Mounds Coconut Brownies

This is just a combination of other things that I’ve made married together in a perfect union of marital bliss!

First make a batch of these brownies and let them cool…

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup oil

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Stir together cocoa and soda. Add 1/3 cup oil. Stir in boiling water until thick. Add oil, eggs, and sugar. Then add flour, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Pour into lightly greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

While they are cooling, make a batch of coconut topping:

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 Tablespoons softened butter

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar until it is  smooth. Then mix in the coconut.

Spread the filling over the cooled brownies.

Place in fridge to cool a bit (30 minutes or so) before adding chocolate to top.

Melt 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 Tablespoon of shortening together and spread on top of coconut filling.

Place back in fridge to let chocolate set up.

Cut into small squares (they’re pretty rich) and store any leftovers in fridge.

Soft Boiled Eggs

All the beautiful sunny mornings the past week have meant more eggs from the hens and more motivation in the mornings for me. I also “found” my breakfast set. So one morning, when all the guys were gone, I decided to make myself a soft boiled egg for breakfast.

I grabbed my 1950s copy of Better Homes and Gardens and a couple of eggs and went to work.

A soft boiled egg only needs to “cook” for 2-4 minutes. Just enough time to make some toast while they cook. I set my timer and popped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster.

You know how you sometimes get distracted while cooking? Well, I didn’t notice how long the 3-minute sand timer was taking… the sand had stopped at about where the picture shows it. Oops!

Needless to say, my egg was more hard boiled than soft boiled. :o(

Take two: 2 and a half minutes were not enough and the white wasn’t cooked. Ewww!

Take three: 3 minutes is the perfect soft boiled egg.

Unfortunately, by this time my milk was warm and the toast was very cold. Fortunately, we get about 5 eggs a day! :o)

I’ll be having these more often from now on!

Here’s the trick to the perfect soft boiled eggs (using my eggs and my stove)…  ;o)

Cover 1-2 eggs with cold water in small saucepan.

Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat.

Cover. Remove from heat. Let sit for 3 minutes.

Run egg until cold water for 5-10 seconds.

Gently tap around narrow end of the egg with a butter knife to break the shell. Remove top and any broken shell.

Serve with strips of buttered toast.

Ration Book Spice Cake

This recipe is a true WWII ration book special. It has no eggs, butter, milk or white sugar. How could a cake with none of those things even work??? Like a charm!  It has a delightful spicy aroma, rose up beautifully in the pan, and was incredibly moist. Any GI Joe would love to have this on the table when we came home…

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups hot water

2 Tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 cup raisins

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water

Bring all the ingredients except flour and soda/water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

Watch for boil overs! Stir occasionally. After it boils, reduce the heat to keep it at a low boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Add flour and soda/water. Mix well.

Pour into 2 greased and sugared loaf pans.

Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes, or until pick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Serve cooled or slightly warm.

Who said you had to use your ration stamps to have a delicious dessert???

Apple Cinnamon Baked Pancake

After I found THIS RECIPE for a blueberry baked pancake, I wondered where this was 20 years ago when I really needed it??? All I could think of was all the hours of standing at the griddle in the kitchen that I could have saved! I guess making breakfast 6 days a week for 15 years was a labor of love that all of my guys truly appreciate now that I make a hot breakfast once a week, if they’re lucky… ;o)

Here’s my version of an oven baked pancake that’s sure to fill even your hungriest breakfast fans!

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.

1 cup milk

1/2 cup apple juice

2 eggs, slightly beaten

4 Tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix in wet ingredients with whisk. Mix until smooth.

1 apple, peeled and chopped

Fold apple into batter.

Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve hot with butter and syrup.  

WWII Red Beans and Ham

Here’s another recipe adapted from my WWII cookbook. I wasn’t too sure about this one and the guys DEFINITELY weren’t sure, but it turned out pretty tasty! One of my sons quipped, “Maybe war rations aren’t so bad after all?”  I served it with carrots from our “Victory Garden” and home canned pears. Just doing my bit… ;o)

2 cans kidney beans, undrained

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 cloves minced garlic

2 stalks chopped celery

1 green pepper, chopped

leftover cut up ham

salt & pepper, to taste

Pop everything into a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until everything is hot and the veggies are tender.

Serve over cooked rice.

Mild Italian Sausage

While we prefer spicy Italian sausage, we did make some of the not spicy kind, too. So here’s the recipe for those of you who are just a bit more wimpy… LOL

It does make a killer pizza!

If you are grinding your own pork, check out the sausage basics post HERE.

3 pounds ground pork

2 Tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 Tablespoons salt

1 Tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon dry parsley

1 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon anise seed

1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

3 Tablespoons red wine

Mix seasonings in a small bowl. Add to ground pork and mix well until fully incorporated.

Chill immediately. Cook a small bit to check taste. Add more spices or more meat according to your taste. Know that they flavor will alter some after a few days.

Use within a day or two or freeze for longer storage.

Buttery Beef and Mushroom Stew

I have made this a couple of times now and we LOVE it! It is best served over mashed potatoes. I know most stews have potatoes in them but I like them over or topped with mashed potatoes best of all!

This stew is tasty, quick and easy and cooks in the crock pot while you’re busy doing other things that you want and need to do. What could be better?

2 pounds beef stew meat

1 pound mushrooms, quartered

1 stick butter

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon each of dill, garlic powder and dried onion flakes

1/2 teaspoon each of basil and ground black pepper

Combine everything in the crock pot and cook on high 4 hours or on low 6-8 hours or until beef is tender. Mix 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons cold water until smooth. Stir into simmering stew until thick and well combined.

 

Serve over mashed potatoes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

The balance of rhubarb, strawberries, orange, and nutmeg is brilliant! It was made even better since it was made from rhubarb I cut from our yard!

Look how big it was! I can’t wait to get more!!!

3 cups sliced rhubarb (not frozen)

1 cup quartered fresh strawberries 

zest of one small orange

2 pinches of salt

isn’t this pretty pink salt???

fresh grated nutmeg

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons instant clear gel

Mix rhubarb, strawberries, orange zest, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Stir together sugar and clear gel until no lumps remain.

   

Mix with strawberry rhubarb mixture. Pour into unbaked 9” pie crust. Dot with 1 Tablespoon butter.
Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes.
After placing pie in oven, make crumb topping.
Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 2 Tablespoons butter (I may go with 3 next time???). Cut in with pastry cutter until coarse crumbs.
Place on top of pie after 15 minutes of baking.
Continue baking until the crust and topping are golden and the filling is bubbly.
 
Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Pineapple Casserole

This recipe came from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. I have to admit that I was very skeptical about it. But it was a huge hit at Easter dinner! It’s already been requested for Christmas… It was perfect with ham and no would guessed there was cheese in it!  It was even good warmed up in the oven for dinner the next day. This is also yummy enough to double as a dessert. :o)  Bonus!

Here is a link to the original recipe: Pineapple Casserole

I made only two changes. Here’s what I did:

I used 2 full sleeves of Ritz crackers for the topping.

I also used mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar.

No, it’s not the only thing I ate… I just took the pic before I loaded up my plate. ;o)

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

I made these for our Egg Day dessert but they would be tasty any day of the year! Unless you are two of my sons and hate coconut… Crazy kids! ;o)  I decorated these with a bit of green tinted coconut and dark chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs. Yum!

First just make a batch of your favorite chocolate cupcakes. I made a box of Devil’s food with coconut oil.

Then cut holes in center with a sharp knife or apple corer.

This recipe makes enough filling and frosting for about 12-15 cupcakes.

Filling

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 Tablespoons softened butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar until it is  smooth. Then mix in the coconut.

Place in zipper bag, clip off the corner and pipe into cupcakes.

Frosting

Place any remaining filling into a large mixing bowl.

Beat in 1/3 cup softened butter.

Beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Add about 1-2 Tablespoons coconut milk or milk until it is your desired consistency for spreading.

Spread on top of filled cupcakes.

Store in fridge right after frosting. If you are decorating them like I did, don’t do it until just before you serve them.