There are so amazing recipes out there. I know a lot of people go online looking for recipes and some even find their way to my blog which is great!
I love buying cookbooks and then just going page by page checking out the recipes. Sometimes I put a little piece of paper to mark the place and sometimes I write the recipe name and page number down on a piece of paper and then stick it in the front of the book. A disadvantage to the latter is sometimes the paper drops out and then I can't find the cookbook when I find the paper later. (You don't know how many cookbooks I have. I keep saying I am going to sort through them and take ones I don't want down to the thrift shop and let them sell them, but when I pick up a cookbook I haven't seen in months or years, I start finding recipes that sound good.)
Today's recipe for Apple German Chocolate Cake was super delicious. I made it and took it to the thrift shop because it was super easy. I like taking cakes to them that don't have to be frosted. The nuts and chocolate chips on top make a pretty topping on the cake. The recipe was in Taste of Home The NEW Potluck cookbook.
APPLE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
1 package German chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Set aside.
Place the pie filling in a large mixing bowl, and beat the filling on medium to chop the apples. (If you have some slices that don't break up, cut them with a knife.)
Add dry cake mix and eggs.
Blend on low to combine all ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Pour batter into pan.
Sprinkle with nuts and
chocolate chips.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until done.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack before cutting.
I have been making quilts and quilted items by a method I call Sew & Quilt-In-One for over seven years. I think the first one I made was for my soon-to-be-born granddaughter Madison.
The second time I tried it I tweaked the method and made placemats for myself. I made so many different placemats - each a little different for different seasons.
Before too long I decided to expand and make lap size quilts and I don't know how many of those I have made and taught others to make. I wrote a tutorial for the placemats and shared it on Pinterest and it became very, very popular. The post/tutorial was even picked up by QuiltingDigest.
The name of the method got changed (by others on Pinterest) and so you might see it as Flip and Sew. Whatever you call it, I love the results and how easy it is to make a quilt.
Since that very first post, I have updated it and written other posts and have links to them on that post. As I grew with this blog and started taking more pictures, I thought beginners, esp, would enjoy seeing more pictures illustrating the process.
Recently my husband and I were in a quilt shop because I wanted to see the finished quilts they always have on display and maybe get a new idea for a quilt. That's when I saw two baby quilts that they had done by the Sew & Quilt-In-One (Flip and Sew) method. The only difference was they had added an inch strip between each wider strip. I really liked it and was surprised I hadn't thought of doing that before.
Not too many days later, I decided I would make a patriotic lap quilt for Blankets of Hope, the quilting group at the church that I am a member of but add the narrow strip between each wider strip. It is just so beautiful! I feel like no one should be so proud and pleased with something they have made, but I just can't help it. I gathered all of my patriotic fabric and hoped I had enough that I wouldn't have to repeat a print. It would be okay if you did, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to. Several of the pieces I had were fat quarters so I couldn't use them as I needed the full width of the fabric, but it worked out that I had exactly enough to do it the way I envisioned it.
I cut each strip 3-1/2 inches wide across the width of the fabric. The red, white, and blue solid strips, I cut 1-1/2 inches wide. I laid the strips out on my bed to make sure the placement was good for each print.
You will cut the backing fabric the size you want to make the quilt. (We usually make our lap throws 42 x 48 - inches.) The batting needs to be cut about the same size. Make sure one end of the batting and backing are cut on a straight line as you will use this edge when you line up the first two strips. With this quilt, every other strip is the narrow solid color strip. As you work/sew across the strip, us a measure to measure the outer edge of the strip with an earlier seam to make sure the seams run straight. This will correct any errors in cutting or the result of sewing and pressing.
When I make placemats or smaller items, I do not pin the three layers together before I sew, but with larger projects like a quilt, it helps. After you have worked your way across the quilt, you will trim the quilt down to the finished size. You can use the seams as guides for being straight on the quilt. AND why I love this method - when you have trimmed the edges up straight, all you have to do is sew on your binding and the quilt is finished. You can really make the quilt in a day or maybe a day and a half, depending on how much of your time is free to sew.
If you would like to see illustrations (photos) you can check out these following posts. You can also see some of the really cute blankets I have made.
This ONE is the first one on placemats. I have updated it to include hot pads and the baby quilts.
This ONE shows more pictures and is especially good for making larger than placemat size items. I also share how to do the binding in a way you will never dread making binding again, especially joining the two ends when you get around to where you started. Since I wrote those tutorials I have changed when I cut the strips for binding (2-1/4 inches for quilts) and I no longer draw the line for sewing the strips together to make the long strip. If you hold the two strips perpendicular together, you can just "eye it" and sew from one intersection across to the other one. Basically following that line that I drew in the pictures but you are just seeing it in you mind.
It is a great way to use your scraps. If you don't have enough scraps with the entire width of the fabric, sew a square after the strip and add another print. (I really need to make one this way as I don't think I have !😊)
I hope you will check out the tutorials and give it a try if you never have. And now - one last look at the patriotic quilt. I will also show you the back of the quilt. Remember when you sewed the three layers together - the strips on top + batting+ backing (right side down), your seams shows on the back as you sewed it. Use the color you want to see on the backing for the thread you use to sew the strips down.
Happy Quilting!
Last Thursday our canasta group met at Friend Fran's house. I'm not sure how many years I have been doing this, but I am still bringing dessert for her. 😊 She was so nervous when she started hosting the small groups she was in because she didn't know what to serve. I love making desserts and needed another outlet for my desserts that I made and shared on this blog, so I told her I would bring dessert for her. AND I am still doing it and still loving it.
I had told her I was going to bring a pie since there would only be six of us playing cards. I had found two different recipes for pies that I wanted to try the week before. The problem was I didn't look at the recipes until Wednesday and realized they both made 2 pies. Well, I wasn't prepared to make that much (I am going to make one of the recipes for this Thursday when the Mexican Train group comes to my house. So far 12 are coming so I will definitely need 2 pies.) so I started looking for something else.
I picked out this recipe for Peanut Butter & Hot Fudge Pudding Cake that is made in the slow cooker and said made 6 servings. Six servings was a stretch though. I was glad Fran also had ice cream because I would say the recipe serves 4. BUT everyone said it was quite tasty and all I had to do was mix up the ingredients and put them in the slow cooker. Then I took it over to Fran's house and plugged it in and just turned it down to Keep Warm when it was finished but we weren't quite ready for it.
Sara Wilson of Blairstown, MO submitted the recipe in the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook - Feasting with your Slow Cooker by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good.
PEANUT BUTTER & HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
ice cream
Combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and baking powder with a whisk.
Add milk, oil, and vanilla.
Mix until smooth with a whisk.
Stir in the peanut butter
til smooth.
Pour into slow cooker and spread evenly over the bottom.
(Make sure you use a rubber spatula to get all of the batter.)
Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and cocoa powder with a whisk.
Gradually stir in the boiling water.
Carefully pour mixture over the batter in the slow cooker.
Do not stir.
Cover and cook on HIGH 2 to 3 hours, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. ( I baked mine 2 hours and then lower temperature to Keep Warm setting.)
Serve warm with ice cream.
When I lived in Florida, my favorite store to go to was Jordan Marsh. I moved away from Florida after only living there 3 years when I got married. I never saw another Jordan Marsh. I didn't know until I saw this recipe on King Arthur Flour, that the company was bought out by Macy's in the mid 1990's. On the third flour was a restaurant and I loved to go there and eat one of their famous blueberry muffins. They were just chocked full of blueberries and had a sugary crust on top of the muffin. I knew I had to try the recipe when I saw it and oh my goodness they are just as good as I remember them being.
They are so full of blueberries, I just had to take a picture of the first one I was eating. The picture is at the bottom of the post. They are great warmed up in the microwave for about 20 seconds on the second day if they last that long.
Click here for a printable version of just the recipe.
FAMOUS DEPARTMENT STORE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
2-1/2 cup (1 pint package) blueberries, fresh preferred
1/4 cup sugar, for topping
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin. (If you use paper cup liners, grease the papers.)
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together til well combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl and beating well after each addition.
Beat in the baking powder, salt, and vanilla.
Add the flour alternately with the milk, beating gently just to combine.
(Start and end with the flour.) Scrape the sides and the bottom of bowl.
Mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries.
Add the mashed berries and whole berries to the batter and
fold them in just to cover and distribute the berries in the batter.
Use a ice cream scoop that holds 1/4 cup water and scoop out the batter by a slightly heaped 1/4 cup.
Smooth out the top of each muffin and
then sprinkle about 1 teaspoon granulated sugar on top of each muffin. (Be generous.)
Bake muffins for about 30 minutes, or until light golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen the muffins. Continue to cool on wire rack for 5 more minutes and
then remove muffins to wire rack to finish cooling. (It will help to run the knife around the muffins again to remove since some berries might be on the bottom.)
Tips from King Arthur Flour Bakers:
If you use frozen berries, don't crush any. Also rinse them several times in cold water and then pat dry with paper towels before using them.
As long as peaches are available in the stores, I am going to be looking for new recipes to try with them. I am not always lucky with the ones I buy though. I think the stores have had them in cold storage and they are not good at all. This year the ones I have bought from Hy-Vee have been super (after I bring them home and leave them in a closed paper sack for a few days to ripen).
This recipe for Deep-Dish Peach Custard Pie was in one of my favorite cookbooks simply called Amish Cooking. I have so many tabs on pages of recipes to try. I made this pie "just for us" which my husband Wayne loves. It isn't super sweet and the sweet taste of ripe peaches is so delicious.
Click here for a printable version of just the recipe.
DEEP-DISH PEACH CUSTARD PIE
1 unbaked 9 - inch deep-dish pie shell
3-1/2 cups peeled, pitted, and sliced peaches
1 can (14 - ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted (1/2 stick)
1 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice (I used 3 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a deep-dish pie plate with pie shell/crust,
arrange peaches in pie shell.
Combine milk, eggs, butter, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large mixer bowl.
Beat until smooth.
Pour over peaches.
Bake pie for 10 minutes.
Prepare topping while pie is baking: Combine the brown sugar, flour, and walnuts in a small bowl using a fork.
Cut butter with a fork, pastry cutter, or two knives until
mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Remove pie from oven and lower temperature to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the partially baked pie.
Return pie to oven and bake 55 to 60 more minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. (I just cooked mine 55 more minutes. It looked done and I hate to mess up the looks of a pie by inserting a knife.)
Cool pie on wire rack.
Place the pie filling in a large mixing bowl, and beat the filling on medium to chop the apples. (If you have some slices that don't break up, cut them with a knife.) 
Add dry cake mix and eggs.
Blend on low to combine all ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Pour batter into pan.
Sprinkle with nuts and
chocolate chips.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. 
Cool completely in pan on wire rack before cutting.
