Carrot Glaze
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Cornstarch
1/3 C Orange Juice
1/3 C. Brown Sugar
1 C Water
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in saucepan.  Bring to boil and cook until thick.  Pour over cooked carrots, turning to glaze all carrots.

My Deviled Eggs
These always get raves, and are really delicious! I must have received  this recipe from my mother.
Ingredients:
12 eggs
Salt
Johnny’s seasoning
Miracle Whip
Prepared Yellow Mustard
Paprika for garnish
Directions:
Cover eggs well with cold water in large saucepan, add ½ tsp salt and bring to boil. Set timer and boil 15 minutes.  When done, remove saucepan, pour off hot water and run under cold water, rinsing eggs well, and filling pan to top with water to cool pan twice.  When water is cool, let eggs sit for 5 minutes in water.  Remove shells, rinse and halve eggs.  Scoop yolk into medium mixing bowl (reserving whites), mashing with fork. Add ½ tsp salt, and liberal shake or two of Johnny’s seasoning. Stir to mix. In separate, smaller bowl, mix ½ cup Miracle Whip and 3 tbsp mustard.  Stir to mix, and add to yolk mix.  Blend together well, tasting and adjusting seasonings.  If mix looks too dry, mix a bit more dressing together and add to yolk mixture, a bit at a time.  Scoop yolk mixture back into egg whites, heaping up.  Garnish with paprika on top, place on plate or in flat container and cover well.  Chill 2 hours.

Green Chili/Egg Frittata
A frittata is an egg dish, generally served for breakfast or brunch, and many have additional items added. They are very good!  Most are baked in the oven, but this one’s done on the stovetop.
Ingredients:
6 large Eggs, lightly beaten
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
½ tsp good quality Chili Powder
¼ bunch Cilantro, leaves only, finely chopped
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 small onion, finally chopped
1 small can (4 oz), diced green chilies
1 C Monterey Jack Cheese
Directions:
In large bowl, combine eggs with salt, pepper, chii powder, and cilantro. Whisk until well blended, set aside.  In 10” non-stick skillet, heave olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened and slightly golden. Add chilies and heat for 2 minutes ore. Pour egg mixture into pan and swirl bottom of pan with a fork to mix vegetables with eggs. Reduce heat to med/low, scatter cheese over top and cook frittata slowly, covered ‘til eggs are set almost all the way through. Shake pan back and forth on burner occasionally to be sure frittata is not sticking. Place pan under broiler for 1-2 minutes, just to set top of frittata completely. Remove from heat and let frittata sit in pan 10 minutes. Place round platter on top of pan and invert frittata onto it. Cut into wedges and serve.

Garlic Butter Egg Noodles
We like this as a side dish… I know there are a lot of prepared boxes in the stores, but with as many allergies as I have, and most others in the family have, it is much better for us to shy away from them, with all the preservatives, etc., they add.  This is simple, fast, and good.
Ingredients:
2 C Egg Noodles, cooked as directed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, snipped
2 tbsp fresh basil, snipped
½ C chicken broth
2 tbsp flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese for garnish
Directions:
Put large amount of water on in pot for noodles, and cook to al dente as directed on package. Drain, return to pan and keep warm. Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium/low heat.  Add garlic, parsley, basil and chicken broth.  Heat to boiling, and sprinkle flour over, stirring in with whisk.. Season with salt and pepper, and check seasoning (taste).  Continue to simmer for a few minutes to reduce and thicken broth.  Pour over noodles and mix together well.  Remove to large bowl, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Maria’s Perfect Steamed Rice
My good friend Maria gave me this no-fail recipe for rice years ago, and it works every time.
Ingredients:
2 C Water
1 tbsp Butter
½ tsp salt
1 C White, long-grain rice
2 tbsp butter
Directions:
Put water, 1 tbsp butter, and salt on to boil in large saucepan.  When it boils, add rice, give it a stir, and when a boil is reached again, cover and immediately reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover rice and set a timer for 20 minutes.  As my niece Tina says “Do not peek, do not stir, do not worry.”  At the end of 30 minutes, remove from heat, fluff with a fork, add 1 tbsp butter, and plop the lid back on until you are ready to serve.  Jim thinks the taste is enhanced by adding Johnny’s Seasoning at the table, but I like it just as it is…

Real Creamed Corn
I must confess that in all my  years I never gave a thought to eating any kind of creamed corn but canned.  I never knew anyone who did not eat canned creamed corn.  However, when I recently saw them fixing it on TV it looked so easy I decided to try it to see what the canned creamed corn was really supposed to taste like.   This is adapted from a recipe found on the TV. I will be making my own from now on, since this is not only simple and quick, it tastes great.
Ingredients:
4 ears corn (frozen if out of season)
2 tbsp. Butter
1 rib celery with green tops, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp. Sugar
2 tbsp. Yellow cornmeal
salt and pepper
1 C. heavy cream
Directions:
Remove kernels from corn.  An easy trick for this is to put a small bowl upside down in a larger one.  Place the flat end of the cob on top the upside down bowl, and then you can run your knife all the way down the side, and kernels fall into the larger bowl.  After removing kernels scrape cob with the dull side of knife to get all the “good stuff” off.  In a saucepan over med. Heat, sweat the onion in butter and salt until translucent.  Add corn and pulp mixture to saucepan and cook over medium high until the juice from the corn has tightened.  Sprinkle corn with sugar and stir constantly for about 2 min.  Sprinkle cornmeal onto the corn, using a whisk to combine well.  Add the heavy cream and cook until corn has softened, about 2-3 minutes.  Season, and mash corn up a bit.  Serve and enjoy.  

Maria’s Mexican Rice
This rice is traditional for Mexican meals of all kinds, and is yummy good!
Ingredients:
1 C. White Rice
3 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 Clove Garlic or ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
½ C. Onion, finely chopped
For Tomato Sauce:
½ C. canned tomatoes
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Garlic Powder
1-1/2 C. Chicken Broth (or water)
Add additional seasonings at this time
or
2 Tbsp. canned Tomato Sauce
2 C. Chicken Broth (or water)
Directions:
In 10” skillet with cover pour oil and heat, add rice and saute until lightly browned, stirring to keep it from burning.  Add more oil if necessary.  Just before it is lightly browned add onion and garlic powder, and saute for just another minute or more.
Mix tomato sauce ingredients in blender, or use the canned version to save time and add to rice slowly, since oil is hot.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer, add cover and simmer, covered, for about 15-20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.  Keep covered while it cools for a few minutes before serving.

Sami’s Green Beans
This recipe first came to me from my Aunt Sami.  She made it to see if my grandfather (who would only eat fresh green beans) would eat them canned, and it worked!  He really liked them.  I did too, and my family wasn’t crazy about green beans, so I began fixing them this way all the time, and they ate them right up.
Ingredients:
1 can Green Beans (cut any way)
¼ small onion, chopped
Garlic Powder to taste
1 slice bacon, cut into four sections
Salt and Pepper to taste
Water (or bean liquid) to top, but not covering beans.
Directions:
Place beans in small saucepan, including liquid – add more water if necessary.  Add onion, garlic powder, bacon, and seasonings and mix.  Cook uncovered at med-high heat, to reduce liquid.  Ideally, they cook until the liquid is almost gone, about 15 minutes at my altitude.  Watch them carefully and stir often to make sure they have liquid and don’t burn.  You will be rewarded with a great green bean dish!  

Frozen Vegetables:
While I was raised on canned vegetables, I was not exactly crazy about them, and gradually changed to frozen ones to use when hurried. We mostly use peas and corn with everyday meals. Here is how we prepare them: After placing in a bowl of appropriate size for the servings I'm making, I place them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on the amount, until heated.  I then pour off any liquid that has accumulated and put a tablespoon or more of real butter on top, and heat again for another minute to melt the butter and stir to mix it throughout, and serve.

Fresh Vegetables:
Being raised in southern California, I didn't realize that everyone did not eat a lot of fresh vegetables until I went to Interior Alaska.  There, due to the distance they have to travel in winter, and the additional cost to get them there, they are simply not eaten as often as here in Oregon and California, where many of the vegetables used in the country are grown.  Here is how we usually have them:

Broccoli: We love broccoli and it is very good for you, so we have it often.  We like it "al dente" meaning still crunchy, and not limp, so I clean and cut the flowerets and stems apart, place them all in a bowl of appropriate size, and heat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave, then add butter and re-heat for another minute, as I do with frozen.

Tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, avocado, etc: We simply clean, slice or make sticks, and place in a dish.  I sometimes add a container of dressing for dipping some of them. Very simple, very good for you.

Picnic Macaroni Salad
Jim and I have this very often in the summer.  It is good with many things, or all alone.  We take it to potlucks, we take it on camping trips so we don’t have to cook as much, we have it with barbecue.  It’s simple and good!
Ingredients:
1 (7 oz.) pkg. salad macaroni (about 2 C.)
8 hard-cooked Eggs
1 C chopped Celery
1 C chopped Onion
1 tbsp. chopped fresh Parsley
1/4 tsp. Ground Pepper
2/3 C Mayonnaise
Directions:
Cook macaroni as package directs; drain, rinse under cold water and cool thoroughly, about 30 minutes. Chop 7 eggs, reserving one for garnish.  In large bowl, combine macaroni, eggs, celery, onion, parsley and pepper. Add mayonnaise, toss gently. Chill 3 hours or more. garnish top with reserved egg slices.

My “Best” Mashed Potatoes
I know, everyone thinks they know how to make mashed potatoes, but there are mashed potatoes, and then there are MASHED POTATOES!  Potatoes are probably my favorite food, and have been, my entire life.  So, I am focused on making my potato dishes as good as they come. There are things I have learned over the years that contribute to making potatoes that are especially good, and I’m passing all this ‘inside’ information on to you here, so you can truly enjoy the best in mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
3 lb. Russet Potatoes, peeled & cut in 1” cubes
3/4 to 1 C Milk
6 tbsp (real) Butter, softened
Salt 
Freshly ground Black Pepper to taste 
Directions:
Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Don’t ask me why, but the water temperature makes a difference.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Add a generous pinch of salt and continue to simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes.  Potatoes only absorb salt well when they are very warm, so it is important to salt them while cooking.  When potatoes are done, drain and return potatoes to pot to dry slightly. This will make a BIG difference in your end result.  Mushy is not good. Run potatoes through food mill or potato ricer, use hand mixer, or mash thoroughly by hand, in pot.  Right now, taste for salt seasoning, and adjust and add pepper. Heat milk in saucepan. Add hot milk to potatoes, over heat, until smooth. Add butter and heat until finely textured and fluffy.  The extra step of heating the milk makes a very big difference in taste, and keeps the potatoes warm instead of letting them cool from the cold milk… try it! 

My Potato Salad
This is also a summer favorite, and there is a real secret to making it taste great, so read carefully…
Ingredients:
8 or 9 russet Idaho potatoes work best
1 large red onion, chopped
several stalks of celery, sliced in thirds lengthwise, then chopped small
10-12 large eggs, hardboiled
Best Foods mayonnaise
Salt
Directions:
Scrub potato skins and place in large pot of cold water.  Bring to boil and cook with skins on until fork tender.  Remove from water with tongs and place on paper towels to cool until they can be handled.  DO NOT LET THEM GET COLD.  Potatoes cannot absorb salt unless they are warm, so the secret to great potato salad is to peel and cut them up while they are warm, and salt them well immediately.  I also mash them with my fingers, at this time.  This is the only way I have found to get the flavors to blend well with the potatoes. While potatoes cook, place eggs in large saucepan in cold water. Bring to boil and boil them, 15 minutes - I time them.  Immediately remove from heat and plunge saucepan under cold water, rinsing twice and filling pan to top with cool water, until water and pan feel cool.  Let eggs sit in water a few minutes, and then crack shells in a rolling motion first one way, and then the other.  In this manner they usually peel well. Jim recently bought me an egg slicer, and it was not expensive, but it sure is a handy little gadget.  It seems to take a lot of time out of preparing eggs.  In one motion the egg is sliced into thin slices, and then all it takes is one cut the other way for each.  Very handy!  Salt the eggs separately when placed into the potatoes.  Add onion, celery, and mayonnaise, and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, and you’ll have great potato salad.  

My Potatoes in the Foil
I don’t know where I got this recipe, but I’ve been making these for a very long time.  I often used to have these with baked beans and wieners, since they worked well in the oven together, and the flavors go together well.  I have always had a love affair with potatoes, and when I was a child they would not allow the potatoes to be passed to me until everyone else had theirs, because there would not be enough for everyone if I got hold of them first.  Sigh… I have to say that it was probably true.  I never met a potato I did not like, and have been known to eat them raw.  This dish is easy, delicious, and doesn’t even dirty a dish!
Ingredients:
4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut as for French fries.
4-5 slices American cheese, or sharp cheddar cheese
3-4 tbsp. Butter, cut into tablespoon size
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
Preheat oven to 400º
Directions:
After potato slices are prepared, rinse thoroughly in colander, and spread out on large rectangle of foil.  Season well with salt and pepper, then gather into loose pile and top with slices of cheese cut into 1-inch strips.  Dot with butter, and bring two long ends of foil up to center, folding together several times.  Fold short ends over each other and bend upward, forming a package that will not leak.  Place in center of center rack in oven, and bake for 45 minutes.  Foil can be placed in a dish for serving, without soiling the dish.  These reheat well if you should have any left (I never have any left).

Baked Macaroni and Cheese  
This is really great – I love it!  It's a variation of a very old dish, but this one is special, and not hard to do.  It's also great with broccoli added, chopped fine.
Ingredients:
3 cups uncooked Elbow Macaroni  
½ cup Margarine or butter  
1 Onion, chopped (about half a cup) 
1 tsp Salt  
½ tsp Pepper 
½ cup all-purpose Flour 
2-1/2 cups Milk 
Milk 
16 oz American Cheese or Cheez Whiz (I use Cheez Whiz) 
Preheat oven to 375° 
Directions:
Cook macaroni as directed. Cook and stir margarine, onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until onion is slightly tender. Blend in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil & stir 1 min; remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.  Place macaroni in ungreased 3 qt (or 6 qt, large recipe) casserole. Stir cheese sauce into macaroni. Bake uncovered for 30 min.  10 servings

 Maria’s Quick Refried Beans
These beans taste much better than canned Refried Beans, and are very close to beans made from scratch, yet they are fast to make and easy to do.  I really like them and leftovers are great heated and served with tortilla chips.
Ingredients:
2 cans Pinto Beans (16 oz. each), cooked
1 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
1 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
¼ C. Whole Milk
Hot Sauce (optional)
Directions:
Drain liquid from beans.  In large, deep saucepan heat oil until you see heat waves (but don’t let it get smoky).  Drop in a large spoonful of beans.  They will sizzle.  Wait about 30 seconds and then smash them with a potato masher.  Add another spoonful of beans and repeat procedure.  Keep adding beans by spoonfuls until they all stick together, and then add a bit of water – not too much, just enough to give them a creamy look.  Add more beans at this time, but don’t smash them too much so there will also be some whole beans in the final dish.  After all beans are in, add the cheese and mix.  Add milk, and if hot sauce is desired add that at this time.  Heat through and serve.

Roasted Vegetables
This recipe came about accidentally after seeing something similar done on TV, when we didn’t know what we wanted to have with roast chicken one night.  It is amazing how different veggies taste when prepared this way, they are all very sweet and delicious!
Ingredients:
6 red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes
½ head of cabbage
4 carrots
1 head of garlic
2 onions, cut into wedges
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Clean and cut potatoes into quarters (no peeling necessary), clean carrots and cut up, making sure that carrots are a bit smaller in size than the potato pieces, so they’ll cook in approximately the same time.  Remove whole garlic cloves from head, peeling them; cut onions into wedges, and if you love onions you might want to increase the amount of these – we do.  Core head of cabbage and cut into wedges about 1-1/2” in diameter across largest portion.  Place potatoes and carrots into large, flat Pyrex or other baking dish (at least 9x13 or larger), trying not to pile all atop one another too much, but spreading them out.  Drizzle olive oil over the top, and place into 350º preheated oven.  Roast for about half an hour, checking for doneness after 20 min. or so, as time will depend on the size of pieces used.  When they are near done, remove dish from oven, add cabbage, garlic, and onions.  Drizzle more oil over top, and return to oven for another 15 minutes or so.  The cabbage and onions should just be beginning to crisp around the very edges.  Mound in serving bowl, and prepare for a taste treat!

Pickled Cucumbers
This dish is simple and fast, but adds a nice, tangy flavor to a meal.
Ingredients:
3 Cucumbers, peeled and sliced.
3 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 C. Water
Directions: Mix vinegar, salt and water in bowl and add cucumber slices.  Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours prior to serving.  Serve in liquid, having a small fork handy for picking the slices out.