I need an intervention

I am in the process of moving. Boy, do I have way too many cookbooks.

The good news is, I will be back blogging, in full force, soon. It will be just in time for my 6 year bloggiversary. Stay tuned!

Catching up

Lemon Sour Cream Cake
Reader's Digest Cakes 1,001 Classic Recipes from Around the World Copyright 2003

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 13x9-inch baking pan. Sifted the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until just blended after each addition. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a rack. Dust with the confectioners' sugar.
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I have so many recipes that I haven't told you about. Here's one of them.

I made this so many months ago that if there were any details I wanted to mention , they are long forgotten. I  remember loving the moist, dense texture of this cake.  It's one of the better lemon cakes I've made and it would have been great with a couple of berries and some whipped cream but it was great plain too. I would make this again.

I wish I had more to say but I don't. Sorry.

Birthday cake

I like to record birthday cakes here on my blog, although I don't try new recipes out for birthdays. I used my all-time favorite yellow cake recipe this time. It's the reverse-creaming method that I use that makes this cake so good. I've tried to duplicate it a couple of times since that first time I made it, but I was always impatient and my butter wasn't soft enough so I didn't get those same great results. The butter needs to be completely soft which it was this time. It came out perfect again.

I made one and a half times the recipe for an 11x15-inch pan. I split the cake after freezing it (so it would be easier to cut). For the filling, I used this recipe, except I opted to leave out the Cool Whip at the last minute and I'm so glad I did. It was just what I wanted - a thick, creamy texture.  I also used Better Bowls pudding mix this time which I find superior to Jell-O or store brand. I discovered it recently when I bought the little single-serving bowls off of the clearance shelf. I thought it mixed smoother than boxed mixed and it tasted better. I have not been contacted by Better Bowls - this is just my honest opinion. I'm not sure about it's claims of being healthy, although I'm sure it's healthier than other pudding since it has some fiber.

Dan is a whipped cream freak so I used whipped cream to frost the cake. I used some gelatin to help stabilize it (it's debatable whether or not that is necessary but the whipped cream never weeped on the leftovers after days in the refrigerator). I added some food coloring and used powdered sugar to sweeten it. It wouldn't whip at first but I was just trying to whip too much cream at once (4 cups). I finally whipped it in batches but I was frustrated and tired so I didn't add any fancy touches (I was going to pipe a border).  Not the best decorating job (when I'm also cooking for a party - I can only do so much with the cake) but personally I thought this was one of the most delicious cakes I've made.  I guess I'm a bit of a fan of whipped cream too. In one of my most unselfish acts of motherhood, I let Dan eat the last piece of this cake.

My go-to chocolate cake recipe does not translate to cupcakes very well so I used this recipe for cupcakes with my Easy Buttercream Frosting. I didn't do a cream filling for the cupcakes and they were okay, not the worst chocolate cupcakes but not the best either. I should have used Duncan Hines.  I really never have much luck with cupcakes, especially chocolate.. No matter how hard I try not to overbake them, they almost always seem dry to me.  Since I decided to frost the cupcakes as soon as I mixed the buttercream,  I ended up with 'dots' on my cupcakes (the color didn't absorb evenly - I try to let colors sit overnight usually).

He knew just what to do with the candles:

More meat loaf? Of course!

Boarding House Meatloaf
Jack Daniels' The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook Copyright 1988

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup uncooked regular oats
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Meat Loaf Sauce
3/4 cup catsup
2 tablespoons onions (chopped)
2 tablespoons green peppers (chopped)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients for meatloaf. Place into greased 9x3 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Pour off juice and bake about 10 minutes longer. Place on platter and cover with sauce.

For sauce simmer all ingredients over low heat until onion and pepper are tender.
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I'm back on my meat loaf kick. I never get sick of it. I wasn't really looking for something really different this time. What I wanted was something a bit different but yet I didn't want to buy any extra ingredients. And, as I knew I was out of bread crumbs and had a surplus of oatmeal, I wanted one that used oatmeal as the filler.

This recipe met those criteria and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit even though I was almost expecting to be disappointed. It seemed too simple, too plain but it hit the spot. One thing I would change is that the 'sauce' would be much better used as a baked-on glaze (I've found the recipe printed that way online). Ketchup and brown sugar cooked together is just a bit too thick and sweet to be used as a sauce - it should stick to being a glaze. Also, next time I would add a little spice like nutmeg, cloves and/or dry mustard to give the glaze a little kick.

It was a bit crumbly in texture but I didn't mind that but be forewarned if you are looking for a meat loaf that behaves well when sliced. This might not be it.

I'll have to add this one to my meat loaf recipe round up.

This is a nice cookbook. It's not just recipes - there are lots of stories and information about the region of Tennessee where Jack Daniel's is produced. There are pictures of people and places. although no pictures of the recipes. It had a lot of great recipes, many that actually use Jack Daniel's but others are just recipes from that area.

I paid $2.97 in Goodwill for this book many months ago. Back then, that was a stretch for me, now I would be lucky to find a cookbook in Goodwill for $2.97. They have started pricing them ridiculously high. Perhaps the increase in cookbook sales since I started shopping there is what compelled them to increase the cookbook prices but I have become much pickier about what I buy there and I notice the cookbooks tend to pile up now.

Using It Up: Bananas

Banana Snack Cake
Taste of Home Simple and Delicious Cookbook Copyright 2010

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 small)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar

In a bowl, combine flour and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk the brown sugar, water, banana, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish.
Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. I skipped this. Cut into squares. Yield: 9 servings.
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I made this because it was fast. I made this because it was easy. I made this because it used up some of my frozen banana stash that is growing all of the time. I made this because my coworkers are happier when I bake and I really didn't have the time or motivation to look for a more interesting recipe.

I certainly didn't make this because I thought it would be anything special but this was quite good. Simple, yes, but very moist and delicious with nice banana flavor. As a bonus, this is egg and dairy free, perfect for anyone with egg and/or dairy allergies or your vegan friends or family. 

Snack cakes always remind me of when my mom bought snack cake mixes that came with their own pans.  Maybe they were called Snackin' Cakes?  How did they get the pans in the boxes?  Were they folded?  Ah, that is one problem of growing up in the age of packaged mixes - many of mom's best recipes were eventually discontinued LOL.