Happy Homemaker

Today I took enjoyed a step back in time, pretending I was the domestic goddess my mother was. I even pulled out my Mom's Kenmore sewing machine. The antique we used when I was growing up was so hard to thread that I'd have to call Mom to the basement to help me every time it came undone, which was often. By the time I graduated from high school, Mom upgraded her machine to a 1978 Kenmore "Zig-Zag Sewing Machine," with it's built-in cabinet. I'm too embarassed to tell you how long it took me to figure out how to work the prized Kenmore (I never did get the fancy zig-zag feature to work), but here it is . . . that little bit of stitching on my paper apron.

Here's what it looks like with the recipe card outside the apron pocket.

Here's the card recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy and From the Kitchen Of
Paper: Summer Picnic Designer paper, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, and Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Bashful Blue
Embellishments: Blue Bingham Ribbon, Bashful Blue buttons, 1/4" Polytwill Old Olive ribbon
Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Fiskers Embellishing/Border Punch, Cuttlebug folder, and Mom's 1978 Kenmore

You'll notice my recipe card doesn't actually have a recipe, so I thought I'd offer you one of my favorites, my Uncle Gerald's Tamale Pie. Uncle Gerald was a salesmen for Del Monte in Indianapolis during the 1970s, so, well, get out your can opener.

1 lb. ground beef
1, 12 oz can whole kernel corn
2, 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic chopped
1 tsp. sugar
dash salt and pepper
1 or 2 tsp chili pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup olive chopped
Cornbread batter (follow your own recipe or follow the directions on two packaged corn muffin mixes)

Cook the meat, onions and green peppers in skillet until the vegetables are tender and the meat is done. (You do not have to brown the meat, just cook it until it's done.) Drain the grease off the meat; add the corn, olives, tomato sauce, and seasonings, but not the cheese. Simmer this for 20 minutes until it thickens. Add the cheese and stir it until it melts.

Put all this is a 9" by 9" by 2" glass dish (sprayed with Pam). Spread the uncooked cornbread batter on top of the meat/vegie/cheese combination and bake it at 375 degrees or until the cornbread is brown.

So, whether you're a fab career feminist or the SAHM of the new millenium, I hope you enjoyed our trip down happy housewife lane.