Apple Dapple Cake

APPLE DAPPLE CAKE

(Judy Bartels)

2 Eggs                              1 Tsp. Salt

2 C. SUGAR                       1 TSP. CINNAMON

1 1/2 C. OIL                      1/2 TSP. NUTMEG

2 TSP. VANILLA                1 C. COCONUT

3 C. FLOUR                        1 C. NUTS

1 TSP. SODA                      3 C. DICED APPLES

PREHEAT OVEN TO 300 DEGREES. LIGHTLY GREASE AND FLOUR A 9 X 13

BAKING PAN.

CREAM EGGS, SUGAR, OIL AND VANILLA.  SIFT TOGETHER FLOUR, SALT, SODA  AND SPICES.  ADD COCONUT, NUTS AND APPLES TO CREAMED MIXTURE.  FOLD IN DRY INGREDIENTS.  (BATTER WILL BE THICK.)  BAKE 60-65 MINUTES.

TEST WITH TOOTHPICK TO SEE IF DONE.

ICING

1 C. BROWN SUGAR

1 STICK MARGARINE

1/4 C. MILK

COOK MARGARINE, SUGAR AND MILK IN SMALL PAN UNTIL SMOOTH.  COOK ADDITIONAL 4 MINUTES.  POUR ON CAKE WHILE HOT.  POKE HOLES IN CAKE WITH A LARGE FORK.

Lemon Chicken

This is a quick dish to throw together for dinner.   Pounding the chicken allows it to cook quickly.  The flour you dredge the chicken in makes the sauce thicken without any hassle.  And the flavors adjust easily. 

5 chicken breasts. Pound thin between sheets of plastic wrap. Dredge in flour. Saute in butter and olive oil over high heat until browned on both sides. Set aside on plate. (Chicken will not be cooked all the way through. That is OK. It will finish cooking later.) Do not overfill the skillet. Cook 1 or 2 pieces at a time until they are all browned. You may need to add a bit of butter and olive oil as you go.

In the meantime, chop 4-5 cloves of garlic. Wash and thinly slice half of one lemon, enough to get 5 slices. Thinly slice 6-8 large button mushrooms. I do mean thin on the lemon and mushrooms. Paper thin.

One the chicken has all been browned, add the mushrooms to the pan. Stir over medium heat until just starting to release their juices and soften. Add garlic. Stir and saute until fragrant and softened being careful not to brown or burn the garlic.

Add about a cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup white wine and about 2 Tbsp lemon juice from the unsliced half of the lemon. Stir to loosen the tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add a dash of thyme and a sprinkle of cracked rosemary. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed. 

Serve over noodles (Trader joe’s lemon pepper fettuccine works well). Add a side of asparagus. 

Oriental Chops and Rice

4 pork chops, cut 1/2 inch thick
2 beaten eggs
1 2-ounce can chopped mushrooms
2/3 cup long grain rice
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules

Trim excess fat from chops; in skillet cook fat trimmings until 2 tablespoons of fat accumulate.  Discard trimmings.  Brown chops in hot fat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set chops aside; reserve drippings.  Combine eggs and 2 tablespoons water.  Cook eggs in reserved drippings in skillet until set.  Invert skillet over baking sheet to remove cooked eggs in one piece.  Cut eggs into narrow strips.  Drain mushrooms.  In same skillet cook mushrooms, rice, onion, and water chestnuts in hot oil until rice is golden; stir constantly.  Stir in soy, bouillon granules, and 1 3/4 cups water.  Bring to boiling.  Remove from heat; stir in egg strips.  Turn mixture into a 2 quart casserole.  Arrange chops atop rice mixture.  Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.  Bake, covered, in 350 oven about 35 minutes or until chips and rice are tender.  Remove shops; stir in rice.  Makes 4 servings.

Cheese -it's Soup

This is a soup supper soup.  It can be tossed together in short order from pantry ingredients.   It is called Cheese it soup because the little ravioli look like the little cheese crackers. 

Brown 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb mild pork sausage. (You can get away with one pound of either if you aren’t feeding 3 teenage spuds.)

Sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder. (As always, if I had the time I’d use fresh, but we need to eat in short order!)  Drain the fat.

Add about 2 cups of beef broth. Preferably low sodium. Scrape up the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Add 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce.  Add about 1 jar of water to rinse out the rest of the sauce and give enough water for the sauce. (You may need to add another jar depending upon the type of pasta you use. Keep track and add as you see fit.)

Add about 1 tsp Italian herbs (or oregano, basil…. whatever you like)  Add about 1 cup red wine. (Tonight I used more of the white zin, but I would typically use the 3 buck chuck Merlot from TJ’s)
Bring to a boil. Add pasta. I used an entire package of dried cheese ravioli from TJ’s. You can use less if you want it to be more like soup and less like stew. I’ve made this with tortellini. I usually use cheese-filled and dried. You can use meat filled and fresh. You can use any pasta you like, but if you want it to look like little cheese crackers floating in a rich tomato broth you need to use the ravioli.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve when the pasta is al dente. Top with a good parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

As always, this is a very flexible roadmap. Feel free to add fresh veggies… some carrots, celery and onions as you brown the meat. Skip the meat entirely. Use leftover chicken. Add some cayenne pepper  or red pepper flakes to give it some spice.

Top O the Morning to Ye: Corned Beef and Cabbage

It is Lent and that means that Wednesday Soup Suppers have started.  Expect to see lots of tasty soup recipes here soon!!!   Seeing how it is also the week of St Patrick's Day we had to have a bit of the green for dinner last night.  While not technically a soup, it does have a bit of broth in the bottom of the pot so I count it close enough.

1 corned beef roast (any size that fits your pot)
enough boiling potatoes to fill your bellies
1 green cabbage

Rinse the beef under cold water.  Throw away the package of pickling spices (OK, you can keep them if you absolutely must have pickling spices on your corned beef and cracked mustard seeds stuck in your teeth.  In which case, don't rinse your beef and throw the spices in the pot as well.)  Cover the beef in cold water.  Bring to a low boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer.  All afternoon.  For hours.  As long as you can stand it.  Until an hour before dinner.

Then, cut up your boiling potatoes (I like red skin potatoes because they seem to hold together better than baking potatoes.)  Add the potatoes to the pot.  At this point you can sink the potatoes in the broth and let the roast rest on top.  Boil.  Gently.  Some more.  An hour.  Because, of course, dinner will be in an hour. 

In the mean time, put your feet up and read a few blogs.  There isn't much else to do since your entire meal will be in one pot.  Oh, and wash, core and cut up the the cabbage.  I didn't say chop.  We're not making cole slaw here.  Just cut it into wedges and then cut the wedges in half.  Big chunks.  Do NOT boil them.  Let the cabbage sit by the side of the stove soaking up the lovely cooking beef and potato smells that waft past on their way to making the rest of the house hungry

 About 2 minutes before dinner, tip the cabbage into the pot.  Cover and let it steam.  DO not boil for any more hours.  You just want the cabbage to get warm and slightly soft (unless you are a fan of soggy slimy cabbage in which case you can boil away to your hearts content).  Take a minute to slice the beef across the grain and pop it back in to the pan.  Quickly set the table, because of course, you've been reading lovely blogs like this one and forgot to do it before now.   A bowl, a spoon and a fork will be all that you need.  Then call the family and enjoy.  Just be sure to remind the family that you have been cooking it ALL afternoon, just for them.

Any questions?

• Yes, I am sure you can use red cabbage. 
• Yes, I am sure you can do this in a slow cooker, but don't ask me about times and settings because I am sure I haven't a clue.
• Yes, you can use whatever potatoes you have around.  
• No, you really can't skip the cabbage.  Just put in a tiny amount.  Think of it as decorative parseley.  You need it for the taste and a little will go a long way but it won't be corned beef and cabbage without it.  They don't call it corned beef and potatoes now do they.  If they were going to call it corned beef an potatoes it would be hash which is what you can make tomorrow morning with the leftovers.  Assuming there are any. Which there shouldn't be, unless you arrived at the store too late to buy a small one and they only have the ginormous (is so a word spell check didn't even blink) one left.
• Yes you can add onions.  Just be sure to put them in after the potatoes and before the cabbage so you get soft edible onions that aren't mushy.
• Garlic?  Is suppose if you must.  I never would.
• Still here?  Go.  Read something else.  I have corned beef and cabbage to eat.

Zucchini Casserole

4-medium zucchini, sliced 1/2-in. thick (I cut smaller)
3/4 cup pared and sliced carrots
Water, salted
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2-1/4 cups *Herbed Stuffing Mix
1-(10-3/4-oz) can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

In a medium saucepan, put zucchini and carrots in enough boiling, salted water to cover them. Cover pan and simmer about 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Drain. In a large saucepan, saute onion in 4 tablespoons of the butter or margarine until tender. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the Herbed Stuffing Mix, cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Gently stir in zucchini. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 1-1/2-quart casserole. Put mixture into casserole. Melt remaining butter or margerine on a small saucepan. Add remaining Herbed Stuffing Mix to butter or margarine. Toss gently and sprinkle over casserole. Bake 30 to 40 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

*Herbed Stuffing Mix
30 slices firm-textured bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup cooking oil
3 tablespoons instant minced onion
3 tablespooons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons garlic salt
3/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon seasoned pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put bread cubes in two 13"x9" baking pans. Toast bread cubes in oven for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Stir in oil, onion, parsley flakes, garlic salt, sage and seasoned pepper. Lightly toss bread cubes with seasoning to coat cubes. Put in a large airtight container. Label. Store in a  cool, dry place. Use within 3 to 4 months. Makes about 12 cups of Herbed Stuffing Mix.

White Chicken Chili & Swedish Cornbread

Hi! I'm Kelly and I'm part of the women's group at Christ the King.   I'm a busy mom with a four year old and two year old in the house, which mean almost everything we make is kid friendly.  On top of challenge of cooking for kids, my husband and I are both picky eaters.  I won't bore you with the details, but cooking can be an adventure when one of us doesn't eat fruit (him) and the other doesn't care for vegetables (me).  As a cook, I'm not a huge recipe follower.  If I don't like something, I omit it.  If I have more or less of something the recipe calls for, I go with it.  I cook by how the food smells and looks, not only by the measurements on the recipe.


It is thirty degrees and snowing here.  A day that makes me want to curl up under a blanket with a book all day and only come out for a hot bowl of soup at dinner time.  Here is what I wish were cooking at our house tonight:

Lewis and Clarks Famous White Chili

Serves 6-8*

 Ingredients:
3 lbs cooked Great Northern Beans (canned or bottled)
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves *

2 medium white onions*, finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground oregano

2   4 oz cans chopped mild green chilies*

4 cups chicken stock or canned broth

20 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

Place chicken in large sauce pan.  Add cold water to cover and bring to simmer.  Cook until tender, approx. 15-20 minutes.  Remove from sauce pan and shred into bite sized pieces.  Discard water and heat oil in the same pan over medium heat.  Add onions until translucent.  Stir in garlic, chilies, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano and cloves.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken, beans, stock and 12 oz cheese.  Let simmer for 15 minutes or longer.  Ladle into large bowls and top with cheese.  Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, Swedish corn bread and chopped jalapeno peppers.* 

*NOTES*

I got this recipe from a coworker several years ago.  I don't have any idea where she got it - but it isn't of my own creation.

One time, I came in first in a chili cook off with this recipe.  

I almost always double or triple this recipe because it heats up well in the microwave and everyone in the family will eat it without complaining.  Word to the wise, if you are tripling the recipe you're going to need a BIG pan (a lesson I keep learning over and over again).

I like garlic.  So, I put more in.

I don't really like onion, so I usually use one medium or half of a large onion.

I sometimes skip the green chilies altogether.  If I use them, I only put one can in. I don't ever use the jalapenos.

SWEDISH CORNBREAD

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

3 Large Eggs

2 Cups Water

2 Cups Yellow Cornmeal

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Salt

Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended.  Add eggs and beat until well blended.  Beat in 2 cups water and cornmeal.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt into small bowl.  Add to cornmeal mixture; stir just until blended.  Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until bread is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.  Transfer dish to rack and cool corn bread slightly.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Cool bread completely.  Cover with foil and store at room temperature.)  

Recipe can be baked in two smaller size pans for easier serving.  Bread freezes well for future use.

*NOTES*

I got this recipe from another member of the Christ the King women's group, Judy Bartels.  She is a WONDERFUL cook!

We like to cook these up as mini muffins because it is easier for the kids to eat with less mess.

Recipe for Fun

Take one room full of happy people. 

Mix in a boat load of prizes from sponsors like
Francesco's on Church Street, Stephaninas Pizzaria, The Hair Syndicate, Red Robin, Hatfield and McCoys, Evanottonave, Greenway Network, Inc and Premiere Mortgage! 

Add in three quilts made just for the purpose by Angi and Kelly, and a huge pile of other prizes collected by Jean and Judy. 

Toss in a pinch of LAFF.

Stir together with 10 rounds of tricky trivia by Jim. 

Bake until Kathy the judge says is is done and you have one fantastic evening of fun. 

And you raise a whole lot of money to support VBS and other kid-centered outreach activities. 

What a great evening.  Thank you to everyone who helped and who came to play in our sandbox. 

Prayers for Japan

Our hearts go out to the people of Japan.  We will keep you in our prayers.

Handy Pecan Pie

This recipe from Pioneer Woman makes a fantastic pecan pie muffin. 

From my notes after making them for the first time...

A few changes for the next batch. Make sure to use salted butter or add a dash of salt. Add a splash of vanilla. While they were good and simple and come in under the 5 ingredient rule, they need something to brighten or intensify the flavor.

The recipe calls for mixing the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately and then gently mix them together. The tricky bit is to make sure that the butter is not too hot or to temper the eggs. If you pull the melted butter directly out of the microwave and dump in the eggs you will get scrambled eggs and not in a good way. Melt the butter first and then allow it too cool. If you are impatient you will need to temper the eggs, but mixing small amounts of hot butter into the eggs SLOWLY. It will be easier to wait.

Do NOT skimp on greasing the muffin cups. Like pecan pie, these can be sticky. The amount of butter in them helps but…

Another thing, you need to keep mixing the batter slightly as you put it into the muffin cups. Just like in a pecan pie, the pecans float to the top and if you aren’t aware of how you are distributing them you will end up with lots of nuts in the first muffins and few in the last.

I used 350 degrees for 22 minutes with normal sized muffins in silicone pans. it made 12 good sized muffins rather than the 8 described in the recipe. I will try them in the mini pans at some point in the future.

Welcome. May I Pour You Some Coffee?

Hello,  Welcome to the community blog of Christ the King Lutheran Church in St Peters, MO.  We are a friendly group of people who celebrate our faith through fellowship.  Every gathering ends with "and don't forget to give us the recipe." 

We've written recipes on notecards and napkins.  We've printed cookbooks.  We've emailed and remailed.  Now it is time to put our favorites out there where we can always find them.

So pull up a chair.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy our recipes and partake of our fellowship through the comments.    We are glad you are here.  

Lord be with you.