Cherry Dump Cake

I was asked today for my Dump Cake recipe. I’ve seen all kinds of variations, from blackberry to blueberry and even peach, I even have an old friend Maxine’s on the blog, only because she loves rhubarb. Me, I actually prefer the plain old cobbler that every woman from church makes. I’ve eaten it for as long as I can remember; it’s just to easy to make. So here it is, hope you all enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS:
1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (21 ounces) can prepared more fruit cherry pie filling
1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow or white cake mix
2 sticks (1 cup or 16 Tablespoons) of butter or margarine, each cut into 12 slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans or walnuts, but you can use your favorite)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for glass baking dish).
Dump undrained pineapple into a 9x13x2 baking dish and spread it out evenly.
Using a spoon, dump globs of cherry pie filling evenly on top of the pineapple.
Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the cherry and pineapple layers.
Cut butter into slices with a butter knife and place slices evenly over cake mix.
Sprinkle nuts on top if you’re using them.
Bake for one hour.
To serve, scoop cake out with a large spoon like a cobbler and add a  scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve warm or cold.

Yield: about 10 to 12 servings

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Many people miss their share of happiness not because they never found it but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.

 

Buttermilk Cornbread

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
3/4 teaspoons soda
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted shortening

DIRECTIONS
Lift the cornmeal by spoonfuls into the measuring cup, then level off. Sift cornmeal and salt together. Beat egg yolks thoroughly, add soda and buttermilk and beat until completely mixed. Add to cornmeal mixture and stir until ingredients are blended. *Add hot melted shortening, beat again (work quickly so it doesn’t fry) and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Turn immediately into a piping hot greased 10 inch heavy skillet and bake in a hot oven (450 degrees F.) for 30 minutes. Serve at once with melted butter.

Yield: 5 servings.

* Preheat the oven to temperature with the skillet in the oven. Pull out right just before time to bake. Add 3 tbsp tablespoons of shortening and swirl around until it covers the bottom and sides of the skillet. Dump 2 tbsp of the melted shortening into the batter.

That’s the way my mom always coated her skillet. My oldest sister Shirley only uses white cornmeal and adds 2 tbsp of sugar to the mix. She makes everything sweet.

I hope that everyone has a huge assortment of iron skillets, I know I do. Just make sure as soon as you wash them, to place them on top of the burner or back in the oven to dry out. When pan is completely dry, season the skillet (wipe inside & out with a cooking oil on a paper towel).

My dad’s favorite food was always cornbread and buttermilk. Sometimes he’d use crackers instead of the cornbread in his buttermilk. My kids would have staged a protest if I had served them, buttermilk with anything. I still use it in the occasional biscuit or cake. They don’t know the difference. sh

I remember as a kid being cold a lot, and hungry sometimes. We’d go to bed with just cornbread and milk, and I remember wearing shoes with holes in the bottom. I remember having twine for shoestrings. ~ Buck Owens

 

Hot Rice

INGREDIENTS
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 pint sour cream
1 (4 oz) can green chile peppers, diced
1 (10 oz or 12 oz) pkg jack or sharp Cheddar cheese
House Seasoning (garlic, pepper, salt), to taste

DIRECTIONS
Cook rice according to directions on the package. Mix with sour cream and chile mixture; season. In 2 qt greased casserole dish, layer half of the rice mixture, 1/2 cheese, sliced, remaining rice mixture, and top with remaining cheese, grated. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 6.

Note: For a milder flavor, substitute banana peppers for the green chile peppers.

The essence of being human is being able to direct your own life. ~ Stephen R Covey

 

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

As you know, I hate mayo, but my brother-in-law’s mother Ida Hatton South, was famous for her mayonnaise cakes. She thought she was tricking me once, she served me a slice of her cake and I ate it. Because, even though I knew that it may have been made with mayonnaise in place of eggs and oil, once it’s baked, its just eggs and oil. So here it is…

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Cream together the sugar, mayonnaise, water and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture; stir until well blended. Pour batter into greased and floured layer cake pans (or a 9- x 13-inch pan). Bake at 350°F. for about 25 minutes.

Chocolate Butter Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans are nice, optional)

Heat butter, cocoa, and milk and bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth. Add chopped nuts and stir.

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Ida also would flour her potatoes when frying so they would turn out crispier. I’m not a huge fan of those, but loved them when she made them. It’s how I came up with my ham and potato bake recipe. Add some flour to oil when frying and you have a roux, then add milk and it makes gravy. Add ham and cover with cheese, bake it for 20 minutes and yum! its so good!

Ida was an amazing woman, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to spend as much time with her as I did. May God rest her soul.

Often the search proves more profitable than the goal. ~ E. L. Konigsburg

 

Chocolate Mousse in Chocolate Cups

4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
Chocolate Cups (see below)
1 1/2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
Sliced strawberries, if desired

CHOCOLATE CUPS
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
OR
1 1/3 cup white baking chips

Beat egg yolks in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar.

Heat 1 cup whipping cream in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat just until hot. Gradually stir at least half of the cream into egg yolk mixture, then stir back into hot cream in saucepan. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (do not boil).

Stir chocolate chips into cream mixture until melted. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, just until chilled. Prepare Chocolate Cups.

Beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold refrigerated mixture into whipped cream. Pipe or spoon mousse into chocolate cups. Garnish with strawberries. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dessert.

CHOCOLATE CUPS
Mold aluminum foil to the outsides of eight 6-ounce custard cups. Place upside down on cookie sheet. Melt chocolate chips in heavy 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons melted chocolate over foil on bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up side of each cup.

Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Carefully remove foil from custard cups, then remove foil from chocolate cups. Store chocolate cups in refrigerator.

Servings: 8

Several good ideas have come from taking a deep breath, leaving the building and taking a nice long walk in the sunshine down to get some ice cream. ~ Nolan Bushnell

 

Cranberry Salsa

INGREDIENTS
1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions; cut into 3 inch lengths
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 limes, juiced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS
Combine cranberries, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a medium blade. Chop to medium consistency. Refrigerate if not using immediately. Serve at room temperature.

The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is. ~ Winston Churchill