Vanilla Butter and Nut Pound Cake

This recipe is extra special to me. Not only is it delicious and a bit sinful (as you will soon see in the ingredients), but each time I make it I use the original recipe card found in my grandmother's tin, recipe box. Her hand-written notes can still be found on the back.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

3 and 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1/4 water

3 teaspoons vanilla butter and nut flavor

1. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy.

2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

3. In a separate bowl, sift flour, then measure and add salt.

4. Combine evaporated milk and water in a small bowl.

5. In three parts, add flour alternately with milk and water mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix well.

6. Fold in extract by hand.

7. Pour into greased and floured tube pan.

8. Place in cold oven. Turn oven to 325 degrees. Bake one hour and 45 minutes.

Note: Begin your timer as soon as you set the temperature to 325 degrees. DO NOT open the over door while baking.

"It's a Breeze" Tropical Smoothie

One of our favorite summer treats, especially on the hottest of days, is a fresh smoothie!  The ingredients are simple, the kids love to help, and guess what? There's no added sugar!

Ingredients:

3 cups 100% Apple Juice

About 2 cups frozen Dole Mixed Fruit (strawberries, mangoes, peaches, pineapple)

1 or 2 bananas (optional)

1.  Measure juice into a blender or smoothie machine

2.  Blend until smooth

Serves 6-7

Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken

Most of my marriage I've lived about 25 minutes away from church. In order to have a hot meal for Sunday lunch, I have learned to utilize my slow cooker. Almost every Sunday our lunch is ready and waiting when we walk in the door. Yes, I "heart" my slow cooker. It has saved me from having to eat many a PB&J sandwiches. This dish is rich and creamy, and super easy to make!


1 envelop Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
2 c. Sour Cream
1 can Cream of anything Soup
6 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

*Combine soup mix, sour cream and cream of mushroom soup in slow cooker. Add chicken, pushing it down so it is submerged in the sauce. Cover; cook on med 6 hours. (low 8 hours) Serve over rice. Makes 6 servings. (you can put this on high for the first hour and heat the cream in the microwave before pouring it in the crockpot, it takes 2-3 hours.)
recipe courtesy of Sherene Winkel

Cobbler Custard Cups

Makes 8 servings
Prep time 15 minutes

No nostalgic story to share here girls. Just plain good eats!

Premium ice cream gives the custard an extra-rich texture. but other brands can also be used in this recipe (I happened to already have some homemade cheesecake ice cream in the freezer so I used that. It had a very mild cheesecake flavor.) The addition of flour eliminates the need for a troublesome water bath.


1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped fresh peaches (about 2 large)
1 pt. premium vanilla ice cream, melted
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (5.25 oz.) package sugar cookies, coarsely chopped


1. Preheat oven to 350. Divide blackberries and peaches between 8 lightly greased 6 oz. custard cups (about 1/3 cup per custard cup).

2. Pour melted ice cream into flour in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until smooth; whisk in eggs. Pour mixture over fruit in custard cups. Top with sugar cookies. Place custard cups on a 15 x 10 inch jelly-roll paln.

3. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or un til custard is set. Cool on pan 40 minutes.

SOURCE: Southern Living Magazine June 2009

Potato Pan Rolls

Baking bread is a hobby of mine. ..and I love to eat it! Here is a recipe I found courtesy of 'Taste of Home'. These rolls are very soft and yummy smeared with butter or honey.

2 medium Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1-1/2 c. water
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. salt
6-7 c. all-purpose flour
In a saucepan, bring potatoes and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 min. or until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid; cool liquid to 110-115 degrees. Mash potatoes until there are no lumps; set aside 1 cup to cool to 110-115 degrees (save remaining potatoes for another use.)
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in reserved potato liquid; let stand for 5 minutes. Add reserved mashed potatoes, butter, honey, oil, eggs, salt and 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide into 30 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place 10 balls each in three greased 9" round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Smear with butter over the tops. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

How much yeast = one package if you buy in bulk

I buy my yeast in bulk (if you do this be sure to keep the yeast in the freezer!). So how much do I need if a recipe calls for 1 package of yeast? The answer is.......

2 1/4 tsp.

according to cooksrecipes.com. Works for me!

Royal Icing Sugar Cookies

For years I have wanted to decorate fancy sugar cookies, but really did not know how to get that porcelain look.  In rummaging through one of my favorite recipe sites, Annie's Eats, I came across this wonderful recipe along with a royal icing tutorial for the whole "fancy" process.  This cookie is sturdy enough to keep its shape while cooking, but has a tender texture when eaten.  And the icing process, while a little time consuming (waiting for the different steps to set), is much easier than I thought it would be.  The results are so worth the time you put in.  I found the teapot and teacup cookie cutters here and the oven mitt (ahem, actually, it's a mitten) here.

The Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
2 ½ c. sifted flour

1.  Cream butter in a mixing bowl.  Add in powdered sugar and mix well.
2.  Blend in remaining ingredients.
3.  Place dough between two layers of plastic wrap.  Press dough to flatten it some, cover up any exposed dough, and place on a plate or small cookie sheet.  Chill until firm, about 30-45 minutes.
4.  Roll out dough to no thinner than 1/4" on a well-floured surface.  Cut out cookies and place on a greased baking sheet.
5.  Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  Cookies should not brown.  Frost and decorate when cooled.

Yield:  depends on size of your cookie cutters.  I got 50+ cookies out of a double batch.
Source:  Annie's Eats

The Royal Icing
Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water

1.  Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes).
2.  Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more liquid and try again.)
3.  Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.
4.  Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with what is still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again.
5. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.
6.  Use the remaining thicker icing for piping decoration as desired. Gel icing color is best as it does not add a significant amount of liquid. Liquid food coloring can be used as well – add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs.

Yield:  Makes enough to decorate at least one batch of the above sugar cookies, using 4-5 colors.

Source:  Annie's Eats (Her photos and tutorial are in this link as well.....great step by step photos!)