Double Blueberry Buckle

This recipe comes from another old newspaper clipping. Wish I’d had it when the blueberries were fresh. It doesn’t matter though. I’ve got plenty in the freezer. How about you?

Double Blueberry Buckle

Cake

¼ cup butter or margarine
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 cup blueberries

Blueberry Topping

¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup blueberries

To make cake, cream butter and ¾ cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and rind. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk. Gently fold in 1 cup blueberries. Spread dough into greased and floured 9-inch square pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven 25 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

To make topping, in small saucepan, combine all topping ingredients, reserving ½ cup blueberries; cook, stirring, until thickened. Spread hot topping over warm cake. Use reserved blueberries for top decorations.

Makes 8 servings.

Scalloped Potatoes

I pulled this recipe out of a huge paper bag filled with old recipes. It’s from the October 1990 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. Can you believe that? Of course, it’s been buried all these years so how could I use it? I’m so thankful that now I can find it when I need it.

Scalloped Potatoes

3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk
¼ lb sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)
5 medium-sized potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon paprika

About 1 ½ hours before serving:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a saucepan over medium heat, in hot margarine or butter, cook onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and salt until blended; cook 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in ¼ cup shredded cheese.

In shallow 2-quart casserole, arrange half of the potato slices; pour half of the sauce on top; sprinkle with half of remaining cheese; repeat. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake, covered, 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

Makes 6 servings, about 255 calories each.

Smoky Three-Bean Chili

      A chill in the air signals that it's time to get a big pot of chili going on the stove. The only problem is time. This solution from Pillsbury changes all that. Can't wait to give this chili a taste test. And don't forget to head over to the Pillsbury website for even more chili recipes.

 

Smoky Three-Been Chili

4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips

1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cans (15 oz each) beans (great northern, kidney, black and/or pinto), drained, rinsed
1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ fire roasted tomato cooking sauce
2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

In 4-quart saucepan, cook bacon, beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is brown and onion is soft; drain.

Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, cooking sauce and broth. Heat to simmering, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cook about 15 minutes or until thickened.

Fried Bananas

This is just such a unique recipe. And it sounds tropically delicious. There’s just something about bananas and coconut. Of course, the deep fried probably means Texas or somewhere in the Deep South. It’s another one of those old newspaper clippings so who knows?

Fried Bananas

1 cup rice flour or cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup freshly grated coconut (or unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut)
1 to 1 ¼ cups unsweetened coconut milk
6 to 8 bananas
3 cups oil for deep-frying (approximately)

Combine rice flour, sugar, baking powder and coconut in bowl. Whisk in one cup coconut milk. Batter should be thick but pourable. If too thick, whisk in more coconut milk. Let batter stand 20 minutes.

Peel bananas and cut into thick, diagonal slices. Dip bananas into batter.

Heat at least 2 inches oil in wok or electric skillet to 375 degrees. Fry bananas 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown, working in several batches so as not to crowd pan. Drain on paper towels.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Amazing Fudge-Tunnel Cake

This recipe is an old clipping from Redbook magazine. I have no idea which issue or how long ago I acquired it. It has a little note at the top that says a fudgy center appears after the chocolate-almond batter is baked. The note calls it a trick, which makes me think it came from an October issue.

Amazing Fudge-Tunnel Cake

Cake

1 ¾ cups butter or margarine, softened

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped blanched almonds, toasted
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Glaze

¼ cup heavy cream
3 1-oz. squares semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Candied violets, optional
Fresh mint leaves, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan.

In large bowl with electric mixer at high speed, beat 1 ¾ cups butter, granulated sugar, eggs, almond extract and confectioners’ sugar about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

In medium-size bowl combine flour, almonds and cocoa powder; stir into butter mixture until just blended.

Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake 1 hour until firm to the touch and sides of cake shrink slightly from sides of pan. Cook cake in pan on wire rack 1 hour; invert onto serving platter to cool completely.

Glaze

In small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stir cream, chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cool completely.

Serve

Spoon cooled glaze over top of cake. Decorate cake with candied violets and mint leaves, if desired.

Makes 16 servings.

Classic Cheesecake

This recipe comes from the May 2012 issue of Real Simple magazine. It’s credited to Dawn Perry. I saved it because I’m always looking for an easy dessert and I love cheesecake.

For those who might not love cherries, try a blueberry sauce or even a sauce made with fresh strawberries. This is a wonderful basic cheesecake but you can really make it your own by altering the sauce to fit your taste buds.

Classic Cheesecake

18 graham crackers (2 sleeves)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar
3 8-oz. bars cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature

Cherry Sauce

1 10-oz. bag frozen cherries
½ cup sugar
2/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until fine crumbs form. Add the butter, salt and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and pulse to combine. Using a straight-sided dry measuring cup, press the mixture into the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a 9-inch spring form pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and 1 cup of the remaining sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sour cream and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and beat to combine. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake until just set (the center will be slightly wobbly), 50 to 60 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of sour cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Spread over the hot cheesecake, then bake until set, 3 to 5 minutes more. Let cool to room temperature in the pan, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before unfolding.

How To Make The Cherry Sauce

In a large skillet, combine the cherries, sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons water. Add to the cherries in the skillet and cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Let cool completely. Serve with the cheesecake.

Banana-Nut Cake

This is another of those yellowed newspaper clippings from who knows where. Those who know me will realize that I rarely ever use walnuts, even though this recipe calls for them. I substitute pecans. I live in the Deep South and pecans are what we grow.

Banana-Nut Cake

1 ¾ cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ lb butter or margarine
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
3 very soft bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together cake flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream butter with sugar until smooth. Add well-beaten eggs, beating until blended. Beat in bananas, then walnuts and vanilla. Fold sifted dry ingredients into banana mixture. Turn batter into greased and floured 9-inch square baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees 40 to 50 minutes or until cake tests done in center. Serve plain, or, if desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar or dollop with whipped cream. Cut into bars or squares.

Makes 9 servings.