journey of life

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 pound butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter and lightly flour an 8-inch square cake pan. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a small pan, remove from the heat, and stir in the milk and the egg, beating well. Add to the flour mixture and blend. Pour into the pan and bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with fresh fruit and ice cream or whipped cream.

Recipe courtesy of Matt’s mom, Margie.

Cunningham, Marion. “Cottage Pudding Cake.” Recipe. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. New York: Alfred A. Knoph, Inc., 1990. 584-585.

1 cup lentils
2 cups water
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic
1 small onion, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Bake in a covered dish at 350 until tender (about an hour and a half).

Recipe courtesy of Gwen, who found the recipe from Sara.

ANYONE?  I’m in need of a great cheese fondue recipe.  I’ve just been grabbing them off recipe sites, and the most recent one I tried, FLOPPED.  Any foolproof cheese fondue recipes would be greatly appreciated.

1 pound pasta
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot (or 1/4 cup finely diced onion), finely diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the pasta. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

4 pounds seedless grapes
1-8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1-8 ounce container sour cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces chopped pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Wash and dry grapes. If you like, you can cut them in half lengthwise. In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Add grapes and mix until evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans, mix again and refrigerate until serving.

Recipe courtesy of Bonita Williams.

Notes:  Everybody loves this recipe.  Matt says, “I think the best ratio of grapes to walnuts is that you get about 1 walnut per three grapes in a bite.”  Since I use pecans, not walnuts, maybe he would like me to change.  Also, it might make a difference if I use chopped nuts instead of whole nuts.

1 cup water
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil (or shortening)
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional, but the bread will rise higher with it)

Place all ingredients in bread maker, select “dough” setting, and press Start. When dough has risen enough, the machine will beep. Remove dough and place on a floured counter top. Gently roll and shape the dough into a 12-inch rope.

With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces for hamburger buns or 12 pieces for hot dog buns.

Grease a baking sheet. Roll pieces of dough into balls and flatten for hamburger buns or shape into 6-inch rolls for hot dog buns. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 10 to 15 minutes until almost doubled.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Bake 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on racks. When ready to use, split buns horizontally. Will keep in plastic bag in the freezer for 3 to 4 weeks.

1 cup raisins
1 cup peanuts

Store in airtight container or bag.

GORP is an acronym for good old raisins and peanuts. The original recipe calls for equal parts raisins and peanuts. Of course, you can add just about anything you like such as Cheerios (or your favorite dry cereal) M&M’s (or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips), sunflower seeds, granola, dried fruits, dried coconut, pretzels, other nuts…whatever you have in your pantry.

I love pintos and cornbread (or sour cream cornbread). In fact, I’m going to be making some later this week.

I started making pintos in college and they are one of my very first meals I served when “entertaining”.  College students are always up for a good meal.  Pintos are one of my favorite meals for the following reasons: easy to make (can cook using a crock pot, stove, hot plate, or a campfire), one pot meal (easy cleanup), good for you, very filling, extremely affordable, you can always have the ingredients on hand (you can flavor it with ham, fatback/striped meat, ham hocks, bacon, or nothing at all), can be served all year long, tastes better the second day, can use cooked beans to make soup, chili or refried beans, and to top it off, freezes well.  What’s not to love?

If you are a novice cook, this is a great recipe to master.  If you need some coaching, The Pioneer Woman has some awesome step-by-step instructions (complete with pictures), to help you out.  Our favorite way to eat pintos is to top with lots of finely chopped onions and hot sauce (my brand of choice is Texas Pete, Matt digs the Chipotle Tabasco).

Cover the bottom of a 10×14 glass baking dish with a little salsa
Place a layer of flour tortillas over that
Layer from there with rice (will need about 2-3 cups cooked), pintos or
black beans, and cheese…and a little more salsa
Add another layer of tortillas…then place more cheese, corn (about a cup),
chicken (if you want meat), chopped tomatoes (1-2), chopped onions (about a
1/2 cup)…and a little more salsa
Add another layer of tortillas and then top it off with cheese, green onions
(chopped), green chiles and a little more salsa

Bake at 350° F (covered) for about 35-40 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Chariti Gent.

Layer a 9×13 pan with bread slices (with the crusts cut off)
Put a layer of cheddar cheese over the bread (shredded works best–about a
cup or two)
Beat up 8 or so large eggs and add a little salt and pepper and then pour
that over the bread/cheese.

Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight (or at least 4 hours)
Bake at 350° F for 45-60 minutes (when the top starts to brown, take it out)

Recipe courtesy of Chariti Gent.