Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I have lots of recipes for coffee cake; I think my mother fostered my love for them with one she made often, when I was growing up. This is also her recipe, and my family loves it! I think my sons-in-law and grandsons would be happy if I just gave each of them one of these for Christmas or birthdays! It goes together easily, and then it vanishes quickly!


SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE


1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs thoroughly. Stir together flour, soda, and salt. Add this mixture and sour cream to the egg mixture. Add vanilla last.

Assemble the topping:

1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Put half of the batter in a buttered baking dish, 9" x 13." Sprinkle this with
half of the topping mixture. Add the remaining batter and top with the

remainder of the topping mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

DONNA'S NOTES: As you might expect, I reduce the sugar in this to 3/4 cup or less. I've made it with all whole-wheat pastry flour and with a combination of that and all-purpose flour; it always comes out wonderful.

The Best Meatloaf

This is my very favorite meat loaf recipe. It comes from Cook's Illustrated, and I've never found one to equal it. I always make a big batch of this and divide it into portions for two or three; those get frozen. I love knowing a quick dinner (well, quick in MY terms) is waiting in my freezer!

Meat Loaf with Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze

SERVES 6 TO 8

If you like, you can omit the bacon topping from the l0af. In this case, brush on half of the glaze before baking and the other half during the last 15 minutes of baking.

BROWN SUGAR-KETCHUP GLAZE

½ cup ketchup or chili sauce

4 tablespoons brown sugar

4 teaspoons cider or white vinegar

MEAT LOAF

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, fairly finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

1/2 cup whole milk, plain yogurt, or sour cream

2 pounds meat loaf mix (50 percent ground chuck, 25 percent ground pork, 25 percent ground veal)

2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 16) or quick oatmeal or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

6 to 8 ounces thin-sliced bacon (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)

1. For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.

2. For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.

3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk, yogurt or sour cream. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time, until mix no longer sticks.)

4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9 x 5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf.

5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and internal temperature of loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.

DONNA'S NOTES: I have stopped using veal in this recipe, and I usually use 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork. I use cider vinegar in the glaze. I’ve made this with milk, sour cream, or a mixture of the two to get the ½ cup. I use regular oats, and I usually don’t have any parsley. I only use bacon when I happen to have some handy. I package this in 1-pound packages and freeze them. I make extra glaze whenever I bake another loaf. I also don’t line my pan with foil. I use vegetable-oil spray, and my stainless steel pans clean up easily. I use any leftover glaze on my sandwiches the next day!

Mexican Meatloaf

There has recently been a Facebook exchange with my daughters about meatloaf. I happen to love it, although I know not everyone does. This recipe is one of my daughter Laney's favorites. It's super easy and freezes really well.

 2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Dash pepper
Dash garlic powder
3 teaspoons chili powder or more to
taste
2 eggs, beaten

8 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained


Combine all ingredients except tomatoes in a large bowl. Mix well and
add diced tomatoes. Turn into a loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours or until done.


Prior to baking, meatloaf can be frozen and baked later.

Cranberry-Walnut Scones

It's a bit cold in our home this morning. The furnace is not working - yikes! A repairman will be here soon, so there's hope! And, I decided there's no better way to warm up the kitchen than to bake something, so this is what I made.

You'll notice quickly that this recipe cuts in half easily. I made a full batch and figure I'll send some home with the furnace man!!

CRANBERRY-WALNUT SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling on scone tops
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup buttermilk, plus extra for brushing scone tops

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. With your fingertips, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in cranberries and walnuts.

Make a well in the center and gradually stir in buttermilk to form a ball. Knead lightly. Do not overwork; the dough will be sticky.

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly-floured surface, pat or roll each portion into an 8-inch round - about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each round into 8 triangles.

Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with buttermilk; sprinkle with remaining brown sugar.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.


DONNA'S NOTES: I use half all-purpose flour and half whole-wheat pastry flour. I mixed the dry ingredients and the butter in my food processor, then poured that mixture into a bowl for the remaining steps.

Banana Muffins with Brown Sugar-Pecan Topping

This is a very simple, delicious recipe for those ripe bananas I always seem to have around. I assume all of you know that you can freeze over-ripe bananas to use in baked goods. Makes me feel better about not eating them in time!

Banana Muffins with Brown Sugar-Pecan Topping

1 3/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
Brown sugar
Chopped pecans



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Lightly beat egg in medium-size bowl. Stir in mashed banana, milk, oil, and syrup. Pour liquid ingredients all at once into dry ingredients. Stir mixture briskly with fork until all ingredients are just moistened; do not over-stir. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with mixture of brown sugar and pecans. Bake at 400 degrees for 22 to 24 minutes. Remove muffins at once.

DONNA'S NOTES: I use 1 cup of whole-wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour. Rather than stir with a fork, I fold the liquid into the dry ingredients with a spatula, which I think gives me more control. I use about 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, but you can vary that to your taste. These are also good without the topping - plain, but good for hosting your favorite jam or jelly!

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Barley

Here's another wonderful soup, also gluten-free. You could easily make it dairy-free by substituting olive oil for the butter when sautéing the vegetables.

This is from a book I've just about used to death: Soups and Stews, from Better Homes and Gardens' Cooking for Today series. There will be many more recipes from this book on my blog!

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Barley

1/2 cup dry lentils
1 cup sliced leeks or chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet red or green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon snipped fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
3/4 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup barley
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 16-ounce can tomatoes, cut up

Rinse and drain lentils; set aside. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven cook leeks or onion,
sweet red or green pepper, and garlic in butter till tender but not brown.
Carefully stir in chicken broth, basil, oregano, rosemary, pepper, lentils and barley. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Stir in chicken or turkey and carrots. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes more or just until

carrots are tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes; heat through. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Puget Sound 12-Bean Soup

I bought this recipe as part of a package of beans and seasoning many years ago at a bazaar. I've made it many times, and it was fun to make it again the other day and have a bunch of it in my freezer! It is really delicious, and I love something that just sits and cooks for me!

PUGET SOUND 12-BEAN SOUP

Wash beans*; place in a large kettle, cover with water & soak overnight. Next day, add 2 quarts of water and about 1 ½ lbs. ham hock. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer about 2 ½ hours, or until beans are soft. Remove ham hock, and, when cool, remove bones, fat and gristle and chop remaining meat. Set aside.

Add: 1 large onion, chopped

16-ounce can cut- up tomatoes

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper to taste.

Add more water if it has boiled down too much. Add 1 teaspoon chili powder and ½ teaspoon minced garlic.

Simmer another 30 to 40 minutes. Add ham & heat through.

Soup is even better if made a day or two ahead and aged in the refrigerator.

Freezes well. Serves 6 to 8.

*I tried to identify all of the beans in the packet I bought. Here’s the list I use. If I don’t have one, I don’t let it bother me! You can substitute another type of dried bean, or simply leave some out. This is another very forgiving recipe.

Red kidney beans

Garbanzo beans

Green split peas

Baby lima beans

Navy beans

Barley

Black-eyed peas

Pinto beans

Large lima beans

Black beans

Yellow split peas

Great Northern beans