This was my mom’s “go to” frosting that she used to ice a lot of birthday cakes and cupcakes. She never had trouble finding volunteers to lick both the spoon and pan clean. In fact, sometimes she would make it for us when she didn’t have a cake to ice and we would spread it on graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or even Wonder Bread. Then we would add some broken nuts to what was left and pour it on a buttered dish and refrigerate it. We were pretty proud of our homemade “fudge.”

Mom’s Chocolate Chip Icing

1 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup milk

5 tbs butter or margarine

12 oz pkg of semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a sauce pan, heat the sugar milk and butter to the boiling point, stirring frequently. Just as it starts to boil remove pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips. Stir like crazy until all of the chips are melted. Let it cool 10-20 minutes before icing your cake. It will thicken as it cools, but if you cool it too long it will tear the cake when you ice it. Be careful if you reheat it as direct heat can burn the chocolate. This is enough icing to easily cover a 9×13 inch cake.

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Tags: Recipes

Here’s one of those recipes that was altered from the original because for my family’s tastes, it was just too sour. Of course if your tastes lean in that sour direction increase the amount of vinegar and decrease the sugar. It may have originally had some veggies in it too. That would be the ones that got picked out and left on the plate. It also tastes great with chicken instead of pork.

Sweet and Not too Sour Pork

2 tbs cooking oil

1 lb pork tenderloin cut into 1” cubes

½ cup dark corn syrup

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup catsup

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

15 oz can of pineapple chunks drained

2 tbs cornstarch

2 tbs cold water

In a skillet, brown the pork in the oil. Then add the corn syrup, vinegar, catsup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water and add to the pan stirring constantly until mixture thickens about 2 minutes. Serve over prepared rice.

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Tags: Recipes

Here is a real simple recipe for shortcake that is quick and easy to make. It soaks up the juice from the strawberries in a most delicious way. It’s a tasty cake even if you don’t have any fruit to add to it. Just dust it with a little powdered sugar and eat it plain and simple.

Aunt Sissy’s Strawberry Shortcake

1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup shortening

¾ cup sugar

½ cup milk

1tsp vanilla

½  tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 egg

Sift or stir together all the dry ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. If you are using an electric stand mixers, beat on medium about 2 minutes. Pour into an 8 inch pan (square or round) that has been greased and floured. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes on a rack before turning out of the pan.

Cut cake into serving sizes and top with fresh strawberries that have been washed, stemmed, sliced and sweetened with a bit of sugar.  A dollop of whipped cream on top seals the deal.

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Tags: Recipes

Add a little fun to your holidays with these sweet treats. Pretzel M&M Hugs are as tasty as they are addictive. If you are not comfortable baking goodies in the kitchen, this is a good starter recipe and lots of fun to include eager young helpers. The finished product is attractive enough to box up for gifts, if you can hold onto them for that long.

Pretzel M&M Hugs

70  square waffle pretzels

70  Hershey Hugs

70  chocolate M&M’s

Parchment paper

These are approximate numbers. Make as many as you wish. You are only limited by the number of items in a bag. Of course, all of the Hugs have to be unwrapped and that is where your helpers come in.  Line up the pretzels on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper and place one unwrapped Hug on top of each. Heat them in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. They will start to look shiny. Remove from the oven and carefully press an M&M down into each center smashing the Hug into the pretzel. Voila, now all you have to do is let them cool, which you can speed up by placing the sheets in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. Once they have cooled, store them in airtight containers. I would like to say that the hardest part of making these is to refrain from eating them all. Actually, I have found the hardest part to be moving the cookie sheets full of them in and out of the oven without sending them flying in all directions.  Slow down, take your time, don’t burn your fingers and enjoy. There are lots of variations of this candy on the internet, using different combinations of ingredients for different holidays. Explore, experiment and have fun.

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Tags: Christmas candy, Christmas cookies, holiday treats, Pretzel M&M Hugs

Hosting a holiday party? Don’t stress; serve easy appetizers like these pizza party ryes. These are a great treat for New Year’s Eve. Maybe I only think that because they have become a tradition in my life. As a kid, I thought I was eating hors d’oeuvres like the grownups. They are simple, tasty, versatile, and can be made ahead and frozen until you need them. Below is my recipe, but please experiment with your favorite toppings and make your own tradition.

Pizza Party Ryes

1 pound of sausage

1 pound of Velveeta cheese (cut into cubes)

2 tbs ketchup

1 tsp of ground oregano

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 loaf of party rye bread (this is that bread that comes in tiny squares sometimes called cocktail rye)

Brown the sausage in a skillet and drain the grease. Add the cheese to the skillet and then the rest of the ingredients. Heat until you have one beautiful gloppy mess. Scoop a couple of spoonfuls of sausage and cheese mixture onto each piece of bread. (Here is where you can freeze them for later if you wish.) Set them on a sheet and place in the freezer until they harden (for about an hour). Then you can stack them up in a freezer bag and save them for later.  When you are ready to cook, line them up on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil for easy cleanup and bake at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

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Tags: appetizer recipe, holiday appetizers, pizza party ryes