Weird Apple Recipes

My husband sold an apple cookbook and I asked to see it before he mailed it off. I figured it would have some of those "ingredient" that doesn't belong type recipes. Boy was I right! How about some apple with your spicy hamburger and kidney bean mix served as a Taco Salad. Or in a fish stew with the carrots, celery and potatoes. Or how about putting two in your corn-cheese chowder. I think I'll pass on those. This one was really weird, I just can't imagine what it would taste like:

Apple Spinach Lasagna

1 pkg. (8 oz.) lasagna noodles.

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 pkg. (12 oz.) chopped, frozen spinach

4 large apples, peeled, cored, grated

Nutmeg to taste

12 oz. Swiss cheese, grated

Fresh sliced mushrooms ,if desired

Cook lasagna and spinach as directed. Drain well. Layer in buttered baking dish: lasagna, soup, spinach, apples and cheese. Repeat the layers. End with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Recipe didn't say where to add the nutmeg.

To be fair the book does have some good sounding recipes. This is one of them:

Pumpkin Shell Casserole

1 small pumpkin, 7" in diameter

2 cups apples, peeled, chopped coarsely

1 cup raisins

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

Wash and dry pumpkin, slice off top for lid. Scrape out seeds. Combine all ingredients, mix well, and fill pumpkin. Cover with "lid", place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until apples and pumpkin pulp are tender. Begin checking doneness after 1 hour. It may take up to 45 minutes longer. For faster baking, cover pumpkin with aluminum foil. This casserole may be served hot or cold. Serve from shell, spooning some pumpkin with each portion. Variation: in addition to above fruit, prunes, apricots or pineapple are excellent.

Rumanian Chicken Pancakes- hold the pears please.

The Super Chicken Cookbook has this odd recipe in the international chapter. I have seen quite a few chicken baked with fruit recipes,but this sounds similar to a bizarre chicken/fruit egg foo young. I know nothing of Rumanian cooking so I hope I am not insulting someone's grandmas' cooking but this is just weird. If I had some nice chicken breasts to use this would be about the last recipe I would try.
Rumanian Chicken Pancake
2 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 green skinned pears, about 3 inches in diameter at largest end- not too ripe
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 eggs, beaten until lemon yellow
Place the chicken breasts, water, onion, salt and pepper in a saucepan with a tight-fitting cover. Bring to a rolling boil and skim off any froth that may gather. Cover, turn heat to simmer and cook for 35 minutes, or until the thickest portion of the chicken can be pierced with a fork.
Peel and core the pears, cut them into 1/2-inch cubes and add them to the boiling chicken. Cook 8 minutes, or until the edges of the pears begin to get transparent. Remove the pears and chicken from the heat. Allow to cool.
Separate the meat from the skin and bones. Drain the pears and onion and add them to the chicken meat. Chop all very fine. Sprinkle the flour over the top, then add the beaten eggs. Mix all very well. Pour by spoonful onto a hot griddle and fry as you would pancakes. Serve at once, piping hot. Serves 4. Serve with applesauce, horseradish or orange marmalade.

"Full-Meal" Salad

At the risk of being gross I would say that this salad would look like someone had already disgorged a "Full meal". Another example of a company, in this case Knudsen trying to stretch the use of their product too far.

"Full-Meal" Salad
1 1/2 cups cooked meats (ham, beef, meat loaf)
1 cup mixed vegetables ( canned or fresh)
1 cup Knudsen Cottage Cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1 cup Knudsen Sour Cream
Mix meats and vegetables together. Add cottage cheese, salt, onion salt and 1/2 cup sour cream. Place on serving plate (or plates), garnish with carrot curls or parsley and top with remaining sour cream. Serves 4 to 6.

Hoppin Johns' cousin Limping Susan

Hoppin John has a cousin and her name is Limping Susan. Apparently John likes black eyed peas and Susan doesn't. This version of the recipe is from a Helen Corbitt book:
Limping Susan
1/4 cup finely diced salt pork
1 cup rice
1 onion, chopped fine
3 cups chicken broth or consomme
2 cups mashed canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Cooked okra
Slivers of cooked chicken, optional
Fry pork until crisp. Add rice and stir until rice is golden. Add onion and cook until soft. Add broth. Cover and cook until rice is done, about 1 hour. Add tomatoes and parsley and seasonings, fork-stir and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Just before serving add cooked okra and slivers of leftover chicken.