Sweetheart Cake

I have to share the story behind this wonderfully, devine creation. I asked my husband what his favorite kind of cake was and he replied, "Cherry Pie". Hmmm, I thought to myself, never heard of that. Little did I know, he really meant Cherry Pie. So I thought I would really surprise him one day...and this is a winner in our house. Everytime I make it, it comes out better. Hope you like it too.



2 cups flour
1½ sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup milk
½ cup cherry juice
½ Crisco
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 can cherry pie filling
Cherries and Pecan halves (optional)



Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, cherry juice and shortening in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Add egg whites and vanilla and beat on high for 3 minutes. Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch round baking pans. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Let cool on racks for 5 minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely. Once cooled slice each cake through the middle. Top bottom half with half of the can of cherry pie filling, then add top of cake, spread with frosting, add next bottom and top with cherry pie filling, then add top and frost whole cake. Decorate with cherries and pecans if desired.

FROSTING

¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup cream cheese
½ cup Crisco
1 Tbsp vanilla
4½ cups confectioner’s sugar
3 Tbsp (more or less) half + half

Combine all ingredients except half and half in large mixing bowl and beat well. Add half & half for spreading consistency; store in refrigerator.


© Crackerberries 2011

Bacon & Cheddar Muffins

Happy Valentine's Day!

31 years ago I made a homemade Valentine and put it in a cute boy's locker. Today I made that same cute boy a homemade Valentine and put it in his lunchbox. Please look for a special Valentine recipe tomorrow.

1¾ cups self-rising flour
½ Tbsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
¼ cup sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4-5 slices turkey bacon, crumbled
½ cup granola cereal

Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and sugar) together in large bowl; create well in center. In large measuring cup, combine egg, yogurt and vegetable oil. Pour into well and mix until blended (mixture will be lumpy). Fold in cheese, bacon and cereal. Spoon into 12 greased muffin tins. Bake 400º for 18-22 minutes. Remove from tins immediately and serve warm with your favorite marmalade; (pictured here with homemade tangerine marmalade.)





© Crackerberries 2011

Baked (Bone In) Chicken Parmesan

2 lbs chicken leg quarters, skinned & cut into pieces
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp pepper
12 oz tomato paste
14½ oz tomatoes, (Hunts green pepper, celery & onion)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1½ cups water or red wine
1 leftover pork chop or other meat (optional)
Feta cheese
Fettuccine or other pasta

Preheat oven to 350º. Place parmesan cheese and pepper in zip lock bag. Add a few pieces of chicken at a time and coat well. Place in a greased baking dish; bake uncovered 350º for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil; add tomatoes, paste, water, basil, oregano and leftover meat. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer while chicken cooks.

Remove chicken from oven, flip each piece over. Spoon just enough sauce over each piece to cover, sprinkle with more parmesan cheese if desired. Cover with aluminum foil and return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain. Place chicken pieces in bed of pasta and add more sauce; sprinkle with feta cheese and serve hot.

© Crackerberries 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookie

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE ALTERNATIVE —

THE WHOLE WHEAT VERSION

1 cup butter flavored Crisco
1¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp water
Cream these ingredients together until well combined, then add
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
Mix well.

In medium bowl mix the following together, then slowly add to creamed mixture until well combined:

1 cup all purpose flour
1¼ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Mix in 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup butter scotch chips. Also ½ cup chopped nuts are optional.

Drop tablespoons or small ice cream scoops on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 375º for 8-10 minutes. Let cool one minute then place on wire racks to completely cool.
Yield: 5½ dozen 2½”-3” cookies



© Crackerberries 2011

Cheese-less Macaroni & Cheese

Dig out your crock pot and let’s get crocking. This recipe is so easy even a kid can whip it up. And they will love it!!





2 cups elbows macaroni (uncooked)
1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 tsp pepper
¾ cup milk
4 hot dogs cut in chunks
1 cup buttered Italian style bread crumbs



Combine the elbows, cream soup, chicken broth and pepper in crock pot and mix well. Cover and cook on low for two hours. Remove cover, careful of the steam and stir in milk and mix well. Cover and cook on low for two more hours. Remove cover, careful once again of the steam, stir in hot dogs, cover with buttered bread crumbs, cover and cook on low for one more hour. Take cover off and let stand 10 minutes before serving.


© Crackerberries 2011

Turkey Noodle Casserole

2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups cooked turkey
1 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, divided
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 oz diced pimentos
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup Panko Italian style bread crumbs


Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.

In large skillet cook onion and celery in 2 Tbsp butter or margarine until tender; sprinkle with flour and cook 2 minutes, add milk and cook until thickened and add cream of mushroom soup and cook until heated. Add pimentos, peas and turkey and mix well.

Place noodles in greased 10 inch square baking dish. Pour turkey mixture evenly over noodles.

In small bowl combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and 1 Tbsp melted butter. Spread over top of casserole. Bake at 375º for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


© Crackerberries 2011

Gyro Burgers

Happy New Year! I think it's okay to say that until the end of January. I am hoping to post something each week. Comments and l♥ve notes would be very encouraging to me. Hope you enjoy my recipes.

¾ lb ground lamb burger
½ lb ground beef burger
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground allspice
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pita bread
1 Vidalia onion, thickly sliced
1 tomato, thickly sliced
Shredded lettuce

Dilly Sauce

1 cup plain low fat yogurt
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp dill seed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together dilly sauce ingredients and set aside.

Combine ground burgers and mix well; sprinkle salt, allspice and garlic over crumbled burger and mix in well. Shape into 6 large patties. In large skillet, fry patties over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, flip and continue cooking until done as desired (about 5 more minutes).

Heat pita pockets in microwave for 30 seconds. Place shredded lettuce in bottom of pocket; add burger, tomato and onion. Drizzle with dilly sauce and enjoy.




© Crackerberries 2011

BBQ Turkey Pizza

Pizza Dough

1 cup various sweet peppers

½ cup sweet and spicy BBQ sauce

4 slices Swiss cheese

1½ shredded mozzarella cheese

1½ cup leftover turkey pieces

2 large onions, peeled & sliced

2 Tbsp butter

Olive Oil

Fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven 400º. Caramelize onions by placing butter and sliced onions in skillet; cover and saute for about 15 minutes. Take cover off and cook another 5 minutes until golden; set aside. Place turkey in skillet with BBQ sauce and heat until warmed.

Roll out pizza dough on pizza stone. Brush with olive oil and fresh cracked peppercorns. Place in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and spread with cheeses, turkey, onions and peppers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired. Bake in 400º oven for 25 minutes, remove and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Crackerberries ©

Blueberry Fig Jam ... YUM

9 cups fresh figs (Kadota) quartered
3 cups fresh blueberries
4 cups sugar
½ cup lime juice
1 tsp mace

Combine all ingredients in preserving pot; mash figs and blueberries. Let stand at least 2 hours. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and boil gently for 45 minutes to an hour until mixture thickens to gel stage (22o° degrees).

Remove from heat and stir 5 minutes to prevent fruit from floating. Skim off foam if necessary. Ladle into prepared sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch head space. Wipe the rims of the jars to ensure there is no spilled jam to prevent a good seal. Seal jars according to manufacturer’s directions. Place in boiling bath for ten minutes.

Crackerberries © 2010

Mimi Hill's Maraschino Party Cake

Okay, me following Mimi’s recipe was not the easiest thing in the world. My Mom loves this cake I think because her mom had her crack the walnuts. I cheated and bought the already shelled ones. Here you take a look at the original recipe. I would have called my Mimi up if she was still alive. I think it came out pretty good, considering what I had to work with.


1¼ cup sugar
½ cup shortening
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
½ cup cherry juice
¼ cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
½ cup or more chopped cherries
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flour
2½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp almond flavoring

Cream the sugar and shortening together. Add eggs to shortening mixture. Combine milk, cherry juice, lemon juice and almond flavoring in large measuring cup. Combine flour, baking powder and salt together in separate bowl. Alternate adding flour and milk mixture to creamed sugar until well combined. Fold in cherries and walnuts. Spread into greased and floured baking pan. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Use creamy white frosting and top with cherries and walnuts for garnish.


© Crackerberries 2009

Pumpkin Banana Bread

"We're not falling for the banana in the tail pipe trick" ~~ who remembers what movie?

3½ cups flour
2 mashed bananas
2 cups pumpkin
2 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup butter flavored Crisco
2 cups sugar
1 cup raisins



Preheat oven 350º. In small bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition; add pumpkin and banana; mix well. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in raisins. Pour into two greased 9x5 bread pans. Bake 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

© Crackerberries 2009

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Being the week of Halloween I thought this would be a good time for some festive spook-tacular recipes. Tall Cool One likes cherry filling on his cheesecake. Believe me, when he put it on pumpkin cheesecake I thought that just sounded gross, but it actually tasted okay. I prefer a scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream with mine, but you go ahead and have it however you like it.



1½ cup graham cracker crumbs
6 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 Tbsp sugar

16 oz cream cheese softened
¾ cup sugar
16 oz pumpkin
¼ tsp salt
1¼ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
3 eggs



Preheat oven to 350º

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tbsp sugar and melted margarine and mix well. Press into 9 inch spring form pan and bake in 350º oven for 8 minutes.

In large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add pumpkin and spices and mix well. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Mix until smooth.

Pour into prepared crust and bake at 350º for 50-55 minutes until center is set. Turn oven off and crack oven door, let cool in oven for one hour. Using butter knife, loosen sides before opening spring. Garnish with caramel apple flavored candy corn.


© Crackerberries 2009

Jambalaya

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
24 oz chicken broth
6 oz red wine
½ cup salsa
8 oz kielbasa, halved and cut into ½ inch pieces
¾ cup long grain rice, uncooked
1 cup cubed ham
1 tsp thyme
½ tsp basil
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
1 bay leaf

Thaw and rinse shrimp and set aside. Cook onion, celery, garlic and pepper in olive oil until tender. Add broth, wine, salsa, kielbasa, rice, thyme, basis, bay leaf, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add shrimp and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 5 minutes. Add ham, remove bay leaf and heat until hot. Serve with biscuits or garlic bread.

© Crackerberries 2009