Thursday, January 1, 2009

WHY, OH WHY?

I have two main recipe files on my computer--plus a couple dozen I never look at. One is "Lynne's Recipes," and the other is "Recipes to try." Tonight I went through the entire "Lynne's Recipes" one. All 859 pages of it. Whoa, don't get too impressed, they are in 3x5 format and each recipe is considered a page. Some recipes take two 3x5 cards and occasionally they will take more.


Most of them are not even my recipes! I have dumped what looks like hundreds of "to try" recipes in there. And most of my "real" recipes aren't even in there. What a jumbled mess. I should plan to straighten it all out as a New Years Resolution but I'm not going to. I am going to start a new file called, "Lynne's Real Recipes." And then I will probably dump some "to try" recipes in there by mistake and by the time I'm eighty years old and don't cook any more it won't matter.


So, why am I even thinking about it when I could be thinking about the "white sales" that are supposed to be happening in January or that the grapefruit in January and February that makes wonderful juice? Or that there are lots of interesting blogs out there to read? The heck with the recipes. On to greater things.


But before I go here's the easiest recipe I own. I got it the second year I was married and it has been a family favorite all those years.

CHERRY CREAM CHEESE PIE

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/3 cup Lemon Juice

1 Graham Cracker Crust
1 can Cherry Pie Filling (This is too much pie filling. If making several pies two cans filling are adequate for three pies.)


Blend first three ingredients until smooth and creamy. Add lemon juice and blend until mixed. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust. Refrigerate. Top with chilled pie filling.

PS And why do the desserts outnumber salads by four to one and they outnumber the side dishes--veggies--probably fifteen to one? Something is basically wrong with my sugar covered brain.

PPS And I wish I could take credit for the photo but it's from the Eagle Brand site. Some nice food stylist took it.

7 comments:

Colette Amelia said...

do you have my computer? Or did we learn file management from the same cereal box?

Well you know how many different ways is there to make vegetables and salads...and do you really need a recipe?

But desserts well then there tasty sugar plums and pies and cookies, and cakes well them there is endless ways to tempt and delight us and of course why not try them all?

Bonnie said...

Here's a bit of trivia for you. I got this recipe when I was a college student and I am proud to say that I am the one who brought cheesecake to the Relief sisters in Japan.

While a missionary in Tokyo, we had an investigator whose dad didn't want her to be baptized, so I told my companion that I wanted to make a cherry cheesecake and take it to him.

You know, the old Fuller Brush salesman trick, while he is opening the door to get the cheesecake, we could sneak in and talk to him about his daughter.

My companion had never heard about cheesecake or cream cheese, but fortunately we were in Tokyo--the largest city in the world at the time. When there are over 10 million people, there was bound to be an American food store somewhere....

We found one right down the street from the LDS Mission Home which was also in the section of town where all the foreign embassies were located. Later, they tore down the Mission Home and put the Tokyo temple on the same property.

Every loves sweetened condensed milk in Japan. They even give it as a Christmas gift to people, but they don't sell sour pie cherries in Japan. No one has ever heard about sour cherries there, so we had to put fresh strawberries on the top instead.

Anyway it worked, the dad consented, and she was baptized.

Then the Relief Society heard about what happened and wanted me to teach the sisters how to make cheesecake. They loved it. I used the exact recipe that you just posted on your blog.

After I got home, I heard how the recipe had spread from Tokyo to Osaka and then to all of the cities in Japan where there were branches of the Church.

Amazing, huh? Little ol' me actually changed the course of history in Japan--food wise.

Bonnie said...

P.S. When fresh strawberries weren't available, we also put canned mandarin oranges on top in a pretty design. They also work and taste great on it, too.

Anonymous said...

A great recipe, Lynne, and that photograph is yummy too. Good work.

Shawn said...

Your computer sounds like my recipe box----so unorganized and well---I only use about 1/8th of the recipes!

Most of them are in my head.

The cheesecake sounds divine---in fact, I'd love some right now...

tearese said...

oh my. I love cheesecake with cherries. I may have to make this RIGHT now. Or not. The kids have to go to bed, then I do to. But, with my horemones as they are at the moment, I could really use this pie. MMMMMMM.

Astromom said...

I think I will try making this cheesecake (after I get through my congested cold phase) it looks great.