Better Than Chocolate Cake

We are having a bit of fall weather here, only in the high 90's today.  :D  It puts me in the mood for baking!  The oven that was zapped in our voltage problem last May was finally fixed (I think) last week.  (No kudos for Sears from this customer.)  I think it's fixed.  I had to bake a cake to be sure.  Apple cake sounds fallish, don't you think?  I thought so, too.  So yesterday I tested the oven with this Apple Dapple Cake.  I wish I could give credit to the right person, but I don't remember where I got the recipe.  I found it scribbled on a scrap of paper and crammed into my recipe box.   The result?  The oven works (yay).  And Emily says,

It's better than chocolate, Mom!

(Prepubescent girls don't know that there is nothing better than chocolate, so I am allowing this.)  Give it a try.  Wish I had a good photo for you.  Add a dollop of whipped cream for the full treatment.

Apple Dapple Cake

Mix these together: 3 C flour, 1 t cinnamon, 1 t soda, 1 t salt.

Now cream these in a separate bowl, beating for about three minutes: 3 eggs, 2 C sugar, 1 C oil.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well, then add these: 3 C grated apple (peeled) OR 2 1/4 C applesauce, 2 t vanilla, 1 C coconut OR 3/4 C oatmeal (I used oats), 1 C chopped walnuts.

Grease and flour a 13x9 pan.  Better yet, use sugar and cinnamon in place of the flour.  Pour batter in.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

While cake is baking, combine these in a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 3 minutes: 1 C brown sugar, 1/2 C butter or margarine, 1/4 C milk.  Stir constantly to prevent burning.  Poke the hot cake all over with a fork and pour glaze (? is that what you call it?) on top.

Cool, and taste autumn. :D

Mrs. Klingelhofer's German Coffee Cake

I have had a hankering lately for Mrs. Klingelhofer's coffee cake.  Mrs. Klingelhofer was a friend of a friend of my parents, and I don't know where she got this recipe -- maybe she invented it. Doesn't her name sound like it fits a coffee cake? I can just picture this little round German lady holding a tray full of German pastries.  The cake's a bit on the sweet side, just the way I like it. I am going to make this in the next few days.  It is always a process.  If I have a cake mix, I don't have pudding. If I have pudding mix, I don't have a cake mix.  This time, after searching Google for a make-it-yourself pudding recipe*, I will have both! I am waiting for my family to go away somewhere without me, so I can bake it and eat the entire thing in one sitting.  And it's not even chocolate. Can you tell what frame of mind I am in? (I can promise you that  if   when I do eat the whole cake, I will be not be wearing trousers, and my midriff will NOT be showing.)

Mrs. Klingelhofer's German Coffee Cake

1 pkg white cake mix
1/2 pt sour cream
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix (4 serving size)
4 eggs
1/2 C oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix eggs and oil together well before adding to the combined remaining ingredients.  Beat all ingredients together for SEVEN minutes.  Stir together the streusel mixture:

1 C chopped walnuts
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa

Put 1/3 of the streusel mixture in the bottom of a greased and floured (or sugared) Bundt pan or 10" angel food pan.  Add 3/4 of the cake batter, top with the remaining streusel mixture, and end with remaining cake batter.

Bake 1 hour or until cake springs back with touched lightly.  Allow to cool completely before removing from pan. (?? I am copying this off the recipe, but it seems to me the cake is ready to come out  of the pan after 10 minutes.  Doesn't it stick if you let it cool too long?)



*OH NO!!  I made all this pudding mix and realized it is NOT instant, even though the title says it is.  sigh. 

 

New Year's Eve Treats

THIS RECIPE HAS BEEN UPDATED!  **See below.

Come on, now, don't start that diet just yet.  There are too many goodies to consume before the year's out!  Our little family is going to stay up til midnight Wednesday, in a test to see if we all still like each other that late at night.   We have a big Monopoly tourny planned, as well as reading aloud from the Terrestria Chronicles (Ed Dunlop) and maybe some of The Home Ranch (Ralph Moody), watching an S.M.Davis DVD, other activities to be announced, and eating some good stuff.  We'll start out with pizza, then maybe some chocolatey sort of something, and DEFINITELY some of this super yummy, super easy, home-made microwave caramel-corn!  A friend of mine introduced me to this many years ago, and I kind of forgot about it.  Today I looked up the recipe and gave it a try. Oh my.  This is so good.  You just gotta try it.  Here's what was left of my trial batch after five minutes:

It's a good thing I have a family, or else I would have consumed the entire batch myself.  Here's the recipe, from allrecipes.com:

Microwave Caramel Corn

2 bags of popped microwave popcorn (Act II is great)
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C margarine or butter (butter is better, of course)
1/4 C light corn syrup or honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda

Place the popped porcorn into a large bowl and set aside.  In a 2 qt. heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.  Heat for 2 minutes in the micro*, then take out and stir well.  Put it back in and cook for another 1 1/2 minutes.  Remove from micro and stir in the baking soda. (Don't skip this step!)

Pour the syrup over the popcorn and mix well.  Spray a brown paper bag with non-stick spray, and pour the popcorn mixture in.  Turn the top down a couple of times to close the bag. (I did this in a regular sized grocery bag but I cut off the top and had to crumple it to make it fit the turntable in the microwave.) Place in micro and cook for one minute.  Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the micro.  Cook one minute more. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper to cool untl the caramel is set.  Store in an airtight container, if you get that far.

You can half this recipe easily and use just one bag of popcorn, but why would you want to?  And you could add pecans and drizzle the finished product with chocolate...   For more super easy, wonderful-good treats, visit Cooking With the Preacher's Wife.

*1500 watt microwave
**  I forgot to tell you that I made only half the batch in that big bag!

Overnight Baked Oatmeal, by Request

We Arizona blogging gals were recently discussing the fact that we are more than ready for fall to get here.  I told Kristy and Shani that I have given up waiting, and that I have already begun my winter cooking -- soups especially, and baked oatmeal. "Baked oatmeal??" they said.  If you have never had baked oatmeal on a cold morning, you are missing out.  It is so good and satisfying, and so easy to make!  Try adding chopped apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, or raisins. Top it with warm milk or cream, or hey, even rhubarb sauce!  Enjoy.

Overnight Baked Oatmeal

2 eggs 1 C brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla  6 tablespoons butter, melted 1 C milk 3 C oats optional: walnuts, chopped apple, raisins, dried fruit, chocolate chips??

Grease a 1 1/2 quart ovenproof dish.  Beat the eggs in it, then add the brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla, and stir until there are no lumps.  Whisk in the milk and melted butter, then stir in the oats.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, preheat the oven to 350.°  Bake until set in the center and crisp around the edges, 35-45 minutes.  Makes six regular sized servings, or four great big man-sized ones.

And yes, Merlynn, it is rather like a warm oatmeal cookie.  I am weakening in my resolve not to add chocolate chips!  No. No. No. Don't do it!

If you enjoy this, try another variation -- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal.

Quick and Easy Lunch

Do your kids get tired of the same old lunches each day?  Mine do.  We go from sandwiches to Top Ramen to quesadillas and back to sandwiches again. Lately, though, since I have been allowing making my girls prepare their own lunches, the quesadillas have been more popular with all of us.   This is something we do frequently, but if you are not from the southwest, maybe you don't think of eating refried beans for lunch?  Here's how to make a very un-authentic quesadilla:

Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  Butter one side of either a flour or corn tortilla. (There is a big difference in taste between them, and we all have our preferences here.) Lay it buttered side down on top of a second tortilla.  Slather the top with refried beans. Place a layer of lunch meat ham or turkey on top of the beans.  Make the top layer a generous amount of shredded jack, cheddar, or Mexican blend cheese. (You can also make this with cheese only.) Carefully place the top tortilla with its toppings into the frying pan. Next, place the other tortilla on top of the cheese, with the buttery side up.  Cook it for a minute or two, until the underside is golden. (Check by lifting the edge with a spatula.)  Flip the quesadilla over and cook the other side.

Sprinkle with salt, slice with a pizza cutter, and eat it up!

More mature eaters will appreciate more sophisticated fillings -- green onions, grilled chicken, taco meat, green chilies, salsa, etc!

Great Salad Recipes

We are having a little break between overnight guests, and I thought I would take this opportunity to post a couple of salad recipes that have proved winners here. As you know, I have been stressing (I am happy to say, mildly) over what to feed all our guests this week, but I am doing pretty well.  I still have my head, but it is only Monday, lol.

There was a day when I used to go all-out, cooking all day and making sure everything was just perfect, and collapsing in an exhausted heap at the end of the day. Since then I have either become lazier or more sensible.  I'm not sure which, lol.  But I successfully fed the ten of us this weekend, and no one got sick (from the food) or went hungry. The meals might not have been exactly memorable, but they were good and satisfying.  I was rewarded by a request for the Napa salad recipe, and comments like, "Oh, this is good!" on the pasta salad, so the "cooking" was a success!

Napa Salad
- 1 medium head of Napa cabbage, sometimes called Chinese cabbage, chopped. (Look for a head with green outer leaves, not all pale-looking.)
- finely chopped veggies (broccoli, green onions, carrots)
- chopped Romaine lettuce for dark green color
- cooked chicken, steak, or pork, cut into bite-sized pieces, and chilled
- one package of Top Ramen, uncooked, same flavor as the meat you are using
Dressing:
1/4 C rice vinegar
1/4 C water
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t salt
dash of pepper

Mix the cabbage, lettuce, veggies, and meat in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients and set aside.  Crush the noodles. Just prior to serving, sprinkle the seasoning packet from the Ramen over the salad and mix well. Pour dressing over, using as much as you like (I don't like my lettuce swimming), then add the crushed noodles and toss.


Cucumber Pasta Salad (thanks, Daisy!)

12 oz macaroni pasta
2 cucumbers or 1 English cucumber (see note BEFORE starting)
2 boiled eggs
Mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta al dente, drain, and run under cold water. Place in a bowl.
2. Hard boil 2 eggs. Cool & rough chop (I use one of those egg slicers). Add to pasta.
3. Shred the cucumber using a box grater. *You can shred it with or without the peel. The peel looks wonderful in the salad but I suggest using the English cucumber, if you go this route, since the peel is less bitter. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the grated cucumber and add to pasta.
4. Add a big spoonful of mustard.
5. Add mayo until it's to your liking. I don't like it super wet, but that's just me.
6. Salt and Pepper to taste.

I followed the above recipe, using a heaping teaspoon of mustard.  Next time I am going to chop the cucumber rather than grating it, and I am going to add just one grated baby carrot for color.  And maybe a touch of red onion?  This was very good.  I think I'll bring it to our 4th of July picnic.

Raisin Bran Muffins

Don't you hate throwing away all those crumbs at the bottom of the cereal bag?  I do.  I'm not that thrifty in lots of other areas, but I hate paying for crumbs. Recently I started saving up my Raisin Bran crumbs (we get the Malto-Meal kind in the big bags), and I looked for a recipe to use them in.  And I found one!  Got this from allrecipes.com.  This recipe makes two dozen thick, not-too-sweet bran muffins. They are a hit with my whole family!

2 C Raisin Bran, crushed
1 1/2 C milk
2 eggs
1/2  C shortening
1 C flour
1 C whole wheat flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar
extra raisins if you want them

Mix cereal and milk in large bowl. Let sit a minute or two minutes to soften.  Add eggs and shortening and mix well.  Combine dry ingredients and stir into batter until just combined.  Bake at 400° in greased or paper-lined regular muffin pans for 20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.  Cool completely before eating, or they will crumble. (But they're good crumbly, too!)

Dutch Baby (Pannekoeken?)

In a post which I was writing yesterday I mentioned my inability to remember to take meat out of the freezer for supper, as well as other points about my poor memory. (I forgot to post the entry, and it is in my drafts, lol. No, not really, I didn't forget. It is waiting for a photo.) Well, no surprise, last night I had to improvise the evening meal.  DH said he would be happy to eat pancakes, but Emily, who is a very particular eater, voted for Dutch Baby. She does not care for pancakes.  Normally I would not make something special just for her, but last night I relented. This light, over-sized pancake is quite impressive when it comes out of the oven, and the kids love it.   And, it is VERY EASY to do.  Problem is, the size I can make won't feed the whole family. (For us it's a better lunch choice.) So the kids ate Dutch Baby, while Mom and Dad ate pancakes.  You can top this with powdered sugar and lemon juice, pancake syrup, jam, fruit and whipped cream,  hot pie filling, or even stir-fry!  Or serve with sausages and a green salad.

You'll need a large container -- a wide overproof frying pan or roasting pan, even a foil one will do, just so it isn't too deep, not much over three inches. To make the Dutch Baby, place butter in pan (see chart below) and set pan in 425° F oven until the butter is melted and foamy.  Meanwhile, quickly mix the batter.  Put the eggs in the blender and blend on high speed for 60 seconds.  With motor running, gradually add the milk, and then the flour, and blend for 30 more seconds. (Or do it in a bowl with a whisk. Fast!) Carefully remove pan from oven and pour in batter.  Return pan to oven for 20-25 minutes, or until pancake is puffy and well-browned. Serve immediately. For a sweet pancake, dust with nutmeg and serve with topping.  Makes 3-6 servings. Enjoy!

Pan Size	Butter	Eggs	Milk & Flour
2-3 qt	1/4 cup	3	3/4 cup ea
3-4 qt	1/3 cup	4	1 cup ea
4-4 1/2 qt	1/2 cup	5	1 1/4 cups ea
4 1/2 - 5 qt	1/2 cup	6	1 1/2 cups ea

Recipe from Sunset Cook Book of Favorite Recipes II

Potato Soup

As it so frequently happens, it got to be about 4:00 this afternoon, and I had nothing thawed out for supper.  The only time in my adult life when this did NOT happen was for the five weeks after we got home from Kansas last summer, because I had spent several miles of cross-country travel making up a five-week menu plan. I loved having the menus made out, but I found my grocery bills were higher that way. So I am back to fumbling around in the kitchen at the last minute, trying to figure out something to feed my family, something nutritious and quick.  Since many of you are into your wintry weather, I thought you might appreciate this quick potato soup recipe.  It is warm and thick and is wonderful topped with butter-and-garlic croutons. This recipe makes enough to feed six of us, plus left-overs.

Sally's Potato Soup

 

8 LARGE baking potatoes

1/2 C chopped onion

4 1/2 C chicken broth

6 T butter or margarine

6 T flour

3 C milk

dash white pepper

1/2 t salt

1 t dill (optional)

 

Peel and slice the potatoes and place them in a large soup pot with the broth, chopped onion, and dill, if desired. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or so, until potato slices break easily. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the millk all at once.  Continue cooking and stirring until the white sauce thickens and begins to boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, and remove from heat. When the potatoes are done, mash them well in the same pot, with a potato masher, or if you like your soup very smooth, put it through the blender. Add the white sauce and stir well.  For variation, add cheddar cheese and/or cooked chopped broccoli.  Top with croutons or saltine crackers.

 

Chocolate Peppermint Cremes

Earlier today Audiam posted a request for holiday recipes, including turkey, veggies, and of course, one of the staples of my life, desserts.  We don't "do" the holidays here, but this recipe has been handed down for generations in my family, and for some reason I do not know, these wonderful things only appear (and quickly disappear!) in December.  Personally I think they would be great all year around, but no one in my family ever makes them in any other month. ...As far as I know.  If they do, they aren't telling, and they don't share! (Photo from Flickr.)

Chocolate Peppermint Cremes

Combine 3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda.

Cream together in a different bowl, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter, 2 T water, and 2 eggs, and then add 12 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Add the combined dry ingredients and mix well. The dough may be stiff, especially if you used real butter.  If it is very soft, refrigerate for a couple of hours. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then flatten a bit. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes, at 350.  Don't overbake them -- they should be soft in the centers. Cool completely.

To make the filling, cream together 1/3 cup of butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp of peppermint, a dash of salt, and 3 T + 1 tsp milk.  Spread liberally onto cookies and sandwich together.  Makes about 4 dozen. Enjoy.  (And please bring some over here to share with me!)

This reminds me, I saw something today that I am going to HAVE to try the next time I need a real chocolate fix, something that might even be better than the killer brownies I made the other day. (Those go toooo fast!)  Ever hear of grilled Nutella sandwiches? Nutella is now at the top of my grocery list for next month! I might not wait that long...

Popcorn Cake

Here is the recipe for the popcorn cake featured in my last post:

2 tsp plus 1/4 cup vegetable oil

12 cups popped popcorn, unbuttered and unsalted

2 cups assortment of M&M's (we used mini's), Reese's Pieces, candy sprinkles, etc

1 C lightly salted cocktail peanuts

1 stick (1/2 C) unsalted butter

16 oz marshmallows (this is more than a large bag - they are only 10 oz)

Chocolate syrup

Grease 10" bundt pan or 12 C tube pan with the 2 tsp oil.  In a large bowl, combine the popped popcorn with the candy and peanuts.

In a saucepan, melt the butter, remaining 1/4 C of oil, and the marshmallows over medium low heat, stirring constantly.  When melted, pour over the popcorn mixture and stir well.  Pour into prepared cake pan, pressing to fit (this is done very easily with wax paper).  Cover with foil to keep moist, and let rest until set, 3-4 hours.  To serve, invert cake pan over large platter.  Shake gently to release.  Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top.  Serve at room temp.

I was right -- the kids loved this, and the grown-ups went for the ice cream!  My daughter solved the problem of left-overs by cutting the remaining cake into pieces, storing in zip-lock baggies, and distributing the pieces of her "birthday cake" to her friends at church. Whew. 

 I am thinking this would be really good if you made it with about 10 cups of rice krispies, and the old-fashioned sugar/corn syrup/peanut butter recipe for rice krispie bars... but then the syrup would melt the colors off the M&M's....?  YOU try it, and let me know how it works! (I'd be happy to pass along the pb syrup recipe..!)

Great Granola!

Anyone like granola?  I made this for my husband and found out that unfortunately, my whole family likes it.  It doesn’t last long!  My basic recipe is from Miserly Moms (I fudged with the proportions and the baking time), and it’s delicious even without all the extra stuff I add.  (Diabetics, beware.  I can’t handle this very well, so I eat teeny portions!)

 

Mix together in a very large bowl:

10 C quick oats

¾ C dried cranberries

¾ C dried apricots, chopped

1 C coconut

1 C toasted wheat germ

½ C flax seed, either whole or ground

1 C sliced almonds

1 C C chopped walnuts

 

Combine in a saucepan, then heat and stir until sugar dissolves:

2 C brown sugar

1 ½  C dry milk

1 C honey

1 ½ tsp salt

1 C frozen apple juice concentrate

 

Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn into a large pan with sides, such as the bottom of your broiler pan.

Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir well. Reduce heat to 200 and continue baking for the next 50-60 minutes, stirring well every 10 minutes. It should be evenly and lightly browned.  If you cool it and find that it is not crisp enough, you can put it back in, but don't overbake it. Makes enough to fill 1 1/2 oatmeal canisters. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT lose your grip and dump the entire contents of the pan in the bottom of your gas oven. lol!  Yes, I did this once.

 

Without the nuts, flax seed, and coconut, this recipe is fat free, and still very good!  My mom used to add something she called “wheat berries”, but when I asked for those at our local health food store, what the lady showed me was whole wheat kernels. Mom used something that was small and round (about 1/8"?) and very light and crisp… anyone know what it was??