Debbie's Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk

1 cup Splenda

2 cups heavy cream (1 pint)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons cocoa

½ to ¾ cup Heath Milk Chocolate English Toffee Bits

Put in ice cream maker and let freeze. Add toffee bits at the last minute.

Graham Cracker Pie

Crust:

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Mix all crust ingredients together and pack into a 9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool.

Filling:

2 egg yolks (save whites)

4 cups milk

1 cup sugar

½ cup cornstarch

Dash of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Then add ½ cup milk and egg yolks. Stir well. Heat 3 ½ cups milk. When warm, slowly stir in egg yolk mix. Cook until thick (slow boil). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into the crust.

Meringue:

2 egg whites

½ cup sugar

Dash of cream of tartar

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, while slowly adding sugar and cream of tartar. Spread over filling, sealing edges. Bake at 425 degrees until brown. Cool before slicing.

Joyce Grow's Cornflake Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup karo syrup

1 cup peanut butter

5 cups cornflakes

Bring sugar, karo syrup, and peanut butter to a boil.

Add 5 cups cornflakes. Mix well. Drop by tablespoon on waxed paper.

Apple Cheese Ball

Ingredients:

8 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Paprika

1 ½ inch cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

Process cheeses garlic powder, and ground red pepper in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape sides. Chill for 30 minutes.

Shape cheese mixture into a ball, and make an indentation in the top to resemble an apple. Chill ball 30 minutes.

Coat ball heavily with paprika. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Insert cinnamon stick and bay leaf into indentation to resemble apple stem and leaf.

Tuxedo Brownie Hug Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

60 Hugs Chocolates

1 package brownie mix

¼ cup Hershey’s Cocoa

¼ cup water

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

Remove foil wrappers from hugs. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour cookie sheet.

Stir brownie mix, cocoa, water, oil, and eggs until well-blended. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheets.

Bake 8 minutes or until set. Cool one minute. Press the hug into the center of each cookie. Remove to wire rack.

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cups boiling water

1 stick butter

2 cups minute rice, uncooked

1 jar cheese whiz

2 cans mushroom soup

Dehydrated onion

2 10-ounce package chopped broccoli

Spray baking 9x12 baking dish. Combine ingredients; cook at 325 degrees for one hour.

Pepperoni Rolls

Ingredients:

4 ¼ to 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup milk

 1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter or shortening

¾ teaspoon salt

2 beaten eggs

2 sticks pepperoni, peeled and cut into 3- or 4-inch sticks

Stir together 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm (120-130 degrees) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Beat on high three minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as possible.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is sloth and elastic (6-8 minutes total) Shape the dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover, let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour)

Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease baking sheets.

Shape the dough into small balls and wrap around a stick of pepperoni. Place rolls on prepared baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 30 minutes).

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.

Remove from pans. Cool on wire racks.

Marcia's Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:

3 eggs (separate eggs—add beaten eggs last)

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

5 tablespoons pineapple juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

Pineapple rings

Beat eggs, add sugar, and pineapple juice. Add baking powder and flour sifted together.

Mix brown sugar and butter in bottom of pan and place fruit. Pour batter over. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cheez-It Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cup cheddar cheez-it crackers

¾ teaspoon black pepper

1 ¼ pound chicken tenders

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

Put oven rack in lower 1/3 of oven and preheat to 475 degrees. Spray baking dish.

Pulse crackers in a food processor, add pepper. Toss tenders with mustard and dredge in cracker mixture. Arrange in one layer without crowding. Bake, flipping once, until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Layered Lettuce Salad

Ingredients:

Bottom layer: lettuce (1 head)

½ bag of frozen peas

1 green pepper, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

½ red onion, chopped

Mayonnaise

Grated cheese

Crumbled cooked bacon

Carol's Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 can sweet potatoes

¼ cup water and butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

Marshmallows

Chopped pecans

Bring water, butter, and sugar to a boil and pour over sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chopped pecans. Bake until marshmallows melt and the potatoes are hot.

Party Pizzas

Ingredients:

1 can tomato soup

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon curry powder

Party rye bread

Sharp cheddar cheese

Sliced pepperoni

Parsley

Parmesan cheese

Mix together soup, paste, salt, oregano, and curry powder. Brush party rye with Wesson oil. Cover with sauce. Press grated sharp cheddar cheese on top. Place slice of pepperoni on top. Sprinkle with parsley, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. Freeze. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Homemade Rolls

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups water

½ cup Crisco

2 packages of yeast

2 beaten eggs

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

6-7 cups flour

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add ½ cup Crisco. Add 1 cup cold water when the Crisco melts. Dissolve two packages of yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.

When water and Crisco mixture gets cold, add 2 beaten eggs, ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, and yeast mixture. Stir in 6 to 7 cups of flour. Cover and let rise. May be refrigerated at this point.

Remove from refrigerator and let rise again. Form into balls; put three in each muffin cup. Let rise again. Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. 

Grilled Parmesan Corn

Ingredients:

2 medium ears sweet corn, shucked

2 teaspoons butter

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Spread butter over corn. Place each ear on a piece of foil. Sprinkle cheese and salt and pepper to taste over corn. Wrap foil around corn. Place on frill for 10 minutes. Turn and grill 5 minutes.

Brownies

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup flour

Pinch of salt

1 cup melted butter

1 cup nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream eggs and sugar. Blend cocoa and flour. Blend it with eggs and sugar mixture. Add salt and butter. Mix well. Add nuts and vanilla. Bake in greased and floured pan for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients:

½ cup diced onions

½ cup diced green bell peppers

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Vegetable oil

1 pound chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

1 package taco seasoning mix

1 8-ounce jar of salsa

1 14-ounce can kernel corn, drained

1 14-ounce can hominy

1 16-ounce can ranch style beans or kidney beans, drained

1 6-ounce can of tomato paste

46 ounces of chicken broth

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese

Sauté onions, green peppers, and garlic in vegetable oil. Add chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, vegetables, beans, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Bring to a slow simmer for 20 minutes.

Place cream cheese in a separate bowl- spoon hot soup over to melt it. Add back to soup. Simmer on low for another 10 minutes.

Mother Mary's Peanut Butter Tassies

Ingredients:

1 roll peanut butter cookie dough

40 mini Reese peanut butter cups

Cut cookie dough into ten slices, then slice into quarters. Roll each piece into a ball. Pat into a medium-size paper cup and work up the sides a little.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 325 degrees. After baking, immediately press a peanut butter cup into the center. Bake 2 minutes longer. 

Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pound whole pecan halves

1 large egg white, at room temperature

1 tablespoon water

In a bowl, mix sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Beat egg white with water until frothy, but not stiff. Add pecans and stir until well-coated.

Add sugar mixture, mixing pecans until well-coated.

Spread evenly onto a foil-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Remove from oven and separate as they cool.

My Grandmother's Brownies

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter and 3 squares baking chocolate, melted together

2 cups sugar and 4 eggs, beaten together well

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

Mix dry ingredients into sugar and egg mixture. Add chocolate mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frosting:

½ stick butter and 1 square melted chocolate, combine.

Add 1 box of confectionery sugar with a little milk.

Spread on brownies while still hot.

Tortilla Roll-Ups

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese

1 package Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing mix

2 green onions, minced

4 12-inch tortillas

½ cup diced red pepper

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup sliced black olives, drained

Mix cream cheese, ranch mix, and onions. Spread on tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Roll up and wrap tightly. Chill 2 hours. Cut rolls into 1-inch slices.

Cheese Puffs

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

¾ teaspoon grated onion

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Party rye bread

In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, onion, mayo, chives, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Spread on party rye break. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until done.

These can be assembled and frozen. They can go directly from the freezer to the oven!

Debbie's Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

12 hard boiled eggs

½ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon parsley

½ teaspoon chives

¼ teaspoon ground mustard

½ teaspoon dill weed

Pepper

1 tablespoon milk

Dash of garlic powder

Combine the yolks of the eggs (I process them in a food mill) with other ingredients. Spoon mixture into egg whites.

Chicken in the Limelight

Ingredients:

3 pounds of chicken breasts (or 8 boneless halves)

1 lime

1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ cup butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup chicken broth

½ cup white wine

Pat chicken pieces dry. Zest lime; set aside.

Squeeze lime over each piece of chicken. Shake chicken in a bag containing mixture of flour, salt, and paprika. Brown chicken in butter.

Arrange chicken in a single layer of baking dish. Combine lime zest and brown sugar. Sprinkle over chicken. Combine broth and wine. Pour over chicken.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Cherry Pie

Ingredients:

2 16-ounce cans pitted tart cherries

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoon almond extract

Pastry for double-crust 9-inch pie

Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup of the juice; set cherries aside.

Combine ¾ cup sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan; stir mixture to remove lumps. Stir cherry juice into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat, stir in cherries, ½ cup sugar, butter, and almond extract.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with half of pastry. Pour cherry mixture into pastry shell. Cover with top crust. Trim edges, seal and crimp. Cut slits in top for steam. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Dried Beef Cheeseball

Ingredients:

5 ounces packaged dried beef (chopped)

2 8-ounce bars of cream cheese

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons accent (optional)

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

Mix together and shape. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

My Grandmother's French Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry—1 crust

6 cup tart apple slices

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

Mix together 2 tablespoons of flour, granulated sugar, and cinnamon with apples. Place in pastry. Cream butter and brown sugar—work in one cup flour to make crumb mixture. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake 30 minutes longer.

Chocolate Pie

Ingredients:

1 package (4 ounces) Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

3 ½ cups or 8 ounces cool whip

8-inch graham cracker crumb crust

Heat chocolate and 2 tablespoons of milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted. Beat sugar into cream cheese; add remaining milk and chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust, freeze until firm (about 4 hours). Store in the freezer.

Pam's Chili

Ingredients:

2 premade ground beef patties

12 ounce can of tomato sauce

Small can tomato paste

3-4 cans of water

Peppers (Kroger brand “vegetable beginnings” 3 pepper and onion blend)—only a few handfuls, cut while frozen

1 big can of whole tomatoes

½ to ¾ cans of kidney and black beans

Several tablespoons of chili powder to taste

Sprinkle entire surface with cayenne flavored seasoned salt

Cook until flavors blend and it is piping hot!

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground chuck

1 cup chopped onion

1 jar mushrooms

4 cans tomato sauce

2 cans (total 12 ounces) of tomato paste

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon tabasco sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup granulated sugar

Brown beef. Cook onions and mushrooms with beef. Add all other ingredients. Cook in covered pot 1 ½ hours on low heat. Stir occasionally and add water as necessary. 

My Grandmother's Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin

¾ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger (optional)

3 beaten eggs

1 ½ cups milk

½ cup of half and half

Combine and stir pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.

Add eggs, milk, and half and half.

Bake at 450 degrees 10 minutes and turn down to 325 degrees for 45 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.

Carol's Cheese Ball

Ingredients:

½ pound cheddar cheese

2 3-ounce package of cream cheese

2 ounces of crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions

½ cup sour cream

1 cup chopped nuts

Cream cheeses together. Add onion and sour cream. Mix well and chill until firm. Place on wax paper and shape. Roll in chopped nuts and parsley.

Cheese Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

3 cups Bisquick

1 pound sage sausage or 1 pound hot sausage

½ tsp sage (if using sage sausage)

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese

Mix with hands, form into small balls. Freeze in plastic bag. Bake 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

An Event that Taught Me Something

This is another in the series of personal narratives I am writing during Writing Workshop time at school. Hopefully by modeling the behaviors of a writer and showing how work can be published and shared with others, I can eliminate some of the hatred for writing that my students have. Please feel free to follow and comment!

Everybody has moments of glory when they are able to defy the odds and bring home a victory, whether figuratively or literally. This is not one of those stories. Rather, this is a story in which pitiful predictions gave way to overconfident delusions. It turns out that no victory, or loss, is certain until the very end. 

When I was int he fourth grade at St. Anthony's Catholic School, I won our class spelling bee. I don't remember a thing about this part of the road to spelling glory, or lack thereof, but I do know that it sent me to the school-wide round, where I would be up against... middle schoolers. I was horrified. Nonetheless, I brought home my little Scripps study guide and we practiced quite a bit, although I didn't think I stood a chance against those eighth graders. My spelling skills were good, but certainly not good enough to beat teenagers.

When teh day came, we lined up in the church (our version of a multi-purpose room) and the entire student body filed in to fill the pews and stare at us. While I'm sure no one was actually interested in the spelling prowess of their peers, but they were happy to get out of their regular classroom routine for a few minutes. There were quite a few watchful parents in attendance, my own included. I was afraid they'd wasted their time, but they could get a picture of me at the microphone once and then go about their day.

My memories of the beginning of the bee are a blur, but I remember the feeling when I realized that each time I went to the microphone, there were fewer and fewer people sitting behind me. It turns out that I was doing okay--well, even. Suddenly, there were two of us left--a middle schooler and me! I let myself start to get a little excited. Then, Stacy missed a word: windowpane. As she said "-pain" I knew I had a shot at winning. After the bell, I walked up to the microphone and spelled the word correctly. Holy cow, one more word and I would win! I suddenly knew that I would be able to do it.

I felt a surge of confidence as the announcer reminded everyone that if I spelled this next word correctly, I would win. I was so confident and wrapped up in that triumphant feeling that when the word caller said something I didn't understand, I was truly shocked. So shocked that I forgot I could ask for the word to be repeated, used in a sentence, or defined. I opened my mouth, and an all but arbitrary string of letters came out. The bell rang, I sat down, and Stacy won. I was completely flabbergasted. The victory was practically handed to me and I lost it.

So I came in second. Second in a school-wide spelling bee for Kindergartners through eighth graders. Overall, not bad for a ten-year-old. I did get to take home a red trophy with a bee wearing a graduation cap. How many fourth graders can say that? In the end, I walked away with a second-place trophy and this lesson: if you don't understand something, for goodness sake... ask!

A Special Object

We have been spending the last several weeks writing personal narratives in my classroom. In the interest of fostering a love of writing, I have been joining them in each assignment and writing during their workshop time. I'm sharing a few of them here as models for personal narrative. They are certainly not perfect, but they're stories from my life. Please feel free to follow and comment!

They look like any other hand-made beads. Small, imperfect spheres made from marbled clay. A hole poked through to string them on a now-tattered yellow ribbon. This necklace appears to be of negligible value, but a handful of people know that it was lovingly made by a grandmother for her young granddaughter. 

My grandmother, Mary Martin, had been ill my whole life. I don't recall her without a cane, walker, or wheelchair, nor do I remember a time when she wasn't weakened by a series of unusual health issues. There was a pituitary tumor and Guillain-Barre, but I was too young to grasp the implications of such diagnoses, too young to know anything more than that she needed to be in the hospital for a very long time. I simply visited or played with the clay her occupational therapist had given her. I'm part of the sandwich generation--one layer of bread for my mother to look after as she was caring for aging parents. I was brought to the hospital and provided a distraction from the seemingly endless days of therapy, which I later realized must have been painful. 

One day, though, Bubba (as I called her) had made tiny blue and green clay beads in a therapy session. She painstakingly rolled them and eventually strung them on a small, shiny yellow ribbon. That ribbon was eventually tied around my neck. I carried them on my wedding day, eleven years after she was taken from us. Someday, I hope to tie them around the neck of my little girl, her great-granddaughter, and tell her of a lady who sang songs, watched plays, and wore sneakers with cows on them in the family room of a home on Rockledge Drive.

Magnolia Pimiento Cheese

This is the recipe for the famed Pimiento Cheese at Magnolias in Charleston, South Carolina. It is published in the cookbook Magnolias by Donald Barickman, who incidentally cooked for a while a long time  ago in my father's little restaurant in Charleston, West Virginia. Many years later, we still go to sample his food at Magnolias, Blossom, and Cypress on East Bay Street. I've adapted the recipe a little bit because I don't like parsley, but do go and check out the real thing downtown. It's phenomenal!

This makes 2 1/2 cups, which is a lot of pimiento cheese, so you might want to half it if you aren't having an army over for supper.

Ingredients:
5 large roasted red peppers or 2.5 cups jarred diced red pimientos
1 cup finely chopped green olives
1.25 pounds New York or Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I omit this.)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Season to taste with cayenne pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Hawaiian Grilled Pork Chops

This is a recipe my mother sent me shortly after I moved out on my own, under the assumption that I would actually go to the effort of cooking for myself. My first year of teaching was the year of cheap take-out. Nonetheless, I do pull out this recipe when my husband is manning the grill. He usually does a pork chop for himself, and I use the same marinade for a chicken breast.

Ingredients:

1 (20 oz) can pineapple slices, undrained

6 (1-inch thick) pork chops

1/2  cup soy sauce

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

 

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice.  Set pineapple aside.

Place chops in large shallow dish.  Combine reserved pineapple juice and next five ingredients, mixing well.

Pour over chops; cover and marinate in refrigerator about 2 hrs.  Remove chops, reserving marinade.  Grill over medium heat 40 to 45 minutes, turning frequently and basting with marinade.  Place a pineapple ring on each chop during the last few minutes of cooking time.

Tile and Grout Cleaner

I'm an adult now, and I can appreciate my mother's domestic goddess-ness. This is the recipe she uses for tile and grout cleaner. She makes my dad get on the floor and clean the kitchen, but it's her concoction. I think that's part of the goddess-ness. Don't forget to keep it away from anything with bleach!

Tile and Grout Cleaner

 

Yield  8 1/2 cups

 

 1/2   c. baking soda

1/3   c. household ammonia

1/4   c. white vinegar

  7    c. warm water

 

Directions

 

1.  Combine all ingredients in a gallon container.

2.  Shake.

3.  To use:  Fill a spray bottle, spray onto tile/grout---wipe with a damp cloth or sponge, or use a scrub brush!

Voila!

Lemon Cake

This is by far my favorite cake. I almost always request it for my birthday, and I just recently made it myself using my mom's recipe. I'm sure I didn't live up to hers, but it turned out pretty well!

Ingredients:

1 box lemon supreme cake mix (or similar)

1 pkg lemon instant pudding (3.4 oz size)

3/4 c. water

3/4 c. Wesson oil

4 eggs

Directions: 

Mix all the above together & pour into 9 x 13 ungreased pan. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min                      

While the cake is baking, make the glaze.

While hot, prick holes in cake with large fork to the bottom of the pan.

Glaze Ingredients:

2 c. confectioners sugar 9 (1 lb box)

1/3 c. orange juice

2 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons Wesson oil

Mix all together until smooth (I use a mixer) and spoon over hot cake. Let it cool and enjoy!

Crab Appetizer

Seafood is always impressive served at home, as long as it's done well! My mother has been making these for as long as I can remember! This is one of my favorite appetizers to serve, and it's fantastic because it can be frozen and thrown in the oven should unexpected company arrive. With our little guy on the way, I anticipate people dropping by to "help" and the hostess in me needing to feed them. 

Crab Appetizer

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 jar old English cheese spread

1 1/2 tsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp garlic powder

14 oz. can crab meat (not lump). Drain this well!

6 English muffins

Directions:

Blend 1st 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl. 

Split the English muffins in half (you should have two circles).  Spread a heaping tablespoon of mixture on each half.  Cut each half into 6 wedges. I like to throw them in the freezer for 10 minutes so they firm up a little bit--it makes the wedges much neater. Broil for 5 minutes until slightly bubbly.

Wedges may be frozen before baking, but must be thawed before broiling! 

Fresh Corn Casserole

My aunt brought this to a party once and was happy to share the recipe. It can originally be found here on the food network website.  I eliminated the parsley because... well, I just don't like it.

Fresh Corn Casserole 3 cups  fresh corn, cut from the cob 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1 cup milk 2 eggs, beaten 1 jar (2 ounces) pimentos, chopped Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I wish I remembered to do this at the beginning. Unfortunately, I often end up pacing back and forth in front of it with a casserole dish in my hand, waiting for that blessed beep. Mix the corn kernels with the flour until it is evenly coated.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.  Pour into a baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Voila!

Easy Icing

My grandmother swore by this recipe, and my mother does too. I've made it enough that I'm beginning to think it's a little something to make sweets extra delicious. It's fantastic on almost anything. I use it primarily for angel food cake. It's so simple (only three ingredients!) and can easily be doubled if necessary!

 Ingredients: 1 stick of butter, softened 1 box confectionery sugar Milk (as needed)

 Directions: With an electric mixer (start on low speed!) , mix the butter and sugar together. Add milk a bit at a time, until it is spreading consistency and there aren't any lumps.

THAT'S IT! So easy, but so delicious. Don't forget to wait for your cake to cool before icing!

(Image from slice-heaven.com)