Church Recipes Rock!

So last night my church catered a meal out at the Riverview Lodge.  WOW!  That is all I can say-that place was beautiful and I am ready to move in for good.  If you haven't seen it, check out the pictures.  WOW!  If you don't live in the area, you should definitely take a trip and stay at the Lodge, preferably in the Event Center because those rooms are to die for!  The ambiance out there was more than you can imagine-a waterfall, a fire pit, piped music outside.  To die for!

Back to the meal and more specifically the salads, the church ladies just made whatever salad they wanted to bring out.  There was this Grape Salad that looked a little iffy if you know what I mean, so I thought I should test it before we put it out, just to make sure it was safe for others consumption, you know.  Oh my goodness.  If you have ever had Caramel Apple Salad, that is exactly what this tasted like, but with really good grapes instead of apples.  WOW!  You have to make this salad.

Grape Salad

8 cups red seedless grapes
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
1 TSP vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar

Wash and dry grapes.  Mix together the sour cream, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar.  Once mixed well, add it to the grapes and stir until mixed.  Top the salad with the pecans and brown sugar and chill.

YUMMY!

Quick and Easy Breakfast

I knew this day was coming.  I tried and tried to come up with something intelligent to make for breakfast, but when you have no eggs, milk, bacon, or bread, among many other things, your breakfast arsenal is greatly diminished.  I believe that I had a post about this not too long ago about chocolate cake mixes, but believe me, this is way worse!

It's not like I haven't been to town, because I have.  It's just that I am always in town with the kids.  There is nothing worse than taking kids grocery shopping.  It doesn't matter if they are starving or exhausted or so full that I'm pretty sure they are going to puke-it is still a miserable experience.  My kids aren't bad kids.  They don't throw fits if they are told no, they listen when I say they can't have something.  I don't know what it is.  Maybe because I hate shopping, so when I start out hating shopping and then I have to tell the kids no five bajillion times, and yes, bajillion is a word in my vocabulary because I've had to say no that many times-I counted-maybe that's what the problem is.

Ugh, so anyway, it's just not fun for me and now today we have to make that dreaded trip to the grocery store where we may just have two grocery carts full.  I couldn't just run in more often with the kids and make it easier on myself.  NO...I put it off and put it off until the experience will seem to last a lifetime inside that store.  Why oh why oh why do I do this to myself???

Getting back to breakfast, I think that I learned this recipe from my sister, but I'm not totally clear on that.  I may have just come up with it one of the many other times that I put myself in this situation...

Quick Breakfast Rolls

1 roll refrigerator biscuits

1/2 stick of butter

bowl of cinnamon and sugar mixed together

Preheat oven to whatever it says on the refrigerator biscuits package.

Melt the butter.  Dip biscuit in butter and then roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Place on cookie sheet.  Bake just a bit longer than the package says.

Voila...you have a quick and easy and fairly edible breakfast that no one will complain about.  Well, except that we don't have milk to go with them...

Spring Fair

Yesterday I was able to snag a bunch of asparagus from my Mommy's house.  Apparently they are tired of the never ending supply of the stuff and are now getting ready to begin the age old "if you leave you car door unlocked, you might just find a garden treat inside" small town custom.  Luckily, this time of year, it's a good custom for me.  Now when it gets to cucumber and zucchini season, I'm going to start locking my car doors.  Man, I hate that stuff!  I don't care how it's cooked.  There's not enough breading and butter in the world to make zucchini taste good...

Anyway, back to my asparagus I scored.  Asparagus is tasty when you just boil it, but let me give you a new recipe to try out.  For those of you who don't live in small town, or who don't live near Lisco...why live near Lisco?  Did you know that people drive for over an hour every year to go to the pastures by the Lisco river bridge to pick the wild asparagus that grows there?  In fact, one time we heard some of these people who drive over 60 miles to come actually complain because it isn't fair.  By the time they get there to pick the asparagus, the "locals" have already picked most of it.  Amazing-like it's our right and/or privilege or something to pick something that grows in our hometown...hmmm...

Again, back to my asparagus from my Mommy.  Here is a recipe that will have you less privileged folk running to the grocery store in hopes of a good batch of the long green stems...

Oven Asparagus (that's what I'll call it until I have a better name)


Line asparagus on cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and dust with your favorite seasoning (ie garlic salt, seasoning salt, whatever toots your horn).  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Place in preheated oven at 325-350 degrees and bake until at your desired eating style.

I'm one of those people who doesn't like their asparagus to crunch, so I leave mine in longer than others might like.  Just use a fork and test it every once in a while until it's how you like it.

This is so good that we nearly had a family meal revolt.  It was the first time we had tried this and we didn't make much of it just in case it didn't taste so good (how could we have thought that???)  The rest we just boiled (how boring, right?)  My sister and her family were late getting to the meal and there were only four pieces of this oh-so-yummy recipe left, and I was just going to eat them.  If they didn't see the empty plate, they would never know that they missed anything, right?  But NO, my Daddy said I had to leave some for my sister to try.  I say, you snooze, you lose.  Daddy obviously isn't into the "you snooze, you lose" mind frame, so needless to say, I had to leave it, and my sister got to eat the rest.  But I am happy to say that I have trumped her this time...I got to take ALL the asparagus from the patch yesterday...nanner nanner nanner! :)

Tasty Little Noodle Dish

Last night I went looking for something that everyone would eat.  I knew the men would be hungry and after a day of swimming, I knew the kids would be, too.  I plowed through recipe book after recipe book and settled on this Beefy Noodle Bake.  It was easy to make and while the recipe says that the leftovers taste even better, I will never know, because the whole thing was gone-picky Bubba even went back for seconds!

I made a few tweeks a la Allison to make it easier and I say to make it taste better, too.  I have never figured out the whole layering business when it comes to this type of recipe.  If you layer it, you end up with parts of the noodles that are dry because you missed them with the mixtures and you're unhappy.  Just mix it all together and everything is mixed with everything else and we're all happy!  It's must faster, too!  BONUS!!!

Beefy Noodle Bake

1 pound hamburger, browned with onion

1 TSP salt

1/2 TSP pepper

2 TSP sugar

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

1 cup sour cream

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

4 oz noodles, cooked and drained (I used wide egg noodles)

1 cup cheddar cheese

Combine hamburger, salt, pepper, sugar and tomato sauce.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Then add sour cream and cream cheese to meat mixture and melt cream cheese and mix it all together.  Add noodles to this mixture and mix well.  Grease a casserole dish and put mixture in.  Top with cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes.

It was so creamy and delish, I might have to make it again just so I can have leftovers and try them!

I Love Breakfast...

I love breakfast and breakfast loves me.  If you don't believe it, just look at me! :)  Seriously, this morning, Bubba asked for pancakes-I LOVE it when they ask for pancakes because that means I get pancakes, too!  So I whipped out the "tried and true" pancake recipe from my best friend and it, as usual, pleased!

'Manda's Perfect Pancakes

1 1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

1 heaping TSP baking powder

1 TSP baking soda

1/4 cup cooking oil

pinch of salt

Mix all together.  Pour batter by spoonfuls onto a hot non-stick pan or griddle.  Flip when edges appear to harden.  They will turn out golden brown.

Like Amanda says, double this or triple it so you have leftovers.  You will want leftovers, trust me!  You are about to change your usual pancake recipe...

Clarence Orr Cake and a Story

So this morning I have been up for a while, quite a while actually and for some reason the story of this cake was in my mind, so I thought I would share not only the story, but a really good recipe, too.

So, first let it be said that for some reason, I am a glutton for punishment.  When I have to take a food item somewhere, I never seem to pull from my "tried and true" recipe arsenal.  I always dig up something that I'm sure will be wonderful, but I don't really know because I haven't ever made it yet.  Or I choose something that never seems to work quite right, because I'm pretty sure that this time it's going to work.  Why, oh why, do I always seem to put that unnecessary pressure on myself???  See above-"glutton for punishment".

Let it also be said that if a cake will fall or get stuck in a bundt pan, it will happen to me and during one of those "glutton for punishment" times when I'm really needing that stupid cake to come out because I'm on a schedule.  I have learned one thing through the years that may surprise some of you.  Don't make a bundt cake unless the Man of the House, aka my husband, is around to flour the pan.  For some reason, he has the touch and if he flours that pan, the cake will come out perfectly EVERY time.  He is quite, ummm, well, let's just say he gloats about it and not quietly, I might add!  Unfortunately, the Man of the House isn't usually too thrilled to be called away from his horse and cattle to flour a pan for me!

With all that being said, I decided to make a Clarence Orr Cake to take to a church supper one day.  What a perfect cake to take, I thought, since that is where it got its name.  My mom made this cake and took it to a church function and Clarence Orr, now long passed, loved it and that's been its name ever since.  And I must admit, it is a wonderful cake.

So off I went to the kitchen and had my two round cakes cooled and ready to split and layer with the aromatically dreamlike filling.  Those cakes just didn't seem to want to stay on top of each other.  I worked and worked at it until I thought that they might stay, even though the Man of the House and his father were both pretty sure they were going to get to eat it because it was going to fall apart.  With the job done, I took off to ready myself and the kids for church.  As I rounded the corner back into the kitchen, what do you suppose I see but my father-in-law's finger PUSHING OVER THE TOP LAYER OF MY CAKE!!!!!!  I cannot even begin to tell you the words that wanted to come out of my mouth-well, let's just say they weren't worthy of the church I was getting ready to attend!

Keep in mind here that I wasn't sure that the cake was going to stay upright on its own anyway.  Well, my father-in-law swears to this day that he was just helping my cake to its eventual fall anyway.  What do you do?  I'll tell you what we did.  We went to the silverware drawer and we all dug in-why waste a good cake?!  And I'm not really sure what I took to church in place of my cake!

Clarence Orr Cake via my Mommy

Prepare a white or yellow cake.  (1/2 TSP of almond flavoring and 1/2 TSP of lemon flavoring added to white or yellow cakes make for a good flavor.)  Bake in 2 round layer pans.  (Grease and flour and cover bottom with waxed paper for ease in removing cake from pan.)  When cool split layers and fill with Lemon Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

3 TBSP corn starch

1/4 TSP salt

3/4 cup water

1 TBSP butter

1/3 cup lemon juice

Mix sugar, corn, starch, and salt.  Add water and bring to a boil in microwave.  Boil 1 minute.  Remove and add butter and lemon juice.  Cool before filling cake.

Frosting for Clarence Orr Cake:

1/2 cup butter

2 1/2 TBSP flour

1/4 TSP salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 TSP vanilla or almond flavoring

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter.  Blend in flour and salt.  Stir in milk.  Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir in sugar and vanilla.  Beat until thick enough to spread.  Spread over cake.  Can top cake with coconut if desired.

Nowadays when I plan to make this cake, I ask where the Man of the House and his father will be first just to make sure I won't have any "help"-like I need any help ruining a layer cake!!!

Man of the House Special

A couple of days ago my husband, the Man of the House, semi-created a new recipe and, my, was it ever good!  Definitely man food, but very good.  He sat down on the counter in front of me some leftover deli sliced roast beef, some con queso cheese sauce, and green pork chili and says to me, "can't you just whip something up in a quesadilla with this stuff?"  Hmmmmm.

So I started the griddle on the stove to heating and warmed up the tortillas.  Then I sprayed the griddle with a little olive oil spray so that the tortillas aren't so crispy hard and started making my quesadillas.  I warmed up the pork chili before, too.  I layered the roast beef first on the tortilla, then plopped on the con queso cheese and the pork chili and smoothed it all together and placed the top tortilla on.  Let them warm up on low to medium heat, then flip to crisp up the other side of your quesadilla.  Flip it on a plate and then dab a little pork chili on the top and, voila.

Unfortunately, you have to use a fork for these delectable yummies, but the fork is well worth it!  Enjoy.  I'm off to prep my car for the arrival of my new camper!  Camping recipes to come soon!

Caramel Chocolate Bliss in a Bar

This morning I was trying to come up with something yummy and wonderful to pack in a picnic lunch and instantly thought of my sister's Rich Chocolate Caramel Brownies.  I was so excited because I just happen to have Kraft Caramels sitting on my counter waiting for something tasty to go in.  I found my recipe and went to get my chocolate cake mix and...no chocolate cake mix.  Is that even possible?  How can I not have a chocolate cake mix?  I have nine million of every other kind of cake mix, but no chocolate cake mix!  Brownie mixes, but no cake mixes.  This brought a childhood picture to mind that many of you probably have never had if you didn't live in the boonies.

When I was growing up, we lived, well not as bad as I do now because now I'm in the middle of nowhere, but we lived a fair distance from town.  Once a month or so, the family would head to Scottsbluff for groceries.  We'd walk in the door and grab not one, but TWO carts and take off.  By the time we were through the store, we would have BOTH carts clear full or overflowing and the checkers would all cringe and hope that we didn't go to their lines.  My mom would always complain about that because what difference is there between one family with two carts or two families with one cart each?  I totally agree-I guess we just looked daunting with our two heaping full carts in the line!  Anyway, as the checker would be ringing our things through, we would look at us funny when she got to our four gallons of milk.  My mom would say, "it freezes just fine."  Sorry, the milk thing always stands out in my memory and I just had to share it!  It really has no bearing on my story. :)

Anyway, that picture came to mind because no matter how organized I try to be with my groceries, I always seem to run out of stuff and I never remember Mom saying she had run out of anything.  If only I had remembered that silly chocolate cake mix...

Well, hopefully some of you out there will have a chocolate cake mix to make these:

My Sister's Rich Chocolate Caramel Brownies
 

1 chocolate cake mix (that I don't have)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup undiluted evaporated milk, divided

35 Kraft Caramels, my sister says "unwrapped" (really, shall I put them in the mix still wrapped...silly sister)

1 6 oz package chocolate chips

Combine cake mix and melted butter.  Stir in 2/3 cup of evaporated milk; your batter will be very thick.  Spread half of batter into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Combine "unwrapped" :) caramels and remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk.  Cook in microwave until caramels are melted-be careful not to overcook them.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked layer; drizzle caramel mixture of the top.  Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoons over caramel mixture.  Return to 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  Top layer will still be soft when taken out of oven.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Enjoy these while they last and if you happen to be nearby, share them with us, please! :)