Cranberry Crunch Cake-Secret Recipe Club

My last Secret Recipe Club assignment for 2013 was Flavors by Four.  This is a mother/daughter blog with the mom and three of her four daughters sharing posting duties. I think this is a great idea.  Wish my daughters were interested in blogging.  The blog was started blog in 2010, and they are co-hosts of Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

When visiting Flavors by Four, I thought I had “died and gone to heaven.”  Now they do have some main dish and savory recipes, but the sweets, oh the sweets.  If you are a  “sweetsaholic”  like me you must visit this block.  Just go and check out all the goodies listed on their right side bar. They include great process photos in their posts.

Partly because of the season, I chose to make Cranberry Crunch Cake.  I had a package of fresh cranberries that I had purchased on sale recently.  This was a very easy recipe to make because I could let my electric mixer do most of the work.  You do make candied nuts for the topping which needs to cook for 15 minutes and watched carefully to make sure they don't burn.  I used a generous cup of roughly chopped unblanched  almonds, filberts, pecans and walnuts.  The recipe called for 2 12 cups of fresh cranberries, but I just used the whole 12 oz. bag since I did not want to have cranberries left over.

This was a unusual cake, and we liked it very much.  I will be making it again.

Cranberry Crunch Cake
Flavors by Four
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter or margarine (I used 1/2 c. butter and 1/4 c. margarine)
1 t vanilla
1 t. almond extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries
1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. coarsely chopped assorted nuts

Combine eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for 7 to 8 minutes.  The egg and sugar mixture should double in size, leaving ribbons on top of the batter.  While the batter is beating, melt 1/4 c. butter in a small saucepan.  Add brown sugar and heat till it is melted.  Add nuts and cook over low heat until they are shiny and smell toasted, about 15 minutes.  Watch closely and stir frequently.  Meanwhile, add butter and flavorings, beating for another 2 minutes or until batter is smooth.  Add flour, a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gently fold in cranberries.  Mixture will be somewhat stiff.  Spread batter in a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan.  Using a spatula, gently add nuts to the top of the cake, covering the entire surface.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Place pan on wire rack to cool  Allow to cool completely.  Cut into squares and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or topping if desired.  Makes 15 servings.

Group B will be "On Vacation" in January so my next Secret Recipe Club posting will be in February.  If you would like to join in the fun, you can go here to fill out an applications form.

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Cinnamon Sugar Root Beer Quick Bread-Secret Recipe Club

Visiting my assigned blog for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, It Bakes Me Happy, made me happy.   I just knew that a blog with the word “bake” in the title would be filled with wonderful recipes, and it was.  Emily started this blog in 2010 and has posted many great baked sweets, but she does have some very good savory dishes also.  I want to make Chicken, Bacon, Potato Soup soon.  I cannot tell you how many of Emily’s sweet treat recipes I want to make, but Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls are very near the top of the list as is her Monkey Bread which is made from scratch not frozen bread dough.

Some Christmases I give mini quick bread loaves for Christmas gifts so when I saw the recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Root Beer Bread I, knew that is what I would make for this post.  I was intrigued by the fact that  there was no egg and  very little butter in the recipe and the way the butter was used.  I knew I just has to make the recipe and see what happened.

I didn’t have root beer on hand and didn’t want to stop at the store, so I just bought a can from the vending machine at work.  I had planned to add some root beer extract to the mix, but forgot to do it.  The next time, I think I will add a teaspoon as the root beer flavor was very subtle.

I made six mini loaves, so I sliced a tablespoon slice of butter, cut it into six pieces and then cut each piece into three pieces and put three in each mini loaf pan.  I repeated this with the second tablespoon  of butter for the top of the loaves.  I had cinnamon sugar on hand so didn’t measure it but just sprinkled the mixture generously over the top of the loaves.

The bread was moist and easy to slice.  In an attempt to amp up the root beer flavor, I combined a quarter cup of cream cheese and 1/4 teaspoon root beer extract to spread on the bread.  I think cinnamon flavored cream cheese would be great on the bread also.

Thanks, Emily, for a interesting new recipe that I will make often.

Note:  I use PicMonkey to edit my photos and have been unable to upload any all day, so no photos at this time.  I am so sorry about this.  Edited 11/11/13  Pickmonkey and my computer have decided to be friends again, so here are my photos finally.

Cinnamon Sugar Root Beer Quick Bread
from “It Bakes Me Happy bog”
2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
2 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
2 T. honey
1 (12 oz.) can root beer
2 (1 tablespoon slices) butter
Cinnamon sugar

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Carefully pour root beer into a small bowl.  Let set a few minutes to let foam subside some.  Add honey and mix well.  Combine root beer mixture with flour mixture, stirring only until dry ingredients are just moistened.   Cut one slice of butter into 6 parts and cut each part into 3 pieces.  Either scatter butter over the bottom of a greased 9x5 loaf pan or place three pieces in each of six greased mini loaf pans.  Spoon dough into loaf pan or evenly into mini pans.  Repeat butter process with the second slice of butter.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees 50 to 55 minutes for loaf pan or  23 to 25 minutes for mini loaves.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.  Makes 1 large loaf or 6 mini loaves.

Check out the links below to see what other Secret Recipe Club Group B members posted this month.

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Meat Filled Jumbo Shells-Secret Recipe Club

My assigned blog for September’s Secret Recipe Club was Join us, pull up a chair.  This blog is written by Heather who also has a family blog, Silly Goose Adventures.

As always, I found many recipes that have been added to my “to make” list.  Heather recently posted a recipe for Cheesy Cauliflower Patties that I am going to make soon as I have cooked cauliflower in my fridge.  I would have made that one for this post, but I had already cooked something else.

Other recipes that made my list are Honey Pecan Pork Chops and Honey Chicken, which is made in a slow cooker.  There are plenty of great cookie, granola, and smoothie recipes that I will be back to try, also.

Since I love to make stuffed jumbo pasta shells, I chose to make Meat Filled Jumbo Shells.  I like this recipe because of the combination of ground beef and ground pork and that it has no ricotta or cottage cheese in it.  I do have recipes that contains those ingredients and make them, but I was glad to see something a bit different.

I do not know what brand of jumbo shells Heather buys.  I buy Ronzoni, and one box has too many shells to fit into a 9x13-inch baking dish.  I usually buy two packages and use about 24 or 25 shells per recipes.  I get three recipes from two boxes

I made a few changes to the recipe, adding chopped red pepper to the meat.  I make my own bread crumbs so used plain and added Italian Seasoning.  I increased the amount of the mozzarella to 1 1/2 cups because we like things really cheesy.  We also like things really saucy so next time I will use two jars of spaghetti sauce.

My hubby ate these for his dinner for the entire week, and I did not hear one complaint about them.  Definitely will be making them again.

One side note:  I had some meat mixture left over, so I refrigerated it and saved out a little spaghetti sauce.  The next day I spread the sauce on flat bread, topped it with the meat, some pepperoni slices and some mozzarella and had pizza for lunch.

Meat Filled Jumbo Shells
adapted from Join us, pull up a chair
24 or 25 jumbo pasta shells
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. oregano
1 t. salt
1/4 t. coarse ground pepper
3/4 c. finely chopped onion

1/2 c. finely chopped red pepper
1 c. plain dry bread crumbs
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 c. mozzarella
1 to 2 jars (28 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1/2 to 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook shells according to package directions.  Remove from water and cool in a single layer on waxed paper or foil.  In a large skillet, brown ground beef and pork.  Drain any excess grease.  Add Italian Seasoning, oregano, salt, pepper, onion and red pepper.  Stir well to blend and cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Stir in the bread crumbs until well mixed.  Add the eggs and mozzarella, mixing until well combined.  Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Fill each pasta shell with about 2 tablespoon s of the meat filling and place in the prepared pan.  Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the shells.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot and bubby.  Uncover and sprinkle with the shredded parmesan.  Return to oven until Parmesan melts.  Remove from oven and serve.  Makes 6 to 8 servings depending on how hungry your diners are.

This was very good and is certainly going in my rotation of stuffed jumbo shell recipes.

Currently there is a waiting list to join Secret Recipe Club, but you may visit the Information Page to get on the list.

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Panko Crusted Pork Cutlets with Go-To Dry Rub for Pork-Secret Recipe Club

My assigned blog for August’s Secret Recipe Club was Fit Mama Real Food. Heather has been blogging since 2009.  It turns out that she lives in the same state that I do.  I am, of course, probably old enough to be her grandmother.

Heather's emphasis is on a healthy life style and cooking.  As always I found a number of recipes that went on my "to make" list:  Carne Asada Dry Rub, Irresistible Chocolate Brownie Cake or Muffins, Homemade Whole Wheat Dry Pancake Mix, and 4-Ingredient Tuna Cakes.

Because I had some pork tenderloin I planned to slice and cook for dinner, I decided to use Heather's Go-To Dry Rub for Pork recipe.   She had used it on grilled pork chops, but I figured that it would work with what I was making.  I was intrigued by the use of the allspice and cloves. These are not spices that I would have thought to use with pork.

Although I can never seem to get nice round pieces of pork when I pound out my tenderloin, the cutlets were very good.  They were nice and crispy on the outside and very moist inside.  I think that the flour in the rub helped the egg and panko to adhere to the cutlets.  I added the dry rub that was left over from rubbing the pork to the panko crumbs.  This helped to make the meat very flavorful.  This recipe will be going in the regular rotation of recipes for making pork tenderloin, and I will also be using the rub with pork chops.  Thanks, Heather.  This is a great one.

Panko Crusted Pork Cutlets with
Go-To Dry Rub for Pork

Go -To Dry Rub for Pork
2 T. flour white or whole wheat
2 t. dried oregano
2 t. thyme, crushed
3/4 t. pepper, coarse ground if possible
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4 t. allspice
1/8 t. cloves

3/4 lb. pork tenderloin
1 egg
1 T. lemon juice
2/3 c. panko crumbs
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil

Cut pork tenderloin into 4 slices.  Place between two sheets of waxed paper and pound until 1/4-inch thick.  In a small bowl combine flour, oregano, thyme, pepper, salt, allspice and cloves.  Mix well.  Rub spice mixture on both sides of pork slices and set aside.  (You will not need quite all of the rub.)  Beat egg and lemon juice together in a shallow container until  well blended.  In another shallow container, mix panko crumbs and any remaining rub mixture until well blended.  Dip pork slices in egg mixture and then into panko mixture.  Place on a plate until all slices have been coated.  In a medium frying pan, heat butter and olive oil until hot.  Add pork slices and cook 3-4 minutes until well browned, turn and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until second side is well browned.  Drain on paper towels.  Makes 4 slices.

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You can find all the information about joining in the fun of Secret Recipe Club here.

Linking to these great parties:

Inspiration Monday

Marvelous Monday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Mix It Up Monday

Made by You Monday

Monday Funday

Make the Scene Monday

Busy Monday

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Rhubarb Barbecue Sauced Country Ribs-Secret Recipe Club

 I really wanted to call this post "The Best Darn Country Ribs Ever.  The recipes and cooking method came from Julie at A Little Bit of Everything, my assigned blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club.  Julie is from Nebraska (drove through her state on our trip last year).  She has been blogging since 2009 so there is a wealth of goodies on her blog.

I was glad to see that, like me, she has a sweet tooth, so there are wonderful recipes for sweets.  I can’t wait to try Butterfinger Cheesecake, Snickerdoodle Bars and many more.  There are also some great veggie recipes, especially for Brussels Sprouts.  I will be back to grab some of those when sprouts are in season again.  I also want to try the recipes for 60 Minute Rolls and Throwed Rolls.

 Many of the recipes that caught my eye were from several years ago so I was very glad that I had the time to delve deeply into her blog.  Sometimes great recipes are buried deep in blogs so it is worth it to go back in time if you can.

Several things “came into play” when I made my final decision about what to make and post today.  Rhubarb is in season, and I have been all about rhubarb lately.  I had to work an extra day this week so hubby was going to eat leftovers an extra day.  I wanted to make something that I knew he would enjoy eating four days in a row.  Since I was a bit tired of roasts, I thought a big batch of oven-barbecued country ribs might do the trick.  When I happened upon the recipe for Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce, I knew I was in business.

I had also seen the post for Baby Back Ribs and was intrigued by the method Julie used in making them.  I  decided to use the rub and method of cooking the ribs from that post.  I am so glad I did, as I said these just may be "The Best Darn Country Rib Ever."  The pork was "fall-apart" done but very moist, the sauce was so good I wanted to stand at the stove and eat it with a spoon.  I will be coming back to this method again and again.  I am so glad that, because of Secret Recipe Club, I found this blog.

It takes 3 recipes to make these ribs:  the rub, the braising liquid, and the Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce.  I will post the recipes for each of these and then the method to make the ribs.  Because I am always trying new rub recipes, I halved the ingredients for the rub and still had nearly half left over to use another time.  My ribs are usually frozen, and I like to put the rub on them as soon as I can pry them apart, then let the ribs finish thawing in the refrigerator.  This time the rub was on the ribs for about 3 hours.

Barbecue Rub-courtesy of Julie at Little Bit of Everything and Steven Raichlen
1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 c. sweet paprika
3 T. black pepper (I used coarse ground)
3 T. kosher salt
1 T. hickory smoked salt (I did not have) or more kosher salt
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
2 t. celery seeds (I used my homemade dried celery leaves)
1 t. cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar.  Store in an airtight container or zip top bag away from heat or light.  Keeps at least 6 months.

Braising Liquid-courtesy of  Julie at Little Bit of Everything and Alton Brown
1 c. white wine
2 T. white wine vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced

Measure white wine into a 2-cup glass measure.  Add remaining ingredients.  Stir and microwave on high for 1 minute.

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce-courtesy of Julie at Little Bit of Everything and Taste of Home
1 c. chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
2/3 c. water
1 t. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. ketchup
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. dark corn syrup of molasses (I used molasses)
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t. hot pepper sauce ( I am wimpy and did not use this much and used a Thai sweet chili sauce)
1/4 t. salt

In a small saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 or 6 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  In same sauce pan, heat oil and sauté onion until tender.  Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Place rhubarb, onion and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  (Note:  Julie does not process the onion.  I did because I wanted a smooth sauce.)  Return rhubarb/onion mixture to saucepan.  Add remaining ingredients except hot sauce.  Whisk until well blended.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Store in hot sauce to taste.  Store in refrigerator.  Makes about 2 1/3 cups.

Before I get to the method, I want to mention that I used the oven.  Julie does these in a roaster on a grill also.  Because of the low oven heat, I think that these could be done in a slow cooker, but I would want the cooker big enough so that there is only one layer of meat.  I would also cover the meat with foil, and use a clean tea towel under the lid to catch some of the moisture.  I will probably be giving this a try.

 

Oven Barbecue Country Ribs
5 lbs. boneless country style pork ribs
Barbecue Rub from above recipe
Braising Liquid from above recipe
vegetable oil
Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce or barbecue sauce of choice

Sprinkle Barbecue Rub on all sides of ribs and rub in well with your fingers.  Allow to sit at least 30 minutes.  (I like much longer-see comment above).  About 4 hours before dinner time, gently pat ribs dry with paper towel, removing as little rub as possible.  Pour a film of vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat.  Brown ribs on all side in batches and adding additional oil as necessary.  Remove browned ribs to a roasting pan with at least 1-inch sides and large enough so the ribs do not touch.  Heat oven to 250 degrees.  Place roasting pan in oven and add braising liquid.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Roast slowly for about 3 1/2 hours (mine were almost fall-apart done at that point).  Remove ribs and put in another roasting pan or broiler pan if you have one.  Carefully remove pan with liquid from oven and set aside.  Pour about 1 cup of the barbecue sauce into a small bowl to use as a basting sauce.  Increase oven heat to 350.  Brush ribs with barbecue sauce and place in oven for 15 minutes.  Turn ribs and baste again with sauce.  Bake another 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, cover with the foil you used earlier and let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Serve ribs with rest of the barbecue sauce.  Easily makes 10 servings.  Note:  I poured the Braising Liquid into a container, refrigerated it, froze it in several small batches, and will used it as a flavoring for gravy for pork roasts.

 

For information on getting into the fun of Secret Recipe Club just visit the web page and click on the Join SRC tab. 

Linking to these great parties:

Make the Scene Monday 

Marvelous Monday

Mop It Up Monday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Mix It Up Monday

Sweet Sharing Monday

Monday Fun Day

Busy Monday

Manic Monday

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Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes-Secret Recipe Club

I am finally back.  Hopefully the ISP and life issues are behind me, and I can get back to the business of posting regularly.  Thanks to all for your patience with me.  As always,I appreciate that you are reading this blog.

Today is Secret Recipe Club’s group B reveal day.  In Secret Recipe Club we are assigned another blogger’s blog to visit and choose a recipe to make and post about.  On our assigned day we post the recipe and let the blogger know we had their blog.

This month I was assigned the blog “A Spoonfull of Thyme.”  Kate has been blogging since 2009, posting many delicious recipes.

I have actually made several recipes from Kate’s blog.  The Chocolate Peanut Buddy Bars rated a “10” with my coworkers.  I made the Lemon Sauce from this post to serve with some Chicken Schnitzel.  There are a number of other recipes I want to try.  One is General Tso’s Chicken which I think would be great with the Pineapple Rice in this post.

There are several reasons for choosing the recipe I am posting today.  I am trying to eat more veggies; and hubby and I like yams and eat them often.  In our area of the country, orange potatoes like this are called yams.  Second, through my Just4U at Safeway I can buy yams for a special sale price this month, so I am planning to buy them often.  Third, this recipe (very good as is) has great potential for variation.

My first variation to the recipe was to add 1/2 t. coarsely ground pepper; but there are many other spices and herbs that I want to try such as Chinese 5-spice, curry powder, cumin and rosemary.

I warm the honey slightly in the microwave to make it easier to measure and to make the glaze mixture a little more liquid so it is easier to mix with the potatoes.

After I made this the first time, Hubby said that he would like a little more glaze so I now use 3 T. each olive oil and honey.  Try it both ways to see which you like best.

Thanks, Kate, this recipe will be on our table often.

 Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes
2 lbs. sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2-3 T.  olive oil
2-3 T. honey
1-1 1/2 t. lemon Juice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. or so coarse ground pepper or other spice or herb of choice

Place yams (sweet potatoes) in a 9x13-inch baking dish.  In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, and lemon Juice.  Add the salt and coarse ground pepper or other spice/herb as desired.  Pour the mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat.  Bake at 350 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Kate says this will serve 6, but to tell you the truth, this amount makes barely enough to feed the 2 of us.  I would make two pans if I was serving
6.

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Secret Recipe Club-Cheesy Breadsticks

 

I am finally out of the doghouse with my ISP, so after tending to some family things I am back to posting.  Thanks very much to my readers and followers for being patient with me.

The blog that I was assigned for this month's Secret Recipe Club is Fake Ginger.  I was really excited about this when I received my notification.  I have been a subscriber to Fake Ginger for a couple of years.  Amanda has been blogging since 2007, and her blog is crammed full of delicious recipes.  There are so many it was difficult to choose just one for this post.  One recipe that I make often is Green Beans with Bacon and Candied Pecans.  Two recently posted recipes I want to try are Iced Oatmeal Cookies and Caramel Crown Coffeecake.  If you have not been to this blog, you definitely need make a visit.  Plan to spend some time there feasting your eyes on the gorgeous photos and reading the delicious recipes.  One feature tAmanda added that is very helpful is listing the recipes she posted the same day in previous years.  If a recipe title catches your eye, it is very handy to be able to just click over to it.

I love Little Caesar's Italian Cheese Bread, but I don't eat it often because it is quite greasy.  When I saw the photo for Cheesy Breadsticks, I knew that was what I had to make.  These were so good and not greasy at all.  I was not disappointed.  Since Amanda's recipe called for a pizza crust, purchsed or homemade, this gave me the opportunity to try a recipe for pizza dough that I had in my computer files which is ready to bake in less than 60 minutes.  The recipe made enough dough that I could make 16 breadsticks and a 10x15-inch pizza for my hubby for lunch.  The unfortunate problem for my hips may be that I will be making this recipe way too much.

I had unsalted butter so added just a pinch of salt to the melted butter.  I also used an Italian blend cheese as I discovered I was out of mozzarella.  If breadsticks are made from all the dough from the recipe I made, the rest of the ingredients will need to be doubled.  I melted the butter and added the garlic as soon as my dough was ready to rise and let it set so that the flavors would meld.  The butter solidified somewhat but was still soft enough to spread with my pastry brush. 

Breadsticks, baked but not cut.

My half of the recipe

      

Cheesy Breadsticks

from Fake Ginger

1 unbaked pizza dough (purchased or homemade.  I made Less than 60 Minute Pizza Dough.  Recipe coming tomorrow)

2 T. salted butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

I used half of the dough from the recipe I made and stretched it to about 9x13 in a 10x15-inch pan.  Melt the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave (about 1 1/2 minutes at 50% power) or in a small saucepan on the stove.  Add garlic and cook just for a few seconds until fragrant.  Using a pastry brush, spread butter over the dough.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese then the Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown.  Let cool slightly before cutting.  Half of the dough recipe I used made 16 breadsticks.

Ooey, Gooey Goodness

Thanks so much, Amanda, for sharing such a great recipe.  You can find all the details about joining in the fun of Secret Recipe Club here.

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Secret Recipe Club-Butterscotch Blondie Mini Muffcakes

 

The blog that I was assigned for January for Secret Recipe Club was Bizzy Bakes.  Since I have been up against bandwidth issues with my ISP I did not have a chance to explore the blog as much as I would have liked.

I did, however, find two great potato patty recipes and a whole page of links to muffin recipes.  When I saw Butterscotch Blondie Muffins listed on that page, I knew that was what I would make.  After all who can resist a blondie or a muffin?  I am definitely going to explore this blog further when I get through this ISP thing.

I made a few minor changes which is why I named my recipe Butterscotch Blondie Mini Muffcakes.  A year or so ago, Tiffany from Eat at Home and I had a email conversation regarding what to call those recipes that seemed to be between a muffin and a cupcake.  Muffcakes was the result of that conversation.

I used an egg instead of the egg substitute.  I baked the batter in a mini muffin pan and instead of stirring in the butterscotch chips, I just placed a butterscotch chip on top of each muffin.  I had hoped that the chips would remain on the top, but they sunk into the muffins.  Next time I will use two chips for each muffin cup and push them into the batter to cover them.

Hubby really liked these, especially the butterscotch chip center of each mini muffin.

Butterscotch Blondie Mini Muffcakes
adapted from Bizzy Bakes
1/4 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 large egg at room temperature
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
36 butterscotch baking chips

Melt butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Stir in brown sugar, egg and vanilla.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture just until flour is moist.  Batter will be somewhat stiff.  Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.  Drop batter by teaspoonsfull into muffin cups.  Push two butterscotch chips into each muffin.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool and store in a zip top bag to keep muffins moist.  Makes 18 mini muffins.

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Secret Recipe Club-Maple Pecan Brown Sugar Cake

My assignment for Secret Recipe Club this month was the blog, A Dusting of Sugar.   What a great find this was for this Great Big Sweet Tooth Dessert Lovin’ grandma.  The blog is filled with wonderful dessert and baking recipes from Rebecca, a college student who does most of her cooking in a dorm kitchen.  She is getting a bit better kitchen to cook in this year, I understand.

Looking through the blog, I found recipe after recipe that I wanted to try, but when I came across the post for Brown Sugar Cake I knew that was what I was going to make.  I also totally agree with sentiments she expresses in the post about eating sweets.  Just a couple of the other recipes that I want to try are Milk Muffins and Nutella Nanaimo Bars.

With fall coming I have had the flavor of maple on my mind so decided that I would add maple flavor to the recipe and also some chopped, toasted pecans. 

The cake is topped by a penuche type frosting to which I also added a bit of maple flavor.  This made the frosting taste similar to what is on bakery maple bars.  The cake is a sturdy cake which I actually cut into small enough  pieces to serve as a bar cookie.  No matter if you cut it into larges pieces to serve as cake or smaller ones to serve like bar cookies, it is  a delicious dessert well worth making.  Thanks for sharing a great recipe, Rebecca.

Maple Pecan Brown Sugar
based on a recipe found at A Dusting of Sugar

1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs at room temperature
1 t. maple flavoring
1 T. vanilla extract
3 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 c. chopped toasted pecans

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, shortening, and brown sugar and beat until light and creamy.  Add eggs and mix until well blended.  Blend in maple flavoring and vanilla extract.  Combine flour and baking powder and stir well.  Add flour to creamed mixture and mix until well blended.  Add milk, mixing until batter is smooth.  Stir in pecans.  Pour batter into a well-greased 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.  Batter will fill pan very full.  Bake at 350 degrees 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched with a finger.  Let cool to room temperature.

Maple Frosting
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 c. milk
1/2 t. maple flavoring
2 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan on the stove.  Add brown sugar, bring to a boil and boil over low heat for 2 minutes.  Add milk, cook and stir until mixture boils.  Remove from heat.  Stir in maple flavoring.  Add powdered sugar and mix in well.  Pour frosting over cake spread out quickly and evenly over the top.  Frosting will set up quickly.  Cool and cut as desired.  Makes 60 or more bar cookies or 15 servings as a cake.

 If you would like to join in the fun, just click on over to The Secret Recipe Club information page to find out all the details.

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SRC Reveal Day-Island Spice Pork Tenderloin

 

Since this is Monday, I first want to welcome my new followers and to thank all of you who take the time out of your busy lives to read this blog.  It is most appreciated, and I hope that you find the information I post here useful.  Now to the business at hand.

My assignment for this month’s Secret Recipe Club was Cheese Curd in Paradise.  I was somewhat familiar with this blog as Ashley and I have both participated in the now wrapped up Crazy Cooking Challenge.

This blog was started in 2009 and has many, many wonderful sounding recipes on it.  It was extremely difficult for me to narrow them down to just one recipe to post.  Because I fix a lot of pork tenderloin, the Island Spiced Pork Tenderloin caught my eye.  I finally decided it was the recipe to try.

I am always looking for new rubs to use on meat, and this one is a winner.  The pork was well-seasoned, moist and tender.  Don’t tell anyone, but the pan juices were so good that I sopped them up with a piece of bread before I washed the baking dish.

Hubby gave the dish a big “thumbs up.”  That is a good thing as I have about half of the rub mixture left over.  I know he will enjoy the leftovers when he heats them up while I am working this week.  This is a keeper recipe that I will definitely make often.  Thanks, Ashley, for sharing a great recipe.

My tenderloin was only about 1 1/2 lbs. which is why I probably had part of the rub mixture left over.  After I use that up, I will probably halve the rub ingredients.  I did cut the olive oil and hot sauce in half.  I don’t grill so just roasted the tenderloin in the oven as I usually do.  It took about an hour at 350 degrees.

I want to try the rub with  a regular pork loin roast, and I think it would be good on grilled or broiled pork chops or steak.  I may even try it on a whole roast chicken.

Some other recipes that I plan to make soon are Van Abels Green Beans, Baked BBQ Ranch Pork Chops, and Gluten Free Sour Cream Lemon Pie.  Gee, I think if I add some potatoes I have the makings for a great meal right there.

 

Island Spiced Pork Tenderloin
From Cheese Curd in Paradise

2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1t. ground cinnamon
3 T. brown sugar
2 pork tenderloins (about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. total)
2 T. olive oil
2 t. hot sauce

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Set aside.  In another small bowl combine olive oil and hot sauce.  Place tenderloins in a roasting pan.  Brush oil/hot sauce mixture over the pork.  Sprinkle the tenderloins with the spice mixture and rub in.  (I sprinkle with one hand and rub with the other.  This keeps the spice mixture from becoming contaminated.)  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and roast about 1 hour until a meat thermometer registers 155 to 160 degrees.  Let pork rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  Or grill as Ashley did.  Heat a grill to medium-low.  She said to think of the tenderloin as having 4 sides.  Cook 4 to 5 minutes per “side” or until a meat thermometer registers 155 to 160 degrees.  My 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin easily serves 4 so 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. should serve 6 to 8.

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SRC Reveal Day-Peanut Butter Banana Cream Squares

 I was so excited recently when, after waiting a nearly a year, I got an email asking if I still wanted to join The Secret Recipe Club.  Boy, did I!  So I signed up and received my very first assignment.  The blog I was assigned is Eat Laugh Love.

This is a fun blog with many interesting recipes.  Although some recipes are more sophisticated than what I usually eat, I found many recipes that I want to try.  Among them are Baked Egg Rolls, Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Bacon, Company’s Coming Apple Cake, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondes.

You will notice that the last two recipes listed are for sweets so it is no surprise that the recipe I chose to make is for a dessert.  When I saw the recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie I knew that is what I would be making.

This recipe had a number of things going for it.  I love peanut butter, bananas, cream cheese and chocolate so what could be better than a combination of all of these?  I'm also inherently lazy so love quick, easy and make ahead recipes.  Lastly, we are having a heat wave which makes a frozen dessert seem even better.

Instead of making a pie, I chose to put this in an 8-inch baking pan.  To be sure there was enough crust to cover the bottom of the pan, I increased the crust ingredients by half.  The recipe posted here reflects that change.

I wanted lots of banana so cut my slices about 1/2 inch thick.  I still took only two bananas of the size that I had.

I made my homemade Chocolate Sauce because I think that it tastes much better, but purchased can be used.

This was very good, and we will be having it often at our house.

Peanut Butter Banana Cream Squares
Adapted from Eat Laugh Love
1 1/2 c. crushed vanilla wafer cookies (about 40 small ones)
6 T. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 c. less fat)
1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed (I used light)
2 bananas, sliced
Chocolate sauce, homemade or purchased

In a bowl mix together cookie crumbs and brown sugar.  Add brown sugar and mix until all the crumbs are coated.  Pour into an 8-inch baking pan which has been very well sprayed with nonstick spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for  10 minutes.  Set on a wire rack to cool completely. When crust has cooled, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and peanut butter together until smooth.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Fold in thawed whipped topping until everything is well combined.  Cover the cooled crust with the banana slices.  Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the bananas.  Smooth the top and drizzle with the chocolate sauce.  Cover and freeze at least 8 hours.  Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.  Makes 9 servings.

Linking to Food on Fridays

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