Here it is, the Betty Crocker's Cookbook 1969 that I got in the early 70's. It was my only cookbook for years and served me well...as you can see.
As I have matured in my cooking tastes it has been ignored, for newer and more modern recipes. Lately I have been seeing quite a resurgence in the dishes of the past...with a new spin put on them of course. So I thought, let's take another look inside.
This favorite, literally fell out of the book as did half of the pages as you can see below.
Waikiki Meatballs, one of the very first 'exotic' recipes I tried in my newlywed kitchen. I was so proud to stir up something none of the other wives in our circle had made!
So, last night I decided to try it out again and see if it tasted as I remembered.
I must confess, I had forgotten how 'not fun' browning meatballs can be and remembered thinking, way back then, that it would be much better if they were meat 'squares' instead of balls.
I changed it up a bit and switched the green pepper out for a small jar of drained pimentos.
Here is the end result, and there was a nod of approval from the Mister. In those early years I served it over rice but chose rice noodles this time.
As I look back, I realize how far our culinary tastes have come in these years. In the 1970's this would have been a special dinner, perhaps for company and now we could easily find something like this in the frozen food section to 'zap' in the microwave on a evening short on time...How times have changed.
If you are interested, here is the full recipe....short and sweet.
Changes that I made:
I could not find that size of pineapple tidbits so I used two 8 oz. cans and it turned out fine.
Saffola oil instead of shortening.
Less Sodium soy sauce.
1 4oz. jar of pimento, drained, in place of green pepper.
I did enjoy reliving my first years of cooking and will try to include more of these early recipes into my menus in the future.
What was your first cookbook and do you ever make any of your early recipes, still?
I'd love to hear about it.
Have a great day, my friends. xo
