Sauteed Cabbage

This recipe is especially good over the summer served with either steamed crab legs or lobster. Its very simple and very flavorful.

Sauteed Cabbage

1 small head of Cabbage ( 2 to 2 1/2 pounds is good)

3-4 T. Butter or Unsalted Butter

Kosher Salt to taste (1 to 2 tsp. is a good guild line)

Fresh Ground Pepper to taste (1 tsp. more, or less depending on taste)


Shred the cabbage into bite size pieces like you are making coleslaw. Melt your butter in a deep pot over medium heat.. add the cabbage and pepper at this stage. Saute for 10 minutes until tender. After cabbage is done cooking, then add the salt to taste. If you add the salt at the first step, it will start extracting the water out of the cabbage and you will have more or less steamed cabbage and not sauteed. Serve hot!

Punch Recipes or It's all in moderation, Right Robert?!?

The First Punch Recipe, Watermelon Punch, is from the bar of my Godfather. The next 2 punch recipes are from my mother! The Strawberry slush, I do not remember who that came from. On a quick side note, it saddens me on a level that NO ONE serves punch at a party anymore. I love punch, alcoholic or non-alcoholic versions!! I would love to start a trend and see Punch's reinstated as a popular party drink to have. Not that I argue against a nice pitcher of sangria or a lovely open bar, and goodness knows Im blessed with 2 terrific uncles who are both terrific bartenders!! WHOA THE MEMORIES!! He heeee... I am not that silly here to share those memories here except I will say I do remember the party when the watermelon punch was served, its so light, refreshing and perfect for a summer party because if you want, you can use the watermelon as your punch bowl if you are so inclined. Yup that was the punch my Godfather made. The man also makes a mean Scotch and Water on the rocks!! Also some kick-ass Micro Brews if I do say so myself. My other Uncle, Uncle George, the other wonderful mixologist man, many many marvelous mojitos, GREEN TEA MARTINIS!!!, (sorry, i REALLY adore Martinis) and scotch and water on the rocks. But enough musing for now and onto recipes....

Watermelon Punch

1/2 watermelon seeded and cubed

1/2 cup lime fresh lime juice

1 cup light rum

4 cups Orange Juice

1/2 cup Pineapple Juice

1/2 cup of Fine Sugar

Plenty of Ice

Puree watermelon , pass through a sieve or food mill into large punch bowl, mix everything together except for the ice and refrigerate 3-4 hours before serving!.


Mom's Amaretto Punch

1/2 bottle of Amaretto

1/2 Gallon Chocolate Ice Cream

1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream

2 liters 7- Up

2 liters Ginger Ale

Mix altogether in the punch bowl and serve.

Mom's Dreamsicle Punch

2 liter Ginger Ale

2 liter 7- Up

1/2 gallon Orange Sherbert

1 large can Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

1/4 to 1/3 bottle of Vodka or Gin (optional) [ Mom always used vodka]

Mix altogether in a punch bowl and serve!


Sinful Stawberry Slush

1 6oz Frozen lemonade concentrate

1 6 oz frozen Pineapple Juice

1/2 cup white sugar

3 1/2 cups water

1 cup Vodka

1/2 cup strawberry liquor

1 10 ounce Frozen Strawberries

Mix all ingredients together, cover and freeze.

Serve with 7- Up


Kerri's Favorite Childhood Punch

1 can Hawaian Punch

1/2 Gallon Rainbow Sherbert

2 liters of 50/50

Mix together in a punch bowl and serve.

**** I will be posting Joycee's Tea Slush Recipe.. I just need to go through boxes in the garage to get to my recipe files to find it. It is truly delish!!**

Mock Pierogi

Clap hands, squeal with glee, if your polish and you know it clap your hands too. Thanks to Auntie Sue's creativity that got away with her one Sunday afternoon, and several test runs at various gatherings, you no longer have to make Pierogi the long handed way or suffer through bad brands of frozen ones, when the craving hits! And what's wonderful about this recipe, is you have a few flavors deliciously combined into one.. my stomach is deeply growling right now, this dish will be made later on this week!
Serve this with your favorite Kielbasa/Polish or other smoked sausage. Works great with just about any other kind of meat as well... Pork Roast... Roast Chicken.. okay memo to me.. do not write on blog site when getting close to dinner time, especially when its a recipe as good as this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If there is a flavor or ingredient you do not like in here, substitute it or take it out, and it will still be just as delicious. I personally do not always use the sauerkraut and brown sugar...

1 Box of Medium Sized Shell Noodles

1 Bag of Sauerkraut ( 1 large can of kraut will work too, Auntie Sue and I just prefer the bagged)

6 slices to 1 pound of bacon, cooked separately then crumbled into nice semi-coarse crumbles

1 container of fresh button or baby portabella (Cremini) mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and sliced, sauteed in butter separately.

1-2 Large onions (depending on how much onion you like)

1 handful of brown sugar ( Or to taste, if you want sweeter use more, less sweeter use less or none at all)

1 stick of butter

Small Curd Cottage Cheese ( Small or Large container depending on your taste)

Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder to Taste

Start your pasta water, you need the noodles to be fresh and hot when tossing it with the sauce.

Rinse the kraut really well, then drain. Push it down in the colander until you get all the water out. (or use the kitchen towel method) Then take the kraut place on a cutting board and give it a rough chop. set aside. Clean and de stem mushrooms, saute in a about 2-3 tablespoons of butter. (do not add salt to them while cooking or they will loose their moisture.) In a frying pan melt a stick of butter and add the chopped onion. (you may need a little more butter depending on how much onion you use). Add kraut and saute together until onions are translucent and soft (not brown) Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste and a handful of brown sugar ( now with my hands and Auntie Sue's hands, which are about the same size, a handful means about 3/4 to 1 loose cup) Drain noodles, put into warm serving bowl, dump in cottage cheese immediately then the bacon, mushrooms and kraut mixture. Remember, you can add more, delete ingredients to whatever your taste is. Another delicious option, if you do not want to use shell noodles, are making my potato dumplings and using them instead of the noodles. The recipe can be found under side dishes.

Mashed Potato Bake

My mom's good friend Barb Chlipala is credited with this recipe. The running joke for years is that Barb can organize and cater a party better than she can cook, she proved herself wrong with this casserole. Its a big hit wherever i bring it! I know a few cousins of mine that would be very happy to partake in this casserole!

5 lbs potatoes (Peeled, diced and cooked)

1 ounce cream cheese, more is okay , I usually use 1/2 of a regular sized bar

1 stick butter or margarine

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook peeled potatoes add all the ingredients, except the egg and mash. Taste for seasoning first, then proceed to stir in the egg. Spray cooking spray in a large casserole dish, spoon in potato mixture, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve! If you wish, sprinkle cheddar cheese on the top during the last 5 minutes, although, we never did.

Classic Green Bean Casserole

In Mom's cookbook mom has this recipe associated with me. Well, i was the one that made it for us first and for dinners, but as we all know i cannot take credit for this one. Except for one minor spin I do to it....

3/4 cup of Milk

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 Cans French Style Cut Green beans, drained

1 regular sized or Large can of Durkee French Fried Onions (depending on your taste)

1-2 tsp Soy Sauce (instead of salt, it adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the casserole)

1/8 tsp pepper or to taste

1-2 cans of Mushrooms, drained (optional)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

In 1 1/2 quart casserole, mix all the ingredients except for about 2/3 cup of the french fried onions. Bake for 30 minutes. Then add the rest of the onions on top of the casserole and bake for 5 more minutes!

Aunt Marilyn's 3 Bean Hot Dish

This recipe is an oldie, but goodie!! This one is from the recipe card vault itself, i ran across it today wandering through recipe cards, and I remember this dish as if it were yesterday. This is, in my humble opinion, is the ONLY way Baked Beans should be served. Another recipe once again that converted me from a hater to a lover! And now that I have recovered this recipe again, I cannot wait until Summer to serve it with some BBQ!

1/2 lb bacon fried and crumbled

1/2 lb ground beef browned

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Can, 16 ounces, Pork and Beans, undrained

1 Can, 16 ounces, Red Kidney Beans, DRAINED

1 Can, 15 ounces, Butter Beans, DRAINED

1/4 to 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Ketchup

1 tsp. Dry Mustard

Pre heat oven to 350.

Cook bacon, discard drippings. Cook hamburger, onion, salt and pepper in drippings in the skillet, drain well. Combine bacon, ground beef mixture with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

** THIS ALSO CAN BE DONE IN THE CROCKPOT** Prepare as above, put in crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours!

Sissy's Sweet Potato Casserole

I have ALWAYS wanted a sister! Once more, I have always wanted a baby sister.... and now I have both in one wonderful, loving person by the name of Melissa. (or Sissy!!!) Technically she is younger than me by a few months =) Melissa is a very contemporary yet traditional person all rolled into one. I love her with all my heart, and I look forward to being her brother for many, many years to come. This was the first dish I remember Sissy bringing to a family gathering. It VANISHED! There was none left.. that is HOW GOOD this Sweet Potato Casserole is! Serve it at your next Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering, but be warned, make sure you get a good sized serving on your plate the first time around, there will be none left when you go looking for them again! In all honesty, I was never a fan of sweet potatoes, until i tasted this casserole.

The Casserole:

3 cups sweet potatoes cooked and mashed (either canned or fresh)

1/2 cup White Sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Vanilla


The topping:

1 cup Brown Sugar, packed

1/3 stick of butter, melted

1/3 cup of flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Use a buttered 9x13 pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 7 ingredients. Place into the buttered 9x13 pan. Combine the last 4 ingredients and spread over the potato layer. Bake 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and heated through.