LEMON CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE - Susan Wolf Shelton

Husband loves cake. This is a simple cake I make all the time. Try it with other pie fillings if you don't like lemon. If you use all oil as the original recipe calls for, it will have less saturated fat for those that have a concern.

• 1-1/4 cups sugar DIVIDED
• ¾ cup canola oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15-3/4 ounces) lemon pie filling
• 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon

In a large bowl beat 1 cup of sugar, oil, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually beat into egg mixture until blended.
Pour half into a 9x13 baking pan. Spread pie filling over batter. Top with remaining batter. Combine the cinnamon and the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Sprinkle over the entire top.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
***Tip- I melt 1 stick of unsalted butter and ¼ cup of oil instead of all oil, but can be done either way.
Can use other pie fillings such as apple etc.

Mom's Vegetable Beef Soup - Susan Wolf Shelton

My mother made this soup throughout my childhood in the 1950's. This is not a soup for the faint of heart. There is time and work involved. It was made in a 12 qt pot. I still make the same amount and freeze in portions. In this soup the vegetables are put through a grinder. She had an old metal grinder that attached to the kitchen table with a vice. Today I use a food processor.

Mother's Vegetable Beef Soup

• 3 pounds of boneless chuck.
• 2 pounds of shin with a marrow bone
• 6 marrow bones
• 1 1/2 pounds of carrots
• 2 large leek
• 2 bunches of scallions
• 3 onions
• 1 1/2 pounds of green beans
• 1 parsnip
• 1 white turnip
• 1 bunch parsley
• 4-28 ounce whole tomatoes
• 3/4 bunch celery
• 1 10 ounce box of green peas
• 1 10 ounce box succotash
• water
• V-8 juice
• 1 tabsp salt
• 1 tabsp sugar
• Pepper

First make stock-Place all meat and bones in pot. Just cover with water.
Cook till meat is soft, skimming occasionally. Remove meat from pot

While stock is cooking, grind all vegetables except box veggies.
When stock is done and meat is removed from broth, add all the ground vegetables, tomatoes, and V-8. The amount of V-8 is according how thick or thin you like it.
Cook slowly for 2 hours. After the 2 hours curt up the meat and add to pot with the box vegetables.
Cook for another 30 minutes.

The fresh green beans are essential here. 

This soup will have a wonderful beefy fresh vegetable flavor. She always made it 2 days ahead and refrigerated it. She would then skim any fat that had collected at the top

Polish Potato Pancakes - Placki Kartoflane - Bill Szemcsak

This is the way my Mom made her Polish Potato Pancakes- If you are going to use this recipe, I can not stress enough the HAND GRATING ! The texture will not be like Mom's if you use a blender or food processor.

• 5 lbs. Large Potatoes
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Large Yellow onion 

Grate peeled Potatoes and Onions with a Hand Grater. Add Flour, Eggs, Salt and Black Pepper. (remember, you can always add salt and black pepper to taste)  Mix the ingredients together. Put oil in the bottom of a skillet and heat to medium-high. Put 2 or 3 lumps of the potato mixture in the hot oil (leave space between each lump), and flatten. Let them brown on one side, flip and let brown on the other side. Drain on paper towel. Serve warm. Serve with Sour Cream or Applesauce! 

Beans, Bacon and Potatoes -Mom's Recipe - Bill Parker Sr.

Mom's Recipe, But Origin unknown

• 1 lb Bacon, cut into pieces and fried
• 1 lg pack fresh Green Beans cut bite size, boiled
• 6 Potatoes, peeled, diced boiled (in enough water to cover) semi-soft

Once potatoes are close to, but not quite, completely soft, add bacon, beans and some of the bacon grease into pot with potatoes and their water.Make a roux of flour & (water or bacon grease) or corn starch & liquid, add as needed to boiling mixture to thicken, salt & pepper to taste.

Hungarian Chicken Paprikás - Donna Pryga

Ingredients:

• chicken pieces
• flour
• salt & pepper to taste
• onion (chopped)
• paprika
• sour cream

Unfortunately, I don't use measurements and it depends on how much you make;

1. Saute onions with paprika and braise chicken in this,
2. Add water to cover and simmer approx 1.5 hrs. 
3. In a glass or measuring cup, take some juice from pot and add flour to a slightly thickened consistency.
4. Add this back to pot and stir. 
5. Then again, remove some juice and do the same with sour cream (I use small container),
6. Add this to pot and stir.

Serve over rice or dumplings

Polish Chicken Paprikash - Carol Zaleski Wright

Carol Zaleski Wright -"100% Polish - my Mom used to make this all the time and now as I'm really thinking about this, one of the favorite side dishes for this was Haluski - you know, cabbage & egg noodles."

• 1 whole chicken cut up or can use 4 - 6 boneless chicken breasts;
• 1 small onion,
• 1 clove garlic,
• 3 - 4 tbsp olive or vegetable oil;
• paprika,
• 1 16 oz can tomatoes, cut up,
• 1 green pepper cut anyway you want,
• salt & pepper to taste,
• 1/2 pint sour cream.

Brown onion & garlic in oil; sprinkle chicken with paprika and brown evenly. 

Add tomatoes, green pepper, salt & pepper, cover and low heat for one hour.

In last five minutes,

take some of the liquid from the chicken and add to the sour cream until smooth - keep adding until mixture is smooth and then add all back to chicken.

Keep temp low to avoid curdling.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

Polish Little Cakes - Kolaczki - Kathy Syontko Szemcsak

My Mom, Sophie, always made these Little Cakes around Christmas and Easter in our home on Johnstone Street.

• Makes about 7-9 dozen Fruit Filled Cookies
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes

All times are Approximates - Kathy wanted the times in to show that it does not take long to make them.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16-ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 1 lb.  (4 sticks) butter, softened
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (14-ounce) cans fillings of choice (poppy seed, apricot, prune, raspberry, etc.)
• Confectioners' sugar

 Directions:

Mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add flour 1 cup at a time and mix well. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough 1/4-inch on a surface that has been dusted with equal parts confectioners' and granulated sugars, keeps the dough from sticking. Cut into 2-inch squares. Place 1/2 to 1 teaspoon filling on center of each square. Overlap opposite corners of dough to the center over filling. 

Bake for 15 minutes or when corners start to brown. Cool and dust with confectioners’ sugar. If not eating in a day or two, do not put confectioners' sugar on it, wrap or store in tight container. Freezing is acceptable also.