Refreshing Snapple ice tea

Bring a few cups of water to a boil in a tea kettle. Steep 6 green or black lipton tea bags in a gallon pitcher for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup white sugar or 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Add a couple trays of ice and water to fill the pitcher to the top. Perfect for a cool summer drink! Enjoy!

Texas Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
a little salt

Mix in a bowl and set aside.

In a pan:
1 cup water
4 Tbls unsweetened Cocoa
1 cup butter or margarine

Bring to boil. Pour over flour and sugar mixture, and beat well. (This is the best stage for sampling the batter!)

Add 2 eggs
½ cup butter milk or ½ cup milk with a little vinegar
1 tsp. Soda

Mix well. Pour in a greased sided cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting

In a bowl:

1 sm. bag powdered sugar

In a sm. pan: 4 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
½ cup margarine
1/3 cup milk

Bring to boil and pour over powdered sugar.

Add 1 tsp. Vanilla and 1 cups walnuts (if you like).

Frost over cake right out of oven.


*This is a family favorite!

My Whole Wheat Bread recipe

The recipe I use came from a friend of my Mom’s. Then I found Sue Gregg’s Delicious Whole Wheat Dough recipe and liked how sweet the bread was so, I use a little more oil and honey now.

For 2 large or 3 medium loaves

Place in a electric mixer bowl:

2 ¾ cup very warm water

¾ Tablespoon sea salt

1/4-1/3 cup oil

2/3 cup honey

3 cups whole wheat flour

11/2 Tablespoons yeast

Mix till smooth. Add:

½ - ¾ cup Gluten flour or 3 cups all purpose flour.

Roughly 8-12 cups whole wheat flour

(I freshly grind wheat berries each time I make bread and I like hard white wheat)

While the mixer is going add a cup of flour at a time until dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Be careful not to add too much though, you still want the dough to be soft. Knead for 7 minutes. Shape into loaves or rolls, and place in greased loaf pans (don’t use oil as the bread will absorb it and the bread tends to stick) in a warm place (or leave them on the counter) to rinse 20- 30 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven at 350˚ for 25- 35 minutes or until golden brown on top

and loaf sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom.

Best cut and served right out of the oven with plenty of butter! :-)

For an extra special touch brush your loaves or rolls before rising with egg whites, a little water

and sprinkle with poppy seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds.

Corn Bread

1 cup finely ground cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 Table spoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup oil

1 egg

1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients together then add wet ingredients.

Mix together till just mixed. Pour in a 8” pan. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes

Chicken Waikiki Beach

Great recipe to use up left over chicken or turkey. A family favorite!

At least 2 cups cooked chicken pieces.

2-3 cups cooked rice

20 oz Pineapple chunks or tidbits (save liquid for sauce)

1 Green Bell Pepper

Sauce:

1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks

1 cup sugar or ½ cup honey

2 tablespoons cornstarch or ¼ cup flour

¾ cup cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

¼ teaspoon ginger

1 chicken bouillon cube

Drain pineapple . Add water to pineapple juice to make 1 ½ cups.

In a sauce pan, combine sugar (or honey) cornstarch (or flour), pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and bouillon cube. Bring to boiling- stir constantly and boil two minutes. Pour over rice and chicken. Top casserole with pineapple chunks and green pepper rings. Bake uncovered 30 minutes.

Caesar salad dressing

1 Tablespoon Olive oil
8 drops Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2-3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

Best served over chopped romaine lettuce and sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Hamburger Minestrone Soup

½- 1lb ground beef (we used ground turkey w/ some extra spices)
¼ cup chopped onions
1-cup raw cubed potatoes
1 cup sliced raw carrots
½ cup shredded cabbage
*celery, corn, and green beans
1 can kidney beans (I cook my own and use 3/4 cup cooked)
1 ½ quarts water
1 can tomatoes (I use Italian stewed)
¼ cup raw rice
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. Basil
2 tsp. Salt



In a kettle cook beef with onions until slightly brown, drain off fat. Add water and all vegetables. Bring to a boil. Sprinkle in rice and seasonings. Cover and simmer 1 hour (longer is better for flavor)

I add the kidney beans the last few minutes of cooking.

*I also like to add 1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped celery, corn, and green beans.
With the extra veggies this soup can get quite thick, so you may need to add extra water.