Molded Ham Loaf

2 tablespoons gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup boiling water or ham liquor
2 cups ground or finely chopped cooked ham
1/4 cup ground sweet pickle, or chopped pickle like chow-chow
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon prepared horse-radish, if available
2/3 cup cooked salad dressing, part mayonnaise if possible

Sprinkle gelatin on cold water; add hot liquid and stir until dissolved. Add rest of ingredients and season with salt if necessary. Place mixture in oiled loaf pan measuring about 5"x2 1/2'x9". Chill several hours or until firm. Slice and serve cold. Halves of hard-cooked eggs make an appetizing garnish. Double the recipe if your family numbers more than four.

Beef and Spinach

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs
2 1/2 cups cooked spinach

Melt butter in skillet, add onion and brown slightly. Add the beef, salt and sage and fry until brown, keeping the beef in separate particles. Beat the egg and add the milk. Butter a square or oblong glass baking dish. Place half the bread crumbs on the bottom, then half of the meat mixture, and next all of the well-drained spinach. Top this with the rest of the meat and the remaining bread crumbs last. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the top. Bake thirty minutes. Serve in squares. A pound can of salmon may be substituted for the beef it desired.

Supper Spaghetti

3 cups boiled spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 lb. ground chicken or calves' liver
3 cups stewed tomatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup fat or oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup shredded yellow cheese

Simmer the meat with the vegetables and the fat or oil for 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender and the mixture is thickened. Add the salt and chili powder. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley. Serve on spaghetti in a large bowl and garnish the top effetively with the remaining parsley and the shreds of yellow cheese. Not only is the dish delectable and nutritious but it is also handsome, wearing a crown of green and gold.

Macaroni with Ham

8 thin slices boiled ham
32 lengths macaroni
1/2 cup stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sauce
4 strips crisp bacon

Cook the macaroni lengths, broken in halves, in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and arrange 8 of the half-lengths on each piece of ham. Sprinkle the grated cheese and stewed tomatoes on the part of the macaroni which rests on the ham. Then roll the meat around the macaroni and arrange in a greased baking pan. Cover with the hot white sauce to which the crumbled bacon has been added. Heat in a moderate oven, 350 degrees F., for about 20 minutes. This dish is delightful served... [rest of sentence is missing]

Stuffed Tomatoes (from a newspaper clipping)

6 tomatoes
Bread or cracker crumbs
1 small onion
1 cup chopped canned meat
Salt and pepper to taste

Select smooth medium-sized tomatoes. Cut a slice from stem end, and remove pulp to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle inside of each shell lightly with salt. Mash pulp and add meat, onion and seasoning and enough bread or cracker crumbs to thicken. Stuff tomato shells with this mixture and arrange in a greased backing dish. Left over stuffing may be placed around the filled tomatoes. Replace the tops of the tomatoes and bake in moderate oven thirty minutes, or until the shells are tender.

Sausage Rolls (handwritten by Granny Roberts)

(I have to admit, I can't really figure this one out... I'll take a picture of the recipe itself and post it tomorrow)

2 cups sausage meat
2 cups chile sauce
1 cup diced celery (cooked)
1/2 small onion
1/2 teaspoon chile powder

Make the sausages into thin cakes and cook until Brown When Brown add chile sauce and the cooked celery form into long Rolls and Bake 30 minets and serve in Spaghetti cooked and seasoned.

Meat and Vegetable Pie (from a magazine clipping)

Yield: 25 servings, 2/3 c. meat and vegetables and 1 biscuit; about 15 harvesters.

3 qts. canned meat
3 c. diced carrots
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. fat
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt.
25 large baking powder biscuits

Cook onions and carrots in hot fat until tender. Add flour and blend. Add meat and stock and cook until gravy is thickened. Season and pour into baking pan. Top with biscuits and bake in a hot oven (425F) 30 minutes.

Meat Loaf (from a magazine clipping)

2 thin 2-inch slices salt pork, diced; 2 pounds round beef, ground; 5/8 cup Minute Tapioca (10 tablespoons); 1/2 small onion, finely chopped; 2 cups canned tomatoes, strained; 2 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

All measurements are level. Try out salt pork until golden brown. Add pork and drippings to other ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Bake in bread pan in moderate oven (350F.) 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold. Garnish with parsley. Serves 8.

Note: Eggs and bread crumbs are unnecessary with Minute Tapioca to bind ingredients.

Meat Casserole A La Milanaise (from a magazine clipping)

2 cans Franco-American Spaghetti
1 1/2 cups left-over beef, lamb or pork
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Buttered bread crumbs

Chop Franco-American Spaghetti a little. Grind meat and add seasonings. Arrange in alternate layers in greased casserole, finishing with spaghetti. Cover with buttered crumbs. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 F.) about 20 minutes, till casserole is heated through and crumb slightly browned. Serves 4 generously.

Porcupine Balls (from newspaper clipping)

1 pound ground beef.
1 cup uncooked rice.
1 egg.
1 small onion, minced.
Salt and pepper to taste.
1 1/2 to 2 cups tomato soup.
1 cup water.

Mix and form into balls, the beef, rice, egg, onion, salt and pepper. Pour the tomato soup and water over meat balls and bake in moderate oven one and one-half hours.

I have in my possession a collection of recipes that my great-grandmother began a little over 100 years ago. It was passed down to her daughter... my paternal grandmother (b.1899), and then on to my aunt (b. ca. 1921). Its pages are filled with handwritten recipes, newspaper & magazine clippings, and other recipes written in the handwriting of neighbors, friends and family. I will be sharing its contents here.