Once in a long while I can get someone from the Osprey Observer to give me an old family recipe from the past. I lucked out this month with one I think you’ll like. It is different and little bit special because it came from Vermont, the state where I was born. From Kitchen of Patricia Tracy. The recipe came from my Great grandmother…in Vermont. Years ago my great grandparents owned a large horse farm. They raised stallions and each year planted a mile field of Pumpkins for children at Halloween. Kids came from miles around to gather pumpkins to carve. My great grandmother came up with lots of Pumpkin recipes, but this one was everyone’s favorite on cold winter nights.
Vermont Pumpkin Soup Ingredients:
½ cup onion 3 tbsp. Butter 2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin 1 tsp. Salt 1 tbsp. sugar ¼ tsp. nutmeg ¼ tsp. ground pepper 3 cups chicken broth (fat free) ½ cup half & half
Directions: Chop onions and gently brown with butter in pan. Put mashed pumpkin with onions in pan. Add salt, sugar, nutmeg & pepper. Slowly add chicken broth & beat thoroughly, but do not boil. To serve, pour into a tureen and add the cream. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Yummy! P.S. Unusual tip for the kitchen: Do not use bread or cornbread stuffing in the turkey. They pull moisture out of the meat and add to the cooking time. To reach a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees with stuffing in the cavity, breast meat will reach 185-190 degrees and be OVERDONE. Bake the stuffing separate in a cassero9le dish.

Many years ago, I was attending the University of Florida in the Civil Engineering Department. I was living off campus and holding down two jobs to make it through. When it came to food, I didn’t live very “high on the hog.” I was experimenting with “semi-homemade” food long before Sandra Lee became famous. There were a couple of food prices that I remember well. When there was a special on, I could get hamburger and chicken for $0.29 a lb. One of my semi-homemade desserts was the combination of Jello and pound cake mix. These were inexpensive items that I could afford. You could create several different flavors, depending on your mood. I know this sounds crazy, but I liked grape. So here is a simple combination that the children will like because they can choose their favorite flavor. How can you beat that?

Jello Pound Cake
Ingredients:

1 box of Betty Crocker pound
cake mix.
Follow instructions on the box.
2 eggs as per box instructions.
3/4 cup water.
1- 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat water to a boil.
Dissolve Jello in the water. Strawberry - Banana Jello is a good one to try. 
Mix as per directions on the box.
Line bottom and sides of loaf pan with Crisco or Pam as needed.
Place mix in the loaf pan and bake as directed.
A slice of this pound cake can be dressed up with various fruits and/or
sauces, depending on the flavor of the Jello.
Let the kids decide. 

P.S. Here is an unusual tip for the kitchen. Whenever you empty a jar of   dill pickles, use the leftover juice to clean the copper bottoms of your   pans. Just pour the juice in a large bowl and set the pan in the juice for  about 15 minutes. It comes out looking like new.

There are times when a delicious food item comes to you out of an unexpected meal. Not long ago I was invited for supper by a friend of mine, Carey Schmitt. (I grew up with the noon meal being called lunch and the evening meal being called supper).

Her mother was visiting with her at that particular time and her mother, Susan Schmitt, made a homemade banana pudding for desert. It was not the typical recipe with vanilla wafers. So as you might know, I had to have the recipe. For those of you who know that I am on a diet, this was on a carb night, so it was OK for me to have the dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup regular flour.
• 2 tablespoons sugar.
• 1/2 cup margarine or butter.
• 1/2 cup pecans.
• 1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese.
• 1 cup powdered sugar.
• 12 ounces Cool Whip.
• 5 or 6 bananas.
• 1 large package instant vanilla pudding.
• 3 cups milk.

Directions:
Step 1: Mix 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 cup of softened margarine and 1/4 cup of coarsely ground pecans. Make into a bottom crust in a 13 X 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool.

Step 2: Mix together 8 ozs. softened cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 of the 12 oz Cool Whip. Spread on top of the baked crust.

Step 3: Slice the bananas and place on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Step 4: Mix large package of instant vanilla pudding with 3 cups of milk. Pour over the bananas and let set until ready to serve. Before serving, top with the remaining Cool Whip and 1/4 cup of coarsely ground pecans.