BUTTON, BUTTON, PAIRS OF BUTTONS...

I recently participated in a Button Swap on Swap-Bot. I figure no matter how many buttons you have, someone else will have different ones, so sending off some of my duplicates and waiting for new buttons to come back to me sounded like fun.

When the time came, I gathered up the requisite number of buttons, plus a bunch, sent them off, and honestly, just kind of forgot about the swap. (One of the advantages of having a short attention span is that so many lovely little surprises arrive in my mailbox, lol!)

Today, a packet of buttons arrived. I suspect I will never use them. Because, tell me, isn't this absolutely the most fun "button card" you ever saw? I just love it! How could I bear to remove the buttons?

In other news, I really needed to bake something today. Some version of Dump Cake seemed to be in order, but...but...something new. Lemon Peach Crisp has made its debut, and it is YUMMY.

LEMON PEACH CRISP

2 Large cans peaches (about a quart each), drained
1 Peeled apple, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Almond flavoring
About 10-12 teaspoons strawberry jam
1 Lemon cake mix
1 cube butter or margarine

Mix the fruit and almond flavoring together, right in the 9"X13" cake pan you'll be baking the crisp in. Drop a dollop of strawberry jam in the center of each planned serving. (I figured the pan would divide into about 12 good-sized servings.)

Now pour the dry cake mix over the top of the fruit mixture and jam, and spread it out evenly. Slice the butter thinly into pats and lay them out over the top of the cake mix.

Bake at 350 degrees F, until the top looks lightly browned and crispy. To be honest, I forgot to look at the clock, but it was about an hour, maybe longer.

It really was good! Now, a note or two: I'm not sure the strawberry jam made a difference, so you could probably skip that. Or mix the jam in with the fruit. Either way. I didn't want to go overboard with the almond flavoring, as it can easily be overpowering, but I think the amount could be doubled to a full teaspoon, for even better flavor.

Happy St Patrick's everyone!

SUNDAY RERUN: Apple Cake--YUMMM!

It's Sunday, and that means it's time for a Sunday Favorite! I've chosen this one from a year ago, because it's apple season, and those red orbs are calling my name.

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Ceili, my constant, perennially hopeful, cooking companion

My plan, today, was to make Mama's no-bake cookies. Out came my big loose-leaf notebook of recipes. Not there. The little book I'd used for a while some years back. Not there, either. The big recipe box. The little recipe box. Nope.

I called Mom. She went hunting, and started to read one to me, but before she was half finished, we realized it was similar, but not hers. So was a second one, filed nearby. Finally, she said she'd find it and call me back.

In the meantime, all that recipe browsing had reminded me of a bunch of other recipes that are begging to be made, but the one that topped the list was an apple cake recipe I got from a neighbor friend many years ago. I no longer even remember her name, but I thank her for the Best Apple Cake recipe ever.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 cups unpeeled chopped apples (I promise you won't notice the peels!)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped nuts
  
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teas vanilla
• 2 cups flour
  
• 2 teas baking soda
• 2 teas cinnamon
• 1 teas salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the apples and nuts.


Mix together the liquid ingredients, and add to the dry. Stir gently until everything is well-mixed. The batter will be quite thick, but as they cook the apples will "juice up", adding the moisture needed.


Spoon the batter into a greased and floured baking pan. Mine was 7 x 11 inches, but you could also use a 9 x 13.

Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a knife inserted at the center comes out clean. (I actually had to cook this one for nearly an hour, because of the smaller pan, but it made for a thicker cake.)


I'd intended to drizzle caramel syrup over the plates before serving, but found we were out of it, so I served it as I had 100% of the time before--just as it came from the baking dish, no frosting or adornment at all. It really doesn't need it.

DH had a one-word description, with his mouth still full of his first bite: "Gooood!"

It's a SALAD! HONEST!

Last year, at the Parker Ladies' Night Out, my cousin Patsy brought a fruit salad. It didn't really look like a salad, and it tasted like dessert, but if Patsy said it was salad, who was I to argue? After all, dessert has to wait until the end of the meal, and salad you can have right away. Also, no one gives it a thought if you have seconds of salad. Dessert? Don't even think it.

So when my daughter-in-law assigned the fruit salad to me for Easter dinner, I knew exactly which one to bring. As I prepared it, I took pictures. This is definitely one to share.

Pretzel Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• One 8 oz package Neufchatel or cream cheese (fewer calories in the Neuf.)
• 3/4 sugar
• One 8 oz carton Cool Whip
• 3 medium bananas, sliced into rounds
  
• 1 large package raspberry gelatin
  
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water
• About a pound and a half of strawberries, sliced, lightly sweetened

Mix pretzels, sugar, and butter to make crust. Spread in 9 X 13" pan & bake 15 minutes at 350 degree oven. Let cool. (Note: If you need this salad to be ready quickly, do what I did and put the sliced strawberries in the freezer while you work on the rest of it.)

Cream sugar and cream cheese together. Fold in Cool Whip and mix well. Spread evenly over crust. "Seal" the edges all around so the jello layer won't flow down into the crust; you want it to stay crisp.


Spread the banana slices in an even layer over the cream cheese layer.


Refrigerate while you prepare the gelatin. Put raspberry gelatin mix into medium mixing bowl, and add the boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Add the cold water and stir. Let cool. Add the strawberries, and refrigerate. When the jello is somewhat set up, spread over the top of the previous layers.

And that's it! This is so yummy, even the DH said, "This. Is. Great. You can fix this again", and he is not a big fan of strawberries!

Are you going somewhere with what you've baked? We'll end with a favorite tip: Use toothpicks to keep the plastic wrap off the food:

NEW PROJECT #2

Yesterday, I said I had three new projects to show off. Here's the second, and then I'm off to see if I can get two bracelets finished before I go to bed. Probably not possible, but I'm sure gonna give it a shot!

I finally came up with a way to use all those tins AOL used to send out. (So if you've got any you'd like to unload, free free to email me!)

That's my beautiful Mama in the picture!

Will I show you how? Absolutely! Watch for the tutorial on ThinkCrafts.com!

LEFTOVER FRENCH FRIES

So, I admit I'm a little short on the uptake. However, I did, at long last, figure out what to do with leftover French fries. It took having a bunch of them that I didn't want to throw away, but I did it.


DH, Bruce, and I went out to lunch this past week. I had a Philly sub sandwich, except I asked for no bread, and lots of lettuce. Totally yummy salad, that was! It came with fries, which I was not going to eat, but I figured with two big men at the table, they wouldn't go to waste.

Ha! They both had their own fries, and I ended up taking home every single one of mine.

Have you ever microwaved French fries? Yech. They go a limp and gummy. Trying to pan fry them isn't a whole lot better. What was left?

The next morning, I reached into the 'fridge to get something, and the lightbulb in my head went on at the same time as the lightbulb inside the Big White Appliance. I took out the fries, spread them on the broiler pan, turned the broiler on low, and left them to heat while I fixed the eggs and toast. I mean, fried potatoes are fried potatoes, aren't they? Doesn't matter what shape they're cut in, as long as they're fried.

They came out of the oven all crispy and brown, and went onto the plate alongside the eggs. DH raved about them literally all day, and then the next, whenever he'd think about them.

What you see in the photo is a second, smaller, serving for his next breakfast. Gotta love it.

DUMP CAKE: UGLY NAME, BUT YUMMY!

Got a sudden craving for Dump Cake yesterday, something I hadn't fixed or had for a couple of years probably, for reasons unknown even to me. It used to be a favorite, because it's so easy to make, and so dangerously delicious.

Anyway, I had the ingredients in the cupboard (which my cabinet-maker husband says we don't have, because a cupboard is literally a board shelf to hold cups, and we have cabinets, but I digress), so I set to work, also deciding to share the fun.

Here's what you'll need:

• Box of chocolate cake mix
• 20 oz can of cherry pie filling
• 1 large apple
• Lemon curd (optional)
• 1 cube butter, cut into thin pats
  
• Chopped nuts

What you don't see on that list are measurements, because you don't need them. That's one thing that makes this recipe so great.

So, begin by peeling and chopping the apple. Dump the chunks in an 11"x7" cake pan, or whatever you have. Now open the can of cherry pie filling and dump that into the cake pan. Microwave a couple of dollops of lemon curd for about 20 seconds, just enough to liquefy it. Pour it over the apple and pie filling and stir everything together.


Next, pour the dry cake mix over the fruit mixture, spreading it out evenly. Lay the pats of butter, evenly spaced, all over the cake mixture, and then sprinkle as many chopped nuts over everything as you want, or you can leave them off entirely.


It won't resemble a "normal" cake that's ready to go into the oven, but that's okay. Put it in an over preheated to 350F (176.6C), and bake for 1 hour, or until it looks done.


Dish it up and eat it--it's even better with ice cream on top!

This recipe is endlessly adjustable--use more pie filling, or something other than cherry, or a can of pineapple instead of the chopped apple. Canned peaches are good with yellow cake. Use a different flavor cake mix--lemon or yellow are just two suggestions.

Enjoy!

CHICKEN/BASIL PASTA SALAD--YUM!

"It's not Fall yet. It's not Fall yet. It's not Fall yet."

I am clicking the heels of my ruby slippers together, and telling myself that, with a fair amount of success. The temperature was over 90 F (32.2 C) yesterday, and very nearly that hot today.

And that means we can still eat summer salads!

Chicken Basil Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 12 oz pasta in your favorite fun shape
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh basil
• 3 cups chopped very ripe plum tomatoes
• 2-3 cups diced cooked chicken
  
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Cook the pasta in 4 quarts water until quite al dente. Drain. Toss with olive oil and lemon juice. Cool, stirring the pasta from time to time to coat.

Add chopped basil, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste to the pasta. Mix thoroughly, but gently. Serve in a pretty bowl, garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Serves 8 to 10 as a salad, fewer if it's the main dish.

This salad is a lovely thing to pack for one of those late-season picnics, or dinner al fresco, out on the patio or deck. I'm thinking of toasty garlic bread, a nice wine, and good company....Yes. This is exactly the salad for that.

ALTERED CUISINE--BROWNIES FOR GROWN-UPS

This is almost a recipe, but just almost. It starts with (shhhh!) a mix. I prefer to think of it as "altered cuisine". After all, altered couture is really big right now; why not wrap a whole 'nother group in a big bear hug of inclusiveness? Altered! It's not just for dresses any more!


So. Take your favorite brownie mix.

The one I use calls for the addition of eggs, vegetable oil, and water. That's the first point of alteration.

Substitute good, strong, brewed coffee for the water. Even better, if you have a coffee liqueur on hand, such as Kahlua, use that.

Now grind some coffee beans extra fine, and add one teaspoon of that ground coffee to the brownie mix. I guarantee you won't get a gritty brownie, just one with an extra mocha punch.

Once you've mixed the brownies and put them in the baking dish, sprinkle the top with chopped nuts. I used pecans; whatever you have on hand will work just fine.

Bake as directed.

Did you use the coffee liqueur in place of the water? Mama, not the kids, gets to lick the bowl!

P.S. These brownies taste great with a glass of red wine. Enjoy!