My mother, Susan Dillard, was a fantastic cook and my family was spoiled by her talent and creativity. As a child, she gave my brother and me a passion for cooking and had the patience to teach us. She passed away after a long battle with breast cancer in 2002. Almost 8 years later, I'm sharing her recipe box full of her most treasured recipes and her friend's best recipes. Enjoy and Bon Appetite!
Brown veal. Add celery and onion, cook until tender crisp. Add tomato sauce, water, sugar, paprika and salt. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serve over noodles and sprinkle with parsley.
1lb ground beef, salt & pepper-browned
Sauce:
1 cup Catsup
1 ½ Tablespoons vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons worstershire
1 finely chopped onion
¾ cup celery, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 ½ Tablespoon brown sugar
Mix together ingredients for the sauce and add to the browned meat. Heat sauce but not enough to cook celery and onion.
This a recipe Mom got from my Grandma, Marie Allison.
Yield 6 servings
1lb Market Day Halibut Steak
2 cups water
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
1tsp salt
2 cups uncooked instant rice
1-3/4 cup water
1 (10 ¾ oz) can of cream of celery soup
1 (8 oz) jar pasteurized process cheese spread
1 (6 oz) jar of sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
Rinse Market Day Halibut Steak and drain. Place in skillet with water, wine and salt. Bright to a boil; simmer, covered, until Halibut flakes easily with fork, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain. Flake fish, combine with remaining ingredients in a 2 quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven until bubbly in the center, about 50 to 55 minutes.
Market Day was a fundraiser through our elementary school that had “bulk” items and pre-cooked or family size portions of food to purchase. Market Day was always exciting because we would go after school to pick up the food items and Mom would always get something sweet in her order. My favorite Market Day order was for a frozen chicken stir fry that my brother hated.
2lbs peeled red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 6
cups)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
½ cup chopped roasted sweet red peppers
1 small green pepper, diced
½ cup tiny diced red onion
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Steam potatoes until very tender, 12-14 minutes. Meanwhile,
in a large bowl, make dressing by whisking together vinegar, olive oil,
mustard, oregano, salt and pepper. While potatoes still are warm, toss them
with dressing and set aside until cool. Stir in olives, cucumber, red and green
peppers, onion, cheese and parsley. Makes 8 cups.
This is a recipe cut out of the Columbus Dispatch on
Wednesday, May 26, 1999. My mother loved to cut recipes out of the newspaper . In 1999 I was 15 years old and my brother was
18 years old and on the verge of graduating from high school. We were busy teenagers but my Mom made sure we
still found time to sit down around the family dinner table for meals (if not
as often) and sharing about our days. My Mom would constantly talk about how
most people hate their teenagers but that Brian and I were some of her favorite
people to be around.
Chop Veggies and add salt, oregano, minced garlic and salad oil. Refrigerate.
This recipe doesn’t include any quantities and I imagine it’s a recipe from my Great Grandmother. My brother and I grew up loving black olives and Mom would have to always have extra black olives on hand because we would inevitably have our grubby hands in the black olive can and could quickly polish off a large can on our own.
