Greandmother Gibson's Strawberry Cake

Grandmother Gibson's (Johnny’s Grandmother – Ollie Gibson) Strawberry Cake

Lottie (Johnny's Mother, says that Grandmother Gibson would always tell, “Pam made the cake and "helt" out a teaspoon of strawberries - since she ate ‘em”! So, you may want to have extra strawberries on hand if you are planning on “holding out” of the recipe by eating some as you bake!
















1 box of strawberry cake mix
1 box of strawberry jello
3 T flour
½ cup of frozen strawberries (today we used strawberry preserves instead)
¾ cup of Wesson oil
¾ cup of water
4 well beaten eggs

Mix all at once, and bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean.


Icing:
1 box of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter (softened)
½ cup of frozen strawberries, thawed – not drained... (again we had to use preserves - and it turned out very good!)

Mix well, and ice the cake, and enjoy!
*I added a cup full of chopped pecans on top today! Yum!

Smothered Pork Chops...mmm

Trying to think of something different for today...and not wanting to go shopping - so, dug around and threw together what has to be one of my most fantastic meals...Kade is still licking his chops! Big praises - in his words, "Mom, there are not many kids that eat this good!"

Here is what we had on hand:

Huge baking potatoes - I washed them, poked about 3 holes in them, and coated each with butter and sea salt, put them in the oven at 400 degrees - thinking they would take about an hour.

In the meantime,

4 Boneless Sirloin Pork Chops
Butter - real unsalted butter!
Flour
Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning
Lawry's Seasoning
Fresh ground black pepper

I rinsed the pork chops off with cool water, and dried with paper towel - sprinkled each with pepper, Tony's, and Lawry's seasonings - both sides...then gently pressed each side into a plate of flour, just a light coat.

I used my big cast iron skillet on medium heat - melted 4 TBSP butter and added the chops - just cooked them long enough on each side to brown a bit (about 4 minutes per side). Removed the chops and set to the side,

and then added the following to my big skillet:

4 more TBSP butter
Purple onion, red - yellow - green - orange bell peppers; all cut in stips about 1/4" wide; and a package of sliced baby bella mushrooms. Let this cook on medium for about 5 minutes, and then push it all over to one side and add the chops back into the bottom of the skillet. Make sure the veggies are all pilled up on top of the chops - that way they will not be overcooked. Add a can of chicken broth to the skillet, and cover - let it cook on medium to low until the potatoes are done.
















Slice the potatoes open and laddle a full scoop of the juicy gravy and veggies on top, and serve with a pork chop. We also had a romaine lettuce salad with garden fresh tomatoes and cucumber, hot rolls (love Sister Schubert's heat em' eat em's!)...and a yummy cake - see the next posting - that is another story!

Friendship Tea

Our dear friend, Alice (Allie) Black Parker has made our family this special tea just around the holidays for many years. Last year Kade had a yucky cold, and we were in between our normal time for having his on hand. Allie ran to town and gathered up all the special ingredients so he could have his requested cup of tea. (Isn't she a special friend! - we would not know what to do without her!) Funny - he shared his cold with all of us, and we all ended up piled up in the house for a few days - all drinking hot tea...and feeling better with each cup! With all the colds and flu going around - I thought it might be a good time to share this special recipe!

Friendship Tea
1 (18 oz.) jar dry Tang (orange drink mix)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup pre-sweetened dry lemonade mix
1/2 cup dry instant tea (can use decaf if you like)
1 (3 oz.) package apricot flavored gelatin
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Store in an airtight container, and give to your friends!

To serve, place 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mix (or more to your liking) in a cup and add boiling water. Stir well and enjoy. (This recipe makes about about 50 servings)

CHOCOLATE!!!

I think today is the perfect day for an oooey-gooey chocolate cake!

My Mother always made the most yummy cake for us when we were kids - and can you believe that she has lost the recipe!!! We are in mourning - and searching for a replacement recipe...the closest I have come to finding something similar is this: (but, we are still trying different versions to perfect it to be as good as we remember!)

Mississippi Mud Cake

Combine and mix well:
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of shortening
4 well beaten eggs
3 tsp vanilla

Mix well and then add to wet mix:
1 ½ cups of flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup of Hershey’s Cocoa
Add in 1 cup of chopped pecans.

Pour into well greased cake pan, and bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.
Remove from oven and cover with ½ of a package of mini marshmallows, and ½ package of chocolate chips. Return to oven for 10 minutes.

Cool and then frost with topping:
Mix together as listed:
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 box of powdered sugar sifted with 1/3 cup of Hershey cocoa
½ can evaporated milk mixed with 1 tsp vanilla

and 1 cup of pecans to sprinkle on top.

Pour frosting on top of cooled cake, sprinkle with pecans, and let it set up for about an hour (if you can keep everyone out of it that long!)

There is nothing better than a warm cake and cold glass of milk! I think I should sample mine now!!!

Taco Soup on a cool fall day

Yum...just finished the easy version of taco soup...and the smell is just fantastic! This is my easy, fast version for days when I need to whip up a good meal with little time and effort. I never know exactly what will end up in the soup, but here is my staple recipe:

1 pound of Ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken) - (today I used beef and doubled the recipe for freezer containers next week!)
1 Onion, chopped fine (about a cup full - today I cheated and used frozen chopped seasoning blend with green, red, yellow peppers and onion)
1 can Rotel or stewed tomatoes (I prefer Hot Rotel)

1 can of chopped green chilies

1 can pinto of black beans (or cooked dry beans)

1 can of whole kernel corn
1 pkg of dry seasoning Hidden Valley Ranch
1 pkg of taco seasoning ( I use the Hot version)
1 can of hominy (I prefer yellow - but can use white)

2 TBS ground cumin

Juice of about 1/4 of a lime

Brown meat and add onions until soft... add other ingredients, including juice in the cans, and heat through. Simmer until the flavors blend. Serve topped with grated cheese, avocado slices, sour cream, and/or black olives. I usually have yellow corn tortillas on hand and will slice them into narrow pieces and fry them in oil for a crispy topping! This soup freezes great - makes for an easy meal ready to heat and eat!

Granny Foster's Dinner Rolls

I love these sort of recipes...have a couple hundred of them under the desk in an orange (literally a fruit box) box right now (from my Dad's Mother - Nola Mae Moore).

This one is in my Granny's (Mother's Mother - Billie Foster) handwriting - written on the first thing I am sure she could grab at the moment. I can just envision her yakking on the phone with someone (probably a friend from church), and grabbing this envelope to jot down a shared recipe...




Hope you enjoy it as much as I have:

Enchilada Casserole

Some while back, I started cooking multiple meals on Sunday afternoons. Probably about the time that I started back to school, especially while taking my upper level Economic courses - seems my brain just needed the break from regression, time series analysis, and stats in general. And, it has been such a joy to end the day with a meal ready to eat in the freezer - waiting to be popped in the oven or microwave for a fresh meal for the family.

This week, I cooked a big pot of chicken stew...which my recipe varies from time to time.

And, I made my Mother's wonderful ENCHILADA CASSEROLE!
This dish has been one of my families favorites, and was a hit when I was a kid too.

Give it a try - it is easy, great to make in a double recipe and will freeze and re-heat well!

Meat mixture:
brown 1 lb hamburger meat (I have used chopped up cooked chicken for this recipe also)

add in, and cook meat mixture until well seasoned:
1 can tomatoes (I use Rotel instead)
2 cans tomato sauce
1 Tbls chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic

Cheese Sauce:
Melt together on low heat:
1 lb Velveeta cheese
1 can green chilies
1 jar pimentos
1 large can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken soup

More stuff needed:
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c chopped onions (I cheat and use frozen)
about 2 dozen flour tortillas

Layer in casserole dish: Meat sauce, tortillas dipped in cheese sauce, onions, grated cheese…repeat until all used. Top off with large amount of grated cheese, and Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until cheese melts.

Serve with Chips and Salsa, or dinner rolls....mmm...speaking of dinner rolls - I have a special recipe I will share next!