Macaroni Ring

 Macaroni Ring

I came across this recipe while looking for the last Meat/Fish Entree for #FiftyTwoInTwentyTwo. It is from a 1933 Bond Bread Recipe Cookbook. I wanted to try this, because it sounded "unique" and, the finished product is definitely unique. It's like having macaroni squashed together with stuffing.  The recipe recommends serving with vegetables in the middle of the un-molded ring and/or serving with a mushroom or tomato sauce. I had cream of chicken soup, so I used that.  I have to say I am glad I tried it and I'm glad I got to use my Pyrex ring mold, because I've had it for years and years, and never gotten to use it. I do not plan to make it again. If I do, I would definitely serve with hot cream of mushroom/chicken soup, cheese sauce or gravy.  I recommend you do that also.  Give it a try, because you may like it.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups scaled milk

1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped pimiento

1/4 cup grated American cheese (I used finely shredded Monterrey Jack cheese)

2 eggs, well beaten

1 1/2 cups cooked macaroni

1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk and pour over bread crumbs. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except butter) one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the macaroni last. Add your mixture to a buttered ring mold. Dot bits of butter on top of the filled ring mold. Set in a pan of hot water and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Run a knife around the mold to loosen. Turn a plate on top of the mold; hold the plate tightly to the mold and flip over. Gently shake the mold to remove the macaroni ring. Fill the middle of the ring with vegetables if you wish. Serve with hot cream of mushroom/chicken soup, cheese sauce or gravy.

Macroni Ring Prior To Unmolding

Macaroni Ring Unmolded

Macaroni Ring Served With a Nice Salad

Cackleberry Casserole

 Cackleberry Casserole

    This oddly named recipe comes to us from the April 1981 edition of the Laurel (Iowa) Centennial Cookbook 1881-1981. It was submitted by Donna Hughes. I liked this dish, but I would either not add salt and I would use low-sodium pork sausage if I could find it. I adapted the recipe a bit, but will attach a picture of the original recipe, so you can see that. If I made this again, I might also consider using less of the sausage; maybe 1/2 pound to 3/4 of a pound. The original recipe calls for 1 pound. The original recipe also calls for shredded cheddar. I used a finely shredded Cheddar-Jack mix and I used a spicy mustard seasoning rather than plain dry mustard. I used wheat bread instead of the white that the original recipe calls for and, I also used the two butt ends of the loaf in addition to the two slices called for. I really liked the texture of the bread and the nice, crusty top of the casserole. 

Ingredients:

1 pound pork sausage browned

6 eggs, beaten

2 to 3 slices of white or wheat bread, cubed

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or use cheddar/jack mix like I did)

Directions:

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of your casserole dish with cooking spray or grease with butter. Cut your bread slices into cubes. Brown your sausage in a skillet, drain and place in the bottom of your casserole dish. Spread the bread cubes over the sausage. Crack your eggs into a large, mixing bowl. Add your salt and dry mustard and beat well. Stir your cup of shredded cheese into your eggs and pour this mixture over your bread cubes.  Make sure you get egg mixture on all of the bread.  Place in your oven and bake for 45 minutes. The original recipe says 45 minutes to an hour, but 45 minutes was perfect for my oven.  Serve this with a side of fruit salad. Makes 4 to 5 adult sized servings, 

    The verdict? It was good, but like I said, I would cut how much salt I used and would probably not add salt separately. I liked this also, because it has only six ingredients and was really easy to make. Like I also said, I liked the texture of the bread and the crustiness of the top. Let me know if you try it. 

**I think you could totally make this as a vegetarian or vegan dish. I know you can get faux sausage crumbles and someone who is knowledgeable, could likely find vegan egg and cheese substitutes. I'm neither vegetarian or vegan, but I know there are cheese substitutes; I'm not sure if there are vegan egg substitutes. 

Cackleberry Casserole

Crumbled Sausage

Bread Cubes Covering Sausage

Casserole Topped Off With Egg and Cheese Mixture

Done! Side View To Show You This Casserole Dish. 

Top View of Casserole

Donna Hughes' Original Cackleberry Casserole Recipe

    

Country Club Breakfast

 Country Club Breakfast

        This recipe comes to us from an April 1981 edition of the Laurel (Iowa) Centennial Cookbook 1881-1981. A lady named Pat Howard submitted this recipe.  I've done desserts, breads and main dishes and thought it was about time I made some breakfast. I made this on January 1, 2021 and I have to say I am pleased with how it turned out. Although, I can't figure out why it is called "Country Club Breakfast", because there is nothing fancy about it.  I made a couple small changes, but one of the things I really liked about this recipe is that you can modify it very, easily. For example, I used 4 eggs not 3. I just simply thought 3 eggs was not enough and the recipe calls for 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of ham (cut up) and I only had 1/2 lb of cut up ham. What did I do? I cooked several slices of bacon, which I cut up into small pieces and added with the ham. You could easily add diced chili's, diced tomatoes, use shredded cheese instead of sliced and you could use sausage. With less than a lb of meat,  I had plenty of meat in my dish. I would say that 1 1/2 lbs of meat would be the limit for this dish. Don't like meat? Use crumbled tofu. Another modification I made was I didn't have regular dry mustard, so I used the Spicy Mustard seasoning from Trader Joe's that I have. I somehow didn't see that the recipe said to cover and refrigerate the dish overnight.  Oops. But you know what? I really liked the texture of how it came out, so I guess you could do it either way.  Preparing the night would definitely be a time saver. 

    Would I make this again? Yes, most definitely, only I want to maybe try shredder cheddar and add diced green chilis. 

    To start, I placed 6 slices of white bread in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, which I had greased. One slice of cheddar cheese on each piece of bread came next, followed by spreading my cut up ham and bacon over the slices. I beat the eggs, milk, salt and mustard and poured this mixture of the ingredients in the pan. The next item was melted butter.  The recipe calls for melted "oleo", which is what margarine used to be called. I don't have margarine, so I used butter. One whole stick!!!! The recipe calls for spreading dried bread cubes over top, after you pour your melted margarine/butter. I lightly toasted about 6 pieces of bread. I didn't really measure, but after I cut up my lightly toasted bread, I just sprinkled all of it over top and placed it in my preheated oven at 325 degrees for an hour. 

    The cubed bread was nice and toasty, but not "burned" toasty. And the best part was that the bread cubes had soaked up some of that butter flavor. This recipe could serve 6. Add a fruit salad on the side if you like. And I think this might be nice with a hollandaise sauce drizzled over top when served, so if that interests you, go ahead and try it!

    As always, if you make this, let me know what you think.