Lemon Pudding cake

This is one of my all time favorite cakes and one that is so easy even for beginner bakers!

In large bowl combine the following ingredients :
1 pkg. (18.25 oz.)Yellow cake mix
1 pkg. 4-serving size, instant lemon pudding and pie filling
4 eggs
2/3 rds cup vegetable oil
2/3 rds cup water

Blend together on low speed of mixer, then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Put in floured and greased bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees 50-60 min. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a plate.
When cool, glaze with a mix of
3/4th cup of confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice and
2 tsp. Water
Mix together and drizzle over cake!

Meat loaf dinner in a crock pot!

I am not a meat loaf lover. I think I ate too much of it growing up. However Mike loves it and the leftovers in a sandwich so I do make it a couple of times a year. I usually chose a new recipe, hoping that just once I will find one I love. Well I finally did. This is a one dish meal. The original recipe belongs to Sandra Lee but I fine tweaked it for our tastes!!!! 

4-5 medium potatoes, diced. I used red potatoes and left the skins on 
1- .06 ounce pkg. Italian salad dressing mix {divided}
1 3/4# ground beef
1# Italian sweet sausage
3 oz. prosciutto, finely chopped
1 can condensed tomato soup {divided}
1 jar {6.5 oz.} marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
1 can condensed mushroom with roasted garlic soup
1/2 cup beef broth
2 cups bell pepper strips 
1 onion, diced 

In a 5 qt. slow cooker, toss the diced potatoes and half the Italian dressing. 
In large bowl mix together, ground beef, sausage, prosciutto, 1/4 cup of the tomato soup, artichoke hearts, bread crumbs, and egg until well combined. 
Shape into a loaf and set it on top of the potatoes, making sure that the meatloaf does not touch the sides of the slow cooker. 
Combine the rest of the tomato soup, the mushroom soup and the beef broth and poor over the meat loaf. 
In a bowl combine the green peppers, the onion and the rest of the Italian dressing. Place on top of meat loaf. 

Cover and cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 5 to 6 hours. 
I cooked it for 6 hours on low and it was perfect. 

Mike and I both thought this was pretty fabulous!!! The potatoes were perfect and the sauce complimented both the meat loaf and the potatoes. 
I think I can finally stop looking for a great meat loaf recipe!!! 
The original recipe called for a 1/4 cup of basil pesto to be added to the meat mixture and for the sausage to be hot. 

Fire Crackers

I came across this recipe just before the holidays and made a batch. They have already become my favorite snack food....also my "go to " food when I am hungry in between meals. They are easy to make and last for weeks in an airtight container. 

1# saltine crackers...4 sleeves
1 cup canola oil
1 (1 oz.) pkg. ranch dressing mix
2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper (I use 1 and 3/4th Tbsp.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Line crackers up on end , like dominoes, in an airtight container. 

Then mix all of the remaing ingredients . 

Slowly pour the oil mixture over the crackers trying to get the liquid on every single one. 

Put cover on the container, and for 20 min. turn the container upside down every 5 minutes to make sure all of the crackers absorb the oil.  ENJOY!!! 

Buttermilk Biscones

I had a friend over for breakfast this morning and I intended to make scones and a fresh fruit salad, but picked up the wrong cookbook for the scones recipe and stumbled across a recipe for Buttermilk Biscones instead! The cookbook is "Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook" and cover to cover, it is filled with fabulous recipes of baked goods.
The buttermilk biscones were scrumptious and simple to make. I made my own buttermilk {by stirring in 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. of lemon juice to 1 and 1/2  cup of  milk and letting it stand for five minutes....} I did use dried cherries, my favorite fruit! These are simple and easy to make!!

Buttermilk Biscones

from The Back In the Day Bakery Cookbook

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbs baking powder, preferably aluminum free

3/4 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ground cardamom (sadly I was out of this)

1/2 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (2 sticks)

1 cup dried fruit (such as sour cherries or currants), optional

1 1/2 c buttermilk, or as needed

1 egg, beaten with a pinch of fine sea salt- for egg wash

1/4 cup cardamom sugar or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom- whisk until incorporated.  Add the butter and working quickly, cut it in with a pastry blender.  You should have various sized pieces of butter from sandy patches to pea-sized chunks and some larger bits as well. Add the dried fruit, if using, and toss to distribute.

Gradually pour in the buttermilk and gently fold the ingredients until you have a soft dough and there are no bits of flour in the bottom of the bowl.  You should still see lumps of butter in the dough; these will give you light and flaky biscuits! The dough should be moist and slightly sticky.

Dust the top of the batter with a little flour and with a large ice cream scoop, scoop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Arranging them about 1 inch apart so that the biscones have room to rise and puff up in the oven. Lightly tap down the tops and brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until the biscones are lightly golden and fully baked. Serve warm or room temp with your favorite jam. These are best eaten the day they are baked.

The Best Macaroni Salad Ever

I stumbled across this recipe yesterday by one of my favorite cooks: Ree Drummond, otherwise known as the Pioneer Woman. Every single recipe I have made of hers has become a family favorite, and as I own all three of her cookbooks, I have made a lot of her recipes.
I just mixed up this salad and despite tasting it before it is chilled, I can see where it is become a real family favorite.
So here is the recipe, as I copied and pasted:

The Best Macaroni Salad Ever

Prep Time:

 10 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 15 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 12

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups Elbow Macaroni
• 3 whole Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped (more To Taste, Can Also Use Pimentos)
• 1/2 cup Black Olives, Chopped Fine
• 6 whole Sweet/spicy Pickle Slices, Diced (about 1/2 Cup Diced)
• 3 whole Green Onions, Sliced (white And Dark Green Parts)
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Or Distilled Vinegar
• 3 teaspoons Sugar, More Or Less To Taste
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
•  Plenty Of Black Pepper
• 1/4 cup Milk (more If Needed)
•  Splash Of Pickle Juice (spicy Sweet Pickles)
•  Extra Pickle Juice To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook the macaroni in lightly salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Set aside.

Mix together mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Splash in enough milk to make it pourable. Splash in pickle juice for extra flavor. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.

Place cooled macaroni in a large bowl and pour 3/4 of the dressing. Toss and add more dressing if you'd like. (Dressing will seem a little thin, but it will thicken up as salad chills.)

Stir in olives, roasted red peppers (or pimentos), pickles, and green onions. Add more of any ingredient if you'd like more stuff going on! At the end, splash in a little more pickle juice and stir.

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle with sliced green onion to serve!

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A Very Different Chip cookie

Stumbled upon this recipe when I was looking for a new cookie to make and I think this will become a favorite for both Mike and I... It's got the chocolate he loves and these are crispy and almost salty, like I love. They are not "salty" per say .. but they taste more salty than sweet to me... You will have to try them for yourselves to find out exactly what I mean. 

Preheat oven to 350

In large mixing bowl combine 

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup sugar

Then add  

2 eggs, one at a time beating well in between. 

Add 1 tsp. vanilla

In another bowl combine:

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup crushed cornflakes

1 7/8th cup flour... yep... 7/8th... I just took a bit of flour out of the last cup...

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2/ tsp salt 

Fold the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture

Then add:

1 cup chocolate chips

2 cups crushed Heath bar chips

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cherries

Roll into 2 in. balls and bake 12-15 min. until crisp. My oven took about 16 min. Maybe my cookies were larger than they were suppose to be . I used the Heaths Bits of Brickle  instead of the Heath bars and also used baking raisins . 

Roasted Potato Salad

Found this recipe in the Epicurious Cookbook {one of my favorite cookbooks} and after having an ice storm and a two day blizzard in a two week period, I was thinking about warmer weather , and warmer weather foods......
This was so easy to make.... after all roasting potatoes is so much easier than boiling.... and I cut the bacon into bite sized pieces, put it in a flat pan  and cooked it right in the oven with the potatoes. Just remember that at 425 the bacon will cook quickly.

2#s of small red potatoes, quartered
2 Tbsp. olive oil
On a large rimmed baking sheet , toss the potatoes and oil, season with salt and pepper  then bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until fork tender, about 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

In a bowl whisk together
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp. Creole mustard {I used dijon}
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp.  finely chopped parsley

Add the cooled potatoes
4 hard cooked eggs, sliced
8 ounces bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/2 cup diced onion

Chill at least 2 hours.