Month: January 2015

Super Bowl Recipes

Super Bowl Recipes

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Since Super Bowl food finds it’s way right up there with recipes for Christmas Dinner, I am adding a new category to the blog! Each year, it seems that we try to find just the perfect food to make it an outstanding Super Bowl party. For the last few years, we have spent the Super Bowl weekend up at Big Bear, California with 4 or 5 other couples. A friend of ours had a house that accommodates lots of people, so we would spend the entire weekend, playing cards, dominoes and of course the most important thing besides the actual game…eating. Yes, we ate from the time we walked in the door to the time we walked out the door on Monday morning. Each couple was responsible for a meal and my goodness, I’m here to tell you , the meals were amazing. Since we had friends there from Egypt, we had the best lamb kabobs EVER..we had friends there that had owned restaurants in previous years so the food that they cooked was remarkable. Our hostess kept a cookbook (which she has so lovingly handed down to me when they sold the house last year) of all the recipes that she had made in the last 10 years of owning the house. We would eat, the men would watch TV while the ladies shopped. Food would be out on the counter for us to just grab every time we walked by. To say that it is one of my favorite memories, is putting it mildly. The friendships that were forged those weekends are priceless. We all went to church together and the bond which was ever better because we worshiped together is just so special that we hold those times in a special place in our hearts.

This year, we were all suppose to meet in Palm Springs for Super Bowl weekend, but we didn’t anticipate a “bend in the road.” so we will not be joining them this year. Because of some health issues, we are unable to go. So we will be with them in spirit and will eat our way through the weekend, just as we would have done had we been blessed to go. So this new category will have recipes that you might want to explore before Super Bowl. Who knows, you might end up having all the favorite foods that we had the last few years, creating bonds of friendship with those who will watch the Big Game in your home.

Beef · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Meats

Cannelloni-Style Lasagna

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The sun has been shining for a few days and it was such a nice change from the gloominess that we have been experiencing. But, tonight the drops are coming back and that means just one thing…I am in the kitchen baking and eating. Why is it, that the cold, rainy weather makes me want to just bake? I guess that if I lived where it was sunny all the time, I wouldn’t be fat, it is not my fault, it is the weather. When it is sunny, salads sound so good, but cold weather makes me want cobblers, pot roast, chocolate chip cookies and hot bread with butter. If spring doesn’t get here pretty soon, I will be up a dress size. So, back to the recipe, this lasagna sounds just perfect for serving when it is raining. It is out of Taste of Home and combines two kinds of sauce.

Cannelloni Style Lasagna

1 tables olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 lb ground beef (or turkey)

3/4 lb ground pork

1/3 cup white wine or beef stock

2/3 cup beef stock (it will be 1 cup total if you use the stock instead of the wine)

1 bay leaf

3/4 teas Italian seasoning

1/2 teas coarsely ground pepper

1/4 teas salt

2 jars (15 oz ea) Alfredo sauce, divided

2 egg yolks

1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce

1 pack (9 oz) no cook-lasagna noodles

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; cook and stir 4-6 min or until tender. Add minced garlic; cook 1 min.

Add the beef (or turkey) and pork; cook until meat is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in white wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 min.

Stir in stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered about 15 min to allow flavors to blend. Cool slightly. Remove bay leaf; stir in 1 cup Alfredo sauce and the egg yolks.

Preheat oven to 350. To assemble, spread 3/4 cup marinara sauce into a greased 9×13″ baking dish. Layer with flour noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and 2 cups meat mixture. Top with four more noodles and 3/4 cup marinara sauce. Layer with flour noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and remaining meat mixture. Top with remaining noodles and marinara sauce. Drizzle remaining Alfredo sauce over top.

Bake, covered, 30-40 minutes. Uncover and bake 20-25 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 min before serving.

Daily Thoughts

Bacon It Right

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Yesterday on Face Book, (and of course if it is on FB you know it is true!) I watched a video of the correct way to fry bacon. Since our grandson, Sevy is addicted to bacon and always check to see if we have it on hand before he says he will come over, I want to find the perfect way to cook his favorite food. Who knows, as he grows into his teen years in just a couple of years, the smell of bacon might just keep him coming over to see his Nana and Pops. Well, that and the fact that he knows that there is never a short supply of chocolate in the house. But when we watched the video of how to make the perfect bacon, we paid attention. I don’t remember who the chef making the video was, but he said that when you put the bacon in the skillet, add enough water to almost cover the bacon. Then, over medium heat, fry the bacon until all the water is absorbed. Then when the water is gone, just turn the bacon until it is browned on both sides. So that is how we fried our bacon today for BLT sandwiches. I have to say that the bacon was not dry and tough one bit. It was actually very flavorful and it also has another upside. Grease didn’t splatter all over the store as it fried. Great discovery. Sevy, it’s safe to come over, we went to Costco yesterday and have a fridge full of bacon. And plenty of chocolate…and yes, you can play games on your phone and not talk to us and we will give you money to go to Dave & Buster’s. (OK, I admit, we are beginning to have to bribe him to come see us. He is discovering a world of friends where they might be just a touch more fun that watching Sponge Bob with Nana and Pops).

Daily Thoughts

Before & After

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Jodi, our daughter just called and warned us (that was her word, not mine) that her before and after pics would be put on Face Book probably today of her before  and after she began exercising. She said that she hoped it wouldn’t embarrass us to see her on FB dressed in a bathing suit showing off her new body. I told her that the only thing that would embarrass me would be pictures of me in a swimsuit before or even AFTER an exercise program.  When Randy and I saw the pics she sent, it made me begin to think of what my before and after pics would look like right now. Jodi’s looked so good and made me very proud of her for beginning a healthy lifestyle, unlike her mother, who feels like she is having a “healthy” eating day if I have only 1 cupcake and one hamburger in a 24 hour period. When we asked her why her name was not under the picture, she said that she would just say it was Anon, which reminded me of a story that I have to tell about Jodi.

Some years back, when she lived with us as a single mom, she joined us in the mornings for our devotion time, where Randy or I would read one of the devotions out of Our Daily Bread. Jodi began to notice that several of the readings were written by “Anon” and one day she commented that, “my goodness, I wonder who Anon is, he sure wrote a lot of devotions”. We began to laugh, not knowing whether to tell her exactly who “Anon” was or just agree with her. We couldn’t stand it, we finally told her who “Anon” was and so began the joke that when we didn’t know where a saying or a reading came from, we would just say, “I guess Anon wrote it”. It is just one of the many stories that we could tell of those days when we were blessed to have her living with us.

Back to the Before & After story. I ask Jodi if she thought I should post my B & A pics on FB and she began to laugh. She said that I could post pics of me before moving back to Texas from California, where I had lost about 30 lbs. We then began to laugh, thinking of what my “after moving back to Texas a year ago” would look like. The before pics would show me with a lettuce wrap in one hand and a piece of fruit in the other. Because Pasadena didn’t have a fast food joint on every corner, it made loosing weight pretty easy, plus we lived upstairs so climbing up and down burned more calories than I am use to burning. The after picture would show me in a sweat shirt with a Whataburger in one hand and a taco in the other, all the while trying to balance cupcakes on my knees. If you don’t live in Texas, STAY AWAY!!!! moving here makes you fat. It is either too hot in summer to walk or too cold in winter to walk. We just sit inside and eat the fast food that we picked up on the corner.

We won’t be posting any B&A pictures anytime soon. Maybe if we go back to visit friends in California we will take our pictures out there and they would show some improvement in our body weight, than if there were taking now, after being gone from there a year. But if we every need to embarrass our kids, we know just the way to do it now.

Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate-Caramel Banana Ice Cream Pie

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2015-01-15 10.21.04

The flavor of caramel-chocolate & banana is one of the all time favorite flavor combinations. Taken from the new Food Net Work magazine, this will become a permanent recipe in my dessert folder.

Crust

8 chocolate graham cracker sheets

5 tables unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tables sugar

1 tables vanilla extract (1 tables, not teas)

Filling

4 oz milk chocolate, chopped

2 (14 oz) cartons vanilla ice cream, softened

2 bananas, thinly sliced

3/4 cup dulce de leche or caramel sauce

Glaze

2 tables heavy whipping cream

2 oz milk chocolate, chopped

1 tables light corn syrup

Make the crust; preheat oven to 350. Pulse the graham crackers, butter, sugar and vanilla in food processor until fine crumbs form. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. Bake until firm, about 15 min. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Filling: Put the chocolate and 1/4 cup ice cream in a microwavable bowl and microwave in 30 sec intervals, stirring, until the mixture is almost melted. whisk until smooth. Beat the remaining ice cream in a large bowl with mixer until fluffy, but not melted. About 3 min. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Freeze until firm about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, arrange the banana slices in the pie crust. Spread the caramel or dulce de leche over the bananas and freeze until cold, about 30 min. Scoop the ice cream over the bananas and caramel and smooth with rubber spatula. Freeze until very firm, about 4 hours.

Glaze: Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and corn syrup until melted and smooth. Let cool, whisking occasionally, until spreadable, about 15 min. Slowly pour the glaze over the ice cream, return to freezer until set. Let the pie soften 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

Daily Thoughts

A Season of Change

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One year ago today, Randy and I both knew that our time in California was over. We were being called to leave. When his job was alleviated in early December, we began to pray and ask God what He wanted for us. We had no desire to leave California, as it had quickly become such a refuge and we felt totally at home there. We had precious friends that we felt like we had known for years, as they had taken us in as if we had always been a part of their lives. We felt secure, rested and felt that we had been where God placed us 3 1/2 years before that day. But early that morning, Jan 14th, 2014, we got a phone call at 7 a.m. from Jodi, our daughter. She read us a devotion from Streams in the Desert and said that she felt that God had led her to call us and read it to us. As she did, I felt in my heart that maybe this was the Lord’s way of telling us that it was truly time for us to go. But, then again, I did not want to listen to what she was reading. About 3 hours later, the phone rings and it is a friend we attend church with. We hardly see her because of health reasons, she doesn’t get to be there a lot, but she is a real prayer warrior. Her name is Sue and she called and said, “Trudy, the Lord laid upon my heart this devotion this morning and I felt led to call you and read it to you.” As she began to read, I began to cry, as it was the same devotion Jodi had called 3 hours earlier and read. Both Randy and I knew that God was speaking to us through this devotion and that He was taking us back to Dallas. We learned along time ago that being obedient to what God is directing is a lot easier than trying to do life on our own and then having to suffer the consequences of disobedience. His will is always perfect, sometimes not easy, but in the long run, it is always best as He knows and loves us more than we can imagine. So we knew that day, that we would be leaving California and the people that we had become so close to in that short amount of time. Our hearts were torn, but knowing that when you live life with God at the wheel, it is an adventure, never boring and we knew that He had a plan. So we began the adventure of closing that chapter of our lives and on to the next. It is a year ago today that this devotion changed our path, but looking back, we can certainly see God’s Hand over our lives and His continued provision and blessing. Here is the devotion.

“When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them.” John 10:4

Taken from Streams in the Desert

This is intensely difficult work for Him and for us. It is difficult for us to go, but equally difficult for Him to cause us pain. Yet it must be done. It would not be in our best interest to always remain in one happy and comfortable location. Therefore He moves us forward. The shepherd leaves the fold so the sheep will move on to the vitalizing mountain slopes. In the same way, laborers must be driven out into the harvest or else the golden grain would spoil.

But take heart. It could never be better to stay once He determines otherwise; if the loving hand of the Father moves us forward, it must be best. Forward in His name, to green pastures, quiet waters and mountain tops. He goes on ahead of us. So whatever awaits us is encountered first by Him and the eye of faith can always discern His majestic presence out in front. When His presence cannot be seen, it is dangerous to move ahead. Comfort your heart with the fact that The Savior has Himself experienced all the trials He asks you to endure. HE would not ask you to pass through them unless He was sure that the paths were not too difficult or strenuous for you.

This is the blessed life; not anxious to see far down the road, not overly concerned about the next step, not eager to choose the path nor weighted down with the heavy responsibilities of the future, but quietly following the Shepherd…one step at a time.

This is what we pray that we will do; allow Him to lead us, one step at a time, knowing and trusting Him every step of the way.

We are learning that truly, when you cannot see His Hand, we can always trust His Heart.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

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I guess you can tell that I’m in my cake mode. I get in cookie mode, pie modes and now cake. I have one piece left of the Tuxedo cake and am saving it for tonight to eat during The Good Wife. But this cake, (once again, thank you Paula Deen) well…I will be making it Tues so I can watch Adventures of Laura and have cake.

1 1/4 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tables vanilla

5 large eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teas baking soda

1 teas baking powder

1/4 salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

1 1/2 cups chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)

1/2 cup sour cream

5 cups powdered sugar

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 3 (9″) cake pans with Pam. Coat with flour if you are not using the Pam with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and next 4 ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until all is combined. Stir in sour cream. Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 15 to 20 min, or until cake tests done. Let cool in pans for 10 min and remove from pans onto wire racks.

Spread frosting between layers and on sides and top of cake when completely cool. Garnish with chopped hazelnuts if desired.

Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer at medium until creamy. Beat in Nutella and sour cream until combined. REduce speed to low and gradually add powdered sugar, beating until well combined and no lumps remain.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Tuxedo Cake

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2015-01-09 16.27.07

This truly is my favorite cake. I know I say that about several cakes, but really, this time I mean it. If I knew that I could only have one piece of cake before the doctor told me I couldn’t have any cake the rest of my life, it would be this one. I made it for friends who were coming over last night after we all went out to eat. One of the friends who I won’t name but is the tallest of all my friends, was sitting there enjoying the conversation when she got up and went into the kitchen. I assumed she was going to go get another cup of coffee (yes, I am a terrible hostess, I forget to ask people if they want more coffee). When she returned to the conversation, she was standing there with her plate; she had gone and cut herself a 2nd piece of cake. One of the guys in the living room began to yell, “Trudy, this is the most awesome cake EVER!!! It is spectacular” (but in all fairness, that is Jack’s go to word.) But the layers of chocolate and vanilla cake layered with chocolate frosting and then vanilla almond frosting on the outside with the chocolate ganache on top, just tops it off. It is really easy and just makes such a great presentation.

1 Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake mix

1 Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate cake mix

1 box of Dream whip (contains 2 envelops-use 1 envelope with each cake mix)

8 eggs

2 cups water

1 teas almond extract (for making the vanilla cake mix)

Mix the vanilla cake mix with 4 eggs, 1 package of Dream Whip and one cup of cold water, and 1 teas almond extract.  Beat for 4 minutes. Pour into 2 greased and prepared 9″ cake pans. Bake for about 25 min at preheated 350 oven or until cake tests done. Cool on wire racks.

Repeat with the chocolate cake mix. Follow same instructions as you did with the vanilla cake mix, except do not add the almond extract. Pour into 2 prepared greased 9″ cake pans and bake as directed above. Cool on wire racks.

You will notice that when using the Dream whip, the cake will bake up a little higher than without it. I like that because it makes the cake moister and looks so much higher on the cake plate.

Chocolate Frosting for between the cake layers.

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teas vanilla

Enough milk to get frosting to spreading consistency. About 1/4 cup…maybe a little more. Don’t add the 1/4 cup all at once, in case you don’t need all of it.

Vanilla Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup Crisco

2 teas almond extract

3 cups powdered sugar

Enough milk or whipping cream to make it spreading consistency (about 1/3 cup, possibly a little more). Beat all ingredients until smooth and well blended.

Chocolate ganache

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2cup heavy whipping cream

Melt chocolate chips in the cream, stirring over low heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. I had to add a little more whipping cream to be able to spread over top of cake so it would drip over sides of cake.

Use one of the chocolate cake layers and place on a serving platter. Spread chocolate frosting on top, but not the side. Place one vanilla cake layer on top of chocolate frosting. Spread Vanilla frosting on sides and top of cake. When chocolate ganache is made, allow to cool so it won’t melt frosting on cake. When ganache is cool, spread on top of cake allowing it to fall down the sides of the cake. Set in fridge to allow the frostings to set. Take out at least one hour before serving.

If you want to use all 4 layers, you will need to increase the amount of frosting you make, as you will need more.

If you don’t use but the 2 layers, you can wrap the other two layers and freeze in freezer bags for a later use.

Cakes · Desserts

Paula Deen Ooey Gooey Butter Layer Cake

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The fireplace is on, and all I want to do is stay home and bake. I love the Ooey Gooey Cake that Paula gave us the recipe several years ago and when I saw this, I knew I would have to try it. It has to be scrumptious. It is from Paula, it is ooey, gooey and it has butter in it. How could it not be good?

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

5 large eggs

1 teas vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tables baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

Ooey Gooey Butter Filling

Cream Cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 3 (9″) round cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour and next 3 ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined after each addition; stir in sour cream. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 18-22 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 min. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Ooey Gooey Butter filling between layers; cover and freeze for 1 hour. Spread cream cheese frosting on top and sides of cake.

Ooey Gooey Filling

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

4 large eggs

1 (8 oz) cream cheese

In the top of a double boiler, melt butter over simmering water. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, orange juice and eggs until mixture is smooth. Return double boiler to heat and cook, whisking constantly for 10-15 min or until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat and whisk in cream cheese until smooth. Let cool for 30 min.

Spoon mixture into a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap onto surface of mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 tables vanilla

6 cups of powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla with mixer on medium speed. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until all is smooth.

*Note-the cake layers can be made ahead of time and frozen up to 2 weeks. Wrap slightly warm cake layers in heavy duty plastic wrap and freeze in large resealable plastic bags. Let the cake layers thaw overnight in the fridge before assembling

Daily Thoughts

Mall Walking

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I discovered this week that mall walking is not for me. On Jan 5th we woke up and looked at each other and knew that today was the day, Monday, the first day of our New Years resolution that we had agreed upon 4 days ago. We did our usual chores of laundry and cleaning and knew it could not be put off any longer.  So we got out our tennis shoes, our white tennis socks and made sure that we looked pretty fashionable, just in case we did run into someone we knew. Because it was so cold outside, I ask Randy to please park close so I wouldn’t have to wear a coat and then have to carry it around while we walked. Because we didn’t quite make it before the mall opened to do our walk, (actually we didn’t get there until 3 in the afternoon. It took me that long to talk myself into this new resolution that I knew I wouldn’t keep in the first place. Whose idea was it that we were going to do this 4 times a week? It certainly wasn’t mine. The only thing I do 4 times a week is bake.

We step inside the mall and begin our trek from one end to the other. About half-way down the mall, I reached up to be sure my earring had not fallen off, as I was pretty proud of how fast we were going, when I discovered that HE had let me walk out of the house and into the mall with out earrings. I don’t go to the bathroom without earrings. Southern ladies just don’t do that. I told him that this was going to be a short walk, because what if someone noticed that I was in the mall without my earrings! I just couldn’t take that chance.  We began to look around and noticed that the only ones that were “mall walking” had to be over 70. And they certainly didn’t care if they had earrings on; Tweety Bird t-shirts with matching elastic band pants was apparently the “in” thing to wear mall walking. Each time we passed Dillards or Macy’s I thought of something else that I wanted to show him. Looking back over that day, I think we probably spent more time window shopping than walking, but as I told Randy, “we should really wait until middle of Feb or first of March to start this because you know people are looking at us and thinking that we are some of the old people that make a resolution that the first of the year, we are going to get on an exercise program and their second thought would be “bet they dont’ last 1 week”. So if you start later, at least they might be thinking, “good for them, they are still keeping up their resolution to exercise”. It really does make sense to me. By the time we got in the car I told him that I thought I would just wait until it warmed up a bit and walk outside. I just didn’t feel like we fit in with all the oldies at the mall that always stopped at the food court for their McDonalds 87 cent coffee and $1 apple pies when they were through. Plus, since I had gone to our neighborhood mall without earrings, I just couldn’t stand the thought of going back in there for awhile.