Honey and Molasses

Don't you hate it when you measure out honey or molasses, and when you begin to pour your measured out honey into a different bowl, it :

• takes forever to come out of the measuring cup or spoon
• it stick to the sides.

To avoid this, simply spray the insides of your measuring bowl or spoon with cooking spray. It'll slide right out!

Black Forest Cake

My brother, who works at Dairy Queen, likes to call this, Choco- cherry love cake, after the Blizzard. Whatever you call it, it is delicious!

2 16 oz. cans of tart pitted cherries, undrained

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

2 (9 inch) round layers of your favorite chocolate cake, baked and cooled

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup confectioners sugar.

Drain cherries, leaving 1/2 cup of juice. Combine reserved juice, cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until thickened. Stir in vanilla. Cool.

Split each cake layer in half, horizontally. Set aside on half layer.

Beat whipping cream and sugar together. Set aside 1 1/2 cups for piping.

Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with whipped cream, and top with cherry mixture.

Place second layer of cake on top. Spread with whipped cream, and top with cherry mixture.

Place third layer of cake on tope. Ice top and side of cake with whipped cream. Spread cherry mixture on top.

Take your last cake layer and cut it in half. Crumble on half, and pat crumbs onto the sides of the cake.

Use reserved whipped cream to pipe around the edges on the top and bottom.

Any leftover cherry topping and whipped cream can be used for the extra half layer of cake.

Yum!

Never Fail Pie Crust

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. shortening

Blend.

In a small bowl, mix

1 tsp. vinegar

1 egg

6 T water.

Chill until cold.

Add wet ingredients to dry, and blend well with a pastry blender. Chill dough before rolling out- this makes your crust nice and flakey.

Chicken Pot Pie

Photo by Mama

2 c. cooked diced chicken

2 c. cooked diced potatoes

1 1/2 c. frozen peas

3 carrots, peeled, diced and cooked

1/4 c. butter

1 c. heavy cream

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

Flour to thicken

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter. Add flour. Cook until smooth. Add broth, cream and salt and pepper. Cook until thick. Add chicken, potatoes, carrots, and peas. Line a 9 inch pie plate with Never Fail Pie Crust. Pour mixture into crust. Cover with pie crust, and crimp edges. Poke holes, or a pretty design on top to let out steam.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Beef and Barley Soup

Beef and Barley Soup

1/2 c. Crisco
3 onions
4 or 5 stalks of celery
1/2 c. beef base
1 29 oz. can of tomato sauce
2-3 lbs. of stew meat
2 c. of quick barley
1 1/2 gallons of water

First, cut the onions and celery.














Melt the Crisco in a large pot. The stew meat looks much better once it is cooked!
















Brown the meat in the Crisco until it is cooked. Then, add the celery and onions. Next, add the beef base, tomato sauce, and water. Let it simmer on a low heat.














Peel a bunch of carrots! (about one bag) and then slice them like this.
Let your soup simmer for an hour or two. The longer you let it simmer, the better.

About 20 minutes before you are going to serve
the soup, add the barley. Cook it until it is
done. (about 15 minutes) This picture of the soup doesn't do it justice. It looks much better for real.

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pockets

Photo by Mama

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pockets

11 oz. fresh broccoli

3 cups cooked (shredded or cubed) chicken

4 tsp. olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 16 oz. jar of roasted red peppers (coarsely chop them)

2 Tbsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 recipes of pizza crust, prepared

In a medium skillet, saute garlic in oil. Add broccoli, and cook until almost tender.

Remove from heat,

In a large bowl, broccoli, cheese, peppers, chicken, salt, pepper, and oregano.

Divide dough into 16 pieces. (8 pieces per recipe of dough)

On a floured surface, roll out each piece to make a 6 inch circle.

Spoon equal amounts of filling into each dough circle. Fold dough over filling, making a half circle. Press edges together with a fork. Make a small slit on the top of each pocket, to allow steam to escape.

Place pockets on greased baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Baked Bananas

Photo by Collin

Baked Bananas

4 T. Butter

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon rind.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put ingredients in baking dish, and set it oven for 3 minutes, or until butter melts. After butter is melted, remove, and stir.

Peel 4 bananas and place them in the dish, turning them over and spooning sauce over them until they are completely covered.

Sprinkle with 4 T. of brown sugar, and bake for 15 minutes.