Texas Cake

We got this recipe from a very special family. If you aren't a cake lover, trust me even you will enjoy this recipe! It's a little bit like brownies but lighter, with frosting. Enjoy! KJV.

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
A pinch of salt

Mix in a bowl and set aside.

In a pan on the stove:

1 cup water
4 TBLS unsweetened Cocoa
1 cup butter or margarine

Bring to boil. Pour over flour and sugar mixture, and beat well. (This is the best stage for sampling the batter!)

Add 2 eggs
1/2 cup butter milk or 1/2 cup milk with a little vinegar.
1 tsp. Baking Soda

Mix well. Pour in a greased sided cookie sheet (or a pan the same size). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

-Frosting Recipe-

In a bowl:

4 cups powdered sugar

In a small pan mix 4 Tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa, 1/2 cup margarine (or butter), and 1/3 cup milk. Bring to boil and pour over powdered sugar. Mix well and add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup walnuts (optional). Frost over cake right out of the oven.

Black Bean Salad

2 15.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 avacado, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 C fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T fresh lime juice
3 T olive oil

Toss together and serve cold.

It's gluten and dairy free!  :-)

Rice, Cream, and fruit salad

2-3 cups rice (cooked/cooled)

2 (8 oz.) Cool whip containers

1 (12 oz.) can Pineapple tidbits (or any other fruit)
1 (11 oz.) can Mandarin oranges

1/2 cup Coconut (or as much as desired)

Combine above ingredients. Make sure rice is soft. Let cool in refrigerator before serving.

~K.J.V.

Best Blueberry Muffins

Prep Time: 15 Min; Cook Time: 25 Min; Ready In: 45 Min; Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Cowboy Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup flaked coconut (optional)
• 1/2 cups walnuts (optional)
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the oats, walnuts (if desired), and chocolate chips. Drop round spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from: Tried and True Recipes

Corned Beef...

...for St. Patricks day. Use the recipe and tips on the back of the package of corned beef.

Classic Butter Cookies

May need to be doubled for large gatherings.
Yields: 2 1/2 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream the butter until light. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and almond extract.
2. Gradually blend in the flour. Cover and let chill for at least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)
4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut in desired shapes, using lightly floured cookie cutter. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter

Beat until soft and creamy. Apply to cooled cookies, with sprinkles.

Are you ready for Patricks day?

It doesn't matter if your Irish or not, celebrate this day with your family with a big dinner! And guess what? You can get lots of the recipes you need on this blog!

Click here for recipes.

Pumpkin Bread...

...From the "Homestead Blessings Cookbook". I highly recommend getting this recipe book for yourself! It has lots of wholesome, wonderful recipes and tips for you and your family!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 3 cups raw sugar (or if you prefer, I used regular)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (I used olive oil)
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups cooked pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups pecans

Instructions:

Mix all wet ingredients together; sift in dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Fold in nuts. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes 2-4 loaf pans or 2 Bundt pans. Fill pans half full, because it will rise 1/3 to 1/2 again. This freezes well.

Note: "What a blessing! When changing a recipe from white flour to whole grain flour, double spices, or sometimes triple them. Whole grain baked items tend to be more bland and spices are rich in trace elements, so use them generously." From: Homestead Blessings Cookbook

Fudge truffle Cheesecake

Do you want a special dessert for Valentines Day? This would be a great choice for all the chocolate lovers out there!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together crushed vanilla wafers, confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and butter or margarine by hand. Press ingredients into a 9 inch springform pan.
3. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, making sure that they are very smooth.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth. Mix in melted chocolate, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
5. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 minutes. The cake will seem underbaked in the center, but will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven.

Prep time: 30 min Cook Time: 1 hr Ready In: 2 hrs

Hot Chocolate Mix

3 cups powdered milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

dash of salt

Sift together the ingredients.

To serve, add 4 T of mix to 1 cup boiling water.

~V.L.S.

Russian Teacakes

1 C butter, softened
1/2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 C flour (I used GLUTEN FREE Mama (GFM) almond blend flour and 2 tsp xanthan gum)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C finely chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Work in flour, salt, and nuts until dough holds together.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown.  While warm, roll in powedered sugar.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

~I like to make these around Christmas every year.  They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!~

---VLS

Green Bean Casserole

This casserole makes a wonderful addition to Christmas dinner...

2 cans (10 3/4 oz. ea.) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup milk
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
8 cups cooked cut green beans
4 slices cooked crisp bacon
1 can (6 oz.) French Fried Onions

Stir soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans, bacon, and 1 1/3 cups onion in 3 qt. casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. or until hot. Stir.
Top with remaining onions. Bake for 5 min. more.

~V.L.S.

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C salad oil
1 #303 can pumpkin (1 lb.)
2 1/2 C flour (to make this recipe GLUTEN FREE, use GF flour and 2 tsp xanthan gum)
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Pour into 2 well greased 9x13 pans.  Bake about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

When cool, frost with the following:

3 1/2 C powdered sugar
8 oz. pkg cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C butter

Beat until soft and creamy.  Makes enough for both pans of bars.

Don't have sour cream?

Use plain yogurt instead.  I used it in Spaghetti pie and it worked perfectly!

Balsamic Chicken

5-6 Chicken breasts, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

3 tsp rosemary
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Place chicken in a 9x13 pan.

Mix rosmary, garlic, salt and pepper with olive oil to make a paste.  Rub onto chicken.  Pour desired amount of balsamic vinegar over the chicken.  Cover pan with foil and bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.  Turn and bake 20 more minutes.

Serve with rice and a salad.

VLS

Any recipe requests?

Please leave a comment!

Mac and Cheese

CAN BE MADE GLUTEN FREE!  :-)
16 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni (I used gluten free corn Fusilli)
2 C grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
3 C milk
1/4 C butter
2 1/2 T flour (I used GFM almond blend flour)
1 tsp. minced garlic
Paprika
Parsley

Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain.
In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour to thicken.  Add milk slowly, stirring constantly.  Stir in cheeses and garlic and cook over low heat until cheese is melted.  Put noodles in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over.  Stir.  Sprinkle paprika and parsley over top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with a salad for a great meatless dinner.
~VLS

Greek Salad

1 head romaine lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 lemon, juiced
ground black pepper to taste

1.In a large salad bowl, combine the Romaine, onion, olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese.

2.Whisk together the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake

1 3/4 C boiling water
1 C oatmeal
1 C brown sugar
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 C butter
2 eggs
1 3/4 C almond blend flour (or all-purpose flour if you don't want it to be GF)
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (don't use if you use all-purpose flour)
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 C chocolate chips
1 C walnuts (optional)

Mix boiling water and oatmeal and let stand 10 minutes.  Add brown sugar, sugar and butter and stir until melted.  Then add the rest of the indgredients except just add 1/2 the chocolate chips and 1/2 the walnuts.  Pour mixed batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle remaining nuts and chips on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 

This cake is so rich that it doesn't need to be frosted.  It may be served with whipped cream on top.

~VLS