White Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients

•  1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
•  2 cups flour
•  2 cups sugar
• 2 beaten eggs
•  1/2 cup light or regular sour cream
•  1 1/2 tsp. almond extract not imitation
•  1 tsp. salt
•  1 tsp. baking soda

Frosting

•  1 cup butter
•  1/4 cup milk heaviest
•  4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract

Instructions

• Place butter and water in saucepan and bring to a boil
• Let it cool a bit.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, beaten eggs, sour cream, almond extract, salt and baking soda. Mix to combine
• Add in water mixture. Stir to combine.
• Spray a 15″ x 10″ jelly roll pan with cooking spray, bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes just until lightly brown
• Let cool 30 minutes

Frosting:

• Combine and bring to boil: butter and milk
• Then add 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp. almond extract Stir until smooth
• Frost cake and eat!
  Image and recipe from Your Home Based Mom
  

Texas Sheet Cake

 3/4 Pound (3 cubes) Butter

4 TBS Cocoa

1 Cup Water

2 Cups Flour

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup buttermilk

2 Eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Icing:

1/2 Cup butter

4 TBS cocoa

6 TBS milk

1 lb powdered sugar

1-1 1/2 Cups pecans chopped

1 tsp vanilla

Melt and bring to boil butter, cocoa and water.  Sift together flour and sugar.  Pour hot mixture into sugar mixture then add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour into 1/2 Sheet Pan and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Prepare icing while cake bakes.  In sauce pan bring to boil butter, cocoa, and milk; add powdered sugar and beat in; add pecans and vanilla.   Pour over cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.  Let cool and serve.

Kneader's Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwich

 

Ingredients

Kneaders Sauce Copycat

• ½ cup light mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoon sour cream
• 2 teaspoon yellow mustard

For the sandwich

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded
• 4 strips bacon cooked
• ½ ounce Provolone cheese 2 slices
• ¼ cup lettuce 2 lettuce leaves
• 1 tomato sliced
• ¼ red onion thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 avocado sliced
• 2 Fresh focaccia bread or artisan bread/rolls

Instructions

Sauce:

• In a small bowl, stir together: ½ cup mayo, 2 Tablespoons of sour cream and 2 teaspoons of mustard.

For the sandwich:

• Cut open your bread and spread the sauce lightly on both sides. Then add cheese, chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, salt & pepper and place your bread on top!
• (If using focaccia bread, cut it in half and serve. If you are using artisan bread/rolls it will make 2 servings)

 

Finlay's Shortbread Cookies

 1 pound unsalted butter

1 Cup plus 2 TBS sugar

5 Cups flour

9 oz chocolate chips

6 oz butter

Mix butter, sugar and flour.  Roll into a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 45-50 minutes.  Cut into strips.  Melt chocolate chips and butter and dip cookies in chocolate.

Salad Dressing

1/2 Cup Canola Oil

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)

2 cloves garlic (pressed or cut really small)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

This makes a delightful red dressing.  To make the balsamic dressing, just change the red wine vinegar to balsamic vinegar instead.

The Best Homemade Raspberry Muffins

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups frozen raspberries
• 6 tsp coarse sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line muffin cups with parchment muffin liners, or lightly coat with unsalted butter or cooking spray.
2. Combine milk and vinegar in a measuring cup. Stir and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Milk will thicken or curdle, effectively making buttermilk.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Using an electric mixer, combine brown sugar, white sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and milk/vinegar in a large bowl and mix until combined.
5. Add the dry mix until just combined, do not overmix.
6. Fold in the frozen raspberries
7. Scoop the muffin mixture into each cup, filling it to the top of the liner.
8. Top each muffin with ½ tsp coarse sugar.
9. Bake for 5 minutes at 425F and then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly.  Recipe and picture by Nick and Alicia
   

Healthy Breakfast Casserole

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  
  
  
• 2 medium red bell peppers, chopped (about 2 cups)
• ¾ cup thinly sliced green onion (about 1 small bunch)
• 5 ounces roughly chopped spinach (about 5 cups)
• 12 eggs
• 3 tablespoons full-fat dairy (heavy cream, half-and-half, whole milk, sour cream or yogurt)
• Several dashes of your favorite hot sauce, like Cholula
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 10 twists of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces (1 cup) crumbled feta or goat cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 by 13-inch pan with butter (don’t be tempted to use cooking spray; it doesn’t work nearly as well). 
2. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the bell pepper and green onion and cook until the pepper is tender and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. 
3. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook, while stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool for a bit while we prepare the egg mixture. 
4. Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl. Add your dairy of choice, several dashes of hot sauce, plus the salt and pepper. Whisk just until the egg yolks and whites are blended. 
5. Stir in half of the cheese (we’re reserving the other half for topping the frittata before baking). Transfer the lightly cooled veggies into the bowl, and stir to combine. 
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Evenly disperse the remaining cheese on top. 
7. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (keep an eye on it), until the eggs are puffed and appear cooked, and the center of the frittata just barely jiggles when you give it a gentle shimmy. For good measure, insert a fork about ¼-inch into the center of the eggs and make sure the fork comes out clean
8. Place the frittata on a cooling rack until you’re ready to serve. Slice with a sharp knife, and serve. Leftovers will keep well for about four days in the refrigerator. Enjoy leftovers chilled, at room temperature, or gently reheat in the microwave or oven.  Recipe and picture from Cookie and Kate