Mamaw's buttermilk poundcake with vanilla sauce

Everybody has one of those dishes that grandma always made. And you loved it. For my siblings and me, it's our Mamaw's poundcake. She used to make a chocolate sauce, too, but the vanilla is my favorite and the one she makes most often. It's super yummy!  (In case you don't know, a tube pan is the kind used for angel food cake.  I usually use a bundt pan, though.)

CAKE INGREDIENTS

1 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk


DIRECTIONS

Grease and flour your pan.  DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.  Don't try a spray or some other shortcut.  Grease it and flour it really well.  Or it will stick.  Trust me!

In mixer, blend shortening and sugar.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, blending well after each addition.

Mix in vanilla.

Combine flour, salt and soda. Add to shortening mix, alternating with buttermilk.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into shortening mixture.

Bake in prepared pan at 350° for about an hour, till pick comes out clean. Let cool, serve with vanilla sauce. YUM!

VANILLA SAUCE INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Pet milk (evaporated milk)
1 tsp vanilla


DIRECTIONS

Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Simmer over low heat, stirring, about five minutes. Serve over poundcake and enjoy your life.  :)

Poor Man Tacos

I got this recipe out of a book I got from Christine (I think I still owe her $10 for it...need to ask about that). When she still lived in Arkansas, she worked at Helping Hand as one of their Occupational Therapists; they sold these cookbooks as a fundraiser. Of course, I don't have the cookbook right now because it's in a box somewhere in our storage unit, but I covered the basics and they turned out pretty yummy. This would be a great way to stretch your hamburger meat into two meals and save a little money.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef (I use 90/10 ground sirloin, but use whatever your tastes/budget allows)
Taco seasoning
1 can chili beans (do not drain!)
5-6 slices Velveeta
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese (if you're a cheese junkie like us)
Lettuce, etc. (as desired)

DIRECTIONS

Brown your ground beef with the taco seasoning. If necessary, drain some of the fat and put beef back in pan.

Pour chili beans over taco meat and cook on low until beans are heated through. Top with Velveeta slices and stir until cheese melts.

Serve in tortillas with cheese and whatever other taco toppings you might like.

We had them with just the meat/bean filling and a sprinkle of cheddar. But you can top them however you like. And then have leftovers to do it all again in a couple of days.

Dad's Banana Muffins

My dad got this awesome banana bread recipe from a friend when he was in college finishing his bachelor's degree at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. The recipe is technically for muffins, but we sometimes just make loaf bread instead. It's super yummy!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed banana (about 3)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans)

DIRECTIONS

Cream shortening with sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Combine dry ingredients. Add to shortening mix, alternating with buttermilk.

Stir in mashed banana and vanilla. Add nuts, if using.

Pour into muffin tin or loan pan(s). Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes (muffins or mini-loaves) or about 45 minutes (regular loaf). Let cool on rack.

ENJOY!!

Popcorn from Lori

Here are some more recipes from Lori's blog. One night I saw on her Facebook that she'd made a Popcorn Cake and I asked about it. She posted that recipe and two others that sounded yummy. Let me know if you decide to try them!

Grandma Clever's Popcorn Cake

4 qts. popped popcorn
1 lb small gumdrops (sometimes we have to use the bigger ones and cut them. That’s pain.)
½ lb salted peanuts
½ c butter
½ c oil (my gma has ‘salad oil’…. I think that I normally use canola or something like that. Also, you can get away with not using that much - maybe between 1/4 c. to 1/2 c.)
1 lb marshmallows
Buttered angel food cake pan

Add popcorn, candy, and nuts in large bowl.

Melt oil and butter in large saucepan. Add marshmallows. Bring to boil. Pour over popcorn mixture and mix.

Press into pan. Let cool.


Red Hot Popcorn

I also thought I'd post another popcorn recipe. I can't take credit for this one - Kristi found this one and it's so yummy and different. The young women especially liked it! :) I wish that I had a picture for you. It turns out bright red, just like the red hots, and tastes so yummy!

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 c. unpopped popcorn
1/2 c. butter
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 (2.25 oz) packages cinnamon red hot candies

Pop popcorn and place in large brown bag (or large Ziploc).

Combine the butter, corn syrup and red hots in a microwave safe bowl or saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the candies have melted. Pour the hot syrup over the popped corn, and shake bag for 1 minute, until completely coated. Cool and serve.


Caramel Popcorn

This is not your normal crunchy caramel popcorn. It's got real, gooey caramel on top of the popcorn. We used to make this a lot growing up when 'the family' would sit down and watch a movie. SO good. SO easy.

1 c. unpopped popcorn
½ c. butter or margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. white Karo syrup

Pop popcorn with an air popper. (You can also pop it in the microwave in a brown paper bag.) Try to take out the seeds that don’t pop.

Mix butter, sugar, and Karo into small saucepan. Boil 2 minutes and then pour over popped corn.

Cashew chicken

My friend Lori made this for me after I had Abby. I was able to figure out most of the ingredients and made it several times after. Zac had to tell me not to make it again for a long time, if that tells you how many times I made it...

And so I am copying her blog post with the recipe. I don't use bean sprouts, because they kind of freak me out. And I'm lazy, so I usually use spices instead of celery and onion. But what she brought me was amazing, so following the recipe would definitely not hurt. Although part of cooking is making things to fit your taste and your style. So....make some cashew chicken!!

Mom's Cashew Chicken

1 chicken (I use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken)
12 oz can of bean sprouts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
large can (or 2/3 of a bag) chow mein noodles
1 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. milk
1/4 lb salted cashews
1/2 c. chopped onions

1. Set aside some chow mein noodles (about 1/3 of what you're using). Mix all ingredients together in a medium to large bowl.
2. Spoon ingredients from bowl into a greased casserole dish. Top with the remaining chow mein noodles. Don't worry if they don't fully cover the dish.
3. Bake uncovered for 1 hr at 350 degrees

World-famous green chile enchiladas

I came up with this recipe a couple of years ago when I needed to use up some pantry ingredients. They freeze well and, in my experience, make a great meal to take to new moms or other people who need dinner. Amounts will differ, depending on the size of your pan(s). But here are the basics for a 9x13 pan:

INGREDIENTS

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed/shredded (I cook mine with salt, pepper, and garlic powder)
Taco seasoning
2 cans green chile enchilada sauce
1 can cheddar cheese soup
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

In a medium mixing bowl, toss chicken with a liberal amount of taco seasoning to coat. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the enchilada sauce with the cheddar soup. Add enough of this to the chicken so that it holds together. Set aside the remaining sauce mix.

Lightly fill the tortillas with the chicken mixture. Line up in greased 9x13 pan, seam side down, until pan is full.

Pour the remaining sauce mix over enchiladas, spreading out to cover ends of tortillas. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Bake in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbly.

Enjoy. Yum!

Fresh strawberry bread

I tried this recipe because I had some strawberries that I REALLY needed to do something with. They were a little too ripe to be eaten plain and I didn't have any Cool Whip to make a fun dessert. So, I got this recipe from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads that my Dad got me a few years ago. Holy cow, it's yummy!! Zac is a huge fan of strawberries, so of course he loved it and wants me to double the strawberries!! It's a veeeerrry simple bread recipe, so those of you who say bread is too hard - try it!!

INGREDIENTS

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1 3/4 cups flour (bread or all-purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional - recommend walnuts or pecans)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.

Crush enough of the strawberries to fill 1 cup. Pour into a small saucepan and heat on medium. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Cool. Slice remaining strawberries and chill.

In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients, except the sugar.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter; then add the eggs and water, mixing until light and fluffy.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the crushed strawberries and nuts, if using. Pour into greased medium (8 1/2" x 4 1/2") loaf pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, till pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then turn onto a cooling rack/towel.

Now, Zac and I are just eating it like it is and it's darn tasty. Mr. Clayton's idea also sounds great - top the slices with softened cream cheese and the reserved, chilled strawberries. Either way, it's definitely "Good Eats." :)

Taco ring

I originally got this recipe from a Pampered Chef party. They use it as an advertisement for their pizza stones, but I just use a regular pizza pan. I can't take credit for the above picture, I found it on RecipeZaar. I tried this recipe after the PC party I attended and Zac FREAKED out over how good it was. It's pretty darn scrumptious.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I like to add more!)
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 pkg crescent rolls
Sour cream
Salsa
Taco toppings of your choice (lettuce, tomato, olives)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown ground beef in skillet, drain. Mix in taco seasoning. Stir in shredded cheese and set aside.

On pizza stone/pan lay out crescents rolls in circular/spoked shape with pointed end pointing to outside of stone. You should have an empty circle in the middle; it will look kind of like sunrays.

Spoon beef mixture onto crescent rolls. Pull the points toward the center and tuck into the fat edge of the crescent roll. (Looking at the picture might help this make more sense).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, till crescent rolls are browned.

Put a bowl (or hollowed out bell pepper) in the middle and fill with salsa or sour cream. Mound lettuce, tomatoes, etc. on top of the taco ring.

I suppose you could mix black beans or something in with the meat - but this one is pretty darn good on its own.

Easy red beans & rice

I edited this recipe from my Betty Crocker's "Big Red" cookbook - the greatest cookbook ever! I've just recently started eating beans, since I'm trying to get over my pickiness with food. This recipe is easy and yummy...add some Jiffy cornbread muffins to round it out - YUM!!

INGREDIENTS

1 can (15-16 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 pkg of smoked turkey sausage, cut into half-circles
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 cup uncooked regular long-grain rice
1 tsp. salt
2 cups chicken broth (I use water & chicken bouillon)

DIRECTIONS

Cook turkey sausage with garlic & onion powders, till lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Add beans, rice, salt and broth. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Cover and turn heat to very low.

Simmer 14 minutes without removing lid. Remove from heat.

Fluff with fork. Cover and let steam 5 - 10 minutes.

NOTE: Most bean recipes call for using the bean liquid because it has a lot of flavor. However, as Betty Crocker notes, the bean liquid is also what causes the most flatulence (sorry, I had to tell you - it's good info). So, that's why I changed the recipe and used broth instead of water/bean liquid. But, if you want to use it, just add enough water to the bean liquid so that you have 2 cups of cooking liquid.

Enchilada casserole

I found this recipe on All Recipes last week and Zac made it for lunch today. Of course, he changed a few things - wouldn't be a Zac recipe if he didn't!! It was pretty darn tasty...

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Taco seasoning (to your taste)

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

salt to taste

4 (10 inch) flour tortillas, torn into strips

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 and lightly grease a deep dish pie pan or casserole dish.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain fat and stir in taco seasoning. (Remember you will be adding more spices in a minute!)

Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder and salt. Mix well and allow to thicken slightly.

Spoon a thin layer of tomato mix in bottom of pan. Layer tortilla strips, tomato mixture and cheese until pan is full, ending with cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned.


Yummy options:
**Zac added about 1/2 a can of drained black beans and 1/2 a can of sweet corn to the tomato mixture. Very good!!
**Next time we make it, I am going to add a layer of refried beans between the tortilla strips and the tomato mixture. (I'll omit Zac's beans and corn). I'll let you know how that turns out!