AUNT WINNIE'S RAISIN CAKE

AUNT WINNIE'S RAISIN CAKE, from the 'Chez Burnham ' recipe book.

*Aaron's Note: I found this in Grandpa's Journals, and thought it belonged here.

(A favorite request on birthdays. The caramel icing was best - like candy. Her children would peel it off and save it to eat last.)

Boil 2 c. raisins in two c. water. If not enough juice afterward, add water to make 2 cups. Let cool slightly.

Add 1 c. shortening 2 c. sugar

Stir in (sifted):

5 c. flour

2 t. soda

1 t. salt

spices:

½ t. nutmeg

½ t. cloves

1 t. cinnamon

Bake at 350° about 30 minutes.

Caramel icing: (Good on spice cake)

3 c. sugar 1 c. cream* ½ c. water

Melt 1 c. sugar in large fry pan or saucepan. When melted, add enough water (½ c.) to dissolve sugar. To this, add 2 c. sugar and 1 c. cream (sweet) and let cook until it forms a soft ball in water. set aside till it stops bubbling, abt. 5-10 minutes. Whip with spoon till thick for cake. Don't wait too long!

* Can subsitute rich milk. (Half and half?)

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Oops. I posted my recipe on my blog instead of this one.  I'm too lazy to redo it, so here's the link.
http://mamamubba.blogspot.com/2010/05/easy-philly-cheesesteak-open-face.html

Clafoutis

Dallin copied this kind of wierd recipe off a cooking show, and wanted to try it. Then he mixed the batter while I was out getting cherry pie filling for it, without help, so I was doubly surprised when it turned out to be really good.

Spread 12 ozs cherry pie filling in a buttered cast iron pan.

Mix 2 eggs
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c flour

Pour over cherries.

Bake uncovered 30 min at 400 deg.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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Cheeseball

(by request)

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened (you can use light cream cheese)
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions
1/4 c. finely chopped bell pepper (any color; I used red and orange mini peppers because I like the color and, well, I had some lying around the house that needed to be used!)
2 tsp. seasoning salt
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained very well (you may want to press in a fine-mesh strainer)
1/2 c. pecan pieces, chopped (you can also use pecan "chips")

Shred the cheese yourself. Preshredded cheese won't mush into the ingredients. Chop other things very finely! Mix everything but the pecans together. It takes using your hands to get it all thoroughly mixed.

Shape into a ball and roll in the pecans. Put it in the fridge to set. Serve with crackers or veggies.

Crock Pot Chicken

So, even though we're back into our apartment now, we're still having some issues.  Like, our oven only broils, and we're short one burner- which wouldn't be a big deal, except its the one big burner.  Fortunately, we did get our crock pot replaced, so I've been doing a lot of experimenting with it.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray.  Add one chicken breast per person eating, or if you're being healthy and want to split the chicken breasts, you do math.

Cover with one jar of salsa.  I like Newman Peach Salsa.  It gives it a nice sweet flavor.

Cook for 4 hours on low.

Add 2 cans of drained black beans.  Cook on low for another 4 hours ish.

Serve with cheese and sour cream.  Its kind of a goolash.  Add fritos if you're feeling frito-ish.

Eat.  This gets better with age.  Optimal age is 2 days, I wouldn't recommend more than 4. 

Cream Cheese Dip

I made this to dip my cinnamon chips in last night, and it was a hit. It could be used as a fruit dip, too.

2 blocks of cream cheese
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
a splash of vanilla (to taste)

Let cream cheese soften. Throw it all in a mixer and whip it together.

Contest time

Okay, we need more recipes.

Here are the rules:

1. One point per dessert recipe.
2. Two points for non-dessert recipe.
3. A bonus point per picture that YOU took. (So, make the recipe, take pictures along the way, like fancy cooking blogs do, and you can get a whole bunch of posts.)
4. All recipes must be tried by you, and may not have been previously posted.
5. You lose all points for that recipe if you don't label it.

Contest ends Saturday, April 3oth at midnight.

Winner will receive a prize, of some sort. I'm thinking chocolate. You also get bragging rights.

Edited to change end date. After Emma's comment, I realized that, with all that is going on, one week just isn't enough. We'll go for just over a month.