More than a recipe box

Stories from
our table.

The dishes matter. So do the people, accidents, traditions, and handwritten notes that made them part of the family.

Featured memory

Sausage Balls

Family memory stays close to the recipe it belongs to.

I love these appetizers. I made them for our New Year's Eve party for 2002 with Teresa and her family. I used half mild and half hot sausage so that they wouldn't be too hot for the kids.

From the family

Notes worth keeping

77 memories are already preserved beside their recipes.

Pepper Poppers

We grow our own banana peppers just to use in this recipe.

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Green Goddess and Crab

Still a holiday favorite that goes fast. Michael

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No Name Crab Dip

Another family favorite during the holidays.

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Slush

Too good on hot summer days! Teresa

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Iced Tea

Now some may laugh at placing this recipe in this cookbook, but Yankee visitors to ourhome really like our iced tea. The last time Tony traveled for work, he was in Chicago and when he asked if the tea was sweet, no one knew what he was talking about! And he was served instant tea, to boot!

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Grandma Frederick's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This really will cure the cold or the flu! Teresa and Marie

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James' Fruit Salad

I think it mote fun to cut up the fruit than Pokemon.

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LBJ Salad

I wouldn't bother making this without fresh summer tomatoes and cucumbers.

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Deviled Eggs

I make these for all of our family gatherings.

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Pink Stuff or Green Stuff

This is a recipe Uncle Carl and Aunt Helen fixed every year for Christmas dinner, This one of David's favorite salads. Now, I usually fix it for special dinners and even for potluck dinners.

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Spinach Salad

This is a new favorite. If I take this to a potluck, the bowl comes home empty.

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Ambrosia

This was one of my favorite while I was growing up and now it is a favorite of our children.

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Ramen Noodle Salad

This goes over well at large parties or potlucks.

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Spinach Squares

I have friends who hate spinach, but love this dish.

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Calico Beans

I also sent this recipe. I often add more beans or a different variety of beans. I make this in the crock pot on low. I took it to a potluck dinner at church several years ago and a local restauranteur asked for the recipe! These are always a big hit.

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Southern-Style Green Beans

When I was first married, Tony's grandmother, Dud, and his mother let me watch them cook and take notes. I never thought the sugar they added was important, so I went for years not adding the sugar and nothing I cooked tasted just right. I finally began adding the sugar and it made all the difference in the world.

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Macaroni and Cheese

Tony grew up on this, and this is Michael's favorite also. I make it close to my mother- in-law, but hers is the best! Marie

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Dud's Cornbread Dressing

I bet Tony's grandmother made this every week! Mine is acceptable for a Yankee girl, but Dud's and Elizabeth's dressing beats mine by a mile!!

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Swedish Potato Sausage

Aunt Lois told me that this recipe came from Grandma Estella, but that she and Grandpa Arthur shared the cooking duties. He was a fireman and worked evet)/ other day. On his days at home, he cooked. Aunt Lois said he enjoyed cooking.

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Swiss Steak

I made this dinner a couple of nights ago. Compiling these recipes made me hungry for some of Mom's great dishes.

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Fried Spaghetti Pie

This is a great way to use leftover spaghetti.

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White Chili

A winter-time favorite. Instead of chicken, I sometimes use leftover turkey.

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Crock Pot Chili

from chili before serving. Top with any favorite garnish like cheese, green onions, sour cream, etc.

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Galumpkies

How many times has Mom made this over the years?! Marie

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Mexican Beans and Sausage

I got this recipe from a Mexican lady who was doing a demonstration at Krogers. Vety authentic!

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Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is absolutely wonderful! Marie

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Pansit (Filipino Rice Noodles)

I work with many therapists from the Philippines. Whenever we have pot lucks, someone will bring this. I had to beg real hard to get this recipe, but they finally gave in. If you like noodles, you'll like this dish. Makes a lot. I get the rice noodles and chinese sausage at a local Asian market.

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Breakfast Casserole

I put the sausage or bacon between paper towels and try to squeeze out all the fat I can. I also make this in two 8 X 8-inch pans. After they're cooked, I freeze one for later.

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Shrimp Surprise

This is a very favorite meal at our house. We have it whenever shrimp is on sale, and I get the store to steam it with their spices.

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Veal Parmesan

I remember Mom making this recipe when we lived in Tennessee. I also remember setting the table for 8 people. It took a whole gallon of milk just to give "firsts". Cindy

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Taco Salad

This is a great vegetarian dish that the girls always take to CYO potlucks, because a lot of the kids are vegetarians. Tony's cousin, Brenda Chandler, shared it with me after I had it at my in-laws during one of their 4th of July family reunions.

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Crock Pot Spaghetti

I remember Mom serving this in Jackson. It's very good. Cindy

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Hamburger Stroganoff

This is a delicious meal! Mom and Dad came to my house every evening the first week after Andrew and Allison were bom and cooked dinner. What a blessing. This recipe filled our town house with onion smells, so David and I wondered about it. It tumed out to be our favorite and we requested it for Allison! You have to try it! Cindy

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Bubba

This is a Czechoslovakian Easter treat from a friend at work.

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Boiled Fish

This may be a dinner that we had when we were down to a foursome family. Mike and I really enjoyed it. Cindy

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Benihana Japanese Fried Rice

This fried rice can be prepared ahead of time by cooking the rice, then adding the peas, carrots, and egg plus half of the soy sauce. Keep this refrigerated until you are ready to fry it in the butter. That's when you add the salt, pepper and remaining soy sauce. This recipe is from www.topsecretrecipes.com. We don't like so many peas, so I cut them back to about 1/4 cup and really boost the shredded carrot. Sometimes I'll add left over pork chop, chicken or shrimp, diced small.

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Lasagna

This is David Gansmilleds favorite meal that Mom makes. Cindy

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Crepes or Jenny Lind Pancakes

Dad said that his mom made this for him, When he left for college, he asked her for the recipe and discovered that it was mostly experienced guesswork. The more often you make it, the more right it will be. This was a special breakfast that Dad made for us, and he always had to eat last! Marie

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Rolled Biscuits

This will make more than enough for the corn bread dressing.

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Corn Bread

This will make enough corn bread for corn bread dressing.

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Beth's Cheesecake

I make this in a 9 X 13" pan. I place blueberries in the top left hand comer and make altemating stripes of strawberries and Cool Whip in the shape of the American Flag. I make this every July 4th,

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Fruit Cobbler

This was the first recipe that Dud, Tony's grandmother, gave me afterl was married Marie

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German Fruit Cake

I still love Mom's fruit cake better than any other I have ever had. Marie

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Lemon Ice Box Pie

This is Tony's favorite dessert! His mom always makes him one when we visit. Marie

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Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake

This is our very favorite dessert. This is what the kids want instead of birthday cakes, so Tony makes this about 3 to 4 times a year.

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Cupcake Cones

I used to make these for the kids when they took a snack to school on their birthday, Easy clean up for the teacher as there were no cupcake wrappers and minimal crgmbs. Plus the kids all that it was cool to eat a cupcake this way!

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Pineapple Cherry Bake

We usually make this with cherry pie filling, but the others taste just as good.

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Jelly Roll

The whole Gansmiller family enjoys this. Freezer strawberry jam is especially good in it. Grape does not work well according to my brother, it seems it turned his roll green. I think foil works better than the brown paper. My mother always made my Grandpa Jay B. Waggener a roll for his birthday.

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Nan's Chocolate Cake

This was a family favorite as I was growing up.

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Apple Cake and Sauce

I don't let the apples and sugar set 45 minutes. I cut the apples in small pieces and add the sugar and stir, the let it set while I mix the dry ingredients in another bowl. I chop the nuts. In that time the sugar is usually dissolved. I usually double the recipe and use a 9 x 11" cake pan. I start the sauce about the middle of the baking time of the cake, so it is ready to pour on the cake when it comes out of the oven. Back when the children were small, we bought apples by the bushel and stored them on our enclosed porch The boys would take a couple of bites of an apple and leave it. We couldn't afford to waste them. I needed something to do with them besides make applesauce. I found this recipe in Martha Dixon's Cookbook. Everyone in the family likes this apple cake with the sauce on top.

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Caramels

My own recipe. I started making them about 10 years ago. Many family memories! Now, I make about 8 to 10 batches at Christmas time.

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Vinegar Candy

Aunt Lois shared this with me. This is Sophia Swanson Lind's recipe. She was Estella Lind Martell's mother. Aunt Lois said that this was a big favorite for her, Uncle Ed and Dad when they visited in the summer. Marie

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Chocolate Truffles

These are a lot of work, so I usually only make them on Valentine's Day for my sweethearts.

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Top-of-the-Stove Cookies

I made this a million times when I was in high school. It was my very favorite cookie.

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Spritz Cookies

your favorite shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°Fs for 8 to 10 minutes, until barely browned. Remove to cooling racks. Store in a tightly covered container.

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Mexican Wedding Cakes

This recipe came from Aunt Bonnie in 1956.

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Katie's Peanut Butter Cookies

Katie is the only one who can bake these just right! Marie

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Scotch Oatmeal Cookies

This is Mookie's favorite cookie!

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Cracker Brittle

Jessie and Katie's favorite!

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Oatmeal Caramel Bars

These are Amanda's favorites. She likes to take them to school on her birthday along with Toffee Bars.

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Goof Balls

This is a long-tem family favorite of the Martell's and was made at Christmas time under the supervision of Dad. Lots of memories of Dad with this cookie recipe. Teresa The least favorite part was cutting up the dates, but then they came out with prechopped dates. Halleluiah! Marie 1965

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Easter Story Cookies

This is an Easter Tradition that our children enjoy.

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Papa's Cookies (Nan's Sugar Cookies)

Nan was my great-grandma. She was famous for her baking. Mygreat grandfather, Papa, loverhersugar cookies so much that we called them "Papa's cookies". Nan

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Toast and Tea

To this day, I have toast and tea when I don't feel good. In fact, I offer it to my patients frequently and it almost always helps.

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Bull's Eyes

I made this to get my twins to eat a good breakfast. I make this too, but we call it Toad in a Hole. After cooking the toast and the circle of toast on both sides, the circle of toast is placed over the egg to "hide" the toad.

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Caramel Apple Dip

I suppose you could use regular cream cheese, but if you start making it with fat-free, no one will ever know the difference! This tastes just like caramel!

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Granola

My own recipe that I came up with when Mom asked me to make a batch for her at Christmas time.

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Standard Creamy Ice Cream Base

Keep this one close. Once the base is cold, creamy, and balanced, almost any favorite flavor can follow.

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Nana Nilla Ice Cream

Roasting the bananas is the small move that makes this flavor sing: deeper sweetness, less water, and a little caramel at the edges.

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Shamrock Mint Chocolate Chip

The chocolate is drizzled into the moving churn, where it freezes on contact and breaks into delicate flakes instead of hard chunks.

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Chocolate Ice Cream

Cocoa powder brings the backbone; melted chocolate is the optional upgrade when the occasion calls for something extra rich.

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Strawberry Ice Cream

Cooking the berries first concentrates their flavor and keeps extra water from turning the finished ice cream icy.

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Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Let the pecans cool completely before they meet the churn. They stay crisper, and the ice cream keeps its smooth texture.

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Toasted Milk Powder

Stop at light golden brown. The powder should smell a little nutty and marshmallow-like, never burnt.

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Chocolate Flake Technique

A slow drizzle makes thin flakes. Pour too quickly and you will get larger chocolate ribbons and chunks instead.

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John’s Ice Cream Rules

The best batches are won before the churn starts: cold bowls, cold bases, and mix-ins ready at the right moment.

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