Recipes from the Reunion

Recipes from the Reunion—Patty’s Beans, Strawberry Chiffon Pie, and Raspberry Cheesecake; Jon’s Okra Pickles

By popular request, here is the recipe for the Nor Beans that Patty Sampson brought to the reunion:

Nor Beans

1 lb ground beef

 1/2 lb bacon

 1 can green beans (French sliced)

 1 can kidney beans

 1 can pork&beans

 1/2 cup ketchup

 1/2 cup brown sugar

 1 tablespoon garlic power

1 tablespoon dry mustard

Cook bacon. Leave a little grease to cook beef. Cook the beef, drain, and put in a crock pot. Add beans with juice except green beans (drain green beans).Add all other ingredients & cook all day in crock pot .  Always make double batch you can freeze what's left for another day.

Patty also made her mother’s recipe for Strawberry Chiffon Pie, but both pies were eaten before they got to the party:

Strawberry Chiffon Pie

1 pint strawberries

3/4 cup sugar  

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin 

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy whip cream

2 egg whites

2 graham cracker crusts

Wash berries & crush ( I use blender). Add sugar to berries & let stand 1/2 hr.                                      Soften gelatin in cold water 5 min then dissolve in boiling water.Combine with berries, lemon juice & salt. Cool & when it begins to thicken fold in beaten egg whites & whip cream.   Pour in pie shell & chill. You can garnish with whole berries. I put whipped cream on top when I serve the pie. It’s a great pie for hot weather and not too rich.

Patty offered another recipe, as well:

Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust:

2-1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs

½ C. sugar

2/3 C. real butter

Combine and press into a 9”x13” pan

Filling:

2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese

2 8-oz. packages dream whip

1-1/2 C. powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add the Dream Whip and mix until smooth. Mix the Dream Whip according to the package directions. Use an electric mixer, don’t try to do it by hand.

Glaze:

2 10-oz. packages raspberries

2 T. cornstarch

Cook until thick, then pour on top of the filled pie crust. Cool in the refrigerator until it is set up.

To save time, start the glaze first. It can be cooling while you start the crust and filling. Taste the berries and add sugar if they are too sour. Add cornstarch if the glaze isn’t thick enough. The glaze is thick, so you can use less berries, or you can use other kinds of berries. Try this recipe. I know you will enjoy. This is richer than the chiffon pie, but my family loves both, so try recipes and enjoy.

Jon’s Okra Pickles 

Jon shipped a jar of his famous okra pickles to the reunion party, via USPS, since he couldn’t carry a jar on the plane. He had left the party when I saw them sitting on the counter unopened. Stan Cates opened the pickles with his bare hands, and Alexx Angeline dived in first. It turns out that he’s a great fan of pickles, any pickles. The rest of us grabbed some before the guys could get them all, and the clan devoured the quart of pickles in a few minutes flat.  Jon explained that his recipe is the same as that for Dilly Beans, which he first found in the Ball Blue Book of Canning. He has been known to buy out the whole supply of fresh okra at the farmer’s market near his home in rural Virginia, and to can 20 quarts at a time.