Month: April 2015

Cakes · Desserts

White Texas Sheet Cake

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Years ago, a friend and I were in charge of a bake sale at First Bapt Dallas. We came up with the idea of putting all the ingredients for this cake in bags and selling them. All the buyer needed to do was to add the eggs, sour cream, butter and water. We sold out and I put it in my cookbook, as I love the almond flavor and the easiness of preparation. I don’t have a clue where she got the recipe, but it is a great cake and since it is made in a jelly roll pan (10×15″), it serves a lot.

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter (I use 1 stick butter and 1 stick margarine)

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 teas baking soda

1 teas salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teas almond extract

Frosting

1 stick butter

1/4 cup milk

1 (1 lb box) powdered sugar or 3 1/2 cups

1 teas almond extract

Pecans, chopped for topping, if desired

Cake

Mix butter and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in sugar before adding any other ingredients. Add eggs, beins sure hot mixture has cooled somewhat so eggs do not cook in the batter as you mix together. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Add to sugar-butter mixture and stir until no lumps remain. You can use mixer on low speed if desired.

Pour into greased and floured jelly roll pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes, or until cake tests done. It does not take long, so be sure to watch it the last couple of minutes. Do not over bake.

Cool while preparing frosting.

Frosting

Combine milk and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter is melted. Pour over powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add almond extract and mix. Pour over warm cake and spread over entire cake. Sprinkle chopped pecans if desired.

Breads · Daily Thoughts · Salads

Wedge Salad With Tarragon Buttermilk Dressing & Crunchy Garlic Bread

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One of my favorite days of the month is when my Paula Deen magazine arrives. I tend to save sitting down looking through it, for when I can sit with any type of chocolate or dessert , a glass of tea (sweet of course) and quietness lurking in the room, with no television or radio. It is just my way of “getting away” from daily thoughts and it seems that by the time I finish, I stand up with a smile on my face and a new determination to try new recipes. Don’t you just love that about cooking magazines? They just inspire us to get out of our comfort recipes of meatloaf, chicken casseroles and store bought salads.

If you enjoy cooking magazines, I would like to recommend Cooking with Paula Deen…it has the most fabulous recipes. Haven’t tried one I didn’t love! Pure Southern goodness!

When I turned the page and saw this delicious looking salad with crunchy garlic bread to go alongside, it drew me in. Randy and I love wedge salads, so this one will grace our table this summer.

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup mayo

2 tables chopped fresh tarragon

2 tables chopped fresh parsley

2 tables whole grain Dijon mustard

1 table minced green onion

1/4 teas black pepper

1/2 teas salt

2 heads iceberg lettuce, cut into 4 wedges each

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup sliced radishes

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and next 7 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Top each lettuce wedge with carrots, radishes, and tomatoes; drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.

Crunchy Garlic Bread

2 (16 oz) loaves Italian five-grain bread

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 tables minced green onion

2 tables chopped fresh parsley

1 tables garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut bread into 1″ thick slices, cutting to but not through bottoms of loaves.

In a small bowl, stir together butter and all remaining ingredients. Spread butter mixture on cut side of each bread slice, being careful not to separate slices from bottom of loaves.

Place bread directly on oven rack.

Bake for 10 min or until bread is browned and crisp. Serve warm.

Daily Thoughts

Grandkids, Grandparents & Guns

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This weekend our 10 year old grandson, Sevy stayed with us for 4 days. Both Randy and I thought about  when our kids were young, how we would take a sack filled with Matchbox cars, or Barbi’s to grandmas house to entertain the little darlings for the weekend. The grandparents felt fortunate if there was a new Disney movie just coming out that they could take the kids to which would then take up a couple of hours.

We want to be sure that other grandparents out there learn a few new guidelines of how to spend 4 days with a 10 year old, without getting stressed out enough to double up on Geritol (or something stronger) or just “accidentally” leave the kid at Dave & Buster’s.

1. Forget the Barbi’s and Matchbox cars. Just be sure you have enough power strips in the house that will handle all the sweet childs “toys’, so you don’t blow a fuse and end up without any electricity. Be aware that any grandchild over the age of 6 will probably tell you that they can and do try to fix anything on your computer or television that will give them access to more games and cartoons. We are now doing research on how to get our tv and computer back to our settings.

2. If you don’t have the cartoon network; GET IT…even though you might have “SpongeBob Squarepants” song embedded in your brain for the rest of your life, just having it on will give you time to shower and get breakfast ready. And….FYI, luckily for all of us grandparents, you will be glad to know that they are 13 Seasons of SpongeBob, each season having 18 episodes..Ain’t life grand?

3. There is no need to “tuck them in bed and read them a story”. All they want to snuggle with is their Ipad, cell phone and Xbox controllers.

4. They have an uncanny way of finding any chocolate that you have hidden away  for those times when you need just something to tide you over until the next football practice, which will give you 2 whole hours of quiet; but cannot seem to every find the other shoe that will allow you to be on time for their golf lesson,or football game.

5. When you ask them if they might want to play dominoes or cards, they will probably ask you if that is an app on your phone!

6. Accept the fact that you will gain 5 lbs the weekend you have the little angel s in your home, due to the fact that you will be eating fast food the entire time. If it doesn’t come from Chick Fila, McDonalds or Pie 5, they don’t want it.

7. Do not ever believe, I repeat, “DO NOT EVER BELIEVE” the sweet little innocent darlings when they say that they wish you would take them to Academy “just to look” at any thing. They are lying. They know when they look up at you and tell you that you are the best Nana in the world, that you will end up carrying out what ever it was that they came to “just look at”.

8. And last great lesson  for the weekend; be sure that you are in good standing with your neighbors. You don’t want them calling the cops when you are out on the driveway, having target practice with the air rifle that they “just went to look at”. Also be aware that sometimes those pellets ricochet and can hit objects that were not intended to hit…thus the new dent in the car.2015-04-12 09.09.58

9. Be sure that you go to bed by 10. Their day begins about 6 a.m. and they like cartoons on the minute they go downstairs. They do not ever like the house void of background noise, so neither should we. After all, if there is quiet, they might hear you tell them to do a chore.

10. Take lots of pictures of them with your phone. One day you will need some evidence to embarrass them to bribe them to come see you in the nursing home.

So these are the lessons that we learned over the last 4 days. I leave Tuesday to fly to Phoenix to babysit 3 more grandchildren. Will write the new lessons I learn there, when I return.

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Apple Sharlotka

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2015-04-11 13.07.27

Saw this in a cookbook that was being passed out at Costco. Randy loves apple anything, so when I saw this, I knew I would be making this. So easy!

7 Eastern or Red Delicious, Empire or Jonagold, peeled and diced into 1″ cubes.

3 large eggs

1 cup super

1 teas vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teas baking powder

1 teas cinnamon

1/4 teas nutmeg

Powdered sugar for dusting

Ice cream or whipped cream for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with a circle of parchment paper. Butter the pan and paper.

Place diced apples in the prepared pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating well. Add vanilla, then stir in dry ingredients, just until blended.

Pour the batter over the prepared apples, smoothing it over and into the apples. Gently tap the pan on the counter to even ly distribute the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until cake tests done.

Let cool in pan for 20 min. Flip the cake onto a plate, then again onto a serving platter.

When cool, dust with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Chocolate · Desserts

Brownie Fudge Pie

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Many years ago a sweet friend of mine, Marie Williams gave me a book, Take Big Bites, by Linda Ellerby. It has been one of those books that keeps reminding me that life needs more special moments, more shared memories with loved ones and that we need to always be grateful for each day that we have. Every few pages in the book, Linda gives a recipe. This recipe became one of those that I continue to make sometimes twice a month, sometimes more. It is printed also in my cookbook, Princess on the Porch, but after having it edited again, before it goes into publication, I noticed that the recipe which is on page 90 needs correction. In my book, I gave in the list of ingredients, 1 cup of butter, when it should read 1 STICK of butter. If you have a copy of Princess on the Porch, please make sure to make this correction. It would be pretty greasy if you use 1 cup.

For those of you who don’t have a copy yet, I hope you will consider getting one when they come out in a couple of months. They will be available for Kindle, through Amazon and I think, Barnes & Noble. In the meantime here is the recipe.The book has humorous stories along with recipes and words of encouragement for the seasons of your lives…

Linda Ellerby, thank you for sharing this memory with us. This dessert has already been enjoyed in our home, more times than I can count. Everyone who we have shared it with, agree that it is a chocolate dessert that should be considered a food group.

1 stick butter

2 (1 oz ea) squares unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 teas vanilla

2 eggs

1/4 teas salt.

Preheat oven to

Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat or in microwave. Cool. Mix together the next 5 ingredients. Add cooled chocolate mixture and then stir until completely blended. Pour into a greased pie plate. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Do not over bake, as you want it a little gooey

If you are a true chocoholic, you will cut off a piece every time you walk through the kitchen. Serve warm with ice cream is a great way to make new friends.

Serves: 6 to 8

Daily Thoughts

A Spoonful of Sugar & Thankfulness

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My last posting was on a Spoonful of Sugar Teacakes! And truly we have learned in our many (and I do mean many) years of life, that sugar seems to always make the “medicine go down” so much easier. Sugar is that special little ingredient that makes even the worst of medicines or some vegetables, easier to swallow.

In this new Season of retirement, Randy and I are seeking what would the Lord have us do. Sometimes, we (ok, I admit, mostly me) try to get ahead of the Lord trying to figure out where the next path will lead and what will be our place in serving. After all, we tend to think that sometimes we might “deserve” this time Just because we are retired, doesn’t mean that life should be all about us, or that all our time is our own. God leaves us all here for a reason. It is up to us to use our time for His glory and to remain faithful, even when we might not feel like it. Sometimes we might  be focusing on excuse; that we try to say are “reason’s” keeping us from serving others. If we had more time, or money or talents, or friends, we could be more useful. But what if the real reason that we aren’t being used  is that we are lazy, or self absorbed? What if our focus is wrong? Am I being thankful for what God has given me? Am I thankful for the life that He is allowing me to live?

After attending a Women’s Retreat, the speaker, Debbie Stuart, who is so special to our family, told us that sometimes, we can be in the middle of God’s will, even though we feel like we are in the wilderness, just like when God left Moses in the wilderness for 40 years. This past year, I felt many times like we were in a wilderness. There have been days when we felt that maybe we heard God wrong and He didn’t really lead us back to Texas. That maybe we were suppose to be someplace else. But even though there have been days that seemed to feel like wilderness to us, there has been an underlying peace that we know we are suppose to be here. That His plans might not unravel as quickly as we would like, seems to tell us that maybe it’s our faith that He is trying to grow. Maybe He leaves us in the wilderness to teach us that we need to lean on Him more than ourselves; or our motives need to change, maybe our character. Whatever the reason, and there always is one, may we learn whatever He is trying to teach us and then grow into the person that reflects Jesus Christ to others.

This morning, I turned the page to a devotion in Jesus Calling and this is today’s reading.

April 6th:

“Bring Me the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Take nothing for granted, not even the rising of the sun. Before Satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden, thankfulness was as natural as breathing. Satan’s temptation involved pointing Eve to the one thing that was forbidden her. The garden was filled with luscious, desirable fruits, but Eve focused on the one fruit she couldn’t have rather than being thankful for the many good things freely available. This negative focus darkened her mind, and she succumbed to temptation.

When you focus on what you don’t have or on situations that displease you, your mind, also becomes darkened. You take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, flowers, and countless other gifts from Me. You look for what is wrong and refuse to enjoy life until that is “fixed. ”

When you approach Me with thanksgiving, the Light of My Presence pours into you, transforming you through and through. Walk in the Light with Me by practicing the discipline of thanksgiving.”

My prayer  is that I will become more thankful each day, even when life takes us in paths that lead to the wilderness for a season. May I use the wilderness days to grow my faith and service to God. That I won’t focus on what I don’t have but on what we do have and serve out of thankfulness and love for God’s love, mercies and  His gift of salvation.

Psa 116:17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord.

A spoonful of sugar and thankfulness, a great recipe for wilderness days!

Cakes · Desserts

Spoonful of Sugar Tea Cakes

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Happy Easter! He is Risen! What a glorious time of year when we celebrate the risen Savior!

Tomorrow, we will consume our weight in sugar, with all the chocolate bunnies, the ham with it’s sugary glaze, baked beans, coconut cakes and handfuls of colorful jelly beans. Sometimes, (and this happens maybe once every 5 years) I even get on sugar overload. Randy loves these teacakes, because they are not real sweet…just like having a little spoonful of sugar to pop in your mouth. They can be decorated to look like any holiday, but are especially pretty on Easter dessert tables, with lightly colored colors of Easter. But perfect for your coffee time in the afternoon and because there is no coconut to add even more calories, you can even have a few more pieces….am I the only one that thinks like that?

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

4 large eggs

2 teas vanilla (or 1 full teaspoon of almond extract, which is what I use as it makes me taste like wedding cake)2015-03-26 08.01.24

1 table baking powder

1/2 teas salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Cream Cheese Frosting (if desired) or sprinkle cookies with colored sugar as your topping

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13×9″ baking cake pan. and dust with flour.

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

In another medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until well combined. Beat in sour cream. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 35 min or until cake tests done. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 min. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Trim off 1/2″ from all the sides. Level cake using a serrated knife to trim off rounded top. Cut cake into 3×2″ cubes. Spoon cream cheese Frosting on top of each cake piece. Garnish with colored sugar or raspberries.

Frosting:

1 8 oz cream cheese softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk (add gradually, you might not need it all)

Mix all ingredients and mix until well blended.

Be sure to share the Good News of Christ and His love for us with someone…invite them to church! Have a glorious Easter

Desserts · Fruit

Lemon Ice Cream Bars

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What a great recipe for Spring and Summer. While waiting in the salon with dye all over my head, I began to leaf through magazines that the owner brings to the shop. I took pics of this one and one that I will post tomorrow: Donut Tiramisu. Can’t wait to make that one either. I have recipes for bread pudding made with donuts (thank you very much Paula Deen) but had never heard of this one so will be anxious to get to donut shop and buy the necessary donuts to make that one next week.

In the meantime, will be making these, as lemon just screams, “SPRING”. So we are off to a great start to a most beautiful time of year; except all the green junk that is all over our driveway, sidewalk and porch.

For the lemon Curd:

6 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice

12 tables unsalted butter

1/2 teas grated lemon zest.

Or if you are in a springtime lazy mode, buy the lemon curd already made.

For the Bars:

2 (5-6 oz) boxes shortbread cookies,

3 tables unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teas grated lemon zest

2 pints vanilla ice cream, slightly soft

Powdered sugar for dusting

Make the lemon curd: Combine the egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook, whisking until the mixture begins to thicken, about 8 minutes. Stir in the butter, 1 chunk at a time, with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 7 more minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and salt. Pour into a bowl that will sit on top of a large bowl, which you will fill halfway with ice. Set the bowl of curd on the ice and let cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Make the bars:

Coat an 8″ square baking dish with cooking spray and line with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Pulse the cookies in a food processor until finely crushed. Slowly add the melted butter and lemon zest and pulse until  the mixture starts coming together..

Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared baking dish and press firmly into the bottom. Spread the ice cream over the crumb mixture with a rubber spatula; spread the lemon curd on top. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

When ready to serve, lift out of the pan using the overhanging foil. Cut into pieces and dust with a little powdered sugar. Makes

about 9 squares

Daily Thoughts

April Has Arrived

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This morning I awoke remembering a great story that happened April 1st, 2002. We had just moved to California and Jodi, our daughter, and Jaden, our first grandchild. It just so happened that Jodi was needing a car, so Randy took her car shopping while I stayed home with Jaden. Randy and Jodi got to the Ford dealership and went for a test drive with a salesman. Jodi drove, with the salesman in the front seat, while Randy rode in the back. Upon arriving back at the car dealership, Jodi informed the young man that she really liked the car and that she would like to see some numbers. The salesman quickly opened the door and ran inside to “talk to his manager to get the best price possible.” Well, while he was inside, Jodi began to rub the door panel and informed Randy that this car was just so pretty and that she loved the gray material of the seats and the doors. Randy told her, that, “yes, it was really a good quality of mouse fur that they had on the seats and interior of the car.” She looked around to him, who sat ever so smug in the back, without cracking a smile.  Jodi asked, “are you serioius? How many mice do you think it took to cover the whole car?” Randy told her that he didn’t quite know but that as nice as it was and you couldn’t even seem seams anywhere, that they must have been really big mice. She was sold. When the car salesman came back, she told him that she really liked the car. Randy was sitting there just wondering if she would tell him that she was so excited about the nice quality of mouse fur that came in the car. But, thank the Lord, she kept it to her self; by the time they got home, Randy had confessed, when he couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer that he wasn’t serious. Jodi couldn’t decided whether to speak to him or laugh. She got the car and we have joked to this day that you can always tell the quality of a car, by it’s mouse fur. Happy April Fools Day!  Will tell you in another post about the time we told her on April 1st that we had ordered her a husband from Russia; as you can tell, Randy is quite mischievous!