Lemonade Cake

We had this at a potluck and I had to get the recipe! Then I made it for the church potluck today and it disappeared! Three people asked me for the recipe so I guess it's a keeper. :)

Lemonade Cake

1 lemon cake mix
1 4 oz. instant lemon pudding and pie filling
4 eggs
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. water

Mix together, bake in ungreased 13" x 9" pan @ 350F for 30 minutes**, or until brown on the top.

After the cake cools, poke with a fork to allow glaze to penetrate.

2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T melted butter
2 T hot water
1 tsp. chopped lemon zest, optional

Mix and pour over the cake.

I made this the night before and stored on the counter, covered in foil. It was perfect the next day!

** Note - the recipe I was given said to bake for 38-40 minutes. Luckily I set the timer for 30 because it was absolutely done when the timer went off. We just had our oven worked on and the temp should be perfect. Just wanted to add this note, though, just in case. So check the cake and modify the time if needed.

Wendy's Chili Clone - My Favorite Chili

Note: I originally posted this a couple of years ago. We have recently re-discovered it and have been making it almost every week. Two kids even requested it for their birthday dinners! Today I had to take one kid to the doctor, and we stopped at Wendy's for lunch. We decided to bring some of their chili home so we could comparison taste.

Everybody said they liked mine better. I don't think they were "just saying that" - they are brutally honest when I ask for honesty (on the other hand, I have taught them NOT to say anything rude about anything they are given to eat!). I think I would like to do it again as a blind taste test, though. I told them we would do that later this evening.

Some of the comments about the "real" Wendy's Chili were: "too sweet" "just tastes funny" and "something weird in the spices". There is definitely something in the spice mixture that tastes a little bit sweet. We didn't care for it (we never noticed it till we compared) so I won't try to figure out what it is.

I did look up the ingredients for Wendy's Chili, though:

Water, Chili Base (tomatoes, salt, citric acid, calcium chloride), Ground Beef, Vegetable Mix (onions, celery, green peppers), Chili Beans (beans, water, sugar, corn syrup, salt, natural flavorings, onion powder, calcium chloride), Kidney Beans (kidney beans, water, sugar, corn syrup, salt, natural flavorings, onion powder, calcium chloride, disodium EDTA [preservative]), Chili Seasoning (sugar, salt, modified corn starch, chili pepper, onion powder, spices, dextrose, garlic powder, citric acid, disodium inosinate & guanylate, xanthan gum, autolyzed yeast extract, soybean oil, caramel color, extractives of paprika, malic acid, red 40, natural and artificial flavor, silicon dioxide [anticaking agent]).

My beans, by the way, contained just beans, water, and salt.

So there you have it! This is one of the easiest things in the world to make, and makes us happy! I hope you enjoy it too. :)

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Originally posted 11/1/09:

My favorite chili in the world can be found at Wendy's (as in Old Fashioned Hamburgers). So when I found a clone recipe in the book A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes, I was thrilled! However, when I made it I was disappointed. It was decent chili, don't get me wrong. But - having worked at Wendy's all through high school and through much of college - I knew it was NOT a true clone of Wendy's chili. It was close, though, so I set out to tweak it till I got it right.

This is what I've come up with. Your method may vary - but in my opinion it is a pretty darn good copy of the original!

*walks away humming...."single cheese, double cheese, triple all the way"....*

2 pounds ground beef
1 - 29 ounce can tomato sauce
1 - 15 ounce cans kidney beans (with liquid)
1 - 15 ounce cans pinto beans (with liquid)
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cans mild tomatoes with green chilies, with liquid
1 - 15 oz can of water (use to rinse out all the cans and dump it in the pot)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt


Brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Crumble into small pieces.
In a large pot, combine the cooked beef with all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.

For spicier chili, adjust the heat level with black pepper, cayenne pepper or use a spicier tomato/chili.

Serve with grated cheese and fresh diced onion if desired.

**Now if only I could learn to make the liquid chili seasoning! :)

Chili Casserole

I was surfing around for new recipes the other day and found this one. It's a perfect "busy night" recipe - cook ahead and reheat, or turn off the oven a few minutes early and just leave it in there warming. It's very easy and inexpensive, and there are tons of possible variations.

My family must be used to being my taste-testers by now - they all said it was a keeper, and one even said "be sure to put this in your blog!"

Of course, I did not use the recipe as published! Here is exactly what I made. Keep in mind that this serves 8. You can easily half the recipe; in fact, what you see here is the result of my doubling the original to serve 8!

CHILI CASSEROLE

2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cans beans, drained (or equivalent in dried beans, cooked)
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cook beef, onions and garlic in skillet until brown; drain.
Mix remaining ingredients (except cheese) with meat. Place into a large (11x14?) lasagna pan (If you're doing the half recipe, use a 9x13).

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Top with cheese and cook for 10 minutes more..

Tips and variations:

* The original called for salsa instead of tomatoes with chilis. It was more liquidy the way I did it - however, the kids loved it. The extra liquid was just like chili and they put it in a bowl and lapped it up!

* Ground pork was on sale so that's what I used. We loved the change of taste. Any ground meat would be great here.

* Because of the extra liquid, you could easily throw in some dry pasta. I would not even cook it first - just mix it with the rest, and maybe add a few minutes to the cook time. Or cook it first. Don't expect any extra liquid if you do this.

* You could also easily add less meat, more beans, chopped veggies, whatever you like.

Honey Glazed Chicken

I wanted to try something new but really just happened on this one. We tried it tonight and before I could finish saying "let me know if it's a keeper", 3 kids said "IT'S A KEEPER!". Later, after supper, I found two people gathered around picking at the leftovers! I made a few changes from the original recipe. Here is exactly what I made. 

 Ingredients 

 4 teaspoons onion powder 

4 teaspoons chili powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

 1 teaspoon garlic salt 

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

2 teaspoons paprika 

Sprinkle (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) Slap Your Mama or other Creole-type seasoning 

10 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or thighs 

Cooking spray 

 6 tablespoons honey 

 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 

 Preparation: 

 Preheat broiler. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush half of honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Tomato Soup

I have no idea where I found this recipe! I first made it for my Dad, who was on a strict diet. The original version was vegan. I have updated it here. My while family loves this, including my husband who doesn't care for either soup or tomatoes! We serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches, of course!

TOMATO SOUP

1 large onion
2 ribs celery
2 T olive oil
2 large cans tomatoes (whole or diced for chunky soup; pureed for smooth, of course it doesn't matter if you're going to blend it anyway)
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
6 WHOLE cloves garlic
1 tablespoon minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Cream or milk, if desired, for serving

Sauté the onion and celery in the olive oil in a large saucepan. When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes, broth, oregano, rosemary, garlic and cayenne. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Transfer half of the soup to the blender, and puree until fairly smooth. If you'd like a chunky soup, add the blended half back to the pot. For a smoother soup, blend the rest of the soup and return it to the pot. (I used an immersion blender and pureed the whole thing right there in the pot).

Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste the soup, and if it is too acidic, add a little agave nectar or sugar, just enough to take the edge off. Ladle into bowls, and stir a little cream or milk into each.

This recipe served 7 people along with grilled cheese sandwiches, with seconds and enough soup leftover for lunch tomorrow. If there's any left over, it freezes well. YUM!!

Italian Chicken

I created this on the fly tonight, and it was very highly rated by all tasters.

Disclaimer: a similar (or even exact) recipe may well exist somewhere; I have not seen it.

ITALIAN CHICKEN

Enough pieces of chicken to feed your family (I used legs and thighs. 10 total)
1/2 cup bottled Italian salad dressing
1 can artichoke hearts, undrained
Grated Parmesan cheese

Skin the chicken. If you skip this step, the sauce will be way too greasy to enjoy.

Put pieces in a baking pan. pour artichoke hearts, including liquid, into the pan and spread them out so everything is level. Pour dressing evenly over all. Sprinkle with cheese.

You will not need any extra salt for this, because of the dressing and cheese. I did not add any extra seasoning at all but you could add what you like.

Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more until brown. I turned the broiler on low and it made the cheese delightfully crispy.

Everyone loved it and the younger boys had seconds!

Mom's Cranberry Pudding

Last night I had a craving and even though it was getting late, and I knew it wouldn't be ready until almost midnight, I had to make this!

Mom may well have made this more often, but in my memory it's always just once or twice a year. After Christmas, and if I recall ALWAYS on the first night she made the turkey soup.

She would double the sauce recipe because that's the best part. I recall that Kurt and I would argue over who got to scrape out the pan with a spoon.

This is Mom's recipe exactly as I wrote it out a few years ago. See notes after the recipe.

Cranberry Pudding

PUDDING:

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup fresh cranberries, rinsed and sorted

SAUCE:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine pudding ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased metal bowl or mold, covered, in a large pot of water with a ball of foil crumpled under the mold. Keep the water on a simmer and KEEP THE POT COVERED!

Sauce: Mix ingredients. Boil and stir for 5 minutes. Serve over warm or cold pudding. Keep in refrigerator and warm it up to serve later as it will get very thick.


NOTES: One hour is never enough. I looked online and most recipes say 1.5 hours and one recipe said THREE hours! I did an extra 20 min last night and I think 1/5 hours would be perfect.

I use a metal bowl and cover it with foil. I think Mom put wax paper under the foil and then closed the foil on top. That should keep any steam from getting inside.