Red Velvet Ho-Ho Cake

I love the bundt pan-type cakes for making  easy summer (or anytime!) desserts.  Here, I made a red velvet cake batter, baked in a bundt pan. (If you have limited time, just mix up a box of red velvet cake mix according to directions!). As the cake cooled, I mixed up the filling.  To serve it, just slice the cake and put a dollop of filling between the slices!  So easy!

~Red Velvet Cake~

1/2 C Crisco

1 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 oz. red food coloring

1 tsp vanilla

2 TBSP cocoa

1 tsp salt

2 C flour

1 C buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP vinegar

Directions:  Beat Crisco and sugar.  Add eggs, food coloring and vanilla and beat again.  Add cocoa, salt and flour, alternately with buttermilk to the sugar mixture.  Fold in soda that has been mixed with the vinegar.  Bake at 350 degrees until it tests done in the middle (30-45 min.).  Loosen cake edges and invert the cake onto a cake plate to cool.

~Filling~

1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese

1 8 oz. tub of whipped topping

1/3 C confectioner's sugar

Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.  Chill.

YUM!!

Peach Cobbler Uses Leftover Slices of White Bread!

 I like any recipe that is delicious and helps reduce food waste in the kitchen!  So, when I came across this little recipe that I had saved from the newspaper, I was anxious to try it out.  You can make a very easy peach cobbler using strips of white bread for the crust.  The sugary egg and butter batter that you pour on before baking makes a wonderful topping.  I added cinnamon to this recipe because I love the taste of cinnamon in my peach pie.  I found that mine needed

A longer baking time than the recipe said (mine took about  45 minutes).  I recommend vanilla ice cream with this warm cobbler!

This is the only mess that it made!

Mmm...that's all I can say!

Gooey Pineapple Upside-Down Dump Cake

I literally threw this dessert together last night!  It took just a few minutes (the longest part of assembling was melting the butter in the microwave).  We had rented a movie from Redbox, and although I wanted to have a warm dessert to enjoy, it was Friday evening, and I had just finished loading the dishwasher!  Time to get creative...in a non-messy way!  Here's what I did:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Get out a large pan or glass casserole.  Melt 2 sticks of butter(or margarine)in a glass measuring cup in your microwave.

2.  Mix 1 can of crushed pineapple plus the juice with 2 C brown sugar in the bottom of your casserole.

3.  Sprinkle a box of yellow cake mix over the pineapple mixture.  Finally, pour the melted butter on top and distribute evenly with the back of a large spoon

.

4.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until the top is golden brown.  Let cool a little and then serve pieces inverted onto dessert plates.  A cherry on top would be pretty, but I didn't have any in the pantry.  This is a very rich dessert and so vanilla ice cream would be nice on the side, too.  We really enjoyed the buttery pineapple taste warm...right from the oven!

Éclair Dessert

Every year our son, Ben, wants a chilled dessert for his birthday.  No baked cake or ice cream for him!  He always wants a make-ahead pudding dessert called,"Eclair Dessert".

  I got this recipe years ago from my church friend, Pat Hose.  She was in charge of planning the menu for our Ladies' Day luncheon one year and this is the dessert that we served.  I was one of the dessert makers, so luckily, I walked away with this great recipe!  I have changed the chocolate topping from the original recipe and added extra pudding to the filling.  I hope you like this as much as our family does.  Happy birthday to Ben!

Eclair Dessert

2 large pkg. vanilla instant pudding mixed according to direction on the box (for pie)

1 box of graham crackers

1 tub of Cool Whip

Fold 1/2 tub of Cool Whip into the prepared pudding.  Mix until thoroughly blended.  In large glass casserole place a single layer of graham crackers.  Spread a thick layer of pudding.  Repeat with layer of crackers and thick layer of pudding.  Top with layer of crackers.  Pour icing over the top and make that chocolate swirly and pretty!  Add candles if it's for a birthday :)  Chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Icing

In heavy pan on the stovetop melt 1 stick butter.  Add 3 TBSP cocoa and 5 TBSP buttermilk.  Cook for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and beat in enough confectioners' sugar (and 1 tsp vanilla extract) to make a spreadable icing consistency.

Warm Peach Turnovers in Minutes!

I make really easy and quick desserts on weeknights.  Even though I don't want to devote a lot of time, that doesn't mean that we don't want something warm and delicious with our hot tea in the evening. 

        

Last night I threw together a quick little treat that made the house smell yummy and made everyone happy.  It was so easy and only took 4 ingredients!

Quick Peach Turnovers

1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls

1 can of peach (you could use any fruit pie filling here, including sugar-free)

Butter

Powdered sugar

Spread out roll dough onto a greased baking sheet.  Put 1 TBSP of peach filling on the wide end of the triangle and roll it up.  Continue until all crescents are filled and rolled.  (You could sprinkle with a little cinnamon if you like it!). Bake in a 350 oven.  Ice with a  glaze (of powdered sugar and butter) or just sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Eat while warm!

Cranberry Dream

A friend asked for this recipe, and I'm happy to share it with all of my cooking friends.  Happy Thanksgiving, especially you, Kathryn :)Cranberry Dream

1 12 Oz. Fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

1 C sugar

1 8 Oz. Crushed pineapple and juice

1/2 C chopped walnuts

1 C mini marshmallows

1 8 Oz. Extra Creamy Cool Whip

Toss ingredients together and chill!

Blackberry Spice Cake

I've had a busy week!  In the midst of the hustle and bustle, I made a Bundt cake.  I had promised to bring dessert to a luncheon with some neighbors.  I chose to make my Blackberry Spice Cake and took vanilla frozen yogurt to put on the side.  I was asked to share the recipe, so I'm sharing it on here :)

Blackberry Spice Cake

1 box of Spice Cake Mix

3 eggs

1/3 C vegetable oil

1 (21 oz.) can blackberry pie filling

1 C chopped walnuts (or Black Walnuts!)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare Bundt pan.  Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in a large bowl.  Pour in chopped nuts and canned pie filling and cinnamon.  Stir until thoroughly combined.  Pour into bake pan.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan a few minutes.  Invert onto cake plate.  Cool completely.  (I put a light vanilla glaze over the top.)

My Son's Favorite Chocolate Cookie Dessert-No Baking!

Yesterday was our oldest son's birthday, so I thought I would share his favorite birthday dessert.  It is made with creme-filled chocolate cookies and has beautiful layers if you make it in a glass casserole dish or trifle bowl for a party.  This is a great make- ahead dessert, ready to pull out of the fridge when you need it!  I like to put the top layer of whipped topping and dot it with Oreos right before serving.

Here's the first layer:  melt 3/4 stick of margarine (or butter!) and toss with Oreo cookie crumbs (about 2 rows of cookies).  Press down with a fork or back of a spoon to form a crust.  Refrigerate.

2nd layer:  beat 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, 1/4 c powdered sugar and about 1 1/2 C of Cool Whip in a bowl until smooth.  Spread on top of crumb crust in an even layer.

3rd layer:  make a large box of  chocolate  instant pudding according to the box directions (I use 2 1/2 C milk instead of 3 C).  Spread in an even layer on top of the cream cheese layer.  Cover with clear plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours.  When ready to serve, top with a layer of Cool Whip and stick Oreo cookies halfway down in the top of dessert.  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Justin!

Dessert Waffles from 1933

 

I found this plaid-covered cookbook by General Foods in an antique shop in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  It's full of baking recipes and was printed in 1933.  Inside its front cover are the kinds of hand-written notes that I always look for, but seldom find! To the left is this note:  "Found this in an old house being torn down in Lampasas-March 1990.  Making way for a Circle K gas station. ~Jean"  On the right inside cover is a hand-written recipe (in pencil, of course!) for Mrs. Shaw Norris' Pear Relish.  I think you will enjoy the easy summertime recipe for dessert that I'm sharing from page 119.

(A Big thank you to my one-man IT staff for his help while he's home from college;  kudos, Ben!)

Summer Dessert Waffles

2 1/2 C sifted Swans Down Cake Flour

2 1/2 tsp Calumet Baking Powder

2 tsp sugar

2 egg yolks, well-beaten

1 1/2 C milk

2/3 C melted butter

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and sugar, and sift again.  Combine egg yolks, milk and butter.  Add to flour, beating until smooth.  Fold in egg whites.  Bake in hot waffle iron.  Cool waffle.  Serve in sections, topped with ice cream and fruit sauce.  Makes five 4-section waffles.

SWAPS:

Simply Sweet Home
The Shabby Nest
My Romantic Home
Common Ground

Dad's Favorite Fluffy Tapioca Pudding

My dad has always liked down-home desserts.  He's a fan of pies, cobblers...and tapioca pudding!  He was happiest when Mammam made tapioca pudding and brought up to our house (I like it, too, but her favorite pudding surprise for me was rice pudding!)  I thought of him when I came across this great old recipe for tapioca.  If you've never made it, tapioca can be found near the boxed puddings in the grocery store.  This pudding is good warm or cold.  You know how they always feel the need to garnish an already-perfect food in these old cookbooks, well, they recommend dotting the top of your pudding (which is in sherbet dishes, of course!) with tart jelly.  Hmmm...I've never had it with jelly on top;  don't know about that!  I guess it would be pretty, but I'm not sure about the flavor combination.  Let me know if you try the jelly topping.  I, however, am  a purist, and will leave mine plain white and fluffy.  I'm sure that's the food-styling that Dad would approve of with his favorite pudding!

Fluffy Tapioca Pudding
Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorites ("Free when you buy one 7.0 oz. Crest") 1971

1 quart milk
1/4 C quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 slightly-beaten egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 stiffly-beaten egg whites

Combine milk, tapioca, sugar, and salt;  let stand 5 minutes.  Add egg yolks.  Bring to boiling, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat (mixture will be thin at this point);  add vanilla.
Put 1/3 of beaten egg whites in large bowl;  slowly stir in tapioca mixture.  Fold in remaining egg whites, leaving "pillows" of egg white.  Chill.  Pile into sherbets.  Garnish with tart jelly.  Serves 8 to 10.

SWAPS:
We Are That Family
Raising Homemakers
Deep Roots at Home

Ripe Bananas? Make Cake Frosting/Watkins CB Review

My grandmother, who we referred to as "Mammam", always used Watkins' Pure Vanilla when she baked. She thought that their vanilla was the best, and that pure vanilla was worth the added cost over extract. When I found, recently, that Watkins' vanilla is still available at Target, I was thrilled and bought 4 bottles in one trip! I prefer to buy the smallest bottles because I think it stays fresher as I use it.
While roaming around the flea market at Canton, Texas, weekend before last, I was equally excited about my discovery of this 1938 Watkins' Cookbook. It is a blue, hardback cookbook that sold for $1.50 in the thirties. This example of cooking and advertising history, published by The J.R. Watkins Company of Winona, Minnesota, is worth your search. Fortunately my find is in very good condition. There are full page ads included in the cookbook for Watkins' cocoa, extracts and fruit syrups. For any history enthusiast, the advertisements make the book that much more interesting. The recipes in this cookbook have the expected wartime flavor; money and time-saving dishes all using Watkins' products.
In the thirties, some food items were expensive or in short supply (just like today!) so there are recipes for "One-Egg Cake" or "Two-Egg Cake", as well as, "Lima Bean Loaf" for a meatless meal. It covers a wide range of menu items, but I believe, because of Watkins' fame for baking supplies, the section for baking is the star of this book!
One of the more unusual baking recipes is for a Chocolate Angel Food Cake. I plan to try the recipe for Watkins' Jelly Roll, too. This book gives the history of the company and its sales strategy; good American salesmen selling great American products, including a map locating the 10,000 Watkins' dealers. Above the map it claims to be, "The Largest and Oldest Institution of its Kind in the World".
Our sample recipe today is a great way to use up that ripe banana that always seems to be lying on the kitchen counter.

Page 155 Watkins' Banana Frosting

Pulp of 1 ripe banana
2 C confectioners' sugar
1/3 tsp Watkins' Almond Extract

Sift sugar, slowly add to mashed banana. Blend to smooth paste. Add flavoring. (I think this would be great on a chocolate Texas Sheet Cake and then drizzle with chocolate!)

LATEST ADVENTURE IN TEXAS: SOUTHLAKE FOR JAPAN FUNDRAISER LAST WEEKEND (great bands, fantastic taco bowls, all-around-fun-time!!)

Old Southern Recipe-"Hog's Ears"

As I've been reading this week's old cookbook (that I plan to review on Friday) I almost can't contain my excitement! If you've been reading me for very long, you know that the more battered, stained and dog-eared a book is, the more I'm intrigued. I love reading through books with recipes (receipts) that are so antiquated that scientific advancements would tell you that they are no longer appropriate for the human diet. I'm a history buff who enjoys getting my insights and clues to the everyday lives of our ancestors through their foods and medicines. I know that most intelligent, normal, people who like history, read books on the Civil War or the Land Rush, but for me there's just no history book as intimate to everyday life in the past as a cookbook or recipe file (unless it's a hand-written log or diary).
Our cookbook for review this week contains recipes from the 1800's and early 1900's , some brought across the country westward from other states and some that were born out of necessity on the rugged trail west. There are remedies for ailments (that cowboys carried in their packs) because there were often no doctors or dentists available (medical practices were very crude even if one was present!) I don't want to give too much away; I'm still reading and taking notes for my review. Please join me Friday! Here's one tidbit. This southern recipe came west with Martha F. Vandiver Webster. She traveled to Oklahoma right after the land run, toting 5 hungry children who, "Gobbled these Hog's Ears right up" every time she made them.

Hog's Ears
submitted by Martha J. Birchum (Chickasha, OK)

1 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
Chopped pecans
1/3 C water
1 1/2 C simple syrup

Sift flour and salt together. Add enough water, 1/4 C or more, to make a thin, stiff dough. Cut off small portions of the dough and roll out very, very thin on floured board. Repeat this operation til all dough is used-12 times. Fold each "ear" over loosely and drop into deep hot fat, cook til light brown and drain.
Simple Syrup: To make simple syrup, boil two parts water to one part sugar for a short time (It can be used for many things, especially to mix with fresh fruit juices for drinks). For "hog's ears" boil the syrup to softball stage (may need to increase the amount of sugar). Dip 'ears" in hot syrup, place on platter and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

***Happy 17th Birthday, Ben!!***

I will be at these recipe swaps today:
-BlessedwithGrace
-Gypsyscorner
-BeautyandBedlam
-Allthesmallstuff
-Fudgeripple
-33Shadesofgreen

Traditional Dump Cake-and My Version

I don't know why, maybe it's the onslaught of dieting commercials and dieting talk in January, but I have been craving desserts, lately. I'm not usually one who eats a lot of dessert; pure chocolate is my weakness-the darker the better! But, Dana is happy with this predicament because I've made Snickerdoodle cookies and Peach Dump Cake this week. Ben, my 16-year-old, is just happy because I made potato salad and pepperoni bread this week for after-school snacking (he doesn't eat lunch because of the lines).
I thought I would share the Dump Cake recipe today. I know that it's a recipe that's made the rounds in recipe circles, but I thought perhaps some of my beginning cooks out there might not have it. It's easy, delicious and quick.

Traditional Dump Cake
"G'ma" Jean Sloan, Park Avenue Church of Christ, Charleston, WV

1 large can crushed pineapple
1 large can cherry pie filling
2 sticks butter (or margarine) melted
1 pkg. yellow cake mix (original kind)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In 13x9" pan, dump cherry pie filling; spread evenly. Dump pineapple on top of pie filling; spread evenly. Dump yellow cake mix on top of fruit. Pour melted butter over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (or until golden and done in the middle). Serve with vanilla ice cream.

I make this, but instead of cherry pie filling and pineapple (not hubby's favorite) I use 2 cans of blueberry or 2 cans of peach pie filling. It turns out just the same-Delicious!!

***"Jesus knows me-this I love!"*** Happy Wednesday to all of my readers!

Please join me at these great swaps today:
-WeareThatfamily
-DiningwithDebbie
-Thethriftyhome
-Turningbacktheclock