FRUIT COOKIES

These Fruit Cookies are a favorite of Friend Janice. When her neighborhood was having their Christmas gathering, she didn't hesitate to bake them to share. My mother had a Fruitcake Cookie she always made around Christmas. When Janice first mentioned to me that she was going to make her Fruit Cookies, I thought about mother's cookies. But then she mentioned they had orange slices in them.  I knew they would be different from my mother's. This recipe does say you can use candied fruit but Janice does use the orange slices that she cuts up with scissors. It's messy, she says, but worth it in the cookies. 

FRUIT COOKIES

1         cup brown sugar
1         cup white sugar
2        cups flour
1/2     teaspoon salt
1         teaspoon baking soda
1         teaspoon baking powder
1         cup shortening (can use 1/2 cup margarine and 1/2 cup shortening)
1         teaspoon vanilla
2        eggs
2        cups quick oats
1/2     cup coconut
1/2     cup slivered almonds
1/2     cup pecan
1        cup light raisins(golden)
1-1/2  cups cut up orange slices or candied fruit or orange peel

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the sugars, flour, soda, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.

Add the shortening, vanilla, and eggs. Mix on low til combined.

Add oats, nuts, and fruit.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes.

Janice says she has baked them at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes. She has also used old fashioned oats. She likes to cut up the orange slices the night before because she uses scissors and it takes a while. She has also omitted the raisins.

CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE with PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

Everything I wanted to make to take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop on Tuesday required at least one ingredient I didn't have. I was almost at the point of being totally frustrated, when I picked up a cookbook I got a couple of weeks ago at an estate sale, Anne Byrn's the Cake Mix Doctor...

That's where I found this recipe using a devil's food cake mix. With Anne's improvements, an ordinary devil's food cake becomes an extraordinary devil's food cake. So extraordinary that I may never make a normal devil's food cake again. The addition of the unsweetened cocoa gives the cake a chocolate kick. The buttermilk ensures a moist cake and compensates for the addition of the cocoa which can dry out a cake batter.  Anne says the acidity in the buttermilk naturally complements chocolate.

All I know is the cake is so moist and light tasting. And you can't go wrong with the peanut butter frosting.

CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE with PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

1         Devil's Food Cake Mix (I used a sugar-free one)
2        tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/3  cup 1% buttermilk
1/2     cup canola oil
3        large eggs
1         teaspoon vanilla extract

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

1         cup creamy peanut butter
1         stick margarine (1/2 cup)
2        cups powdered sugar, sifted
3        tablespoons skim milk
2        teaspoon vanilla

Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (325 degrees F if using a glass baking dish). Lightly spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cake mix, cocoa powder, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Blend on low speed for 1 minute.
Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Increase the speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The batter should look thick and combined.

Pour the batter into the pan spreading evenly.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center with you fingers and just starts to pull away from the sides of the dish.

Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the peanut butter frosting.

Combine the peanut butter and margarine in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low until fluffy.

Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Continue to blend on low for 1 minute. Scrape sides of the bowl as needed.

Increase the speed to medium and beat until frosting lightens and is fluffy, 1 minute more.

Spread on cake immediately.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

I decided to make these delicious cookies to take with us when we went to CO for an early Christmas with our older son and his family. I omitted the nuts because our granddaughters have nut allergies. I also halved the recipe because I didn't want to make 60 cookies. 

The recipe is another one from the Company's Coming Gifts from the Kitchen book I bought while teaching school in CA. At the time, I didn't have a lot of free time to explore it, but now that I am retired.....

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1/2        cup margarine, room temperature
3/4       cup brown sugar, packed
1            large egg
1/2        teaspoon vanilla
1/4        cup plain yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt)
1-1/4     cup flour
1-1/4     cup quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1/4        teaspoon baking powder
1/2        teaspoon baking soda
1/4        teaspoon salt
1/2        cup white chocolate chips
1/2        cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)
1/2        cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease cookie sheets.

Cream margarine and brown sugar together in large bowl until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended. Add yogurt. Beat until well mixed.

Combine flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add to margarine mixture until well blended.

Add chips and nuts. Stir to blend.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. (I used my tablespoon size cookie scoop.) Flatten dough using slightly wet fingers.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.  

Remove and cool on a wire rack. Makes 3 dozen cookies with 69 calories/cookie. I omitted the nuts which would reduce the calories/cookie. (Simply double the recipe if you wish to make more cookies.)

MRS. JONES' PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

This is the third Pineapple Upside-Down Cake I made on Tuesday to take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop. The recipe was in the Best of Ruby Jones Cookbook. I was fortunate to eat at Mrs. Jones' Cafe near Noble Lake (Pine Bluff, AR) several times.  Not sure when I bought her cookbook, but I am so glad I did. 

When I needed to find a recipe for the cake, Mrs. Jones' cookbook was one of first ones I looked in. I ended up finding three different recipes. And they were different. In the post yesterday I mentioned that the only things that were the same in the three recipes were the iron skillet and 1 cup of sugar.

Mrs. Jones' cake was the thickest cake probably due to the 3 eggs in it....the other two recipes only contained 1 egg. The cake was a very good dense cake that tasted better the next day chilled.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

1          cup brown sugar
1/2      cup margarine
3         eggs
1          cup sugar
1-1/2   cups sifted flour
1-1/2   teaspoons baking powder
1/2      cup water
1/4      cup pecans (chopped) (I omitted)
6         pineapple slices
6         Maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Melt margarine in iron skillet. (I used a 10-inch iron skillet.)

Add brown sugar. Blend well.

Arrange pineapple slices over margarine mixture. Place a cherry in the center of the slice. Sprinkle with nuts, if you are using them.

Cream sugar and eggs together.

Add flour sifted with baking powder.

Add water.

Mix well. Batter is thin.

Pour batter over pineapple slices.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until done.

Invert onto a serving plate. Leave skillet over the cake for a few minutes. If any pineapple slices stick to the skillet, they will remove easily with spatula to be placed on cake.


Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

CORN CASSEROLE

I don't know how many Potlucks I have attended in my life. I do know that probably most of them were at churches. Here in Kansas City, the Northland New Neighbors that I joined when we moved here have potlucks.  They don't call them potlucks though. Not sure why? But they don't.  Instead they have dinner groups; couples that meet at one of the member's house (they furnish the entree) and everyone else brings an appetizer, salad, side dish, or dessert. Besides getting to enjoy some delicious food, I have been fortunate enough to be able to share some of the recipes with you. Some friends come prepared with the recipe written out for me because they know I will be asking them for it. 

Janice made this Corn Casserole at a recent gathering.  She forgot to give me the recipe that night, but has carried it around in her billfold for weeks until she finally remembered to give it me. 

CORN CASSEROLE

3         cans (11 - oz) undrained corn (one of the three Mexicorn)
1          cup chopped onion
2         eggs, beaten
1-1/2   cups sour cream
1          stick margarine, melted
1-1/2   cups grated cheese (4 cheese Mexican)

1          box Jiffy cornbread mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.

Add the cornbread mix and stir.

Pour mixture into dish and bake for 40 minutes.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and return to oven to bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

A NEW SCARF

I'm off to a late start, but I have one scarf finished and am working on my second one now. I like finding different patterns to knit and make scarves. 

You see...I'm not too advanced at knitting.  As with so much, I know just enough to get me into trouble. I tried making a vest when I was a lot younger, but never got more than the front made. I did make a poncho for my oldest granddaughter Hallie when she was around 2. It was very easy to make.  I just made two rectangles and then sewed them together. I should ask my granddaughters if they would like one. 

The pattern I chose for this scarf was one I saw online. The person called the pattern Indian Corn. I liked how it looked in her picture, but I had some questions with the pattern instructions. I thought I would search Indian Corn Pattern and see if I could find answers to my questions. Fortunately I found quite a number of sites.  I didn't have to visit many though before I realized the pattern she created didn't look anything like all of the sites I was visiting.

SO...I'm not sure what you call this pattern, but I like it and it's fairly simple to produce.

This is what it looks like so far:

Scarf Pattern:

Cast on a number of stitches that is a multiple of 4 (evenly divisible by 4). I cast on 24.

Any size needles. I used US 8. 

Cast on stitches.

Row 1: *YO - K2, (Pass the YO over the K2), K2* repeat pattern across 

Row 2: Purl across

Row 3: *K2, YO - K2 (Pass the YO over the K2)* repeat pattern across 

Row 4: Purl across

Repeat these four rows until you have the desired length.

I had to experiment with the pattern before I could get started with the scarf. (That's why the yarn is different in these few tutorial pictures.)

The first YO is hard to show in a picture but just wrap the yarn around the needle in your right hand.

You can tighten it when you knit the first stitch.

Knit 2 and then pull the YO over 

the two knitted stitches.








Things to remember....

There are two knit stitches between the two knit stitches that you pass the yarn over.

The Purl Row ... you are always looking at the wrong side. 

When I am finished, I will have to block it as the edges curl. (I tried to flatten it as much as I could for the pictures.)

SHRIMP BALL

Don't you just love to make discoveries? I do. I recently discovered (I probably should say "rediscovered") a book I bought when I was teaching school in CA called Gifts from the Kitchen. It is full of recipes for mixes and food items that you can give as gifts. It also contains some creative wrapping ideas for those gifts. I love all the pictures it also contains to illustrate the recipes and ideas. 

They recommended this Shrimp Ball as a hostess gift for somebody who does a lot of entertaining over the holidays. I decided to make and take it to Saturday night's Northland New Neighbors Dinner Group's December gathering. We decided it was too good not to eat right away. 

I did make a few changes in the original recipe (I wrote my changes in parenthesis). Even with my changes, everyone thought it was really, really good. Maybe I should explain the major change....leaving out the minced onion but using a smaller amount of onion powder. You see ... raw onions and I don't get along at all and I wanted to be able to enjoy it. I hated leaving out the ground rosemary but I couldn't find any in the stores. It would have been an interested flavor in it.

I found the Harvarti cheese at Sam's Club.  I did a little research before I went to the store and was prepared to substitute Monterrey Jack cheese for it if I had to. You could probably find it in the deli department of the grocery store. The canned shrimp can be found with the canned tuna and salmon.

My husband told me I should make it again when I have to bring an appetizer.  I am sure I will.

SHRIMP BALL

8 oz      cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese-it's softer)
2           tablespoons salad dressing or mayonnaise (I used salad dressing with olive oil)
1/4        cup margarine or butter, softened

1-1/2     cups grated Harvarti cheese
1-2        tablespoons minced onion (I used 1 teaspoon onion powder)
1/2        teaspoon ground rosemary (I omitted because I couldn't find any)
1            teaspoon dried sweet basil
1/8        teaspoon garlic powder
1-1/2     tablespoons lemon juice

2           4-oz cans of shrimp, drained and rinsed
1-1/2     tablespoons parsley flakes or whatever it takes to cover it
1            teaspoon paprika or whatever it takes to cover it

Beat the cream cheese, salad dressing, and margarine together in mixing bowl until smooth.

Combine the next 6 ingredients. Add to mixture and mix well.

Add shrimp. Mix well.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill several hours.

Form in a ball.

Sprinkle the ball with the parsley flakes to cover.

Sprinkle the ball with paprika to cover.
(I tried to roll the ball in the parsley flakes and paprika as directed in the recipe, but it left a lot uncovered. I have given you my suggestion as it works better-I had to cover the uncovered places on mine.)

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Serve with crackers. (Sue says it tastes really great with grapes instead of crackers.)

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Usually on Fridays Janice and I go to estate sales. Yesterday the forecast called for rain....as much as an inch. We decided we didn't really want to be in and out of the car and houses in the rain. Instead, we went to the Webster House, a beautifully restored school house next door to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Shops make up the rooms on the first floor. On the second floor is a restaurant and rooms for private parties.  

We browsed through the shops first and then enjoyed a delicious lunch. The sweet potato soup was outstanding. I wish I had their recipe. Will have to see if I can find a recipe to try.

Getting home mid-afternoon, I really needed to go up in the attic and start bringing down the Christmas decorations. BUT the kitchen was calling me louder. Later today, for sure.

Last month in our newspaper, The Kansas City Star, was an insert called Gifts & Goodies. I saved it because it was full of different recipes from the 11th annual Holiday Cookie Contest that I wanted to try. This original recipe of Lisa Hansen and her daughters for Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies was one of the winners.

I didn't have a lot of time because I had some errands to run.  The recipe looked easy enough and only made 24 cookies (I only got 20 cookies though). And best of all they contained chocolate, peppermint candy, and chocolate chips....what else can you ask for?

I wasn't disappointed though. They were very easy, took less than an hour from start to finish, and, best of all, tasted great. 

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

1/2       cup butter or margarine
1/3       cup sugar
2          tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4       teaspoon peppermint extract
1           cup flour
1/3       cup mini chocolate chips
2          tablespoons crushed peppermint candies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine margarine, sugar, and cocoa powder and beat until light and fluffy, a couple of minutes,

Add peppermint extract and mix.

Mix in flour just until well combined.

Add chocolate chips and crushed peppermints.

Pat or roll out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick.

Cut into circles with a 2 - inch round cutter.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 - 14 minutes.

Remove immediately and cool on wire rack.







Makes about 2 doz cookies.

BREADED CHICKEN PATTIES

I wish I had found this recipe years ago! These Breaded Chicken Patties are so much better than the frozen ones you can buy. The recipe will make 6 patties that you can make and freeze if you like. I took two frozen patties out of the freezer earlier in the day to thaw in the refrigerator, but you can cook them from the frozen state if you didn't plan on them earlier. 

I used garlic powder but you could use any seasoning you prefer for flavoring. You could also add chopped onion. 

BREADED CHICKEN PATTIES

1       cup milk
3      tablespoons flour
2      tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I used parsley flakes)
1      teaspoon garlic salt
1/2   teaspoon celery salt
1/4   teaspoon pepper
2      cups finely chopped cooked chicken (I used a 13 - ounce can of cooked chicken breast.)
1      cup dry bread crumbs, divided
1/2   cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Combine flour and milk in a medium saucepan. Whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring with whisk constantly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Add parsley, seasonings, 

and chicken.

Add 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Chill until completely cooled.

Combine the rest of the crumbs and cheese in a shallow plate.

Using 1/3 cup mixture for each patty, shape the chicken mixture into 6 patties.

Coat both sides of each patty with the crumb/cheese mixture.

Freeze individually. 
I have these Tupperware patty containers that are just perfect for this. You could also wrap them individually and store in freezer bags.

To cook, fry patties in a little oil in a skillet over medium heat 3 minutes on each side.








To cook frozen patties; cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until golden brown in a skillet with a little oil over medium heat. 

I set two patties out earlier in the day to thaw in the refrigerator and just cooked them 3 minutes on each side. I served them as a sandwich with thin whole grain buns, some fresh spinach and tomatoes.