Campers’ meal good at home, too

Arlington cook June Sombke shares a fast-fix, meat-potato-egg combo she says is a good recipe for camping or just to make at home.

“This is easy and very tasty,” she writes. “A big hit with my grandkids. You can use your own discretion on how much Polish sausage and potatoes are needed.

“I make mine in a huge cast-iron skillet. Cut up the sausage and saute in a little oil. Peel potatoes and dice, then fry them. Scramble about 6 to 8 eggs and add to the potatoes. Stir until the eggs have set, then add the sausage.

“We eat this with ketchup on it. At home, we have a salad as a side. Hope you enjoy this!”

And we hear from June Hassler of Sultan, “I read the Forum SOS for meals that are easy to fix when out camping. My sister and I used to fix this recipe way back in the 1960s.”

It’s called:

Campers’ all-in-one

1pound ground beef

1/2green pepper, chopped

1/2onion, chopped

1can (16 ounces) kidney beans, (do not drain)

1can condensed tomato soup

1can (8 ounces) whole-kernel corn (do not drain)

1-2cups noodles, uncooked

1teaspoon garlic powder

In frying pan or large saucepan, brown ground beef with green pepper and onion. Drain off fat and stir in kidney beans with liquid, tomato soup, undrained corn, uncooked noodles and garlic powder, mixing well. If mixture seems too thick, add some water to the soup can, swirl around and pour into pan. Stir again, then cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, or until noodles are soft, stirring occasionally.

SOS: Martha Patterson of Monroe writes, “I have a request that dates back to the 1930s. My younger brother called me from Georgia before Christmas, asking for our mom’s molasses candy recipe. Our parents and older brother are gone now, and our older sister has a memory problem.

“I can remember our folks cooked on a coal-burning range. They used a big iron skillet to cook the molasses and white sugar. I think vinegar was used, and they also used baking soda. I think they held the spoon up, and the candy was ready when it let a thin thread of candy hang down.

“It was cooled, then pulled. They either floured their hands or used oleo on them. They stood apart and tossed it back and forth to each other. When it was very light-colored, they rolled it out like a rope on a floured cloth, cooled it and then broke it in 3-inch pieces.”

If you can share a recipe for this “pulled” taffy-type candy, please write to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

We are always happy to receive your contributions and requests, but please remember that all letters and all e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.

The next Forum will appear in Monday’s Time Out section.