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Potato Soup

This was my great-grandmother’s recipe for potato soup. She lived during the great depression, and this recipe is an obvious example of this. This was my first time making this soup, but this is the recipe exactly the way that she had it. It’s incredibly flavorful considering the ingredients and I highly recommend at least trying it. *The original recipe did say to use a 3qt sauce pan and fill it half way with potatoes, but as you can see with my photos, 3 qt wasn’t big enough for me, nearly over flowing when adding the wax beans and my inability to stir it.

  1. In a 4 qt dutch oven or larger, peel and cube potatoes into bite sized pieces. Fill the pan to 1.5 quarts with potatoes, or about 8 cups of potatoes. Slice thinly 1 medium onion or 2 small onions, and add to pot. Cover with water.
  2. Boil until potatoes are done, about 20-30 minutes. Add 1 can of wax beans and juice. Heat to boil. Add 1 can of evaporated milk, then heat, but do not boil. Add 2 Tbsp of salt and 2 Tbsp butter to taste. Remove from heat and serve.
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Mac & Cheese with Kielbasa

Mac & cheese with kielbasa is always one of my favorite treats. I love mac & cheese and this is my favorite version of it. Kielbasa is also a nice protein to have with it since it’s spices are so flavorful and compliment the mac & cheese perfectly.

  1. Cook 1 1/2 cup of macaroni to al dente and drain.
  2. While that is cooking, preheat oven to 375 F. Dice 1 small onion (1/2 cup) and cook in a large frying pan with 4 Tbsp of butter until translucent.
  3. Remove Kielbasa from packaging, remove skin, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces, place into a casserole dish, add 1/4″ of water and set aside.
  4. Once onions are translucent, add 4 Tbsp of flour stir to combine, then add 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat to a slight simmer.
  5. While that is heating, cube one block of sharp cheese (8 oz) by cutting the block in half the short way, then slicing into slices 1/4 inch thick. Once milk is simmering, remove milk from heat and immediately add cheese and start stirring until all cheese is melted.
  6. Place drained macaroni into a 2 quart size or bigger backing/casserole dish. Then pour the hot cheese over top and carefully stir.
  7. Add Kielbasa to oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir. Return to oven for another 15 minutes. Cook with the mac & cheese. Bake your mac & cheese for 30 minutes until the top has begun to brown and is bubbling hot. Serve together.
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Ravioli-Beefaroni

I’ve been making this dish for years. It’s a quick and easy meal that can feed as many as you need. In fact, this is one of the first dishes I made. If a young child (about 12) can make this, anyone can. I’m also not sure who will like or appreciate this recipe, but it’s been done and I’ll certainly make it again when I really don’t want to cook. You can also just use 3 cans of your choice flavors. I usually would do 2 beefaroni and 1 ravioli when I was growing up, but me and my husband eat more than when I was a kid, and we like to have an extra meal or 2 for lunch the next day. 4 cans makes enough for 4 people.

  1. Open 2 cans of ravioli and 2 cans of beefaroni. Use a rubber spatula to scrap cans into a large saucepan. Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes covered stirring occasionally until everything is heated through. Add 2 Tbsp of Parsley and 1 Tbsp of Garlic powder. Stir together then serve.
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Bread Bowls

This was my first time making this recipe and making actual bread. I learned to make the dough more of a ball, and to make less so they can be bigger. Otherwise, the bread is really good and the egg wash makes it absolutely beautiful and crisp on the top. Enjoy!

  1. Prepare 2 packets of yeast with 2 1/2 cups of warm water. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar. Wait 10 minutes for it to bloom.
  2. In a mixer, add yeast mixture, 2 pinches of salt, 2 Tbsp of oil, and 4 cups of flour. Mix. Add an additional 3 cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat until it comes together.
  3. Clean a countertop, turn out dough, and kneed for 6 minutes until dough fully comes together and the dough is smooth. Oil a bowl. Add dough to bowl, cover with a towel, and let double in size in a warm place (about 45 minutes).
  4. Lightly oil 2 sheet pans. Punch down dough, divide into 6 even pieces and form into a ball. Place onto sheet pan, and let double in size in a warm place (about 30 minutes).
  5. Preheat oven to 400 F. Create an egg wash by scrambling an egg, and brush over the doubled dough balls. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove dough, and reapply egg wash. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from pans and place on cooling rack.
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Tuna Salad

Tuna salad is one of those classic recipes that everyone should know, but not everyone makes it the same way. My grandmother and great-grandmother used to make tuna salad the way they did because of the great depression and being so poor. Both had many children they had to feed, and tuna salad was one of the easiest ways to feed a family of 5-7 with very little money. They often made homemade chicken noodle soup to go with it, and it could easy fill their stomachs. I also know I make my tuna salad with more mayo than most, but that is just the easiest way my ancestors had to stretch it to feed such a large family. If you leave some juice with the tuna, it will have a bit more of a fishy flavor, and will make the tuna salad wetter. We also used to strain the tuna and give the juice to our cats when I was growing up; we’ve given some to Newman, but we’ve learned not to do that again!

  1. Open a can of tuna and strain the juice. Transfer into a serving bowl and smash apart with fork. Add 1 tsp of salt and 1 1/2 cup of mayo. Stir until consistent.
  2. Dice 1/3 an onion and/or 1 stalk of celery (1/2 cup each), and add to sandwiches or mix into tuna salad. (Optional)
  3. Spread onto bread or toast and serve as a sandwich, or serve on a salad. Add additional salt to taste.

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