Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

4 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cup flour

2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 Tablespoons cocoa

6 Tablespoons milk

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Grease a jelly roll pan and turn on oven to 375^oF.

In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Set aside.

In a measuring cup, measure 1/2 cup milk.  Add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and stir softly.

Set aside.

In a saucepan combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening, 4 Tablespoons cocoa, 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Mix on medium heat, bring to a boil, take off heat and pour into flour mixture.

Stir.

Stir in milk.  Once mixed, add 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Mix until smooth.

Pour into greased pan and bake 12-15 minutes.

While baking, put 1/2 cup butter, 4 Tablespoons cocoa, 6 Tablespoons milk in saucepan.

Remove cake from oven when done and set aside.  Put saucepan on medium heat, stir until boiling.

Pour saucepan mixture into blender with 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar.  Mix until smooth.

Pour over warm, not hot cake.  As frosting starts to run to edges, pull back with spatula until

frosting starts to set and will run slowly to edge and not puddle.

Let set for at least 30 minutes.  Serve.

Bishop Bars

These are asked for on a regular basis and sooooo easy to make!

Adapted from The Essential Mormon Cookbook

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups old-fashion oats

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 jar caramel topping sauce

12 oz. chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine everything but caramel sauce and 

chocolate chips to form a crumbly mixture.

Sprinkle half the mixture in a greased 9X13 pan and press down lightly

to form a crust.  Bake at 350^oF for 15 minutes.  

As soon as you remove it from the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips

on top of the crust.  Next, drizzle the caramel sauce over the chips.

Crumble the remaining oat mixture on top of chips and sauce.

Bake at 350^oF for 15 minutes.

*if you double the recipe it fits perfectly in a jelly roll/cookie sheet pan.

Molded Cranberry Salad

2 cups cranberries

1 orange

1 cup white sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup peeled and chopped red apple

1 can crushed pineapple drained but reserve 1 cup juice

1 3oz. package raspberry jello

1 cup hot water

Grind cranberries and cut-up orange (peel and all) in food processor.

Mix with sugar and walnuts.  Mix jello with hot water.  Mix all together

and add crushed pineapple and about 3/4 cups pineapple juice.

Spray mold with Pam.  Pour jello mixture into mold, cover with Glad Wrap

and let sit in fridge.  You can make this 2-3 days ahead.

To invert on plate, mold sit in bath of warm water for a few minutes.  Place platter

on top then flip over.  Mold should fall out onto plate.

Turkey Brine

For two 21 pound turkeys I did the following:

In a large stock pot, place:

6 qts. vegetable broth

4 cups sea salt (you could get away with 3 cups)

4 T crushed dried rosemary

4 T dried sage

4 T dried thyme

3 T dried savory

1 cup brown sugar

Boil until salt and sugar dissolve.

Let cool to room temperature.

After removing innards and giblets, wash turkeys thoroughly.

Place each turkey in separate large Williams-Sonoma Brining Bag.

Ladle boiled broth over turkey in bags dividing evenly between the two turkeys.

Add 2 qts. vegetable broth (room temp) and 1 gallon ice water to each bag, seal bags and

mix broth by kneading the bags.

Make sure the turkeys are covered and the brine has filled each turkey cavity.

If the turkey isn't completely covered, you will need to flip the turkey 1/2 way through

the brining process.  This amount covered my turkeys just fine.

Put bags in roasting pan for stabilization and put in the fridge for 12-24 hours.  I did 18 and

it was fine.

Cooking:

Remove turkeys from brine and rinse thoroughly inside and out.  Pat dry with paper towels.

Stuff each bird with 1 onion cut up, 4 stalks of celery cut up, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and sage.

Use a skewer to hold flap of skin closed on neck end and tie/bind legs together at the other end.

Rub entire turkey with thick coat of butter.

Place on roasting rack in a roasting pan and cover with a foil tent allowing space in between

turkey and foil.

Pre-heat oven to 325^oF.  Insert thermometer in thickest part of thigh without touching the bone.

Place in oven.

Notes:

We put our turkeys in the oven at 7:30a.m. for a 1:00p.m. luncheon.  I had to raise the temperature to 350 a few times to speed cooking.  The turkeys weren't done until 1:15.  We should have put them in at 6:30 - 7:00a.m.  Let them cook until the temperature reads 170 (not 165 like everyone says) degrees.

Let turkey rest for 20 minutes before carving.

End of Year Teacher Gift

We love our teachers - they deserve 

a lot (of candy and Cheesecake Factory)!

Baked Sandwiches

Baked Sandwiches

These little bundles are requested several times a week and taken to school the next day cold....

24 small dinner rolls - our favorite is Sweet Hawaiian

24 slices deli ham

12 slices provolone cheese

mayo or half mayo/half Miracle Whip

1/4 cup butter melted

1  T Poppy Seeds

1 1/2 T mustard

1 T honey

1/2 t. worscestershire sauce

Cut open the rolls, spread with mayo, fold one ham slice in half twice and 

add to the bottom half of rolls and put 1/2 slice provolone, folded in half on top of ham.

Put top half of roll on top of cheese.  Line on jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) in rows of four.

Add poppy seeds, mustard, honey and worcestershire sauce to melted butter

and whisk.  Let sit about 10 minutes to solidify a little.

Using a spoon, ladle sauce over the top of each sandwich.  It should be solid enough

to mostly stay on top, but runny enough to drip down slowly.

At this point you can cover and keep in the fridge until 20 minutes before eating or

bake immediately.

Bake, covered in foil, at 350^oF for 12 minutes.

Uncover and bake another 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Nothing Plain About this White Cake

My kids think this is as good as SusieCakes - I kind of agree.

It's moist and classic and the frosting is the BEST homemade I've found.

Betty Crocker's Silver White Cake

2  1/4 cups flour

1  2/3 cups sugar

3  1/2 t. baking powder

 1 t. salt

1  1/4 cups milk

2/3 cups shortening

1 t. vanilla

5 egg whites

Heat oven to 350^oF. Grease and flour 2 round cake pans.

Beat all ingredients except egg white in large bowl on low speed 

for 30 seconds, then on high for 2 minutes.

Add egg whites and beat another 2 minutes on high.

Pour into pans.  Bake 30-35 minutes but use a toothpick to test doneness.

If using a 9X13 pan, bake 40-45 minutes.

Butter Cream Frosting

1/2 cup butter softened but not melted at all

1/2 cup shortening

1/8 t. salt

1  1/2 t. vanilla

5 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

Cream butter and shortening until fluffy.

Add salt, vanilla, sugar and milk and beat until well mixed.