Strawberry Danish-Sharon Larson

Crust

2 C flour

1 C margarine

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C chopped walnuts, optional

Filling

2 envelopes Dream Whip

1 C powdered sugar

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 t vanilla Sauce

1 pkg. Danish Dessert (Strawberry Junket)

1 pkg. frozen strawberries (other frozen fruit, if desired)

 Mix together flour, margarine, brown sugar like pie dough with fork. Add nuts. Spread in 9x11x2 cake pan and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool and recrumble. Put half in the bottom of the pan.

Prepare Dream Whip; cream together powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla. Add to Dream Whip. Pour in on top of crumbs in pan. Sprinkle remainder of crumbs on top.

Prepare junket sauce using liquid from frozen fruit. Cool. (Frozen fruit may be added to the sauce also when cooled). Cut dessert in squares and pour sauce on top of each piece. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Sharon’s notes: I usually get two packages of frozen fruit because I think it tastes better with more fruit. Or I get fresh strawberries (in season) and add them to the cooled sauce. Also, I usually use a 9×13 pan because that is what I have.

Lindsay – This recipe comes from Eileen Ungermann, an old roommate of Sharon’s. It has long been a favorite of Steve’s and he requests it for his birthday desserts. When Chris and I were younger, we picked different desserts for our birthdays, but the older we got the more frequently we requested “Danish Dessert.” During my freshman year of college, some of my friends from home called my mom to get the recipe from her. Then they surprised me with a fantastic birthday celebration, including a night on the town dressed up in crazy clothes and Strawberry Danish to cap it off.

No-Bake Cookies-Sharon Larson

2 cups sugar

½ cup milk

½ cup margarine

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa

Bring to rolling boil. Remove from heat.

Add:

3 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup peanut butter

1 cup coconut, optional

Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper to cool. (Although it’s ridiculously delicious to eat while still warm, straight from the pan!)

I have made this cookie recipe too many times to count—there’s something so appealing about a “no bake” cookie!

Of course, I have to admit that even with the ease of it, I have sometimes messed it up. Once I made some cookies to take to work as a Christmas treat, but for some reason they were a little too dry. None of my coworkers would touch them because they looked too “interesting.” But they still tasted great, so I was glad that I got them all to myself anyway!

Gingersnaps-Sharon Larson

Cream until fluffy:

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

 Sift together:

2 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

Stir flour mixture into molasses mixture.

Form into small balls.  Roll in granulated sugar:  place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet.  Bake in 375° oven for 12 minutes.  Makes about 5 dozen.

I make these every year at Christmas.  Even though they are called Gingersnaps, I think that they taste better cooked to the point that they are done but still a soft cookie instead of a hard cookie.  I take them out of the oven when the very center of the cookie still looks a little raw and let them sit on the cookie sheet for another minute while the center finishes firming up.  Then I slide them off the pan and onto a cookie rack to finish cooling.  The sugar coating gives the outside of the cookie a little crispness but the inside stays soft and moist.  The original recipe called for ¾ cup of shortening instead of the vegetable oil.  Measuring and mixing with oil is so much easier than using shortening so I substitute the oil every year.  The smell of these cookies baking gives your house a great Christmassy smell during the holidays.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole-Sharon Larson

2 lbs. fresh broccoli spears, steamed to tender crisp

1 ½ lbs. cooked chicken, cut into large chunks

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2/3 cup of mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Arrange broccoli in a 9×13 pan.  Cover with chicken.  Mix soup, lemon juice, and mayonnaise.  Pour soup mixture over chicken.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until hot.  Spoon casserole over hot rice

This recipe is another of Steve’s favorites.  Eileen Ungermann, an old roommate, shared this recipe with me.

Enchiladas-Sharon Larson

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. hamburger
1 large onion, chopped
1 4 oz. can of chopped olives
flour tortillas
1 1/2 pounds grated cheese

Brown hamburger and onion.  Drain grease.

2 cans mild enchilada sauce (medium size)
3 cans water (use the can that the enchilada sauce was in to measure the water)
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1-2 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
2-3 T. chili powder

In a separate pan, melt butter.  Remove pan from heat. Add flour, stir.  Slowly add enchilada sauce, stirring with a wire wisk to avoid lumps.  Slowly add water and spices.  Mix well.  Heat to a boil. Continue cooking until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

Add 1-2 cups of enchilada sauce to the meat to moisten.  Add drained chopped olives to the meat. Stir.

Spoon 2-3 T enchilada filling into a tortilla.  Roll tortilla.  Transfer the filled enchiladas to 9 x 13 pan.  Continue until pan is full.  Pour enchilada sauce over filled tortillas.  Top with grated cheese.  Bake in oven (350 degrees) for 25-30 minutes or until heated.  Serve with sour cream and salsa.

This is another Larson family FAVORITE (all caps)!  Whenever Chris or I would come home from college and my mom would ask what we wanted to eat while we were home, mom’s enchiladas was always tops on the list!

 I also took this recipe to D.C. and even made it a few times (miracle of all miracles).  It was great to freeze in individual Tupperware containers to reheat later since it makes too much to eat at once.

 This is a recipe I got from Eileen Ungermann, an old roommate.

Cinnamon Nuts-Sharon Larson

In a saucepan, combine:

2 cups of sugar

2/3 cups of evaporate milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Boil, stirring occasionally to soft-ball stage. Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir. Add 8 cups of walnuts. Stir quickly to cover walnuts with candy mixture. Spread out on waxed paper in small clumps. Let cool. Store in a covered container.

This is a recipe that Steve’s sister Linda makes every Christmas. I make them every Christmas and give them to friends and neighbors. I love this recipe because I can make a large batch of nuts in just a few minutes.

Chicken and Rice Casserole-Sharon Larson

Chicken, cut into pieces
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 cups rice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans cream of celery soup
2/3 cup milk
1 package fresh sliced mushrooms, optional

Rinse chicken.  Pat dry with a paper towel or just allow water to drain off chicken.

 Melt butter in pan. Add rice.  Sauté rice until rice is browned.  Add cans of soup and milk to rice.  Heat until mixture begins to boil.  Add package of sliced mushrooms. Stir. 

 Place chicken in 9 x 13 inch pan.  Pour hot rice mixture over the chicken.  Tightly cover with aluminum foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 2 hours or until chicken is cooked and rice is done.

Cooks’ Notes
Sharon:  I don’t put in the butter.  I just spray the pan with “Pam” and then brown the rice.  I usually use chicken thighs (skin removed) for the chicken, but you may use any chicken pieces with or without bones.

 Lindsay: It’s definitely better with the mushrooms!

 Sharon:  I got this recipe from Eileen Ungermann, a roommate of mine from college.

 Lindsay: Although I don’t know the origins of this recipe, it has been a fixture in the Larson home as long as I can remember.  This was one of the few recipes that I added to my collection when I moved to Washington, D.C. because it was not too difficult for my feeble cooking skills.  I once made this for a big dinner party, in which I was trying to woo Neal with my cooking skills.  Of course, all of Neal’s roommates showed up, except him.  Oh well, I got him in the end!

Sharon’s Perfect Pie Crust-Sharon Larson

4 c unsifted flour

1 T sugar

2 t salt

1 ¾ c shortening, room temp (don’t use oil, lard, marg or butter)

1 T white or cider vinegar

1 lg egg

 1-Put first 3 ingredients in lg bowl and mix well with fork.  

2-Add shortening and mix with fork till crumbly.

3-In small bowl beat ½ c cold water, vinegar and egg.

4-Add to first mixture and combine just until moistened.

5-Divide into 4 balls and flatten into a thick patty. 

6-Chill for 45 minutes.

7-Roll out crust one at a time. 

 Bake bottom crust 12-15 minutes at 450.

Note from Helen-Sharon shared this recipe with me many years ago and I have used it many times over the years.  It makes a terrific, flaky pie crust.  For a pie topper that is fun, after you roll out the top crust, use a small cookie cutter like a star or a leaf and lay the cut pie dough overlapping all over the top of the pie.  It makes a pretty topper for fruit pies.

Raisin or Date Filled Cookies-Helen Horton

2 c shortening

2 c white sugar

2 c brown sugar

4 eggs slightly beaten

2 T water or milk

2 T vanilla

2 t soda

1 t salt

7 c flour

Cream shortening and sugars, add eggs.  Add liquids.  Then add dry ingredients.  Shape into rolls, wrap tightly and freeze until firm. 

2 c ground or finely chopped raisins or dates

1 c water

¾ c white sugar

1 T flour

1 t vanilla

1 c finely chopped nuts

 Combine in sauce pan and boil until blended and thick. 

Slice cookie dough into ¼ inch slices.  Put a tablespoon of filling on one cookie dough round.  Cover with a second round.  Bake at 350 on non-greased sheet until lightly browned, about 9 minutes or so. 

Easiest way to make these cookies is to make a double batch of the dough and freeze so that the next time you want some filled cookies, you can quickly cook the filling and pull the dough out of the freezer, slice and bake. 

Grandma requested this recipe but I have fond memories of Sharon’s love for these kind of cookies and how she introduced them to me when we were kids.