Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I remember Nana making this alot when I was a little girl.  This is an easy recipe to make using your Cast Iron Skillet.  When I make for your Daddy, I don't put the cherries, he's not a big fan.  But if I make for a gathering or get-together, I'll include the cherries.  They make the top so pretty!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices
5 maraschino cherries, drained & halved (optional)
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Melt butter in Cast Iron Skillet over low heat on stove top.  Remove from heat; stir in brown sugar until well blended.  Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set aside.  Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar in skillet.  Place a cherry half in the center of each pineapple slice.  Add enough water to pineapple juice to measure 1-1/3 cup liquid.  In large bowl, combine cake mix, pineapple juice, eggs and oil.  Stir until well blended. and smooth.  Pour over pineapples and cherries in the skillet.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted come out clean.  Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes.  Carefully loosen edges of cake and invert onto a large serving plate.  Cool slightly and enjoy!

Yummy!

Baked Mac N Cheese

I loved Baked Macaroni and Cheese casseroles.  It's hard to find a great recipe that ends up both creamy and cheesy.  This one is pretty good, I think it might be even better with a squirt of ketchup for some tang!

Baked Mac N Cheese
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
2 cups grated Velveeta cheese (freeze it to easily grate it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-5 oz cans Evaporated Milk
2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese (divided)


In mixing bowl combine eggs, butter, Velveeta cheese, salt, milk and 1 cup of Sharp Cheddar.  Mix well and stir in cooked macaroni.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour in the macaroni mixture.  Sprinkle the top with remaining 1 cup of Cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Yummy! 

These are some I made for a OAMC day for your lunch.  I mixed in 1/2 a box of frozen spinach and poured them into tin foil cups and baked them off.  Cooled them to room temperature and stacked them into a gallon freezer storage bag.

Sweet Potato Souffle

This is a yummy vegetable/dessert however you want to consider it.  It's great with a Baked Ham or a Baked Turkey dinner. It is one of my absolute favorites, and I know you will love it as much too :)

Sweet Potato Casserole (or Souffle)
2 cups sweet potatoes (baked or boiled in skins)
When sweet potatoes are done cool and remove skins, then mash.
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract ( I prefer the good kind) :)

Mix well, pour into a buttered  8x 8 baking dish.

Topping:
1/2 stick butter, softened, but not melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Mix butter, brown sugar, flour and pecans.  Don't overmix should be a slightly dry texture.
Sprinkle on top of the sweet potato mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or mixture test 160-170 degrees.

Jodi's 7 Layer Dip

Jodi and I have been friends since I was 11 years old. Some friendships last forever, and I hope ours does. I think she actually got this recipe from Margarita Anderson but since Margarita and her family moved away years and years ago, Jodi inherited ownership of this one :)

Layer the following ingredients in a 9x13 casserole dish:

Refried beans withed with one packet of taco seasoning
Guacamole (you can make it fresh or buy it)
Sour Cream
Salsa
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sliced Black Olives
Sliced Green Onions
Chopped Tomatoes

Refrigerate and serve with veggies or tortilla chips.

TIP: Make sure the sour cream layer is completely covering the guacamole layer so that is doesn't get brown. It will keep for a few days this way.

Yummy!

Cousin Brenda's Margarita's

Cousin Brenda's Margarita's
6 oz limeade
4-5 oz tequila gold
1 shot triple sec
1 shot lemon juice
crushed ice in regular size glasses

Shake and pour into salt rimmed glasses!

Greek Garden Spread

This is absolutely delicious with veggies, crackers and corn tortilla chips.

Greek Garden Spread
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cream cheese
2-10oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1-4oz package crumbled Feta cheese
2 plum tomatoes diced
1/4 cup garlic stuffed green olives, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine mayonnaise and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in spinach and rest of ingredients. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Yummy!

Chipotle Ranch Dip

Pampered Chef had a delicious seasoning packet and no longer makes it. At least, I'm not really willing to pay the $4-5 for one packet. So I came up with this yummy alternative.

Chipotle Ranch Dip
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup light sour cream
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dip or dressing (either works good)
2 teaspoon taco seasoning, optional

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Serve with veggies and carrots.

Yummy!

Seasoned Corn Tortilla Chips

I learned to make these one night after I realized we didn't have any tortillas for supper. I found a package of corn tortillas in the cabinet and cut them into 6 equal triangles, like a pie. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven to 375 degrees F. Add the tortillas in batches and fry until golden, you might need to flip them with tongs to brown up the other side.

Seasoning Mix:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Mix all these in a small bowl; set aside. Remove the chips to a plate lined with newspaper and sprinkle them with the seasoning mix.

Yummy!

Homemade Mexican Style Chili Beans

When we were growing up, my mom and dad would make Pinto Beans or "Soup Beans". We ate them with Chow Chow and cornbread. So I am accustom to soaking beans overnight in preparation for cooking them the next day. Canned beans can be expensive, as much as $1.50 per can for the organic ones.

Mexican Style Chili Beans (prices from 2009)
2 cups dried Great Northern beans $1.00
2 cups dried Pinto beans $1.00
water
1/4 cup olive oil $.50
1/4 cup butter $.25
2 cups very finely diced onions $.45
1 Tablespoon garlic powder $.05
2 teaspoons salt $.01
1 teaspoon ground black pepper $.01
4 Tablespoons chili powder $.40
1 Tablespoon dried oregano $.10
1 Tablespoon dried cilantro $.10
1 Tablespoon ground cumin $.10
2-6oz cans tomato paste $.30
2-8oz cans tomato sauce $.30

$4.57 for 16 cups of beans or $.28 a cup approx $.57 per 15-16 oz (a can size). You can feel good about these beans because they are healthy and have no preservatives. The price can reduce if you find some of the ingredients on sale or use coupons to get it FREE. I stocked up on the ingredients when they were on sale and really spent only $3.97 ($.24 per cup or $.50 per "can").

Soaked them in the largest bowl I could find. I ended up moving these from one bowl to the lid of my Cake Taker from Tupperware. Make sure you add plenty of water.

Glad I sorted them, check out that rock!

The next morning drain and rinse the beans and pour them into a large Dutch oven. Add 2 quarts of fresh water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 30-40 minutes. The beans will not be cooked through, yet.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and melt butter. Add onions and saute until golden and caramelized. Add garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper, chili powder, dried oregano, dried cilantro, ground cumin.

add tomato paste, tomato sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Drain beans, but reserve the cooking liquid. Pour beans back into the pot and add the tomato mixture along with 2 cups of reserved liquid. Cook it for another 45-60 minutes.

Then divide them into quart containers and freeze. 4 cups of dried beans yielded 4 quarts of beans.

These are really really good. Use a quart and half for Taco Soup, beans and rice, bean quesadillas, bean nachos...

Yummy!

Homemade Pizza Dough

I originally got this recipe from Food Network but have tweaked it over time to make it our own:



Pizza Dough

3/4 cup warm water (110 degree F)
1 packet yeast (2-1/4 teaspoon)
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus extra)
1 cup all purpose flour (plus extra)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add warm water to measuring cup and add yeast, honey and olive oil; blend until yeast has dissolved. Let rest for about 5 minutes. In large mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, Italian seasoning and salt. Blend with a fork. Pour yeast water into the flour and mix together. Spread some flour onto your work surface and pour dough onto it. Knead the dough a couple of minutes until it has formed a pretty smooth ball. Pour a little olive oil into a large mixing bowl and add dough to the bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours in a warm place.

After 2 hours, punch down the dough and divide into 2 balls. (I tripled the recipe the day I took these pictures) Knead them lightly into balls and place back into bowl to rise again for 30-60 minutes.

Afterwards you can roll the dough out for pizza, or put into freezer storage baggies into the freezer.

To thaw: Put in the fridge to thaw or leave on the counter to thaw. I've done both and both turned out well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with stoneware inside. When you are ready to bake your pizza, bring stoneware out of oven and add your pizza dough then all your toppings. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes.

 (This is our BBQ Chicken Pizza.)

Perfect every time!

Chewy Granola Bars

I love granola bars but I really love CHEWY granola bars. I make these up and then wrap them in tin foil and then store them in the freezer or fridge.

Chewy Granola Bars

1 cup melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups oatmeal (doesn't matter if it's quick oats or old fashioned)
1 cup rice krispie cereal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

additions: 1/2 cup nuts (sunflower, pecans, walnuts, almonds) 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup cinnamon chips 1 cup raisins (or other dried fruit, cherries, dates, prunes)

In large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, honey and vanilla extract. In separate bowl, combine oatmeal, rice krispie cereal, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt; mix well. Add any additions (from above) and mix well. Pour honey mixture over oatmeal mixture and stir well. It will be very sticky. Spread mixture into a 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes. It will seem like it's not done, the middle will sort of jiggle. Remove and cool on the counter. Once it's cool enough to handle, cut them into bars, wrap them in tin foil and store in freezer or fridge.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

This recipe is from your Aunt Teresa O'Barr. It is so yummy!

Aunt Teresa O'Barr's Broccoli Rice Casserole
3 cups cooked rice
8 oz jar cheez whiz
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & cooked
1 stick melted butter

Mix everything together and pour into an 8x8 casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Easy Corn Pudding Casserole

This recipe is so easy, it's pretty much just dump, stir and bake! That's my favorite kind of recipe! I've made this in the crock pot* before and it was perfect.

Here's how I did it:

Easy Corn Pudding Casserole
1 box Jiffy style cornmeal mix
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn (I have frozen corn)
1 stick melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
8 oz sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray; set aside. In large mixing bowl, pour Jiffy mix, cream style corn, whole kernel corn, (I have frozen corn so I filled the cream corn can nearly full with frozen corn and topped it off with water.)

melted butter, eggs (I cracked the eggs into the used cream corn can and beat them in there.)
and last by definitely not least, the sour cream. Mix it all together and pour into the prepared casserole dish (or crock pot).

And bake for one (1) hour. And this only cost $1.60 total to make it! It smells like a million bucks!

Enjoy!

*When you bake it in the crock pot, you'll cook it on low 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours with a crispy ring around the edges. Check the internal temperature to make sure it's 160 degrees (egg dishes).

Homemade Marshmallows

Here's what we made and how we did them:

Homemade Marshmallows
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flavored extract - we used Strawberry
food coloring - a few drops to color the marshmallows
colored sugar

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup of water in small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F with a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.

Carefully pour the hot syrup into the dissolved gelatin while running the mixer on low.

Increase speed to high and whip the mixture until it's very thick - about 8-10 minutes with a hand mixer. Other recipes state it can take as long as 15 minutes using a stand mixer.

Add the extract and the food coloring mixing thoroughly.


Prepare a 8x8 non-metallic pan by generously sprinkling it with powdered sugar. I think when we make this again, I'll spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray and then coat it with powdered sugar to be able to get an easy release from the sides.

Pour the marshmallow mix into the prepared pan smoothing the top. Sprinkle the top with more powdered sugar or with colored sugar. Allow to dry uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 hours.

To remove the marshmallows from the pan, carefully loosen the sides from the pan with a spatula and then sprinkling with powdered sugar so it won't stick back to the pan. You should be able to pull and lift the entire marshmallow from the pan and place on a cutting board.

Using a very sharp knife (Giada used kitchen shears) cut the marshmallows into squares. Dip the knife into powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to the marshmallows. Press the sides of each piece into powdered sugar.


Then store uncovered at room temperature.


Let me tell you - these things taste like little puffy clouds of sweet goodness! You'll never buy marshmallows again!!!

***When we made these originally we used a 9x13 casserole dish. The marshmallows were thin so it might be better to use an 8x8 dish.

Enjoy!

Bloomin' Biscuits

This is a take on this recipe for beautiful Bloomin' Bread you bake in your dutch oven. I thought it was such a great idea but forget to take the time to make it. Use Pillsbury Grands! canned biscuits.


And then I put them in a muffin tin that I sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Now you can bake them like this at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown. OR you can sprinkle each one with Italian Seasoning and drop a few drops of Olive Oil over each one and then bake them off.

And this is what I got:



Aren't they too cute?!?! They looked sort of like Bloomin' Bread only smaller so I called them Bloomin' Biscuits.

I hope you'll try them too.

You know what would be good: Sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar and drop a few drops of melted butter over the tops and then bake them...yummy! I might need to try that next!

Enjoy!

Cousin Brenda's Eggplant Parm

Okay, so I'm no chef and I don't know why some people call this recipe Eggplant Parmigiana and some call it Eggplant Parmesan. This my cousin Brenda's recipe and I'm so glad she shared it me. Brenda says if you don't want to bread the eggplant, you can spray the slices with a non-stick olive oil cooking spray and broil them in the oven. Broil them on each side until browned. Then proceed with the layering technique below.

Eggplant Parm...(you decide...)
Eggplants
salt
paper towels
flour
eggs
Panko bread crumbs
Plain bread crumbs
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese, grated
Mozzarella cheese, shredded


So first of all, let me preface by stating this is more of a method than a recipe. You can use this same recipe for zucchini and squash, chicken, venison, pretty much anything that can be fried...

To begin with you need to prepare the eggplants. Peel them and slice them about 1/4" thick. Layer them in a bowl, sprinkling each layer with a little salt to draw out the bitterness sometimes associated with eggplant. Let them sit for about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse them.


Now prepare your breading station: one dish with flour, one with beaten egg and a splash of water and one dish with equal amounts of Panko bread crumbs, plain bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese (I started out with about 1 cup of each). To the bread crumb and cheese mixture, add 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and mix together.


Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, start dredging your sliced eggplant: first coat both sides with flour (shaking off any excess), then coat it in the egg wash and finally coat both sides with bread crumb and cheese (shaking off any excess).

My skillet will only hold 2 slices at a time so I pan-fried them and then repeated each step until I ran out of bread crumbs.

Eggplant absorbs oil like a sponge so after removing the golden brown eggplants to paper towels, pour another tablespoon into the skillet for the next round of pan-frying.

Since my husband doesn't each eggplant, I decided to make enough to fill an 8x8 casserole dish. I did slice up both eggplants but I only breaded and pan-fried the slices that came from one. I'm currently grilling the leftover slices to put on tonight's pizza.

Now that all of your eggplant is breaded and fried, you're ready for the final step of layering. Start out by putting about 1/4 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish (more if you are using a larger casserole dish). Fit the slices of eggplant to make one layer. If you need to cut the eggplant to make them fit, do so. Pour a layer of spaghetti sauce over eggplant, top with shredded Mozzarella cheese and repeat until your casserole dish is full. Finish up with Mozzarella cheese on top and sprinkle was extra Parmesan cheese. At this point you can bake it at 350 for 30 minutes until it's golden brown. Or you can freeze it and bake it later. The frozen dish can be baked at 350 for about an hour or until golden brown and bubbly.


To prepare the casserole dish to go into the freezer:
First layer plastic wrap into the bottom and up the sides of the casserole dish making sure to have about 6 inches excess on each side, and then do it again but layer it the opposite way than you did before. Repeat but with tin foil. It should look like this:

Once your dish is ready to go into the freezer, layer a sheet of tin foil over the top and crimp and fold the bottom pieces of tin foil to the top layer. Wrap another layer over to make sure it's secure and label it and pop into your freezer.

Once it's frozen solid, you can pull it out of the casserole dish using the plastic you lined it with to begin with and store in the freezer. I don't have enough casserole dishes to have one tied up in the freezer so that's why I do this. But if you have plenty or even the tin foil pans, you can skip this altogether.

Enjoy!

Rice Krispie Treats

My momma (Nana) made these for me and my brother when we were growing up and now I make them for you, Hunter and Austin. I hope one day, if you have any children, you'll be making these Treats for them!

Rice Krispie Treats
1/4 cup butter
4 cups mini marshmallows (or about 40 regular marshmallows)
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add rice krispies cereal. Stir until well coated. Using butter spatula or wax paper, evenly press mixture into buttered 13 x 9 pan. Cool completely and then cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Gloria Carter's Apple Cake

Gloria Carter and I used to work together at Grainger Industrial Supply before I gave birth to you. She was retiring about a month after you were born. She always baked cakes and brought them in for us to eat. I never did get her Fudge Cake recipe!

Gloria Carter's Apple Cake
2 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 cups canola oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups chopped raw apples (you can leave the skin on if you want)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. Add oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir in apples and nuts. Grease but don't flour a bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. DO NOT OPEN OVEN. Once it has cooked for an hour, check to see if an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If not, bake another 10 minutes. Once it is done and cooled. You can glaze it with 3 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

SO GOOD!

When I made the above pictured apple muffins, I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and used 1 cup whole wheat flour plus 2 cups all purpose flour.  I wish I had some applesauce on hand to reduce the oil, you can add 3/4 cup applesauce plus 3/4 cup oil.  That will be a good moist muffin without the added fat.

Aunt Kristi's Key Lime Pie

Aunt Kristi made this and it was so good! And it's super easy to make:

Aunt Kristi's Key Lime Pie
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tablespoon lime zest
Graham cracker crust
non-dairy whipped topping (cool whip)

Blend sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese together with hand mixer. Add about 1/4 cup of cream cheese mixture to lime juice and blend well. Then add the juice and zest to the rest of the cream cheese mixture, blend well. (This is called tempering. The juice can curdle the cream cheese mixture.) Pour into the graham cracker crust. Top with cool whip and chill for at least 4 hours (overnight is best).

Enjoy!

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this to take over to Jodi and Adam's one year for their annual Turkey Dinner. It really should stay in the fridge before serving, otherwise, it gets too soft.

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
for the crust:
40 traditional gingerbread cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted
for the filling:
8 oz block cream cheese, softened
1 cup milk
2 boxes Pumpkin Pie Jell-O pudding
8 oz non dairy whipped topping (cool whip), thawed

for the topping:
1 cup non dairy whipped topping (cool whip), thawed
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cookies to food processor bowl and process until it becomes fine crumbs. Pour melted butter down the processor pipe and process to blend butter and gingerbread crumbs.

Pour mixture into the bottom of a springform pan. Using a flat bottom glass or measuring cup, press and form the crust in the bottom of the pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool at room temperature.

For the filling: In a large mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese, pudding mixes and 1 cup milk. Using a hand mixer, beat until light and fluffy and well combined. (When I was mixing this, I beat the cream cheese and then added one pudding pouch -- yea -- don't do that...it turned into a gluey mess. Once I added the milk and the other pudding pouch, it looked good -- thanks goodness!)

With a rubber spatula, fold in 8 oz whipped topping.
Pour filling into cooled crust. And level the top.

For the topping: Spread 1 cup whipped topping over the top of the pumpkin filling. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (I sprinkled some gingerbread crumb over the top, just because.)

When ready to serve, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir until well combined. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the chilled pumpkin cheesecake and serve.


Do you see those bubbles??? Yep, I messed up!!! I didn't let the pecan mixture cool before sprinkling it over the top. The heat melted the whipped topping and made it bubble up. It didn't look very appetizing but it did taste delicious!

Enjoy!