Italian Cream Cake

This is a great find from The Pioneer Woman.  Enough said, right?

Italian Cream Cake

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 5 whole Eggs (separated)
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 cup Coconut (from PW: If You Think You Hate Coconut, Trust Me: I Do Too, And I Love It In This Recipe)
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• 2 packages (8 Oz) Cream Cheese
• 1 stick Butter
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 package 2 Lb Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1 cup Sweetened, Flaked Coconut

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.

Cake:

In a large bowl, cream together butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and coconut.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

Alternate adding buttermilk and dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, then fold in egg whites.

Pour evenly into the three prepared pans, then sprinkle the top of each pan with 1 (at least) tablespoon sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely.

Frosting:

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in chopped walnuts and sugared coconut. Spread between layers and serve.

Note: cream cheese frosting will soften at room temperature, so refrigerate if you won’t use it right away.

***It is a delicious cake!  A perfect compliment to a cup of coffee.  After enjoying a piece or two you'll be ready for a good long nap!

White Queso

Finding a good white queso dip recipe has been a tough order.  This recipe is easy and very good.  Definitely a crowd pleaser!

White Queso (from Pappasito's)
1.5 lb white American cheese (NOT Velveeta, may have to get at the deli)
4 oz can green chilis, undrained
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c diced onion
1/3 c whole milk
1/2 c diced ripe tomatoes
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Melt cheese and milk in a saucepan.  Stir until blended.
Add chilis, garlic, onions and garlic salt.  Stir until onions are transparent.
Remove from heat, add tomatoes before serving.

*I used a can of Rotel instead of green chilis and tomatoes.

Ooey Gooey Bars

So.good.you'll.be.sad.you.made.them.to.share.
You should just go ahead and make them.  And, just a word of warning- they are SO good hot out of the oven!

Ooey Gooey Bars

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough.  Press into the bottom of the pan.
Mix remaining ingredients until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Pour on top of crust.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Saw this on Pinterest and have been waiting on my bananas to ripen!  And, for the record, I did just enjoy a hot slice with butter.  So good.  So, so good!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

6 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup melted butter
1/1 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour
1 bag dark chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (I added these!)

Mix in order listed.  Fill two greased loaf pans 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour. (It took me about 1:10, I covered the loaves with foil the final 20 minutes to not continue browning the top.)  These can also be made as muffins - should bake for 20 minutes.  The loaves and muffins are done when a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This recipe was from this blog: www.notwithoutsalt.com.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Continuing my pumpkin kick, I am making these today.  I found the recipe at this fun site. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

2 c flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 tsp soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cherries, cut into chunks (or any dried fruit you want - I'm using cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flour, oats, soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  Set aside.
Beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.  Mix well.
Fold in chips and fruit.
Drop on baking sheet.  Bake for 12-14 minutes until light brown.
Cool for 2 minutes on sheet and transfer to cooling racks.

***You can make this all sorts of ways- with different nuts, chocolates, and fruits!!!

Miss Norma's Stew

I didn't know Miss Norma.  She went to a church that my uncle pastored.  Now, she is with her Savior!  What I do know about Miss Norma, is that she blessed our family with the best stew recipe!  I'm not a big bean eater (at all), but I don't seem to mind them in this stew.  The flavor is rich, and gets better after cooking all day!

Miss Norma's Stew

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
Potatoes, diced (I use 2 good sized ones)
Carrots, diced (Don't always use them)
1 can corn, drained
1 can peas, drained (Don't always use them)
1 can white or green beans, drained (I usually do green, white, and kidney!)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Dash of Worchestershire sauce
2 Beef Bouillon cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Ground beef and onion, drain.  Add to large stock pot with 4 cups water (I also add a large can of crushed tomatoes).  Add potatoes and carrots- cook until tender.  Add veggies and cook until thoroughly heated.  Add seasonings.

***I do this all at once and let it cook all day on low.  And, of course, we eat it with cornbread!

Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Syrup

Fall weather and Pinterest has had my wheels spinning about new recipes to try!  I stocked up on pumpkin while at the store on Monday and have been ready to bake!  This recipe is from allrecipes.com.  The pancakes are very good- not fancy, but good for pepping up a regular meal.  The winner is the syrup.  It doesn't take a lot of work, but it does need to cook for 30 minutes and then cool for 30 minutes.  Just something to think about while you plan.  I did dishes while it bubbled to glorious yumminess!  Everyone ate these up!  We had them for dinner with a side of breakfast casserole.  Let me know if you try these!

Hot Cider Syrup
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice (I made cider with an instant mix)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil at medium heat.  Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer (uncovered) for 25 - 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Let cool for 30 minutes (syrup will thicken).

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar (I doubled this!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin, and oil.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. 
In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Fold into batter.
Get your griddle nice and hot and make the pancakes like you normally do! (My version of the directions!)
Serve warm with butter and Hot Cider Syrup!!!!!  Thank the Lord for the ability to taste the wonders he has created!