Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake:
Topping:
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored (or i can pineapple slices)
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Special equipment: a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet. If you lack a cast-iron skillet of this size, make the caramel in a small pot and scrape it into the bottom of a similarly-sized cake pan.

Preheat oven to 350°
Make topping: Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.

Make batter: Sift together flour, baking powder, cardamomand salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.
Cake may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving

Enjoy! God Bless!

chicken & rice

basically i took 1lb of chicken & cut it up- i purchased a hickory marinade mix & tossed it together with some corn & tomatoes & extra seasonings. i let it marinade for 2 days. then i made some rice pilaf & served the chicken over the top! easy & yummy!

enjoy- God Bless!

Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

very quick chicken tortilla soup:
4 cups chicken broth
i can crushed tomatoes
1/2lb egg noodles
1 cup cut up, cooked chicken
1 can corn
seasonings (pepper, cumin, garlic, etc)

cheese & tortilla strips for topping

mix together all the ingredients except the noodles & toppings- once the mixture is boiling toss in the noodles & cook until they are done.

ladle into bowls & top with cheese & tortilla strips. enjoy!
God Bless

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

per my husband's request- i made coffee cake:

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake (or you can make w/o choc chips)

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, separated

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

16 ounces sour cream

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

12 ounces chocolate chips (i used 6 & made half of the coffee cake w/o choc chips)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar, then mix in the egg yolks and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder together into a separate bowl. Alternately add sour cream and then dry ingredients into butter mixture. Beat eggs whites until stiff, then fold into batter. Mix last 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon together in a separate, small dish.

In a greased 9″x13″ pan, pour in half of the cake batter. Sprinkle the top with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and half of the chocolate chips. Pour remaining batter on top, sprinkling the top with the remaining cinnamon-sugar and chocolate chips.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

God Bless!

Frosted Lemon Cookies

we love lemon in this house- and we love cookies- so lemon cookies sounded like a great idea!

Cookie Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juiceHeat oven to 400°F. Combine all cookie ingredients in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Meanwhile, combine all glaze ingredients in small bowl; stir until smooth. Frost or drizzle warm cookies with glaze. Sprinkle with additional lemon peel, if desired.

Yield: approx 5 dozen cookies.

yummy!!! God Bless

Ham & potatoes

i haven't update in awhile- my apologies:
a couple weeks ago we had an awesome ham with some roasted potatoes & green beans:

For the Potatoes:

1 1/2 lb potatoes
italian dressing
butter
cheese (feta, mozzerella)
seasonings
sour cream
i started off by cutting the potatoes up into slices & boiling them in beef broth until just softened. while those were cooking i prepped the pan by adding a "layer" of italian dressing w/some seasonings (salt, pepper, onion powder- etc)

after draining the potatoes i layered them in the pan and spinkled on the cheese, more spices & more italian dressing- then i baked them in the oven with the ham for about 15-20 min.

For the Ham:

i purched a pre cooked, pre-sliced ham from the grocery store that simple needed to be heated up for about 45 minp it was aaaawesome! throw some canned beans in a pot & you have a meal.

all in all it was a good dinner- the ham was nice & salty & the potatoes were soft & cheesy- and who doesn't love french cut green beans? We topped the potatoes w/sour cream & ate the ham w/apple sauce! yum! God Bless