Needing to bake a few things for some people this week, I remembered that one of the friends I was baking for loved this Butter Pecan Cake Mix that I find at Market Street. Followed the instructions in back of box except I used milk instead of water! Then for frosting I made a bowl of cream cheese frosting and topped them off with crushed Praline Pecans from Costco! These are great gifts and made quite the hit. Bake cake or cupcakes as directed in back of box. The Pralined pecans add such a rich flavor to each bite!

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

4 oz softened cream cheese

4 oz softened unsalted butter

1/2 teas vanilla

1 to 3 tables of milk or cream to get to spreading consistency

Beat all ingredients until smooth and no lumps remain!

After discussing pound cakes yesterday with a dear friend, Phyllis, I decided that today was the perfect day to make one! This cake is in Tis So Sweet cookbook, but I saw another version of it in Southern Living and thought I would try theirs! I think I like theirs better! It is lighter and has another cup of sugar than mine does ! The praline glaze makes it a show stopper!

1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Crisco

2 cups packed light brown sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

1 teas vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teas baking powder

1/2 teas salt

1 cup milk

Beat butter, Crisco and sugar until well mixed! Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, besting well after each addition!

Stir flour, salt and baking powder together! Beginning and ending with flour mixture, add to sugar mixture alternating with the milk until all has been mixed well and combined!

Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan and bake in preheated 325 oven until cake tests done! When cake is cooled and you have turned it out into serving plate, either sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle praline glaze over the top!

Praline Glaze

3 tables milk or cream

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teas vanilla

Melt butter with brown sugar in small saucepan! Add milk/cream and when it is just beginning to bubble! Pour over the powdered sugar and beat until no lumps remain ! Stir in vanilla and drizzle over cooled cake

I think if I had to choose a last meal before a Doctor told me I could only eat green beans and lettuce the rest of my life, these would be a part of my meal! These baked beans have adorned our holiday tables and barbecue dinners since the 70’s when I was still in diapers! Ok maybe the diapers were depends but still…..the combination of the beans with potatoes if any shape or form is just too good to put into words. I just finished mixing them up to sit in fridge Until after we get home from church to they then in the oven! But here is the recipe in case you are sitting and thinking…”hum, maybe we should have one side dish for tomorrow!” Well this one is the one you want.

Dice up 1 cup each of the following: celery, onion and 1/2 cup green bell pepper

Cup up the ends of a lb of bacon (u know the end that is simply fat and no meat) and fry the bacon pieces with the veggies! or if you are not a bacon lover, You can fry these veggies in …what am I saying? Use the bacon for Pete’s sake and worry about your cholesterol in 2023! Sauté veggies until tender! Pour veggie mixture with bacon grease from pan into a bowl. Pour 2 (28 oz) cans of Campbell pork and beans in bowl! Add 1 tables Worcestershire sauce with 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 cup of catsup and almost ( about 3-4 tables)1/4 cup of mustard. Mix well and pour into a Pyrex baking dish. Place a few more ends of bacon over the top and cover in fridge until ready to bake. The bacon will cook and the flavor will seep down into the beans for a wonderful rich flavor.

When ready to bake, place in preheated 350 oven for about 35-40 min! Or if you need to bake today to leave room for other foods tomorrow just bake today and reheat in microwave tomorrow! Have a glorious

1 Duncan Hines Classic White Cake mix

4 egg whites at room temperature

1 cup flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teas salt

1 1/3 cup water

1 cup sour cream

3 tables veggie oil

1 teas almond extract

1 teas vanilla extract

Whisk dry ingredients together. Mix egg whites, oil. water and sour cream together. Add to dry ingredients. Mix well but do not over mix! Pour into 2 or 3 9” baking pans which have been sprayed with Pam. Bake in preheated 335 degree oven until cake tests done. Remove and frost as desired. I made frosting as follows:

Frosting

1 cup Crisco

6 cups powdered sugar

2 teas almond extract

Milk or water to thin to spreading consistency! I used water this time so I didn’t have to keep it in the fridge.

But after frosting and decorating the cake I covered it and am storing in fridge until we eat it Easter Sunday.

Decorations included 24 peeps, cotton candy, Easter sprinkles and M&Ms.

Video of making this cake is on Sassy Southern Trudy K Cox

If you have a copy of Princess On The Porch, this recipe is on page 29! If not I am posting this easily made dish that is perfect for freezing for when you might need a night of not having to think about what to have and tired of eating out! This casserole use to sell like “hot cakes” at the NorthWoods Womens bake sale! Also sold a few hundred of them when friends and I hosted Mistletoe Market from our home! I got home around 3:30 today and needed a quick meal to make for tonight. Since I had bought a chicken at Costco Sat and had divided it into bags before freezing it, I had taken one bag out to thaw this morning before leaving. This one is a keeper! And now I have time and energy left to make a buttermilk pie for dessert! An added hint….I usually boil my spaghetti in water that I have either added some chicken boullion to the water or added 1 (14.5oz) can of chicken broth to the water you cook the pasta in, giving pasta some added flavor. But remember then to not add salt to your pasta water!

Only 10 days until Easter, the holiday Christians celebrate Christ Is Risen!! Giving us new life and life eternal! And as so many of us will be gathered around the table with family and friends, it will be glorious to share not only this most special event, but time with people we love so much! So these days leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday I thought it would great to post some favorite Easter dishes! Tomorrow I have a sweet lady coming over for us to make one of my favorite desserts, Pistachio Cake! We will put it on video to show how easy and pretty this cake is and could easily be made into cupcakes instead of layers! But today a friend is stopping by and because I know one of her favorite flavors of cake is wedding cake (and mine as well) and because I got a new tip to decorate with, I mixed up some cupcakes for us to snack on while we talk! Makes visits so much more fun! Visits & Cupcakes!!! My kind of day!!! So here is the recipe and don’t forget to use some spring colors in the batter to make it a colorful yummy cupcake! Top it with frosting and top with colored coconut or sprinkles of your choice! These cupcakes are light pink with white frosting!

Almond Flavored Wedding Cake

1 box of Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

2 tables oil

1/2 teas salt

8 oz sour cream

1 1/3 cup water

4 egg whites

2 teas almond extract (most people use 1 teas but I love to use two, adjust to your liking and strength of the extract you use!)

Mix all ingredients together and beat for 2 min! Pour I to prepared greased cake pans (3 9”) or makes 24 cupcakes! Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 15-18 min or until top still has a little shine on it but center is softly firm to the touch! Cool and frost

Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup undated butter, room temperature

4 tables Crisco

Milk to thin so spreads easily

1-2 teas almond extract

After cupcakes are completely cool, frost tops or layers of cake. Store, covered in fridge to keep fresh and moist.

Sprinkles, coconut to decorate

Had been reading I Corinthians 12 a few days ago and again last night our ladies Bible study leader, Cricket, Mentioned how we are all of the same spirit when we are in Christ but have different abilities! I couldn’t help but think about that and thought about so many ladies who have influenced my life! Each of them in different ways. But each one has taught me and encouraged me to live life as one who wants to bring glory to Him! Am I there yet? Absolutely not! But my goals have certainly changed! When I think about how my life has been enriched by so many women who have answered the call to spread Gods Truth to others, each of these sweet ladies have not only taught by words, but by their lives! All have done this with the different abilities and talents He gave them, but each one is shining His light for His Glory! Easter is a time to celebrate New Life in Christ and His love for us! Not only did he die for us, but He overcame death so that we may live! This is in no means a complete list of people who have touched my life thru the teaching of Gods’ Word, but it is a start! Thank you Debbie, Susie, Chrissie, Lisa, Tasha, Cricket, for your love of Christ and for working together to accomplish His Command! Each so different, but with the same Spirit!