Chocolate Covered Banana Cake

This is the easiest cake you will ever make and it will look very good when you are done. This was made to celebrate Raven's play and it turned out to be a darn good cake if I do say so myself. Well, I guess I just did. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:

1 yellow cake mix
1 large package cook and serve banana pudding-cooked according to directions on package
1/2 cup package cook and serve banana pudding mix-for cake mix
1 tub chocolate icing

Mix cake according directions but add 1/2 cup cook and serve banana pudding mix to the cake mixture and stir. You will add the pudding dry and stir it in very well. Bake cake in 2-9 inch cake rounds until a toothpick comes out clean. I just followed the baking directions on the cake mix box. While cake is baking make your pudding and let it cool. Cool cake completely, now spread pudding on one layer of cake and top with the other, now place covered in your fridge overnight, this helps keep everything together and helps the last layer to stay in place. Microwave your icing tub for 15-20 seconds and then spread over the top layer. Spread this out so it drips off the sides a little. Put cake back in the fridge for 1 hour. This is really good with whipped cream or ice-cream.

Easy Chicken and Dressing

Raven loves chicken and dressing and often orders it when we go out to eat. I decided to surprise her and make it at home. Chicken and dressing does not have to be time consuming and saved for Sunday dinner, as it was at my grandmother's home. This is a family pleaser and a budget pleaser. We serve it covered with gravy, but that is up to you. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:
1 boiled chicken-boned and chopped up
4 stalks celery-chopped
2 carrots-chopped
1/2 white onion-chopped
2 T sage
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chicken broth(from boiling your chicken)
1 pan cornbread-crumbled( I keep odd and end pieces in the freezer for dressing.)
6 slices white bread-toasted and cubed
2 sticks butter

Mix together cornbread, white bread, chicken, and sage. Saute carrots, celery, and onion in 2 sticks of butter until fork tender, now add them to the bread mixture and stir very well while salting and peppering to your taste. Add broth a cup at a time until you have a soft mixture that will hold shape when pressed together. Place dressing in a deep casserole pan and bake at 425' for 35 minutes or until a crust forms on top. Serve with gravy and cranberry sauce.

Angel Food Cake

I have made a lot of angel food cakes in my time and this recipe is my favorite and is the easiest to make. Don't be intimidated with the egg whites, beating them until they stand on their own is easy and when you do it once you will never be intimidated again. Egg whites will be your friend, so to speak. I love angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. I think I love all cake with strawberries and whipped cream and if you read this blog, you will agree. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.





Needed:
12 extra large eggs whites-I use free range eggs
1 t cream of tartar
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 t vanilla
1/2 t salt-I use sea salt
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups powdered sugar

Beat your egg whites until foamy, now add cream of tartar, salt, vanilla, and white sugar, beat until stiff peaks are formed. Now sift together flour and powdered sugar and fold into egg whites
Bake at 350' for 30 minutes on the lowest rack in your oven. Also remember to use an ANGEL FOOD CAKE PAN AND NOT A BUNDT CAKE PAN. Yes, there is a difference.

Wild Spinach

These wild greens are a rite of spring on Beaty’s Creek, guess that is because they are almost everywhere along Beaty’s Creek. I freeze them and eat plenty when they are young too. These particular greens, to me anyway, taste like spinach with a broccoli rabe bite. This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek along with some fried cornbread.

Needed:

Spring Greens AKA Wild Spinach
Enough water to cover
Salt
Oil

I wash the greens and place them in my salad spinner, then I place them in a caste iron skillet covered with water and cook them until almost all of the water is gone. Now add oil and salt, now you will sauté the greens until tender. I love them with fried cornbread!

Cherry Lemonade Cake

My MIL loves lemon cake so I thought I would try my hand at one. This cake tastes just like cherry lemonade, to me that is a good thing. This is a pretty simple cake to make so give it a try and give it to the lemon lover in your life. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:

2 ¼ cups plus 3 T cake flour-sifted then measured
¾ t baking powder
¾ t baking soda
½ t salt
1 cup plus 2 T room temperature unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 t lemon flavoring
4 large egg yolks- at room temperature
1 large egg- at room temperature
¾ cup sour cream

Resift flour with salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cream together butter, egg yolks, egg, sugar, sour cream, and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Now add flour mixture a cup at a time until all is mixed in. Bake in a 9x13 pan at 350’ for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Now make the “icing”. Mix 3 cups powder sugar, 1/4-cup fresh lemon juice, and 1/8-cup maraschino cherry juice. Once mixed, pour over warm cake and top with maraschino cherries that have been cut in half.

My Garden 2009

Everyone has been talking about their garden and now I can finally show you a little something from my garden. I come from a very long line of gardeners, so does my husband. This is the first harvest and doesn't it look tasty?? I am baking a crusty french baguette and have some freshly made butter to eat my french breakfast radishes with and oh, some really good sea salt. I can eat green onions with almost anything. I am making a veggie tray for lunch tomorrow and they will certainly be on it. Well this is not really cookin but it is What's Cookin today. Try growing some veggies, your kids will love it and so will you! Everyone grows flowers so be different, grow veggies!!

Fried Cornbread

Yes, I said fried cornbread. Nothing is better with mustard greens in the fall or a salad fresh from the garden with bacon and vinegar dressing in the spring. Give this one a try and you will be surprised how easy and good it is. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:

5 cups white cornmeal
3 cups boiling water( give or take, may need a little more or less)
Caste iron skillet
Oil

Mix cornmeal and boiling water until you have thick batter. It will be easy to handle in your hands too. If it is better to have it too dry than too wet, you can always add water but not cornmeal. Not sure why but when you add cornmeal it never turns out right. So start off with a cup of boiling water at a time until you get the right texture.Form into a ball and flatten the ball out. Now heat your skillet over medium heat until a bit of the batter sizzles when added to the oil. Cook as you would pancakes, brown on one side and then turn and brown the other. Drain on paper towels and serve. Sooo good!

Moosewood Pound Cake

My Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen is well worn and well loved. The copyright date is 1977 and it is a hippy type of cookbook. All of the recipes are hand written but one thing is for sure, all are good! I have not made one recipe from this book that was bad or one that the family did not like. Try this pound cake with some strawberries, bananas, and homemade whipped cream and you will make your family happy! This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek today.


Needed:

1-pound sweet unsalted butter-at room temperature
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs-at room temperature
1-cup milk
2 t vanilla extract
1 T baking powder-I use Rumsford
1/2 t salt
4 cups unbleached white flour

Cream butter, and sugar in your Kitchen Aid at high speed until light and fluffy, now add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Sift together dry ingredients. Mix milk and vanilla together. Add 2 cups dry mixture and mix well, add milk mix well, now add last 2 cups of dry and mix well again. Pour into a bundt or tube pan and bake for 1 hour (I cook mine for 1 1/2 hours) at 350’ or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake for 10 minutes turn it onto a plate. Cool completely before cutting.

Cole Slaw

This is a favorite side dish with many of my recipes. We like ours a little on the sweet side with a special ingredient you will learn about shortly. This is great eaten alone with some crackers too. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:

1 head of cabbage-shredded and chopped really thin
1 T salt
2 T garlic powder
3/4 cup white sugar
3 cups mayo
1/2 cup milk

Mix mayo, salt, garlic powder, sugar, and milk together until mixed very well (or until sugar is disolved). Now pour this mixture over cabbage and stir until all of the cabbage is coated. Place in fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

5 Cup Salad

This is one my husband's favorites. It is good the next day also. I make my salads the night before Easter or Thanksgiving. The fridge gets crowded but it makes life easier on the big day. I finally got around to adding a picture to the post. Enjoy...

3 cans Fruit Cocktail-drained
2 large cans of Mandarin Oranges-drained
1/2 bag small marshmallows
1 cup coconut
2 tubs cool whip

Place first four ingredients in a bowl and mix well, add cool whip and fold gently. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in fridge. How easy is that???

Pineapple Casserole

This is soo good with ham. Sean does not like pineapple on ham so this is the next best thing. Give this one a try on Easter. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.


Needed:

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs-I use free range
5 slices white bread, torn into bite size pieces
1 can crushed pineapple-with juice

Preheat oven to 350'. Butter a medium-sized casserole dish.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar, now beat in eggs one at a time. Stir bread and crushed pineapple into this mixture. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Bake 1 hour,or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Green Chili Soup

I love visiting New Mexico and love the food there. This is my rendition of green chili soup. We like it with fry bread or flour tortillas. This is a soup you can start in the morning in a Crock Pot and have dinner waiting for you when you get home. It really gets better the next day. Raven likes it on flour tortillas as a taco of sorts. Either way it is good! That is What's Cookin today on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:
1 pork roast with some visible fat
4 cans Rotel
2 cans green chilies
Water
Salt ane Pepper- to taste

Place roast in a crock pot or soup pot, pour Rotel, chilies and enough water to cover roast by 3 inches. You may have to add more water when using a soup pot as the soup cooks throughout the day. I salt and pepper my soup pretty heavy, meaning I use about 1/8 cup salt and 1/8 cup pepper, but it is really up to your taste. Cook all day on high in a crock pot or on medium on your stove top. Serve with fry bread or tortillas.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

This is an easy dinner for me and it can be for you too. Fire up the crock-pot, this is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today!

Needed:

1 pork roast with fat
1 jar of your favorite bar-b-que sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup water

Salt and pepper pork roast really well and place in your crock-pot, now pour bar-b-que sauce and water over roast. Cover and cook on high all day. When roast is done, shred meat. We serve ours on a large hamburger bun with cole-slaw on the meat and bun on top. We eat this with a fork of course....

Buttermilk Pie--Oh My!!

This is one of our favorite recipes! Don't be scared off by the word buttermilk, buttermilk is your friend. If you like custard pies you will really like this buttermilk pie. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
1/4 cup butter-melted
1 pie crust

Mix buttermilk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter together very well. Pour into a pie crust. Bake at 325' for 35 minutes or until golden and set.

Macaroni Salad

I bet you have seen macaroni salad at every picnic you have ever been to. I think mine is different because it is not a sweet macaroni salad. I should say more savory than sweet anyway. I like this with fried chicken and homemade buttermilk biscuits. This is What’s Cookin on Beaty’s Creek today.


Needed:

1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cups mayo
5 green onion-chopped (I used ones from my garden.)
2 stalks of celery-peeled and chopped
3 boiled eggs-chopped
5 small gherkins sweet pickles-chopped
1-pound sharp cheddar cheese-cubed
½ cup milk
Salt and pepper-to taste
Ranch Seasoning (I get this from Country Life)

Boil pasta al dente and drain. Now run cold water over pasta until cooled. You want to drain your pasta very well. Once drained add green onions, boiled eggs, gherkins, and cheese. Stir until well mixed; now add your mayo, salt, pepper, ranch seasoning, and milk. You will really have to stir this pasta well so every piece of pasta gets covered in seasoning and dressing. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours and serve. I always mix in about ½ cup of mayo right before I serve this.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

My Aunt Mary made this cake every year for my Grandpa's birthday. I was never allowed to eat any because it was ALL for my Grandpa. Banning a child from something sweet, what an unrealistic thought ;) Well now I can make the cake and eat all I want, not that I would, never mind my post about Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This is "What's Cookin" on Beaty's Creek today.

Needed:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1- 15 oz can fruit cocktail

Mix all of the ingredients together and bake in a 9x13 pan at 350' for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool slightly and ice with the following icing.

Icing

2 sticks of butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cream
1 t vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut

Heat butter, cream, and sugar over medium heat until it boils, once boiling, boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat and add vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Mix well and then pour over warm cake. Let cake cool completely before cutting.

Pea Salad

This is a simple but good recipe to have in the spring. You can use frozen or canned peas, either one is fine.

Needed:

2 cans of peas-drained or 2 bags of frozen peas thawed and steamed for 3 minutes and then placed in an ice bath
3 cups mayo
1 small purple onion-diced
1 cups sharp cheddar cheese-cubed

Place peas of your choice in a bowl, add mayo, onion and cheese. Gently stir until mixed well. Chill overnight for best results.

Easter 2009

Ahh the first big holiday of 2009. You know me and menu planning, well here is the first of the year. Hope you like it. Recipes will follow along with pictures. This is What's Cookin for Easter this year.

Ham
Lamb-either a leg or rack have not decided yet.
Hashbrown Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Pineapple Casserole-so good with ham
Asparagus-roasted
Pea Salad
5 Cup Salad
Deviled Eggs
Salad-have not decided which one yet
Hot rolls
Strawberry Pie
Fruit Cocktail Cake
Bunny Cake

There maybe more but this a start. I like to really plan my meals, so the menu may change this weekend once my family reads this post. I like to make people happy starting with their stomachs. Til then.