Ruth’s Cherry Limeade cake

Note from Jamie: I used a white cake mix instead of making the cake from scratch, but I am sure this was great too!
Notes from Ruth: All other notes in the recipe are from Ruth. I wonder if I can still call her Ruthie... 

Cake (from America’s test kitchen cookbook)--

¾ cup whole milk at room temperature
6 large eggs, room temp.
1 Tbl. Vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup cake flour
2 ¼ cup sugar
1 Tbl. Baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 sticks, unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened.
(This is from the “Wedding Cake” section, so it’s designed to put into 1 6in. pan, 1 9in. pan and 1 12in. pan. I didn’t have a 12 inch, so I did the 6in. pan and 2 9in. pans.  If all you have is 9in. pans, you’ll probably be fine – just make a couple of cupcakes to go with it.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep your cake pans (I used parchment paper on the bottom and then sprayed PAM on all of it).

Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Reserve out ¾ of a cup of liquid.
In your mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the butter one chunk at a time, with your mixer on low. Continue 1-3 minutes until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (My butter wasn’t quite soft enough at this point, so I had to do a little mixing by hand).
Add liquid into mixing bowl (all except the ¾ cup) and beat on medium till smooth and fluffy, 2-4 minutes.
Add the last ¾ cup gradually until combined; the batter will look slightly curdled.
Put 2 ½ cups of batter into each 9in. pan (or if you’re using 3 different pan sizes: 1 cup in the 6in. pan, 2 ½ cups into the 9in. and “the remainder” into the 12in. pan).
Smooth the tops gently and place in your oven.  Check cakes after 25 minutes and remove when a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.  Let the cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before assembling and frosting.

--This recipe is good. I think the density issue was my execution, so maybe you’ll have better luck with it. My eggs were not at room temperature, so I’m blaming them until I have a better idea. Of what went wrong. Over-mixing? I do mix things too long sometimes…

Filling (modified from America’s test Kitchen Cookbook)
1 cup maraschino cherries, drained
¼ cup hot maraschino juice
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 jar cherry jam (approximately 1 ¼ cup)

The original recipe calls for dried fruit that you reconstitute in orange juice. Since I was starting with the maraschino cherries, I just drained them and skipped that step. I vote if you can use a canned fruit, choose that over a dried one any day. But maybe that’s just me.

Microwave the juice till bubbly (you may use water instead) and add gelatin.  Combine cherries, gelatin, and jam and process in food processor (I used a hand blender) for about 5 seconds, till fruit is finely chopped. Put mixture in fridge and let set at least 8 hours and up to 1 week (I used mine within an hour or two and it was fine.

I don’t know what the deal was but the cherries ended up kind of rubbery. I’m not sure what I’d do to improve this though. Mix chopped maraschino cherries into a can of cherry frosting maybe?

Frosting: Lime Butter Icing (from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book)

2 ½ Tbls soft butter
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ Tbl lime juice
2 tsp. grated lime rind (zest!)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. If you like your frosting stiffer or more liquid-y, add milk or sugar accordingly.  This recipe is really for lemon, but it’s so good I just switched out the limes for lemons. Also, it’s a “cooky” frosting, but I doubled it and it covered my 2.5 layer cake with some to spare.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

3/4 C shortening
1 C brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
1/4 C light molasses (I use full flavor, whatever that means)
2 C flour
some white sugar, for rolling

1. Mix shortening, brown sugar, and egg.
2. Add salt, baking soda, and spices. Then add molasses and mix until well blended.
3. Add flour and mix. Roll into balls, then roll in a bowl of sugar.
4. Place cookies on baking sheet and flatten just a little. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

I also like to roll out the dough and cut out shapes. They hold their shape pretty well and are still soft, if you shorten the cooking time a little bit. Just use a lot of flour for rolling out, or it gets sticky and messy, and not very fun or successful.

CREAMY CUCUMBER DRESSING

1/2 medium cucumber
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Halve cucumber lengthwise, remove seeds and cut into small pieces.
2. Place cucumber pieces, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar and salt into blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use. Store any left over dressing in fridge.

Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd
(adapted from Williams-Sonoma Muffins Cookbook)


Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine juice, sugar, and eggs in a blender/food processor and blend for about 15 seconds. With the blades running, slowly pour in the melted butter.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat (this may take a few minutes). Stir frequently.

As soon as it reaches a boil, lower the heat to just above low and stir constantly until the mixture resembles pudding (it should coat the back of your spatula/spoon) and is a little bit shiny. This should only take about two to three minutes after it's boiled. 

Pour into a jar or bowl and let cool a bit before serving or storing.

Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

6 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 (12 oz) bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce --we like famous dave's
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in crock pot.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Drain off excess liquid (keep on the side) and shred chicken with forks. Add drained liquid back as needed to keep meat moist and cook for additional 1/2 hour.
Serve on buns. Wonderful with cheese on top!

Crockpot Southwestern Chicken

1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans
2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (it’s safest to thaw them first before placing in the slow cooker, although I usually add them frozen)
1 16-oz jar medium salsa, such as Pace medium picante sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream
chopped cilantro
diced avocado

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crockpot. Place chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.
**It is very important that you use MEDIUM salsa in this. Mild simply isn’t flavorful enough. Be sure to serve with tortilla chips, and not tortillas. The salty crunchy chips make this so good!

Pizza Spaghetti

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. pkg. button mushrooms, sliced OR 2 more bell peppers, chopped
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 lb. spaghetti pasta, broken into 2" pieces
3/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 (5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil for cooking spaghetti. Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms in heavy skillet over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring to break up beef. Drain well and add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning; stir well and let simmer while preparing spaghetti.
2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine eggs and milk in large bowl and beat until blended. Drain spaghetti and toss with egg and milk mixture. Spread half of spaghetti/egg/milk mixture in a 13x9" glass baking dish. Top with half of sauce and beef mixture. Repeat layers. **
3. If baking without freezing or refrigerating, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Top with pepperoni, then cheese, return to oven, and bake for 10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Let stand 5 minutes to set, then cut into squares to serve. 10 servings
**To freeze, cool casserole in refrigerator at this point. When cold, wrap well, label, and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until thoroughly heated. Uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts and edges of casserole bubble.
**To refrigerate overnight and bake the next day, cover the casserole and chill for 2-24 hours. When ready to eat, bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until hot. Then uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts.

Santa Fe Chicken Casserole

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
9 oz. pkg. frozen fully cooked diced chicken
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
24 oz. jar thick and chunky salsa
1 cup taco sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese

1. In medium microwave safe bowl, cook onion and garlic in olive oil on HIGH for 2-3 minutes until tender. Stir in frozen chicken, black beans and salsa. (If freezing, cool onion and garlic mixture before adding frozen chicken.)
2. In 2 quart glass baking dish, pour taco sauce. Lay four corn tortillas over sauce. Top with half of chicken mixture. Spoon on half of sour cream in small dollops. Sprinkle with half of cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, sour cream and cheese. Cover with foil. At this point, you can wrap the casserole well and freeze up to 3 months.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes until bubbly. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted. If frozen, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator, then bake covered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until bubbly; uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese melts. Serves 6
--You can bake now then cool and put in fridge and reheat for dinner. Or you can put in fridge now then bake at dinner time. Remove from fridge 45 minutes before you cook if you do it this way.

Sicilian Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
2 cups elbow macaroni
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, cubed
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef and onion in heavy saucepan, stirring to break up ground beef. Add green bell pepper when beef is almost cooked; continue to simmer until beef is done. Drain well. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, and dried Italian seasoning and stir well to blend. Let simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavors.
2. Meanwhile, cook elbow macaroni as directed on package. While macaroni is cooking, combine cream cheese and milk in medium bowl. Cook in microwave on medium power for 2-3 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking. Remove from microwave and stir with wire whisk until sauce thickens and blends to form a smooth sauce. Drain noodles and add to cream cheese sauce along with sour cream and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; stir to combine.
3. In 2 quart casserole dish, place all of cream cheese mixture. Top with all of the ground beef mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until casserole is bubbly.
--You can bake now then cool and put in fridge and reheat for dinner. Or you can put in fridge now then bake at dinner time. Remove from fridge 45 minutes before you cook if you do it this way.

Pea Soup

2 quarts water
2 cups (1 lb.) green split peas
1 stalk celery coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ tsp. thyme
Few drops of Tabasco sauce
1 small bay leaf

1.Combine all ingredients and boil for 20 minutes, partly covered.
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until peas are tender. 3. Discard bay leaf and strain soup through a sieve into another pot, or a microwavable casserole dish. Adjust seasoning to taste and reheat. (you need a lot of salt for this recipe. I use about 1 tbl. other wise it is bland).
-- You can put in the refrigerator then warm up for dinner. Serving it with garlic bread, or melted cheese on bread and a salad makes it a good hearty meal. (great for Halloween night).

Chicken Tetrazzini

Serves 8

1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup water
1 ½ cups grated parmesan cheese
¼ tsp. dried thyme leaves
½ pound linguine, broken in half
½ of a rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded (about 2 cups) (you can also use canned chicken)
½ package of a 10oz. frozen peas

1. Preheat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for pasta).
2. In a large mixing bowl add the cream of mushroom soup, and water mix well. Add 1 cup of parmesan cheese and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package instructions for al dente; drain and add to sauce in the large mixing bowl. Add chicken and peas then toss well to combine. Place this glop (cause that’s what it looks like) in a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 400 until brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Or let cool, then put in fridge, then at dinner time, just warm up a serving at a time. Remove from fridge 45 minutes before you cook if you do it this way.

Baked Ziti

8 oz. ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup finely grated parmesan
1 cup shredded park-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24-26 oz.) best quality tomato sauce (about 3 ½ cups)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and reserve.
2. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, egg, ¼ cup parmesan and ½ cup mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta and toss to mix.
3. In the bottom of a 9x13 serving dish, spread ½ the tomato sauce. Top with the pasta mixture then top with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup parmesan and remaining ½ cup mozzarella.
4. Bake at 350 until top is browned (20 -25 minutes)
-- You can bake now then cool and put in fridge and reheat for dinner.
Or you can put in fridge now then bake at dinner time. Remove from fridge 45 minutes before you cook if you do it this way.

Enchilada Pie

1 lb hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 tbl. chili powder
1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
6 corn tortillas
1 small can of chopped olives
1 ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Brown hamburger with onion. Drain oil. Stir in chili powder and tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. In a 2 quart round baking dish (or even a square one) alternate layers of tortilla, meat sauce, olives (corn, or both if you like) and cheese.
3. Bake 400 about 20 minutes.
--You can bake now, then cool, then put in fridge then reheat for dinner.
Or put in fridge now then cook at dinner time. Remove from fridge 45 minutes before you cook if you do it this way.

Crock Pot Chili

Serves 2-4

1 large (about 16 oz.) can of chili without beans
1 (8oz.) can of refried beans

1. Put in crock pot. Turn crock pot on low. It takes about 2 hours for the chili to warm up, but you can leave it in the pot several hours. Just check it now and then and make sure it isn’t burning. You may need to add a small amount of tomato sauce if it is getting too thick.

--You can also experiment (which your Grandmother has done) and add onions, or peppers, or kidney beans, or tomato sauce or cherrios, oh wait, she never added cherrios.

--Serve with grated cheese on top, and some bread and you both will be happy campers.
--You can also freeze what you don’t eat. It warms up very nicely.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 chicken breast halves

1 box Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix (Near East brand is best, but Uncle Ben's is easier to find.)

1 quart chicken stock or broth

1 quart milk or evaporated milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

salt and pepper

• Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 of the poultry seasoning and salt. Cook it in a tiny bit of olive oil over medium heat. Cover to avoid drying out.
• At the same time, cook the rice according to the directions on the box.
• In a large pot, melt butter. Add chopped carrots and celery and pepper to taste, and saute for about 10 minutes until tender. Add flour, cornstarch and the rest of the poultry seasoning, and whisk together quickly.
• Add stock and milk, whisking quickly as you pour. Cook over medium-low heat stirring often.
• When the chicken and rice are finished, cut chicken into bite-size pieces and add both to the soup.

Crock Pot Cake

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 container of sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup chocolate morsels
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.
mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, egss, oil
and pudding mix in a bowl by hand.
pour into crock pot.
cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours

Courtesy of Courtney Kendrick

Peanut Butter Chip Bars

1 yellow cake mix

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cup peanut butter chips or chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs. Mix in peanut butter. Stir in chips. Lightly spray 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture into the pan. Bake appx. 24 min, or until golden brown on edges. Let cool 30 min before serving.

Courtesy of Kim Dodds

Taco Soup

Serves 6

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 small onion, chopped and cooked with hamburger
2 cans corn (with liquid)
3 cans beans (with liquid) choose your favorite three
2 cans petite cut tomatoes (with liquid)
1 pkg taco seasoning

Mix and heat through. Add water if more liquid is desired. Serve over tortilla chips and garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Courtesy of Joy Henshaw.

Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins

(makes 12, but I double it)

Dry mix:
2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Wet mix:
1 C canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 C sweetened dried cranberries (although I used frozen ones and they come out moist and a little more tart)
1/2 C chopped pecans (if desired)

1. Heat oven to 400.
2. In large bowl, mix the dry mix. Stir in wet mix just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle coarse sugar over batter on each cup. (I didn't have coarse sugar; regular sugar did fine and made a nice crusty glaze).
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins and cool on rack. Serve warm.

Lentil Soup

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 stocks of celery, sliced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 8 ounces light sausage, cut into slices
• 1 bag (16-ounce) dried lentils (presoaked as instructed on bag), rinsed
• 7 cups (approximately) chicken broth

1. In a large saucepan, sauté onion, celery, carrots, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil until onions are tender.

2. Transfer everything to a large pot. Add the sausage and lentils and cover with chicken broth (about 7 cups).

3. Simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until all of the liquid has been absorbed.