Family Favorites...Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

 You need something for the church bake sale or the kids forgot to tell you they needed something for the PTA bake sale? This recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake cupcakes from the Bake Sale Favorites is attractive, tasty and easy to make. You can whip them together in about 10 minutes, bake for 20 minutes and sprinkle with chocolate chips and cool. Easy to put together after supper for the next day.

  To take to a bake sale, package separately or 6 in a package. Gift boxes from the Dollar Store make attractive packaging or place on paper plates and wrap with plastic wrap or cellophane. 

  I did a few with just powdered sugar on the top, for those who are not chocolate lovers and used milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet. Either way, they are good and quick.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Batter

1 ½ cups Semi-Sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

12 teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup water

Filling

2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese softened

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 egg 

½ teaspoon salt

  Make filling first. Beat all filling ingredients in a small mixer bowl until creamy. You could stir in some chocolate chips or coconut if desired. *(I put this back in the refrigerator to set back up while I made the cake batter.)

 Next, melt ½ cup of the chocolate in small bowl in microwave at medium power for about 45 seconds to one minute. Stir and let cool while getting the cake batter together. It will be cool enough when you are ready to add it. 

  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat sugar, oil, egg and vanilla in large mixer bowl until blended. Beat in melted chocolate; gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with water. (batter will be quite thin.)

Spoon cupcake batter into 16 paper cupcake lined muffin pans filling half full. Drop in a tablespoon of the filling, Spoon remaining batter over the cupcakes, filling about ⅔ full.

  Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and sprinkle with rest of the chocolate chips. Let set till they melt and spread with a knife to frost or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

Candy Bar Apple Salad

I don’t know the original source of this "Snickers" salad; but it was popular in a number of cook books I have read.  Wikipedia says it is an Iowa recipe, right up there with Watergate salad, jello salads, glorified rice and hot dish!   For those of you who aren't from Iowa, a hot dish is an old-fashioned term for a casserole dish suitable for a pot luck dinner or buffet.  So I guess we're now a real Iowa blog, because we have now hit all of those recipes!                

But this recipe is a sure favorite at get-togethers and potlucks…almost everyone, especially kids of all ages, will like it, and it’s certainly easy to make!  It’s a good salad to make with leftover chocolate Halloween candy too.  If you can't find the size candy bars called for, add up enough to make about 8 -9 ounces total.  Choose your favorite fall eating apple.  It can serve as a salad and dessert in one.

                      Candy Bar Apple Salad  

  1 1/2      cups  cold milk

  3 3/8      ounces  instant vanilla pudding mix -- 1 package  

  8             ounces  frozen whipped topping  -- thawed

  6             cups  apples -- chopped (about 4 large)

  4             Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each) -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in apples and candy bars. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield:  12 servings 

From the Garden...Home Canned Carrots

We like carrots…and I like them canned better than frozen.  The amount of vegetables needed depends on the size of your carrots – you will have more waste with smaller carrots.  Carrots, like all except pickled vegetables, need to be pressure canned.  It is a good product for learning how to can; they are relatively easy to get ready.  I usually can mine with a hot pack, but raw packed carrots are every bit as good, and a little easier.  They will shrink more in the jar, however, and you may have some floating.  That certainly doesn’t hurt the flavor!   

Don and Bonnie's Canned Carrots

Never throw away the liquid from canned carrots - it is excellent in beef gravy as the liquid.

I used these for the first thing I canned in my new All-American canner to try it out!  I also have a larger Presto canner.  My brother-in-law, Don, gave me the old Hazel-Atlas jars - pretty, aren't they?   He and his family canned 20 quarts and 20 pints of carrots from 50 pounds of raw carrots from their garden, pictured here.

Home Canned Carrots

  5 1/2 -7 pounds Whole Carrots -- (depending on size of carrots)

  2             Quarts  Hot Water -- for filling jars

Wash carrots and drain.  Peel and wash again.  Leave baby carrots whole.  Slice or dice larger carrots.

Raw pack:  Tightly pack carrots into hot jars.

Hot pack:  In a stainless steel pot, combine carrots with boiling water to cover.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, until tender-crisp.  Drain, reserving cooking liquid for packing.  Pack hot carrots into hot jars. 

Either raw or hot pack:

Pack within a generous 1 inch of top of jar.  Add salt, if desired, 1/2 teaspoon for each pint.  Ladle boiling water or cooking liquid into jar to cover vegetables, leaving 1" head space.  Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary, by adding more hot liquid.  Wipe rims.  Adjust lids and rings.

Place jars in pressure canner, filled with approximately 3 quarts hot water (check mfg. directions).

Process at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts at 1000' altitude.  Check your book for other altitudes.

  "Kerr Kitchen Cookbook"

  "7-8 Pints"

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

  In an ongoing quest for vegetables that all of us will eat this recipe for Brussels Sprouts caught my eye. I have always liked them and Lyle will eat about any vegetable though these are not one of his favorites. Bettie just plain doesn’t like veggies.

 Well, after trying this recipe I think that I can safely make it again as all of us liked them. What’s not to like about anything sautéed in browned butter? The fresh lemon juice perks up the flavor and helps with them not tasting too much like cooked cabbage. The sliced and sauté directions are easy and fast to fix so if you do a meal like I did with baked potatoes and meatloaf you only have to do the sprouts at the end.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil (I used all butter)

12 sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced (if frozen thaw part way before slicing)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

 Heat butter and oil in a skillet until butter is melted and starting to brown. 1 to 2 minutes. Stir sprouts and lemon juice into butter and cook; stirring constantly until sprouts are just heated through and starting to soften about 1 to 2 minutes. If using frozen they will take a few minutes longer ,3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and serve, pouring any melted brown butter left in pan over the sprouts

Steak and Potatoes in Foil

 Years ago I used to make foil packet meals. My kids really liked them and I liked the few dishes that were dirtied this way. After seeing several on the internet I thought I would make one for us. In an effort that I am making this year, I used things from the freezer and odds and ends I had on hand. 

 It turned out well, and I will make again but I didn’t make the packet flat enough so it took a little longer to cook through. You can also make this in individual packets so each person has their own. Just remember to open them away from you so you don’t get burned on the steam. Use any combination of vegetables and meat you have on hand. The next time I am going to use the same vegetables and smoked sausage instead of the Sirloin steak. We thought the vegetables were excellent with this meal.

Steak and Potatoes in Foil

8 ounces boneless beef top sirloin (or meat of your choice)

½ package of frozen stir fry vegetables (16 oz package) Ours had onion, peppers, broccoli and green beans

2 medium potatoes peeled and cut in chunks 

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

If using frozen vegetables still frozen no liquid needs to be added

 Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine all ingredients in bowl, having the steak sliced in thin strips or small pieces. 

 Place beef mixture in center of foil sheet (about 24 by 12) for one packet or make individual packets. Double fold sides and ends of packet to seal, leaving head space for heat circulation. PLACE PACKET ON BAKING SHEET.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until beef is tender. Let set for 5 minutes to allow potatoes to finish cooking. Carefully open one end of packet to allow steam to escape.

Sunday in Iowa...

This silo is part of the grounds at Mooney's Hollow, a country music venue near Green Island, Iowa
Thanks, Dave, for the photo

Cookbook Reviews...Better Homes and Gardens Home Canning Cook Book

I love the Better Homes and Gardens Home Canning Cook Book, published in 1973.  It is one of the first cookbooks I purchased when I started canning on my own after we returned to the Midwest from living in Germany.  I also had a Kerr book, purchased that first year as well. 

I found plenty to can in this book; I still use many of the recipes, modified, however, to meet current guidelines.  I no longer add flour to my beef stew recipe, and now I water-bath my jams and jellies instead of turning over the hot jar or using paraffin, for example.  That said, the recipe combinations are first rate.

This book also includes freezing recipes, and a section of recipes for using your canning efforts that are very good.

We have weighed and measured meats and produce and give those measurements for you, but remember they are guidelines only.  I always have an extra jar and an extra half-size jar ready “just in case” I don’t have enough or have too much.  The weights and measurements are intended to help you be “in the ball park” when prepping your food.

As always, check out the guidelines and helps under our “canning” section.  We hope you will find something new to try if you’re an experienced canner and perhaps be inspired to start canning if you don’t already.

Check sites like Amazon for this book that's still available used; or flea markets and thrift shops.

Better Homes and Gardens Home Canning Cook Book 1973

Home Canned Pears

Home Canned Beef Strogonoff

Home Canned Beef Stew

Home Canned Bean Soup

Home Canned Meatballs

Family Favorites...Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

This recipe was on the cover of "Bake Sale Favorites" – I had all the ingredients in the pantry – it was my birthday the day I first made this - we had to try it.  The frosting wasn’t quite enough for frosting the sides, center and top of a layer cake – it certainly could be frosted simply between the layers and on top.  Still plenty of frosting and less caloric too.  I decorated mine with a few chopped nuts.

This is one of the better homemade cake recipes I have tried – moist and chocolaty but not bitter.  It took me 15 minutes from preparing my pan to getting it in the oven.  The method was very simple – I heated my water in the microwave right in a measuring cup.  (Use a 2 cup measure so it doesn't boil over.)

Check your cake at least 5-10 minutes early.  If it has pulled away from the sides and a toothpick comes out clean, it’s done.  Over baking makes a drier cake.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

  2             Cups  Sugar

  1 3/4      Cups  Flour, All-purpose

     3/4      Cup  Cocoa -- Hershey

  1 1/2      Teaspoons  Baking Powder

  1 1/2      Teaspoons  Baking Soda

  1             Teaspoon  Salt

  2             Large  Eggs

  1             Cup  Milk

     1/2      Cup  Salad Oil

  2             Teaspoons  Vanilla Extract

  1             Cup  Boiling Water

                        Frosting

  6             Tablespoons  Butter

  2 2/3      Cups  Powdered Sugar

     1/2      Cup  Cocoa -- Hershey

     1/3      Cup  Milk

  1            Teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

Heat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour two 9" round baking pans.

In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water.  (Batter will be thin.)

Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely. 

For frosting, beat butter.  Blend in powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating well after each addition until smooth and of spreading consistency, blend in vanilla.  Add additional milk, if needed.

If desired, bake in a 13 x 9" pan for 35-40 minutes, cool completely in pan.

10 Servings

2016 Cost:  $3.74 or 38¢ per serving.

Washington Apple Cake

 We are having a good year for apples and the price is good so I have been baking with apples this fall. This recipe for a bundt apple cake uses a cake mix and is not a spice type cake. It does have some cinnamon in it, but not the main flavor. With the sour cream, and pudding mix it comes out moist and of course the apples help with that. I think you could cut back on the apple amount if you wanted to though everyone here thought it was fine with that many. It does call for Granny Smith apples but I used up what I had which was one Granny Smith, one Braeburn and one Johagold. Turned out just fine. Easy to make and really the only amount of work is peeling and chopping the apples. 

Washington Apple Cake
 2 layer size yellow cake mix

3.4 to 4 oz. box vanilla flavor instant pudding mix

4 eggs

⅔ cup water

½ cup oil

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup sour cream
1 pound Granny Smith apples (about 3 medium apples) peeled, coarsely chopped

For glaze
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream 

1 tsp water if needed

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat all ingredients except apples in a large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in apples; pour into greased and floured 10 inch tube pan or 12 cup bundt pan.

 Bake 1 hour to a hour 5 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

 Cool cake in pan 15 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack; Gently remove pan. Cool cake completely.

 Whisk powdered sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons sour cream and 2 teaspoon of water if needed until blended; drizzle over cake. Let stand until glaze is set.

From the Garden...Cheesy Coleslaw Mold

Our mothers liked molded salads like this for Sunday or company meals because they could be unmolded, decorated, and refrigerated on a tray until ready to serve, a couple of hours ahead of time. They can also be served on the plates on a tray on the buffet table.  

Molded salads like this make a cool, pretty start to a meal.  
This one is simple to make, pretty to look at and tastes good, both cool and crunchy.  Garnishes are best when they echo some of the ingredients of the dish, like mayonnaise and shredded cheese here.   This is a case where you can use “diet” ingredients successfully too.
I poured mine into custard cups and unmolded them, you can also pour into a shallow dish and simply cut into squares to serve.  I spray my molds with cooking spray.               

Cheesy Coleslaw Mold

  3          Ounces  Lime Gelatin Powder

  1 1/2   Cups  Boiling Water

  2           Tablespoons  Vinegar

     1/3   Cup  Mayonnaise -- or salad dressing

     1/2   Teaspoon  Salt

              Dash  Pepper

  1          Cup  Cabbage -- chopped

     1/2   Cup  Carrot -- chopped

     1/2   Cup  Sharp Cheddar Cheese -- shredded (2 ounces)

     1/8   Teaspoon  Celery Seed

              Lettuce Leaves

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; stir in vinegar.  Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper; beat smooth with a rotary beater.  Chill until partially set (with the consistancy of unbeated egg whites).

Fold cabbage, carrot, cheese and celery seed into gelatin.  Pour into 6 individual molds.  Chill until firm.

To serve, unmold salads onto lettuce lined plates.

6 Servings

"Better Homes and Gardens Complete Step by Step Cook Book"

Per Serving : 189 Calories; 14g Fat (61.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 14mg Cholesterol; 351mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Apple-Coconut Coffee Cake

Fall and winter are my favorite times to bake. Everyone is ready for a heartier dessert and something with apples really hits the spot in my family. While usually it has to be pie, once in awhile they will settle for apple coffee cakes. This one has coconut in the batter but unless you know it is there it just enhances the flavor without a overpowering coconut taste. 

 Not hard to make, and it stays moist from the apples. Try to slice them about the same size slices so they bake evenly.  I used Gala’s as that is what I had on hand, but we felt a tarter apple would be better. The sugar cinnamon topping caramelizes and becomes golden brown. Cover with foil if getting too dark.

Apple-Coconut Coffee Cake

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk or half and half

½ cup flaked coconut

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 (about 4 cups) tart apples cut into ¼ inch thick slices

34 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F.

 Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk starting and ending with flour. Beat well after each addition.

Stir in the vanilla and coconut by hand.

 Spread half the batter in a well greased 9 inch round pan. Place half of the apple slices on the batter, top with remainder of the batter and than the apples.

 Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the top.

 Bake at 375°F. for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. It will be moist but should not have crumbs. If top is browning too fast cover loosely with foil.

 Serve plain or with whipped cream.

Glazed Pork Chops with Caraway Sauerkraut

  Looking for an easy delicious meal for two?  Here’s one of our favorites that takes just minutes to assemble, and then bakes while you prepare the rest of your meal.  We like it with Noodles with Brown Butter for a traditional meal.                  

Glazed Pork Chops with Caraway Sauerkraut

  1           can  sauerkraut -- (8 ounces)

  1           tablespoon  finely chopped onion

     1/2    tablespoon  caraway seeds

  2           boneless pork loin chops (6 ounces each)

     1/2    tablespoon  brown sugar

     1/2    tablespoon  spicy brown mustard

Combine onion and sauerkraut.  Spread in 5 x 7" baking dish.  Sprinkle with caraway seeds.

Arrange pork chops over sauerkraut. Combine brown sugar and mustard; spread over chops. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until meat juices run clear.  

Sunday in Iowa...

Today is the last day of the season for The Dairy King in Montezuma, Iowa, population 1,435.  It's still in the mid-eighties this week.

Our Iowa senator, running for reelection, in an effort to prove he's not a creature of D.C. says he can find every Dairy Queen in Iowa...he visits all 99 counties every year.  

Montezuma, although it's the county seat, may be too small for a Dairy Queen, but this little shop appears to get plenty of local business.  In most small Iowa towns, these places provide sandwiches, ice cream treats of all kinds, and summer jobs for high school kids, just like the root beer stand I car-hopped at in high school.

Cookbook Reviews...The Practical Produce Cookbook

A newer canning book I found at The Stringtown Grocery, north of Kalona, Iowa, is called The Practical Produce Cookbook…How to Plant, Pick, Prepare and Preserve Produce.  Published by Ray and Elsie Hoover and their family from Stratford, Wisconsin, in 1997, it covers most garden and farmer’s market produce with plenty of recipes for preparation, growing, harvesting and preserving them.

What I like about this book are the many good recipes for almost any vegetable, including more unusual ones that Myrna and I like and remember from our Grandmother’s big garden, like ground cherries and kohlrabi.  They include one of our very favorites, ground cherry jam, which we fought over as kids.  Since they are so uncommon now, we didn’t give the recipe, but we know where you can find it!  The same is true for everything from asparagus, rhubarb, and salsify to turnips, rutabagas, and squash and in-between. 

The 332 page book, with a nice spiral binding that lays flat, includes over 800 recipes including soups, salads, sides, main dishes, breads, desserts, canning, freezing, including yields and planting instructions.

Practical Produce can be purchased very reasonably at their website at Homestead Publishers

Here are some recipes from this great book:

Home Canned Green Beans

Coleslaw to Freeze

Scalloped Corn

Sautéed Corn

Creamy Cucumber Dressing.

Family Favorites...Roasted Chicken Salad with Pears and Grapes

There are some recipes you just don’t even need to tweak, and recipes from Land O Lakes fall into that category.    For this one from "Land O Lakes Taste of Summer” I purchased a rotisserie chicken from our market’s meat counter.  It cost $5.48 for about a 3# (cooked weight) chicken; and if you pick them up at the right time, it’s as good as anything I can make, and cheaper. A whole, uncooked 4# chicken would have cost me over $6, and then I would have had to heat up my kitchen to roast it and not gotten any more chicken.  Myrna, I’ll say it again, you are right about this! 

We got 3 meals for 2 people from the chicken – we ate the thighs and drumsticks for lunch the same day, and I used the breast for this salad, and cooked the carcass for chicken stock for soup.  When I made this salad, pears were just starting to look good at the market, and I got some good-tasting red grapes too.  I used Gorgonzola for the blue cheese, and the Balsamic vinegar.  We love sautéed caramelized pears, so this salad was perfect.   We’ll be having it again.

Roasted Chicken Salad with Pears and Grapes

     ¾     tablespoon  Olive Oil

  3         stalks  Celery -- sliced 1/4-inch thick (1 cup)

  1         medium  Vidalia Onion -- coarsely chopped (1 cup)

  2         teaspoons  Garlic -- finely chopped

  2         each  Fresh Pears -- 1" pieces (1 cup)

  1         cup  Red Grapes -- seedless

  4         cups  Roasted Chicken -- 1" pieces

     ½     teaspoon  Pepper -- coarsely ground

     ¼     teaspoon  Salt

  2         ounces  Blue Cheese

     ¼      Cup  Mayonnaise

  1         tablespoon  Balsamic Vinegar -- or red wine vinegar

In 10" skillet, heat oil; add celery, onion and garlic and stir fry 5-6 minutes.  Add pears; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until pears begin to caramelize (6-8 minutes)  Stir in grapes.

In large serving bowl, place chicken, sprinkle with pepper and salt.  Stir in cheese, mayonnaise, and vinegar.  Add fruit mixture; toss to coat.

Cover, refrigerate at least 2 hours or until serving time.

Serves 6.

2015 Cost: $5.79 or 97¢ per serving using rotisserie chicken

Per Serving: 337 Calories; 17g Fat (44.1% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 90mg Cholesterol; 363mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat.

Apple Spice Cake

  It is a very rainy day today, so wanted to bake something. The recipe for Fresh Apple Spice Cake is from Ina Garten’s new cookbook, Make it Ahead. I have all of her cookbooks and find the recipes are always right on for directions and timing.

 This was no exception and everyone enjoyed it. I served it with some frozen yogurt and did not drizzle with the hot caramel sauce she suggested, but I’ll bet that would be good also.

 Don’t be spooked by the long recipe list. It uses ingredients that most of us have on hand. If you are not using the Kosher salt called for, cut back on the amount. Kosher is larger grained and you will have too much if you use the same amount of fine table salt. Notice that this is a spice cake in case your family doesn't like spices.

Fresh Apple Spice Cake

1 cup chopped pecans

½ cup rum (or ½ tsp of rum flavoring and the rest water to make ½ cup)

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar lightly packed (I used light brown)

3 extra large eggs (I used 3 large)

¾ cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

1 ½ pounds Granny Smith or other tart apples, peeled, cored and ¼ inch diced

Vanilla ice cream, and Caramel sauce to serve

 Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

 Place the pecans on a sheet pan and toast in oven for 5 minutes, set aside. Combine the rum and raisins in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 60 seconds, set aside.

 In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and orange zest on medium speed for 3 minutes. Sift or stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, just until combined. Drain the raisins, discarding any liquid left. With a rubber spatula, fold in raisins, pecans, and apples. Spread into greased and floured pan. Smooth top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean. Set aside to cool, cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of warm caramel sauce if desired.

From the Garden...Creamy Cabbage

We loved this very, very easy recipe for cabbage from the "Farm Journal Time Saving Country Cookbook".  Our mothers and grandmothers prepared cabbage lots of ways, and we still like it.  I served this as a side with Mustard Cream Pork Chops on homemade noodles – a real old-country comfort meal!                     

                              Creamy Cabbage

  1           Head  Cabbage -- medium head

     ½       Cup  Butter

     ½       Cup  Heavy Cream 

     ½       Teaspoon  Salt

     ¼       Teaspoon  Caraway Seeds

Shred cabbage.  Melt butter in skillet; add cabbage and cook, covered, 3-5 minutes.

Pour in cream; add salt and caraway seeds, stir.  Heat 3-4 minutes longer until cream thickens.

Serves 6-8

2016 Cost: $2.31 or 39¢ per serving with purchased cabbage

Per Serving: 208 Calories; 23g Fat (95.9% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 69mg Cholesterol; 344mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 4 1/2 Fat.