Homemade Tortilla Chips

These are really easy to make and in no way compare to store-bought tortilla chips. They are so much better and so much cheaper and you can season them however you like. One of these days I'll learn how to make the corn tortillas from scratch but for now, store-bought will do.

Tortilla Chips

corn tortillas cut into 4 or 6 pieces (Kitchen shears make this easy and I cut at least 4 tortillas at a time to make this faster)
peanut oil preferably
salt and pepper
or cinnamon sugar
or other spices
(I prefer House Seasoning which I have a recipe for in this blog under "Seasonings")

Heat oil in a deep fryer to approximately 375 degrees. Add several tortilla pieces at a time but make sure there's enough room for them to get cooked. Cook until slightly browned (may take a few minutes), then turn over with tongs. Cook a few more minutes or until browned. I find that if they're not dark enough and are very lightly browned, the chips tend to be chewy instead of crunchy, but just be careful not to burn them. The browner ones taste better.

Dump the chips onto a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. I find this makes the least amount of mess and lets the excess oil drip through the cooling rack onto the cookie sheet and away from the chips. I like to let most of the oil drip back into the fryer anyways before I dump them onto the cooling rack so you don't waste as much oil. While the chips are still oily, sprinkle on seasonings. Enjoy with your favorite salsa or nothing at all. These make great nachos melted with cheddar cheese in the microwave, then topped with salsa and sour cream. Yumm!

Coconut Pecan Spice Cake

I found this recipe several years ago in a church cookbook and just finally got around to making it. The name didn't seem that appealing to me, but the ingredients did. So, I finally made it a week ago and it is probably one of my favorite cakes now because it tastes so good and is really easy to make. I changed the name from Oatmeal Cake to Coconut Pecan Spice Cake because I think that is a better way to describe this recipe. You don't exactly eat it and think "oatmeal" unless you're already familiar with the recipe. This cake is very moist and flavorful and would be great to take to a church potluck.

Coconut Pecan Spice Cake (Oatmeal Cake)

Cake:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup quick oatmeal
1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, beaten

Put butter and oatmeal in mixing bowl and pour boiling water over this and let stand for 20 minutes. While waiting, mix remaining ingredients (except eggs) in a large bowl. After 20 minutes is up, add dry ingredients to the oatmeal mixture and mix in the eggs.

Pour into a 13 X 9 inch greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. While baking, prepare the topping.

Topping:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tbs. milk

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and when cake is done, pour and spread on top. Broil in oven until golden brown. Keep an eye on it because it browns quickly and you don't want to burn the pecans.

Enjoy!!

Green Tomato Bread

This recipe is surprisingly delicious and is a great way to use up some of those green tomatoes in your garden. It smells kind of like sugar cookies baking in the oven when you make it. Yummm!! This bread is very moist and sweet and sooo good! I've had it with breakfast, lunch, and with dinner with Country Crock spreaded on top. Did I say yummm??

Green Tomato Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups chopped green tomatoes
1 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts)

Mix together wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together dry ingredients in a smaller bowl. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Add chopped tomatoes and nuts and mix well.

Divide evenly between two greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.