The Secret Recipe(s) Revealed...

I stole the photo off the Internet...it is NOT a photo of my infamous mix. But since I had no photo of the 10 roaster pans I made, I decided to improvise with thievery...I'm good at that.

Grandma Goldie died of ovarian cancer 20 years ago in 1987. I have decided THIS year...the 20th anniversary of her death...is as good a year as any to reveal her secret recipe. Besides, several of you have asked for samples to be sent to your homes and dear Sherry in Colorado already disclosed a "secret" ingredient in her comment...WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE! It seems she may have grown up in the same "white trash" era I did. LOL

So, since I can't (and won't) mail each of you who inquired a sample, I'll just give you the recipe for you to make some yourselves...Moohahaha. And without further ado, here is my dear Gran's recipe:

4 cups Chex cereal, Cheerios, Kix, Cheese Balls, Pretzels, and Nuts

3/4 cup Salad Oil

2 TBLS Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBLS Garlic Powder

1 TBLS Paprika

Mix/Blend Oil and Worcestershire Sauce and pour over dry ingredients. Sprinkle Garlic Powder and Paprika over on mix, while stirring to evenly distribute. Bake for 2 hours at 225 degrees, stirring every 20 minutes in oven.

**Tips: I tend to buy corn/wheat/rice chex cereal and add all three. One box of regular sized cereal has about 8-10 cups in it...you CAN make a lot! Planter's no longer makes their cheese balls (believe me, when they stopped making them, I called the company!). Utz does make large barrels of cheese balls usually sold at Sam's Club's, Costco, or possibly Walmart (OR, MDMHVONPA can mail you some from Pennsyltucky where they are made!). I use a shaker to mix the powders in so they sprinkle over the mix evenly. ENJOY!

And, since some of you even requested samples of the pumpkin and banana bread I make, I give you THESE recipes also!

Banana Nut Bread

2 cups sifted flour

1 TSP soda

1/2 TSP salt

1/2 cup margarine (I use real butter)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 TSP vanilla

3-4 bananas

1 cup chopped nuts

Measure and sift together flour, soda, and salt. Cream margarine(butter) and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and stir until thoroughly mixed. Stir in mashed bananas. Fold in dry ingredients. Place in well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes (or until a tooth pick stuck in the middle of the loaf comes out "clean").

Pumpkin Bread

1 2/3 cup flour

1/4 TSP baking powder

1/2 TSP cinnamon

1/4 TSP nutmeg

1/3 cup melted shortening (I use half real butter...there's a theme here!)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 TSP soda

1/4 TSP cloves

1/4 TSP salt

1/3 cup water

2 eggs beaten

1/3 cup chopped nuts

2/3 cup raisins

1 cup cooked pumpkin (canned does just fine)

Combine dry ingredients and add remaining ingredients. Mix well together. Pour into well greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

And now you, too, my friends, can enjoy the same childhood kitchen treats I grew up with each holiday! Happy holidays...