Prize-Winning Zucchini Cranberry Bread

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 (16 9oz,) can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1-1/2 cups unsifted whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan or two 8x4-inch pans. In a medium sized bowl, beat butter, sugar, and eggs until fluffy. Stir in orange rind and cranberry sauce. Measure flours, baking soda and baking powder into the butter mixture. Fold in just until combined. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. Turn into baking dish/es. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 90 minutes for a large loaf or 6 minutes for small loaves. Cool on wire racks.

Zucchini Health Bread

3 eggs
1 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup oil
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup bran
2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:
Beat eggs and honey. Stir in vanilla and oil. Combine dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Stir in zucchini, nuts and raisins. Pour mixture into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes or until bread tests done with a toothpick.

Zucchini Pineapple Bread

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups zucchini, coarsely grated
1 (8-oz.) cab crushed pineapple, drained
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins or currants
3 cups flour

Directions:
Beat eggs. Add oil, sugar, and vanilla; beat until foamy. Stir in zucchini and pineapple. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl; stir well. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture a little at a time and blend well.

Bake in two greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pans at 350° for 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pans; then remove loaves and cool on wire racks.

Notes:
The pineapple is barely detectable in the baked bread, but it adds to the richness and moisture.

Country Corncakes

1 cup white corn meal
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons melted lard*

Directions:
Sift the meal, flour, and salt together into a mixing bowl. Mix the baking soda and buttermilk; add to meal mixture and stir until combined. Add beaten egg and melted lard; mix well. Fry on a very hot, lightly greased skillet, flipping each cake once. Makes about a dozen cakes.

Notes:
I don't like lard, but that is what the recipe says. Feel free to substitute melted butter or margarine.

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
2/3 cup milk

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening. With a fork or pastry blender, thoroughly work in shortening. Add milk and stir in quickly. Add a little more milk as needed to make a soft, light dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead a few times until dough is smooth.

Roll or pat out dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut dough into circle or diamond shapes with biscuit cutter or sharp knife. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, close together for soft biscuits, or farther apart for crusty biscuits. Bake at 400° for 12 to 15 minutes or until bottoms of biscuits are golden brown. Makes about a dozen biscuits.

Notes:
For buttermilk biscuits, use 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 2/3 cup buttermilk.

Rose Miles of O'Neill, NE, my friend Sammie's mother, always adds 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar with the dry ingredients. I remember eating hot homemade biscuits with honey for breakfast at her house, and they were very good.

Doughnut Balls

1 beaten egg 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon melted butter 1/2 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1-1/2 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder Powdered sugar

Directions:
Combine egg, sugar, and melted butter. Beat well. Stir all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Add to egg mixture alternately with milk. Stir hard and fast for about one minute by hand. Do not stir any more. Drop with a teaspoon into hot oil (360°). Turn each ball as soon as it comes to the surface. Cook for 4 minutes; do not undercook. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

Notes:
This recipe is from an old Rebeccah Lodge cookbook from North Platte, NE. The recipe was contributed by Louise Lindvall of North Platte. I have updated it a little.

Best Cornbread

1-1/2 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar (or Splenda)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:
Stir cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add milk, eggs and oil and mix well. Spoon batter into two greased 8x8" baking pans. Bake about 20 minutes at 350°. Or bake in a greased 9x13" pan for 25-30 minutes or until bread tests done.

Notes:
I've been making this cornbread since about 1972 when I bought the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (11th Edition). The ingredients are doubled in this variation of the Fannie Farmer cornbread-- make half a recipe if you don't want leftovers.

Mexican Cornbread

1-1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal 1 cup milk 1 tbsp. sugar 10 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, cubed 1 large onion, grated

3 jalopeños, seeded and finely chopped 1 small can creamed corn 2 eggs 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Bake at 350° in greased 10" skillet about 45 minutes or until firm in center.

Notes:
This is known as "Boy Scout Cornbread" in my family, because this is the recipe that Troop 13 in Hopkinsville, KY, always uses for the annual Chili-and-Cornbread fundraising lunch.

Mama's Ever Ready Biscuit Mix

12 cups flour
6 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons salt
2 cups vegetable shortening

Directions:
Stir dry ingredients together blending well. Add shortening and blend until mixture is crumbly. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use within 3 months.

To use, mix with milk to desired consistency. (Approximately 3/4 cup milk to 2 cups biscuit mix.) Shape or cut into biscuits and bake 10 to 12 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 425°.

Notes:
This recipe was collected and handwritten on a recipe card by my mother, Doris Hill.

Mama's Quick Biscuit Mix

8-1/2 cups all purpose flour 3 tablespoons baking powder 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda 1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk 2-1/4 cups vegetable shortening.

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the shortening. Stir them together, mixing well. Add shortening and blend well. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use the mix within four months.

To use, add about ¾ cup water to 2-1/3 cups biscuit mix. Cut or shape into biscuits and bake 10 to 12 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 425°.

Notes:
Makes 13 cups of biscuit mix. My mother, Doris Hill, collected this recipe and handwrote it on a card for her files.

Rebecca's Spoon Bread

1 cup cottage cheese 1 package (7-8 oz.) corn muffin mix 1 can cream style corn

2 eggs 1 stick butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. While oven is heating, place the butter in the casserole dish and place it in the oven to melt. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Remove the casserole dish with the melted butter from the oven and pour the corn mixture onto the melted butter. Return to oven and bake for 75-80 minutes (1 hour and 15-20 minutes.)

Notes:
Rebecca Goss, who gave me this recipe, was a friend and neighbor when we lived in West Berlin in the late 1980's. Our husbands worked together.

Regina Roggasch's Cheese Sticks

1 roll nippy cheese
1 stick butter
1 cup flour

Directions:
Cream butter and cheese together; blend in flour. Spread in pan and bake 15 minutes at 400°. Cut into strips, 1/4 to 1/2 inches wide. Serve with salad.

Notes:
Regina Roggasch 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. The recipe was titled "Cheese Spread" but I changed it to "Cheese Sticks" to more accurately reflect the nature of the prepared recipe. I don't know if "nippy cheese" was a brand name or just a suggestion about the flavor. Miss Roggasch was my first teacher at Duff Valley District 4. We moved to Rose near the end of my first grade year, so I only had her for a month or so.

100% Whole Wheat Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk

2 beaten eggs 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup honey 1 cup raisins 2 tablespoon water

Directions:
1. Plump the raisins by placing them in a microwave bowl with 2 tablespoon water. Microwave on high for 1 minute, then leave them in the microwave until they are added to the batter.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease muffin tins or line with cupcake papers.
3. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add milk, beaten egg, and oil and mix thoroughly. Drain any remaining water from the raisins and add them to the batter.
4. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Makes 12 muffins.)