Patience Coconut Cake

A friend of ours in Texas made this cake and I loved it so much I had to get the recipe. I made it for Easter this year.

First you mix together 16 oz of sour cream, 16 oz of coconut, and two cups of powdered sugar. Let this mixture sit in the fridge together for 24 hours. (This is where the patience part comes in)


The next day make a white cake mix and bake in two round pans. (The recipe recommends Duncan Hines)


When the cakes have cooled, cut each layer in half. Cover the first layer with the sour cream mixture.


Cover with the top of the cake.


Again use the sour cream filling with the second cake.


Ice the cake with cool whip and cover with coconut. Then you put the cake back in the refrigerator for another 24 hours before serving.


48 hours from beginning- your cake is ready to serve. My family loved it!

Printable recipe found here.

Crock pot meat loaf

We tried a meat loaf in the crock pot a couple of months ago and have made it several times since. The link I am posting for the recipe is for double the amount I make for two of us. The quantities listed below make enough for two meals for two. You need:

1 lb of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 C of milk
1/2 C of dry bread crumbs
1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

First combine the eggs, milk, bread crumbs, and soup mix and mix together. Then add the meat. Mix thoroughly, then shape into a rectangle or oval that won't touch sides of crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours.

We like mushrooms with ours, so at about 6 hours I add some in and let it cook for another hour or so. Another variation Michael adds is some red wine mixed in with the beef and some basil on the top of the loaf before cooking.


I forgot to take any prep pictures, so this is after cooking for most of the day before I added in the mushrooms. I realize the pictures of this meat loaf look sick...but I promise it tastes really good!


For our second meal with this we usually have it on sandwiches which is also really good.
Here is the link for the recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-meatloaf-184426
You can easily adjust the serving amount on the recipe link to fit the quantity of servings you need.

Corlie's Dallas Chicken

I am all about easy meals these days! Here is another crock pot recipe from a friend:


First layer chicken breasts in a crock pot, cover with fat free cream of mushroom soup, and top with the salsa of your choice. No real measuring here. I just used frozen two chicken breasts and about 3/4 of the jar of salsa. There was enough liquid that I could have had a few more chicken breasts. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.


When finished cooking, take out the chicken and shred.


Add sour cream to the soup/salsa mixture.


Add back in your chicken.


Serve over brown rice, egg noodles, or whole wheat pasta. My husband also had some leftovers in a tortilla and said it was very good.

Our favorite broccoli

This is our favorite broccoli dish from the barefoot contessa.


Chop up your broccoli to your desired size and place in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil and either some powdered or minced garlic.


Add 2 T of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest and some pine nuts. Mix together.
Roast in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes or until your broccoli is crisp but soft.


The recipe also calls for adding grated parmesan cheese at the end. I didn't have any this time, but it is really good with it if you do have it. The original directions are a bit different. Sometimes I do the lemon juice before roasting, and sometimes after. I can't tell a big difference. Find the recipe here.

Turtles

For an easy holiday treat all you need is pretzels, rolo candy, and pecans.

Place wax paper on a baking sheet. Put down the pretzels then a rolo on top. Bake in the oven at 350 for a few minutes-just until the rolos have melted. Then remove from the oven and press a pecan on top.

YUM! It is the perfect combination of sweet and salty!

Mint chocolate chip cookies

I am all about easy cooking and baking for this season of life- so when I saw these cookies I had to give them a try. The Betty Crocker cookie mixes are my favorite pre-made cookie mixes.

For this recipe all you need is:

1 pouch of sugar cookie mix (Betty Crocker)
1/2 C butter, softened
1/4-1/2 t of mint extract*
6-8 drops of green food color
1 egg
1 C creme de menthe baking chips
1 C semisweet chocolate chips

*I thought I had the mint extract and once I started cooking realized I didn't. So I omitted it. I thought the cookies were minty enough without it. So depending on how minty you like things you can take it or leave it.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.


Yum! They were really good!

Lemonade Cake

This cake is so easy and turns out very moist. This is a great summer cake!
All you need is:
One lemon cake mix


I used this mix


2 Cups of powdered sugar and 1-12 oz can of frozen lemonade.

Mix up the cake according to directions on the box. Bake in a bundt pant according directions.
In a separate bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and lemonade concentrate.
After the cake is baked, while still hot, poke holes in the top of the cake. Then pour mixture over the top of the cake. Go around the cake with a knife, slightly pulling away from the edges to ensure the mixture goes down the sides.


Invert your cake on a plate- hopefully it will come out complete! Serve with berries, ice cream, or on its own. Enjoy!