Spice Cake Bars with Salted Caramel Icing

Spice Cake Bars with Salted Caramel Icing ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Ellen Hartman in Feb/Mar 2014 Simple & Delicious magazine)

1 package spice cake mix (regular size)
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. allspice (depending on your desire for strong flavor)
1 egg (warmed to room temperature and slightly beaten)

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, milk, allspice, and egg; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then on  medium for 2 minutes. Batter will be thick.
• Transfer to prepare pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on wire rack.

Frosting

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt (use a salt mill for big grains)

• In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, milk, and butter over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla; immediately spread icing over cake; sprinkle with sea salt.
• Cool completely before serving. Cut into bars. Store in airtight container.

Turkey and Sage Dressing ala ~DKBB~

Turkey with Sage Dressing ala ~DKBB~
(based in part on Lyola Brown’s Sage Dressing recipe)

Turkey

We brine our turkey…it makes for a much moister bird.

Basic brine recipe (this amount per 4 pounds, increasing amounts as needed for your size of bird)

1 cup water

1 cup salt

1 cup brown sugar 

• Allow salt and brown sugar to dissolve in water thoroughly.
• You can place the bird in a large plastic bag and then add the brine – or – you can use a very large stock pot, place in the bird and then brine, then cover. Brine overnight, or at least for 8 hours.

Brine your bird overnight, removing bird from brine about 2 hours before you plan to stuff it to allow the skin to dry a bit.

Dressing

1½ to 2 loaves of bread

(I usually bake my own bread – Cracked Pepper Bread, Onion Bread, Oregano Herb Bread, Rye Bread, Wheat Bread…any and/or all combinations thereof. I slice the cooled loaves, then dice each slice into ½ cubes, place the cubes in one layer on cookie sheets, and bake at 250° F for 1 hour to create my own stuffing bread. Or you can do it the easy way and buy 2 packages of stuffing bread from your local grocery/bakery.)

½ to 1 cup diced onion

½ to 1 cup diced celery

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1½ cubes of butter/margarine

Chicken broth

2 chicken bullion cubes

3 ½ tsp.* Rubbed sage

Salt and cracked pepper to taste

(* I personally use a lot more than 3 ½ tsp. rubbed sage…I’d say add this “to taste,” same as the salt and pepper.)

• Heat 1½ to 2 cups chicken broth, the butter/margarine, and the bullion cubes in a saucepan on low heat until butter/margarine melts. Remove from heat.
• Place dressing bread in a big bowl.
• Add eggs, onion, and celery.
• Pour some of the broth mixture over this; add sage, salt and pepper.
• Mix all well until moist (with hands – it’s a good idea to have short fingernails before you start mixing, or you’ll be dealing with messy fingernails for a while).
• Add more broth mixture as needed to get it to the point where it holds together, put is not soppy.
• Add more sage, salt and pepper as desired. You can gauge the taste from smell (that’s my husband’s specialty) or taste (that’s my specialty).

• Stuff the neck and body of the bird. If there’s more stuffing than will fit in the bird, bake it in a foil-lined casserole dish, adding a little broth just before baking (350°F oven for about 1 hour).
• Put the stuffed bird in a 350°F oven until internal bird temp is 170°F and internal dressing temp is 165° to 170°F. Use the remaining broth mixture to baste the bird (make more broth mixture if needed).

Gravy

• When you put the bird in the oven, place the neck and giblets in a pan of chicken broth on the stove to simmer on lowest heat for the duration.
• When the bird is done, use a turkey baster to remove the drippings into a large saucepan.
• Remove the neck and giblets from the pan they’ve been simmering in; strain that liquid into the pan with the drippings.
• If desired, strip the meat from the neck, cut up the giblets, and set aside.
• Add Wondra flour one Tbsp. at a time to the gravy liquid; using a whip, mix well before adding another Tbsp. Plan on 2 Tbsp. of Wondra per cup of liquid. Keep adding Wondra until you have the consistency you desire.
• If desired, add in the giblets, etc.

Snowball Cookies ala ~DKBB~

Snowball Cookies ala ~DKBB~

(“Russian Teacakes” original recipe from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, rev. 1978)

2 cups margarine or butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4½ cups all purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

1½ cups finely chopped nuts (optional)

Powder sugar

• Heat oven to 400° F.
• Mix margarine/butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Shift flour and salt together.
• Mix in flour (and nuts, if desired) in 1-cup batches until dough holds together (I get in there with my hands to get it all mixed well).
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place about 1 inch apart on parchment-covered cookie sheet.
• Bake until set but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes (or 12 to 18 minutes on airbake cookie sheets).
• Cool 5 minutes, then roll each cookie in powdered sugar while still a bit warm.
• Roll in powdered sugar again.
• Makes 4 to 6 dozen cookies (depending on how big you make each cookie ball).

These cookies are a favorite in my family. I usually make 4 or more batches during the course of the holidays. Enjoy!

Mexi-Beef Cornbread Casserole ala ~DKBB~

Mexi-Beef Cornbread Casserole ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe “Chili Beef Corn Bread Casserole” from Dec/Jan 2014 issue of Simple & Delicious)

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. chili powder

Cumin and/or turmeric to taste (⅛ to ¼ tsp. of either or both)

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (Mexican style, if available)

1 can diced tomatoes w/green chilies

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup cornmeal (yellow preferred, but white will work too)

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup milk

3 Tbsp. canola oil

1 can cream-style corn

1 cup shredded cheese (Mexi-blend or cheddar)

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Brown hamburger, onion, green pepper, and garlic over medium heat; drain.
• Stir in cornstarch, chili powder, cumin/turmeric, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened; remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder.
• In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and oil until blended; stir in cream-style corn.
• Add the flower mixture to the egg mixture; stir just until moistened; then stir in cheese.
• Spread half the batter in the bottom of a greased 3 qt. casserole dish, then layer in the beef mixture; top all with the remainder of the batter, covering the beef filling.
• Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the corn bread portion comes out clean.
• Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, and/or Pico de Gallo condiments.

Pineapple Crock Pot Chicken ala ~DKBB~

PINEAPPLE CROCK-POT CHICKEN ala ~DKBB~

(my version of a recipe floating around Facebook)

2 lb. chicken tenderloins cut up in chunks

1 green pepper, chunked

1 red pepper, chunked

2 to 4 jalapenos, diced

1 onion, chunked
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup teriyaki sauce

• Place first five ingredients in crock pot.
• Combine remaining four ingredients, whisk well, and pour over ingredients in crock pot.
• Cook on low in crock pot 6-8 hours.
• Serve with your choice of rice (brown, basmati, jasmine, white, etc.).

Hearty Split Pea Soup ala ~DKBB~

Hearty Split Pea Soup ala ~DKBB~
(based on a recipe by Heidi Schmidgall from
Taste of Home 2008 Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes)

This is the perfect soup for a cool fall or winter evening. Pair it with some homemade bread, and you'll have a warm, filling dinner.

Ingredients

1 package (16 ounces) dried split peas 2 cups
6 pieces of thick-sliced pepper bacon, diced
1 cup thinly sliced (or diced) carrots
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced (or diced)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. teaspoon salt
½ tsp. fresh cracked pepper
6 cups boiling water
1 cup hot milk

Directions 

• In a 5-qt. slow cooker, layer the first nine ingredients in order listed (do not stir). 
• Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until vegetables are tender. 
• Stir in hot milk. 
• Discard bay leaves before serving.

Pesto!

So what can you do with all those basil leaves your herb garden is overrun with at the end of the season? My friend Paula (who's one heck of a good cook) shared this recipe and idea with me:

Pesto

2 Tbsp. pine nuts (or walnuts)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1¼  cups fresh basil leaves

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

2 oz. Pecorino or Romano cheese, grated

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (minus 2 Tbsp.)

• Place pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, and the cheeses in the bowl of a food processor.
• Pulse to chop the basil.
• With the machine running, add the oil gradually and process until creamy and smooth.

I usually double (or triple) this recipe. Then, using ice cube trays, I fill each opening with pesto, freeze it solid, food-saver each individual frozen cube, and use the pesto as I wish from the thawed pesto cubes. This way you can have fresh homemade pesto well into the winter. I use pesto not only in pasta dishes, but also as a base sauce for pizza when I want something different than a tomato sauce base.