Modern Recipe | Rosie's Riveting Recipes

Home Baked Strawberry Pie

I love strawberries. They’re one of my all time favorite fruits (along with peaches and nectarines). I love strawberries any way they’re prepared. Fresh out of the box. On shortcake with whipped cream. As jam on toast. Dipped in chocolate. On top of ice cream. And as a fresh baked pie or cobbler.

I found this recipe years ago. It went over big with all my friends, and I’ve adapted it to my own taste. Those who prefer a homemade crust may enjoying trying the Victory Pie Crust recipe from the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook. I tested it in my own kitchen. It’s a delicious, flakey crust.

HOME BAKED STRAWBERRY PIE

1 package premade pie crusts
2 pints fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, if desired
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450F. Place 1 pie crust in the center of a pie pan. Blend sugar, flour and cinnamon, (if desired) in a medium-sized bowl and gently mix with fresh strawberries. Pour mixture into the pie pan and dot with butter. Cover the top with the remaining crust and flute the edges together. Cur several slits across the top. Beat egg in a small mixing bowl and brush the top and the edges. Bake 34 to 45 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Note: If the edges get too brown, cover with strips of aluminum foil and continue baking.

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives a glimpse into life on the WW 2 home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one with more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War 2 ration recipes with short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with many other online book sellers.

Chocolate Chip Cupcake Brownies

Sometimes good things happen by accident. I had some over ripe bananas and decided to try something new. So, I downloaded a recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins.

It seemed easy enough. I went to the kitchen, mixed the dry ingredients together, and set aside. My next step was mix the sugar, oil and eggs. Okay, got that done. Now I need to mash the bananas, and…there’s a problem. The bananas are gone! As in vanished into thin air. I knew I hadn’t thrown them away. However, my cleaning lady had been here earlier today, and she must have thrown them out.

So, what to do now? I skipped the bananas and put the muffins in the oven. What came out was extraordinary. The tasted just like brownies. In a cupcake cup. I call them, “cupcake brownies.” Rosie would have been so proud.

Inspired by a recipe at allrecipes.com.

Chocolate chip Cupcake Brownies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla*
1/4 cup chocolate chips (regular or mini)

Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Mix sugar, oil, milk, egg and vanilla together in a separate bowl until well blended. Add flour mixture and stir until moist. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes approximately 1 dozen muffins.

*Almond extract can also be used.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with other online booksellers.

Zucchini Nut Bread or Bundt Cake

I do not know where this recipe came from, but I’ve been using it for years and it’s delicious. You can make it as a quick bread, although I prefer to bake it as a bundt cake.

Please note this recipe creates a lot of dough. I recommend using an extra large mixing bowl. I prepare mine in a 7.5 quart bowl.

Gayle Martin

Zucchini Nut Bread or Bundt Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract*
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 x 4 inch loaf pans or a bundt can. Nonstick cooking spray may also be used.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together into a mixing bowl or on a sheet of waxed paper. Set aside. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in an extra large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, and mix until well blended with a large wooden spoon. Stir in grated zucchini and nuts. Pour batter into pans. Bake 40 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool pans on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

* Almond extract may be used instead of vanilla extract.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with other online booksellers.

Very Berry Upside Down Cake

I don’t remember where this recipe came from, but I obviously found it somewhere. It was for a blackberry upside down cake, but I’ve made it with other kinds of berries, including raspberries and blueberries, and it always comes out well. I’ll bet you could even create a black forest upside cake with raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Come to think of it, that does sound good, so I’ll just call it a very berry upside down cake.

This recipe is great if you’re trying to avoid processed foods and go back to basics, just like they did in Rosie’s day. In fact, I’m sure Rosie would have approved.

Gayle Martin

A Very Berry Upside Down Cake

Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups fresh berries, such as blackberries, raspberries or blue berries
1/4 cup sugar

Cake

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare the topping by melting butter and brown sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Add berries. Stir until mixture begins to bubble, about 1 to 3 minutes. Add sugar, stir and crush berries slightly for approximately 5 minutes, or until berries at hot and slightly broken down. Remove from heat and pour into a 9-inch square baking pan.

Prepare the cake batter by creaming the sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Alternately add flour and milk to the butter mixture. Add vanilla and mix. Pour batter over the berry mixture. Batter may be thin.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool until pan is slightly warm, about 30 minutes. Run a knife along the edge of the cake to separate it from the sides of the pan. Place a cake plate over the pan and flip. Lift pan to slowly release the cake.

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Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with other online booksellers.

Banana Muffins

This recipe came to me from a friend and fellow author, David Lee Summers. The recipe is eggless and sugarless and uses honey instead of sugar, but you’d never know it. The muffins are delicious. It’s also a great way to use up over ripe bananas, so Rosie would have approved.

By the way, I used regular all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour, and it came out nicely. Bread flour will also work.

Gayle Martin

BANANA MUFFINS (makes 12+ muffins)

5 or 6 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin pan or use paper baking cups.

Combine flour, nutmeg and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Stir together the bananas, oil, honey, and vanilla in another bowl. and stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Blend with a spoon until moistened. Add chopped nuts, if desired.

Spoon the mixture into muffin cups, filling to the rim. Bake until golden brown-about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

Book Cover for Rosies Riveting Recipes — Cover photo by Rob Resetar

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. During WWII, the United States government devised a food rationing program to help insure that every family would have enough to eat. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives readers a glimpse into life on the WWII home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one Rosies’s Riveting Recipes includes more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War II ration recipes and short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Southwestern Roast Beef Soup

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I rented a booth in an antique mall in Tucson, Arizona.

The mall included a small soup and sandwich shop. Nothing big and fancy, but it was a cozy, quiet place to grab a quick lunch whenever I was there. The food was always top notch.

One day they were serving a southwestern roast beef soup. It tasted like a cross between a beef stew and chili con carne. I wanted to ask for the recipe. However, their soups were usually made from the prior day’s leftovers, so I doubt there was a recipe. So, I did the next best thing. I let my palate decide, and then I came up with my own recipe. It’s a close match, and since it uses leftover roast beef, I’m sure Rosie would have approved.

Sadly, the antique mall is no more. While I made a profit each year, it wasn’t much, and maintaining my booth was a costly undertaking. I eventually closed it out. The mall itself went out of business a few years later, which I was sorry to see. That said, I have no regrets. I met a lot of interesting people while I was there, and I learned a lot about how the retail business works.

Gayle Martin

Southwestern Roast Beef Soup

½ to 1 pound leftover roast beef (such as round roast), including the pan drippings

1 cup beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 ounce)
1 small can diced green chilis (optional)
1 cup corn or mixed vegetables
3/4 cup small, uncooked pasta, such as a shell pasta
2 teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon lemon pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt, if desired

Chop roast beef into small, bite-sized cubes. Blend all the ingredients into a 4 quart stockpot and bring to a boil. If soup is too thick, add more stock until desired consistency. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30to 45 minutes or until meat is tender.

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Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

White Chicken Chili

I love making chili con carne. It’s one of my all time favorite comfort foods. It’s spicy, it’s tasty, and simple to make. Best of all, many of the ingredients are already in our pantries and it freezes well.

However, it’s also nice to take a break and try a different variation, such as chicken chili.

Chicken chili is a delicious alternative for those who don’t eat red meat. It has its own unique flavor, and, like chili con carne, chicken chili also freezes well. Turkey can also be substituted for chicken, making it a nice recipe for delicious holiday leftovers.

White Chicken Chili

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenders, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 small can chopped green chilies (4 oz)
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cans cannellini beans
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
1 cup Monterey jack cheese
1 chopped jalapeno (optional)

Place olive oil in a 4-quart stockpot and cook the chicken, onions, and garlic. Once chicken is cooked all the way through add chicken broth, green chilies, beans and seasonings. Place cornstarch in a small bowl, mix thoroughly with water. Pour into the chili and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Top each serving with cheese and add chopped jalapeno, if desired. Goes nicely with cornbread on the side.

Variations: For a hotter chili, add the cayenne pepper. For a sweeter chili, substitute 1 can of corn for 1 can of cannellini beans.

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Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com and other online booksellers.

Pumpkin Walnut Cheesecake Pie

Okay everybody. Sing along with me. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, tra, la, la.” Why? Because it’s Pumpkin Spice season!

This recipe may not exactly be low carb, but who cares? It’s pumpkin spice season! So what makes pumpkin spice season so special? Well, it’s one of those things that if I have to explain to you, you’ll never understand. Suffice to say pumpkin spice is something you either love, or you can’t stand. There seems to be no middle ground.

If you’re a pumpkin spice fan like I am, you’ll have to give this recipe a try. You may even want to consider serving it with your holiday dinner instead of a traditional pumpkin pie. Did I also mention it’s sinfully delicious? But don’t take my word for it. Give it a try and taste it for yourself

Gayle Martin

PUMPKIN WALNUT CHEESECAKE PIE

2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin
2 eggs
2 frozen pie shells, thawed
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream sugar and cheese together in a large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin and spices and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add salt and blend until creamy. Pour equal amounts into pie shells and bake for 30 minutes.

While cheesecake is baking prepare topping. Cream butter and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add walnuts and blend thoroughly. Remove cheesecakes from oven after 30 minutes and sprinkle on topping. Return to oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Serve with whipped cream topping, if desired.

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Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Barbecued Ribs Crockpot Style

My college boyfriend, who I’ll call George, was studying to become an architect. However, had he pursued it, I truly believe he would have been a damn fine chef. George was a whiz in the kitchen. He was master at creating simple, tasty dishes on a slim budget. George could take a boring, frozen pizza, pile on his own freshly made toppings, and turn it into a gourmet meal.

One of George’s signature dishes was his short ribs. He’d dump them in a crock pot, pour in a bottle of barbecue sauce, and cook them on low for eight hours. They came out so tender the meat fell off the bone. Neither of us had access to an outdoor grill at the time, but George’s ribs sure satisfied our yen for barbecue.

Over the years I’ve tweaked his recipe, ever so slightly. These days, with food prices on the rise, short ribs are like gold. However, their ugly cousin, the back rib, is cheaper and flavorful. They also work nicely in a crock pot.

I simply stack the ribs in and add a little barbecue sauce between the layers. I’ll then add a little sauce on the top. The sauce becomes watery as it cooks, so I only use a quarter to half a bottle. Then I turn the pot on low and cook for seven to eight hours. I also check them while they’re cooking. If the meat on top gets a little dry I simply spoon some of the sauce from the bottom of the pot over it. Then, once the ribs are cooked, I’ll pour on a little more fresh sauce when I plate them.

I like to serve mine with scalloped potatoes or baked beans. Or both. Some people like corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Or you may wish to try grandmother’s green bean recipe. Whichever way you choose, it’s a nice recipe for those who don’t have access to an outdoor grill.

Gayle Martin

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Quick and Easy Taco Soup

The other day I came across a couple cans of diced tomatoes I bought by accident. They had diced green chilies in them, and I always buy plain canned tomatoes.

No worries. Like Rosie, of the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook, I don’t throw food out. I see mistakes like this one as a happy accident and a chance to try something new and different. So, after browsing a few online recipes for inspiration, I came up with my own creation. It’s so good that I’ll have to make it again.

Gayle Martin

QUICK AND EASY TACO SOUP

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies (14.5 oz), OR
2 cans plain diced tomatoes with one small can diced green chilies
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 small can tomato sauce
2 cups beef broth or water
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Brown ground beef and onion in a skillet. Drain, and place in small stockpot. Add canned tomatoes, green chilies, corn, black beans and tomato sauce. Add beef broth or water and stir well. Add seasonings. Stir, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and simmer for approximately ten minutes. Top with broken tortilla chips and cheese, or with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.