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Let’s Eat!-Desserts-Cakes-Part 3

27 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Willa

Before I leave the Let’s Eat Cake – there is one more I would like to mention:  Apple cake from Georgia.  I found this recipe from Paula Dean on the Food Network and have made it several times, and we enjoy it.  

You can also find this recipe on Paula Deen’s website.

APPLE CAKE FROM GEORGIA

Grandgirl’s Fresh Apple Cake From Georgia

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

On the Food Network

Cake:

Butter, for greasing pan (I used spray Pam)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1½ cups unsweetened apple sauce

¼ cup orange juice**

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 peeled and finely chopped apple

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Sauce:

½ cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

½ cup buttermilk

½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 325º F.  Generously grease the pan.

For the cake:  in a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, apple sauce, **orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract, and mix well.  Fold apples, coconut, and pecans into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1½ hours.

Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce:   Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute.  Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven.  Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Judy’s notes:  

1.  I am not fond of coconut, so I did not use it when I made this cake..

2.  I did use real butter for the sauce

3.  I don’t keep buttermilk on hand, so I make my own:  ½ cup milk, and mix in ½ 

tablespoon either lemon juice or vinegar to sour.  Let stand at least five (5) 

minutes.

4.  After the “buttermilk” has been made, mix in the baking soda before you add it to the 

saucepan.

5.  Make quite a few cuts in the cake before you pour the sauce over it, so it will seep 

down into the cake better.

6.  I tested my cake at 1 hour 20 minutes, and it was done.   I suggest you test it at 1 

hour 10 minutes, and again at 1 hour 20 minutes, if it isn’t done.  My oven seems

to bake hot, so it didn’t need that extra 10 minutes to be done.

 7. ** I don’t use orange juice, so I use lemon juice with two packets of Stevia mixed in.

 8.  DO NOT USE LOOSE GRANULATED STEVIA as a substitute for the sugar in

      this recipe.  I tried it once, and it did NOT rise!  Use regular granulated sugar.

 9.  I find it easier to mix in the spices and nuts BEFORE you add the flour – while the 

      batter is a little “juicy”.  You might try adding the apples early, as well.         

10.  I use a one-piece Angel Food pan for this.  If you use one that has a “lift-out” center,           the glaze will run out of the pan.  The one-piece keeps it in the cake.  This could be                                                              made in a Bundt pan, if desired.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Desserts-Cakes-Part 2

20 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Photo Credit Google Search and NYT cooking

I don’t remember just where I got the recipe for my favorite pound cake, but I made it often when we lived in Wiesbaden, West Germany, and the years following.  It was a bit time-consuming, as the “batter” needed to be whipped with an electric mixer (at that time I only had a hand mixer), until it turned “white.”  That’s a little difficult to describe, but the batter actually takes on a “white” look after being beaten for a while.  The cake doesn’t work well unless it gets to that point.  And the color change IS noticeable.  The other ingredients are added, then baked in an Angle Food pan, or possibly a Bundt pan, if you desired.  I liked the look of the Angle Food pan.  After cooling, the icing is made and applied.  It consists of softened cream cheese and crushed pineapple, as well as powdered sugar mixed together.  It became one of my favorite cakes to make and eat.  The cake itself was wonderful, but with the icing…yummmm.

I made that cake one evening when the Deacons from our church in Wiesbaden had come to our house for a meeting.  The cake went fast, many asking for seconds, in spite of how rich it was.  One gentleman came up to me and told me that he didn’t like pineapple…but this was the best cake he had ever eaten and would I give his wife the recipe??!!  

Since this was one of my favorite things to make, when we moved to Florida, I made it for one of our family gatherings.  Not one single comment – good or bad – from anyone there!  And so, I’ve not made it since.  No need to make something no one liked.

One of my favorite cakes to make, and an easy one, is what lot of people call Texas Sheet Cake.  I got the recipe from a friend, named Mabel, so I just called it “Mabel’s Chocolate Sheet Cake.”  The cake mixture is actually made in the 15″ x 10″ lipped pan.  Mix it all together, then bake.  While cooking, make the chocolate icing, with powdered sugar and pecans.  Put the icing on the cake when it comes out of the oven, then let it cool together.  I learned the hard way that it is tastier when it is completely cooled.  For some reason, it just doesn’t taste as good when it is warm.  Weird!  But this is a GREAT cake.

When Kraft developed its Miracle Whip salad dressing, they presented a cake recipe to help market the salad dressing.  Sounds strange, but it made the BEST chocolate cake ever – nice and chocolatey and moist – probably the most moist chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten.  It became my brother’s favorite cake.  There was also an icing along with the cake recipe that took a bit of work.  But it was well worth it.

Mother used to make the cake fairly often, especially when Bill (my brother) was home, but made it less frequently after he left home.  I believe I have made it once or twice, but not very often.  As I said, it is a bit of work, and I tend to be lazy!

When we were first married and Fred was studying at the Seminary (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas), we were poor students.  But somewhere I found this recipe for Lemon Jell-o Cake, and I remember making it often.  However, I haven’t made it in many years, but I remember the taste of it, and how much we enjoyed it.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat! Desserts-Cakes-Part 1

13 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Photo Credit Google Search and NYT cooking

Now onto some of my favorite things to eat – and possibly to make.  I have made quite a few cakes in my lifetime, some turned out better than others.  Of course there are the boxed cake-mixes that work well.  And the flavors have improved over time.  I found I like the Duncan Hines mixes more than Betty Crocker (sorry Betty), and I find them richer and more flavorful than others.

At one point of time, back when we were living in Wiesbaden, West Germany, I took a cake decorating class.  I generally made the cake to work on from a box mix.  I knew a few of the ladies in the class who made their cakes from scratch.  I wasn’t that brave.  But the class was fun, even if I didn’t think most of my “decorations” turned out well – especially compared to others in the class.  Until I took the cake home and Fred and Karen (just a toddler at the time) got a look at it.  Their ooh’s and aah’s were enough to make me think I had created a masterpiece!  That was quite rewarding.

While I didn’t – and haven’t – done much with my cake decorating since then, I do remember making a cake for a ladies bowling celebration.  I remember making it as a sheet cake; I “divided” the cake into squares with some kind of icing design.  Within each square, I made alternating icing ornaments – bowling balls and bowling pins.  The balls I made with icing rolled carefully and gently between my hands to shape the balls.  I had taken white icing and delicately swirled another food color in it, so none were a solid white or colored.  The pins I made/shaped icing on a toothpick, then “painted” a line around the “neck” in red food coloring.  I thought it was pretty cute, and my family did, as well.  The ladies were impressed.  I’m just sorry I never took pictures of it.  The memory is just in my head at this point.  It was fun.

One thing I learned about cake making/decorating – I don’t care how good the “decorating” was, if the cake was over-cooked, dried out, tough…the cake wasn’t a success.  I tried to make the cake the best I could…fresh and tender and “moist.”

One little thing I’ve found recently, and Fred and I enjoy, is a “mug cake.”  I found this recipe and have been making it occasionally after a supper meal if we want something just a little sweet.  According to the recipe, in a mug (no small glass here – a regular MUG), place three tablespoons of the dry cake mixture, then two tablespoons of water, stir until blended, and cook in the microwave for one minute (I usually cook it on high for one minute and one second).  Top it with vanilla ice cream and yummmm.  According to the recipe, you can use any flavor cake mix you want, but the second cake mix MUST be Angel Food!  I put them in a Tupperware bowl (yes, I still have those), and stir them with my whisk until thoroughly mixed together.

Scanned from the recipe I copied

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Casseroles

6 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy WIlls

Credit Google Search and Mirko Fabian

I know that many people, when they just hear the word CASSEROLE, hold their noses.  There just isn’t a casserole they like.  And so they aren’t interested in anything pertaining to casserole cooking.

But I beg to differ – I have found many casseroles that my family and I like.  Take, for instance, the “Lattice Topped Chicken and Vegetable” casserole that we used to have frequently.

Scans of the recipe I use

It is a meat-and-vegetable dish, all in one.  I don’t remember just where I found the recipe for this dish (looks like I cut it out of a magazine), but I would make it frequently when our girls were living at home.  Layer vegetables – I would even place frozen mixed vegetables in the pan first – then cooked, shredded chicken on top of the vegetables, then a layer of cheese.  Top all that with a Cream of Mushroom Soup mixed with a cup of milk, then cut strips of canned pastry into a “lattice” form, more shredded cheese, then fried onions on top of everything and bake.  Yummmm!  Tasty and easy.  I have also found it to be just the thing to take to a church pot-luck dinner, or to a friend that was house-bound because of illness or surgery.  Cook it in an aluminum pan and then there’s no need to get the pan back.  Great recipe.

And then there’s the pineapple casserole our son-in-law makes – and has given me the recipe.  Again, another good thing to take to a church dinner.  There is usually none of it left at the end of the meal.  Crushed pineapple and juice in a mixture with sugar, flour and eggs, topped with torn pieces of bread that is topped with butter and baked.  Wonderful!  Our daughter has a different recipe that is good as well, that includes crushed crackers and cheese.  Both are delicious.

Pineapple Casserole

28 oz. canned crushed pineapple with juice

     (1 large + 1 small can)

1 Cup Sugar

4 TBSP Flour

2  Eggs

2-3 slices bread torn into small pieces

1/4 lb butter (1 stick) or as needed

Mix first four ingredients together and pour into baking dish; top with bread pieces and dot with butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until set.

Enjoy

Then there’s the standby casserole – Green Bean Casserole.  It’s been around since the 1960’s and I’ve made it so often, that I don’t make it any more – nor do I eat it.  But it’s quite easy to make, and goes well with a dinner menu, especially.  I’ve seen it a lot at Thanksgiving meals.   Green beans, Cream of Mushroom Soup mixed with milk, toasted almonds on top.  It really is good.

Credit Google Search and BudgetBytes

When we were first married, and didn’t have much money – we were poor school students after all – and I was a working wife, I would frequently make tuna casserole for our meal.  I made it so often that I haven’t made it in any of the years since.  Really burned us out on it!  But it’s easy and inexpensive to make.  

Credit Google Search and BudgetBytes

Not really a “casserole” as such, but one thing I’ve been making for a lot of years, that most people enjoy – Applesauce Jell-o®.  Not sure where I learned this recipe, but it has a great taste, and adds color to any meal.  I use either one large or two small boxes of sugar-free Jell-o® – usually Raspberry, although any flavor would do.  Raspberry is just such a bright, deep, red, and has a fantastic flavor.  Dissolve that in two cups of boiling water, then add two cups of unsweetened applesauce and one teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  Mix well, pour into the serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and chill until set – overnight if you want.  It is REALLY good!  Jell-o® with texture!

Credit Judy Wills

I really like my half-apple bowl for this dish

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Meatloaf

22 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Credit Pixabay

Anyone out there who likes meatloaf?  Anyone have a recipe for meatloaf that they think is the world’s best? Well, I don’t have one.  I have made meatloaf in my lifetime of cooking, but it’s not my favorite thing to make.  Kinda messy, if you know what I mean.  It just doesn’t work unless you get you (clean) hands right down into the hamburger meat and mix it up.

I have eaten a lot of meatloaf in my time, and some better than others.  Fred’s Mother had a recipe that I’ve copied and used to make up upon occasion, but that’s been many, many years ago.  It calls for ground round steak, eggs (separated), minced onion, horseradish, dry mustard, catsup, celery, minced parsley, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, and minced green pepper.  The neat thing about it, is that the eggs are separated, saving the egg whites.  They are later whipped into stiff peaks and folded into the mixture.  But there are several items in this recipe that prohibit me from making it.  Fred doesn’t eat horseradish or catsup.  Karen doesn’t – or didn’t – eat green peppers.  Funny story about that;  the first time Fred’s Mother made it for us, she was describing the ingredients to us and when she was about to mention the above prohibited items, I was trying desperately to frown and silently shake my head “no!!!”  I knew neither of them would eat it if they knew all that was in it! Fred tells me that his Mother would actually buy a round steak and grind the meat herself – actually, Fred remembers doing the grinding, rather than his mother.  Now that’s a memory!

                                                              Credit Google search

However, Fred and I have discovered that Cracker Barrel makes an excellent meatloaf.  Since we like to eat out at lunch mostly, we find the cut the meatloaf in about half the size that they have for the supper time.  That suits us just fine.  Their recipe is quite tasty, and I’m convinced that they use tomato sauce to top the loaf with, rather than catsup – at least it tastes like that to me, and Fred is able to eat it, as well.

For many years I’ve heard about “meatloaf sandwiches” but have never tried one.  Since most meatloaf dishes are made in a “loaf pan,” one recipe will fill an entire pan and make quite a bit of meat. 

Credit Pixabay

And so, I can understand cutting some off the loaf and make it into sandwich the next day.  However, I’m thinking that it needs to be at least warmed, if not a hot sandwich.  Somehow, cold meatloaf just doesn’t appeal to me!  How to make it?  Just two pieces of bread with the meatloaf in between?  Possibly with sliced onions, tomato slices, cheese?  Now that sounds like a sandwich to me!  And possibly on a sub roll, or toasted Sourdough bread.  Hmmm, that’s beginning to sound good and making me hungry!

Credit Google search and Meatloaf and Melodrama

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat-Spaghetti-Part 2

15 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Credit ChurchArt.com

Last time I wrote about my favorite spaghetti recipe that I use all the time.  But that’s the home-made version. We do, upon occasion, eat out at an Italian restaurant, and usually get their spaghetti.  There aren’t too many Italian dishes that I care for, spaghetti and lasagna being the main exceptions.

We have some friends that we join in a meal once a month.  When we started out on that journey with them, we were eating at Olive Garden each month.

Credit Google Search and Olive Garden website/assests.friendseat.com

 Perusing the menu, I just didn’t find anything other than the spaghetti or lasagna that I really wanted to eat.  And the spaghetti usually won out. 

Credit Google search and Olive Garden website/a.mktgcdn.com

However, I kept thinking that it was a LOT of noodles and not nearly as much meat sauce as I would like.  Then the husband of the couple ordered the spaghetti, but with a side dish of extra meat sauce – and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.  Yes, I pay extra for the extra meat sauce, but it makes just enough sauce to counter the noodles.  But we like my recipe better.

Many, many years ago, when Fred was still Active Duty Air Force, he made a trip down to Orlando for one of his business trips.  He told me about this neat place, called Disney Village Marketplace* that his group went to.

Credit Google Search, Disney website/www.huitt.zollars.com

They stayed in a hotel near to Disney Village, that had a spaghetti eatery in its restaurant.  So when we came down as a family for a Disney visit, we went to that eatery, and were pleased with the spaghetti.  I have no idea whether or not it is still in business.  But we still like my recipe better.

Also many years ago, there was a chain of Italian restaurants called The Spaghetti Warehouse.  Seems like we found one and had an enjoyable meal there – but I don’t remember just where it was.  I Googled the name, and there is only one listed – in Columbus, Ohio.

Our Sunday School class likes to get together for a Christmas meal each year, and one year we went to a recommended-Italian restaurant called Il Pescatore.

Credit Google Search; Il Pescatore website/cdn.usa.restaurants.info

It’s a quaint eatery, and the food is quite authentic.  Good salad and good spaghetti.  But we still like my recipe better.

We’ve eaten at Maggiano’s Little Italy on International Drive in Orlando several times and have enjoyed the food.  They have so many good Italian dishes there, but the spaghetti is top-notch.  And we still like my recipe better.

When we lived in Heidelberg, West Germany, our church called a man to be our pastor.  He and his family arrived in December, 1981.  We had planned to have their family come to our apartment and meet us, when we learned that Greg (pastor) had injured his back and was essentially bed-ridden.  I had made a large pot of my spaghetti for supper, so I just put a lid on the pot, went to the neighborhood bakery and got a loaf of bread, and we took it all up the hill to their apartment!  It traveled well, and re-heated easily.  And all that to say that their son saw our daughter and an attraction was started.  They’ve now been married for nearly 38 years!  All because of spaghetti!  Mine’s the best!!

*P.S.  Disney Village Marketplace became Downtown Disney and is now Disney Springs

Credit Google Search and Disney Spring website/disneyworld.disney.go.com/afterhours

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat-Spaghetti

8 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Credit ChurchArt.com

Spaghetti is a true Italian dish…I think.  I know that pizza is not, although we associate it with Italian foods. And while, when we think of “spaghetti” we think of the whole dish – noodles, sauce, meatballs (perhaps), and cheese – spaghetti is actually just the noodles.  There are so many varieties of sauces that go over the noodles, that we have just come to call it all “spaghetti” and think we know what we mean.

I actually do not remember my Mother making spaghetti.  Perhaps she did, but I don’t remember it.  Consequently, after Fred and I married and moved from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Fort Worth, Texas, I found a spaghetti recipe on the label of the Crisco can.  With some adjustments, I’ve been using that same recipe ever since.  And I/we like it better than another spaghetti we’ve eaten.  I’m afraid that’s pride talking….

Photo by Judy Wills

I started out making it exactly as the recipe calls for – with one exception.  It says to brown the hamburger meat in Crisco.  Well THAT doesn’t make any sense!  I mean, I’m browning the meat to get the fat OUT…why would I brown it in fat to begin with?  So I just browned the meat without the Crisco.  I add chopped onions as the meat is browning.  The recipe called for canned mushrooms – stems and pieces.  I finally realized that I like sliced button mushrooms better, so that’s what I use now.  

Photo credit Judy Wills

It calls for one 8-oz can of tomato sauce.  I found that to be too “juicy” or runny, so I’ve changed that to one 8-oz can of tomato paste.  Okay…that’s MUCH better.

Photo credit Judy Wills

In recent years I have added diced tomatoes, rather than whole tomatoes that I had to cut up. 

Photo credit Judy WIlls

Lazy, I know, but it’s easier. I learned that just a little bit of sugar cuts the “acid” in the tomatoes, so I’ve been adding about one tablespoon of sugar to my sauce.  

But the final “adjustment” I’ve made to that recipe is…wine.  I started out using cooking wine.  I then discovered that it has a lot of salt in it, so I started using regular wine instead.  As Fred likes to say – if it’s not good enough drink…it’s not good enough to cook with.  And that’s funny coming from him…since neither of us drink wine!  I have never developed the taste for it…just don’t like the taste at all on my tongue.  However, in foods, the alcohol is cooked out and just the taste of the wine to enhance the flavor is left – and it’s GREAT!

I get a lot of teasing from my daughters about that wine.  I started by measuring it very carefully into the spaghetti sauce – six (6) tablespoons per batch.  Now I just pour it into the bowl of my wooden stirring spoon, flip the spoon to empty it into the sauce, then flip it back – all the while pouring, never stopping!  The girls really kid me about that!  But it really makes the sauce delightful.

So that’s my spaghetti sauce – and it’s really our favorite.  I now make a double batch each time I make it, spoon it into Corning Ware dishes into serving sizes for Fred and me, and freeze it.  It usually makes about six servings for the two of us.  I can just whip it out of the freezer and microwave it to heat while I’m cooking the noodles – and we have our meal..And that reminds me – I have gotten to where we like Angel Hair pasta rather than  regular spaghetti noodles.  At one point in time I used Vermicelli noodles, but find we like the Angle Hair even better.

Photo by Judy Wills

How about my readers?  Anyone have a favorite spaghetti recipe?

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat-Pot Roast

1 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Photo credit Google search and Sugar Spun Run

Anyone have a good pot roast recipe?  I can’t seem to make a good one for anything.  

My Mother used to make such a good pot roast…nearly every Sunday she would make one in her pressure cooker.  It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and tasty.  My Dad used to tease her that it was “no good…it just falls off the bone!”  But I never learned her technique for making a good pot roast.  I have a pressure cooker – I’ve tried several different cuts of meat – all to no avail! 

 My roasts are either dry or tough.  The only time I’ve made a decent pot roast was when I purchased one of those Rōmertopf clay pots that must be soaked in water for a while before using – lid included.  But I found it so much work that I didn’t think it was worth the effort.

Photo credit Google search and Rōmertopf

One of my Aunts made a great pot roast.  She always cooked it in her electric skillet, and she always used a chuck roast cut of meat.  She would coat it in flour then sear the meat in the skillet before covering it and cooking in slowly.  Yummmm!  Even trying it in my electric skillet, it still didn’t work for me.

Photo Credit Google Search and Presto

So I gave up on trying to cook my own pot roast.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like to eat a good pot roast!  When Fred and I would go to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, we always tried to eat at the Liberty Tree Tavern.  They had the best pot roast!  Slow roasted, they claimed, and it was delicious!  However, we haven’t found it there recently, much to our distress.  So we eat at other places now.

Photo Credit Disney Food Blog

Surprisingly enough, we have found a good pot roast at our local Culver’s.  Now Culver’s is essentially a hamburger joint – and their hamburgers are REALLY good – but they serve other meat dishes as well.  They have a good Reuben sandwich, but they also have a pot roast – either a dinner plate, or as a sandwich.  I would not have thought an eatery like that would have a good pot roast, but they do.  Fred and I frequently get the dinner and share it – it’s a lot of food!  And it comes with two side dishes, as well.

Credit Culver’s website

And recently we ate at our local Cracker Barrel, and found that they have created a new dish – Shepherd’s Pie with their signature Hash Brown Casserole on top.  It comes in a skillet, and is quite tasty.  While most Shepherd’s Pies that I have eaten are made with hamburger meat, this one is made with their pot roast!  Big chunks of the roast, along with onions, carrots, green peas, mashed potatoes as a bottom “crust” with the hash brown casserole on top, and melted cheese topper.  A dollop of sour cream tops it all.  Really good!  Rather than sharing it with Fred (which we will do next time), I ate half of it and brought the remainder home for my supper meal!  A footnote here – our daughter reminded me that a “true” Shepherd’s Pie is made with mutton.  After all – shepherds shepherd sheep, right?  I think I’ll stick with the pot roast!

Photo Credit Cracker Barrel website

I don’t know too many people who make their own pot roast these days.  I just wish I could make a good one.  Oh well, I’ll just have to enjoy the ones I’ve mentioned above.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Part 9

11 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Fred and I really enjoy eating out at lunchtime (me especially since I don’t have to cook anything for lunch!).  It’s a habit we’ve developed over the years.  We have a standing dinner engagement with another couple on Monday suppertime, and so Mondays we do sometimes eat at home for lunch.  Suppers are usually eaten at home.  

Occasionally we eat out for breakfast – not very often, but sometimes.  Our favorite place for breakfast is Cracker Barrel.

Credit Cracker Barrel website

Their choices for breakfasts are amazing, although we do have our favorite.  When we usually eat there for breakfast, it is on the days that we have “fasted” in order to have blood drawn at our primary care physician’s direction, early in the morning.  We are usually quite hungry after that ordeal, so a breakfast at Cracker Barrel is something to look forward to…and we do!  Our favorite is Mama’s Pancake Breakfast.

Credit Cracker Barrel website

 It includes two eggs fixed the way you like (scrambled is our favorite), either bacon or sausage (I am NOT a sausage fan!), and three large pancakes with butter – and we have them put chopped pecans in the pancakes!  Yummmmmm!  Not don’t get the wrong idea here – we split that meal and it is PLENTY for both of us.  Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

But, back to lunches – another reason we like to eat out at lunch rather than supper/dinner, is that the portions are usually smaller and the prices are smaller as well.  One of our favorites is Culver’s. 

Credit Culver’s website

It is a hamburger joint that started in Wisconsin, and has made it’s way down to Florida.  We had our first taste in Illinois when we visited our Karen and her family, and were hooked.  We were quite excited to find them building down here.  They really make good, fresh hamburgers with all the fixin’s.  But that’s not all – they have a great pot roast, either dinner plate or sandwich.  Tasty, and melts in your mouth.  They have a great chili, except that they use kidney beans in it, which my body rejects, so I have to pick them all out before I can eat it!  But not only are their hamburgers the best, they are known for their “custard.”

Credit Culver’s website

It is fresh-churned within each store, and is more like a soft-serve, which I really like.  They have a “flavor of the day” each day, and they keep experimenting with different toppings and flavors.  However, my favorite is just vanilla with hot fudge topping.

We frequently eat lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse

Credit Longhorn Steakhouse website

While their menu isn’t terribly extensive, we do have our favorites.  Their salmon is aMAZing!!  They marinate the salmon in bourbon before grilling.  WOW is that good! 

Credit Longhorn Steakhouse website

 And since I’ve bragged about Culver’s hamburgers, I have to admit that the “steakburger” at Longhorn’s is wonderful.  It is 8-oz of  meat (before cooking) and is about ½ inch thick.  It comes with shredded lettuce (Romaine), sliced onion, sliced tomato, cheese of your choice and an amazing sauce!  I always ask for extra sauce it is so good.  All that and a vegetable.  Mmmmmm.

Longhorn Steakhouse also has a shrimp entree that I thoroughly enjoy.  There are four shrimp on a skewer, grilled, then spread with a sauce that is lovely.  For lunch, there are two skewers.  It is served over rice and then another vegetable.  Frequently I skip the rice and get two vegetables.  Really good.

Credit Longhorn Steakhouse website

And I must not forget to mention that they serve warm bread with butter.  It is a multi-grain bread loaf, and is quite good.  Just a filler before the real food arrives.  We usually try to skip the bread unless we are having nothing but soup that day.  And their soups are great.  Fred likes their loaded potato soup, and my favorite is their French Onion soup.  It is almost as good as the one I make!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat! Part 8

4 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Recently, Fred and I celebrated our 63rd anniversary – quite a milestone.  As it happened, we were in Virginia, celebrating the high school graduation of our grand-twins, Connor and Hannah.  And so, while we were there, we made our own celebration.

Photo by Judy Wills

While we like to eat out quite often, this was to be a special meal.  We had a difficult time deciding just where we wanted to eat for our celebration.  We finally decided to eat at Berret’s Seafood Restaurant and Taphouse Grill in Merchant’s Square in Colonial Williamsburg.  We had never eaten there before, so this would really be a treat for us.

Photo credit by Google search and Berret’s website

We had a really nice meal there.  Here is a decoration we found at a window near our table.

Photo by Judy Wills

Since they knew it was our anniversary, just before we left the restaurant, they gave us a SMALL bottle of champagne with writing on the side. 

Photo by Judy Wills

Photo by Judy Wills

Nice gesture on their part.  Neither of us are champagne drinkers, but I tasted it when we got back to Janet and Tom’s house.  It was okay, if you like that kind of thing.  It was the thought that counted.

The last day we were in Virginia, Fred and I had a second meal at one of our favorite eateries in Williamsburg.  It is called Food for Thought – original name, hm? 

Photo by Judy Wills

We thoroughly eating there, and the inside decorations are quite unique.  There are “sayings” and thought-provoking comments from scholars and literary people lining the walls.  A most interesting place to eat and ponder…and the food is good, as well!

Photo by Judy Wills

When we returned home from that visit, on Saturday, we went to our favorite bbq eatery called 4Rivers.

Photo by Judy Wills

Since we eat there frequently, we have become fairly good friends – well perhaps very good acquaintances is a better word – with the servers, managers, and cooks there.  We get waves and smiles whenever we enter the eatery, and the managers come and have conversations with us.  We love it! 

Well, we had told one of the managers, Cara, when our anniversary was, and she planned this surprise there for us.  She said she was sweating bullets that day, just hoping we would go there to eat that Saturday, as usual.  And this is why: They had “reserved” part of a table just for us – in our usual spot to eat!

Photo by Judy Wills

They treated us to the meal (wouldn’t let us pay for it); walked us to the table; gave us a plaque telling about love and marriage, that every employee of this restaurant had signed on the back, and just celebrated with us.

Photo by Judy Wills

Every cook/cashier/server in the place wished us a “happy anniversary” with a smile.  They were aMAZing!  We were amazed and surprised.  This is customer service to the extreme.  But we loved it.  Oh, the memories.  And here is where we’ve hung the plaque in our house – so we can see it and think of those people and the effort they put into making a special time for us.   WOW!  

Photo by Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

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