SPAGHETTI TOMATO DELIGHT! CJ STYLE!

My oldest son CJ wanted to make supper tonight! so he was the chef, and he came up with his own version, he also plated the meal himself, I think he did an amazing job!







Spaghetti (Make as much as your family needs)
2 TBSP Margarine
2 TBSP Flour
2 Cups Milk
1 can Tomato Soup
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Seasoning Salt
Pepper to taste
Tex Mex Seasoning (optional)
Parsley for garnish


Cook Spaghetti, In cast iron fry pan melt Margarine, when melted sprinkle with Flour, and stir together, then add Milk and wisk till smooth, add can of Tomato Soup, and mix till nice and smooth. add Seasonings, and then cover and let simmer!
When spaghetti is done drain, add to plates and then pour sauce over and sprinkle with Parsley!
Enjoy!

ALFREDO SAUCE WITH ANGEL HAIR PASTA

This meal is very easy to make when you need a meal ready fast, and is very tasty! I made my own version of it.




Angel hair pasta, make as much as your family needs

3 TBSP Butter or Margarine
3 TBSP Flour
2 Cups whole Milk
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
Pepper to taste, don't add salt the feta is salty already
3 TBSP Feta Cheese
2 TBSP chopped parsley


(1) Cook Angel Hair
(2) Melt butter in sauce pan
(3) Add the flour and mix together
(4) Add the milk and mix till combined
(5) Bring that to a bubble on medium heat
(6) Whisk until thick
(7) Add the garlic powder, pepper and Parsley
(8) Stir in the Feta Cheese until it has melted into sauce
(9) When pasta has cooked drain
(10) Put some pasta on plate and pour Alfredo sauce over
(11) Garnish with some parsley sprinkles

CHOCOLATE LAPTOP BIRTHDAY CAKE!

My oldest son had a birthday last Thursday, and he wanted me to make a laptop cake, well I had to put on my thinking cap, and figure this out, and I knew I had to use fondant icing, this was the first ime ever using fondant, I found it tricky to use, and you need a few days in advance to prepare it. But all in all it was fun, and it didn't turn out to bad. At least the kids were pretty excited about it! I made the cake out of chocolate!


TEXAS CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE

2 Cups White Flour
2 Cups Sugar
2 Eggs Beaten
3/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Butter or Margarine
1 Cup Water
4 Heaping Tablespoons Cocoa


(1)In a bowl mix together Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Sour Cream, Salt and Baking Soda. Set aside.
(2)In saucepan, bring Butter, Water and Cocoa to a boil. Remove from heat. Cool.
(3)When cool stir into Flour mixture and beat with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
(4)Pour into 2 17 inch jelly roll pans, lined with parchment paper ( easier to get the cake out later)
(5)Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until cake tests done.
(6) Cool before icing.


CHOCOLATE FROSTING

4 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 Cup Butter (butter is a must)
1/4 Cup Milk
4 Tablespoons Cocoa


(1)Ina bowl mix Icing Sugar and Vanilla set aside.
(2)In saucpan combine Butter, Milk and Cocoa. Bring to a boil.
(3)Remove from heat and add to Sugar and Vanilla. Mix well with mixer at medium speed.

The picture below is the cake taken out of the pan and is ready to be frosted! You will only Ice one pan of chocolate cake. The other pan will be for the laptop.

FONDANT RECIPE

1 Tablespoon Unflavoured Gelatin

1/4 Cup Cold Water

1 teaspoon Almond Extract

1/2 Cup light Corn Syrup You can make your own (1 1/4 Cup Sugar and 1/3 Cup Water boiled together til syrupy, this will work jsut as well)

1 Tablespoon Glycerin (This is a must you NEED it, you can find it at your local health store. but ask for the edible kind)

2 Pounds of Icing Sugar (it is a regular bag it equals 2 LBS)

1/2 teaspoon White Vegetable Shortening

(1) Sprinkle Gelatin over Cold Water in bowl and let rest 2 min to soften.

(2)Place in microwave for 30 secs on high until gelatin dissolves.

(3)Add almond extract.

(4)Add Corn Syrup and the Glycerin and stir untill mixture is smooth and clear (if mixture is not truning smooth and clear microwave for additional 15-20 secs on high and stir again)

(5)Sift 1 1/2 pounds of the Icing Sugar into large bowl

(6)Make a hole in the middle of the sugar and pour the liquid mixture into it

(7)Stir with wooden spoon until mixture becomes sticky.

(8)Sift some of the remaining 1/2 pound of Sugar onto a smooth clean work surface and add as much of the remaining Icing Sugar as the mixture will take.

(9)Knead the fondant, adding a little more Sugar if necessary to form a smooth pliable mass.

(10)Rub the Vegetable Shortening onto your thumbs and knead into the Fondant.

(11)Wrap the Fondant in plastic wrap and place in tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out.

If Fondant does dry out and becomes hard, pop into microwave and knead back to life.

And this is what it will look like!

COLORING FONDANT

(1)Roll The fondant into a ball on your counter and smash it out a bit until soft and pliable

(2)Make a pit in the middle of the Fondant and using a toothpick add dots of GEL FOOD COLOR (don't use liquid food color it will make the Fondant soggy) into the pit. Inportant thing is to add a little bit a time, then knead it it over and over until you get an even spread of color all over

(3)If FOndant is still to pale use same method to add more color

(4)Once you finish coloringt he FOndant shape into disks wrap each in plastic wrap and place in air tight container.

(5)Fondant will darken overnight and lighten in Sunlight.

(6)Wear rubber glovrs when adding color to Fondant, it will stain your hands.

(7)When putting on cake you need to roll the Fondant out thin, and you lay it over your cake, tuck in edges to make it look clean.

I kept some Fondant aside that I didn't color so I could make the keys for the keypad, be creative it is fun!

The other pan of cake I used only half of it, for the bottom half of the laptop, that I fondanted, and laid it on top of the cake that was icinged, (but before you lay the fondanted cake on top put a bit of icing where you are going to put the cake, it acts like a glue, to keep it in place, and the FOndant can take moisture from that and not the cake.) You have quite a thick cake once the Fondanted part is put on but is tastes great all together. For teh sreen part of the laptop, I didn't use cake it would have been to heavy and just fallen, so I cut out a piece of cardboard, and taped a piece of blank paper to one side(so I could write Happy Birthday on it)and Fondanted the rest so you can't tell it is not cake, then I took 3 skewers and pushed them up through the back of the card board, and then stuck it into the cake to stand up. Give yourselves a couple of days to do this all, it can all be made in advanced and then assembled the day of. Happy Baking!

BUTTERMILK DOUGHNUTS AND BITS

My wonderful Hunny, bought me a Chuck Wagon Cooking cookbook several years back, and I love the rustic meals in there, but they also have sweet treats as well, and I saw this recipe for doughnuts, and thought I would try it and I was not dissapointed! They are very easy to make and delicious!

4 1/2 Cups Flour

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon Allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 1/2 teaspoons Cream of Tarter

1 teaspoon Salt

3 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

3 Tablespoons Shortening melted

1 Cup Buttermilk

Oil for deep fying

Confectioners Sugar (optional)

(1) Mix together thoroughly the dry ingredients, except the Sugar.

(2) Beat the Egss until thick and gradually add the Sugar.

(3) Add the melted Shortening, Buttermilk and Flour mixture to the beaten Sugar and Egg mixture. Mix well, chill for 1 hour.

(4) Turn out onto floured board. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness, cut with floured doughnut cutter ( I don't have one so I used a large cup to make the whole doughnut,and a very small one for the middle) Kepp the middles and fry them they are like "Tim Bits"

(5) Heat Oil to 375 degrees (I used my deep fryer then I could control the temp) fry a few doughnuts at a time until golden brown on both sides.

(6) Drain on paper towels.

(7) Dust with Confectioners Sugar. Makes 2 1/2 Dozen.

GRANDMA WATSON'S BUN RECIPE

I don't have a Grandma Watson, but her bun recipe was on the bag of flour, it sure is tasty and wonderful! I have tried many recipes, I thought I had found one before, but this one is by far the best I have ever tried! They remind me of my Mom's, and what can be better then that!

INGREDIENTS

3 Cups warm water

1/3 Cup White Sugar

2 Eggs Beaten

2 Tablespoons fast rising Yeast

1/2 Cup Oil

1 teaspoon Salt

8 Cups Flour

MIX TOGETHER

4 Cups of the 8 Cups of flour

2 Tablespoons Yeast

1/3 Cup White Sugar

1 teaspoon Salt

Make a well in flour mixture add 3 Cups warm water, 1 beaten eggs, 1/2 Cup oil mix together then add the rest of the 4 Cups of flour. Knead until it all comes together in a nice smooth ball. Let rise 15 minutes, punch down, let rise again 15 minutes punch down, let rise 15 minutes, then form into buns, put on pan and let rise 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 4-5 dozen.

CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD

This is my favorite bread to use for garlic bread, (this recipe came with my Cuisinart mixer) it is crusty and oh so good! I used brown flour this time, it does change the consistency of the texture but still very tasty!


2/3 Cups warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 1/2 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 Cup cold water
Extra flour for dusting bread


(1)Place warm water in mixing bowl. Stir in yeast and 1 Tablespoon of the flour, let stand for 5 minutes. Mixture will foam and bubble. While yeast is proofing, combine 3 1/2 Cups of the flour and salt. Add cold water and the flour mixture to the yeast mixture. Insert dough hook and mix on speed 2 for 2 minutes until batter like.

(2)Continuing on speed 2, add the remaining flour mixture, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms, and clings tp the dough hook and cleans side of bowl, then then allow the dought o knead for 4 minutes on speed 3.

(3)Dust dough ball lightly with flour and place inlarge greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft free place (like oven) until double in size about 1 hour. Punch dough down and let rise again until doubled in size. Punch dough down and divide into 2 pieces. Shape each into a long narrow loaf about 16-18 inches long, place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper (parchment is wonderful none of your baking will ever stick) cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled about and 1 hour. Then pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

(4) Dust loaves generously with flour. Make 4 or 5 diagonal slashes on the top of each loaf (that can be omitted). Bake for about 25-30 minutes until browned and hollow sounding when tapped. Cool on wire rack. Bread slices best when allowed to cool complettely!

MONKEY BREAD

I saw this recipe on Food Network, and it looked really yummy, so this morning my son C asked if I could make some for breakfast. It is like a cinnamon bun, but just a different twist on it and they were so good, and the boys had a blast helping make them!


FOR THE BREAD

4 Tablespoons Butter melted
2 Cups Milk
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
4 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons Salt

FOR ROLLING

1 Cup White Sugar
3 Tablespoons Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Butter melted

MAKING BREAD

(1) Pre heat oven at 200, lightly oil a large bundt pan or other baking pan
(2) Put dough hook in mixer, add melted butter, milk, brown sugar, vanilla and yeast. Mix for a few minutes then add flour and salt. Mix until dough comes together and pulls away from sides of bowl, put dough in large bowl that has been oiled and place in preheated oven to rise 1 hour, when you put the dough in oven to rise, turn the oven off.
(3) When dough has risen take out of oven, pour melted butter in a bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.
(4) Punch dough down, then take some dough into your hand and roll into a small ball (about the size of a golf ball) roll ball ain melted butter, then roll into cinnamon/sugar mixture, layer in bundt pan like picture below. If you have extra butter and sugar mixture pour over.


(5) Put pan in oven to rise again, for 45 minutes, until dough balls have risen to top of pan


(6) Heat oven to 350, then when oven is nice and hot bake Monkey Bread for 40 minutes. When done take a plate put pan upsidde down on it, and the bread will fall out but will be all otgether, let it cool slightly, then pull the bread apart and enjoy!