Texas Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake
For the Cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup canola or other vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup cold coffee 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and cinnamon, and set aside.
Stir together the remaining ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, stirring until you have a smooth, rather thin batter.
Pour into your prepared pan, and bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 frosting.

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted (about 4 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the milk and cocoa in a heavy saucepan (stir, stir, stir). Add the butter and, over medium heat, stir until the butter melts. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the sugar and vanilla until smooth.  . When the cake is just out of the oven, spread the frosting evenly on the hot cake.

Triple Berry Loaf

1/2 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, separated and beat (whites beaten to a stiff froth)
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pint blueberries, blackberries and raspberries fresh or frozen

 Oven Temp: 375F

Cook for 40-50 minutes depending on oven

Directions:

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the beaten egg yolk. Add the milk, alternately with the sifted flour and baking powder. Stir in the vanilla. Gently fold in the whites.  Then gently fold in the blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.  Yes the batter will turn a pretty shade of pink, purple color.

Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan in a  375F oven until cake tests 40 minutes.

Remove cake from pan by running a knife along edges. Spread a little butter over the top of the cake while it is still warm, and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Elephant Ears!!

I just found this recipe and had to  keep it save for the Girls. They love elephant ears......... Found this at Simple Recipes

Ingredients

* Lots of granulated sugar

* Puff pastry

* Parchment Paper

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of sugar over your workstation. Roll out the puff pastry to about 10X12 inches. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of sugar (and spices if using) over the dough.

2 Roll up the left vertical side inward, stopping in the middle of the dough. Roll up the right side of the dough. The two rolls should be meeting at the middle and touching. Press the two sides together gently and let the dough chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. Repeat with any more puff pastry you may have.

3 Starting at one end, cut off pieces of the log, in slices about 1/2 inch in thickness. Lightly sprinkle sugar onto each side. Pinch and press the sides of the two rolls together to ensure that they don't unroll during baking. Place on large parchment lined baking sheets, or a baking sheet lined with a Silpat. They will increase size dramatically, so leave plenty of room between each cookie and only bake a dozen at a time.

4 Set the tray in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the sugar has caramelized. Allow them to cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

Paneer Cheese

I found this cheese recipe from Forging Fromage. I just might try this at home!!
200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes

1 Gallon whole milk
4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, approx.

1. Sterilize all equipment. In a large stainless-steel pot over low heat, slowly bring milk to a boil, stirring gently to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

2. Add lemon juice. Stir for 5 minutes or until milk begins to curdle and the solids rise to the top. If it does not curdle, add another 2 tbsp lemon juice and continue stirring.

3. Pour contents of pot into a cloth-lined colander. Let curds drain. Rinse curds with cold running water, then twist them in the cloth to remove as much of the water as possible.

4 Twist the cloth tightly around the cheese and place on a plate. Cover with another plate and place a 2-lb. (1 kg) weight on top. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Unwrap cheese and place in a small bowl. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Living in the Kitchen with Puppies  added this helpful hints:
*I am much too absent-minded to watch over a pot of milk. I use my slow cooker on high, lidded, with a probe thermometer in it - alarm set for 190f. It takes longer but you don't have to think about it.
*I let mine sit 2 days, and then pressed it even further between two cutting boards for a few moments, with me sitting on top!

The way the girls love and eat cheese this would be a great idea for a rainy day, to have the girls help make their own food..... To bad they are older now I could see this as a great school aged project.

Homemade Butter and Buttermilk

Making your own butter? Wow I found this is from the New York Times while in a daze with finding a new blog to follow but had to keep it for a rainy day (when I run out of butter... got a bulk package.

Homemade Butter and Buttermilk

6 cups organic heavy cream

Salt to taste (optional).

1. Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk. Tightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and start mixer on medium-high speed. The cream will go through the whipped stage, thicken further and then change color from off-white to pale yellow; this will take at least 5 to 8 minutes. When it starts to look pebbly, it's almost done. After another minute the butter will separate, causing the liquid to splash against the plastic wrap. At this point stop the mixer.
2. Set a strainer over a bowl. Pour the contents of the mixer into the strainer and let the buttermilk drain through. Strain the buttermilk again, this time through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; set aside.
3. Keeping the butter in the strainer set over the first bowl, knead it to consolidate the remaining liquid and fat and expel the rest of the buttermilk. Knead until the texture is dense and creamy, about 5 minutes. Strain the excess liquid into the buttermilk. Refrigerate the buttermilk.
4. Mix salt into the butter, if you want. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. Makes about 16 ounces (2 cups) each of butter and buttermilk.

And to think I used to help my grandmother make butter in  a butter churn.  She told me that  it would help me develop a large chest... LOL

Sweetened Condensed Milk

 1 cup  dry milk

2/3 cup sugar 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup boiling water

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and thickened. The sugar should completely dissolve. Refrigerate in a tightly covered jar until ready to use.
Yield: 1 ¼ cups

Oven "Fried" coating

I made my own coating for meat and potatoes to oven fry. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of panko (Japanese style breadcrumbs) 
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. sugar

Mix together.  Dip your meat or vegetables into egg or milk.  Coat with the coating bake at 450 degrees for one hour for meat and 45 minutes for vegetables.

I made this the other night with boneless chicken breast.  Earlier in the week it was potatoes - minus the panko.  No leftovers at all...........