_6 servings_
12 slices white bread
¾ pound process Cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
3 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Sage, as desired
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Grease an 8- by 12- by 2-inch baking dish. Trim crusts from bread. Lay
6 slices in dish; cover with cheese. Top with remaining bread. Combine
eggs and milk. Add seasonings and pour over bread. Dot with fat.
Bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until set.
_Variation_
Place a layer of ¾ cup ground cooked ham on top of cheese before
topping with bread.
_Menu suggestion_
Serve with peas, coleslaw, and apple pie.
_Cooking dry beans_
Dry beans need soaking before cooking. Use 2½ cups water for 1 cup of
blackeye beans (blackeye peas, cowpeas), Great Northern beans, and lima
beans. Use 3 cups water for 1 cup of kidney beans, pea (navy) beans,
and pinto beans.
To soak them quickly, boil beans 2 minutes, remove from heat, and let
stand 1 hour. Or if you prefer, boil beans 2 minutes and let them stand
overnight.
Cook the beans in the soaking water. Add 1 teaspoon salt for 1 cup of
beans; boil gently for the time given below. One cup of uncooked beans
yields about 2½ cups cooked beans.
_Approximate
cooking time
Kind of beans (hours)_
Blackeye (blackeye peas, ½
cowpeas).
Great Northern 1 to 1½
Kidney 2
Lima 1
Pea (navy) 1½ to 2
Pinto 2
Dry beans will cook more quickly if you add baking soda to the water
before soaking. If tap water is of medium hardness, adding ⅛ teaspoon
soda to the water for each cup of dry beans reduces cooking time about
one-fourth. Measure soda exactly; too much soda affects flavor and
nutritive value of beans.
To reduce foaming when cooking dry beans, add 1 tablespoon meat
drippings or other fat to the cooking water for each cup of beans.
Cooked dry beans may be seasoned and eaten without further cooking, or
they may be baked, or combined with other foods.
If acid ingredients like tomatoes, catsup, or vinegar are included
in the recipe, add them after the beans are tender. Acids prevent
softening of the beans.