Grandma Howlett's Crazy Cake

2 C sugar
2 eggs
1/4 scant C cocoa
3/4-1 C shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 C cake flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 C hot water
1/2 C milk

Place all ingredients in a bowl Beat 3 minutes. Bake 25 minutes in 350 degree oven.

We lived next door to my grandma, Ada Smith Howlett, my last two years of high school. I remember my Mom making this recipe: She'd mix the dry ingredients, then make indentations for the wet ingredients, then stir them all together. Simple, but mmm!

Chicken Chili with Hominy

Good thing I printed this recipe out long ago, because now I cannot even find it online! What happened to "massrecipes.com"? But since it is one of our favorite soups, I have to document it here!

1 T canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium poblano chile, diced (I've used 1 can green chilies)
29 oz canned chicken broth
30 oz canned white navy beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned hominy, drained
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
Hot sauce (like Tapatio) for serving (optional)
Sour cream for topping (optional)

In a large, 5 qt pot, warm oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken until golden, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, and chilis; cook, stirring often, until onion softens, 3-4 minutes.

Cut browned chicken into 1/2 inch strips. Add chicken, broth, and beans to pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to an active simmer, and cook until chicken is very tender and chili has thickened, 25-30 minutes.

Reserve 1/2 C hominy to use as garnish (optional); stir remaining hominy into chili. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowl; garnish each serving with reserved hominy, sour cream, and cilantro, and drizzle with hot sauce as desired.

Per serving: 399 calories: 9.8 grams fat; 34.7 grams protein; 41.4 grams carbohydrates; 9.7 grams fiber

My Favorite Minestrone

Image from this website

1 lb sausage, browned and drained
1 quart water
1 can consomme
3-5 large carrots, cut large
3 stalks celery, cut large
1/2 tsp basil leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 quarts tomatoes
3 onions, cut large
1 T parsley
1 can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Simmer the above 8-10 hours (in slow cooker). Add 1 can cut green beans and 1 can red kidney beans. Simmer 1 hour. Add 1 cup macaroni, cook until macaroni is done, about 10 minutes. Sugar and salt to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with Parmesan cheese.

This is a very forgiving recipe. You can mix up the ingredients. I personally like to use acini do pepe for the pasta so that we don't get big bites of pasta. I like to add 2-3 C sliced cabbage at the end with the pasta. You can even make it up in less than an hour if that's the time you have, but the longer the ingredients simmer together, the better they'll taste! The consomme is delicious, but you can switch that out with beef broth if that's all you have. A perfect fall recipe. YUM!

Marvelous Minestrone

From Brenda Stott, one of our former neighbors

2 C onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 C cabbage, finely shredded
2 C carrots, finely diced
1 C green beans, cut
2 potatoes, cubed
2 C zucchini, chopped
4 oz can sliced mushrooms
2 C stewed tomatoes
3 T parsley
1 T basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 C tomato juice
4 C beef broth
1 C kidney beans, cooked
3/4 C macaroni
1/3 C raw barley

Saute onions until clear. Combine garlic, cabbage, carrots, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a large pot. Add onion. Cook 10 minutes. Add parsley, basil, rosemary, tomato juice and beef broth. Cook 10 minutes. Puree 1/2 cup kidney beans in blender. Add to soup. Add remaining whole kidney beans. Boil. reduce heat. Simmer 25 minutes. Add macaroni and barley, cook for 15 minutes.

Lime Sherbet

I found a wonderful recipe on Pinterest for Refreshing Lime Sherbet, and per usual for me, I adjusted it for myself and my family and for our ice cream maker, and here is the result.

4-6 tsp lime zest*
1 1/2 C sugar
5-6 C milk
1 C fresh lime juice (prob 8 limes)
1/8+ t salt

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until well blended, then pour into the ice cream freezer container. (Mine is bigger than the 4 quart maker for the original recipe, but I'm not sure how big, maybe 8. This recipe did not fill it to the "Fill" line.) Freeze to manufacturer's directions. Mmmm!

Notes - The original recipe called for added water, but I just used the whole milk I had on hand, instead of half and half. It works - it tastes great!

Make it dairy free by using almond or soy milk.

*The zest is just the outside green part of the rind, not including the white pith underneath, so as to avoid getting the bitter part of the lime. (In the case of a lemon, the yellow.)

Find the original recipe by clicking on here or on the picture.

Sour Milk Pancakes

1 t baking soda
2 cups sour milk
2 eggs, beaten
11/2 T sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups sifted flour (I like whole wheat)
1 T melted butter
1 t baking powder

Dissolve soda in buttermilk.  Stir in eggs.  Add sugar and salt.  Beat in flour a little at a time.  Add butter and baking powder. Fry individual pancakes and serve hot.

When looking for recipes to use some sour milk, I found this recipe on Pinterest.  "Retro recipes" are some of my favorites because they usually tend to be basic and delicious, and I did NOT want to lose this one. I also changed it very slightly, so what you see here is how I fix it. (Main difference - it called for buttermilk, but I wanted to use sour milk. It totally works!)

Link to original recipe here.

Deep-Dish Pizza

(From my Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1983 edition, but I've modified it slightly, of course, knowing me...)

1 lb hamburger (sometimes I'll add a little sausage or bacon for flavor)
Pizza Dough (see recipe here)
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes (or used diced) drained (I never drain it)
1 Tbsp instant minced onion
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder (or crushed garlic clove)
1 small green pepper
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz) (I usually also add a little shredded cheddar cheese for color & flavor)

Cook and stir hamburger until light brown; drain. Prepare Pizza Dough. Mix tomatoes, onion, oregano, salt, the pepper and garlic powder; break up tomatoes with fork.

Press dough evenly on bottom and halfway up sides of greased oblong baking dish, 13x9x2 inhes. Sprinkle hamburger over dough. Spoon sauce over hamburger; top with green pepper, mushrooms and cheese. Cook in 425 degree oven until cheese is light brown, 20-25 minutes. 8 servings.