White Chocolate Bread Pudding

This delectable recipe is cooked in the crock pot! Very easy and extremely yummy!!

6 cups stale, unseasoned, white bread crumbs
1 package (6 oz) white chocolate baking bar, coarsely chopped
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

~Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray.
~Add the bread crumbs and white chocolate.
~Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl.
~Pour over bread crumb/white chocolate mixture.
~Cook for 3 to 3 1/2 hours on low.

Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Comfort Food

My nephew has brought to my attention the fact that I haven't posted any new recipes here in a very LONG time!!  I have made many new things, but haven't had time to log on and post....thankfully,  I have had the camera available for some of the things I've been cooking.  So, here is something to start with:

Rice Pudding

1/2 cup of uncooked regular rice
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch
dash of salt
2 eggs, separated (reserving both yolk and whites)
2 1/2 cups milk
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup sugar

Mix rice and water in saucepan.  Heat to boiling, stirring once or twice.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 14 minutes without removing cover.  All water should be absorbed.  (or skip this step by using leftover rice...about one cup cooked)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
Mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and salt. 
Beat egg yolks slightly.
Beat egg yolks and milk into sugar mixture with wire whisk.
Stir in rice, lemon juice and raisins.
Pour into ungreased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.
Place casserole in square pan, 9x9x2inches deep, on oven rack; pour very hot tap water 1 inch deep into pan casserole is sitting in.
Bake, stirring occasionally, until pudding is creamy and most of the liquid is absorbed....about 1 1/2 hours. 
Remove casserole from oven but not from pan of hot water.

Increase oven temp to 400 degrees.
Beat reserved egg whites on medium speed until foamy.
Beat in 1/4 cup of sugar on high speed, 1 Tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy.  Do not underbeat.
Spread over pudding.
Bake until meringue is golden brown, 8-10 minutes. 
Serve warm.
6-8 servings.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

It doesn't look like much in the picture, but trust me you gotta try this...I didn't frost my cake, but you could do a ganache to make it extra fancy or serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Perfect for company!

Flour less Chocolate Cake

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

~Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

~Grease an 8 inch round cake pan and dust it with extra cocoa powder.

~Melt chocolate and butter together in a heavy bottomed pan over very low heat, or in the microwave.

~Add cocoa powder, sugar, eggs and vanilla, mix well.

~Pour into prepared pan.

~Bake for 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan...you may have difficulty removing this from the pan...but you can take individual pieces out to serve.

This cake is like a brownie, but much more rich and decadent.

DONUTS!!

The counter getting useful!



Frying donuts doesn't have to be scary or a guessing game!


What makes a family very, very happy?


You gotta get one of these! What a difference it makes!!


Donuts are not that difficult. If you can make biscuits or roll out cookie dough, you can make donuts! The dough is very soft, but flouring everything makes a difference. If you are planning on frying donuts, I highly recommend getting a high temperature thermometer. It takes the guessing out of the equation and yields perfect...and I mean PERFECT donuts every time! Also, a donut cutter is helpful, but not necessary. You can always use a circular biscuit/cookie cutter and then just cut out the center. The donut cutter has made things much easier for me. (there is always the cruller shape, too....experiment with it!)

Old-fashioned Donuts

1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 T. + 1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. oil
3 1/2 cups flour

Oil for frying. (about enough to fill a large pot to 4 inches deep)
sugar for dusting. (either confectioners' or granulated)

Mix the milk, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, egg and oil together in a large bowl. Gradually add the flour, using just enough so that the dough is firm enough to handle yet as soft as possible. (I used all the 3 1/2 cups of flour, but needed more for the rolling out process)

Cover and chill for 1 hour. (I actually did not chill the dough...maybe it would have made it easier to handle...but I am impatient, as is my family!)

Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch rounds. (or whatever size you have...) Place on a tray covered with waxed paper that has been lightly floured.

Heat oil to *380 degrees. (I started heating my oil before I mixed up the dough...remember, I did NOT chill my dough. It takes a bit of time for the oil to heat to the right temp)
*this temperature is CRITICAL for perfect frying conditions.

Fry 3-4 donuts at a time, turning them when one side is golden brown and browning the other side.

Drain on paper towels and dust with sugar while hot. (I put about a cup of sugar into a lidded plastic container and shake donut till covered)

I have to say that there is nothing like a fresh, warm donut...I believe with all my heart that this is how a donut was meant to be eaten! (and not to mention that it leaves a delicious smell wafting about the house for hours after!)

Peach-Custard Kuchen

An old-fashioned, comforting dessert

1 cup flour
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. baking powder
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sliced peaches, about 2 medium. (I used a 16oz. can of sliced peaches, drained well)
1/4 cup plus 2 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 egg yolks
1 cup whipping cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2)


Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together with a fork. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Pat mixture firmly in bottom and halfway up sides of ungreased square pan. (8x8x2)

Lay drained peaches in a single layer on top of prepared crust. Mix remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 T. sugar with cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over peaches. Bake 15 minutes.

Mix egg yolks and cream; pour over peaches. Bake until custard is set and edges are light brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.
9 servings.

Cranberry Nut Bread

Frozen cranberries, orange zest and juice:


Into a greased bread pan:


The recipe:


From one of my favorite (well-loved, very used) cookbooks:

Lemon Pudding Cake

Looking for a dessert to serve the family, I came across this recipe. I had made it many years ago, but had forgotten all about it! (That is another reason to keep your cook books handy: to go through them occasionally to get new ideas and remember old successes!)

Lemon Pudding Cake

2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

~Heat oven to 350 degrees.
~Beat egg whites until stiff peaks from.
~In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks slightly. Add lemon peel, lemon juice and milk. Beat in remaining ingredients until smooth.
~Carefully fold into egg whites.
~Pour into an ungreased 1 quart casserole. Place casserole into a square pan, 9x9x2 inches, on oven rack; pour very hot water (1 inch deep)into square pan.
~Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Remove casserole from water. Serve warm or cool, and, if desired, with whipped cream.

6 servings
Beaten egg whites:


Folding egg yolk batter into egg whites:


Finished pudding cake:


Delightful served warm:

Roasted Applesauce

This recipe is amazing. If you like roasted vegetables, you will love this applesauce recipe. It is not runny; it is thick and rich and tastes like apple pie filling!



10 whole apples (Macintosh, Fuji, etc) I cored my apples, but left the skin on.
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons butter(cut in small pieces)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
dash of coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg
dash ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425degrees.

~Put water, sugar, butter, lemon juice and salt into a roasting pan. I used the bottom of my broiler pan.
~Place apples on top of sugar mixture, put in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
~Put apples through a food mill or press mixture through a strainer to remove skins.
~Add spices.
Enjoy!

Bread and Butter pudding

A delectable old-fashioned dessert that emerges puffy from the oven, then falls slowly; golden and slightly crusty on top, it's soft and spoonable inside. Some purists don't even care to flavor this pudding with vanilla and cinnamon, preferring just the good buttery flavor.

Bread and Butter pudding

~lots of soft butter
~7 slices of good quality white bread (not wonder variety)
~1 quart (4 cups) of milk
~3 eggs, slightly beaten
~1/2 cup sugar
~1/4 teaspoon salt
~1/2 cup raisins
~1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
~1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Butter a 2 quart baking dish.

Spread a generous amount of butter on one side of each slice of bread and line the bottom and sides of the baking dish.

Mix together the milk, eggs, sugar, salt, raisins and vanilla and cinnamon, if you are using them, and pour over the bread.

Place any extra pieces of bread on top and press down so they are submerged.
Let stand for 10 minutes.

Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 30 minutes more.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Peach Pie and Blueberry Cake

Fresh peaches

My new friend: Parchment paper

In go the peaches!

Cut it already, will ya?!

Peach pie with homemade vanilla ice cream


Peach Pie

7 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
1 T. lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 t. cinnamon
2 T. butter

Oven 425 degrees. Mix peaches with lemon juice. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon together. Stir into peaches. (I usually mix them together in a gallon bag) Arrange peaches in pie pan lined with dough. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Flute and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Find pie crust recipe HERE

Blueberry cake with lemon glaze:

Blueberry cake

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/3 cup soft butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 baking dish. Beat all ingredients except for blueberries. Spread half of the batter in the prepared dish. Sprinkle one cup of the blueberries on top. Spread other half of batter on top of blueberries. (the batter will be sparse...don't worry it will bake into berries!) Sprinkle second cup of blueberries on top. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.

Glaze with 1 cup confectioners sugar mixed with 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice. Enjoy!

Grilled bread or pizza

A couple of years ago, I discovered that I can actually grill pizza dough! I make my pizza dough recipe and divide it into two balls. I make a tray with all the fixings I'll need, dough included, and then go out to a preheated grill. Just flatten each ball into an oblong shape and brush on olive oil before placing it, oil side down, directly on the grill. Brush the top side with more olive oil and flip over with a spatula. Add whatever pizza toppings you want, turn the heat to low, close cover and grill until it is cooked. (keep an eye on the underside, you might have to move it away from the direct flame...you don't want it to get too crispy!) The cheese will melt, the toppings will sizzle, and it will be THE best pizza you ever had! Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
Here are a couple of pictures of our grilled cheese bread from last night's dinner:



p.s. you can replace the olive oil with melted butter and the cheese with cinnamon sugar to make a dessert bread. Serve it with an easy frosting glaze for dipping. Oh ya!

Mom's Mincemeat Cake

My mom was so sweet to pass along this recipe that she has been making for years...it's a very moist bundt cake. It is also very versatile. (now I have to wrangle her meatball recipe from her! ha ha)

Mincemeat cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup oil (or 1/2 cup melted butter + 1/2 cup oil)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups mincemeat (or 2 cups whole berry cranberry sauce-or 2 cups applesauce)

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Grease and flour bundt pan. (Mine is a non-stick type, so I only greased it)
~Combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla in a large bowl.
~Beat well
~Stir in mincemeat (or cranberry sauce or applesauce)
~Combine dry ingredients, add to wet ingredients.
~Mix well.
~Pour into prepared pan.
~Bake for 50-60 minutes. Check towards last ten minutes to make sure you don't over-bake.
~Cool in pan on rake for 5 or 10 minutes. Remove carefully from pan.

Glaze with orange or lemon glaze...or serve with whipped cream.

(the cake pictured above is one that I baked to bring to an Easter gathering. I used condensed mincemeat that I reconstituted) I glazed it with lemon frosting and had covered it with plastic wrap held up with toothpicks...if you're wondering...I can't wait to cut into this cake!! Hope it's as yummy as my mom's!!)

Cream Puffs

Easy cream puff shells that can be filled with many things, both sweet and savory! I had some chocolate pudding on hand, and used that for most of them...but Olivia wanted hers to be filled with raspberry swirl ice cream.

Grandma Josephine's Italian anise cookies

~3 eggs
~1/3 cup shortening or butter(softened)
~1/2 cup sugar
~2 cups flour
~3 teaspoons baking powder
~1/2 salt
~2 teaspoons anise extract

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
*Beat together eggs, shortening and sugar.
*Add extract and dry ingredients
*Place teaspoon sized scoops onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
*Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes. Remove and cool on racks.

Glaze with the following:

1 cup confectionary sugar, 1/4 teaspoon anise extract, 1-3 Tablespoons hot water.

I make this glaze very runny so I can just dip each cookie top into it and let the excess run off...let dry on waxed paper.

Apple Pie

Apple pie. The pinnacle of the dessert pyramid! I make mine with granny smith apples this time of year, as they are the most firm apple at the market. Just add about 1/2 cup more sugar than the recipe calls for, to cover the tartness.
Also, I cut my apple pieces quite large so the filling doesn't turn mushy. Nice firm apples in a gooey, cinnamon/nutmeg laced syrup. Oh boy!
I use the same crust that I make my pot pies and pork pies out of...I love the oil crust. It is flaky and light. Always a winner. Just before it goes into the oven, brush on some milk and sprinkle it with a cinnamon sugar mixture, if you want to sugar it up a bit...



Notice I am serving this on a disposable plate, as we are still experiencing a power outage. Not too pretty, but the pie is the star here!

Pear puff pastry delight

Want a very easy dessert idea? Here's one for you!

One 15 oz can of pear halves, drained.
1 half package of frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 6 rectangles
cinnamon/sugar
melted butter

~preheat oven to 375 degrees.
~spray cookie sheet with oil.
~place 6 rectangles on sheet with space between them.
~brush with melted butter, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon/sugar.
~cut each pear into 5 slices, leaving them attached at top of pear, place on pastry and fan out.
~sprinkle with more cinnamon/sugar.
~bake for 20 minutes.
Six servings. 230 calories per serving.

Serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate Cake

Here is a recipe for a delicious chocolate cake that I have used for many years. I originally got it from my sister, who would make this for her daughter who had milk allergies. It is very simple to make and it is egg-less, butter-less, milk-free and completely yummy!

1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons (good)cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 cup cold water

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
~Sift dry ingredients.
~Add oil, vanilla, vinegar.
~Pour cold water over all and mix well.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.
280 calories per serving, eight servings.

I like to dust this cake with powdered sugar to keep the calorie count low...you can also glaze it or frost it.
Double to make a two layer cake.

Look how black with chocolate it is!! It tastes as rich as it looks! Imagine this with a rich white icing....oh ya.

Success!

DINNER~CHICKEN CACCIATORI (a new family fav. I will be making this one again very soon!)

In slow cooker, layer 3 sliced onions, 4 skinned chicken thighs, 2 skinned chicken breasts, 5 cloves chopped garlic, 1 28oz can chopped plum tomatoes, 1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth. Cook on low for 6 hours.



At the end of the cooking time, add 20-25 roughly chopped pitted kalamata olives and one Tablespoon dried basil. (or a bunch of fresh basil, roughly chopped)


Serve with vermicelli. The flavors are fantastic!


DESSERT~MARTHA WASHINGTON CAKE

Make Dinette cake recipe. (Recipe follows) Slice into two layers with a long bread knife.



Place on serving platter, spread 1/2 cup of strawberry or seedless raspberry jam over bottom half.


Replace top half.


Glaze with any simple vanilla glaze.


Enjoy! (TacCom's favorite dessert!)



Dinette Cake

1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup softened butter
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a one round 8 inch cake pan. Mix all ingredients together until very smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack. Follow above directions to assemble Martha Washington Cake.