White Texas Sheet Cake

White Texas Sheet Cake.  Hmmmm.  For a southern girl who has only had the chocolate version, this seemed a bit unnatural, but I was game, so I tried the recipe for my daughter's 27th birthday.  Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious.  It was so good, and we were all snatching little pieces of it the rest of the evening.  I had to give half to my daughter to take home because I knew I would not be able to stay away from it.  Enjoy this.  And definitely use the coarse sugar sprinkles.

Ingredients:

1 c. butter

1 c. water

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. sour cream

1 T. almond extract

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

FROSTING: (Mix well in large bowl. Frost cooled cake.)

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. milk

4 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 t. almond extract

1.  Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

2.  In a saucepan, bring water and butter to boil and add to dry ingredients.

3.  Mix eggs and sour cream together in a small bowl and add to mix, along with almond extract.

4.  Pour into a jelly roll pan and bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

5.  Cool and frost. Coarse sugar sprinkles are great on top.

SOURCE:  Shawni Pothier

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

I could not tell you how many times I have prepared a roast this way.  I learned it from a roommate in college, and have used it ever since.  Everyone loves it and I rarely fix it any other way.  So easy, so delish.  This is my favorite roast beef dish.  It's actually cooking in my CrockPot, as we speak.

Ingredients:

3-4 lb. chuck roast (cheaper cuts are fine, because the slow cooker tenderizes everything)

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 10-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup (Golden Mushroom is great, as well)

1.  Place roast in slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast.

3.  Spread condensed soup over top of roast.

4.  Cook on HIGH 4-6 hours (you can cook this on low; just make the time adjustment.  I usually only have time to cook on HIGH!)