Turtle Cake

CAFE LATTE'S TURTLE CAKE

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Note: Cafe Latte owners Linda and Peter Quinn recommend using a prepared caramel ice cream topping. From Midwest Living magazine.

For cake: 

Butter and unsweetened cocoa powder for pans

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 c. buttermilk

2/3 c. vegetable oil

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. freshly brewed hot coffee

For chocolate frosting:

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. whole milk

6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1 12-oz. package (2 c.) semisweet chocolate pieces

1 to 2 tsp. freshly brewed hot coffee, optional

1 1/2 c. pecan halves, toasted

1/2 c. purchased caramel ice cream topping

Directions  

To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of 3 9-inch cake pans and line bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper; dust pans with unsweetened cocoa powder and set pans aside.

In a small bowl, stir together egg, buttermilk and oi and reserve. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, beating until combined. Gradually beat in coffee.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans; layers will appear shallow. (If you only have two 9-inch cake pans, refrigerate 1/3 of the batter while you bake the other two layers. Clean and prepare one of the pans as directed, and bake remaining batter.)

Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean, about 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool cakes on a wire racks for 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pans, then invert cakes on racks. Remove cakes from pans. Peel off paper; cool completely.

To prepare frosting: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and milk. Add butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add semisweet chocolate pieces. Using a wire whisk, stir until smooth. If frosting is too thick or grainy, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons freshly brewed coffee. If necessary, let frosting stand several minutes before using.

To assemble cake: When the cakes are cool,  place 1 cake layer, top-side down, onto a serving plate with a lip. Using an icing spatula or wide knife, work quickly to frost the top of this layer with one-third of the frosting. Arrange one-third of the pecans on top and drizzle with some of the caramel topping. Top with the second layer, top-side down. Repeat with frosting, pecans and caramel topping. Top with the third layer, top side up. Repeat with remaining frosting, pecans and caramel topping. Chill cake 1 to 2 hours before serving (some caramel topping will ooze from the cake as it chills).

Sugar Cookies and Icing

Redbook Cookbook Sugar Cookie Cutouts

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½-teaspoon salt
1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons light cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat oven to 400. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add butter and cut into flour mixture with an electric mixer or a pastry blender until particles are fine. Add egg, cream and vanilla; blend thoroughly. If desired, chill dough for easer handling. Place 1/3 of the dough on a well-floured board. Place a sheet of floured waxed paper over dough and roll with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Remove waxed paper. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Repeat with rest of dough. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 5 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned at edges. Cool on wire racks. When cookies are cool, they may be frosted with a simple icing and decorated as desired. Makes about 6 to 7 dozen cookies.

Icing

Original icing recipe makes 1 dozen cookies' worth

·      
1 cup confectioners' sugar

·      
2 teaspoons milk

·      
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

·      
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

·      assorted food coloring

Directions

1.             In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

2.             Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Kentucky Derby Pie

Kentucky Derby Pie

Unbaked pie shell

2 slightly beaten eggs

1 stick cool melted butter (I use butter)

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1 c. pecans, chopped coarsely

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix eggs with butter. Add sugar and flour. Mix additional ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm

Santa Fe Soup

A fantastic soup from Ann Lund.

Check out her website for cookbooks!!

annlund.com

SANTA FE  SOUP                                          From:  Dining In Style Returns

Simple—Awesome—Everybody’s favorite!!  No one will believe it came from cans

1  lb. hamburger                                                                        16  oz. can black beans

1  large onion, chopped                                                            15  oz. can whole kernel corn

1  pkg. William’s Taco Seasoning                                                10  oz. can Rotel Diced Tomatoes

1  pkg. Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix                   & Green Chilies (mild or regular)

16  oz. can red beans                                                               16  oz. can diced tomatoes           

TOPPINGS

Green onions, chopped                                                            Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated

Corn chips, coarsely crushed                                                            Diced fresh tomatoes

Sour cream

In Dutch oven, brown ground beef and onion.  Drain well.  Add taco seasoning and Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix (I use the mix that says "Make with buttermilk and mayo.")  Mix well.  Add canned ingredients with juices.  Bring to a boil and simmer 20 to 30 minutes.  Serve in large bowls with the toppings of your choice.   Serves 6 hearty appetites.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Oatmeal Carmelitas

The best bar recipe - hands down!!

Prep Time:

30 minutes

Ready In:

2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients:

Base

2  cups All purpose Flour

2  cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2  cups packed brown sugar

1  teaspoon baking soda

1/2  teaspoon salt

1 1/4  cups butter, softened

FILLING

1  (12.25-oz.) jar (1 cup) Caramel Ice Cream Topping  (can use fat free)

3  tablespoons  All Purpose Flour

1  cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch pan with shortening, or spray

with CRISCO(r) Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. In large bowl, beat

base ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly.

Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press

remaining crumb mixture in bottom of pan.

2. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together caramel

topping and 3 tablespoons flour.

3. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over partially baked base.

Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture; sprinkle with reserved crumb

mixture.

4. Bake 18 to 22 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool completely

in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or

until filling is set. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Store in

tightly covered container.

Yield:

36 bars

Firehouse Spaghetti

My friend Maureen's father was a firefighter and this was the recipe used at the station.  I won't ever buy sauce again!! Thanks Maureen!

Firehouse Spaghetti

2 onions chopped (about 1 ¼ cups)

¼ tsp garlic powder

2 bay leaves

3 tsp Italian seasoning

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

46 ounces tomato juice

12 ounces tomato paste

2 – 29 ounce cans puree

½ stick pepperoni

3 lbs bulk ground Italian sausage

2 lbs link Italian sausage (about 10 links)

½ of the 29 ounce can of water

Buy the meat from an Italian butcher.   Cook ground Italian sausage in skillet.  Add the rest of the ingredients above and the cooked ground Italian sausage into a very large pot.  Add the link Italian sausage into the pot (count them first so you know how many are in there).  Cook at 350 for 5 hours stirring every hour.  After three hours pull the link Italian sausage out and cut it into circles much like when you cut your kids hot dogs!  This makes enough to feed around 15 people so be prepared to freeze some if you are not serving a large crowd.  You can make meatballs (recipe below) but you don’t have to.  If you make the meatballs, I would add them at the end before serving.  I also make the meatballs on a different day from the sauce.

Meatballs:

3 lbs hamburger

1 ½ cups Italian bread crumbs

little salt and pepper

3 tsp Worcester sauce

2 tbls parmesan cheese

¼ tsp garlic powder

4 eggs

2 tbls Italian seasoning

1 onion cut up

mix the above together and make into golf balls.  Cook for 1 hour at 350.  It works best to cover a cookie sheet (one with sides) with foil.  Put a medal wire rack inside the cookie sheet and put the meatballs on top.  This keeps the bottoms from burning.

Chicken Adobo

CHICKEN ADOBO -- FILIPINO STYLE

Serves 4 to 6.

Marinating overnight helps the already juicy chicken thighs pick up the tang of the vinegar and pepper. It is a good trick to remember for other rich cuts like pork shoulder or beef chuck. You could easily cook this up to the point of browning the chicken, and keep it overnight in the refrigerator. The meat will pick up even more flavor from the cooking liquid. Serve the adobo with rice and a slaw of Napa cabbage dressed with fresh ginger, green onion, rice vinegar and a little Asian sesame oil. Note: Find palm vinegar from the Philippines in some Asian markets. It is made from the sap of palm trees throughout the Pacific. Cider or white vinegar is a respectable substitute.

•¹/₄c. soy sauce
• 10 large cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1¹/₄c. Filipino palm vinegar, or cider or white vinegar, see Note
• 1 c. whole canned tomatoes with their liquid
• 2 bay leaves, broken
• 3 lb. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 8)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• Green onions, thinly sliced, for optional garnish

Directions
The day before cooking the chicken, take a large glass or stainless-steel bowl and combine in it the soy sauce, garlic, black pepper, vinegar, tomatoes (break them up with your hands as you add them to the bowl) and bay leaves. Add the chicken, making sure it is almost completely submerged in the marinade. Lightly cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours.
When ready to cook, turn the mixture into a heavy 4-quart pot. Bring to a gentle bubble, cover and cook 25 minutes, or until the center of a chicken thigh is heated to 175 degrees on an instant-reading thermometer.
With tongs, remove the chicken to a plate. Skim as much fat as possible from the cooking liquid, and start boiling it down by half. Meanwhile, film a 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan with the olive oil. Heat over medium-high. Arrange the chicken pieces skin down to brown, standing back because they may spatter. Adjust heat so chicken doesn't burn.
When they are a deep rich brown on one side, turn the pieces and scatter the onion around them. Brown, adjust the heat, and move the onions around so pieces don't burn. Then, with a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and onions to a serving bowl. Pour the boiled-down pan juices over them and serve. Garnish the adobo with a scattering of thinly sliced green onions, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 370 Fat 21 g Sodium 760 mg
Carbohydrates 9 g Saturated fat 6 g Calcium 58 mg
Protein 33 g Cholesterol 110 mg Dietary fiber 2 g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 vegetable, 4 medium-fat meat.

originally published in the StarTribune (http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/11433821.html?refer=y)

Black Eyed Pea Salsa

Black Eyed Pea Salsa

2 cans black eyed peas, drained

1 can white shoe peg corn, drained

1 can diced Rotel tomatoes with chilis

1 can diced tomatoes

5-6 green onions, chopped to the start of the green

2 peppers  (1 green and 1 red) chopped

       (or you can just put in two green peppers)

1 small bottle  (8 ounce) Zesty Italian dressing

Mix all together

Chill

Serve with round or bite size Tostitos

Keeps well in refrigerator

Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie

My mother makes this every holiday and it's always a hit.


Prep Time:  5 minutes
Bake Time:  60 to 70 minutes
Chill Time:  2 hours 
Yield:  8 servings

• 1 cup Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
• 1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen** deep-dish pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.



2. Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.



3. Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes (see tips for doneness, below). Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before serving.



4. **To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.



5. RECIPE TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is overbrowning, cover edges with foil.



6. NUTRITION TIP: To reduce calories, substitute new Karo® Lite Syrup for the Karo® Light or Dark Corn Syrup.



7. High Altitude Adjustments: Reduce sugar to 2/3 cup and increase butter to 3 tablespoons. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.



8. VARIATION: coarsely chopped walnuts may be substituted for pecans to make a walnut pie.

Recipe from Karo (http://karosyrup.com/recipe_details.asp?id=485)

I wanted to create a site to store all of my favorite recipes! Enjoy!!
- Claire