Thursday, November 29, 2007

For Amanda
Grandma Pack would be proud to think "this 'ole thing," is being passed down to the third generation.

Hot Dish
(I don't go off of written recipes or solid measurements, so I'll do my best to get it right.)
1 each onion, green pepper, red pepper diced up (I omit green & red peppers)
2 Tbs or more, chili pepper, salt & pepper (don't omit chili pepper, essential)
1.5 lbs. ground beef
fry the above all together. (technically, fry the onion and peppers in 2 Tbs oil until they are clear, then add meat) Drain fat from meat.
add 2 cans tomatoe sauce, 2 cans diced tomatoes (drain most liquid)
add about 1.5 cups frozen peas
let this all simmer and cook (about 20 mins or so, while the macaroni boils)
Boil about a pound or small bag of macaroni, or if its in a big container, 3 or 4 hand fulls.
Stir in the drained macaroni with the meat mixture and put in oblong glass pans (or foil pans for freezing or giving to others). This should make two oblong pans full.
Grate Velvetta cheese over the top and bake 350, 20 mins.

Cranberry Salad
(use a food processor for apples and cranberries)
4-6 red delicious apples, cored and diced with the peels on.
add 1/2 cup sugar
1 bag cranberrys, diced
add one can crushed pineapple, drained
1 bag of miniature marshmellows (it has to 'look' right, might just be 3/4 a bag)
Let sit on counter about 30 min.
Fold in whip cream and pour in glass oblong dish.
*here's where the urban grandma legends starts. I thought you put it in the freezer and served it frozen. YEARS later my mom tells me, "Oh, no. You just put it in the fridge. Grandma always froze it and would forget to take it out in time so it ended up being served frozen." My family likes the frozen version better than the fridge version.
**Grandma Pack always cooked with nuts. I don't like nuts. I think Cranberry Salad might originally have had nuts in it and I omitted them. If you guys like nuts, throw them in the mixture.
***How to make whip cream in case you don't know. 1/2 pint Heavy Whipping Cream (sold by the milk) Pour in bowl and mix at highest speed adding sugar as you go. It will be 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. Do it to taste. Stop mixing with the cream forms peaks that stay upright. If you mix past this point it's ruined and becomes just runny again.

To serve Hot Dish and Cranberry Salad truly authentic GPack style, put it on Lenox china :), and keep asking everybody if they would like more rolls, "Please, eat these up, I can't save them."

3 comments:

Jenn Shields said...

"Hot Dish" has to be my all time favorite meal! It's so good... Grandma Pack would be so proud her homemade delight has traveled to Vegas.

Chattin said...

Sa-Weet!!! I'm so excited!! Yeah I needed some new dinner ideas and I was just like, I could really go for "Hot Dish" mmmmm. Thank-you very-ery much! <3

Heidi said...

Don't know Grandma Pack but her dishes sound delish!! I too hate nuts in my cranberry salad. My mom and I put a few drops in our whip cream--heavenly!!