Do you like pumpkin pie? Then you will like sweet potato pie. Sweet potatoes are a favorite of mine. Every October a farmer from the Carolinas brings a truck load of sweet potatoes to the parking lot in front of Janet's Hair Salon. I buy a big box of them, about 20 pounds. It takes me all year to eat them,. Thank goodness they store well at room temperature. Come August, there are a few green sprouts, but the sweet potatoes are still fine. This recipe is a good way to use up those from last year as you wait for the new crop.

I haven't met a vegetable I didn't like, from asparagus to zucchini and everyone in between. It is hard to choose a favorite. Of course, potatoes are a special category all by themselves.
For this recipe, let's look at the lowly green bean. It is easy to only consider 'em boiled with onions or combined with a cheese sauce. This recipe is a little different. Try it and see what you think.

When my husband returned home from the Navy at the end of World War ll in 1945, jobs were easy to find. No experience was necessary for most of them. The first job this farm boy found was in a nearby factory machining automobile crankshafts for the Detroit car companies. He was still working there when I met him in 1947. With no experience as a machinist, he was soon looking for another job. Machinist training would have been an excellent use of his GI Bill, but that was not to be.

This is an easy recipe to fix the day before grocery shopping day. This is, if you still have some potatoes in the bin and sausage in the freezer.

This is as easy as a baked dessert can be. If you are looking for something different to take to a potluck, give it a try.

CARAMEL APPLE COBBLER
2 cans apple pie filling
18 1/2 ounce box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 cup butter, melted

Pour pie filling into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish. Drizzle with caramel topping. Sprinkle with dry cake mix. Pour melted butter over all. Don't stir. Bake at 350 F. for about 45 minutes.

When you need more than one pound of hotdogs, this is a good way to fix them. Whether for a potluck or a picnic, they will be hot and ready when you need them. I prepared frankfurters, or hotdogs, this way when I was doing the Wednesday night suppers at church. They hold well if the meal is delayed or if you are driving to the lake. Leftovers can be reheated after cooling in the fridge. They should all be eaten by then.

I had a call from a friend at church today asking if I had a good macaroni salad recipe. Yes, I do. Macaroni salad is something you see at every potluck.
In fact, I remember back in the '50s when macaroni salad first became popular, an incident that comes to mind whenever someone mentions this potluck staple. My husband and I went to our family reunion. Most every dish on the table was macaroni salad. Imagine that! I never took macaroni salad to a reunion again after that.
This is a good one, however. I have brought it up to date. It's not grandma's macaroni salad.

What do you do with leftover ham after a big dinner? I don't like to freeze the leftovers. They get sort of a freezer taste if not used within a week or two. Here is a recipe that looks elegant, that is, if leftover ham can look elegant. Anyway, it tastes good.

ELEGANT CABBAGE AND HAM
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
2 cups diced cooked leftover ham
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttered bread or saltine crumbs

Since the red grape pie was so good, I decided to try to make a “white” grape pie. Table grapes are available most of the year, so they are around to make a fruit pie when most fresh fruit isn't in season. I use our neighbors as guinea pigs for new recipes. They loved the red grape pie. The same with this pie. “Bring it on,” they said. They will try anything I make. They loved this pie, too.

There are teachers and there are teachers. They come in all sizes and ages. I had one in Junior High School that I will never forget. To save her family embarrassment, I won't mention her name.

She was old, really old. Of course, that was the opinion of an eighth-grader. I don't remember ever seeing her smile. Her teaching style left a lot to be desired. I didn't help the situation either. School was always easy for me as anyone who knows me can attest. I am easily bored. That is a dangerous combination. I tried to stay under her radar.