Mexicali Rice

I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box, but I have no idea where she found it. This easy-to-make recipe is delicious and filling. Like a pilaf, the rice is cooked within all the other ingredients. This recipe fills a very large skillet and could be used as a main dish for four or a side dish for many. 

When I made this dish, I stuck to the recipe. But you could also modify the dish by using ground chicken or ground turkey. You could also adjust the heat by adding chili powder or other seasoning. You could also add toppings, such as avocado or cheese, to dress up the dish. This recipe is a solid base recipe that can be made as is or easily modified.

Mexicali Rice 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 chopped green pepper
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce with bits
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. prepared mustard

In a large skillet, cook beef until lightly browned; add onion and green pepper; cook until tender; drain fat. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring once, until rice is done. Enjoy!

Chocolate Sundae Cake

I am not sure why this cake is called Chocolate Sundae Cake, but it is delicious nonetheless. Recently, we had some family over, so I made this case. It was a hit. The cake is a marble cake, somewhat like a pound cake, with delicious fudge frosting. The next time I make this cake, I might try to make it into a sundae by serving it with ice cream with a cherry on top.

The recipe calls for using a ten-inch tube pan, which has flat sides, but I substituted my bundt pan. Other pans would likely work just as well, adjusting the baking time as needed. I made the cake the day before and kept in the refrigerator. I think it was especially good served cold.

Chocolate Sundae Cake 

• 1 cup semi-sweet Chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Fudge frosting

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups confectioner suger
• 1/3 cup milk

For the cake, combine chocolate chips and water; heat over until chocolate melts. Remove from heat. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine in a large bowl sugar, butter, and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in one egg at a time. Add flour mixture alternately with milk; beating well after each addition. Turn one-third of mixture into a greased and floured pan. Drizzle one-half of the chocolate mixture. Continue in layers, ending with cake batter on top. Run knife through cake to marbleize. Bake at 350 for 60 to 65 minutes. Cool Completely before removing from pan. 

To make the frosting, melt chocolate with butter. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Add confectioner sugar alternately with milk; beat until smooth. Spread over top and sides of cake. Enjoy!

Stir-n-drop Sugar Cookies

I like to bring cookies to family parties because they are easy for everyone to grab and eat. Mom has a lot of cookie recipes with nuts, but I try to avoid nuts for family parties in case of nut allergies. This recipe was a perfect cookie for a recent family get-together for father's day.

These cookies are so easy to make and easier to eat. When I made them, I made smaller cookies, but this recipe could also be used to make some jumbo cookies. The recipe calls for butter flavor vegetable oil, but I just used standard vegetable oil. The recipe says to bake for eight to ten minutes, but I found that they baked in about six to seven minutes. Give these easy and tasty cookies a try.

Stir-n-Drop Sugar Cookies 

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup butter flavor oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs. Stir in oil, vanilla, and sugar. Sift together the dry ingredients; add to egg mixture. Drop by teaspoonful about two-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove immediately from cookie sheet. Enjoy!

Norwegian Cream Cake

Recently, we had Mom, Meg, and Tim over to our new house. For dessert, I decided to make a recipe that might not travel well because I could just serve it at home. So I found this layer cake recipe that fit the bill. This cake is delicious, especially after being refrigerated for a day or two.

When I made this recipe, I used fresh strawberries because we are in the height of strawberry season. Because some of the strawberries were so large, they had to be sliced. Try to keep the slices of equal thickness. Meg suggested that for the whipped cream mixed in with the strawberries would benefit from having some strawberry juice mixed in to enhance the strawberry flavor. I will have to do so the next time I make this recipe.

Norwegian Cream Cake 

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup potato flour or cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 packages (10 ounce) frozen strawberries or raspberries
• 1 1/2 pints whipping cream
• sugar to taste

Mix eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Use mixer for about 15 to 20 minutes, until eggs and sugar are mixed well. Prepare a 9 or 10 inch springform pan by greasing it slightly and sprinkling flour in the pan. Sift flours and baking powder and mix well. Add to batter, making sure all flour is mixed in. Pour into baking pan and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes, until light golden brown. Do not open the door before the time is up. Let cool. Cut in two layers. Whip the cream with a little sugar to taste. Fill bottom cake layer with thawed fruit mixed with a little whipped cream. Put top layer back on and decorate top and sides with whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate - Chocolate Chip Cookies

This cookie recipe is so easy to make and eat. The trick is that the recipe uses a package of cake mix. I recently made these cookies for Lorelei's and Patrick's eighth grade graduation party. The cookies were a hit. Because they are so easy to eat, they slowly disappeared during the party and not many were left at the end.

I made these cookies on the small side because I like having small cookies that are easy to grab and eat. Jenny mentioned that she recently came across a similar recipe that used these cookies to make ice cream sandwiches. These cookies would make excellent ice cream sandwiches, but you might want to make larger cookies for such use. When I made these cookies, I left out the walnuts because not everyone likes nuts in cookies. 

Double Chocolate-Chocolate Chips 

• 1 package devil's food cake mix
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 package chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine all but the chips and walnuts. Blend thoroughly. Stir in chips and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonful onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Pot Roast in Onion Gravy

Pot roast may be intimidating to make, but takes very little effort. It does take some time, mostly unattended while simmering. I started this pot roast just after breakfast, and it was ready for lunch. When I made this recipe, I also sauteed some vegetables as a side dish. Mashed potatoes would also be a great side dish for this pot roast.

When I made this recipe, I found a chuck roast that was slightly under three pounds. Any size roast will work, but larger roasts might require longer cook time. This recipe makes a hearty meal and excellent leftovers. The onion gravy adds a nice flavor and is so easy.

Pot Roast in Onion Gravy 

• 3-4 pound boneless chuck or round roast of beef
• 2 cups water
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 2 Tbsp. flour

In a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, brown meat well. Add two cups water and onion soup mix. Simmer, covered, for three hours or until meat is tender, turning occasionally. Blend flour with 1/4 cup water; blend into gravy and cook until thick. Allow the meat to cool for a few minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Grandma's Lemon Cookies

For the family Mother's Day get-together, I made these delicious lemon cookies. Mom told me that the recipe is from her mother. The cookie dough is a classic Italian cookie that is heavy on egg. The lemon flavor comes the glaze. And dipping the cookies into the glaze, rather than spreading the frosting, is a classic technique. These cookies were a hit and may make it into our cookie rotation.

The recipe calls for using lemon extract for the frosting, but I did not have lemon extract on hand. Instead, I used some lemon juice and lemon zest. And the cookies could be easily modified by using different flavors in the glaze, such as vanilla, anise, or mint.

Grandma's Lemon Cookies 

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 baking powder
• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Lemon Frosting

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tsp. water
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Preheat over to 350. Sift flour with baking powder. Work butter in a bowl until creamy. Add sugar and beat until well-blended. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well after each addition. Drop slightly rounded teaspoons of dough two inches apart on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Prepare the frosting by mixing together the ingredients, until thick and smooth. Dip tops of cooled cookies into lemon frosting and let dry. Enjoy!