Cooking With Margaret

One of my mom’s favorite cookbooks is A Taste of Oregon which she’s had for as long as I can remember, and around this time of year, we start making cookie platters for all of our friends and family to show them how much we care for them. This is always one of the recipes that we always make, because it is a favorite of everyone’s.  Peanut Blossoms Makes about 5 dozen Ingredients  Cookies Ingredients  1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup butter, softened  1 cup peanut butter  1/4 cup of milk or cream 2 eggs 1 tablespoon  of vanilla 3 1/2 cups sifted flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoon salt For Assembly  Granulated sugar 2 10oz bags of chocolate kisses, unwrapped  Preheat oven to 375 Cream softened butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift flour, salt and baking soda together and stir into egg mixture.  Shape into balls  Roll in sugar,  Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediat

Cabbage Soup with Paprika, Golden Raisins and Kielbasa This is a recipe my mom has been making for us with the cabbage we get from neighbors and our local Farmer’s Market. It’s a soup filled with lots of vegetables along with delicious sausage and bacon . It’s perfect for one of the cooler, rainy days we often get, but it’s a soup you can enjoy anytime of year!  Ingredients   3-5 pounds green cabbage, cored, cut into 1 inch wide strips  2 quarts of chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 2 large yellow onions, diced 2 tablespoons garlic, minced 6 slices of bacon, diced (optional if making vegetarian)  28 oz can of diced tomatoes (low sodium, can be used)  1 1/2 pounds of kielbasa, diced (ham can always be used) (optional if making it vegetarian)  1 tablespoon sweet paprika  3/4 cup of golden raisins  Olive oil  Salt and pepper to taste  Directions In a heavy-bottomed stock pot, heat bacon over medium heat. *starting the bacon in a cool pan renders more fat and allows you to get crispier bac

Jeannette's Zucchini Bread  This is a recipe for Zucchini Bread that my mom got from one of her best friends, and she’s been making it for as long as I can remember! It’s a favorite of ours, and we can’t wait to make it every year when our zucchini in the garden is in overproduction and we need to use it quickly and this is the first recipe we turn to!  Makes 2 Loaves  Ingredients   2 cups sugar 3 eggs 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder  1 tablespoon cinnamon  2 cups grated zucchini  9x5 loaf pan, greased  Preheat oven to 350 Combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla  Whisk dry ingredients together  Combine wet with dry ingredients  Fold in zucchini  Pour into loaf pans Bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean Allow to cool, and enjoy 

This recipe was given to my mom by a close family friend. I’ve tweaked it and changed some ratios on add ins and other things, so enjoy!  Here is the story it came with: "A woman from the American Bar Association called Mrs. Fields Cookies and asked for the recipe. She was told there was a "two-fifty" charge for the recipe. She assumed it was $2.50, and charged it to her Visa. When she received her statement and discovered that it was indeed "two-fifty"; Two HUNDRED and Fifty dollars. In order to get her money's worth she is passing it on to everyone. Make a copy and give it to a friend with a blessing."  Mrs. Fields Cookies Preheat oven to 375 degrees  2 cups Butter, room temperature  2 cups Sugar 2 cups Brown Sugar 4 eggs, room temperature  1 tablespoon of vanilla  3 1/2 cups flour 6 cups ground oatmeal  (put small amounts into a blender and blend until it turns to powder. Measure first, then blend) 2 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoon baking powder 3 teaspoon

This is a great recipe to use your leftovers!!! It’s such a popular way to use up the extra meat when we’ve bought a rotisserie chicken, we love to make this or the Cream of Chicken Soup. Both wonderful ways to reuse leftovers!  Chicken Rice Casserole  Ingredients  4-6c cooked rice 22.6 oz can of cream of mushroom soup  2-3 cups cooked shredded/diced chicken (or turkey)! (Often use a rotisserie chicken or shredded chicken breasts)   3/4 c of each diced onion and diced celery 1 cup green olives with pimentos, diced (optional) 1 c of mayonnaise  1 c of panko breadcrumbs 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter  Salt and pepper to taste  ----> *This is very important because the saltiness and other flavors can vary from everyone's different ingredients, so you MUST taste and season as you go along in preparing the dish* *a vegetarian option can be made by adding 1 pound of mushrooms, sautéed instead of the chicken* Preheat oven to 375 Combine Panko with melted butter, set aside  Combine th