It's spring in northern New York and the rhubarb is plentiful!!! My friend Donna brought me some of the smallest, sweetest rhubarb I have ever had. I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try and after having a piece, I think this is my new favorite rhubarb recipe!!!!
Crumb topping:
4 Tbsp. butter, melted then add
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
dash of salt
Combine until crumbly... set aside
Butter a 9 inch round cake pan, then cut up 4 Tbsp. of butter and place them all over the bottom of the cake pan.
In bowl, combine 3 cups rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
and 3/4 cup sugar.
Let stand a few minutes.
In another bowl combine
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
with electric mixer until it is pale and fluffy then add
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 Tbsp. orange juice.
When combined add
2 eggs, one at a time
Then mix in:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
dash salt
When that mixture is well incorporated fold in
1 cup sour cream
until it is well combined.
Put the rhubarb mix on top of the butter in the cake pan. Carefully spread the cake batter over top. Then sprinkle the crumb topping on last.
Bake at 350 about an hour till the center tests clean with a toothpick.
Let cool for ten minutes then invert on a wire rack to cool.
Isn't it funny how a taste, a smell , even a sound, can take you back decades in a flash?? Well that's what baking and eating snickerdoodles does for me. It is one of the cookies that I remember that my grandmother, Mema, made all of the time. If I was lucky to be at her home when she was baking, then I got to eat one when they were warm!!! Now that I am all grown up , and the boss of me, I always get to eat the warm cookies !!!!
I do not have Mema's recipe, but this is the one that I have used for years. It is quite different because it uses butter and crisco. I am sure Mema's were made with just crisco because fifty years ago , that is what people used when they baked!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In small bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon . Set aside to roll the cookie balls in .
In large bowl combine
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add
2 eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
Reduce speed to low and add
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Just mix until all the dry ingredients are combined.
Roll 2 Tbsp. dough into a ball, then roll into the sugar/cinnamon mix until coated on all sides.
Put on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are beginning to brown ... centers will be soft ....
Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before putting on a rack to cool.
I was so anxious to try this new recipe I had just come across, that it did not matter that it was warm and sunny outside. It was the perfect day for grilling, but instead our meal came from a crock pot!!!
1 pkg. [10 oz.] frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out of
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups matchstick carrots
2 [10 oz.] packages refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups Italian blended cheeses, shredded
uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup fresh basil
Combine spinach, chicken, carrots, Alfredo sauce, soup, broth, pepper and 3 cups of the cheese.
Put a quarter of the sauce in a greased 6 quart crock pot. Then put a layer of uncooked lasagna, breaking them to fit. Repeat layers two more times, then end with a layer of the sauce. Sprinkle the 1 cup of cheese over the top.
Cook on Low for 3 1/2 hours until noodles are soft and the mixture is bubbly and browning around the edges. Remove cover and cook for 30 more minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil before serving..
Okay... I used my 6 quart crock pot but this was done in closer to 3 hours... than 3 1/2 and the bottom was pretty crunchy. It also only filled the crock pot maybe a little more than half way. The next time I think I will make it in the 4 quart crock pot and hope that the bottom doesn't brown ! I did not use matchstick carrots but instead cut small carrots in small rounds. They were a little on the crunchy side. Matchstick carrots probably would have been cooked all of the way through.
We absolutely loved this casserole!!!! It is very rich, but so full of flavors and so easy to throw together. This is also the first time I have ever come across a crock recipe that calls for cooking with the top off for a certain period of time.
