This is a lovely appetizer for your retro party…or a nice snack for a stay at home night in front of the television.

Merry Melba Go Rounds 

2 3-oz packages cream cheese
1 tsp chili  powder
1 tsp grated onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 c pitted ripe olives, chopped
Melba toast

Combine all ingredients except toast; chill until needed. Spread on toast; serve. Yield: 30-36 servings.

Mrs. Eugene Cook
Washington Courthouse, O.

Salad Recipes of America, 1964

Ok, a bit of beef stew is not so bad in the summer is it? Especially when trying to stretch the budget. This one is from my Great Grandmother’s files.

1 1/2 lbs cubed stew beef
Dredge in 2 TBS flour and pepper and salt (to taste)
Brown in 2 tbs. cooking oil
1 can beef broth or consomme
1/3 cup burgundy wine
1 cup celery cut fine
Cover and cook 1 hour
Add 1 small can mushrooms
6 onions
6 potatoes (medium)
8 carrots
Cook slowly until vegetables are tender.
Serves 4 to 6.

This one is from an old newspaper clipping. Dauphin Island is off the coast of Alabama and where my mother spent many of her childhood summers.

 Dauphin Island Crab Gumbo

2 cups finely chopped celery
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
Minced Parsley
3 tablespoons bacon drippings
3/4 cup sifted flour
2 cups raw crab meat
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 cup cut okra
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Paprika (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon gumbo file

Saute celery onions, peppers, and parsley in drippings in covered skillet until soft. Remove from pan. Brown flour in drippings, add to vegetables. Add 3 qts water and crab. Cook for 30 minutes. Add tomatoes, okra and seasonings; simmer for one hour. Remove from heat; stir in file. Serve over rice.

Note: if cooked crab meat is used, add 10 minutes before removing from heat. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Well this could be called such because you can make it on a shoestring budget…but also because of the can shoestring potatoes. Do cut the amount of Mayo though or you won’t be able to reach your shoestrings. Icky to look at but a hit with the family.
Shoestring Potato Salad
1 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp mustard
3/4 c. milk
Dash of Tabasco sauce
2 -oz cans tuna, drained
1 1/2 c. diced celery
1 4 1/2 oz can shoestring potatoes

Blend mayonnaise, mustard, milk, and Tabasco sauce. Add tuna and celery. Chill. Immediately before serving add shoestring potatoes; mix just so they stick together. Serve on lettuce leaf. Yield: 8 servings.

Myrna E Erickson
Cooperstown, ND

Salad Recipes, 1964

Get thee into the Retro Living Room courtesy of the fabulous Hooked on Houses.

This recipe from the Alachua General Hospital Auxiliary cookbook doesn’t fuss with a fancy name or fancy prep. It just is plain old comfort food with nothing special.

Tuna with Mushroom Soup

1 can mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of whole milk
1 6 1/2 oz can tuna
1 c English peas, cooked and drained
2 hard boiled eggs, diced

In sauce pan mix soup and milk, over low heat bring to boil. While boiling, add tuna and peas, stirring with fork. Boil about 2 minutes, add eggs. Serve while hot over canned noodles or rice. ~Mrs Carl Williams

This recipe is from a hand bound, adorable, cookbook created by the Alachua General Hospital Auxiliary in 1969. I will have pictures soon. You will love the cover–little felted pink dresses on oilskin. This makes little cupcake meatloaves so perfect if you live alone or have a small family.

2/3  c saltine crackers
1 c milk
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 beaten eggs
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
catsup for sauce

Soak crackers in milk, add meat, eggs, and soup mix. Mix well. Form well-rounded loaves in greased cupcake pans. Top with catsup. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes depending on degree of doneness. Makes 8 individual loaves.  Mrs Karl the Losen

As you can see by the quantities, this makes quite the cheese roll. However, it is easy to halve and such a yummy retro appetizer. Nini made this often as did my mother for all nature of parties. Serve with crackers, bread, spoon (ok, just kidding about the spoon, but I do like it a lot)

1 lb blue cheese
1 lb Roquefort
1/2 lb Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Tabasco
Worcestershire
Horseradish (lots)
Garlic
Onion juice
Mustard

Heat in double boiler over medium heat until cheese is melted and ingredients are blended. Let harden in ice box. Roll in paprika on waxed paper.

Sometimes you must just entertain on a shoestring. Fortunately, General Mills offered us help in 1971 with this recipe for Chicken Confetti. It isn’t particularly imaginative and I am far more likely to serve it to family than use it to entertain, but it might be a nice choice for entertaining as well.

Chicken Confetti

4 to 5 pounds broiler-fryer chicken, cut-up
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup salad oil
1/2 cup onion
1 clove garlic
2 can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons snipped parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon peopper
7 or 8 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
Grated Parmesan cheese

Wash chicken pieces and pat dry. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. In large skillet or Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil; remove chicken. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until union is tender. Stir in chicken and remaining ingredients except spaghetti and cheese.
Cover tightly; cook chicken slowly 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary. Skim off excess fat. Serve in spaghetti; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 4 to 6 servings.

Happy National Fruit Cocktail Day! Fruit cocktail is a favorite in this house. I don’t know why. The kids don’t even beg for the overpriced extra cherry kind. Any kind is fine. On this day though…a nice ice box pie from my head or from my mother’s head or most likely transferred there from a magazine advertisement in the 60s or 70s.

Fruit Cocktail Jell-0 Pie

Graham cracker crust
1 4-serving size box Jello (cherry or strawberry banana are favorites for this recipe)
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 #2 can fruit cocktail

Drain juice from fruit cocktail into measuring cup. Add water to bring measure to 1 cup.  Bring liquid to boil. Add boiling liquid to Jell-o powder, stir until Jell-o is dissolved. Add ice cream, stir until smooth/melted. Stir in fruit. Pour into graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until set. Top with Cool Whip. (Maybe that interesting new strawberry Cool Whip?)