All posts by Cak

Retired teacher. Eager food-blogger-to-be. Presently overwhelmed food blogger but continuing to feel optimistic and hopeful!
Recipes - Appetizers

Coca-Cola Chicken Wings (and fried rice)

Here I was all set to begin blogging a series of ice box pies but  the Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Box Pie I made today needs to freeze for 4-6 hours and we’re just now at the 4 hour mark, so I am going to wait and freeze that overnight, blog it tomorrow, then take it up to mama’s place tomorrow night.  Instead, here’s a great appetizer (or main dish) that I made for supper tonight!

I love the flavor of the brown sugar, garlic powder, chopped onion, and soy sauce that this recipe provides.  The wings turn out tender (best for eating with your fingers using a big napkin for after all the finger licking)!  I love these wings with rice and since I found some cold rice in the fridge, I set aside the pot of rice I cooked this afternoon for another purpose and used my cold rice to fry up a large bowl of fried rice using just soy sauce and edamame beans with scrambled eggs and green onion for garnish.  The chicken bakes up with plenty of rich gravy for adding juice to the fried rice and altogether it is nothing but ono (delicious!).

Stay tuned then for ice box pies, but do enjoy these great chicken wings and some fried rice for your table tonight!

Coca-Cola Chicken Wings

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
1-(12 oz.) can of Coke soda
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 T. soy sauce
3 lbs. chicken wings
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Dice onion and combine with brown sugar, cola, garlic powder, and shoyu (soy sauce). Mix until well combined. Layer chicken wings in a large foil-lined casserole dish or foil pan and cover with the marinade. Bake for two hours. Serve hot.

Note: If not serving with rice, cook for one hour without the marinade and then drain the fat from the chicken. Add marinade and continue. I always eat these over rice so I don’t drain as I love lots of the “gravy” this produces for my rice.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Mr. Beachy’s Butter Dips

 

Because I made a big pot of tomato sauce yesterday, I wanted homemade bread sticks for spaghetti tonight and Mr. Beachy’s Butter Dips were the perfect choice!  A quick and easy dough to assemble these little treats are a just-right accompaniment for any  pasta dish.

A note about Mr. Beachy:  He is the proprietor of a fantastic store deep in the Amish country in Arthur, Illinois.  My sister, Mamie, and I love to visit the store for its amazing array of fresh herbs and spices, the vast selection of flours of every kind and texture, dozens of bags of diverse tapioca grains, and the awesome choices of fresh baked goods. If you ever find yourself near Arthur, DO visit Mr. Beachy and his family!  We make the trip as many times a year as we can manage and it is worth every mile traveled.  Two of the thumbnail photos above I included to give you an idea of the huge variety of the merchandise at Mr. Beachy’s!  The store itself is a  baker’s Heaven!

The ample amount of baking powder in this recipe ensures a great rise to the bread. I  roll them out almost an 1″ thick so there is plenty of substance for soaking up the accompanying sauce with which I serve them. Since I was using them with pasta and sauce today, I sprinkled them with a dash of garlic salt before baking.  The small sticks have an almost biscuit-like flavor with nicely browned and crunchy edges.

If you are a pasta-sauce-bread person, these will please you with every bite.  They are also delicious without the garlic and accompanied with a bit of jam or jelly for breakfast.  However you decide to feature them, you’ll be happy with the results.  Enjoy!

Mr. Beachy’s Butter Dips

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
2-1/2 cups flour
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 T. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 450. Melt butter in bottom of 9×13 glass baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon in large mixing bowl. When dough forms a ball, turn out on a floured surface and roll out 3/4” to 1” thick. Cut dough into strips 1” wide and about 5” long. Roll in the melted butter in the baking dish and lay strips side by side in pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Serve warm.

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Recipes - Desserts

Mississippi Mud Cake

Perhaps it was watching our beloved St. Louis Cardinals slugging it out in the mud last night at Busch Stadium (only to lose the game) but I woke this morning with a Mississippi Mud Cake on my mind. Whether the State of Mississippi or the mighty Mississippi River as it flows beside the city of St. Louis, I will leave to my readers!

This well-known Southern favorite is rich with melted butter, cocoa, sugar, and eggs.  Make it in a jelly roll pan and cut in squares.  The chocolate cake layer is the perfect complement to a sweet-crunchy topping made of mini-marshmallows and chopped pecans.  Allow the marshmallows to soften for five minutes after returning to the oven. When they begin to brown on top, take the cake out and drizzle the chocolate frosting over the top.  Yum Yum GOOD!  The chocolate frosting recipe makes 2 cups; I saved half of it for another purpose.

A great cake for sharing as it serves 15-18 easily, and a great ball game today: Cards win it 3-1!

Mississippi Mud Cake

Ingredients

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 (10.5-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
Chocolate Frosting

Directions Whisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in flour and chopped pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; top warm cake evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 5 minutes. Drizzle Chocolate Frosting over warm cake. Cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup milk $
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Beat all at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Store leftover frosting in fridge to be used for frosting cookies.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Toffee Chip Cookies

Oh, how I have missed blogging! A family situation found me away from my computer, and my kitchen, for the past two weeks, but hopefully we are on a good track again health-wise, and today I couldn’t resist some much longed-for kitchen time! This recipe for Toffee Chip Cookies is a real winner; if you are also desirous of some upcoming kitchen time, do bake up a batch of these fabulous cookies!

The recipe, from HersheysKitchen.com is for a basic sugar cookie with the addition of the toffee bits and, for me, some chopped pecans for even more crunch. Soften your butter before beginning and then cream the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla and add the dry ingredients. The cookies are chewy inside with crisp outer edges with the buttery-toffee flavor that is so perfect with coffee or a tall glass of milk when you want something sweet and chewy.

If you’re a cookie fan, this one will put a smile on your face! Enjoy!

Toffee Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH English Toffee Bits
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in toffee bits.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies. Store airtight.

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Recipes - Entrees

Company Chicken

Don’t let the name fool you; this dish is so delicious you won’t need the excuse of company coming to wait to prepare this for your family! The recipe is from my mama’s recipe box and my sisters and I have been making this for many years because it is tried-and-true and there’s no way to make it without success!  This is a late post for sure as we enjoyed this dish when my friends, Micki and Mark, were here last week and it was mightily enjoyed!

Though the recipe calls for 8 pieces of chicken breasts, I normally use only 4 and those I cut in half if they are large because the soup-wine mixture adds bulk as well as the herbed stuffing mix so half a breast is usually enough for one serving. The prep is very quick: place the chicken in your baking dish, top each breast with a Swiss cheese slice, mix the soup and the wine, then toss the dry stuffing mix with melted butter. Layer in your dish in this same order and it’s ready to bake! The soup-wine produce a creamy gravy along with the melted cheese and the stuffing mix adds a buttery crunch. You won’t believe what fantastic results you get for such a small amount of effort! Cooks Note: I always buy just 4 large breasts, not the 8 that the recipe calls for but don’t change anything else. The “gravy” is delicious so I make it all!

This is truly one of my favorite dishes and it serves as the anchor of a delectable meal served with vegetables, a salad, and corn muffins. At least that was the menu on Tuesday, and I tell you, truly, it was marvelous, darlink!  Do give this one a try soon!

Company Chicken

Ingredients

8 chicken breasts, skinned and bones, cut in half if large
8-4” slices Swiss cheese
1-(10-3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 cups herbed seasoned stuffing mix, crushed
1/3 cup margarine, melted

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Arrange chicken in a lightly greased 9×13” glass baking dish. Top with the Swiss cheese slices. In small bowl, combine the soup and wine in a small bowl and mix well. Spoon evenly over the chicken in baking dish. Melt margarine and mix with the crushed stuffing mix. Drizzle this over the chicken pieces. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Do not over bake; just until golden brown and bubbly. Cool slightly before serving.

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