Nancy's Rum Cake

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: Wow. This cake is fantastic! And that is saying something because 1. I don't usually like rum cake, and 2.I don't like yellow cake at all. This cake is very sweet and moist. It has a great flavor, and in general is full of deliciousness!! 😀

I used captain Morgan's spiced rum as that is all I had available. I did use a pudding packet. And chopped pecans. Yum. I messed up the icing because I added the alcohol before the cooking, not after. Oops. So it wasn't very alcoholic which is okay because mainly my kids were eating it! I had to use just over a quarter cup or so of Malibu coconut rum as the spiced run was gone. Still so good! And so pretty. I will definitely make this again! Easy and fun! :) ❤️

Erica's Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

1 cup peanut butter

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 package (12 ounces; 2 cups) chocolate chips

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside an ungreased 13-by-9-inch baking pan.

2. Place the cake mix, peanut butter, melted butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The mixture will be thick. Reserve 1 1/2 cups for the topping. Transfer the remaining crust mixture to the pan. Using your fingertips, press the crust evenly over the bottom of the pan so that it reaches all sides. Set aside.

3. For the filling, place the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir and cook until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is well combined, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla until well distributed. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust, and spread it evenly with the rubber spatula so that it reaches the sides of the pan. Using your fingertips, crumble the reserved crust and scatter it evenly over the chocolate. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake until it is light brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.

5. Cut the cake into 48 bars. Remove the bars from the pan with a metal spatula and serve.

Store these bars, covered in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to one week. Or freeze them, unwrapped in aluminum foil, for up to six months. Thaw the bars overnight in the fridge.

Hot Mama Grade: A 

Hot Mama Notes: A tried and true recipe! Everyone loves it. Perfect for potlucks and gatherings.

Pecan Clusters

Hot Mama Grade: B

Hot Mama Notes: I really wanted to like this recipe, but it was only okay. I think it's not sweet enough for me. But, definitely tasty nonetheless.  Also, the end product is not aesthetically pleasing. :(. I'm not sure I would make these again. 

Blackberry Cobbler

Originally posted by:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/123962/blackberry-cobbler/?src=etaf

Ingredients:

* 1 cup butter or margarine, divided

* 1 cup sugar

* 1 cup water

* 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

* 1/3 cup milk, room temperature

* 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:

In a 10-in. round or oval baking dish, melt 1/2 cup butter; set aside. In a saucepan, heat sugar and water until sugar melts; set aside. Place flour in a mixing bowl; cut in remaining butter until fine crumbs form. Add milk, stirring with a fork until dough leaves sides of bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead three or four times. Roll out to an 11-in. x 9-in. rectangle 1/4 in. thick. Spread berries over dough; sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up, jelly-roll style. Cut into 1/4-in. thick slices. Carefully lay slices in baking dish over butter. Pour sugar syrup around slices (syrup will be absorbed). Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over top and bake 15 minutes more. Serve warm or cold. (*If self-rising flour is not available, use 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder.)

Hot Mama Grade: A 

Hot Mama Notes: I followed the recipe listed in my SIL's cookbook. It mentions the second 1/2 cup of butter melted, but then didn't didn't mention what to do with it, so I ended up not using it. :/. That's when I found the original recipe. However, despite the lack of butter, the cobbler turned out delicious! I think it might be better to mix the blackberries with the simple syrup. It wasn't really absorbed as mentioned. Anyway, I would make this recipe again. Very tasty. Also, I need to use a bigger pan. Maybe 9x9 square dish. The deep pie plate was not big enough, and the liquid overflowed onto the bottom of the oven. Bummer. Smokey smelly mess. :/. Also, I need to use more than 2 cups of fruit. Probably 2.5 to 3 cups. I used fresh fruit. Mainly blackberries, but also some blueberries and raspberries. :) 

Steamed Artichoke

Originally posted by:

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cook_and_eat_an_artichoke/ 

INGREDIENTS

1 or more large globe artichokes

1-2 cloves of garlic, cut in half (can leave skin on)

1 bay leaf

1 slice of lemon

HOW TO COOK AN ARTICHOKE

1 Cut of the tips of the leaves: If the artichokes have little thorns on the ends of their leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut off the tips. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke. But snipping them off will make the artichokes easier to handle.

2 Slice off the top of the artichoke: Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke. A serrated bread knife works great for this.

3 Remove small leaves at the base: Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.

4 Cut off excess stem: Cut off excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems can be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them. The inner cores of the stems taste like the heart.

Alternatively you can leave the whole long stem on the artichoke, just cut off the very end of the stem, and peel the tough outside layer of the stem with a vegetable peeler.

5 Rinse the artichokes: Rinse the artichokes in running cold water. While you rinse them, open up the leaves a little so that the water gets inside more easily. (This is where it helps to have cut off the thorny tips, it makes the artichoke easier to open without getting poked!)

6 Set up a pot with some water, aromatics, and a steaming basket: In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, the garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket.

7 Steam the artichokes: Place artichokes on top of the steaming basket. Cover the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.

Cook for 25 to 35 minutes or longer, until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off.

Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 5-15 minutes at high pressure). Cooking time depends on how large the artichokes are. The larger, the longer they take to cook.

HOW TO EAT AN ARTICHOKE

Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonnaise.

1 Pull off the leaves and dip: Pull off the outer leaves, one at a time. Dip the white fleshy end in melted butter, a vinaigrette, or sauce.

2 Place light end in mouth, dip side down, pull, scraping through your teeth: Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal.

Continue until all of the petals are removed.

When you get to the tender inner leaves with the purple tips, you can remove them all at once. Dip and eat just the light colored parts of these leaves.

3 Scrape out the choke: With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart.

4 Cut the heart into pieces and eat: Underneath the artichoke choke is the heart. Cut the heart into pieces and dip into melted butter, a vinaigrette, or a sauce to eat. 

Crock Pot Bread

Originally from:

https://brooklynfarmgirl.com/2-hour-slow-cooker-bread/#wprm-recipe-container-18558

Ingredients 

• 1 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• rosemary optional

Directions:

Pour warm water into a large bowl. Add sugar and mix until dissolved. Add dry yeast and stir. Let sit for about 10 minutes until foamy. I always find it helps to sit it in a warm spot.

Add salt to bowl and stir to dissolve. Add vegetable oil.

Add flour and mix with hands until everything is combined. Knead the dough for 5 minutes and form into a round ball.

Place dough in olive oil coated bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Sit in a warm spot for 30 minutes to rise, doubling in size.

Cut a piece of parchment paper and place in bottom of slow cooker. Make sure the parchment paper comes up the bottom of the sides of the slow cooker so when the bread expands it won’t stick to the sides. Additionally, I like to spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray.

Place your dough into slow cooker. Sprinkle with rosemary.

Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.

Remove from slow cooker and brush a little bit of butter on top. Place under broiler for about 1 minute until slightly brown. Keep a eye on it and make sure it does not burn! Broiling is not a necessary step but I recommend it to get the top crispy!

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: Well, I used old yeast since we are in the Corona virus days where there is no yeast at the grocery store. :/. I proofed the yeast, but I guess it wasn't enough. :(. So, the bread is baking, but it didn't double in size, so I think I'll be eating unleavened bread!!  :(. I'll try this recipe again after I get me yeast. :(

Update: Well, the yeast definitely was old, so the bread was very dense, but it did rise some. Despite its heaviness, the bread was absolutely delicious!! :D. I look forward to trying this recipe again when I have new yeast. Everyone loved it, though the kids could do without the rosemary (which I liked; fresh from the garden! :D). I did not broil the list, but I found the crust to be plenty crispy. :) 

Doug's Prime Rib

Thaw and bring to room temp. Rub butter then coat all with Misty all purpose seasoning or rub of choice.  Prehaeat oven to 500. When ready, roast 5 minutes for every 1 lb of roast.  Example 5 lbs is equal to 25 minutes. When time is up then shut oven off and let set inside oven for 2 hours.  Should be med to med rare. Do not open oven.