Easter prep

Note: Keep watching, I will be adding pictures and recipes
as preparations are made.

Look what is blooming.  I just hope the many patches of these delights last until Easter.  But here are a few to cheer me along during the Easter prep leading up to the big day. I've added banana bread to the line up of quick breads that I will offer for Easter.  I have four breads done so far. (I think we will have twenty-four people this Easter.)

Also cherry loaf ready for the oven.  

Taste of Home recipe for Cherry nut bread

1 jar (10 ounces) maraschino cherries (pour juice to equal 1/2 cup, add water if it does not make a cup of juice); dry cherries and dice them and set them aside on a paper towel to dry a bit.
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I used pecans because that is what I had.)  

In a mixer bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking power and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with reserved 1/2 cup juice from cherries.  Fold in the cherries and almonds/ Pour into 9 inch x5 inch  loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.  Cool ten minutes and turn out. 
Almond butter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon slivered almonds, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Spread this on the slice of bread before eating if you wish.  (I did not use the almond butter this time.)   I think next time I will add a bit of sour cream to the batter.
                         

Reporting for duty.

Corn dip ready for the oven.  Should be hot and bubbly.

I made this hot bread dip from Mennonite Girls Can Cook (blog) today.  I made the filling and just have to get the round of bread, fill it and bake it for an hour.  Hollow out a sturdy round of bread and mix the following to put in the bread, top with it's lid, wrap in foil and bake for an hour or until bubbly.: Mix 2   8-ounce pkgs cream cheese, 1 cup mayo, 1 can crab meat or shrimp
1/2 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup of green onion, 1 cup cheddar cheese,grated and 2 tsp. dill weed.
.

Cheesecake ready for the oven with a very old, old recipe that I have used for years. Top with fresh fruit.

Corn dips...yummy

Slow Cooker Corn and Jalapeno Dip (I am making this as a starter for Easter.)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time 2 hours, 25 minutes

Yield 6 servings

Simply throw everything in the crock pot for the easiest, most creamiest dip ever. It's so good, you'll want to eat it with a spoon!

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 3 (15.25-ounces) cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Instructions

• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
• Place corn, jalapenos, sour cream, Pepper Jack cheese and Parmesan into a slow cooker; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until well combined. Top with cream cheese.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
• Uncover and stir until cream cheese is well combined. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 15 minutes.
• Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and chives, if desired.

Picture and recipe from Pinterest.

There are several corn dip recipes and I want to try them all. Love corn in any form.

PRINT

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Sara @ Mom Endeavors

Recipe type: Appetiser

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• approx 3 cups corn kernels (2 cans of corn, drained)
• 1 small can green chiles
• ¼ cup diced sweet onion
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sour cream (can sub with greek yogurt)
• ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• ¾ cup shredded monterey jack cheese (or jack & cheddar cheese blend)

Instructions (can be baked, like  the picture, in cupcake pans.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, cream cheese, spices, and shredded cheese (saving out at least ¼ cup of shredded cheese for topping).
3. Gently add in the corn kernels (drained if using canned), green chiles, and onions.
4. Spread mixture into a 2 quart baking dish. Top with remaining shredded cheese.
5. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until heated through & cheese is bubbly.
6. Remove from oven & serve hot with tortilla chips

These little bite-sized broccoli tots would be great served as a size dish alongside Homemade Crunchy Baked Fish Sticks or Oven Fried Panko Crusted Chicken Drumsticks.  It think they'd even be great as an appetizer!

If you're a broccoli lover like me, or if you've been looking for more ways to prepare this good for you vegetable, you've got to try these!

Broccoli Tots picture and recipe from Pinterest
   
Yield: 22-24 mini tots
Ingredients

• 1 bunch of broccoli, cut into equal sized florets (around 3-4 cups)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot Vermont Sharp White Cheddar)
• 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pour 1 inch of water into a saucepan; bring to a boil.  Place the broccoli into the boiling water, cover, and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook the broccoli for 5-6 minutes, or until it can easily be pierced by a fork.  Drain the broccoli and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Lay the broccoli out onto paper towels and cover with more paper towels,  Press down firmly on the broccoli to absorb as much moisture as you can.  Another method is to put the broccoli in the center of a dish towel and ring out the water as seen here. Finely chop the broccoli.
4. In a large bowl, combine combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  Stir everything together until well mixed.  Fill each muffin cup in a mini muffin tin to the top, pushing down on the filling with your spoon so it's nice and compacted.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes in preheated oven. The top will be starting to golden. To easily remove from the pan (without scratching it to death), run a plastic knife around the edges of each tot and they should come out easier. (Or bake this mixture in casserole dish.)

Notes

• If they seem to be falling apart when you take them out of the pan you can (1) put them back into the oven to cook for a few minutes longer so they are a bit crisper or (2) let them sit in the pan for a few minutes to let the insides firm up a bit before removing them from the pan.  You have to be careful with them if they're sticking a little to the pan!
• The sharp cheddar can be substituted with whatever cheese you have on hand.

A winner from Mennonite Girls Can Cook (blog)

• enough pizza dough for 2 12" pizzas, divide all of this dough into 8 pieces.
• 3 baked chicken breasts, cut into small bite size pieces
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 8 tbsp pesto sauce, from a jar
• 8 tbsp Alfredo sauce, from a jar
• 1 egg, whisked to brush over pockets before going into oven.

1. Using your favorite pizza dough or purchased dough divide into 8 equal pieces.
2. Roll each into a ball and then roll out onto 6" rounds.
3. Leaving at least an each around the edges free of filling spread each dough round with 1 tbsp of each the pesto and Alfredo sauce. 
4. Divide the chicken pieces between the rounds and top with cheese.
5. Pull up on dough and crimp edges together and place filled pockets onto a parchment lined baking sheet. 
6. Brush tops with whisked egg, and slit tops several times with small pairing knife. 
7. Bake at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes until browned nicely and filling is bubbly...and may be 'oozing' out a bit. 

House of cards, season #4

Carol Dolske's scone...maple and oatmeal, recipe from Barefoot Contessa

Carol they look delicious.

I am sorry, but I had to watch season four of House of cards.  I could not get over it and it kept me trapped until the very end, In my mind I kept replacing the Underwoods with another current political couple. I finished and now I'm ready to get on with Easter preparations. We will have a full house again this year although I am never too sure of how many guests will be here until they drive up.  That is okay because I like to cook big. I am always disappointed if there are left overs...was there too much food (usually yes.) Did they not like that dish? Was it too spicy, not hot, not tasty? I get over that by sending everyone home with left overs.  They get to select the containers of left overs that they like best and leave the rest. After all that cooking and preparation, I just want it gone one way or another. I have the soups finished and frozen.  We start off about 11:30 with appetizers, soups, and salads. Maybe even a dessert if they can't wait for sweets. If it is nice, we have that meal outside in the sunshine.  Then around 5:00 we start getting the ham, the beef roast, the sides,  the casseroles, and the pies on the buffet for a nice sit-down, but serve yourselves, dinner. We light the candles, say grace, and tuck in. What a blessing to have such a large loving family with whom to enjoy the changing holidays and the passing of time. All day and evening there are drinks, cards, games, and outdoor sports to fill the time until the next meal.The pool will be open, but March 27th is too early for a swim unless you want the $20. that Andy offers to the first person in the pool each season. Beth jumped in early last year clothes and all.

Chicken pot pie waiting for the crust.  We are having this treat today.

This is the finished savory pie.

Easter bark as featured on Pinterest.

There are pages of Easter bark on Pinterest.  The trouble with that is sometimes you have to jump through blogger hoops to get the recipe and or the picture. I assume this is melted white chocolate with Easter candy of your choice stuck on there before the chocolate has cooled.  I have seen this with the malted milk candy eggs, jelly beans or what ever sweet treat you want to bury in the hot chocolate before it cools.  Sometimes in order to get the recipe you tap on the picture and it appears, but not in this case, you have to sign up and that may entail more spam that you want to handle. If it is too much trouble to get right to the recipe I just make something else.

                                             

white beans with spinach and sausage AND banana cream pie

This is the cream cheese brownie pie from the post before this one.  
Note: As you see, I made the brownie cheesecake pie.  I am not a great chocolate lover, so this was way too much chocolate for me and I did not ever add the hot fudge sauce to the top.  I will not make it again, but if you love chocolate, go to it.  I would double the cheesecake addition, however.  That little bit is over powered by the taste of chocolate.

White Beans with Spinach and sausage

I hear it is national pie week.  I have been craving pie, so it must be true.  Yesterday I made a very big chicken pot pie and today, not a trace is left.
Nate is in Hawaii, so this pie is in his honor:

Island-style banana cream pie

Ingredients

Crust:

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

Filling:  

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 package, 8 ounces, cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1  1/2 cups cold milk

2 boxes (4 servings size each, vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

4 medium bananas, cut 1/4 inch slices

Directions:

Heat oven to 450. Bake pie crust as directed on box. Reduce oven to 350. Cool pie crust completely.

Meanwhile, spread coconut in ungreased shallow pan.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 5-7 minutes, stir occasionally until it is golden brown.

In large bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sour cream on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.  Gradually add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until smooth.  Add pudding mixes; beat until well blended.

Spread 1/3 of the pudding mix in cooled pie cru7st. Top with half of the sliced bananas. Spread another 1/3 of the pudding mixture over the bananas, covering completely.

 Sprinkle with 1/3 of the toasted coconut.  Top with remaining bananas. Spread remaining pudding mixture over bananas. Sprinkle with another 1/3 of the toasted coconut.

Top with frozen whipped topping  

Bake Off #39 recipe

Note:

Note: As you see, I made the brownie cheesecake pie.  I am not a great chocolate lover, so this was way too much chocolate for me and I did not ever add the hot fudge sauce to the top.  I will not make it again, but if you love chocolate, go to it.  I would double the cheesecake addition, however.  That little bit is over powered by the taste of chocolate.

Bake-Off contest 39 caught my eye today and I am asking Andy to go to the store to pick up a few items in order to tempt him with this brownie pie.  This would be a favorite of Alyssa's if she were here to indulge.  She adores brownies.

Ingredients
Crust
1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Cream cheese layer

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Brownie layer

1 box Pillsbury double chocolate brownie mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Topping
reserved chocolate syrup from packet in the brownie mix
3 tablespoons hot fudge topping

To do:
Heat oven to 350
Place crust in 9-inch pie plate as directed on box for one-crust filled pie
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese layer ingredients until smooth
Spread 1/2 cup brownie mixture in bottom of crust-lined pie plate.  Spoon and carefully spread cream cheese mixture over brownie layer. Top with small spoonfuls of remaining brownie mixture; spread evenly. Sprinkle on pecans. ( Cover crust edge with 2-3 inch wide strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Remove foil during last 15 minutes of bake time.)

Bake 40-50 minutes or until center is puffed and crust is golden brown, Pie may have cracks on surface

In small bowl, mix chocolate syrup from packet and hot fudge topping. Place mixture in small resealable bag, cut off a corner of bag, and drizzle topping over pie.  Cool completely, about 3 hours before serving.  Cover and refrigerate if any pie remains.

Pillsbury Bake Off booklets (collection)

The Pillsbury Grand National Recipe and Baking contest was first held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, in December 13, 1949, well before I was even married.  So collecting these little cookbooks has been a challenge.  Here you see the first ones, with #2 missing.  I have not found that one. I finally found #1 and paid a hefty price for it at an antiques show.  I have collected through 36 with these still missing: 9, 10, 11, 12, 35, and 2 as mentioned.  I bought many titled classics and I don't know how that figures into the bake off realm and then they started speciality ones and it got so confusing I ended up with many I did not want.  You can see from the stack how many I have, yet not all that I want to finish a collection through 36.  I am not sure that they are still doing these wonderful little booklets, but 36 is my limit.

Water Rising Twists won the very first prize of $50,000 captured by Mrs. R. Smithfield.  I have to say, they don't look that great and she had them raise in a towel with 75 degree water poured over the towel/dough to let rise.  You let it stand until the dough rises to the top of the water in about 30 to 45 minutes. (They would have to give me $50,000 to work out this recipe.)  

                                                                           
Inside the first winner's booklet (1949) was a wedding punch recipe from an old newspaper that I thought I might try.  About thirty-five years ago I used to serve a champagne punch at parties and it was so delicious and very sneaky.  Before you knew it, you were having a really good time.  I lost that recipe, but this one seems a bit  like the lost one, yet a little more complex considering the fruit steps. If it is just for Easter, you might want to cut this recipe in half...but with our family coming, it might just be enough. LOL


Gala Wedding Punch called Hacienda Wedding Punch

6 oranges
6 lemons
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
2 quarts pineapple or orange juice or just mix the two, half of one, half of the other
2 cups lemon juice
2 bottles white dinner wine
2 bottles champagne
2 bottles sparkling water
Peel oranges and lemons.  Cut peel in thin strips, add sugar, water, syrup and salt.  Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.(This is just the making of a simple syrup as we know it now.)  Lower heat, simmer 15 minutes. Cover and cool. Remove peel.  Add cold flavored syrup to fruit juices and the white wine. Pour over ice in a large punch bowl. Let stand about 1/2 hour stirring once or twice.  Just before guest arrive add well-chilled champagne and sparkling water.  80 servings.

This one is missing from my collection.  

In the Second Pillsbury Baking contest (not yet referred to as a “Bake-Off) was also held in New York City. (In 1957 the competition left New York for the first time and headed for Los Angeles. Since then, Bake-Off contests have been held in Washington, D.C. Florida, Texas and California.) The 1st Prize Winner in that Second Grand National Contest was Mrs. Peter Wuebel of Redwood City, California for her Orange-Kiss-Me Cake. Her first prize was $25,000.

Hello March

What a lovely non winter we have had.  We were gone during the worst of it in January and came home in February to spring.  Next week it will be in the seventies and we are opening the pool, not because there will be swimmers but because it looks nicer for Easter guests. Matt, our grandson, suggested it and said he would do the first cleaning of the pool for us this year. The sooner you open the pool the less murky and dirty it will look, so we are getting a really early start this year.  Matt will also drag out and power wash all of the furniture that seems to have just gotten settled in storage.  Time rushes by and it is not just the older people saying this, things are moving faster for everyone.

Yesterday I was in the mood to view cakes and their recipes, and today in Cook's Corner the bundt pan was featured because Nordic bundt pans were lauded since they are turning 70 years old. I bought several new bundt pans from Nordic and the first cake in each pan slid out with ease.  After that they became stubborn and I could not get the cake to release.  I am going to have to figure out what causes this because it is a waste of money, time, and nerves.  I've greased them by hand, I've sprayed them, I cannot think what else I can do to get them to behave.  If you have any ideas, I would like to hear from you at dorislechler@aol. com.

 The bundt pan was about to go down the tube until a lady presented the tunnel of fudge cake recipe during a Pillsbury baking contest.  She saved the company with that recipe and her recipe will be fifty years old this year. I must confess here and now that I have never tried to make a tunnel of fudge cake. But reading the recipe with Lisa Abraham's note makes me want to try . "Don't leave out the nuts, which are essential to the structural success of the cake."  You know I have made tube cakes before which rise beautifully only to have them sit down as though they are tired when turned out from the pan.  Does that mean that nuts are essential to the structural success of all tube pan cakes? Well, good luck and here is an example of the Pillsbury tunnel of fudge cake recipe that saved Nordic except the original recipe called for Double Dutch butter cream frosting which is no longer made. I hope the company gave the winner more than a new bundt pan as thanks.

Tunnel of fudge cake (recipe from Cook's Corner)

makes 16 servings
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups butter or margarine softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups  chopped walnuts

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
4-6 teaspoons milk

Oven 350

Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch tube pan. In large bowl, combiner sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well.
By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan and spread evenly.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from the pan.
Cool up right in pan on wire rack for 1 1/2 hours.  Invert onto serving plate and let finish cooling for 2 hours.
Glaze:
 In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzle consistency.  Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.

Good luck.  LOL

Nordic ware offers 50 pan designs and to mark their anniversary they will release three new ones--release (that's the key word here.)

 second prize, Ella's

recipe, was featured on
the recipe book that year.

Original recipe:

Tunnel of Fudge Cake
1 1/2 cups soft Land O' Lakes Butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups Pillsbury's Best Flour (Regular, Instant Blending or Self Rising*)
1 package Pillsbury Double Dutch Fudge Buttercream Frosting Mix
2 cups chopped Diamond Walnuts

Oven 350° [ed. 350 F / 175 C]
10-inch tube cake

Cream butter in large mixer bowl at high speed of mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually add sugar, continue creaming at high speed until light and fluffy. By hand, stir in flour, frosting mix, and walnuts until well blended. Pour batter into greased Bundt pan or 10-inch Angel Food tube pan. Bake at 350° for 60 to 65 minutes. Cool 2 hours, remove from pan. Cool completely before serving.

Note: Walnuts, Double Dutch Fudge Frosting Mix and butter are key to the success of this unusual recipe. Since cake has a soft fudgy interior, test for doneness after 60 minutes by observing dry, shiny brownie-type crust.

*For use with Pillsbury's Best Self-Rising Flour, decrease butter to 1 cup. Cream butter in large mixer bowl at high speed of mixer. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each. At low speed, gradually add flour, then sugar, mixing until well blended. By hand, stir in frosting mix and walnuts. Blend well. Pour batter into greased Bundt pan or 10-inch Angel Food tube pan. Bake at 350° for 65 to 70 minutes. Cool 2 hours. Remove from pan. Cool completely before serving