Make an Entire Meal Using Old-fashion Recipes From My Vintage Recipe Collection

Feeling nostalgic or just wanting to enjoy an old-fashion meal?  Following are recipes to help you create an entire meal like grandma used to make.  All these recipes are from my vintage recipe collection.  Start with a chicken casserole, add baked orange-pecan sweet potatoes, iceberg lettuce and tomato salad with Mason Jar French Dressing, and enjoy an old Southern Indiana favorite, Applesauce Cake, for dessert.

This chicken casserole recipe is from a 1975 magazine called THE WORKBASKET. The Workbasket was a small magazine that was chocked full of recipes, knitting and crocheting instructions. Many a rural housewife waited anxiously for the local mailman to drop her monthly edition into her mailbox.

CHICKEN CASSEROLE

2 cups diced cooked chicken

2 cups diced celery

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp chopped onion

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp monosodium glutamate, optional

1/2 cup grated cheese

1 cup crushed potato chips

In greased 2-qt casserole, combine ingredients, topping mixture with cheese and chips. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until bubbly.

ORANGE PECAN SWEET POTATOES

A recipe from the ARGO Cornstarch folks.

3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp Argo Corn Starch

1 cup orange juice

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Spray a 3 quart (13 x 9-in) baking dish with cooking spray. Add sweet potatoes and pecans to dish. Combine brown sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan. Gradually add orange juice, whisking to blend. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Pour over sweet potatoes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until edges are browned and bubbly.

ICEBERG LETTUCE AND TOMATO SALAD WITH MASON JAR FRENCH DRESSING

1 head lettuce, broken into bite-size pieces

2 tomatoes, quartered

FRENCH MASON JAR DRESSING

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp prepared mustard

1 small finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp celery seed

Beat all ingredients together and store in a covered jar in the refrigerator. Makes 3/4 quart.

APPLESAUCE CAKE

This is another good old family recipe from Southern Indiana.

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening or oleo

1 egg

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup nuts, optional

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together except raisins and nuts. Blend with electric mixer until well blended. Add raisins and nuts.  Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan and bake in a 375 degree oven approximately 45 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!