Author: hollyasbury

Moist Chocolate Cake

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This chocolate cake recipe is an old favorite of mine from my childhood. My Aunt Marion, one of the most talented cooks and bakers ever, gave this recipe to my Mom. This is the first cake recipe I ever mixed and baked on my own when I was probably about 9 or 10 years old.

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. cocoa (Hershey’s baking cocoa)
1 c. milk
1 c. hot coffee
2 unbeaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in order. Alternate milk and hot coffee and mix in slowly a little bit at a time. Add the eggs and vanilla. Batter will be very runny. Makes a 13 x 9 or two 9 in round cake pans. Bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes. Frost with buttercream icing.

Buttercream frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients until smooth and of an easy spreading consistency. (I just pour my vanilla extract in without measuring, so up to 2 teaspoons is fine).

Chicken Potpie

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This is that Campbell’s soup chicken potpie recipe with a few additions. I double the recipe to make a 9 X 13 pan.

1 package frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup cut-up cooked chicken
1 can (10 3/4 ozs) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1 T dried parsley or 2 T fresh chopped parsley
1/2 to 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Paprika

1. Heat oven to 400F. Mix frozen vegetables, chicken and soup, onion, celery, parsley and chicken broth in an ungreased 2 quart casserole.

2. Stir Bisquick, milk and egg in small bowl with fork until blended. Sprinkle paprika on top. Pour over chicken and vegetables in casserole dish.

3. Bake 30 minutes until golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

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First prepare the meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
2 T finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg

Mix ingredients and shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Brown in a frying pan
with a little oil or bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. I line two cookie
sheets with parchment paper and bake all of them at the same time.

Next prepare the other ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1 can pineapple chunks
1/3 cup vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 onion chopped in large pieces
1 cup baby carrots or carrots cut into 2 ” sticks

I stir fry baby carrots, green pepper and onions until they are soft, but crisp tender in the correct way. Mix the brown sugar,
cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce in a small bowl, then add to pan. Add
pineapple chunks and meatballs, heat through.

Serve over cooked rice.

German Sausage Skillet

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6 slices bacon
1 medium head of cabbage (about 2 pounds), cored and cut into wedges
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp seasoned salt
2 tsp. caraway seed
1 lb kielbasa or smoked sausage, sliced into small pieces
1 small bag of baby carrots (optional)

In a large skillet fry the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Brown the kielbasa or sausage in the bacon drippings. Then add the cabbage, onion, sugar, water, spices and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes, stirring several times. When the cabbage is tender sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top.

Note: The sugar takes away the bitter taste cabbage often has. If you ever cook cabbage in water or put it in stew or soup, always add a couple pinches of sugar to the water.

My Potato Salad

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3-4 lbs potatoes (Russets are fine)
2 stalks of celery
1 large onion
8 large hard-boiled eggs
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground mustard
Miracle Whip (buy two large jars, it sometimes takes a little more than 1 jar)

Scrub the potatoes and put in large pan, cover with water (do not peel the potatoes). Boil until done (test with a fork). Drain and let cool. At same time as you cook the potatoes, boil the eggs – cover them with about two inches of water, boil for a 1 minute, then cover the pan with a lid and turn off the heat. Drain after 15-20 minutes and run cold water over the eggs to cool them off. Drain the potatoes and let them cool too. Finely chop up the onions and celery. Peel the potatoes and eggs. Cut the potatoes into pieces and slice the eggs with an egg slicer, reserving 2-3 eggs to use as a garnish on top of the salad when you’re done. Mix in the seasonings and miracle whip, adjust your spices to taste – I am sort of guessing on the conservative side on the spices, because I just pour them in without measuring. Wipe off the outside, rim and inside the top of your bowl, so it doesn’t have potato salad smeared all over, because that looks nasty. You should always make sure your serving bowls are wiped off on the outside and down to the food on the inside – better presentation. Spread out your remaining sliced hard-boiled eggs on top and sprinkle with paprika, you’ll have to wipe again, because the paprika will get on the inside of the bowl.

Mom’s Zucchini Bread

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1 cup chopped walnuts
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking powder
2 cups finely grated unpeeled zucchini
1 cup raisins
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees. My Mom didn’t write down how long to bake, but check it every five minutes after about 25 minutes and once it has browned on top, check with a toothpick. Let cool a few minutes in pans; then remove from pans and let cool on wire rack. Wrap loaves and let sit overnight for the flavors to blend. Banana bread, zucchini bread, etc. all taste better if wrapped like this. Makes 2 loaves.

Note: I cut my Mom’s recipe in half, so this should make 2 loaves. Don’t fill pans more than 2/3 full or it will run over while baking.

Sugar Cookies

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1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
granulated sugar

Mix powdered sugar, margarine, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough into halves; roll each half 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into shapes. (I roll mine on the floured kitchen counter). Sprinkle with colored granulated sugar; place on lightly greased sheet (if you use parchment paper, you can omit the greasing the sheet). Bake until edges are light brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen, 2 inch cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

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1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening (Crisco – the sticks are easier to use than a can)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients well. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Press with a fork horizontally and vertically to make the criss-crossed design.
Bake at 350 degrees – watch the first batch to see how long it takes and then deduct a few minutes, because the following batches always bake faster – don’t ask me why, but it’s true.

Tip on baking cookies – always line your cookie sheets with parchment paper, the cookies won’t stick and it helps prevent cookies from burning on the bottom. I use the same sheet of parchment paper for all the batches and switch to a new sheet when I bake a different kind of cookie.

Chili

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1 1/2- 2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic or 1 rounded tsp of chopped or minced garlic from a jar
3-4 Tablespoons McCormick’s Chili Powder
1 tsp. pepper
3 cans dark red kidney beans (16oz cans – you can substitute one can of pinto beans for one can of kidneys to add variety)
1 large can crushed tomatoes (28 ozs)
1 large can tomato sauce (28 ozs)
1 can chopped green chilies, drained (optional)
jalapeno slices (optional)

grated cheddar cheese
cooked white rice (optional)

Brown ground beef in large dutch oven (large cook pot). Add chopped onion and bell pepper, cook until peppers and onion are soft. Add chopped garlic, chili powder and pepper, cook a few minutes. Add the cans of beans ( you can drain them or not – it doesn’t matter really). Add the tomatoes, drained green chilies. I add about one tomato can full of water to mine. Simmer over medium low heat for an hour.

Slow Cooker – just brown the ground beef, add to slow cooker and then throw everything else into your slow cooker in the morning and cook on low 6-8 hours.. The onions and peppers can be raw when you toss them in. Fill a tomato can half full of water and add – slow cooking doesn’t take as much liquid. Add the jalapeno slices the last 1/2 hour or so of cooking to avoid 5-alarm chili.

Serve with cheese, rice and corn bread.

Welcome!

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Welcome to my kitchen diary, a small attempt at creating a journal of family recipes and sharing some homespun advice on cooking, crafting, needlework, gardening and any other topics you’d like to toss into the pot.