Today’s recipe of the day is another one that I made for the Matthew West concert “catering” yesterday.   (By the way, the whole day went fantastically! and artists and crew were AWESOME!!!  They were so nice!)   This cake comes from my dear friend Dawn.  This was the ONLY dessert she was allowed! to bring to our women’s Bible Study potlucks when she lived here and studied God’s Word with us.   It is (as I described to the guys at dinner yesterday) “ooey, gooey, rich and decadent”.  AND this cake is SUPER easy to make!

Super Decadent Ooey Gooey Chocolate Butterscotch Caramel Toffee Cake

recipe from Dawn Wright

1 box chocolate cake mix plus ingredients to make cake according to package directions
1 jar Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Carmel Fudge ice cream topping (if you can’t find this, you could use either butterscotch or carmel ice cream topping…the thicker the better)
1 container French Vanilla coolwhip (I actually used 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, whipped and lightly sweetened with vanilla bean whipped in)
1/2 bag Heath Toffee bar pieces (found near the chocolate chips.  If your store doesn’t carry them, you can break up enough Heath bars to make 1 cup pieces)
carmel ice cream topping (my addition)

In a 9 x 13 pan bake cake according to package instructions.  Let cool completely.   Once cooled, using the handle end of a wooden spoon poke shallow holes all over the cake (I tried to imagine the cake getting ready to be sliced and put 2 or 3 holes in each piece of cake).  Pour entire jar of butterscotch carmel fudge onto the cake and spread it evenly across the cake.  “Frost” the cake with whipped cream.   Sprinkle the toffee pieces over that, and if you want the cake to look extra special (which I did) you can use additional carmel ice cream topping and drizzle a little over the top of the toffee pieces.

This cake is best made ahead and allowed to be in the refrigerator for several hours to a day in advance of serving.

Here’s the recipe for today.  I’m going to be baking this on Tuesday for an event that I’m going to be “catering” for.   Our church is hosting Matthew West and Josh Wilson in concert on Tuesday, and our two youth pastors asked me if I’d do that cooking for the band/crew for the day.   After checking the contractual menu needs for the day I agreed to do it!   I am actually REALLY SUPER excited about it, and will share with you all some of the recipes that I’ll be making that day.   One of the dessert’s that I’m going to make for dinner for that day is an apple/pear crisp.   I will be using fresh local and organic fruit for this dessert.   Here’s what I’m going to be doing…..now this recipe is a LITTLE on the different side, but I LOVE to do my crisps this way!

Apple Pear Crisp

Original recipe from Lori4squaremom (http://lori.scottdomain.com)

4-5 medium apples (I prefer a mixture with at least 1/2 being granny smith, but the other half of the apples can be any variety), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
2-3 pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. organic brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs or nilla wafer crumbs, very finely ground
3/4 cup brown sugar (softened)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup melted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl toss first 4 ingredients together then spread fruit mixture into lightly greased (I spray mine with PAM) 9 x 13 inch pan.   In same large bowl mix together cookie crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon and oatmeal until it is all well combined.   Cut in butter until the mixture resembles a coarse crumb mixture.    Sprinkle generously over fruit.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until fruit is soft and cooked through and crumb crust is brown and crispy.

For a little while earlier this year I was doing a recipe of the day on my blog where I would highlight some ingredient that was currently in my kitchen and post that recipe.   Well, I’ve been inspired to do that again.   Last week, after the Holiday Cooking Blogger Style recipe sharing meme by Overwhelmed with Joy  I tried Overwhelmed’s recipe for Fireside Coffee (it was VERY VERY good, but had too much nutmeg in it for me, so I will be cutting that back to just a pinch next time) and wanted to make another recipe from my childhood.   My mom used to make Russian Tea Mix every year for the winter months.   I LOVED the stuff with and without the instant tea mix.   SO, I got out the book that my mom used to use for the mix and used that recipe and it was very good, but again, it had a little too much nutmeg, so I’ll be adjusting that next time as well.    But here’s the recipe (as I’ll make it next time with the reduced nutmeg)…..this makes a GREAT gift for the holidays if you put it in a pretty jar.

Russian Tea Mix

1/2 cup instant tea mix (plain, unsweetened)
1 cup Tang powder
1 package unsweetened lemonade Kool-aid
1/2 cup sugar (you can add more to taste if you want it sweeter)
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl mix together all ingredients and place in a tightly sealing jar.

To make the tea, spoon 3 rounded spoonfuls into a mug and pour very hot water over and mix well.   If you are serving this for a party or something, it would be beautiful to garnish each cup or mug with a thin slice of organic orange with the skin.

Ok, I have made my dressing/stuffing from scratch for years and years and years now, and when I was growing up that was always my thing to help with for our holiday meals.    I have morphed my momma’s recipe over the years to include some of the things that I enjoy in a stuffing/dressing (different types of breads, apples, less butter, etc).   So I am VERY familiar with making stuffing/dressing.  But in the past several years  since we’ve started watching the Food Network I’ve seen that many people (most people?) put eggs in their stuffing/dressing.   To me, that is just icky!  BUT for those of you that do put the egg in, what purpose does it serve?   Seriously, I want to know what does it do in the stuffing/dressing?   To me, knowing the properties of eggs, I’m assuming it holds the stuffing/dressing together, kind of like bread pudding?   Is that what it does?

Thank you to my faithful readers! ……. you guys are awesome!!!!!

Ok, I need some decorating help!   Last year for Christmas my family bought a coffee house/bistro style print for me for our dining room.   It was something that I REALLY wanted, and had been eyeing at Michaels for quite some time.   So it was very exciting when I opened that gift on Christmas morning.   I had some Christmas money and bought another similar print to be paired with it.  Well, these two beautiful pieces of artwork just got hung over the weekend (yes, almost a year later!!!!).   Well, now that they are hung, the wall looks a little off balance.  I needs something else to be hung to the right of the whole arrangement…..this is where I need your help!   What should I hang there?

These are the prints (sorry about the glare)…

And here are a couple of different views of that wall…..

Any ideas?  Anyone?  Anyone?

It has been a LONG while since I participated in Favorite Ingredient Friday, hosted by Overwhelmed with Joy and last week I participated in her Holiday Cooking recipe exchange and realized just how much I miss participating in it, so I am joining in again   To get more great recipes or to participate yourself please click on the banner above and visit Overwhelmed’s blog.

Today I want to share two of my favorite recipes from the past.  The first one is a main dish that I used to make a lot as a newlywed.  When D and I were first married, I knew how to cook the basics, but learned A LOT from reading cookbooks and cooking magazines and experimenting on my own.   One of the cookbooks that I had at that time had this recipe, and I had adjusted it to suit our tastes better.  This is my version of the recipe (the cookbook is LONG gone….I don’t even remember the name of it…..but I had the recipe written on a card in my recipe box)…..I haven’t made this in a LONG while, but I’m going to be making it again very soon!   This was a definite favorite when D and I were newlyweds, and I did serve it to company a few times.

Italian Style Turkey Patties

Serves 4

1# ground turkey (today I would use the ground white meat turkey, back then I used whatever was cheapest)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. butter
1/4 C. bread crumbs (I used the seasoned type)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sage
2 slices provolone cheese or about 4 Tbsp. grated mozzarella
salt & pepper to taste
4 cups shredded cabbage

 Mix turkey, bread crumbs, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and sage together.   Shape mixture into 4 thin patties about 5 inches in diameter.  Cut each slice of cheese into halves.  Place half slice on half of each patty and fold patty over.  Pinch to seal.

Heat butter in pan over medium heat to melt.  Cook patties in butter until done.  Remove patties, keep warm.  Cook cabbage in drippings until wilted  (about 5 minutes).  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Serve turkey patties over cabbage and garnish with lemon wedges.

The second recipe that I want to share is a recipe that my friend Laura used to make for the birthdays in our small group bible study.    This was my favorite cake and she made it for me every year!    I think that this is probably one of the first “from scratch” cakes that I really loved!

Old Fashioned Spice Cake

from Laura Iacopetti

Serves:  many

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. butter (1/2 cube)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 can condensed tomato soup

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I would use pecans because my family doesn’t love walnuts)

1/2 cup raisin (I prefer golden raisins in this cake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease & lightly flour 2 8inch round cake pans or 1 9×13″ pan.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt into a mixing bowl.    In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until fluffy; beat in egg.  Beat in flour mixture 1/2 at a time alternately with tomato soup, beating JUST until blended.  Fold in walnuts & raisins.

Pour into prepared pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Lemon Butter Frosting:

Cream together 1/2 cube (4 Tbsp.) butter with 1 cup sifted powdered sugar.  Stir in 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.  Beat in 1 more cup powdered sugar alternating with 2 tsp. milk, until smooth and spreadable.

Note:  DOUBLE for 8″ round cakes.

I know that I have said this before (probably a few times :)) but Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays….my absolute favorite is Resurrection Sunday, and a very close second favorite would be Thanksgiving.   To me it is a very contemplative time of year…..a time when I am much more mindful of what/whom I am thankful for.   With a broken family (both D and I come from divorced parents, and my mom abandoned our family about 8 years ago) we rarely know from year to year what Thanksgiving will hold for us.  We have some VERY dear friends that we enjoy spending the day with,  they are one of our “God families” and neither of them have any family in the area (both of their sets of parents have passed away, and their siblings are spread out all over the U.S.) so we enjoy spending the day with them when we are able to.   So I always plan a menu for Thanksgiving, and then wait to see what happens……well, I planned my menu on Monday afternoon….

Thanksgiving 2008 Menu

 roasted turkey
ham
slow cooker sweet potatoes and apples
mashed potatoes and gravy
stuffing
D’s special peas
cranberry sauce
green salad
relish tray
pumpkin pie
chocolate pecan pie

I had sent an email to D’s mom and family and asked them if they would like to join us for Thanksgiving, then on Tuesday I got a call from D’s mom and she was calling to invite us to her house……SO, I ditched my menu plan again this year, and will enjoy the meal with our family.  I do get to take dessert, so I think I’m going to make the pies, and POSSIBLY an apple dish of some sort (something that is not pie and that isn’t quite as sweet).

What is your Thanksgiving menu going to include?  Do you do the traditional turkey and stuffing or do you do something less traditional?

I DO get to cook for Christmas this year, and am trying to figure out what to do for that, we will have 12 here for Christmas Day dinner.   Last year I did a beautiful roasted pork loin.   The year before that my father-in-love and D’s step mom hosted Christmas at their house (which was the tradition until last year….in 2006 the placecards were passed onto the next generation, and so last year (2007) I got to do Christmas here!  It was SOOOOO exciting!  I LOVED it!   Anyhow in 2006 we had lasagna.  I’m seriously thinking about doing chicken enchiladas this year…..we’ll see

A couple of nights ago I got to take dinner to a friend that just had a baby, and I made a cherry dump cake for dessert.  I hadn’t made one in years and it was OH SO GOOD!!!!!   Here’s the recipe that I followed….mostly from memory

Cherry Dump Cake

Makes 9 x 13″ dessert, serves 10-12

2 cans cherry pie filling (I like the “Lite” version because it doesn’t have as much sweetener in it)
1 large can crushed pineapple (with juice)
1 box yellow (or white) cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cups butter, melted (1 1/2 cubes)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In bottom of 9 x 13″ baking dish spread out the pineapple and juice.  Spoon cherry pie filling onto the top of it and spread all the way across the pan.  Sprinkle with dry cake mix and then pecans.  Drizzle melted butter over the top covering as much of the dessert as you are able to.

Bake in preheated oven for 40-55 minutes until top is golden brown and crust-like.

Best served when it is warm, with some vanilla ice cream

This afternoon D and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and we ran into a friend from church at the market.  We had talked to her in the produce department and had a nice little visit, then we were in the soup aisle, and I had grabbed a can of vegetable soup made from beef stock and put it in the cart.  Well, D said “vegetables are made from beef stock now?”….well, in true Lori-form I started laughing….and around the corner walked our friend.  She asked what was so funny, so D told her.  Then she shared that she likes to play with her husband’s mind and sometimes makes vegetarian chili with beef in it.   Well, that REALLY got me to laughing!   I thought that was hilarious!

Last year I participated in Holiday Cooking Blogger Style and got some great recipes!    I want to say a HUGE thank you to Overwhelmed with Joy for hosting this again this year.    Last year when I shared I shared my heart about the holidays, so I won’t type that all out again, but if you didn’t read last year’s post or just want to be reminded, then please go back and read it.     If you want to share your own holiday traditions and holiday recipes (really you could share ANY holiday, not just Thanksgiving and Christmas) or want some new ideas for this year’s holidays please visit Overwhelmed with Joy by clicking on the banner above.

In light of my re-prioritizing of things, this year’s holidays will include some (quite a bit actually) make-ahead and crockpot items.   I’m not sure yet what we are doing for Thanksgiving, but here’s what I’m making for Thanksgiving to go with whatever/wherever we go.   I made this recipe for the first time a few weeks ago and the whole family LOVED it!   I THOUGHT that I had first seen it in a crockpot cookbook, but now that I’m looking in that book, it’s not there.  So, unfortunately, I am not sure who to credit this recipe for, but when I made this it was more from the concept, not the literal recipe that I made it.

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potatoes & Apples

(I made this in a 7 quart crockpot, could EASILY be made smaller, you’ll just have to adjust the amounts.  The amount listed will easily serve 12 people.)

6 medium size sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced into 1/2-3/4 inch slices)

4 apples (I used fuji, but granny smith would be wonderful also, or really any of your favorite variety), cored, peeled and sliced into 8 slices (vertically, not horizontally)

1/4 cup melted butter

1/3-1/2 cup real maple syrup

3/4 c. whole or broken (but not chopped) pecan halves (OPTIONAL)

Place sweet potatoes in slow cooker crock.   Layer apple slices over the sweet potatoes.  If using the nuts, arrange them over the top of the fruits/vegetables.   Mix together the melted butter and maple syrup and pour over entire mixture in slow cooker.    Cover with lid, let cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 6-8 hours or until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Notes:  This dish was SOOOO good and so sweet, it would make an awesome dessert!

For my second recipe, I would like to share our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.   When D and I were first married almost 19 years ago (we will celebrate our 19th anniversary in late January) we started our own holiday traditions.  Part of our Christmas Tradition that we started was to share dinner together, and then go to church for the Christmas Eve candlelight service.   The first couple of years I made ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies and salad and we LOVED that meal.  And then while I was pregnant with our oldest daughter, I was on bedrest for a while and had LOTS of time for reading, and one of the books that I read was about creating traditions in your own family based on both sides of the family’s cultural heritage.  Well, D is part Italian, and I read that part of the traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner includes stuffed pasta dishes.  So that year I started make raviolis with my homemade marinara sauce, french bread and green salad.   For the next several years we alternated between the ham/scalloped potato dinner and the ravioli dinner, and then when our children were old enough to voice their preferences, they made it abundantly clear that they prefer the pasta dinner, so we do that every year now for Christmas Eve dinner.   The dish has morphed over the years from a plate of raviolis with sauce to a baked pasta dish.   So, now I present to you the Scott Family Christmas Pasta Bake…..

Scott Family Christmas Pasta Bake

Serves 6-8

3 pound bag of frozen raviolis (we prefer the cheese type, but the type really doesn’t matter too much)

6 cups of pasta sauce mixed with 1 cup of water

1 pound grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a deep 9 x 13 baking dish spread 1/2 cup of pasta sauce around in the bottom of the dish.  Layer with 1/3-1/2 of the still frozen raviolis.  Spread with 2 cups of the sauce and 1/3 of the grated cheese.  Layer another 1/3-1/2 of the raviolis, 2 more cups of the sauce.  If you have remaining raviolis and more room in your baking dish (when the ravioli’s cook they will expand a bit so make sure that you have 3/4-1″ of space at the top of the baking dish) add 1/3 of the cheese and then repeat layers using remaining ingredients.  If you don’t have room for more raviolis then add enough sauce to cover the pasta and remaining cheese.   VERY loosely cover with aluminum foil (I also bake on a big sheet of aluminum foil in case of any spills).   Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 60-90 minutes or until the raviolis are heated all the way through.  If you like a browned top you can remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking time.

And one more recipe to share with you all.   D’s step-mom made this for dessert a few years ago for Christmas and it was SOOOO rich and delicious!  I may just make it again this year :)  Along with a chocolate cheesecake.

Candy Apple Pie

Recipe from Emeril Lagasse as shown on Good Morning America

CRUST:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 T. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/3 cup butter (melted)

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

1 cup chopped pecans

Filling:

5 granny smith apples (peeled/cored/sliced)

5 T. butter

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 t. cinnamon

8 oz. pkg cream cheese

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

1 T. lemon juice

1/4 C. sugar

Topping:

3/4 C. heavy cream, whipped

2 T. sugar

1/2 C. caramel topping

1/4 C. chopped pecans

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Combine crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.  Mix well and press into a 10 inch pie plate, and up the sides.  Bake for 6-8 min until golden in color.  Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely.  Pour caramel into pie shell and sprinkle with 1 c. chopped pecans.  Refrigerate while making filling.

For Filling:

In a large skillet melt butter, add brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Stir with a wooden spoon.  Add apples & stir.  Cook 15-20 minutes until apples are soft & tender.  Let cool 10 minutes and pour into pie shell.  Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

For Cream Cheese topping:

In a medium bowl, using a mixer on low speed combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth.  Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 1 more minute until fully blended.  Pour over apple filling in pie shell.  Bake for 30 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean.  Remove pie from oven and let cool.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.  Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

For the topping:

Top whole pie  with whipped cream, caramel and pecans and swirl with a knife.   Slice and serve.