The Plucky Housewives

Chocolate Sheet Cake Another repost to archive, but a good repost.  I seem to be on a dessert theme right now.  I promise that next week that will change!  We will be done with the reposting and onto the new recipes.  Besides, my weekend is scheduled with cooking and photo shoots!   This recipe is another family recipe that my mom found, changed up and made her own (nothing new, right? ).  It is the standard for all large family functions.  Sheet cake and peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (Ill post those next week as well).   Its fool proof.  My girls were 10 and 11 when they first learned how to make this cake and I think by now they have the recipe memorized.   Its just good food! 2 c Flour 2 c Sugar 2 sticks of butter/margarine 1/4 c cocoa powder 1 c water 1/2 c buttermilk 1 t baking soda 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 t vanilla Sift flour and sugar into large bowl. In saucepan on medium heat, bring water, cocoa powder ...

I think I was very late in discovering this wonderful treat!  Once I did, it became a staple at almost every gathering we had.  Then come to find out, everyone I knew had their own "version".  So here is mine, all the subjective yummy components to everyone else's recipes.   FRUIT PIZZA 1 RECIPE (OR TUBE) OF SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH (My recipe follows) 1 Pkg (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 1/2 c of confectioners sugar 1/2 carton of frozen whipped topping thawed (I use coolwhip) 1 c of red seedless grapes, halved 3 firm bananas, peeled and sliced thin 3 kiwi fruit peeled and sliced 1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges 1 pint fresh strawberries, halved, tops removed 1 RECIPE OF FRUIT GLAZE Press cookie dough into an ungreased 14 in pizza pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  COOL COMPLETELY! Usine a medium setting on electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Fold in CoolWhip.  Spread over the...

My mother had this pie recipe book - Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook (1965). In it was every recipe for every pie she had ever made, plus all of her changes and adjustments that made them her own. When I moved back to Wisconsin and into the family home (after her death), there, in the house were many of her cookbooks and among those her pie cookbook. All her handwriting and notes and even small cards inside that she had written. I was dumbfounded why it was still there, but glad that this was the inheritance left for me. Anyone who has ever ate a meal at my mother's house and it involved a pumpkin pie, was fooled. There was never pumpkin in our house - never a can of pumpkin, never a fresh pumpkin cooked and pureed. Not one solitary pumpkin in over 40 years. The secret it out - it was all squash pie. Butternut squash to be exact. She was slow-roasting squash before Ina Garten had even thought of walking into a kitchen. In the fall, the garden would be cleaned out of all t...

I have been making this bread recipe for the past 30 years.  It was the first recipe I ever created on my own and has been a family favorite since.  My girls (in their 20s now) have incorporated it into their repertoire as well.  Enjoy!  It is truly a family tradition.  Make sure to make an extra loaf though.... Braided French Onion Bread ® 1 Pkg Yeast 2 T salt 1-3/4 c warm water 1 c sour cream (room temperature) 1 envelope onion soup mix 1/2 t baking soda 2 T sugar 2 T butter softened 3 eggs (beaten and at room temperature) 6-1/2 to 6-3/4 c flour Sesame seeds (optional) Sprinkle yeast and soften with 1/4 c warm water. In large bowl combine sour cream, onion soup mix, baking soda, sugar, salt, butter and 2 beaten eggs). Add one cupe warm water. Mix. Stir in soft yeast until smooth. Now gradually add enough flour to make a soft, smooth dough. Dough will be a little sticky at this point. Flour surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, gradually mixing in e...

Arlene - Getting food ready Food or the sharing of food  is a big part of our family. It is a major component in family tradition. My mom was a "foodie" before the term even came into existence. One of my fondest memories as a young girl/teen was helping my mother bake 12 loaves of bread a week for our family. She would do it on Fridays and the baking would go well into the evening. With my mother gone now for almost 5 years, my children and I really cherish those memories. She lives on in the messy pages of her pie cookbook, the one where the binding is literally in shreds and now sits in a Ziploc bag to hold it together; or the handwritten notes on the pages of her favorite cookbook, where she changed ingredients or even left notes in the corners to "remember" what worked or didnt work with the recipe.  She was famous  for her lemon meringue pie, with the meringue sometimes as high as 4" and perfectly brown. The lemon custard was sweet, but not overpower...

Pound cake:  Its roots go back to Great Britain and the 1700s.   Its first cookbook appearance was in 1796 in American Cookery: or, The Art of Dressing Viands, Fish, Poultry and Vegetables, and the Best Modes of Making Puff-pastes, Pies, Tarts, Puddings, Custards and Preserves, and all kinds of Cakes, from the Imperial Plumb to plain Cake by Amelia Simmons.  Since then, this wonderfully yummy cake has been adapted by everyone, to suit any need.  Why was it called pound cake?  Traditionally, it contained a pound each of butter (4 sticks) , flour (3 cups) , sugar (2 cups)  and eggs (6 whole).     The Brits added extra eggs and dried fruits, such as currants or raisins.  The French kept the original ratio, but added chocolate or lemon juice.  In the southern US, its pretty much in its original form,  except sour cream has been added in place of some of the butter.  When I was getting married, my cousin Suzanne gav...

This recipe is my brother's favorite salsa!  He came over for dinner one evening when I was having TexMex (my carne asada tacos, famous guacamole and of course, homemade salsa).  He occasionally likes to dabble in cooking and was crazy about this, he took home several jars to keep.  He called one day and wanted to know how to make it, so I gave him the recipe.  He now likes to pass it off, with a few changes, as his own!  Mad, no!  Heck, thats what good cooking is all about.  Pay it forward with love! -  Jenni Photo by TAGilephotos@gmail.com 8 -10 fresh tomatillos (roasted first, then diced) 3-4 T olive oil ½ c red onion, small dice 1 t fine minced garlic 2-3 jalapenos (roasted whole first, then seeded and diced small) 3-4 medium, vine ripe tomatoes, seeded, small dice 3-4 limes, juiced 1-2 T finely chopped cilantro salt and pepper to taste Photo by TAGilephotos@gmail.com Rub tomatillos and jalapenos with olive oil.  Place on a hot...