Brownie Refrigerator Cake

For this recipe you’ll need a 9 x 13 pan.

Mix together a box of brownie mix according to the directions and add an egg. Bake the brownies and set aside to cool.

Mix:
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1-8 ounce container of whipped topping

Put that mix on the top of the cooled brownies.

Now blend a 3 ounce package of instant chocolate pudding and
a 3 ounce package instant vanilla pudding and
3 1/2 cups of milk.
Put that mix on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Now add another 8 ounce container of whipped topping.
Over the top, add a shaved Hershey candy bar or chocolate syrup and refrigerate until ready to serve. Yum!

As a side note, I’ve published a new 366 day devotional book entitled Looking Deeper. It’s available in paperback and e-reader. Check it out here.

Lemony Lemon Brownies

Doesn’t this look like spring?

Lemony Lemon Brownies
Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the tart Lemon Glaze:
• 4 tbsps lemon juice
• 8 tsps lemon zest
• 1 cup icing sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
3. Zest and juice two lemons and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined.
6. Pour it into the flour mixture and beat for 2 mins at medium speed until smooth and creamy.
7. Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 mins, should turn golden around the edges.
8. Allow to cool completely before glazing. Do not overbake, or the bars will dry.
9. Filter the powdered sugar and whisk with lemon zest and juice.
10. Spread the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula and let glaze set.
11. Cut into bars and serve.
I got this from http://www.bestyummyrecipes.com/lemony-lemon-brownies

Buttermilk Pie

Haven’t tried this yet, but it looks yummy. You might make this as a special treat today to cheer people up on this glorious tax day.

SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK PIE:
½ C. buttermilk
1¾ C. sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. flour
pinch of salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix everything togher and pour into an unblked 9 inch shell. Sprinkle The top lightly with nutmeg. Bake 15 minutes. REduce over to 350 derees and bake 43 minutes. Cool to allow filling to set.

Zebra Cake

I’ve never heard of a zebra cake until I saw this online one day. I’m anxious to have an occasion to try it.

Zebra Cake
• Makes about 10 servings
Ingredients:
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter (200 g), at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• For the chocolate batter
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
Directions
1. Grease and line with parchment paper, a 24 cm (9 in) round cake pan. Preheat oven at 180 (350 F).
2. Whisk together in a large bowl the dry ingredients, flour salt and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In another bowl mix the cocoa powder with 1/4 cup milk and 1 tbsp of sugar.
4. Mix butter with sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Add vanilla extract.
5. With the mixer on low, alternate adding gradually milk and flour mixture until all is well incorporated.
6. Remove two cups of the batter and mix them with the chocolate mixture.
7. Use one tablespoon for each batter to create the layers of batter on the prepared pan. Begin from the middle of the pan, take one spoon of white batter then over it add a spoon of chocolate batter and repeat this steps until all batter has been used. (If you don’t have the patience to make these layers just add one batter on top of the other and create swirls with a knife or fork to create the marbled effect)
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes on a cooling rack before removing from the pan.
10. Serve as it is or top with chocolate glaze.

Super-easy Fudge

Super-Easy Microwave Fudge

Ingredients:
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (optional)

Steps:
1. Pour all ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave until the chips melt, about 1 minute. Stir until smooth.
3. Set in fridge. After about 2 hours of solidifying, take out and cut into squares.

Company Chicken Crescents

A friend recently shared this recipe with me. It sounded yummy. I tried it a couple of nights later. Oh my gosh! It was delicious! Let me know if you agree.

Company Chicken

1 cup cooked, cubed chicken breast
8 oz. cream cheese (onion with chives)
2 Tbsp. butter
½ cup mushroom slices (optional)
½ cup crushed Pepperidge Herbed Croutons
½ cup chopped Pecans
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 can crescent rolls

Mix together the softened cheese and 2 tablespoons of butter; add chicken and mushrooms.
In a separate bowl mix crushed croutons and pecans.
Roll out crescent rolls
Put 1 tablespoon chicken mixture in each roll. Roll up and close ends.
Dip rolls in melted butter, then roll in crouton and nut mixture.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

New Twist on Potatoes

Here’s a fun recipe to try to spark interest in dinner.

Blackbottom Pecan Pie

When our children were little we waited for the first hard freeze in the fall. On a cool, wet Saturday in late October or early November we headed south of Kansas City to a pecan grove near Pleasanton, Kansas armed with boxes and gunnysacks to carry our treasure.

The farmer had a large clamp on the front of his Ford tractor. He attached the clamp around the tree.

“Get back. It’s gonna rain pecans.”

When he activated the machine the whole ground shook as if there were an earthquake and it did rain pecans. As soon as he backed off, all pickers swarmed in like hungry ants at a picnic.

One year we picked a hundred pounds of pecans.

Our next stop would be a few miles down the road. For five cents a pound, we could get the pecans cracked. Then the real work began—picking the meat out of the shells. The taste was much sweeter than the monster nuts we get from California today.

Pecan pie has been a prized favorite in our family every fall. There is never a Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering without at least two pecan pies.

Pecan Pie
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup pecan halves
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the eggs thoroughly with sugar, a dash of salt, corn syrup, and melted butter. Add pecans. Pour into unbaked pastry shell.
Bake in moderate oven for 50 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between outside and center of filling comes out clean. Cool. Serve with a dollop of Dream Whip.

Note: To make it a Blackbottom Pecan Pie, add 1 cup chocolate chips to the bottom before you pour in the pecan batter.

This recipe is found in the book and e-book Family Favorites from the Heartland

Gingerbread House

One thing I try to do with my granddaughters every year is make a gingerbread house and let the girls decorate it. I love to watch their creativity blossom. Here’s the recipe we use.

Gingerbread House
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
2 egg
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
6 cups flour

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg and beat well. Dissolve soda in milk and add to batter. Sift together ginger, cinnamon, salt, and flour, and add to batter, mixing thoroughly. Chill dough at least 24 hours.

Out of cardboard:
Cut two rectangles 4 ½ x 7 ¼ inches to make the sides of the house.
Cut two rectangles 8 x 5 ¼ inches for the roof.
Cut two pieces for the ends of the house, 6 inches wide at the base x 7 ½ at the peak. Draw diagonal lines from that peak to 4 ¾ inches to form the roof.
Cut one piece for the floor 6 x 7 inches.
Roll dough out to ¼ inch thick on a rimless cookie sheet. Place the patterns on the dough and cut them out with a sharp knife. Peel the extra dough away.

Bake:
at 375 degrees for 15 minutes until dough feels firm.

This recipe is found in Family Favorites from the Heartland.

Turkey Gravy

Last week we talked about cooking the turkey. Now we need gravy to go with it. It’s easy to make. Honest. Just follow these directions.

Turkey Gravy

2 cups drippings from roast turkey
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the cornstarch and milk together in a small bowl or a glass jar with a lid until there are no lumps. Pour this mixture into the two cups drippings from the turkey in a saucepan.

Slowly heat until boiling. As the gravy thickens, add a little more milk if consistency isn’t right.

If the gravy gets too thin, add another tablespoon cornstarch to a small amount of milk to thicken.

See, it’s just that easy!