When I picture the Halloween of yesteryear, popcorn balls and apple bobbing figure prominently. I must confess, I only have made popcorn balls once…for a high school bake sale. Now that I think about it, I wonder why. I liked them. They were easy, quick, thrifty and very popular. So, if you need a last minute treat for visiting ghosts and ghoulies, give them a try. This is a very basic, very retro, except for the Pam instead of butter, Karo syrup recipe. You can add anything you might add to a rice Krispy treat to a popcorn ball…m and ms, gummy worms, etc.
Popcorn Balls
12 popcorn balls
3 quarts (12 cups) popped popcorn
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Karo Corn Syrup with real Brown Sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Spray large roasting pan with cooking spray; add popcorn and place in 300ºF oven until warm.
Combine sugar, Karo, butter and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Continue stirring and boil 2 minutes.
Remove syrup mixture from heat; stir in vanilla and baking soda. Pour syrup mixture over warm popcorn stirring to coat well. Cover hands with two plastic bags, spray bags lightly with cooking spray. Working quickly shape twelve 3-inch popcorn balls.
Cool completely. Wrap individually in plastic wrap.
What do you picture at an old-fashioned Halloween Party?
Just the thing for a hairy, scary Halloween beverage…or to perk up your morning any day of the year, from the Mary Meade Magic Recipes (yes, I know I am stuck on it lately, but I love the name AND the recipes). I tend to skip the simmering with today’s moister coconut, but if you buy organic or your coconut is a bit dry, definitely simmer.
Orange Coconut Flip
Simmer for 10 minutes, covered
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
3 cups water
Cool, strain and add
1 can frozen orange juice
1 cup cracked ice
Blend about 15 seconds. Pour over more cracked ice in tall glasses.
This meatloaf may well be your mother’s meat loaf. The original recipe lived for years on the cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce that she bought. It has a slightly sweet glaze topping that adds a bit of interest to an otherwise boring retro recipe. I suppose I really mean adds interest to a very basic meatloaf recipe!
Dutch Meat Loaf
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 medium onion, chopped
1 8 oz can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 egg
11/2 tsps salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup water
2 tbs brown sugar, packed
2 tbs prepared mustard
1 tbs vinegar
In a medium bowl, lightly mix beef, bread crumbs, onion, 1/2 can tomato sauce, egg, salt and pepper. Shape into a loaf in shallow baking pan. Combine remaining tomato sauce with the rest of ingredients; pour over loaf. Bake at 350 F. 1 1/4 hours . Baste loaf several times. Makes 5 to 6 servings.
I love trick or treating. Unfortunately, I have hit the statute of limitations for trick or treating without a child and my kids go with other parents. Even they are starting to get a bit old for it. I wish we lived in a neighborhood where the kids gamboled about on Halloween but our street just isn’t the one. We get a few, but not nearly enough for my cooing over kids pleasure.
Now, you can spend a ton of money on just the right bag for your treats…but none are as cool as these from the Halloween Museum
Now, I know all of you enjoy macaroni and cheese. Give this one from Mary Meade’s Magic Recipes for the Blender a try. Just a tiny bit different but still the frugal yummy dinner we all love. It really is mousse like or souffle like or rather well…custard like. But you will like it. I tend to use cheddar instead but the American really does melt better.
Macaroni and Cheese Mousse
(6 servings) A variation of a standard American dish.
Cook about 12 minutes in boiling salted water and drain 8 ounces macaroni (elbow or broken lengths)
Crumb in blender and set aside
2 slices white bread, torn apart
Place in blender container
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup packed parsley
1 small onion, in quarters
2 pimientos
1/2 pound American cheese, diced
Blend about 30 seconds and mix with macaroni. Add crumbs. Place in a greased shallow baking dish, 9 x 12 inches, and set in a pan of hot water. Bake in a moderate oven at 350 degrees for an hour or until the custard sets. Serve plain or with a tomato sauce.
If you are looking for a retro Jell-o salad for Halloween (and I know you are!) that will scare you just to read it…but will taste pretty good…how about this one? (From 500 Delicious Salad Recipes, 1951)
Chicken Orange Salad
3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold orange juice
2 cups hot orange juice
orange sections
2 tablespoons cold water
3/4 cup boiling chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 pimento, chopped
1/4 teaspoon onion juice
3 cups diced cooked chicken
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
Lettuce, Mayonnaise
Soften 1 1/2 tablespoons gelatin in cold orange juice for 5 minutes; dissolve in hot orange juice and strain. Cool. Decorate a large mold, ring mold. or individual molds, with orange sections and cover with half of the slightly thickened gelatin. Chill until firm. Soften remaining gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes; dissolve in boiling chicken stock and cool until it begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper, pimento, onion juice, and chicken. Fold in whipped cream and pour over orange gelatin. Chill. When firm, add remaining orange gelatin. Chill. Unmold on lettuce and serve with mayonnaise. Serves 12.
These cookies would be fab for Halloween, or a winter holiday party…but I could probably enjoy them year round! Another recipe from Mary Meade’s Magic Recipes for the Electric Blender
Orange Peel Cookies
(3 dozen)
Candied peel and sour cream give a flavor you’ll like.
Place in blender container
2 eggs
2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup thick sour cream
Blend thoroughly, then add and run motor until finely chopped
1/4 cup candied orange peel
Sift together in mixing bowl
21/2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and mix. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cooky sheet, pressing a small piece of candied peel into top of each cookie. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until delicately browned.
Use a blender to make a meatloaf? Yes, at least according to Mary Meade’s Magic Recipes for the Electric Blender (1952)-a fab retro cookbook find. For those of you out there with gluten issues-this one is breadcrumb free!
Meat Loaf Delicious
(8 or more servings)
Perfectly Seasoned
Place in blender container
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1 small onion, quartered
Tops from 4 or 5 stalks celery, in pieces
4 or 5 sprigs parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Blend until vegetables are chopped. Mix with
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
Pack into loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. This loaf is good hot or cold, and it can be sliced into neat, thin slices when cold, so the leftovers are fine for Sunday night.
This recipe is another one that my family calls me to share with them. It is well, odd…but really, try it. You won’t go back to plain old apple pie. The crust turns out well every time…so worth it for just the pastry recipe. From the Crisco test kitchens. This is a super pretty pie, good for holidays!
Crisco Oil Pie crust
2 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose enriched flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Crisco oil
1/4 cup water
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add Crisco oil and water. Stir with a fork until blended and dough holds together. Divide in half and form to flat circles.
Roll out half the dough between two squares of waxed paper until circle of dough touches edges of paper. Dampen work surface to prevent waxed paper from sliding as dough is rolled.
Peel off top paper. Pick up rolled dough with bottom paper and turn onto a pie plate, paper side up. Carefully peel off paper and press dough into pie plate. Trim dough even with edge of plate.
Roll remaining dough in the same way for the top crust. Add filling to pastry-lined pie plate. Peel waxed paper from top crust and place over filling. Trim about 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold edge of top crust under edge of bottom crust. Seal by fluting with fingers or fork. Prick or slit top crust to allow for escape of steam. Bake as directed under filling recipe.
Rosy Apple Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup red cinnamon candies (red hots/cinnamon imperials)
5 medium cooking apples (5 cups sliced)
1 tbs. flour
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbs. butter or margarine
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water and cinnamon candies; cook until candies dissolve. Pare, core, and slice apples; add to sugar mixture; simmer until apples are red. Drain; save syrup. Blend flour into cooled syrup and add lemon juice. Spread apples in a pastry lined 9-inch pie plate. Pour syrup over apples. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust; seal, and flute edges. Cut slits for escape of steam. Bake at 400 F. about 30 minutes until desired brownness.
