Cupcake Cuties

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My husband and his two brothers hosted a little party at a favorite old pizza joint for his parent's 50th Anniversary last night. It was really fun -- we saw some of his aunts and uncles and the little kids ran around guzzling soda pop and eating popcorn. The main course was, of course, the pizza that this little shop is know for (they also serve some German food and the scent of sauerkraut in the first floor dining room smelled wonderful), but we wanted to have a little dessert, too. Doug ordered a cake from a favorite family bakery and I baked some cupcakes so the littles would have something fun to eat. We brought some little individual ice cream cups and everyone enjoyed all the treats.




I used the recipe for Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Frosting and decorated with M&Ms, Good and Plenty, candy hearts and various other sprinkles.


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Weekly Menu

This week is a transitional week for us. College boy's spring break is over and he is starting back, but will be commuting from home. Fours days a week he has a late afternoon class and until we arrange for extra transportation (ach -- another car?), either mom or dad will have to do pickup at 4:30 or 5:30 p.m. That means a meal I can stick in the oven and leave for an hour, or crock pot meals on those days. I think I'll be branching out and trying some new dishes because I just don't think I have a lot of those types of recipes in my collection.

Sunday
Lunch: Big Don Subs
Dinner: Grilled hamburgers, Baked Potatoes, salad

Monday
Lunch: Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Dinner: Overnight French Toast, sausage patties, fruit

Tuesday
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner: Chicken Enchilada Soup, cheese quesadillas

Wednesday
Lunch: Birds' Nests, orange wedges
Dinner: Slow-Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches, Fried Potatoes, buttered corn

Thursday
Lunch: Corn dog muffins, grapes
Dinner: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Braised and Barbecued Chicken, white rice, green vegetable
I'm going to attempt this dish in the crock pot -- I'll let you know how it goes

Friday
Lunch: cheese quesadillas
Dinner: Linguine and clam sauce, bread, salad

* Tried and true
* New to me

Spring Snow Cake and Quick Lemon Mousse

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This past week presented itself with the opportunity to have a couple of little celebrations with dessert, one of which was this beautiful cake. Mid-week we had a visitor for dinner. College boy brought a "girl" friend for dinner. He says they're just friends, but she is a girl and she is a friend, so she's a girlfriend in my eyes. Irregardless of their relationship, she was a guest and so I prepared a special dessert, which also resulted in a take-off dessert the next night for The Feast of the Annunciation. Both desserts were a little bit Martha, a little bit Sandra Lee. In other words, a little bit scratch, a little bit short-cut. But the cake was awesome tasting and gorgeous, so I will most definitely be making it again.

I had a hankerin' for something lemon, and a pretty cake is always a nice dessert for guests, so I pulled together a beautiful scratch cake, used Jell-o Cook 'n' Serve lemon pudding for filling, and frosted it with real whipped cream. It looked like a gorgeous spring daffodil covered with a fluffy spring snow, hence the name. It would be a beautiful cake for Easter, and would also be a lovely addition to many a feast day celebration -- at the very least, the angel feasts.

I frequently use Jell-o Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding in cooking. Though the base comes from a box, it calls for the addition of real eggs, and I always add a bit of lemon extract at the end to boost the flavor. It's a quick way to get a lemon curd without squeezing all those lemons. If you just can't bring yourself to using a boxed pudding, make a real lemon curd. I'm sure you can find a recipe at Martha's.

I borrowed the Lemon Cake recipe from the ladies at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It didn't disappoint. I baked two 8-inch cakes and split them in half for four layers.

Spring Snow Cake

4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup whole milk
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon peel
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

1 sm. box Jell-O Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding,
prepared according to package
(you will need more eggs and water)
1/2 t. lemon extract

2 cups whipping cream
1/3 c. powdered sugar
2 T. Jell-O instant vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with baking spray.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; spray again.

Whisk eggs, yolks, milk, lemon juice, and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl to blend.
Whisk oil and butter into flour mixture.
Add egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool cakes on racks 10 minutes.
Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes.
Turn cakes out onto racks. Cool completely.


Prepare lemon pudding as directed on package.
After pudding has come to a boil, turn off heat and add the lemon extract.
Stir and cover with plastic wrap.
Cool in the refrigerator until room temperature, but not cold.

When cakes are cool and pudding is room temp.,
split both cakes horizontally with a serrated knife.
Place one layer on a cake plate and spread with one third of the lemon pudding.
Repeat with two more layers and the pudding and top with a top layer of cake.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and instant pudding,
until you achieve stiff peaks.
Frost the entire cake with the whipped cream.
Refrigerate until ready to serve and refrigerate any leftovers.



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The day after we had our Spring Snow Cake, which I also shared with our neighbors so we could avoid having leftovers, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation with some delicious Lemon Mousse and Angel Cookies. I had made a double batch of lemon pudding and had a full half of it left over. I also had two cups of whipping cream left in the carton. In order to use up my leftovers, I created a quick, but yummy, Lemon Mousse to go with the Angel Cookies I made for the feast. I don't know why these are called angel cookies, but their official name, as published in Midwest Living magazine is Ohio Angel Cookies -- the perfect cookie for us. They were a yummy, crispy sugar cookie, and the mix of granulated and brown sugar gives them a good flavor. They were easy to make and all the kids really enjoyed them, as did I. They are a nice tea-time cookie and went well with the mousse, and would go well with a bowl of ice cream or sherbet, too.

Lemon Mousse

1 sm box Jell-O Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding,
prepared as directed (requires eggs and water)
2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

When lemon pudding comes to a boil, pour into a glass bowl
and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until cold and set.
When pudding is chilled,
whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until you achieve stiff peaks.
Whisk lemon pudding into whipped cream,
just until pudding is completely incorporated.
Pour into individual dishes or one large bowl and cover with wrap.
Chill until ready to serve.
To , with additional whipping cream, if desired,
and a raspberry, strawberry or mint leaf for garnish, if desired.

Ohio Angel Cookies

1 c. shortening
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; grease cookie sheets.
In a mixing bowl,
beat the shortening with an electric mixer on medium high speed
for 30seconds.
Add the brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, baking soda,
cream of tartar and salt; beat until mixed.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until combined.
Add the flour and mix until combined.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls; roll in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.


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Italian Bread

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I mentioned in my Poppy Seed Roll post that the thing I love about baking bread is that "I can put the same basic ingredients together, flour, water, yeast, salt, and come up with a different product depending on how much of each, how much time it sits and at what temperature I bake it."

Last week for St. Joseph's feast day, I made a loaf of what I call Italian Bread. There is no one style of Italian Bread, but to me, Italian Bread has a crisp crust and a soft, doughy interior. The trick to getting this bread right is to place a pan of hot water on the oven shelf below the bread. Just that one step makes the exterior of the bread very crisp, changing it from what is my "French" bread to what is my "Italian" bread.

Italian Bread

1 pkg. yeast
1 cup warm water
1 T. sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 t. salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Combine water, yeast and sugar.
Let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy.
Add 1 c. flour, oil and salt and mix with dough hook until dough forms
(or if mixing by hand, with a spoon).
Add flour, 1/4 c. at a time,
kneading at low speed until a smooth elastic dough forms,
about 5 minutes, in mixer
(or if kneading by hand, turn onto floured surface
and knead until smooth and elastic).
Place in a greased bowl, turning once.
Cover and let rise at least one hour, until doubled.
Punch down.
Roll dough out (or just push it with your fingers)
into a rectangle 15 inches long and about 6 inches wide on a lightly floured surface.
Roll up from long side and pinch edges to seal.
Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet.
Slash several cuts into top with a sharp knife.
Cover with greased plastic wrap or damp tea towel for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degree F.
Place a pan of hot water (steaming water) on bottom shelf of oven.
When oven is hot, place bread in oven on shelf above water pan.
Bake until deep golden brown (about 20 minutes).
Remove from pan and allow to cool before slicing.


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Saturday Night Pizza

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You may have noticed, if you look here often, that pizza is usually on the menu on Saturday night. We don't call Domino's, however. We have homemade style.

Whenever we have friends over for pizza they always seem surprised that I bother to make my own. But, honestly, pizza is one of the easiest things to make, and if you make your own, you can make it just the way you like it. Where we live in Ohio, a very thin crisp crust is what all the pizza shops make. I detest a thin "cracker crust," so that's really why I started making my own. Mine varies from medium thin to a thick pan pizza. Sometimes we're in the mood for one, sometimes the other, and sometimes I make both.

I make my own sauce too, because we like it kind of sweet, but you can buy a can of pizza sauce if you're not into creating your own. But, if you've never tried your own, you may be surprised that you do have a preference as to how it tastes and until now you've never even thought about what that preference is. If you use my recipe and don't like a sweet sauce, reduce the amount of sugar you add by half until you give it a taste.

Pizza
(2 large regular crust pizzas or 2 pan pizzas)

2 recipes for dough (below)

1 large can tomato puree (28 oz)
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/8 t. pepper

6 cups shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese
4 T. Parmesan

While the dough is rising, start sauce.
In a med. hot pan, pour olive oil; turn down to low.
Add garlic and stir until it is fragrant and hot, but not cooked.
Add tomato puree, sugar, salt, and spices.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to taste,
adding more sugar if desired, or salt and pepper.

When dough and sauce are ready, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
Grease the pizza pans or cast iron skillets.
(You can also make a deep dish pizza in a cake pan --
it will take a few cake pans, at least two, for one recipe of dough.)
If you want one of each, make one of each.
Punch down dough and divide in half.
Press each half onto the prepared pan.
I find that to spread the dough on a large pizza pan,
it is easiest to put the dough in the middle
and slowly push it out with my fingers,
turning it while I'm pushing.
If dough doesn't give easily when you first begin,
let it rest for five minutes and try again.
If you try to force it, you'll just end up ripping it.




When you get it all spread, use the side of your hand to give the dough an edge.


After dough is spread, ladle on the sauce -- thick or thin, however you like it.
Sprinkle each pizza with 2 T. Parmesan.
Top each with 3 cups shredded cheese.
Place other desired toppings on top of cheese.
Bake for about 15 minutes, alternating pizzas from bottom to top racks
so that the crust gets crisp and the toppings get browned.
Check to be sure crust is browned on the bottom before removing from oven.


A tip for crispy pepperoni:
Place four layers of paper towel on a plate.
Put pepperoni on paper towels, close together.
Top with a paper towel and microwave for 45 seconds.
Blot to absorb grease.




Regular crust, cheese only.



Deep dish, pepperoni.



Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
1 T. olive oil
1 T. sugar
1 1/4-ounce packet yeast (or 2 t.)
2 ½ cups flour
1 t. salt


Place water in a bowl and add sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes (until it foams). Add the oil, 2 cups of flour and salt, and mix until smooth. Knead with dough hook for 3-5 minutes (or 7 minutes by hand) adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Place in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled.

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Weekly Menu

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Saturday
Lunch: Boys' lunch out
Dinner: pizza -- pepperoni and cheese, pretzel snack mix, Caramel Puffcorn, ice cream sundaes (we're having some young boys over and they deserve to be spoiled)

Sunday
Lunch: Ham Cubans, chips
Dinner: Grab a bite out

Monday
Lunch: a funeral lunch :o(
Dinner: Stir-fried Beef and broccoli (with sugar snaps instead), white rice

Tuesday
Lunch: leftover pizza
Dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs, bread, salad

Wednesday
Lunch: Chicken Snack Wraps
Dinner: Lidia's Chicken and Potatoes, a green vegetable, bread

Thursday
Lunch: Ham and cheese roll ups, fruit
Dinner: Tacos, Mexican Rice, frijoles refritos

Friday
Lunch: tomato soup and grilled cheese
Dinner: Cornmeal Crusted Catfish, Scalloped potatoes (sans ham), cole slaw

* Tried and true
* New to me

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Irish Shepherd Pie

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No awards for presentation here, but what can you do when the kids don't like their foods to touch?

For future reference I am posting here what I did on St. Patrick's Day --it's a good idea to keep in mind for other Irish saint feast days. I used this Shepherd Pie recipe (sans peas because I was preparing peas on the side) but because I was a little short on time, I put the prepared meat and vegetables in ramekins and topped them with little individual mounds of potatoes. I think the children enjoyed having their own little serving, and those few members of my clan who have "issues" with casserole type meals really liked it. I think they must have a problem with the visual effect of a casserole -- all the food all mixed together, and using the ramekins resolved that problem. The food cooked very quickly too, so I'll keep this method in mind for future pot pies and other casseroles that might lend themselves to individual portions.

I also used Deborah's recipe for Peas and Bacon (sans onion), which is very yummy -- Peach ate several servings, but then she's a veggie girl (she pushed the bacon to the side -- crazy kid!). The Irish Soda Bread is my own recipe (and is apparently not really soda bread at all, but soda cake). The green beverage is lemonade with food coloring.

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Poppy Seed Rolls

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I've been baking bread since college (and, yes, it's been a long time since college), but it never ceases to amaze me that I can put the same basic ingredients together, flour, water, yeast, salt, and come up with a different product depending on how much of each, how much time it sits and at what temperature I bake it. French bread, ciabatta, foccacia, sourdough -- it's all the same ingredients, but remarkably different, and all yummy. Man cannot live on bread alone (Mt 4:4), but good bread sure does taste good doesn't it?

On Sunday, with our New England Boiled Dinner (delicious!), I made some dinner rolls and topped them with poppy seeds. How fun they were, same old dinner rolls jazzed up with just the addition of poppy seeds. Thinking ahead, I think they might make a lovely addition to the Easter table.

Poppy Seed Dinner Rolls

makes about 12

3/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. milk
2 t. dry instant yeast (or one packet)
3 T. sugar
2 T. butter softened
2 eggs
1 t. salt
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour (depending on your brand and the weather)
poppy seeds

Fill measuring cup with 3/4 cup very warm water (not hot).
Add 1/4 cup milk.
Pour into mixing bowl.
Add sugar.
Sprinkle with yeast and let rest for 5 minutes.
Add 1 egg and the butter, the salt, and 2 1/2 cups of flour.
With the bread hook, or if by hand, with a spoon, mix dough until completely blended.
Either with the dough hook, or by hand, add flour,
several tablespoons at a time, kneading until dough is soft,
but not awfully sticky, about 6 minutes.
It should pull away from the sides of the bowl, or your fingers, with ease.

Grease or butter bowl and place dough in, turning to coat with oil.
Cover with a cloth and let rest for about an hour.

Before rising.

When dough has about doubled in size, turn out onto the counter and punch down.
Separate into 12 pieces (it's helpful to do this ahead of time
so you get all the same size rolls)



Roll each piece into a 10-inch "snake."



Tie each snake into a knot.


Place knots on a greased baking sheet.
Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for about 30 minutes.


After rolls have risen, beat an egg with a teaspoon of water until frothy.
Using a pastry brush, brush each roll gently.
Sprinkle with poppy seeds.



Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (watch them), or until golden brown.
Remove to a baking rack or roll basket.

Printer version


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Deviled Eggs for My Men

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I never met a man who didn't dive into a plate of deviled eggs the way a kid dives into a bowl of candy. My own husband was probably fed deviled eggs in the high chair, so I guess it's comfort food for him, but my own sons are the same way, as is every other man I've ever fed deviled eggs to. It's a good thing they're cheap!

We had the season's first grilled burgers on Saturday night and I made a dozen deviled eggs to go with. They were cold and creamy and good to the last bite! I use my mini Cuisinart to make them in just minutes, but you can do the same thing with a standard Cuisinart, or even a fork and spoon. You can really do different things with deviled eggs seasoning-wise, but I pretty much stick to standard. They're a little tangy, a little sweet and a little salty.

And thanks to my Aunt Lois who gave me this darling egg plate over 23 years ago.

Deviled Eggs

one dozen eggs, hard boiled and peeled
(use my tried and true method found here)
2 T. mayonnaise
3 T. Miracle Whip
1 t. yellow mustard
2 t. cider vinegar
1 t. Worchestershire
a couple dashes Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Cut eggs in half lengthwise.
Scoop out the yellow and place in the bowl of the Cuisinart
(If you don't have a food processor, put them in a medium-sized bowl).


Reserve whites.
Pulse the yolks for about 15 seconds until the are crumbly.
(If you're not using a processor,
mash them with a fork until they're pretty smooth.)
Add mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, mustard, vinegar, and Worchestershire.



Pulse for about 30 seconds until completely combined
(or stir with a spoon until combined).
Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco.


Pulse until combined and scrapes the sides of the bowl
(or stir and scrape).
Pulse again and taste.
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Scoop out the yolk filling by the teaspoonful
(I use an infant spoon to make it easier)
and place the filling back into the egg white.
Sprinkle with paprika
(only because that's the way the women-folk in my family do it).



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Weekly Menu

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We have fun feast days ahead next week -- St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday and St. Joseph's Day on Thursday. I can't wait to celebrate and the kids are getting excited too. While most of the country will be eating Corned Beef and Cabbage on Tuesday (with green beer -- blech!), I banned it from the feast day menu after finding out the this particular dish has no roots in Ireland. I can't resist the lure of the sales on corned beef, though, so we'll enjoy the dish (New England Boiled Dinner) on Sunday. On St. Patrick's Day we'll have a lovely Shepherd Pie, Green Peas, and Soda Bread, followed by green frosted sugar cookies -- probably not a meal enjoyed by St. Patrick himself, but a good, festive meal nonetheless. For Thursday, we're having a special Italian meal. St. Joseph is revered by many Italian-Americans for his great miracle of the famine, so we'll eat like Italians.

Saturday
Lunch: Skyline
Dinner: Guacamole Cheddar Burgers, Oven Zucchini Fries and Ranch Dip, Pickled Beets, Deviled Eggs

Sunday
Lunch: grab a bite out
Dinner: New England Dinner, Tapioca pudding

Monday
Lunch: Egg sandwiches
Dinner: Country Ribs, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots

Tuesday -- Feast of St. Patrick
Lunch: grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Shepherd Pie, Bacon and Peas, Irish Soda Bread, Green Frosted Sugar Cookies

Wednesday
Lunch: Wendy's Chili
Dinner: Poorman's Meal, buttered corn

Thursday -- Feast of St. Joseph
Lunch: Chicken snack wraps
Dinner: Chicken Cacciatore, butter pasta, bread, Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

Friday
Lunch: Baked Potatoes
Dinner: Salmon Patties, Macaroni and Cheese, peas, fruit

* Tried and true
* New to me

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Irish Soda Bread

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If you're planning ahead for our beloved St. Patrick's Feast Day next week, check out my Irish Soda Bread recipe at Catholic Cuisine.


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Matzo Ball Soup

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Matzo balls (or Matzah balls) are yummy little dumplings made from Matzo meal, cooked in chicken broth to make a delicious kid-friendly soup. Matzo meal are the crumbs of Matzo bread -- really more like a cracker, the unleavened Jewish bread eaten during Passover. My family has been eating Matzo ball soup for several years. I had never even tried it before I saw a recipe in Everyday Food. Really, it's as simple as chicken noodle soup, but I think more fun and more filling because of the Matzo balls. If you think your kids will have issues with the name because it's unfamiliar, just call it Dumpling Soup.

I modified the original recipe because it called for chopped celery in the broth (and certain people in my house have issues with chopped celery in their food) and minced onions in the Matzo balls (issues). It's now about as kid friendly a soup you'll find. I often make my own broth, especially if I am cooking anything with chicken that week, which I did this week. But you can start with canned broth also. Just taste and season.

Matzo Ball Soup

serves 6-8

¼ cup vegetable oil
½ t. onion powder
4 lrg. eggs, lightly beaten
coarse salt and ground pepper
1¼ cups matzo meal
¼ cup seltzer water (aka club soda)
2 - 3 qrts. chicken broth
1 chicken breast cooked and diced
2 celery stalks (leave whole)
3 carrots, diced


In a medium bowl, combine oil, eggs, onion powder, 1-1/2 t. salt and matzo meal.


Add seltzer; stir to combine.


Cover and refrigerate at least 45 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, combine chicken, celery, carrot and broth.


Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook 30 minutes.
Remove celery stalks.
Turn heat to low until matzo balls are ready.
With oiled hands, shape matzo mixture into balls, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes.
Add matzo balls; cover and cook until expanded, 30 to 35 minutes.

(Just after being added -- they expand as they cook)


Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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For printing just this page.

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Recipe Review -- Bavarian Pot Roast

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Those girls over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook are some awesome cooks. It would really be much easier to just get an invitation to dinner, but short of that, I'll take their recipes. Good stuff -- everything we've tried so far.

This Bavarian Pot Roast, however, was over-the-top good, at least for this German girl. I prepared it on Sunday and we had Doug's parents over. Since we had company, I didn't get any pictures, so you'll just have to trust me. It was reeaallly good. Everyone enjoyed it, even the kids.

We had plans to attend Mass at 2 in the afternoon, so I started it in the morning. It was simple to put together, and it cooked for several hours before I stuck it in the refrigerator while we went to Mass (it probably would have been fine sitting out, but I'm kind of neurotic about food-borne illness, so I didn't take any chances). When we came home, I put it back in the oven, and then while I baked the bread, I put it on the stove on med-low.

The roast was cooked perfectly, and the vegetables were just right. The secret "wow" to this recipe, however is not the carrots, nor the beef -- it's the pickles and the gravy. I can't really describe it, I'm sorry. All I can say is, it's wonderful. Doug and I, and his parents, love a German dish called Rouladen. Rouladen is very time consuming to prepare, and this roast tastes just like Rouladen, without the work. Maybe that's why it tasted so good -- it was easy! This recipe will most definitely become a family favorite for us. I made it exactly the way the recipe is written, except I used two smaller bottom round roasts (buy one get one at Giant Eagle last week), probably totaling 3.5 pounds, and I doubled the carrots because we like carrots.


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Cherry Pie a la mode

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...for breakfast. I know it's Lent, but to waste is a sin. :o)




Sorry, I have no recipe -- it was my mother-in-law's contribution to Sunday dinner. The cherries are from their very own tree (I'm sorry; that was just mean.)

UPDATE
At Margaret's request, my mother-in-law's pie crust recipe (I was surprised at how close it is to my own):

Pie Crust

1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup plus 1 T. Butter Crisco
1/2 t. salt
4 T. ice water

Measure flour and salt into a medium bowl.
Add Crisco and blend with a pastry cutter
until Crisco is small crumbs.
Add water by the tablespoonful and blend with a fork.

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Weekly Menu

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Saturday
Lunch: Boys' lunch out
Dinner: Pizza -- maybe a White Pizza and a red pizza

Sunday
Lunch: BLTs and chips
Dinner: Bavarian Pot Roast, buttered noodles, carrots, homemade applesauce, tapioca pudding
Giant Eagle has Eye of Round roasts on sale and I've been in the mood for some good German food.

Monday
Lunch: leftover pizza
Dinner: Red Beans and Rice, Mustard Rye Bread, a green vegetable, Honey Oatmeal Pie with vanilla ice cream

Tuesday
Lunch: chicken soup
Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas, cabbage salad with a lime vinaigrette dressings, Ranger cookies

Wednesday
Lunch: Tuna salad sandwiches or quesadillas
Dinner: Matzo Ball soup, flatbread
Matzo Ball soup is a yummy, budget- and kid-friendly soup and we eat it even though we are not Jewish. I'll post my recipe and pictures.

Thursday
Lunch: Tomato soup and grilled cheese
Dinner: Poorman's Meal, buttered corn, fruit, bread
If you have not yet discovered Clara's Depression Cooking videos (linked to above) go meet her. She's awesome!

Friday
Lunch: Scrambled egg sandwiches
Dinner: Carrot and squash casserole, fruit salad, bread

* Tried and true
* New to me




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Supreme Chocolate Cheesecake

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I promised you a story about this chocolate cheesecake which I made last week for my Joshua's 17th birthday. He asked for a chocolate cheesecake, and this recipe is really a very decadent, but easy cheesecake. It doesn't take long to put together, and, under normal circumstances, is a very pretty, celebration dessert.

I did well on Thursday, starting my cheesecake in the morning, so it would have all day to chill before I frosted it. Unlike most cheesecakes, this one has a frosting, although I have made it unfrosted or glazed with a simple ganache also.

After I picked up the birthday boy from school, I made the frosting, frosted the cake and grated some milk chocolate over the top. Pleased with the outcome, I took pictures for you, my friend, and then wrapped and carried the cheesecake downstairs to put it in the basement refrigerator. I am always very careful walking down the steps with food and have never fallen, and, though you probably think I'm going to tell you I fell, I did not fall, at least not on the stairs. As I stepped down the last step and turned toward the utility room where the refrigerator is, I did fall, right over a huge box of books that the kids had moved while they were playing ball (in the winter, in Ohio, you play soccer in the basement -- I think that's why homes in the north have basements). With the cake plate in front of me, I didn't see the box and I fell right over it with the cake plate and the cheesecake landing on the floor in front of me. I won't mention the damage the fall did to my already-hurting back, but I will tell you that the cake plate broke (it was a pretty Lenox one too!) and the cheesecake, which fell into the shards of porcelain, was inedible.

Ach! I don't even have to tell you that I cried. Yes, I did. And when I calmed down (I thought I had) and called my husband at work, he thought something horrible had happened. I'm not very good at disguising my emotions, apparently. Good man that he is, he stopped for an ice cream cake on the way home. And birthday boy got his chocolate cheesecake yesterday, when I made another. These pictures, however, are from the original.

Supreme Chocolate Cheesecake

16 Oreos, crushed
¼ cup butter, melted
3 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened
14 oz condensed milk
3 eggs
12 oz choc. chips, melted
2 t vanilla
⅓ cup butter
½ cup powdered sugar
6 oz choc. chips, melted and cooled to room temp.
2 T Grand Marnier



Combine crumbs and margarine; press into 9” springform pan.


One of my favorite kitchen appliances,
this mini Cuisinart does the crumbs and then blends the butter in seconds.



Combine cream cheese and milk; beat until blended.

Really blend the cheese and milk well.
Once you add the eggs you don't want to whip it too long.
Whipping too much air into cheesecake batter after you add the eggs,
can cause the top to crack right down the middle.



Add eggs, one at a time.

I always crack my eggs into a small bowl.
If you crack the egg right into the batter while it's whipping,
you take a chance in getting eggshell in the batter,
and if you accidentally get a bad egg, you've ruined the entire batch.



Blend in chocolate and vanilla.
Pour into crust and bake at 300 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.


Ready to pop into the oven.


Just out of the oven.


Loosen cake from rim; cool before removing rim.
Cool completely before frosting.

Beat margarine and sugar until fluffy.
Add chocolate and Grand Marnier; blend.
Frost top and sides of cheesecake.


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House Salad

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The other day when I posted the recipe for crab cakes, I mentioned that the recipe was from our favorite (former) restaurant, the Fish Market. Another favorite dish on the menu was their house salad. It's a sweet salty, crisp, crunchy combination and I could eat it every night. I don't however, saving it for special occasions. I have altered the recipe so that the quantities are in standard household measurements. I substituted 3 diced Roma tomatoes for the grape tomatoes because a pint of grape tomatoes was $4. You can use about 3/4 cup grape tomatoes if you'd rather.

House Salad

2 cups packed baby Romaine or torn red leaf lettuce
2 cups packed iceberg lettuce, chopped in bite-size square pieces
1/2 c. chopped dates
3/4 c. cucumber pieces (diced bitesize)
3 Roma tomatoes diced
½ cup carrots, grated
1/4 toasted pine nuts

Dressing
1 ½ t. minced garlic
½ t. kosher salt
2 ¾ T. sugar
1 ½ T. spicy golden mustard
3 T. sherry vinegar*
1/3 c. corn oil
1/8 t. black pepper
1 1/8 t. shallots, minced
1 1/8 t. poppy seeds

Mix all ingredients in a jar.
Shake for a minute to completely blend.

Combine salad ingredients and chill until ready to serve.
At serving time, drizzle with dressing and toss.


* I used white balsamic vinegar because I couldn't find sherry vinegar.

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