Frances Reynolds Johnston’s Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients
Meat
Amount	Ingredients
2 lbs	Ground beef, fresh not frozen
2 slices	White bread, stale or toasted
2	eggs
½ cup	Water
	Milk
1	Bay leaf
24-30	Ginger Snaps, crushed
To taste	Salt
To taste	Black pepper
To taste	Ground ginger
Dash	Nutmeg
2 cans	Mushroom soup
1 soup can	Water
1 soup can	Milk
1 can	Mushrooms
Directions
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 350 ° F. Soak bread in milk, not too much just enough to soften it. Add eggs, milk toast, salt, pepper, 4 ginger snaps and nutmeg to meat. Mix well. If meat is too sticky add some plain bread crumbs. Roll into small meatballs. Cover cookie sheet with Reynolds wrap. Be sure it has a lip to contain grease. Bake in oven approximately 25 minutes. Turn once for even browning. In large Dutch oven, heat 2 cans of mushroom soup, water and milk. Add can of mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms can be substituted. Add 20 crushed ginger snaps, if not gingery enough add more to taste. Be sure it does not boil. Spoon meatballs into heated gravy. Cook under very low heat for 30-45 minutes. Stir often. Stir gently so to meatballs do not break up. Add water if gravy gets to thick. Scrap bottom of pot so that it does not burn. These can be served as hors d'oeuvre or with flat egg noodles as a main dish.

Barbara Johnston Uihlein Gesell’s Doves of Peace

Ingredients
Amount	Ingredient
1 pkg	active dry yeast
2 cups	milk (scalded)
6 Tbsp	sugar
6 cups	flour
2 tsp	salt
2	eggs, beaten
¼ lb	butter, melted
1	egg, beaten
2 TBSP	water
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Sprinkle yeast on warm (not hot) milk in large bowl. Add sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt, 2 eggs and beat until smooth and elastic. Beat in cooled melted butter. Add 3 more cups flour and work in with hands to form a medium-stiff dough. Turn on lightly floured board and cover and let rest 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise in warm place until double in bulk.
Roll dough on floured board into a rectangle ½ inch thickness. Cut into 24 strips, ½ inch wide. Roll strip in ropes 9 inches. Tie each rope into loose knot one end shorter than the other. Pinch short ends to resemble birds head and beak. Flatten long end and snip with scissors to produce a fringe (tail feathers about 5 or 6) place in greased baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water. Let rise.
Bake in oven until golden (15 minutes). Add cloves for eyes.

Lorene Mutschler Nilles's Sauerbraten

Ingredients
Meat
Amount	Ingredients
3 or 4 lb	Chuck Roast or other beef meat
1 Med	Onion
Marinate
1 ½ cups	MILD cider vinegar
½ cup	Water
1 TBSP	Whole pickling spice
1	Bay leaf
1 TBSP (Heaping)	White Sugar
1 TBSP	Salt
Gravy
½ cup	Brown sugar
2 TBSP (Heaping)	Flour
Directions
Preparation
Two to four days ahead of time place meat in shallow pan. Peel and cut onion in 4 pieces. Place in dish. Mix Marinate well and pour over meat and onion. Place in refrigerator. Each day turn meat over on other side.
Cooking for Oven		Cooking for Slow Cooker
Place meat with marinate in roasting pan and cover. Place in oven for 1 hour at 350 ° F.		Place meat and marinate in cooker. Place on medium for several hours until meat is tender. This I have not done so you will have to test it out.
Cooking for Stove top
Place meat and marinate in heavy pot with lid. Cook on high until marinate comes to a boil. Turn in on low and cook for about one to two hours on low. You will have check to see when the meat is cooked completely.
Gravy Making
In all three cases when meat is done, remove it and an onion to separate bowl. Clean off as many of the spices that cling to the meat as possible. Chop up the onion and put it in a separate little bowl. Strain all the spices out of the marinade. The marinade will be the basis for your gravy. Place two heaping tables spoons of flour or corn starch in a half cup of cold water and stir. Set it aside for the moment. In a deep skillet place about 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons of marinate. Melt the brown sugar in the skillet and stir it constantly until it caramelizes. Caramelizes means it begins to turn brown. Be careful not to burn. Pour marinade and onion into the skillet and bring to a boil. Stir the flour/cornstarch up and slowly pour it into the mixture until the mixture reaches the thickness you want. Remove from heat. You have your gravy.

Getting Started

After a long holiday weekend with family I decided that I wanted to have a clearinghouse for family recipes. Since I am thinking mostly about my girls, you will be able to find Nilles, Goode, Mutschler, Johnston, Uihlein recipes.  If you have 'em send 'em.  Even better if you have an original handwritten copy, scan it and I will post that with a typed version as well.  And all this while I am dieting. :D