Yankee-Belle Cafe

You cannot get simpler than this.

The real Lisa's children were used as cover models for this book... Taylor, McKenna and Nolan

My friend Lisa (my upcoming book "The Lawman's Second Chance" is dedicated to Lisa and Jeff Tydings, my dear friends, and to Beth Endlich, Love Inspired Senior Editor Melissa Endlich's mother... cancer is never convenient...) went to the Super Bowl, and she knows I love three things:

God
Sweets
Baking.

Oh, wait, I should list family in there somewhere, right????

She brought me back pralines (which Dave LOVED and wolfed down like a hunger-crazed coyote out behind the house... Really, Dave?  REALLY??????)  Sorry, off-track... Okay, so pralines (they pronounce them praw-leeens, clearly they do not understand Yankee phonetics in N'Orleans).

And she brought me THIS:




Yes, it is a box of beignet mix. I've never made beignets, much less from a box, but we had to try it because I gave up chocolate for Lent, there is no chocolate in this box, and I was on Day Two and borderline homicidal...

THEREFORE!!!!  We made beignets:

2 cups mix
7 oz. water.

THAT'S IT. SERIOUSLY. NO KIDDING!!!!

Mix. Roll out like you would biscuits. Cut into squares.



Heat oil in frying pan (about one inch)



Put squares in (I did 4 at a time). Turn often with slotted spoon or fork. Listen to K-Love radio while working...

These were the tiny strips I had left at the end, so I made them into French Bow-knots but they weren't as good as the square pillows... unless you like more of the crunchy outside and less puff-middle...

Drain on paper towels, sift with powdered sugar, DONE.





And the taste? Melt-in-your-mouth amazing!

WHERE'S THE LOVE BUTTON??????

You can order the box of mix here: Cafe Dumonde

Just over $3/box.... and amazingly, impressively GOOD!!!

Thank you, Lisa and Jeff!

Do you know about My One Word?

I'm not sure how it started. I've heard several folks take credit for it. My guess is that someone preached the concept, it caught fire in the hearts of simple folk and spread.

A watch-fire.

A flickering flame of hope. Of change. Of faith.

I love the concept because it's focused and easy. You pick ONE WORD and concentrate the year on making choices that reflect that word.

No diets. No money. (Although there is a book out now and you can buy it HERE.)

I'm doing a list for Seekerville.   A list of peeps and their "one words". We'll post it on the website once it's complete and that way we have a reference point.

In May you can go back and check your word when you've forgotten what it was.

In August you can reflect on your word.

In October you can do an examination of conscience and see if it helped...

I love focus. I believe in the ripple effect, that each small pebble dropped... each stone skipped across the quiet face of a sleeping river... each tiny snowflake, seeking friends.... makes a difference.

So our tiny beginnings of change and betterment make a difference too!

If you have a word you'd like me to add to the list, just say so... I'll tack it on.

For 2011 mine was "Forge".  I wanted to forge ahead... but also to become more solid as a person, forged in the fire.

For 2012 my word was "Embrace".  My thought was that learning to embrace change, different people, peace, forgiveness, others' thoughts would make me more open to goodness.

For 2013 I've chosen "Gladden".  I love that word! It makes me smile to see it, to say it, and that's the effect I want to have this year. To make more people smile. To inspire those smiles with humor, faith and love. Hugs and cookies help!!!

And for those of you who think I'm wriggling out of Simply Saturday recipe time, I shake a motherly finger and say, "Uh, Uh."

This week my little peeps and I made Rosie O'Shea's Killer Oatmeal Cookies. (RECIPE HERE, CLICK ON COOKBOOK!!!) This recipe is from Tina Radcliffe's debut novel The Rancher's Reunion.

My buddy and helper Casey made these on Wednesday.

OH MY STARS.

Occasionally we have an EPIC FAIL in our kitchen.

This???

TOTAL SUCCESS!!!!

These cookies are crisp, delicious, chewy and the texture is marvelous. And they loved adding packets of instant oatmeal to the recipe and that made me laugh.

Here's a pic of the finished product. We did cheat and added Hershey's Cinnamon chips to half the batter


and decided that we liked them even better (if possible) with the cinnamon chips.


And here's a gratuitous pic of Seth and Logan (father and son) playing in the snow... You Southern gals will love this!


Feel free to "dish" on My One Word... Or cookies... Or snow.... (big smile here).... Or taking down Christmas.

I always wait until Twelfth Night to put away Christmas decorations.

Some years I'm tempted to get things in order before then.

But I wait because I think the beauty of Christmas is the fulfillment of the Advent season, the constant protection of the Christ child from adversity and the command to those wise men to go home by a different route... a road less traveled, a concept many of us can embrace.... and tell what they'd seen.

They didn't have Facebook.

There was no Twitter.

No TV or Radio waves known to exist at that time.

Word of mouth for a hungry heart, crossing barren land.

And look what's come of it!

 "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: but the Lord shall arise upon Thee, and His glory shall be seen upon Thee. And the Gentiles shall walk in Thy light. . ."

Isaiah's words, come to fruition.

A story of acceptance and embracing. I love it!

Lightly butter bagel/muffin/biscuit while warm. Add the egg and meat. Put top on.

Enjoy!

We like scrambled eggs with our breakfast sandwiches, and there's always a crowd so I crack 12-14 eggs into a bowl.... I whisk them really well (free upper arm work-out, YAY!!!!) then I cook them in a preheated BIG skillet.....


When they're almost done, I flatten them against the bottom of the pan and let them cook for another minute or so over medium heat. Then I cut the big, round circle of scrambled egg into 7 pieces, 2/3/2


Then I put cheese on top of each piece. Turn off heat. Cover. This will melt the cheese without overcooking the eggs.

Now you're ready to remove each "sandwich-sized egg" and put it on its bagel-ly resting place.

All told, it's about a 15 minute meal (and that's if you're pan grilling the bacon. In the microwave? You can take 5 minutes off that estimate!

A great Saturday night "pick-up" supper!

Ruthy here.... and yes, you must gaze upon the cover of my Christmas book that's in stores and on Amazon right now, because I just love, love, love this book...

The hero.... (yes, this is commercialism to the max, right????)  Troubled. Tortured. But so good, so kind, such a wonderful man!!!

And a heroine, going the distance, longing for love that's eluded her for nearly three decades...


(FYI: Walmart has all of the December Love Inspireds on sale at 3/$9.99  AND THEY ORDERED A BUNCH EXTRA FOR THE SALE!!!! How stinkin' fun is that?????)

Oh, and today is our 39th anniversary...  I was a ten-year-old December bride... Shame on you, Dave!!!  Oh, wait... that would make him ten years old, too!!!  :)  Anyway, our treat for this anniversary is to go watch one of our young charges from Ruthy's Place perform in "Sister's Christmas Catechism" at Geva Theater's "Next Stage" this Wednesday... I love seeing my little guys and gals spread their wings... Cole and the rest of the kids who make up the children's "choir" are working with Broadway actress Colleen Moore....


What a nice thing to put on a nine-year-old's resume!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program!!!  :)

First, this bread is amazing.

Second, it's ridiculously easy.

Third, that fact just makes me smile!!!!

Here's what you need:



One box Tastefully Simple Wheat Beer Bread Mix

1 12 oz. can cranberry soda (I used cranberry ginger ale, just delicious!)

1/2 cup cranberry orange relish.

Mix by hand.

Spoon into greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40-50 minutes until golden and sides just come away from sides of pan. Okay, I ask you, can you get any easier than that????  I submit that you cannot!


Okay, how pretty is this loaf???? Bits of red, peeking through???? But will it taste good?


Here's Beth slicing the bread... She's cute, right?

Did you notice in Missy's pictures yesterday, her kitchen table in the background is like sparkling clean????

Oy.

Note the difference here.

Sigh.... ;)


DELICIOUS! Yes, party-worthy. But also, just plain worthy. The bits of wheat give crunch... the cranberry orange gives taste and texture (two huge things with me for bread...) and the flavor of the cranberry soda background is just enough to lightly sweeten the wheat bread. Truly a perfect balance and it took all of like THREE MINUTES.

Now that's a Simple Saturday, LOL!

I picked this one from Mary's collection of "quick and easy" recipes because it's cold and rainy right now.

If it had been hot and sunny, I might have moved to chopped Julienne salad or something like that.

(Okay,PAUSE RIGHT NOW FOR A REALITY CHECK. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND OR LEFT BRAIN THINKS MARY CONNEALY, FARM WIFE EXTRA-ORDINAIRE, WRITER OF AWESOME AWARD-WINNING NOVELS MAKES JULIENNE SALAD FOR HER COWBOY HUSBAND??????)

Exactly!

Back to: EASY SHRIMP CHOWDER

1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 to 2 cups sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 Tablespoon butter
12-16 oz. fresh or frozen shrimp 
2 cans cream of potato soup (Ruthy note: Bear Creek Cream of Potato soup would be even better, just make according to directions and use seasonings listed here)

8 oz package cream cheese, light  (You know that's not a Ruthy recommendation, right? Because why on earth are you making chowder with cream of potato soup and going with light cream cheese. Use the real stuff and don't TELL MARY.)

2 soup cans milk (if you use canned soup)

If you use the Bear Creek Soup, double the seasonings listed here. Bear Creek makes a 1/2 gallon of deliciousness. Twice the seasonings works out perfectly.)

Saute the onion, garlic and cayenne pepper in the butter (I added a smidge more butter, but not to Paula Deen levels, more like... Julia Child levels. Like 1/4 cup)

Blend these seasonings into soup. Add the shrimp and mushrooms about ten minutes before serving and let them heat through. A cooked, cubed potato or two is never a bad idea, right?

I'm Irish. There is no such thing as too many potatoes.  :)

Serve hot with crusty bread on the side, and do NOT COUNT CARBS TONIGHT.

Really.

Spare yourself the angst.

For this one time, ignore the carb count and enjoy!

While working in the bakery of Tops Friendly Markets, I came face to face with one of the most delectable melt-in-your-mouth desserts on the planet.

Cannoli Cake.

Now there are multiple variations on this old Italian favorite. Working there I discovered that making an amazing cannoli cake doesn't have to be a really involved process to be wondrous, and that's what Simply Saturday is all about. Short time investment=great return. Wall Street:  Look Out!!!

You will need:

One cake mix, mixed and cooked as directed in 8" or 9" round pans. A 13 x 9" pan can be used but you have to be good at slicing it in half.

The doll is "A.J."  A.J. and Melissa came to live with us about 12 years ago... They are well loved! Today his help was requested by a cute, small grandchild.

One cup whipping cream, whipped
1/3 cup sugar (mixed with whipping cream)
8 oz. dry ricotta (Ricotta has natural moisture remaining. I dry mine by pressing it out on paper towel layers multiple times. When dry enough, you'll have to peel the paper away from the cheese. This is super quick and works way better than hanging the cheese in cheesecloth overnight for the cats to lick.)
4 oz. Cream cheese, softened.

Mix Ricotta and cream cheese in blender or food processor to remove those tiny ricotta lumps. Add 1 cup confectioners (also known as powdered or 10X sugar) sugar. Blend well. Fold in sweetened whipped cream.

Slice cake.


Use icing (whipped cream, dark chocolate work best) to make a "dam" around outside edge of cake so that the cheesy filling doesn't leak through.


Use 1/2 of cheese filling on bottom layer.

Put second layer in place. Frost.

Add bottom part of top layer. Fill with cheesy filling (repeating step one of damming the edge with frosting)

Add top layer.

Frost.



Done!

Frosting choices:  The dark chocolate I use is the Hershey's dark chocolate frosting recipe found HERE. It's the best dark glossy chocolate frosting I've ever found and it's foolproof, idiot-proof and delicious! I also copied and pasted it below because you have to dig to find it on the webpage. Scroll down on the right and it's tucked under the chocolate cake recipe, which is a crime because this glossy chocolate icing is so perfect it deserves a page of its own.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine 2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Option Two:

Whipped cream icing:

Whip 3 cups of heavy whipping cream at high speed until thick. Peaks should form. Add in 2/3 cup of sugar while mixing. Frost cake sides first, end with top. 

Refrigerate this cake for optimum taste, texture and to keep from possibly poisoning anyone you love. 

Also:  Some folks add fresh fruit to their cannoli cakes. Fresh fruit, cheese filling and whipped cream can never be considered BAD. So feel free to add pitted sweet cherries, sliced bananas, slivered almonds, sliced peaches, etc. The fruit/cream/cheese mix is a very continental blend and delicious in its simplicity.

My bad!!!  I forgot to do a final pic of the cake and this is the last slice... listing slightly like the Leaning Tower in Europe!!!  But you get the idea, right???  You get the idea while I get a fork!

YUM.

Add chicken seasoning, garlic and ginger. Mix. Add chicken, bring to gentle boil, cover and simmer about 5-10 minutes until chicken is just cooked through. Remove chicken to platter. Save liquid from chicken in small saucepan.

Did I forget it was Saturday again?

I should be tarred and feathered.

That would hurt. I checked on Google for pics, and eeeeuuuuuwwwww...

I am not posting those pics here. Really??? People did that?????

OUCH.

Okay, so what can we do for Simply Saturday?  Something simple, right?

Napping is boring but grievously underrated.

But, simple!

Hey, have we done the Meatballs yet? The buffet line ones that are amazing and easy? Must check.... (Ruthy bustles away, apron flapping, wondering why she didn't do this last night. She's such a dork...)

No! I don't see it unless I forgot to label it and if I did it's worth doing again because they're beyond yummy and it's as simple as opening four cans.

Now that's easy-peasy!

One large bag smallish meatballs (I get mine from Sam's Club and you can use the smaller grocery store bag but we only make these when there's a crowd coming.)


2 cans Hormel chili, no beans


2 cans Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce (the kind that slurps out in the shape of a can....)



Open cans.

hahahahahahaha!

Pour into large slow-cooker. Stir. Add meatballs. (I thaw them so they heat faster because I'm always a little behind... like that's a surprise, right? But if they're frozen they're fine, just heat them a little longer.)

Heat on high for two hours (or five if you forget to turn them down, oops!) and then turn down to low and serve throughout the day.

Really, truly delicious sweet/savory sauce and everyone will ask you for your secret recipe. And you don't have to tell them, you can just Cheshire Cat smile and shrug like you're that cool.

Because clearly, you are.

We served these at a wedding reception (picnic style reception) last week and no one died.

Now, there's a ringing endorsement!  :)