Chocolate Pound Cake

This recipe came in an envelope from Southern Living Magazine. It was a teaser recipe to get me to purchase their magazine. I’ve received the same recipe several times. But, hey, it is a wonderful magazine.

Chocolate Pound Cake

1 (8-oz.) package semisweet chocolate baking squares, chopped
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
½ cup chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Microwave chocolate baking squares in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 1 minute and 15 seconds or until chocolate is melted and smooth, stirring at 15-second intervals. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating 5-7 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate, chocolate syrup and vanilla, until smooth.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (14-cup) tube pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and let cool completely (about 1 hour and 30 minutes).

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Makes 16 servings.

Apple Dessert Pizza

It all began when I went to the Pizza Hut buffet. They make this wonderful dessert pizza that is way too sweet and way too wonderful. I thought it would be a good item to take to potlucks and such.

So I did what anyone does, I googled apple dessert pizza and found this wonderful recipe from Christy Jordan. It figures. I LOVE her cookbook, Southern Plate. This recipe isn’t in that cookbook but it does have some other wonderful recipes. I most definitely recommend this cookbook!

Apple Doozie

1 pizza crust
1 can apple pie filling
½ cup quick oats
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup flour
½ stick margarine (¼ of a cup)
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze

1 cup Confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pizza crust on baking sheet. Open pie filling and dice it up a bit while it is inside the can. Spread over pizza crust.

Place flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a long tined fork, cut margarine in to mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of pie filling on pizza crust and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Top with glaze.

Glaze

Place all glaze ingredients in small bowl. Stir until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a little more milk. If it’s too thin, add a little more sugar. Drizzle over Apple Pizza with a spoon.

Variation

To use fresh apples, peel and chop two to three cups apples. Sauté in two tablespoons butter until tender. Add a few tablespoons sugar is you like but keep them a bit tart because the topping adds a lot of sweetness. 

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

I found this recipe in the November 2011 Southern Living Magazine. Then it ended up in a stack of recipes to try and, of course, didn't see the light of day until just recently. I'm looking forward to giving it a try because our family LOVES sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Add sweet potatoes, and beat well.

Stir together flour, baking power, baking soda and cinnamon or nutmeg, in a medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes to 70 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely (about one hour).

This makes 10-12 servings.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake Loaves

Prepare batter as directed above; pour into two greased and floured 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pans. Bake and cool as directed.

Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad

My mother found this recipe in the free magazine, Eat Healthy Your Way. She loves tomatoes, onions and cucumbers so it’s perfect for her. And it was just in time for the senior citizens’ game night where everyone was supposed to bring a salad.

Summer Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad

3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
2 medium cucumbers
4 medium tomatoes, cut into ½-inch wedges
1 Vidalia or other swee onion, halved and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, chives and/or tarragon

Whisk vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.

Remove alternating stripes of peel from the cucumers, Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds. Add the cucumber slices, tomatoes and onion to the dressing; gently toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Just before serving, add herbs and toss again.

Makes 6 servings, about 1 ½ cups each.

Pepper Jelly

My mother has been busily making this pepper jelly for a couple of weeks. My uncle, the former ag teacher, can grow anything. And he does. In great quantities. So my aunt keeps sending hot peppers to my mother. This is my aunt's recipe. It was also contributed by a dear friend to a local senior citizen cookbook. I guess that means it's one of those pass down and around recipes. Those are the best kind.

If you really like it hot you can switch the amounts on the bell pepper and hot pepper, using 1/2 cup bell pepper and 1 1/3 cups hot pepper.

Both my mother and my aunt recommend using plastic gloves and goggles while you're cutting up the peppers. I wouldn't know. Hot peppers are not for me, though I do love the smell. LOL

Pepper Jelly

1 1/3 cups bell pepper
½ cup hot pepper
½ cup water
1 cup vinegar
6 ½ cups sugar
1 box (2 packages) Certo

Cut off the stems of the pepper. Using a food processor, grind bell pepper and hot pepper until it is fine. Bring first five ingredients to a boil. Pour in Certo; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Let set 5 minutes. Skim off foam; pour into jars and seal as per normal canning methods.

Cheeseburger Quiche

This is one of those recipes I always meant to try. Instead, it found its way into a box with assorted other papers and things. I uncovered it the other day and wondered why I’d never given it a try. It’s from the Family Circle magazine October 2011.

I do want to point out that the recipe calls for grape tomatoes, which are not the same thing as cherry tomatoes. Some folks assume that they are. Grape tomatoes are the size of, well, grapes.

Cheeseburger Quiche

1 refrigerated piecrust (from a 15-oz package)
1 lb lean ground beef
`/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 medium red onion, diced
2 packed cups baby spinach
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
5 large eggs
¾ cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Unroll crust and roll out slightly. Fit into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep pie dish. Flute edge. Line crust with nonstick foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove foil.

Meanwhile, cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, 5 minutes, breaking apart with a spoon. Spoon into a bowl and stir in ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.

In same skillet, cook onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 3 minutes. Season with 1/8 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Stir in beef.

Transfer beef mixture to crust. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese over filling. Carefully add egg mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes 6 servings.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Dessert

                                                                                       

I saw this recipe on the Pillsbury website and can't wait to try it! I don't know about how life is where you are, but here in the Deep South it has been hot and muggy for what seems like forever. I know. It's July and it's supposed to be that way. But a cold snack or dessert just seems perfect, especially when it's as easy as this appears to be.

 

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Dessert

1 roll (16.5 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

1 container (1/2 gallon) cookie dough ice cream

2 cups Cookie Crisp cereal

2/3 cup hot fudge topping                                

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with heavy-duty foil, extending foil over sides of pan. In pan, break up cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust.
• Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove ice cream from freezer; place in refrigerator to soften.
• Spread softened ice cream evenly over cooled crust. Top evenly with cereal; press lightly into ice cream. Place hot fudge topping in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; partially seal bag. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over dessert. Freeze at least 1 hour or until firm before serving. Use foil to lift dessert from pan. Cut into squares.

Three Cheese Baked Ziti with Spinach

Here's another wonderful recipe from the Campbell's Kitchen. I LOVE baked ziti past with cheese. Can't wait to try it with spinach!

Three Cheese Baked Ziti

with Spinach

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked medium tube-shaped pasta (ziti)

1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach, washed (about 4 cups)

1 jar (1 pound 9 ounces) Prego® Marinara Italian Sauce

1 cup ricotta cheese

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Add the spinach during the last minute of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and spinach well in a colander. Return them to the saucepot.
• Stir the sauce, ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and black pepper into the pasta mixture. Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
• Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling.

Serves 6.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

I found this recipe on the Campbell's recipe website. It sure looks yummy!

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)

2 eggs

4 medium carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained

9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1 jar (24 ounces) Prego® Chunky Garden Combination Italian Sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese

• Mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, carrots and broccoli in a medium bowl and set it aside.
• Place 3 lasagna noodles in greased 3-quart shallow baking dish.Top with half of the vegetable mixture and 1 cup of the sauce. Repeat the layers.Top with the remaining lasagna noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 400°F. for 30 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with the Parmesan cheese.

This serves 8 (about 1 1/4 cups each) with 321 calories per serving.