Granny's Apple Cake

Last fall one of the books we read for "school" was The Apple Cake I don't remember why we never ended up making the apple cake recipe in the book at that point, but we didn't. Recently L has re-claimed this book as one of her favorite bedtime stories (she "reads" it herself) so today we made the cake recipe on the back of the book. Warning, this is an ALL DAY process. My perceptive children pointed out that if the cake takes this long, how did the woman in the story get home from being gone all day & then make the cake & eat it for supper. Perhaps we should write the publisher LOL. Anyway . . . the cake is currently cooling (SO isn't going to "cool completely before we dig into it LOL) but it seems to have turned out well.

ETA: The whole wheat flour makes it taste "healthy" but the girls enjoyed it. I think I'll do the "optional topping" next time but overall it was good. The girls each ate 2 pieces so I'd say it was a hit :)


Granny's Apple Cake
4 c flour (we used whole wheat)
1 c + 1 Tbsp lukewarm milk (about 105F)
2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 c butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar (we used sucanet)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon or grated lemon peel (we used cinnamon)
2/3 c raisins (the girls opted to skip this, which was fine w/ me)
3 tart apples, cut into little pieces (we used Macintosh apples, and it seemed like a LOT of apples for the amount of batter)
powdered sugar (skipped)

Optional topping: (skipped)
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c melted butter

Sift flour into mixing bowl, make small well in center & pour yeast into it. Add half the milk & stir yeast to a crumbly dough. Let stand 10 min. Add rest of milk, butter, eggs, sugar, salt & cinnamon or lemon peel, and stir well. Cover loosely with clean cloth & let rise about 2 hours until doubled in size (I didn't notice much change in size, shrug). Carefully stir in apples & raisins.Turn into greased & floured cake pan. Allow to rise again (about 1/2 hr).
Optional topping: Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over cake.
Bake in the bottom of the oven at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before turning the cake out. Shake powdered sugar over the cake. Let cool completely for several hours before serving (NOT gonna happen LOL).

Greek Macaroni Salad

From the Taste of Home website:

• 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
• 4 medium plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can (6 ounces) pitted ripe olives
• 1 package (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, tomatoes, beans, onion, olives, feta cheese, salt, pepper and garlic.
In a small bowl, whisk oil and lemon juice. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Stir before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

This was YUMMY! And easy!! We ALL liked it, woo-hoo!

Ranch Pasta Salad

I'm not sure where I got this recipe. May have been from the "Menus for Moms" e-mails I get weekly. I don't use them to "plan" my menus per se, but I do find a few good recipes mixed in & save them for when I want to try something new.

ETA: We had this today. I had some multi-color spiral pasta so used that along w/ some ww penne. Used a little bit of chopped vidalia onion instead of the green onion, and one med sized cucumber instead of the celery (it's what I had). We all liked it enough to go back for seconds (though dh picked out the peas (if I'd known he'd be home I'd have saved some out before stirring in the peas), so I think it will be a nice summer addition to our menu.

• 1 lb. whole wheat pasta shells
• 2 handfuls baby carrots, chopped
• 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped (will probably skip this, if I had chives, I might add a few of them)
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 package frozen baby peas, thawed
• 1 cup real mayonnaise, more if it seems dry
• 1 package ranch dressing mix

Mix all ingredients. Chill for 1 hour or more.

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Salad

I don't really have a "recipe" for this, it's more of just a "dump" thing, but figured I'd write it down anyway :)

Mozzarella cheese, cubed ("fresh" mozarella is best but the normal grocery store variety will work if you're on a budget)
tomatoes, chopped into biggish chunks (think similar size to the cheese cubes)
Fresh basil, cut into strips
Mix all together, pour a little olive oil and some salt, stir it gently together. Chill.

Taco Salad

This is one of my mom's recipes that I've loved since I was a kid.

Dressing: 1 1/4 c burger, browned
Add: 3 T mayo
3/4 c sour cream
Taco sauce to taste (3-4 T)
Mix well; refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Salad:
1 med head lettuce, torn in small pieces
2 med tomatoes, cut in small chunks
1 15oz can kidney beans, drained
1/2 to 1 c black olives, sliced
Just before serving, add dressing and 8- 12 oz bag corn chips (fritos type), slightly crushed. Mix gently. Serves 10-12