Fruit Cocktail Cake

2 cups flour 2 teaspoons soda 1 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs 1 (13 oz.) can fruit cocktail 1 cup chopped nuts 1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Drain the fruit cocktail. Combine flour, soda, salt and sugar. Stir to blend. Beat eggs. Add fruit cocktail and nuts. Combine flour mixture with egg mixture, folding together gently just until blended. Pour into a greased 8x10-inch cake pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350° or until done. Serve with whipped topping.

Notes:
This recipe was handwritten on a recipe card by my grandmother, Barbara Sees. I would guess that she wrote it for my mother in the 1960's.

This cake doesn't contain any fat (other than the eggs and nuts), so it's lighter than some cakes. It does have lots of sugar, but Splenda could be substituted for some of it.

Fruit Cocktail Pie

1 can fruit cocktail, undrained 1 package lemon instant pudding mix 1 carton whipped topping

1 banana 1/2 cup nuts 1 graham cracker crust

Directions:
Pour undrained fruit cocktail into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle pudding mix over it and stir to combine. Fold in whipped topping, banana and nuts. Pour into a graham cracker crust and chill 4 hours before serving.

Notes:
My mother, Doris Hill, collected this recipe and handwrote it on a card for her files.

Lenora Meyers' 24 Hour Fruit Salad

3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 cup pineapple juice 2 tablespoons lemon juice

8 oz. miniature marshmallows 1 can (15 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained 1 can (15 oz.) fruit cocktail, drained 1 cup whipped cream

Directions:
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and pineapple juice in a small heavy saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Cool. Combine lemon juice, marshmallows, pineapple junks, and fruit cocktail. Fold in sauce and whipped cream. Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Notes:
For the 1 cup pineapple juice in the recipe, use the juice drained from the pineapple chunks and add a little of the fruit cocktail syrup if necessary to fill the cup.

Lenora Meyers contributed this recipe to the Jolly Neighbors Extension Club of Rose, Nebraska, for a hand-written cookbook that they made during the early 1960's. I have expanded the directions a little because all the recipes were greatly condensed to fit on one side of a 3x5" recipe card. Walter and Lenora Meyers lived southeast of Rose. We were in 4-H with the Meyers kids.