Glazed Applesauce Pecan Snack Cake (no eggs)

Being blessed with several containers of applesauce,

I went in search of an easy applesauce cake or bread recipe.

I’m all about easy and quick recipes.

I like to know there’s something yummy baking in the oven

while I’m surfing the web or working on my

ever-growing pile of laundry,

but I don’t want to spend a lot of time

on a recipe with tons of ingredients that I probably

don’t have anyway.

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Yesterday the girls and my hubby went sledding (again!)

and so I decided to use up some of the applesauce

I’d been blessed with. I thought it’d be nice to

come home to a cozy warm house smelling of sugar and cinnamon.

I found an easy  recipe and  tweaked it according to my preferences.

The result was wonderful!

(That’s right – no eggs!)

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Quick. Simple. Easy.

Here’s my version.  Make it soon!

Glazed Applesauce Pecan Snack Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

pecan pieces, optional

Preheat oven to 350º.   Grease and flour a 9 inch square baking dish.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl or with a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Dissolve baking soda into applesauce and mix into creamed butter.  Add flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared dish.  Sprinkle pecan pieces over cake batter.  Bake at 350º for 30 -40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T milk

2 T melted butter

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Mix together and drizzle over slightly cooled cake.

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CLICK  FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Racko! Sorry! and Easy Oatmeal Cookies

 Board games are making a big comeback!

(Don’t forget to check out the printable recipe link at the end of the post)

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Giving the computer a break for a while, the girls and I decided to drag out

some board games.

Did we ever have fun playing Racko and then Sorry!

We had so much fun, we decided to make at least one night a week

a Game Night.

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Of course, Game Night calls for having some snacks.

I knew I had some baking ingredients

so I went on a search for the

easiest oatmeal cookie recipe I could find.

This one fits the bill!

 

Easy Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2  cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 Cup self rising flour

1 egg

2 Cups Quick Cooking oatmeal

Combine ingredients in large bowl or your Kitchenaid mixer.  Mix well. Make small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet

Dip the bottom of a drinking glass or a cookie press in sugar and use to flatten cookies.  Bake at 350º 10 – 12 minutes.  They won’t darken up a lot, but they’ll be delicious!

NOTE: If you have all purpose flour on hand  – for each cup of all purpose flour, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

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Printable Recipe

Top Recipes of 2009

This past year I’ve tried to become more faithful to blogging. 

I just want to say Thanks to all who’ve posted a comment, sent an email, or just stopped by to look at my little spot on the web.   I hope you’ve enjoyed your time spent here.

Happy New Year!

…oOOo……oOOo……oOOo……oOOo……oOOo……oOOo…

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Now I’d like to share the top recipes of 2009.

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Coming in at #1 is…

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Low Carb Deep Fried Cauliflower

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Everyone’s wanting to know how to cook venison…OR mention the word bacon in a post and get all kinds of results!

 

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Deer Tenderloin

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Not far behind is

Beefy Rotel Cheese Dip

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then…

Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

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and finally some Southern Low Carb deliciousness…

Skillet Fried Cabbage with Bacon

 

Looks like Southern Style and Low Carb wins this past year!

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Stay tuned for more great recipes coming up this week.  I’ll be sharing a killer Pecan Pie Bar Recipe and how to make great  Buttermilk Biscuits!

Pepperoni Bread (Bread Machine)

Pepperoni Bread

Ingredients:

 

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (70° to 80°)
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3-1/4 cups bread flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup sliced pepperoni

Directions:

In bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose medium crust color and loaf size if available. Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). Just before the final kneading (your machine may audibly signal this), add the pepperoni. Yield: 1 loaf (about 1-1/2 pounds).

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

I don’t usually care for German Chocolate Cake

with Coconut Pecan Frosting.  I’m not sure what it is.  I love chocolate cake and I love the Coconut Pecan Frosting, but the two together have never impressed me.  I’ve really tried to like it…what is there not to like?

So, having all the ingredients on hand and wanting to try a new-to-me recipe, I decided to use that chocolate cake mix that I had picked up on sale and top it with a delicious homemade Coconut Pecan Frosting.  I skipped the ton of cookbooks that I have and immediately Googled for the recipe.

Here’s the “traditional” recipe.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream
• 3 large egg yolks
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/3 cups flaked sweetened dried coconut
• 1 1/3 cups chopped pecans

Combine sugar, milk, egg yolks, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the mixture is thickened and bubbling gently around the edges. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring for 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and pecans. Let cool until spreadable. This keeps, refrigerated, for about 1 week. Soften before using.  The only change I made was to use 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream.

The frosting turned out to be delicious, the cake was another thing…drier than usual.  Most everyone was eating the frosting and tossing the cake!  So that’s a mistake I hope to never make again. 

I’d like to make the Coconut Pecan Frosting again, but top a different cake.  Maybe a Fresh Apple Cake…or a Piña Colada Cake…or a yummy Sour Cream Pound Cake.  Maybe I could use the  Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe.  

The options are endless!   What do you think?

Chicken Broccoli Fettucine Alfredo

What else to do on a cold snowy Sunday than cook?!

My oldest daughter loves “white” sauce on her pasta.  She loves to go to CiCi’s Pizza, not for the pizza but for the pasta and Alfredo Sauce.  She loves this dish, without the broccoli, of course.

Chicken Broccoli Fettucine Alfredo (Low Carb)

4-6 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, stewed & cut into small pieces
1 small package frozen broccoli, steamed until tender
1/2  lb fettucine pasta, boiled, drained (I used Dreamfields linguine)
Alfredo sauce (see recipe below)

In a large pan on medium-high heat, stew the chicken thighs until done, 45 minutes to an hour.  Remove from pan to cool. Add fettucine to broth and cook until done, about 12 minutes.  In the meantime, chop the chicken into bite size pieces.  Using a colander, strain pasta.

Mix together the chicken, steamed  broccoli, fettucine pasta, and the Alfredo Sauce.  Spoon into beautiful pasta dish and top with grated Parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Alfredo Sauce

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground white pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg

Place butter and cream in large skillet over medium-low heat.  Cook and stir until butter melts and mixture bubbles; cook and stir two minutes more. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in cheese until thoroughly blended and smooth. Return briefly to low heat to completely blend cheese, stirring constantly.  Sauce recipe makes four servings; 1.9 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

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COOK’S NOTE: You can also serve this dish without the pasta.  Cauliflower “rice” would be tasty as a pasta substitute.

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DISCLAIMER: If you purchase from the links in this post you are helping support Heart of a Country Home at no extra charge to yourself.  Thanks for your kindness!

My Valentine and Chocolate Cake

My Valentine gift turned 11 this year. 

I made her a layered chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing.  This started out being for the cake eaters at her party, since she had requested an ice cream cake from the local Dairy Queen.  DQ Ice cream cake has no cake and I wanted some cake, myself. 

After she saw this cake, she changed her mind on the DQ idea and I picked up some Vanilla & Chocolate Swirl Ice Cream to go with the cake.  No Neopolitan this time! 

Handyman grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and talked to the adults (family) while the kids (8 of them) played outside.  There was some type of mystery they were investigating.  They’re all into Nancy Drew at this age and are intrigued by any type of mysterious finding!

After her party, we went to the mall to spend some of that birthday money.  She found a fluttery cream and brown skirt, a cream sweater and a fancy top.  At Claire’s she got a small coin purse and at Bath and Body she got shimmery lip gloss.  She had a blast shopping and enjoyed her birthday very much!

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Below is one of the best chocolate cakes you’ll ever eat.  This recipe was given to me by a friend years ago and happens to be my mom’s favorite cake.  It can be made as a sheet cake or a layered cake.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

2 C sugar
2 C flour
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 T baking soda
1 C buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 cup baking cocoa dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water.
 
Mix all together.  Bake at 350 until done, about 40 minutes or until
toothpick comes clean.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 t. vanilla

In a mixing bowl, cream  cocoa, butter, heavy cream and vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar until desired spreading consisteny.  This makes a stiff icing.  If you desire thinner icing, add small amounts hot water or hot black coffee until desired spreading consistency is reached.

Aunt Mary’s Easy Chess Pie

She’s been gone 21 years now, but I still think about her often.

What a special lady!  Born during the depression, with a cleft pallet and hair lip, her life was full of difficulties and disappointments.  But you hardly ever knew about her hard times.  She was always rejoicing in just being alive.  She lived on disability, but she didn’t let that keep her from sharing with people.  She sent boxes of clothes and other items to missionaries overseas and fed them at her dinner table in her little three room shotgun style house that was full of warmth and love.  Many times she called mom at work and invited her to supper.  Often after dinner she’d get out her auto harp and we’d sing songs there in her small living room.  She was full of joy and would often get happy while we sang.

Everyday she cooked lunch.  That was her main meal of the day.  She made the best iced tea with lemon and the very best cornbread.  I even loved her coleslaw and that is unusual for a kid!  We always had to clean up the kitchen afterwards.  I tried to encourage her to let her dishes airdry, but nothing doing!  We had to towel dry those dishes and put them back into her little upright cabinet.  That same cabinet now resides in my kitchen.  For a while, I could open it up and still smell her kitchen.  That smell is long gone as is Aunt Mary, but she still lives on in my heart.

Aunt Mary’s Chess Pie

4 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
2 Tbsp butter, softened (I used 4 because most other recipes call for a stick)

1 pie shell

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add eggs

one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Pour mixture

into the pie crust.  Bake at 350º for 35-40 minutes.

Cool, slice, and enjoy!

Tidbits from Thursday

What a busy day!  The weather is beautiful after being warned earlier in the week that we would have severe weather.  The sun is shining brightly, the sky is bright blue and the humidity is down.  It’s a good day to grill out for supper.  I plan on stopping by the vegetable stand on the way home and picking up some farm-fresh veggies to put on grill beside whatever meat I can find at the grocery on way home.  I’m thinking some nice yellow or zucchini squash, sliced lengthwise, drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper would be tasting real good tonight!  🙂

We’re going to pop up the camper today and air it out in anticipation of camping this weekend.  Hopefully we can and the weather will cooperate.  The girls are looking forward to it.  It will be our first time camping this year and usually we’ve already gone a few times. 

The Cardinals play the Astros tonight so I get to listen to an exciting baseball game while preparing supper.  Go Cards!!!