A Special (and Easy!) Cake for a Special Day

We are preparing to host a Valentine's dinner at our church in a couple weeks. Having volunteered to coordinate this fundraiser for the youth, I have been thinking about what to serve for dessert. A recipe that almost immediately came to mind was another recipe from Denise, my twin sister. It has a four things going for it:

1. It's chocolate.
2. It has cherries in it.
3. It only has three ingredients.
4. It's delicious!

The icing for the cake is very unusual too. It calls for granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar and it is cooked on top of the stove.

This is the dessert I have chosen and I think it will be a sweet ending to a good meal. If you're looking for a dessert for your sweetheart for Valentine's day, I think even cupid would be impressed!

Quick Chocolate Cherry Cake

1 Devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1 can of cherry pie filling

Mix all ingredients well with wooden spoon. Mixture will be very thick. Pour in greased 9 x 13" baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Pour warm frosting (recipe follows) over cake while cake is warm. Store in refrigerator.

Chocolate Frosting
1/3 c. milk
1 c. sugar
5 T. butter
1 c. chocolate chips

Combine milk, sugar and butter. Bring to boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chocolate chips and stir well. Let set for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Good Enough to Eat!

I have mentioned in the past that marrying into my husband's family has allowed me to try some new dishes and recipes. One dessert new to me was jam cake. I'm not sure if this cake is particular to the south or not, but it seems to be popular in this area. My husband's aunt used to make a jam cake every year for Christmas, and his mom would give us half of it. Honestly, neither one of us never really cared for it because it was very dense like a fruit cake--but we ate it simply for the frosting which is typically caramel.

In recent years, my mother found a strawberry jam cake recipe that she makes and it is delicious--and I'm not just saying that because my mom reads my blog (really)! The strawberry preserves and the coconut and raisins make the cake very moist. Mom's caramel icing is so good I think I could just eat the whole bowl if given the opportunity!

This weekend Jeff and I visited my parents and Mom blessed us by making her strawberry jam cake--and sent half of it home with us. I assure you we will eat every bite-- frosting and cake!

Strawberry Jam Cake
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. salt
3/4 t. soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice
1/4 t. cloves
1 t. vanilla
1 10-oz. jar of strawberry preserves
1/2 c. shortening
2/3 c. buttermilk
3 eggs
1 c. flaked coconut
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 - 3/4 c. raisins

Grease a 10" bundt pan. Combine all ingredients except coconut, nuts and raisins. Blend at medium speed for three minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 60-65 minutes. Cool 30 minutes and remove from pan. Frost with caramel frosting. (Recipe follows)

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Quick Caramel Frosting
2/3 c. margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. milk
3 c. confectionery sugar

Melt margarine in a saucepan. Add brown sugar. Cook over low heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and cool about 10 minutes. Gradually add confectionery sugar, beating well after each addition until it is the right spreading consistency.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Great Side Dish

Sometimes the hardest part of a meal for me is deciding what to fix with the main course. I tire quickly of the standbys of green beans and corn and their varieties. I have recently found some great frozen vegetables, just the right size for two. Last night I fixed Green Giant's Simply Steam® Garden Vegetable Medley. It has roasted red potatoes, red peppers, and peas. I was pleasantly surprised how good it was and will definitely try other varieties.

However, I do have some delicious sides that I love to fix that are a little different. One that I think is a great side for pork and chicken is called scalloped pineapple. It could double for a dessert but I really love it as a side dish. I got this recipe from a friend about 25 years ago. I have seen other versions of this recipe online but my recipe has marshmallows which I didn't see in any other recipe. If you're looking for a sweet side for ham, pork chops, or chicken, look no further!

Scalloped Pineapple
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
2 eggs
1 20-oz. can crushed or chunk pineapple, undrained
3 c. bread cubes, packed
1 c. miniature marshmallows

Mix sugar, butter and eggs. Add pineapple, bread cubes and marshmallows. Stir together and spoon into greased 7 x 10 x 2 dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes uncovered.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Soup's On - Part II

With the additional accumulation of snow today, it seems appropriate to submit another soup recipe. This one for chicken tortilla soup is much like the chicken tortilla soup at McAllister's Deli if you have one near you. I have had many different recipes of this soup, but I prefer this one and those like it as they are spicy but creamy too. This also makes a good amount of soup so it's great for company. I have made this in the past when I catered lunch in for an office meeting and tripled the recipe and it worked out great. Serve this with a green salad, additional tortilla chips, and a nice light dessert and you have a great meal--lunch or dinner.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
8 oz. Velveeta process cheese food - cubed
10 oz. can Ro*Tel® tomatoes and chilies
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper – to taste
flour tortillas – as needed, about 4 - 6
shredded Colby Jack cheese OR Mexican blend cheese – as needed

• In a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in small amounts of chicken broth at a time, then whisk in milk.
• Reduce heat to low and stir in Velveeta cubes; stir until melted.
• Stir in Ro*Tel, chicken, and spices.
• Once soup is heated through, it is ready to serve at this point. However, if you wish to make tortilla strips, it can sit over low heat while they are made. Stir the soup occasionally.
• For tortilla strips, cut tortillas into strips and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable or peanut oil until golden, then drain on cooling racks.*
• Spoon a ladle full of soup into a bowl, add a handful of shredded cheese, then spoon another ladle full of soup over cheese. Sprinkle tortilla strips over top. Add a dollop of sour cream if desired.

  *I use crumbled tortilla chips instead of tortilla strips. As a substitute for RoTel, you can use 1 1/2 cups of salsa. Spiciness can be easily adjusted by using spicy RoTel or salsa and/or adding cayenne pepper to the soup.

  Click here for a printable version of this recipe.
  
  
  

Soup's On!

As I have watched the national weather forecast, it seems just about everyone in our country is experiencing cold weather. Even those who have fled to Florida for the winter are complaining about some dipping temperatures. On a cold wintry day, there is just something within me and my husband that calls for comfort foods. We had pizza for lunch, loading up on plenty of carbs with not only the pizza dough, but breadsticks and of course the dessert pizza.

One of my go-to comfort foods for winter is soup. I think I have mentioned before that I love soup, especially soup that is full of something--vegetables, meat, pasta, etc.

For dinner tonight I made a creamy potato soup that is my all-time favorite potato soup recipe. This one is creamy, just the right consistency and very satisfying. It seems like almost every time I make it, I forget to pre-cook the potatoes. I finally got smart tonight and cubed the potatoes and placed them in my large micro cooker (Pampered Chef) and cooked them for about 5 minutes until they were fork tender. Much easier!

I serve each bowl of soup with crumbled bacon and a little more grated cheese. Stay tuned for more favorite soup recipes.

Creamy Potato Soup
1 medium onion chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 c. butter or margarine
2 T. flour
4 c. milk
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 c. cubed process American cheese or shredded cheddar cheese
4-6 large potatoes, peeled, diced, and cooked
1 t. seasoned salt

In a Dutch oven, saute onion, celery and carrot in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add soup, cheese, potatoes and seasoned salt; mix well. Cook and stir until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Yield: 10-12 servings (3 quarts)

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.