BLACK FOREST CHERRY CAKE BROWNIES

Well, I survived my first time back this year volunteering at Hillcrest Thrift Shop. It probably helped that the shoppers were generally steady and not everyone wanting to pay for their great finds at the same time. I did stay fairly quiet for the afternoon though. (Actually I worked on my granddaughter Madison's scarf I am knitting her.)

The dessert was a big hit! Jim, the manager, came by before the shop opened to tell me how good the "cherry brownies" were. Then I heard him asking another volunteer if she liked cherries and had she tried the brownies I had brought. When my shift was over and I went in the community room to get my pan, there were three small pieces left.

One 10 - ounce jar of maraschino cherries with juice is what is needed for this recipe. It contains 1/2 cup of juice and enough cherries to make almost a cup.

BLACK FOREST CHERRY CAKE BROWNIES

1       box brownie mix for a 9 x 13 - inch pan.
1/4   cup maraschino cherry juice (from a 10-oz jar)
1/2   cup oil
3      eggs
1       cup maraschino cherries, halved (10-oz jar)
3/4   cup chocolate chips (I used 60 % cacao chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 - inch pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine the brownie mix, maraschino cherry juice, oil, and eggs until well blended.

Gently stir in cherry halves and chocolate chips.

Mix well. (I did just use my electric mixer but on stir or low speed)

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 28 to 30 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Frost with Cherry Icing.

CHERRY ICING

6       tablespoons butter, softened or at room temperature
3       cups powdered sugar
1/8    teaspoon almond extract
1/4    cup maraschino cherry juice (rest from a 10-ounce jar)

In mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until well mixed.

Add almond extract.

Add cherry juice and remaining powdered sugar, alternately, blending well after each addition until icing is smooth and reaches frosting consistency. (I misread the recipe and just added both at the same time. It worked.)

Spread over the cooled brownies in the pan.

Lia Wilson's Quick Fixes with Mixes Cakes, Cookies, Bars, & Goodies

CRANBERRY-PECAN CHICKEN SALAD

Later this morning I will be going to Hillcrest Thrift Shop to volunteer. Hard to believe it will be my first time this year. I am feeling a lot better and hopefully I won't be too tired at the end of the 3 hour shift.

I made a treat for them that looks like it is going to be a good one. I will be sharing it with you later this week.

Yesterday afternoon the Farkle group met at Friend Sue's house. She had informed us in the "invite" that she would be serving a "light" lunch. If she considers what she served us as a "light" lunch, I would hate to see what she considers lunch. Anyway, Friends Janice and Fran and I went prepared to eat lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sue was prepared for me by having the recipe already written down. Or I should say the ingredients. She told me if I didn't know how to mix them together, I was pretty bad off. lol She also had made cupcakes for dessert but I will share it later in the week. I need to ask her a question or two. (I heard her passing on some tips but I was sitting at the other table and couldn't hear her completely. I want to make sure I pass the tips along to you.)

CRANBERRY-PECAN CHICKEN SALAD

8        cups chicken, cooked and chopped
3        celery ribs, diced
5        green onions, thinly sliced
1-1/2  cups toasted pecans, chopped
6        oz. bag dried cranberries (1 cup)
1         cup mayonnaise
1/2     cup sweet-hot honey mustard
salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients until well blended.

Serve on croissant with a lettuce leaf.

CHOCOLATE STREUSEL BARS

I am blessed in so many ways. Saturday my husband and I got to spend most of the day with our local grandchildren, Madison 6 and Tyler 4. We also got to spend a little time with our son, their daddy, who left to work on a friend's car. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see dil Lori, but she was working. The day started out cloudy, but the sun came out about lunch time and warmed us up. (The kids had so much fun playing outside. See pictures below.) Later that night we met with our Tasty Bunch group at Spin Neapolitan Pizza and then back at house for dessert and more conversation. (See recipe below.) Yesterday we served at our church on the hospitality team for two services. What a joy that always is! Favorite part is meeting first time visitors (and, of course) seeing our church friends. While I am not back to my 100%, I am getting close. After I felt my sinus infection was healed, but my sinuses were still an issue, I switched to my allergy medication and that helped considerably. I was able to sit for the hour and a half in the dentist chair while prep work was being done on my molar and its new crown. (I broke a corner off the tooth eating a granola bar so I could take my antibiotic with food earlier this month.) Those are just some of my many blessings.

As I said, the Tasty Bunch met at our house Saturday night which meant I was responsible for serving dessert. We were supposed to meet last Saturday, a week ago, but we delayed it a week because the area had been forecasted with a severe ice storm. (While we had a few problems, for the most part, we escaped.) So I had picked out this recipe the week earlier. The recipe of Jacob & Loretta Weaver was in The Farmhouse Kitchen cookbook, Amish Community Cooking from Greenville, PA. There were two other similar recipes also in the cookbook but they both used a cake mix for the crust and topping. This one used flour, powdered sugar, cocoa, and butter. That sounded interesting. 

I made the dessert Friday late and just stored it in the refrigerator (since I knew we were going to be with our grandchildren most of Saturday). I did get it out before we left for the restaurant so that it would be at room temperature. I would highly recommend this. The bottom crust is softer then.

I did use a chocolate sweetened condensed milk that I found at the commissary a while back, but have never seen anywhere else. Feel free to use the regular one. It will look different though.

CHOCOLATE STREUSEL BARS

1-3/4       cups flour
1-1/2        cups powdered sugar
1/2           cups baking cocoa
1               cup margarine (I did use butter - 2 sticks)
1               8 - oz packed cream cheese (I used 1/3 cup less fat Neufchatel cheese)
1               14 - ounce can sweetened condensed milk (I used a can of chocolate flavored sweetened condensed milk.)
1                egg
2               teaspoons vanilla
1/2            cups nuts, chopped (I used pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, sugar, and cocoa until well blended.

Cut in margarine until crumbly. I cut the sticks of butter into narrow slices and used the electric mixer.

(I covered the mixer with a towel to keep the mixture from making a mess.)

Mixture will be dry.

Reserve 2 cups of the crumb mixture.

Press remainder of the mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13 - inch pan.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy,

beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth,

add egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour mixture over crust after removing it from the oven.

Mix the nuts with the reserved crumbs. (I had to move the crumbs to a bigger bowl to add the nuts.)

Sprinkle on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes or till bubbly.

Cool, chill, and cut. (I do recommend removing the dessert from the refrigerator for a while before cutting it serve.) 

I chose to serve it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.





Here are some pictures of our darling grandchildren.

Inside fun. First time to play with Lincoln Logs.

Madison is good driver.

Tyler to the rescue when the battery got a little sluggish.

A REPEATER - MOCK CHICKEN FRIED STEAK

I usually look for new recipes to try so that I can share them here on my blog. Yesterday I felt like making an old favorite. Mock Chicken Fried Steak is one of my earliest recipes and one I used to make a lot. 

Last Friday my 40 lbs of ground beef were delivered. I ordered it from Zaycon Fresh; the same place I got the 40 lbs of chicken breasts that we are still enjoying. It came in four 10 lb rolls.

I made 14 hamburger patties but the rest I cut in 1-lb chunks and sealed them using my Food Saver vacuum sealer. One "bag" didn't seal so I just put it in the refrigerator and said I would make something with it.

That's when I decided I really would like to eat one of my mock chicken fried steaks. The recipe makes up quickly and doesn't take long to fry. Yes, it is fried, but ever once in a while is okay. I made it into 6 patties as the recipe instructs, cooked 2 of the them for our dinner, and prepared the other 4 and froze them individually for us to enjoy at another time - two times actually. (I have never tried this before. After the boys left home, I would just make 2 or 3 for us, put the rest of the mixture in the refrigerator, and then cooked them the next night. This time I went on and coated the patties with the cracker crumbs, placed each patty in a ziplock sandwich bag, and then placed the four bags flat in a gallon freezer bag. I will let you know how it works out.)

Since I have already shared the recipe in an earlier post, I hope you will forgive me if I just direct you to that POST and not rewrite the recipe here. I did have to crush more than the 10 crackers for the "breading" to make the 6 patties. I did just crush 10 crackers for the mixture.

Oh, btw, if you missed my post yesterday for the Loaded Banana Bread, you should certainly check it out. It is so good and so moist. My husband ate his first piece last night after dinner. I don't even think it was an hour later that he said, "That cake (he always called "breads" cake) was really good. I know I shouldn't, but I'm going to get me another piece."

LOADED BANANA BREAD

Taking down and packing up the Christmas decorations is not something I look forward to each year. I have been waiting for several days for it to warm up enough so that the attic wouldn't be as cold when I pulled the periscope stairs down in the hall to get to the attic. I had asked my husband if he would help me by handing the containers up to me after I climbed the stairs and got in the attic. 

I must be a sight when I go up in the attic in the winter wearing my gloves and coat. I wear my gloves because the metal stairs are so cold. I usually end up taking my coat off after I make several trips up and down the stairs. Today, though the coat stayed on. The temperature was in the low 40s when I started but it was cloudy and rainy so it felt cold. 

When I was ready, I called my husband. Some things were loose on the table and needed to be packed away in containers that I had left in the attic. Those I told him I would take up later. I told him we could start with the two containers right inside my sewing room. When he saw them, he asked me if they were the same size as the ones I had used to pack up the Christmas tree ornaments. (He had found a place to store them in the garage so that I wouldn't have to put them back in the attic.) I told him yes, they were. He said, "Well, I think I can find a place to put them in the garage, too." I couldn't believe it. 

I did have to put some of the decorations back in the attic, but most of them are going to be in the garage. It will be so much easier for me next year (this year) when I have to decorate for Christmas. So after a couple of hours, Christmas is gone and winter (snowmen) is here (in my house). (See below.)

With that done, I decided I should bake something to have in the house that wasn't real sweet but would really hit the spot, when we wanted something. Whenever I have a bowl full of bananas that are starting to ripen, I start looking for a recipe to use a few of them. I wonder if there are more banana bread recipes than any other? I have made quite a few in my lifetime. And yesterday I found another one. I especially liked the word "loaded" in the title. It is loaded with lots of "extras".

LOADED BANANA BREAD

6       tablespoons butter, softened
1/3    cup sugar
1/3    cup packed brown sugar
2       eggs
3       ripe bananas, mashed (3 of my bananas made almost 1-1/2 cups mashed bananas)
1/2    teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4     teaspoon salt
1         can (8-oz) crushed pineapple, drained (I measured 1 cup of crushed pineapple from a 20-oz can and drained it)
1/3     cup flaked coconut (I used unsweetened  coconut)
1/3     cup mini chocolate chips
1/3     cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray with nonstick cooking spray a 9 x 5 - inch loaf pan. (My Wilton loaf pan is more like 8-1/4 x 4-1/2.)

Combine the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl.

Beat on medium with electric mixer for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in bananas and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt together with a whisk.

Add flour mixture all at once and stir just til combined.

Add pineapple, coconut, and chocolate chips.

Stir til well blended.

Pour batter in pan. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, if you like.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Check doneness with a toothpick inserted in center of loaf. I had to bake mine the full 70 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack in pan for 1 hour.

Remove from pan and finish cooling. (I had to hit the bottom of the pan to release the loaf as a few of the chocolate chips had baked in the bottom and were sticking to the bottom of the pan.)

Cathy Mitchell presents Quick & Easy Dump Cakes and More.

SATURDAY MORNING WAFFLES

I know the name of these waffles are Saturday Morning Waffles, but don't let that keep you from making them any morning you like. I certainly didn't let it keep me from making them yesterday morning (Sunday).

Normally we would be at church and Sunday school and then going to eat at Roxanne's Cafe, our go-to eating place on Sundays. January has not been normal though. Besides getting a sinus infection that I think has healed but am still having lingering issues, our weather seems to be getting in a pattern of a few-days-cold and then a few-days-warmer. We had some snow during some of the few-days-cold earlier in the month, but then it melted easily during the few-days-warmer. Then ice this weekend during our few-days-cold. Fortunately we didn't have as much ice in the Northland as the weathermen predicted, but enough that we couldn't get out of our driveway Saturday or Sunday mornings early. Good to be retired!

Because of the icy weather prediction our church decided to have the Saturday night 5:00 service but cancel the three services on Sunday morning. (Gosh, the NFL even rescheduled the playoff game between the Chiefs and the Steelers until Sunday evening because it was supposed to warm up and the ice melt as the day progressed.) Going Saturday night meant we were home Sunday morning though. I couldn't believe I slept til 9 and my husband slept even later. (He has been dealing with an ear problem this month.) He always says he needed to sleep late when he sleeps late so I guess I will say I needed the rest.

When I finally got around to fixing something for breakfast, my husband had already had his yogurt and said he wasn't hungry. I decided I was going to go on and make the waffles anyway. I told him he could eat some later.

I got out all of the ingredients and decided I would cook myself a couple of pieces of bacon while I made the waffles. Just about the time the bacon was cooked, my husband walked upstairs to the kitchen and said, laughing, "You know what they say - there is something about bacon cooking that makes you hungry even if you don't think you are." I cooked him two pieces and he ate them and a waffle with me. He even added the cherry pie filling after telling me he would just butter his waffle. (He probably wouldn't have though if it had been a no-sugar-added cherry pie filling.)

The recipe will make 5 waffles. If you don't want that many, just cut the ingredients in half.

SATURDAY MORNING WAFFLES

2       cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
6       teaspoons baking powder
1        teaspoon salt
1/4    cup sugar (I used just 2 tablespoons truvia baking blend)
2       cups milk (skim milk is fine)
2       eggs
1/3    cup oil

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. 

Whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil til well blended.

Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and whisk together til well blended.

Spray waffle iron and preheat.

Fill iron and cook til done.

Butter and serve.

We had some no-sugar-added cherry pie filling that we topped our waffles with. Could have added some whipped topping, but it was all frozen.

Don't you just hate for the batter to run out when you bake waffles? I do, but...

waffle turned out okay.

I tried putting less in the iron, but then I had holes in the waffle.

I finally decided if you want a perfect -no-hole waffle, you just live with the batter running over.

The iron will clean up nicely anyway.