Food is Yummy: March 2008

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Homemade Donuts

Spudnuts!

Spudnuts
3 TBSP Yeast
2 TBSP Sugar
1 Cup Water
(Mix and let stand)
1 cup scalded milk
2 eggs
2 TBSP butter
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 c. sugar
(Combine & add yeast mixture)
Then add:
6 cups of flour
2 tsp salt
Mix well, let rise until double. Roll and cut. Let rise until double and fry at 385 degrees.
(It's a very sticky dough, so use plenty of flour when rolling out)
I was peaking through my blog friends and decided to browse. I checked out one of her sister's blog and stumbled onto these scrumptious treats. We had to try it out and they are soooooooo good, hope you enjoy them too.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Super Nachos

Since Brian Mickelson hasn't posted his nacho recipe, here's one I tried today..

Tortilla Chips

Taco Meat

Cheese

black beans (drained and rinsed)

tomatoes

Top chips with meat, cheese, and black beans. Microwave for 1 minute or so until cheese is melted. Top with tomatoes. I dipped mine in cream cheese. But next time, I want corn on top, plus sour cream and guacamole.. yum!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Almond Pound Cake with Strawberries

(aka strawberry shortcake)
2 c sugar
1 c real butter softened
5 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp baking powder
3 c flour
1 c half and half cream or milk
fresh berries
strawberry glaze (recipe follows)
fresh whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine sugar, butter, eggs and almond in large mixer bowl and beat at low speed, scraping sides of bowl often til well mixed. Increase speed to high and beat til light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add b.powder and flour alternately with milk beating well after each addition. Spoon batter into greased and floured 12 c bundt pan or 10" tube pan. Bake 65-75 min. til toothpick comes out clean. Cool 15 min. Use a knife to loosen cake from pan. Invert pan to cooling rack and cool completely. Serve with fresh berries and cream.

Strawberry glaze
1 1/2 c water
3/4 c sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 3oz. pkg of strawberry jello

Combine sugar and cornstarch, then add water in saucepan. Cook on med. heat til thick.
Remove from heat and add dry jello, stir til dissolved. Cool slightly. Spoon over cake with berries and whip cream. This makes an awesome strawberry pie too, just pour over berries in a baked pie shell.

CARAMEL APPLE CIDER

This is usually a recipe I make in the fall, but it's so yummy it deserved a spotlight.

1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c brown sugar
3 c apple cider
1/2 c water
caramel whipped cream
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tbsp brown sugar

Bring cream and sugar to boil in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cider and water, raise heat to medium high. Heat just til cider begins to steam (about 4 minutes).
Divide among 4 mugs and top each with 2 tbsp of caramel whipped cream. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
caramel whipped cream:
In a small chilled bowl, whip cream with sugar til soft peaks form.

Cool Tips

How many of these did YOU know about?

A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife
under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed.
(hmmmmmm...)

Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them
neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.

For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put dish
washing liquid in it! .
Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze. ( wish I had known this for the last 40 years!)

To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.

Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).

Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.

Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. Now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get 'sharpened'' this way!

Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! (Now, where to put the body?) LOL

Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean.

Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.

Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.

Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.

Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.

To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!

To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.

Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness

Cure for headaches. Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.

Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.

Cleaning mirrors: Use air-freshener. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.

When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.

Clean a toilet: Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action c lean vitreous China .

Clean a vase: To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.

Polish jewelry: Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.

Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the thermos with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).

Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water.