Stone Soup for Five: {1970's recipe box} Grilled Breakfast Sandwiches

{1970's recipe box} Grilled Breakfast Sandwiches


You know how all the really cool bloggers cook their way through a cookbook, like the blogger from Julie and Julia?  Well, when the Modern Mrs. Darcy mentioned the idea and saw all the comments from people who have done it, I thought it might be a fun challenge too!  But I couldn't settle on what cookbook to use.  And the ones I had were pretty basic, or really huge.  

But!

That triggered an idea!

I have my Grandma and Mom's old recipe box (both have passed away--my mom when I was a young girl and my grandma when I was a young mom), packed full of handwritten or typed recipes and some newspaper clippings, and even a magazine page my grandma "snitched" from what was probably a waiting room magazine and it ended up in the recipe box.  (I know that because she wrote it down the torn side of the page.)

So I thought, what if I cooked through (most) of those recipes?  I'll taste some old time comfort food (Grandma's peach cobbler was the BEST), introduce family to old recipes, and try some very strange ones (ahem. Tuna and Corn Casserole).  And it's always so fun to read the cards and see what kinds of foods they cooked in decades past.

So, today I tried one of the only breakfast cards in there.  A recipe simply titled Breakfast Sandwiches.

First, let me introduce you to the key player in this series.  The recipe box.  She's a high quality (lasted for decades) wooden box that is smeared and splattered and I haven't cleaned off because I'm afraid I'll wear off the fabulous decal on top.

Inside are more premade dividers than one family would ever need.  Even ones for outdoor cooking, doughnuts-waffles, and pickles.  A whole tabbed section for pickles.

I think the Foreign Foods tab cracked me up the most.  But there are recipes under there that we'll be trying!  There are also an extraordinary amount of tuna recipes and jello.  Lots of jello.

And now, to the lucky first recipe.  Typed out in all its 1970's glory... Lack of whiteout and all.  I love it.


None of us around here are huge Swiss cheese fans, but I want to cook each recipe exactly as it is written, so I mixed all ingredients except the Swiss, then separated out a sandwich worth to mix with Swiss, and mixed the rest with cheddar.  Swiss has bite and can sometimes be rude.


Here it is, all mixed up in its 1970s egg salad sandwich like goodness.  (Actually, this would be delicious served cold just like it is!)



Then I grilled the mixture, one with Swiss, the rest with cheddar. (And one with the bread mis-matched, in honor of a friend who can't eat sandwiches like this.  What kind of friend would I be if I didn't think of her every time I make sandwiches?)

We did a taste test of the Swiss and cheddar, and surprisingly all of us preferred the Swiss!  The guys say it's a definite make again recipe.  Success!


It was a very filling breakfast.  I'd like to try it with ham instead of bacon sometime, and on some different types of bread.  But as it is written, it's a keeper!



Now I just have to clean up the mess.

I hope you guys liked this adventure into the recipe box.  Let me know if you'd like me to continue the journey with you.  I think it could end up being a lot of fun!

13 comments:

  1. Yes! I love nostalgia! I had to "swipe" my mom's recipes by typing them into the word processor way back when, but she's still got the original index cards (circa 60s-70s). I still make most of them regularly. Can't wait to read of your further taste adventures and maybe learn some new recipes to try myself. I think it's hilarious your grandmother wrote where she "swiped" her clipping from! Thanks Kari!

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  2. I love going through old family recipes! More please!

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  3. What a beautiful way to try something new with the family as well as sharing some history. That was a wonderful recipe to start with and your sandwiches look so yummy. I look forward to what you try next and hearing what the family thinks. Thank you, Kari!

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  4. Love it! Please continue with the recipes.

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  5. These look yummy! I would love to see and hear about more! Keep them coming!

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  6. Love this idea, makes me wish I had some recipes of my Grandmother

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  7. I have never heard of this nostalgic recipe and I have a VAST collection of cookbooks. Looks delicious and I think my family would love it. Please continue with your recipe experiment.

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  8. I love the 70's recipe box! So special with your grandma's and mom's recipes! My mom's recipes are handwritten in a notebook. I cherish it so much!

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  9. I wish I had a box of recipes. My Grandmother was a fabulous cook, but never used recipes or measuring items. This is fun! It reminds me of some very special people.

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