Recipe Talk

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Pumpkin Cake

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
(optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.


3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ready In:1 Hour

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Yields: 14 servings

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A Meat and Potatoes Meal that You'll Love

Here's a meal that my family loves and the foods compliment each other really well. The food items aren't necessarily new for us, but the flavors are and that makes a big difference.

The Meal:
~ Honey Barbecue Meatloaf
~ Ranch Mashed Potatoes
~ Your choice of vegetable (I just heat up a can of green beans or corn)
~ Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Honey Cinnamon Butter

Make Ahead Tips: You can make the Honey Cinnamon Butter ahead of time and refrigerate until serving. You can also prepare the meat loaf and refrigerate it before baking.

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Honey Barbecue Meat Loaf
I'm not usually a meat loaf eater but I love this one and the family does too.

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 egg
1/2 cup oats -- quick cooking
1/3 cup barbecue sauce -- honey flavored
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mustard -- prepared
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound ground beef
ketchup

In a large bowl, stir together soup mix, egg, oats, barbecue sauce, onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, salt, pepper and chili powder. Add beef and mix well. Press into an ungreased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Top with ketchup. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160*. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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Ranch Mashed Potatoes
Make regular mashed potatoes but with the following changes:
~ Omit the butter
~ Replace some of the milk with Ranch dressing (I prefer either Uncle Dans or Hidden Valley Ranch mixes, prepared)
~ Add 2-3 Tbsp. of cream cheese
~ Top with shredded cheddar and, if you wish, bacon bits

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Apple Cinnamon Muffins
My kids love these (so do I) so there's never any leftovers. We also make them for breakfast. Be sure to try them with `Honey Cinnamon Butter' (recipe follows).

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons applesauce
1 medium tart apple -- peeled & grated
topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine -- cold
1/2-cup oatmeal -- old fashioned

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add the egg, milk, oil and applesauce and stir until just moistened. Fold in apple. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. For topping, combine brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in oats. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 400* for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm with Honey Cinnamon Butter
(recipe follows). Yield: 1 dozen.

Honey Cinnamon Butter
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Serve with muffins, toast, bagels, French toast or pancakes. Refrigerate any leftovers. Yield: 1 1/3 cups.

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North Carolina Pulled Pork

Since trying this recipe years ago, I haven't been able to cook pork roast any other way; it is fabulous! I usually serve it with garlic bread to sop up the juices. Coleslaw goes with it very well also. The vinegar, ketchup and water are the most important ingredients to the sauce. I have added other spices on hand when out of the ones listed and it always turns out just as good.

Seasoning Salt
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Celery Seed
1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 C. Vinegar (any kind)
1/2 C. Ketchup
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1 C. Water
Tabasco Sauce, to taste

Brown the roast in a small amount of fat in a Dutch oven or roaster. Season with seasoning salt.
Mix the rest of the ingredients, excluding the Tabasco Sauce, and poor over the browned roast.
Bake in a preheated 325degrees oven, about 40 minutes to the pound, until done and very tender. When done, pull the pork with two forks until it is all shredded, then mix all meat and juice together.
Let people add Tabasco Sauce to taste on their servings.


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Easter Bunny Cake

By: Monica Resinger

http://www.worldwoman.biz/articles/cooking/Easter_Bunny_Cake.asp

The Easter bunny cakes that you can buy from the bakeries in grocery stores can be quite expensive; by making your own, you'll save money. Here's how:

You'll need:

- any flavor cake mix
- a round cake pan
- white frosting (purchased or homemade)
- stiff construction paper in white, black and pink glue

Optional:
- Easter grass
- jellybeans
- shredded coconut

Directions: Prepare the cake mix according to package directions and bake it in the round cake pan. Most cake mixes make enough batter for two round cake pans; therefore you can make two bunny cakes or make cupcakes with the rest of the batter if you only want to make one bunny cake. After the cake has cooled, remove it from the pan and cut the circle in half. With white frosting, frost the bottom of one of the halves generously, then stand the two halves up on their cut side on a plate or cake stand and push the two bottoms together so the frosting is in the middle holding them together. Now frost the whole thing.
It should look like a half circle standing on a plate; this is the body of the bunny.

For the eyes, cut two round circles out of white construction paper, then two smaller circles out of black construction paper and glue each black circle onto a white circle. Stick the eyes onto the frosting on the front of the bunny body (one of the narrow ends).

For the ears, cut bunny ear shapes, in proportion with the body, out of white construction paper. Cut smaller bunny ear shapes out of the pink construction paper and glue them onto the white ones to make the center of the ear. When glue has dried, insert the bottom of the ears into the frosting about an inch above the eyes.

For further decoration, lay Easter grass around the cake, place jellybeans on top of the grass and put coconut on the frosting of the cake as bunny hair.
This cake makes a nice centerpiece for your table. Use it with a vase of in season flowers and there you have it.

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

These are delicious and healthy. Serve with your choice of bread for a
complete meal.

2 Bell Peppers, any color (red, yellow and orange are more flavorful and
healthy than green)

3/4 lb. Ground Beef

1/3 C. Onion, finely chopped

15 oz. Tomato Sauce

1/3 C. Water

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/3 C. White Rice

1/4 tsp. each Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. dried Oregano

1 C. Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375*F. Halve the peppers lengthwise and remove seeds, stems
and membranes. Boil the halves in salted water for 3 minutes, then drain on
paper towels. Brown the ground beef and onion until meat is done; drain off
grease, then add back to pan with the rest of the ingredients except the cheese.
Simmer mixture 15-20 minutes until rice is done; stir in half the cheese.
Place peppers cut side up in casserole dish, then fill with beef-rice mixture.
Bake for 15 minutes, top with remaining cheese then let stand for 1 minute.
Enjoy!

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Pasta Salads for a Rest Easy Summer

With the warmer months coming soon, or for some of us, already here, salad making can be a valuable asset. Why? because when it's warm, most of us would rather be doing something other than cooking like relaxing in the sun, visiting with family and friends, or gardening. Pasta salads can be made ahead and when served with grilled meat, dinnertime can be hassle free which will allow for more sleeping in the sun or doing what YOU want to do.

I happen to be very fond of pasta salads not only because they taste good, but because they are so versatile. They can also be a complete meal by themselves. But even though they can be a complete meal, I usually serve them with grilled meats. Here are some ideas for making pasta salads.

Make a unique pasta salad by using ingredients from each of the following categories:

Pasta: your choice; macaroni, spaghetti, bow ties, spiral, or whatever you want; prepare according to package directions.

Dressing: your choice of purchased salad dressing, homemade dressing, or a dry mix. Tip: if you want low-cal, use a dry mix with nonfat sour cream, plain yogurt and/or reduced fat mayonnaise.

Vegetables: your choice of chopped vegetables; peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, snap peas, celery, onion, cucumber, zucchini or whatever you have on hand.
Sometimes the vegetables (green beans and carrots are examples) taste better if you cook them for a minute or two in boiling water.

Meat (optional): pepperoni, chopped roast beef, chopped bologna, tuna, salmon, bacon, leftover meat or any meat you may have on hand.

Cheese (optional): cubed or shredded mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack, colby or whatever you have on hand.

Other (optional): chopped dill or sweet pickles, chopped fresh herbs, or chopped olives.

By using this method, you get a different salad every time you make one!

My favorite pasta salad is spaghetti salad. My mom first served this at a Fourth of July gathering and we have been hooked on it since. All you do is cook spaghetti noodles, drain, run them under cold water to cool them down and drain again. Add the drained noodles to a bowl, add purchased Italian Salad dressing (to taste), your choice of chopped vegetables and, if you want, chopped meat. Chill.

Be sure to make pasta salads ahead of time and refrigerate them to let the flavors blend and to save preparation work at dinnertime. If for some reason you don't get to make it ahead of time, don't worry about it, the salad will still taste good.

You can garnish your pasta salads with fresh herbs, or, if you don't have any fresh, sprinkle some dried herb on top.

I hope you'll be making more pasta salads than ever this summer so you can spend more of your time enjoying the summer the way you want.


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Fat-Free Delicious Chinese Salad Dressing
By: Monica Resinger

I've tried all the fat-free bottled salad dressings and haven't found one
that I like. This recipe is almost fat-free and is delicious. My mom created
it
by changing some of the ingredients that were on another recipe for a Chinese
Chicken Salad.

1/4 cup fresh or bottled lemon juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Delicious!

For delicious salad and dressing recipes, check out the Salad Recipe e-book: http://homemakersjournal.com/saladebook.htm
Get Monica's FREE weekly e-zine for homemakers! To subscribe, just send a blank e-mail to: HomemakersJournal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com