BUTTERCREAM ICING / FROSTING

This icing is so delicious and makes even a boxed cake taste good. It's better of course with a homemade cake too! No need to spend lots of money on store-made icings that are nasty and full of who knows what. This one's a winner!

BUTTERCREAM ICING

1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
1 package (16 oz. ) powdered sugar
4 to 6 tbs. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In large bowl, with mixer at medium-low speed, beat butter, powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla until smooth and blended. Beat in additional milk as needed for easy spreading consistency. Increase speed to medium-high; beat icing until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Makes about 2 1/3 cups.

If desired, tint with food coloring. Just be careful that if you use liquid food coloring, you will need less milk because that will make your icing soupy if you add too much coloring.

HONEY GLAZE SNACK

This recipe is rather plain in and of itself, but if you mix it up a bit, you've got a snack that's sure to get eaten fast. It's great to bring to a get together or to keep around the house for an afternoon snack. So yummy and so simple!

HONEY GLAZE SNACK

4 cups corn Chex (I like to do a mix of cereals such as Cheerios, Wheat Chex, and Crispix)
1 1/2 cups miniature pretzels (I've used pretzel sticks because it's cheaper)
1 cup pecans (I like to use a mix of dried nuts and dried fruits such as pecans and cranberries)
1/3 cup butter
optional - 1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I never really measure it, but just dump it in until it looks good, so I'm not positive 1/4 tsp. is the right amount.)

Combine cereal, pretzels, and pecans in bowl. Melt butter in pan, stir in honey and cinnamon and blend well. Pour over cereal mixture to coat it and mix well. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly glazed and lightly browned. Stir halfway through baking. When cool, store in container.

The more you mix up the recipe as far as the add-ins go, the better this tastes! It's kind of like a sweet and salty Chex mix, but way better and very addictive! I like to make a triple batch of this and bring it to church potlucks or when I visit with friends. It's a winner!

SKILLET GRANOLA- A healthy and quick breakfast

This granola is super-easy and quick to make and tastes absolutely delicious. It is a fraction of the cost of even the cheap granolas at the store and tastes better than the fancy stuff and you can put in what you like.

Skillet Granola

2 TBS. oil
4 cups rolled oats
½ cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup honey
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ cup packed brown sugar

Optional:
¼ cup chopped almonds
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup chopped pecans

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Add oats and cook and stir often until starting to brown and crisp, approximately 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together melted butter, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl and add to oats once the 5 minutes is over.

Cook and stir well for another 5 minutes or so until well coated and slightly browned.

Mix in fruit and nuts if desired and stir well for another minute or so.

Pour out onto cookie sheet and spread out to cool.

If desired, you can bake granola on a cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes to toast the nuts and get the granola a little more crispy.

This granola is super-yummy and slightly chewy unless you bake it. It’s great as a snack, served with milk, or on top of yogurt with fresh fruit. I’ve kept mine in a glass container for a week and a half and it was still fresh. Not sure how long it will keep, but it seems to keep a while. You can be very flexible with the fruit and nuts you put in. Put in whatever you like and however much!

I like to make 2 batches, but I don't put it all in one pan, but cook two batches back to back and cook it in a cast-iron skillet. It's super-quick to make.

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!!