The Devil Made Me Do It!

Some of you may not be old enough to understand the title of this post.  If that's you, ask your parents.  They'll remember who Flip Wilson and his character Geraldine were.  He was a hilarious comedian and had some great characters that he portrayed.  I even had a Flip Wilson / Geraldine doll when I was a kid.  It had Flip Wilson on one side and Geraldine on the other.  When you pulled a string, a recorded Flip Wilson line would be said.  I received the doll as a Christmas present from my grandparents.  My younger cousin was so mad at me.  My grandmother always bought us the same thing and my cousin did not want a Flip Wilson doll.  I thought it was only fair.  I didn't want the clock toy that taught you how tell time.  We got that gift because my cousin was having trouble telling time.  This little trip down memory lane has nothing to do with this post, but the title was the first thing I thought of when I decided to post the recipe for deviled eggs.

It seems that at every holiday gathering we have deviled eggs.  Is that true in your family too?  I always like to make sure we have leftovers of deviled eggs because I use the extra to make tuna salad the next day.  All the ingredients in the deviled eggs are also in the tuna salad I make.  It's up to you as to how many you need to make.  I don't measure the ingredients.  I just scoop the ingredients and mix them until it looks right.

Deviled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs

Mayo

Pickle relish

Salt & pepper to taste

Paprika

Boil as many eggs as needed.  Slice eggs in half and lay on a plate.  Put yolks in a bowl and mash with a fork.  Add mayo and stir until creamy.  Add relish to your taste.  I only use a little sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Fill the eggs with the mixture and sprinkle paprika on top for color.  Chill.

Say No To Canned Cranberry Sauce!

I know that most people open a can of cranberry  sauce and put it on the table at Thanksgiving.  So did we until a few years ago.  Once an acquaintance gave me this recipe, those days were over.  This is so much better than your typical cranberry sauce.  It makes enough for 2 bowls so you can put a bowl at each end of your serving area.  Make it the day before you need it so it will have time to set and the flavors to blend.  I'm not sure it would freeze well, but you won't have to worry about that once your guests taste it.  There won't be enough left to freeze.  I have been known to eat it without any other food after Thanksgiving.  Yummmmmm!

Cranberry Relish

1 1/2 c. water
1 pkg raw cranberries
1 c. sugar
1 small pkg cherry jello
1 small can of crushed pineapple, well drained
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled & finely chopped
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Combine water and cranberries in a pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Mash the cranberries with a potato masher.  Add sugar and jello. Stir. Remove from heat and let mixture partially cool. Add drained pineapple, apple, and nuts. Stir.  Pour into a dish and chill. 

Memories

When I was growing up, my mother made the best red velvet cake EVER.  Yes.  I said EVER!  Sometimes we had it at Thanksgiving, but we always had it at Christmas. When it was our birthday, we got to choose what kind of cake we wanted and Mama would make it.  My brother's birthday was only a few days before Christmas and his favorite cake was red velvet.  So lucky us would all get to enjoy his favorite cake.  He was the easy one to bake for.  I had so many favorites, it was an ordeal for me to narrow the choices down to one.  I still have this problem.  And my brother?  His favorite is still red velvet.

This is my mother's made from scratch recipe.  Bon appetite!

Red Velvet Cake

½ cup of butter

1 ½ cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 oz. of red food coloring

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tb. cocoa

1 tsp. salt

1 cup of buttermilk

2 ½ cup plain flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vinegar

1 tsp. baking soda

Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs until light and whippy.  Make a paste with the food coloring and cocoa.  Add to previous mixture.  Add salt and baking powder to flour.  Add this to the above mixture.  Add buttermilk a little at a time.  Add vanilla.  Mix vinegar and baking soda together.  Add last.  Beat lightly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Make 2 8” or 9” layers.

Icing

1 cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tb. of cornstarch

1 cup of water

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Cook together vanilla, cornstarch, and water until thick.  Stir with a whisk to keep lumps from forming.  Let cool.  Combine with butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy.

Let's Salsa!

 I was in Kroger the other night and a man was doing a demonstration in the produce department.  He made mild homemade salsa.  The hubby was with me and we both tried it.  We both thought it was yummy.  The gentleman was nice enough to share his recipe with me so I'm sharing it with you.  I hope you like it as much as we did!

Salsa

2 medium tomatoes, quartered without seeds

¼  yellow pepper

½ small onion

4 sprigs of cilantro

2 cloves of garlic

½ tsp. salt

Juice of 1 lime

1/3 jalapeno

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and chop until well blended.  Serve with tortilla chips.

You can add more jalapeno if you like your salsa hotter.  

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

I had another couponing class at my home today and wanted to prepare a special snack for those that attended.  These cookies are VERY rich and you can really only eat one.  It's like eating 3 cookies at once.  Make sure you have a big glass of milk when you eat these.  You could use the recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies and I'm sure it would be even better.  However, if time is a major concern for you, using the cookie mix below is a great trade off.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

1 package of Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix (the kind in a bag)
1 Tb. flour
1 stick of butter, melted
1 egg
Oreo Cookies (I used double stuff)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


Mix cookie mix with 1 stick of melted butter, 1 Tb, of flour, and 1 egg.  Stir until well mixed.


With a  spoon, form small balls of dough. To assemble cookies, place one ball on top of an Oreo cookie, and another ball on the bottom. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is fully enclosed with dough.

Place cookies about one and a half-inch width apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Let cool in tray for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

I probably could have used less chocolate chip cookie dough.

 Here's another idea!  You can make them in a cupcake pan!