Notes from the Spring Creek Arts Guild

A couple of weeks ago I read an article entitled “The Dirty Secret of Secret Family Recipes” on the website Atlas Obscura. The article was about how many very special and “secret” family recipes turn out to have originated on the backs of food packages.

One of the main characters in the article is a restauranteur who is horrified to find that the potato salad he serves in his restaurant, his grandmother’s secret recipe, is actually from the label of a Hellman’s mayonnaise jar. While I understand how this particular person would be embarrassed, I really do not understand why a food label recipe would be considered to be less than any other recipe.

It stands to reason these recipes would be good, since the food company is hoping they will lead to more sales of their product. I, personally, always pay attention to label recipes and many of them have become my favorites.

A couple of years ago I started thinking about two label recipes my mom and I made when I was a kid—one was called “Meat Pie Italiano” from a Pet-Ritz Deep Dish Pie Crust package, and “Napoli Casserole” from a Kraft Mozzarella Cheese package. My mom still had both recipes written on cards in her recipe box and sent me pictures of both of them. I have made them both several times and have found they are as good as I remember. They have gone straight into the “Black Book” that I mentioned last time. You can find both of these recipes on the website - JustAPinch.com - if you are interested in trying them.

Another recipe we used when I was a kid is the fudge recipe from the Kraft Marshmallow Creme jar. I did not even know there was another way to make fudge! I have tried other people’s fudge made from “normal” recipes and have yet to find one that tops the marshmallow creme fudge, and it is so easy to make!

Last fall I bought a box of HEB brand mashed potato flakes to use in making yeast bread. As I was pouring the potato flakes out of the box into a jar, I noticed a recipe on the side for Potato Soup, so I cut the recipe out and stuck it in the jar with the flakes. I am so glad I did that! The potato soup became a favorite on cold days this past winter. It is easy to change to suit whatever is on hand, too.

Finally one of my most-used package recipes—Rotel and Velveeta cheese dip. I have never met a person who did not like this dip and it is so easy and fast to make in the microwave. Another bonus is that you can keep the ingredients, all two of them, on hand in the pantry.

That reminds me—I need to go search the internet for another childhood favorite: Enchiladas Suizas from the Old El Paso Green Enchilada Sauce can. Back then the only corn tortillas we could get in South Carolina came in a can…do they even still make those? They still make the enchilada sauce because I bought a couple of cans of it the other day. What are your favorite food package recipes? Spring-CreekArtsGuild@gmail.com