Applesauce Cake

So this is absolutely my favorite bread in the whole world. It is the singular food I look forward to during the holidays. It is my great grandmother's recipe that has lasted because it is just that good! Hope you enjoy!

Gram’s Applesauce Cake

½ cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. baking soda

½ cup raisins

2 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

Maraschino cherries

¼-1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter, adding sugar gradually and blend in applesauce to which baking soda has been added. Stir in raisins. Add dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Stir in ½ bottle maraschino cherries (drained) and turn into a prepared pan (Crisco and flour coating). Bake in 350°F oven for about 45 mins.

Just to let you know, Hopefully within the next couple weeks I will have a fabulous looking recipe for lemon cupcakes coming up (with pictures)! Now that my first year of college is behind me, I will have more time to cook and bake! Can't wait!

Turkey Burgers

Dinner! Meal second only to breakfast! Today was Turkey burger day here! A bit of a spin on things, we decided to go with a southwestern burger.

1-1.5lbs of lean ground turkey
1 tsp. cumin
1-2 tsp. red pepper flake
1. 4 oz can of diced green chilies
3 oz spicy cheese (any kind)
salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl with hands or a spoon if you prefer. Make four or more even patties and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Grill on a griddle or gas grill until fully cooked but still juicy. We served them on grilled wheat rolls but you can use any rolls you like.

As a side, we made some awesome grilled corn. Brush corn with olive oil and for this meal, I added some cumin and red pepper. Place on the grill and let it stand for 2-3 mins. Turn every 3 minutes or when side starts to charr a bit.

Perfect meal! Enjoy!! I know I did :)

Milk Rice

So I am in a Sub-Saharan Africa class this semester and the last meeting of the spring we brought food. We were given the task of cooking something African to bring to class. I decided to make what is called Milk Rice.  Basically it is an African recipe for rice pudding.  It is pretty good so far!  It is simple by I can see it with some whipped cream for a simple dessert or mix some fruit in with it like mangos or raisins.

2 cups white rice
6 cups water
4 cups milk
pinch of salt
half of a vanilla bean
6 tablespoons sugar

Rinse the rice and set aside.
Bring water to a boil  and cook rice for 5 mins.  Bring the milk to a boil.  Drain rice and transfer it to the milk and add salt, vanilla bean and sugar.  Cook for another 20 mins. You could also add any fruit at this point. Can be served hot, room temp or cold.

Strawberry Angel Cake

I made this for a dessert get together on Wednesday and it was a bit hit.  Of course, it was also one of three things that were actually homemade :)  This is one of the simplest recipes I know for a strawberry dessert and I'm pretty sure it was the only thing my grandmother could make that actually tastes good.  Yay!

1 3oz. pkg. strawberry jello
1 3oz. pkg. frozen strawberries
1 Tbsp. Sugar
6” angel cake
1 pkg. cool whip
    
     Dissolve jello in 1 ¼ cups boiling water. Add thawed strawberries and sugar. Cool until it jells and the fold in cool whip. Lightly fold in angel caked (in pieces) and place in a 9x9 pan. Refrigerate and when ready, serve with more cool whip on top.

Side note, when it says "until it jells" it just means thick and almost jelled.  If you wait until it is completely jello, the cool whip will not mix in or set correctly.  If you do wait too long and it will not mix in, just add about 1/4 cup of hot water and stir, then add the cool whip and angel food cake.

This is a great dessert for a summer cookout.  It's not too fancy and its fruity and light.  I'm not a big fan of desserts like cake in the summer unless there's fruit involved  :)
Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Taco Pie

What in the world is taco pie? I'll tell you what it is, pure deliciousness, that's what! All the flavors of spicy tacos in a crescent roll crust baked and served with melting cheese on top! Not to mention, it is SO easy! No real measurements, just eyeballing for the most part.

My boyfriend loves this dish, in fact, the first time I made he ate half the pie. Half. That man can put away some food for sure but still, half the pie. I think it was a winner!

Ingredients:

2 crescent roll tubes, I use Pillsbury
1 lb either ground chicken or beef
1 jar salsa, I usually use Ortega, medium heat
1 2-cup bag shredded Mexican mix cheese
extra condiments such as vegetables: lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno
and sauces: hot sauce, sour cream, salsa, cheese

Preheat the oven according to the crescent roll directions.

First, break out a glass pie plate and cover it on the crescent rolls.  You may need to spread them, pull them, pinch them etc.  You can use the extras and just bake them off as crescents OR, my personal favorite is fulling them with jams, chocolate chips and other goodies.  I tend to like chocolate and strawberry jam mixed.  Bake them off and you have a simple desert! Yum :)

In a non-stick frying pan, cook the ground meat until browned.  Add the jar of salsa and mix evenly.  you want it to be juicy, but more soup so cook it down a bit. Add about 1 cup of the shredded cheese and mix in evenly until melty and wonderful.

Scoop, pour, spoon, or whatever method you choose to get that meat mixture into the prepared pie plate! Bake in the oven for the time stated on the crescent package. Once done, sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over the entire pie.  Turn off your oven(unless you're baking the extra crescents) and keep the pie in there for the cheese to melt into taco heaven.

Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes, if you can anyway :)

I like to serve this with spicy black beans and Mexican rice