The Monday Recipe Blog

Hello everyone, hope you are having a great Monday!  Well, we are in the holiday season now, and you may be attending some gatherings where you are expected to bring a dish.  You may be hosting your own holiday party. 

Today, straight from the recipe box of Lois Elaine Mueller, is a recipe for Bisquick Olive Balls.  For the next several months I will be featuring Lois Elaine's recipes every Monday.  Her heyday was in the 1950's and 1960's, and her children swear she was the best cook that ever lived.  Many baby boomers will remember these mouth-watering recipes, and these dishes are just as tasty today as they were in the sixties. 

Bisquick is a pre-mixed baking product marketed by General Mills under their Betty Crocker label.  It was originally meant to be an item to make biscuits very quickly, but after its introduction in 1931 housewives everywhere developed many ways to use this ingenious product.  It can be used to make pizza crust, bread, cookies, and lots of other things.  One caveat here, though - I believe it still has hydrogenated oils, which makes it less healthy.  However, a batch of Bisquick Olive Balls once a year or so shouldn't make the sky fall.

Lois Elaine's Bisquick Olive Balls:

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (about 4 oz)
1/4 c. oleo, softened (this means margarine or butter substitute)
1/4 t. Worchestershire sauce
1 c. Bisquick baking mix
1 jar (5 oz) pimiento-stuffed olives

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix cheese, margarine and Worchestershire sauce;  Mix in the Bisquick until a dough forms (work with hands).  Pat olives dry on paper towel.  Shape 1 T. dough around each olive.  Bake on lightly-greased cookie sheet until light golden brown.  This will be about 10 minutes.  Recipe makes about 45 appetizers.