Vintage Brownie Recipe

I have many, many wonderful childhood memories of baking brownies using The Modern Family Cookbook by Meta Givens. My Mom got the book from a coupon in an oatmeal box sometime after she and Dad were married in 1961.  I can never remember a time without it. In fact, I blame my love of brownies on this cookbook!

This was our go to recipe when I was a kid with only one substitution - the recipe calls for 2 squares of baking chocolate and Mom substituted 1/3 cup of cocoa and 2 tblsps of margarine for the chocolate.

Here is the original recipe by Meta Givens -

Brownies

3/4 cup all purpose flour                                  2 eggs beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt                                             1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter or shortening                             2 squares baking chocolate melted and cooled
1 cup sugar                                                    3/4 cup chopped nuts

   Sift flour, measure and resift with salt.  Cream butter, gradually blend in sugar and add beaten eggs; beat until smooth and fluffy.  Add vanilla and stir in melted chocolate.  Add flour mixture alternately in 2 or 3 portions, stirring well after each addition.  Add nuts with last few stirs.  Spread in an 8-inch square cake pan which has been buttered and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 20 minutes. Remove pan to cake rack. Cut in pieces while still warm. Makes 16 to 20 brownies 1 x 2 inches.

Here are my observations about the original recipe along with substitutions - 

Ok, really? In what world does an 8 x 8 pan make 16 brownies???? Not in our world, that's for sure.  If I'm feeling especially magnanimous I can sometimes get 9 out of the pan, but usually I'm too greedy and their are only 6 !!!

Nuts - I don't like nuts in my brownies, so we rarely put nuts in them as a kid.  I still feel that the perfect brownie shouldn't be interrupted by a crunchy nut!

Substitution - 1/4 of a cup of cocoa and 2 tbsps of margarine can be substituted for the 2 squares of baking chocolate.  I actually used both the cocoa and the 2 squares of chocolate in this recipe and they came out really yummy!

Mom's copy of the cookbook was copyrighted in 1961. She said that she also bought copies for both my Grandma's too.  I was lucky enough to find a pristine copy of the same cookbook in an antique store in Atlanta in 2002 or so.  Mine was printed in 1958 and belonged to A. A. Moore. She wrote her name in it along with the date 9/10/58.  This cookbook is actually older than I am - can you believe it?

This is a really easy to make recipe that I always seem to have the ingredients for and cooking these brings back some wonderful childhood memories.

How about you? Do you have memories of cooking with your Mom or Grandma? Just looking at this cookbook brings a rush of warm loving memories to mind.  In our family, you showed your love with food and boy was I loved!!

Wishing you all lots of lovely memories!

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Vintage Memorial Day Postcards

I absolutely love vintage postcards - got that from my Mom! Since I had quite a few pinned to my Holidays ~ Patriotic Board I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Thanks to The Graphics Fairy and Magic Moonlight for their vintage clip art and all the other bloggers out there who have shared these images.

Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with your family and loved ones. Thank you to all who served!

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God Bless Oklahoma

Our hearts are heavy with sorrow for our brothers and sisters in Oklahoma.  

Prayers of peace, hope and healing for all.

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The World's Easiest Dessert - Delicious Dump Cake

Do you love easy & delicious desserts? Especially Cobbler? Then we predict this will become a favorite for you! Only 5 ingredients and incredibly quick and easy.  My Mother-In-Law, Brenda, made this for us in January of 2008 and she found it in a Hints from Heloise column in the newspaper.  Leigh's Dad doesn't much care for it which only means there is more for me!!!!

Ingredients-

1 - 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple in heavy syrup
1 - 21 ounce can of cherry pie filling
1- 2 layer yellow cake mix
1- cup pecans chopped
1 - stick margarine or butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Spread pineapple with syrup, evenly in the pan.  Spoon pie filling evenly over pineapple.  Sprinkle cake mix over the fruit. Sprinkle chopped nuts over top of cake. Cut butter into thin slices and place on top of nuts.  Bake 50 min or until golden.  Serve warm.


That's all there is to it! Just 5 ingredients and it is soooooo good! Especially warm out of the oven with a scoop of Bluebell's Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream! YUM!

Tomorrow night is our last Bell Choir rehearsal (until fall) at church. I'm taking this for everyone to try.  Hope they don't mind that a piece is missing! Had to post it on the blog.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

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Happy Mother's Day

To all the beautiful women in our lives - Happy Mother's Day! 

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren

If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer 

has not already been.  ~Robert Brault

No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love.  It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.  ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

Perhaps we are given a mom that we might take into death the memory of a lullaby. 

  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

There's a story behind everything..but behind all your stories is always your

 mother's story..because hers is where yours begins.”

― Mitch Albom, For One More Day 

Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears

 you didn't know existed.  ~Linda Wooten

All that we are or hope to be can be traced back to these women. We love you all strive every day to become more like you. Thank you for teaching us what it truly means to be a Mother.

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Mother's Day Copy Cat Craft

Last week we put together our Pinterest inspired Mother's Day Crafts and Leigh's favorite was a jar put together by Eighteen 25. She came over last Sunday and we made one for her Grandma - hope she doesn't see this post until after we give it to her!!!

Here's our version of Eighteen 25's string jar using their printable label -

We got most of the supplies from Wally World and lucked out because they had embroidery floss on clearance for .10 a skein.  The floss is wrapped on small craft sticks (also from Wal-Mart).  I would have loved to use the large peg clothes pins like Eighteen25, but they didn't have them and it was Sunday so Hobby Lobby was closed. We also used some white and cream cotton yarn and twine to help fill in.

The top of the jar is covered with a piece of scrapbook paper with Happy Mother's Day 2013 printed on it.  The label on the front of the jar can be download courtesy of Eighteen25 HERE

Leigh just about wore her fingers out twining the floss around the craft sticks, but we both just love how adorable it turned out.  It will look great in my Mom's craft room.

Thanks so much to Jamie, Jodie and Jennifer of Eighteen25 for the great inspiration!!

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Solar Lights - DIY Quick Fix

One of the best things about blogging is finding those GENIUS ideas out there that make you just want to Jump Up and Down they are so great!!! Kathe over at Kathe With an E posted a super easy quick fix for all those cheap solar lights that I have been throwing away for years!!! (&#$&$!1(&#&!!!

I can't believe how quick and easy this is - Really! Click on the picture and check out Kathe's post.

Solar Lights ~ DIY Quick Fix

Thanks so much Kathe for sharing this BRILLIANT (pun intended) IDEA!!! I can't wait to try it out!

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