Grandma Holmes's Caramel Cookie Bars

When I posted on Grandma Holmes's chocolate pie, MDS's sister Stephanie and cousin Chrissy immediately asked for information about Grandma Holmes's chocolate caramel bars. Luckily, Patti had the recipe, so now we can all enjoy these amazing bars. Now I understand why they inspire such devotion. If these bars were part of a Christmas cookie plate delivered to me, I would eat them first, especially to make sure that I got some before others dove in.

The recipe that Patti sent me calls for the use of a 9" x 13" pan. But I found that the recipe worked better with a 9" x 9" pan. For the caramels, I used a 9 ounce bag. It did take some time for the caramels to melt, but once they do melt, watch the caramels closely and stir frequently to avoid burning the caramel mixture.

Grandma Holmes's Caramel Cookie Bars 

• 32 light caramels 
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk 

Melt together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often. This will take 15 - 20 minutes. While caramels melt, make the crust:

• 1 cup flour 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• Dash of salt 
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda 
• 3/4 cup rolled oats 
• 3/4 cup butter 
• 6 oz. chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until coarse and crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of oatmeal mixture for topping. Press the rest into a greased 9" x 9" pan. Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle on 6 oz. chocolate chips. Spread on the caramel mixture. Sprinkle on the remaining oatmeal mixture. Put pan back in oven for 20 minutes. Refrigerate 2 hours before cutting into bars. Enjoy!

Grandma Holmes's Lemon Squares

Lemon squares are a special treat, but so easy to make. And, although I have already made my Mom's version, here is Grandma Holmes's version. MDS has fond memories of his Grandma making and including these in her Christmas cookie plates. He especially likes how sweet these lemon squares are. From what I hear about Grandma Holmes, I am not surprised that these squares are especially sweet.

These Lemon Squares are particularly delicious and could be enjoyed any time of the year. It seems that these are commonly included on Christmas cookie plates as my Mom and Grandma Holmes included them on their plates, but don't save the Lemon Squares just for Christmastime; enjoy them anytime of year.

Lemon Squares

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together 2 cups flour, butter and powdered sugar. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Beat in 1/4 cup flour and baking powder. Pour mixture over crust. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. Loosen the edges with a knife. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!

Hamburger Casserole

This casserole recipe is very easy and makes a good-sized meal for a large family or lots of leftovers for a small family. In my case as a kid, Mom would make hamburger casserole to feed all seven of us. Now that it's just me and MDS, such a big meal would mean several days of leftovers.

While I like leftovers, after a few days, the same dinner over and over can lose its appeal. Luckily, our good friend Kal happened to stop by for dinner and happily enjoyed some of the leftovers with us. I recommend reheating this casserole in the oven, and, for that matter, it can easily be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Many casseroles, like this one, are comfort foods. This one is fairly straightforward in terms of ingredients used and directions. In my opinion, the bread crumb topping is essential to give the casserole a contrasting crunchy topping. The next time that I make this casserole, I might even consider adding parsley to the topping.

Hamburger Casserole 

• 1 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup medium egg noodles, cooked
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Lightly brown the ground beef. Add in the onions and cook until tender, but not brown. Add in the soups, sour cream, and pepper. Mix well. Stir in the egg noodles. Pour the mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the butter and bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the casserole. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Rolls

Six years ago, in October 2007, MDS and I traveled to West Virginia to meet the PFT family. While in Clarksburg and Morgantown, we were treated to good company and excellent food. We had an amazing dinner at Julio's in Clarksburg. Then, we spent a beautiful Saturday in Morgantown watching the Mountaineers beat Mississippi State.

Tailgating at West Virginia University is unique. Having spent my undergraduate years at Illinois during a bleak time for its football program, I was not prepared for the WVU experience. In Morgantown, tailgating is a full day and night experience and may or may not include burning couches. And, most surprising to me, tailgating is even done during halftime. Yes, many fans leave the stadium during halftime to head to their tailgating location before returning inside for the second half. I am not sure that I had ever been to a sporting event with in and out privileges.

It was during this day of tailgating that I was introduced the the West Virginia delicacy: the pepperoni roll. The classic West Virginia version of sticks of pepperoni surrounded by soft bread could not be simpler. Just wrap a few sticks of pepperoni in bread dough and bake. But, in this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While baking, the fat from the pepperoni seeps into the bread; thus, turning bread and pepperoni into a pepperoni roll. The classic recipe calls for soft white bread to be formed into about a five-inch roll around the sticks of pepperoni. But, there are variations. For example, other types of bread could be used. I have made pepperoni rolls with semolina dough. If you are in a hurry, you could use refrigerated pizza dough or cans of crescent roll dough. At Freddy's in Cicero, Illinois, they make a pepperoni roll using a crusty bread. As for pepperoni, pre-sliced pepperoni also works well. Some folks add cheese. The size of the roll could be smaller, or larger, if you want. The origin of the pepperoni roll, much like the pasty, is in the need for coal miners to have an easy to eat lunch. Because the pepperoni roll is such an easy to take along and eat meal, it makes a for a great tailgate food.

Pepperoni Rolls

• Dough
• 8 ounces pepperoni

Prepare bread dough according to recipe until the point of forming the dough into the final shape. Divide the dough into small fist-shaped balls. Mom's bread recipe will yield about 8-10 rolls. Roll out the dough into a five inch circle until about a quarter to a half inch thick. Place pepperoni into the center and roll the dough around the pepperoni. Place the rolls, seam side down, onto a greased baking sheet. Allow the rolls to rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the rolls for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bread is done. Enjoy!

Mushroom Steak

Here is another easy meal from Mom's recipe box. It might take a little too long to make on a weeknight, but it is delicious and filling. The ingredients are few and easy to come by. I bet this meal would be good using chicken instead of steak, but that is a test for another night.

For this dinner, I used egg noodles, but other types of noodles or rice could be nice. This recipe is a simpler variation of beef stroganoff, which is why I like egg noodles with it. Of the two recipes, I prefer the beef stroganoff, which uses fresh mushrooms. But when fresh mushrooms are not readily available, this recipe will do.

Mushroom Steak

• 1/4 cup flour
• dash of pepper to taste
• 1.5 pounds round steak
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 soup can of water
• cooked noodles or rice

Cut the steak into inch cubes. Combine flour and pepper, then pound into steak with a meat hammer or edge of a heavy saucer. In a large skillet, melt the butter, then brown the steak on all sides. Add the soup and water. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Patti's Meat Pie Pasties

MDS remembers his Mom making these Pasties when he was a kid. So, of course, I asked Patti for the recipe, which she gladly shared. Patti also provided some background information. The pasties are large hand pies and are often called "Cornish Pasties" because they were introduced in this country by the coal miners who emigrated here from Cornwall, England, to work in the mines of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Supposedly the wives would make the pasties in the early morning and the men would carry them tucked inside their shirts when they went to work in the cold weather. The pasty would keep the man warm, at least for a little while, and then the man's body heat would keep the pasty from freezing before lunchtime.

Patti's recipe differs from the traditional one in a couple of ways. The original calls for round steak cut into cubes, rather than ground. Patti thought that meat would be too tough, so she went with ground round. Patti's recipe leaves out rutabaga because the kids would not eat rutabaga. I can't help but wonder if they would even notice the rutabaga. Next time that I make these, I might try to sneak in some rutabaga.

Warning: Pasties are the type of food that retain heat, so Patti advises to have them out of the oven for about half an hour before dinner. You can really burn your mouth on these things if you don't let them cool for a while.

The recipe calls for pre-cooking the potato, but not the onion or carrot. Patti thinks that a step could be saved by using raw potato. But neither she nor I wanted to risk having the potatoes still crunchy in the finished product, so the hypothesis is untested. The carrot and onion get perfectly soft without pre-cooking. Patti remembers the family would love ketchup on pasties. MDS even vaguely remembers using ketchup. But maybe the ketchup is just for kids, because the pasties were delicious without ketchup.

Patti's Meat Pie Pasties

Crust:

• 2 cups flour 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 3/4 cup butter 
• 5 to 6 Tbsp ice water 

Filling:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef 
• 4 small carrots, finely diced 
• 1 medium onion, finely diced 
• 4 small potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped 
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 1/4 tsp. pepper 

Make crust: Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in the butter. Add water as needed. Use a pastry cutter to blend until the dough forms. Divide dough into four equal balls and chill for at least one hour.

Make filling: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Place 1/4 of filling on one side of the circle, shaped into an oval mound. Fold over the other side of the dough to form a turnover. Seal the edges and press with the tines of a fork. Poke a few steam holes into each pasty with the fork. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. If desired, brush with melted butter or egg wash. Allow about 30 minutes to cool. Enjoy!

John's Pasta Salad

A number of years ago, John first made this pasta salad for a family get-together, probably a Memorial Day or Labor Day party. Since that time, others in the family have made this recipe, each adding their own favorite add-ins. Laura likes to add garbanzo beans. The great thing about this recipe is that once you make the basic recipe, you can easily add in any combination of vegetables, cheese, meats, etc. As Laura says, it is a great recipe for using up any veggies that you have sitting around.

Now this recipe will feed a crowd, but could easily be reduced to feed fewer than a crowd. The key ratio for the sour cream to mayo is 1:1. John prefers to use more mayo and sour cream, but it is entirely up to your taste. Other than balancing the sour cream to mayo, the amount of other ingredients is entirely up to you. When I made this recipe, I used everything listed below.

John's Pasta Salad

• 1 16 ounce bag or box of pasta (elbow or rotini work best)
• 1-1/2 cup mayo
• 1-1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 packets dry Italian dressing
• 2-6 cups chopped veggies, such as cucumber, carrot, tomato, celery, etc.

Optional add-ins, to taste:

• Cheese, cubed 
• Diced ham or salami (or other meat)
• Black Olives, sliced
• Can of Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 
• Bottled Italian Dressing, to taste

Cook the pasta. Cool the pasta. Mix the mayo and sour cream with dry Italian. Add the mixture to the pasta. Add cheese, meat and veggies. Stir in. Depending on the veggies, more sour cream and mayo (using a 1:1 ration) may be mixed in. If it is too dry, add some bottled Italian dressing. Chill for several hours. Enjoy!