dough.

Watch your rolls.  I found 15 minutes was too long, and made the bottoms too brown.  Depending on your oven, cook them for 10-15 minutes.

It was fun to try a different variety of rolls made with cornmeal.  I found them very tasty with a slightly different texture than the typical roll.  There is no frosting on these cinnamon rolls, but they were tasty without.

Mom's 5 Hour Stew

My mom gave me this recipe when I first went to college.  I was just learning how to cook, and this was an easy recipe that I could throw in the crockpot and cook while I was at school.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. Stew Meat
4 carrots chopped or sliced (or you can put baby carrots in without peeling or chopping)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 package Dry Onion Soup
6 Potatoes peeled and cubed
1/2 cup celery chopped
3/4 can water

Place all ingredients into crockpot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

This is an easy meal that my family loves!

Grandma's Mulligan Hash

My dad remembers his mom making this simple, yet filling recipe for their family of 4 boys and 4 girls.  The recipe was never written down, and so this recipe was based off my my dad's recollection.

I love this picture of my Grandma Church in the kitchen.
I wish I remembered her!  She passed away in 1979 when I was only one.

Grandma's Mulligan Hash

Ingredients:
3 Large Potatoes
3 Medium Carrots
1 lb Ground beef
1 small onion
Salt and Pepper
Other seasons of choice
1/4-1/2 cup Milk
2 TBS Butter

Chop and boil the potatoes and carrots in two separate pots.  When softened, drain and combine in one pot.  Mash them together and add milk and butter to make them somewhat creamy--like the consistency of mashed potatoes. Meanwhile, brown ground beef with onion.  Add seasonings to your liking.  When finished, mix the ground beef with the mashed carrots and potatoes.

That's it!  It tastes best with ketchup.  My dad recalls eating it with relish too.

This is probably chunkier than my grandma made it--but I like chunks.  When my 5 year old son saw this, he thought it looked gross.  But when I told him his Grandpa Church used to eat this growing up, then he was excited to try it.  It was a hit, and he loved eating it with ketchup!

Even my baby girl loved it and she enjoyed eating it all by herself!

Simple, old family recipe, but kid/baby approved!

Aloha Banana Bread

This recipe came from my Great Grandmother: Leah Bennett Christensen.  I recall only meeting her once when I was 11 years old.  She was 99 and in her last days.  I wish I could have known her better. She was a remarkable woman.  I felt a little bit of a connection with her as I made her Aloha Banana Bread Recipe.

Grandma Christensen’s Aloha Banana Bread

2 C. of flour

1 tsp. soda

½ tsp. salt

1 C. sugar

½ C. margarine or butter

2 eggs

½ C. milk or o.j.

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. almond extract

1 C. mashed banana’s

1 tsp. orange zest

1 C. coconut-shredded (opt.)

½ C. nuts

Mix dry ingredients together. Add margarine, eggs, milk, flavorings and mashed bananas together. Mix well. Add orange zest, coconut, and nuts. Pour into well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until done.

Yields 1 loaf

Note: This can yield 2 loaves.  As seen in my picture, I made two loaves that were just a little thinner.  These only took 40-45 minutes to cook.

Mom's Refried Beans

When I asked my siblings which of our mom's food they loved growing up, my sister Stephanie said, "Mom's refried beans".  So, I asked my mom how she makes her refried beans so delicious.  She used to make them from scratch by soaking the pinto beans then cooking them all day till they were soft, but now she simply buys refried beans at the store and adds a few simple ingredients.

So, if you want to make her beans the quick way here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cans of refried beans
1/2 small onion
2 TBS butter
1/2 cup cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Finely chop and sauté the onion in the butter

-Meanwhile, open refried bean cans and empty into a pot.  Heat on medium-low.

-When onions are translucent, transfer them to the refried beans.

-Mix in 1/2 cup cheese.

-Mash with a potato masher to mix and thicken the beans, cheese and onions.
-Add salt and pepper to taste.

-Let the beans simmer till they are slightly bubbling.

-Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle some cheese on top.

You can add more or less onion and cheese depending on your desired taste.

I tried cooking the onion in olive oil rather than butter, and I slightly tasted the oil in the beans and didn't like it as much. Sautéing the onion in butter definitely tastes better!

This is great as a side to any Mexican dish or you can eat this as a yummy dip!  Enjoy!

Mildred's Mustard Pickle & Pickled Beets

My Grandma Mildred Church used to make this mustard pickle recipe that was probably passed down from her mother.  My parents made this and shared it with me.  It is good to eat as a relish on hotdogs or with meats like roast.

Mustard Pickle

Prepare vegetables the night before, sprinkle salt over them. In morning drain, put cucumbers on stove and cover with weak vinegar (2 C. water to 1 C. vinegar) and heat. Drain and mix with onions (pearl or cut regular onions) and cauliflower (be sure not to scorch when on stove).

Dressing:

1 ½ jars prepared mustard (9 oz.) Libby or French

1 TB Turmeric

2 TB dry mustard

4 cups sugar

Mix with weakened vinegar (1 cup to 2 cups water)

Pour over pickles, let boil, then thicken slightly with 1 TB cornstarch mixed in a little water – then bottle. Makes about 11 pints.

Pickled Beets

This is my Grandma Church's pickled beets recipe that was probably passed down from her mother. My parents made this from beets they grew last year.  They are delicious!

2 cups vinegar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 cups water

1/2 cup white sugar  

Cook beets until soft, peel.  Heat syrup, add beets and cook 4 minutes.  Bottle and seal (twice recipe enough for 6 quarts).