Great Baked Beans

This recipe is adapted from Pam Anderson (no, not that Pamela Anderson!). They are a lot like Boston Baked Beans, which are based on molasses. This recipe makes a huge amount, and they are even better the next day. They are great with barbecue: pork or beef. Note that the cooking time is long, though.

Baked Beans

8 slices of bacon, halved
1 medium onion, diced
3 large cans (28 oz. each) pork and beans (you may find different sizes; anything close is ok)
3/4 cup barbecue sauce (cheap, thick sauce is best here)
1/2 c. molasses
1/4 c. white or cider vinegar
2 t. dried mustard or 2 T. Dijon mustard

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat overn to 325. Grease a 13X9 inch baking pan.

Fry bacon in a large deep skillet until it is partially cooked and has released 1/4 c. drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onion to drippings in pan and saute until tender about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer, then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients.)

Pour beans into greased baking pan. Top with bacon and bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly before serving. This is a great ahead of time dish.

Mom's Potato Salad

This is my mom's recipe; she's been making it for as long as I can remember. I actually don't care for potato salad, but I'm posting this recipe here because people really love it. If I were going to eat potato salad, it would be this one: the Italian dressing and bacon make it more exciting than the typical kind.

Potato Salad

6 peeled baking potatoes, diced
1/4 c. Italian dressing
1/4 c. choped onion
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 t. salt
ground black pepper
1/2 c.+ mayonnaise
8 pieces bacon, chopped, cooked, and drained
Boil potatoes about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain thoroughly in a colander, and chill.

Put potatoes in a large bowl and gently toss with Italian dressing. Then add onion, celery, salt, and pepper. Finally, stir in mayo. Just before serving, top potato salad with bacon.

Secret Agent Briefcase Cake

I had a hard time trying to decide what kind of cake to make for Jack's secret agent party. The day before the party, I thought of a spy briefcase and I found a few ideas online. The cake is 11X17, with one chocolate layer and one yellow cake layer. The frosting is a chocolate buttercream, and I molded the handle, clasps, grappling hook, and snorkel out of fondant that I dyed. It ended up being a very big cake, which was good because we had a lot of guests. I'm very intrigued by fondant now and I'd like to try to working with it more.

You can find the recipes for the cakes and frosting under "dessert."

If Life Gives You Bananas, Make Banana Cake!

I always have "brown" bananas in my freezer; once they are overripe, I just freeze them, unpeeled. Then when I need them, I thaw them for 30 seconds or so and use them to make banana crunch muffins or any one of a number of banana breads. If I need something for company, though, I make this cake. I made it for a potluck children's ministries meeting today, in fact. It has the familiar taste of banana bread with the decadent addition of cream cheese.

I love it when recipes have a "twist": this one has an unusual technique. Once you take the baked cake out of the oven, you put it in the freezer immediately for 45 minutes. You can also leave it in the freezer overnight and frost it in the morning.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from www.recipezaar.com)

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 275°.
Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.
Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.
Spread on cooled cake.

Ben's Birthday Bash

Ben turned three on Saturday, and we had a Diego-themed party. He had so much fun playing party games, opening presents, and blowing out the candles on his cake.

During the festivities, I had the Mexican Layer Dip on the island with some tortilla chips. You can find the recipe if you click on the appetizers tag. Since Ben loves fruit so much, I also put out watermelon, red grapes, purple grapes, green apples, red apples, kiwi, bananas, strawberries, honeydew, and canteloupe along with the three fruit dips you can also find under the appetizers tag.

We had 22 people at the party, all of them close family and friends, so we decided to serve dinner after the party. Mexican food lends itself to large groups and varied tastes, so we went with a taco bar. I wish I'd taken pictures of the toppings all laid out; my mother-in-law gave me a cool Tuscan serving set last Christmas that was perfect to contain the onions, tortillas, cheese, olives, pico de gallo, sour cream, jalapenos, and lettuce. You can sort of see it in the background of the cake picture. I also made cheesy refried beans and ground beef taco meat. My SIL makes ground beef in the crockpot, which produces fine-textured meat similar to many Mexican restaurants. Since I made just under 6 pounds of meat, the crock pot was much easier than using the frying pan! I also made taco seasoning instead of buying it. See the recipes below for more details.

The party was lots of fun, and I am so grateful to have friends and family members who help me clean up!

Cake

I made two cakes: a dark chocolate 9x13 for the base and an 8-inch round two-layer yellow cake. The chocolate cake recipe is on the back of the Hershey's Special Dark cocoa box, and the yellow cake recipe came from a friend of my mother's. The yellow cake is dense and very flavorful, and I love the dark chocolate cake, which is lighter.

Yellow Cake

Preheat oven to 350.

2 1/4 c. flour

3 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 3 oz. pkg. vanilla pudding

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 stick butter, softened

2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

4 egg whites

Grease and flour a 13X9 pan or 2 8-inch cake pans.Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to the batter, ending with flour. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Gently spoon into pan(s).Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until golden and no crumbs cling to cake tester inserted in the middle.

Decorator's Buttercream

1/2 c. shortening

1/2 c. butter

1 t. vanilla

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 T. milk

Cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating well on medium speed. Will appear dry. Add milk - beat until light and fluffy.

Tacos

Cheesy Refried Beans

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

2 cans refried beans

1 cup sour cream

3 cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (will mix up smoother if you grate cheese rather than buying pre-shredded)

1 package taco seasoning or 1/4 cup homemade taco seasoning

Mix 2 cups of shredded cheese with all other ingredients until smooth. Pour into 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips or as a side dish or burrito filling.

Crockpot Taco Meat

Put the desired amount of ground beef into a crockpot. Add a chopped onion or two, and pour about an inch of water in the bottom of the crockpot. Set on high for four hours, stirring occasionally. When meat is cooked, drain off most of the water and add taco seasoning (one packet or 1/4 cup per pound of meat). Leave on warm until ready to eat.

Taco Seasoning Mix - adapted from http://www.recipezaar.com/

2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2-3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (or use 1/2 teaspoon white salt)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional or to taste)

2 t. cornstarch

Mix all ingredients together. You can multiply the amounts by 5 or 10 and keep some in the refrigerator. I added some tomato paste to the taco meat because I thought it needed some tomato flavor.

Summer Corn Chowder and Grilled Corn on the Cob

We had some leftover grilled corn on the cob, and my favorite thing to do with that is make corn chowder. My mother had some and liked it so much that she asked me to post the recipe.

We make corn on the cob many different ways: boiled, steamed, microwaved, and grilled. Some people even bake it in the oven! There is a controversy when grilling corn over leaving some of the husks and soaking vs. peeling the corn entirely. This summer we've been making our corn like this, and we love it. Without any husks, the corn is truly grilled and not steamed.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Shuck as many ears as desired. Mix together softened butter, salt, and pepper. Brush it lightly on the corn. Grill on medium, turning from time to time. It will take about 8-10 minutes to get tender and slightly charred. Some people eat it with additional butter, but I like it right off the grill.

Summer Corn Chowder (inspired by epicurious.com)

6 slices bacon, chopped I always use center cut, which is less fatty
5-6 cups fresh corn kernels(cut from 6 to 8 ears)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion or leeks
1 cup sliced peppers - any colors
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes peeled russet potatoes
3 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or green onions
Optional: splash of cream or half and half

Sauté bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add corn, onion, peppers, and potatoes to drippings in pot; sauté 5 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and simmer uncovered over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 3 cups soup to blender. Holding blender top firmly, puree until smooth. (An immersion blender works great.) Return puree to soup in pot. Stir in milk and cayenne. Bring chowder to simmer, thinning with more broth if too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a splash of cream if using. Ladle chowder into bowls and sprinkle with bacon and chives.

Happy Belated 4th!

Cake: made by me, decorated by children