Simply Cookbooks

Archive for the ‘My Family Recipes’ Category

For those of who are regular readers, you must have realized by now that I have a love affair with sweets and most if not all of Paula Deens recipes. Well, she has done it again with this cupcake recipe for the Fourth of July picnics…Enjoy!

I will tell you though I cheated a little by adding more cocoa powder…1 teaspoon just didn’t seem enough!

Ingredients:

2   large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Cook’s Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip. Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Servings: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Difficulty: Easy

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Potato Salad is a summer staple in this house. It goes with everything, and I do mean everything…well maybe not Italian food. I like to mix my flavors up with Potato Salad. Having the same old one everytime makes it the same old one, if you know what I mean

This particular recipe has a little zing to it which is provided by the horseradish. Hope you enjoy it as much as the family does…

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
6 to 7 medium red potatoes (about 2 pounds)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 to 3 dill pickle spears, chopped
4 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash onion salt
Dash garlic powder
4 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender; drain and cool slightly. Slice potatoes into a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, yogurt, onions, pickles, mustard, horseradish, garlic and seasonings. Pour over potatoes and toss to coat. Gently stir in eggs. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

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Some of you may already know this, but I am a late bloomer.

Ribs of any sort have never been a real favorite in our house. Mainly because I did them as my mother did thinking that was the only way to cook them. And I gotta tell ya..Mom was a good cook, but her ribs were fatty, overcooked, and dry even with sauce on them.

Recently I have experimented with a different way to cook them that I saw on a Food Network show called “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”. These are awesome and nothing like Moms (thank goodness).

Heat your oven to around 225 degrees, place your Baby Back ribs in a shallow pan and season well with your favorite seasonings. Making sure season is rubbed in well. Then place in the oven and cook at this temperature for at least 4 hours, longer if you have a lot of ribs. During the last half hour of cooking brush on your favorite homemade or bottled barbeque sauce. Continue cooking until the sauce becomes sticky!

I make my own sauce with Ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, clove of garlic pressed. I cook it in a saucepan for about half an hour before putting on ribs. As you add the ingredients for the sauce start with the ketchup and brown sugar and taste, then continue with the other ingredients, tasting all the while to get a flavor you like. I am sorry I don’t have the exact ingredients, but I never measure when I make this.

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I have four adult children, and only one is interested in cooking. You would think with my husbands obvious love of baking, and my love of cooking some of it would have rubbed off on all the children. But it was one son who has shown any interest in cooking. He started cooking with me when he was very small. He always wanted to know what was that, how do you do that, why do it that way. So I showed him and he has become a very good cook over the years. No…he is not a professional chef. He is a home cook who enjoys making his own variations on recipes he finds. This is one he found, and it is very good! He made it for me a couple of weeks ago the whole family loved it.

2 tablespoon of olive oil
1 bunch green onions (5-6)
1 red or green bell pepper sliced into thin strips
4 oz button mushrooms sliced and cleaned
1 large clove of garlic minced
6 cups fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth
1 ½ cup cooked and shredded chicken
2 cups of thinly sliced greens, such as spinach or Swiss Chard
1 package frozen cheese or mushroom tortellini
Salt and Pepper to taste
¾ to 1 cup shredded blended cheese, such as Sargento Mozzarella with sun dried tomatoes and basil
In large stockpot, heat the olive oil. Add green onions and bell pepper, and saute’, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring often 2-3 minutes.
Add chicken broth; cover and bring to a boil
Add the shredded chicken, spinach, and tortellini. Cover partly and simmer until the spinach and tortellini are tender about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese.

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