Archive for April, 2013
Yield
2 Servings
Preparation Time
30 Minutes or less
Introduction
I don’t know how I came up with this recipe, but it’s my own, and I love it. It says Spicy, but my idea of spicy means it’s spicy, but not too spicy for schoolkids to enjoy.
Special Tools
None
Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts, boneless, thawed or nearly thawed
2 Tablespoons EVOO
Fresh Garlic to your liking
1 Jar Wegman’s Pineapple Salsa or mango or plain or…
1 Small Can (8 oz) Chunk Pineapple; use a large can if you love pineapple
1 Whole Green Pepper, seeded and cut up in a size you like
1 or 2 Bags Success Rice, cooked as package directs
Butter to taste
Directions
- Put on the water to boil for the Success Rice.
- Slice the chicken breasts the short way to make “medallions” about a quarter-inch thick.
- Place the EVOO and fresh garlic in a frying pan on highest heat you usually cook with.
- Place the chicken into the hot oil/garlic. Brown until golden.
- Add the peppers, but just long enough to coat with the olive oil.
- Pour the salsa into the pan and add the juice only from the pineapple chunks. Let simmer on low.
- Just before the rice is done, add the pineapple to the chicken and salsa and turn the heat just high enough and long enough to get it hot. Do not let it cook the pineapple, it gets mushy.
- Drain the rice, and add butter, salt and pepper to taste.
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Preheat Oven
375°
Yield
Small cake, such as 9″ x 9″ brownie pan or round 9″ inch layer cake pan.
Preparation Time
10 Minutes; 45 Minutes to Bake
Introduction
I remember my mom making this coffee cake when I was a kid. I had no idea what the recipe was, but found a similar one online one day. A double-batch will make a 13″ x 9″. I’m lucky to have two 9¼” x 6½” x 2″ aluminum pans that I use for this type of thing. That’s what’s shown in the picture.
Special Tools
Pastry blender (not required)
Ingredients for Cake
- 1½ Cups Flour
- 2½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
- ¾ Cup Milk (Any kind is fine)
Ingredients for Crumb Topping
- ⅓ Cup Flour
- ½ Cup Sugar
- ¼ Cup Butter, Softened
- ¾ Teaspoon Cinnamon
Directions
- Grease and flour a 9″ x 9″ or similar size pan.
- Throw all the cake ingredients into one bowl and beat it with a wire whisk or mixer.
- Put batter into pan.
- Put the crumb topping ingredients into a smaller bowl and cut with pastry blender or large fork until the butter has turned the flour, sugar, and cinnamon into a crumby mess.
- Spread crumb on top of the cake.
- Bake 45 minutes or until light golden brown.
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Yield
A 13″ x 9″ pan of breakfast goodness.
Preparation Time
Overnight for bread dough to thaw and rise. The next morning, about 1.5 hours.
Introduction
I’ve looked for the perfect sticky bun, but I hate rolling out dough. So I tried to combine sticky buns with monkey bread recipes and came up with this. So simple. Most ingredients are approximate.
Special Tools
- Baking towel desirable. A baking towel is a white towel that may be sold as a dish towel, but they’re oversized. Something like these. You don’t NEED it, but you do need the towel to cover the dough and pan completely. I have used bath towels in the past because I was desperate.
- While I used a 13″ x 9″ pan, you can use just about any size, if you are comfortable adjusting baking times. A Bundt pan shape creates a beautiful presentation.
- To eat it, you can cut it like cake and put it on a plate or you can pull it apart like monkey bread.
Ingredients
- Cooking Spray (such as Pam)
- 2 loaves of frozen bread dough
- ½ Cup Butter (1 Stick)
- 1½ Cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Ingredients for Glaze (Optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
Directions for Monkey Balls
The night before: Spray a cookie sheet or lasagna pan or similar with the cooking spray. Place the two loaves of frozen bread dough on it, a couple of inches apart. Spray the dough with cooking spray. Cover with a clean, white baking towel and allow it to sit overnight.
- Melt the stick of butter in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and cinnamon in a similar size bowl.
- Spray the baking pan on the sides and bottom. (If desired, you can now place walnuts and raisins in the bottom of the pan, and after baking, turn pan upside down on a tray.)
- Take the dough, which has now raised, and roll into balls about the size of donut holes from the bakery. Bigger than an inch, but not two-inch balls. You can use one hand to dip the balls into the butter and one for the sugar so you don’t end up with a sloppy mess. Put one ball in the butter to coat it. Then put it in the sugar mix to coat it. Then place in the baking pan. Generally, one layer is all a flat baking pan will be able to hold because, upon baking, these will almost overflow your cake pans.
- Once the pan is covered on the bottom, place on the counter with a towel over it again for about an hour.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Let cool about 15 minutes and drizzle with glaze.
Directions for Glaze
- Melt the tablespoon of butter in a small bowl. Mix in the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk at a time until the glaze can be drizzled but isn’t watery.
- Drizzle over the whole Monkey Ball cake.
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Yield
About 2 Cups of Frosting, plenty for a standard size cake recipe
Preparation Time
Start this before you start the cake. Your total time will be from before you bake the cake until the cake is cooled and ready to be iced. However, most of that time will be waiting time.
Introduction
I had made this years ago, and then couldn’t figure out how I’d made it, but it was the BEST frosting ever. Recently, I found a recipe, but it kept coming out gritty. I’ve perfected it with patience. This frosting is a very pale buttery color. Use clear vanilla extract to make it even lighter. Goes perfect with the recipe.
Special Tools
Ingredients
- 1 Cup milk
- 4 Tablespoons Flour, heaping
- 1 Cup Sugar, regular white granulated
- 1 Cup Butter, 2 sticks, soft but not melted
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Directions
Do NOT turn the burner on yet. Put the milk in a small saucepan. Put the flour in. Whisk the flour into the milk for a minute or so. Don’t expect it to become smooth yet. Turn the burner on between medium and medium-high. Whisk the mixture gently but constantly, and I mean constantly, getting less gentle as it thickens, until the mixture looks as thick as icing. You don’t want any lumps. Turn off the burner, and continue whisking while you remove the saucepan from the stove to be sure it’s not still thickening on the bottom. Let sit to cool to room temperature. It may get a dry skin layer on it as it cools, but I have found no problems with it.
Beat the butter with a mixer on high speed for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar, and keep beating for several minutes. Pour in the flour/milk mixture and the vanilla extract, and beat some more. Continue to beat the frosting, several minutes each time, until it’s time to frost the cake. The idea is to make the granules of sugar dissolve into the icing. It can take quite some time–several hours and several beatings–and it’s worth every moment. At first, the granules can be felt with the tongue, later with the teeth, and finally you won’t feel the granules at all.
Spread this icing on top of this chocolate cake.
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Yield
- One 13″ x 9″ Cake
- Thirty Cupcakes
- Two- or Three-Layer Cake
Preparation Time
10 Minutes
Introduction
This is Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake with a slight twist.
Special Tools
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling coffee
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour baking pans.
- Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
- Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
- Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake Time in minutes:
- 13×9: 35 to 40
- 3-Layer: 30 to 35
- Cupcakes: 22 to 25
Cover with Buttercream Frosting.
Half Recipe
Yield
- One 9″ x 9″ Cake
- 15 Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cups sugar
- ⅞ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅜ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup boiling coffee
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour baking pan.
- Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
- Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
- Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake Time in minutes:
- 9×9: 35 to 40
- Cupcakes: 22 to 25
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