Noodles, bacon, cheese….what’s not to love?

This freezes well, kidls love it, so do husbands and hormonal women…Perfect for a cold day, a bad day, a busy day…or just because.  Vary the cheese for flavor changes, use ham instead of bacon…Use a different type of pasta if you want. Yum.

This is my entry for Presto Pasta. :)  For more great pasta dishes head over to Presto Pasta Nights

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Back in the day Mrs. Cleaver and her contemporaries were very likely to serve dinner with a plate of rolls hot from the oven.  And those rolls were likely to be cloverleafs.

These are an easy roll to make and most people really like them because the shape is so…home. There is just something about these light, buttery rolls that makes you think of chilly days,  pot roast, and apple pie. Read more

I used to be an avid okra hater.

After all, I grew up nestled in the historic bosom of eastern Pa. Daintily eating pot pie (wet), Italian hoagies (wet), and Shoofly pie (wet). I nibbled on apple fritters and noshed on pretzels with yellow mustard served from the cart by a guy with a half smoked cigarette hanging out of his mouth and dirty hands.

Gastronomic heaven. Read more

I usually think of this casserole in the fall when the weather is cooling down but it is one of those that the family loves any time of the year, and so when I found ham on clearance at the grocers the other day this was an immediate thought. You can add buttered, toasted crumbs to the top just before baking if you like, but just plain like this is fine too. It is creamy and filling and you can use less ham to stretch the budget a bit more if you like. Vary the types of cheese used to vary the flavor in this versatile dish. Read more

Do you hate when your schedule gets out of whack? I do…I am just not real flexible..it is a time thing. I get up at 4:30 and try to write my blogs before barn chores and breakfast. This morning I got up..grabbed my coffee and sat at the computer only to hear a high pitched sound..like the sound the machines make on the medical t.v. shows when the patient flatlines. And it was true. The computer had flatlined. I didn’t have the web addresses to what I needed even though I tried to punch them in 40 different ways. Sigh.

Well Marc came home and talked sternly to the computer and of course it is up and running again.

I thought perhaps I had better post some savory foods since I have been on such a dessert kick lately.  This recipe is a big comfort food for me. It is very versatile, inexpensive and filling. Best of all it just tastes good. The hard thing was actually writing hte recipe for it because I just put in what I have and don’t bother to measure much.  This freezes well, stores for a week in the fridge if you need it to (AS IF) and you can adjust the ingredients as you like. This recipe makes a 13″ x 9″ casserole dish, 8-10 servings at our house, probably 12-16 at someone else’s house.  If you don’t need that much you can even freeze it in single serving freezer containers for a quick  meal for one, or if you do once a month cooking this does freeze well.

Tamale Pie

6 cups cooked pinto beans

1 16 oz package frozen corn kernels

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1 clove garlic chopped fine

1 jalapeno chopped fine

oil for saute-ing

1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped

1 large can diced tomatoes.

1 tsp cumin

1 tbs chili powder

salt to taste

2 c grated colby jack cheese

For the topping:

1 1/2 white corn meal

1/4  c flour

1  tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 c buttermilk

2 tbs oil or  melted butter

1 egg

Preheat oven to 375.

Saute bell pepper, onion, garlic, and jalapeno until tender.  Remove from heat and add corn kernels, pinto beans, chopped cilantro,canned tomatoes and seasoning. If mixture seems very dry add a little tomato juice or water. Spread in 13×9 pan. Top with cheese.

Mix cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  Stir together beaten egg,  melted butter, and butter milk.  You can also add 1 can of chiles at this point if you like. Stir the cornmeal mixture into the egg mixture, beating until smooth.  Pour over top of cheese layer and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cornbread tests done and  bean mixture is heated through.

You can add other vegetables to this. It is always fantastic.

I am getting in the mood for Autumn, and the holidays, not because the weather has been cool and rainy..because it hasn’t! We are hovering around 100 today again with high humidity that makes you want to suck the air into your body through a straw.

But the color of the light is starting to change. Autumn light has a golden cast to it..and it is beginning. I can feel in myself the changes that I grew up with in Pennsylvania/New Jersey..the turning of the leaves..the first gentle fall breezes..the smell of leaves burning, and the sound of the Canadian Geese flying over head. These images are a permanent part of my life even though I only see them in my spirit now.

In the early days of September there was an apple tree that ripened in a nearby field. Actually on the fence line between a neighbor’s property and a huge undeveloped hunk of land that grew amazing things like blackberries and Queen Anne’s Lace. That should tell you how long ago THAT was. Anyway this apple tree grew the crispest, tart-sweet apples that I have ever tasted with perfect white flesh…I have never tasted the like before, nor since. I suspect it was an old heirloom variety. I am sure that it was turned into landfill long since.

Anyway..fall makes me think of apples…and this is an excellent way to enjoy the season’s best. I was trying to wait to get a picture of this..You won’t see it on the pages of a gourmet magazine, nor on one of the chef reality shows..this is home cooking..it is really delicious and I think the recipe dates back from the 50’s…I am not sure, but it smells like everything autumn is and it tastes …well try it and see and let me know what you think..and if you email me a picture of it I will post it here.

Apple Butterscotch Bundt Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups chopped tart apples
1 6 oz package butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine oil and sugar; mix well. Stir in eggs then beat until smooth and creamy. Add flour, salt, and soda. Stir in remaining ingredients, blending well. Pour batter into a 10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan; bake at 350° for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Combine topping ingredients in a saucepan; cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Pour warm mixture over warm cake while it’s still in the pan. Cool cake thoroughly before removing.

Well, tonight is home group at our house again. If anything I am more unprepared than I was last week…I am starting to think that this is the way my life is now-chaotic and unorganized. What a kick in the pride!

One of the things I am learning from the chaos is that everything does not have to be an event to be pleasant and good. The people that come to our home group enjoy simplicity as much (and maybe more) as the stellar concoctions I have come up with in the past. There is a reason that sheet cakes, bundt cakes and such turn up at church potlucks time after time.

This is simplicity. I am in the process of making it so I will come back and add photos later. The cake is moist, rich and deliciously chocolaty. And best of all…simple. So sorry, no chipotle today…I think my family is chipotled out. BUT…seriously….chipotle would be really good in this…

Chocolate sheet cake

1 cup water ( or coffee)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4C powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk or cream

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 15 1/2 x 10 1/2×1-inch baking sheet. Whisk 1 cup water, 1/2 c butter, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, flour, salt, then buttermilk and eggs. Spread batter in prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle batter with semisweet chocolate chips. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to rack.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar, whole milk, remaining 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Spread frosting over warm cake. Sprinkle with nuts. Cool cake completely in pan.

Serves 24

O.k..now that I have made it…

I did end up tweaking the frosting. Well..it wasn’t even a tweak.  I used 4 c powdered sugar, 1/2 hershey’s special  dark cocoa, 1/2 c butter,  1 tsp almond extract, 1/3 c coffee, 1 tbs chili powder, 1 tsp cinnamon

I am calling it aztec chocolate frosting.    It paired very well with the dark chocolate cake..The pictures weren’t very good and the cake was gone before I could get more pictures. ….

The Quaker Famous Oatmeal Cookies Recipe is one of my old standby recipes. I grew up with it, I love it and I would not change a thing. The cookies come out moist, chewy and delicious..there are just some things you cannot improve upon! According to the information I have, the Quaker Company put this on their oatmeal boxes for the first time in 1955.
Saying that, I often add raisins, nuts, and/or coconut to the cookie dough for variety and sometimes I glaze the baked oatmeal cookies with an orange confectioners glaze. The trick is to take them out of the oven when they are slightly underdone and let them cool to chewy, moist goodness.

3/4 c shortening
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c water
1 tsp vanilla
1 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 c uncooked Quaker Old Fashioned Oats

Beat shortening, both sugars, egg, water, and vanilla together until creamy.
Stir in dry ingredients except the oats. Mix well.
Stir in oats and optional ingredients if you are using them
Drop by tsp on greased cookie sheet or silpat
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Do NOT overbake.
Let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely.
Yield:5 dozen cookies unless you picked at the raw dough…If so, you are on your own.

Now…in the summer my mom used to make ice cream sandwiches with oatmeal cookies and some vanilla ice cream. If you are going that route then make the cookies bigger.

I snagged this off of the blog of a foodie friend from Grouprecipes.com. In looking at her recipes, I was impressed with her ability to come up with unusual combinations. You can find more of her fabulous ideas at

Paula used this curry frosting with a chocolate cake but I think that I am going to try it with an apple spice cake. The combination of curry buttercream and moist apple spice cake seems to me to be exactly the kind of thing I like, comfort food with a unique twist.
Curry powders vary wildly so experiment to find one you like. We have a natural foods store near by that has spices and herbs in bulk and you buy as little or as much as you like. I prefer this since I can always have very fresh spices at a very small cost.

Curry Frosting
1 1/2 sticks salted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
2 tsp curry powder (use your favorite)
4-6 Tbsp milk*
Combine the butter and sugar. Add vanilla and curry, blend. Start with about 4 of the tablespoons of milk. Add more to get the consistancy you need. I needed quite a bit.

*note from Marye, personally I would probably use heavy cream here…I usually have quite a bit of it around since we have our own small dairy goats.