Sweet Potato Pound Cake

A light-tasting, fine-textured cake. Excellent for the holiday season.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 2 cups white sugar

• 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 eggs

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

• 5 teaspoons orange juice

• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add mashed sweet potatoes and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time (the batter will look curdled). Add flour mixture to potato mixture. Beat on low until combined.

3. Pour batter into 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert onto serving plate.

4. To make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar with 3 to 5 teaspoons orange juice to achieve drizzling consistency. Spoon over warm cake and sprinkle with orange zest if desired.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

A great alternative to pumpkin pie, especially for those cheesecake fans out there. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Mulligatawny Soup

The name originates from the Tamil words millagai and thanni and can be translated as "pepper-water". Due to its popularity in England during the British Rule of India, it was one of the few items of Indian cuisine that found common mention in the literature of the period. The recipe for mulligatawny varied greatly over the years, therefore there is no single original version. Later versions included British modifications that included meat but the local Indian recipe on which it was based did not. Early references to it in English go back to 1784.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 apple, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup white rice
• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half - cut into cubes
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch dried thyme
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, heated

Directions

1. Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.
2. Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done.
3. When serving, add hot cream.

Stuffed Croissant Breakfast Strata

Ingredients

• 6 -7 purchased croissants
• 8 slices bacon
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped red and/or green sweet peppers or sliced, halved zucchini
• 1 cup sliced fresh cremini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, oregano or thyme, crushed
• 2 cups lightly packed, coarsely chopped fresh spinach
• 8 ounces colby and Monterey Jack cheese or American cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. Slice the croissants in half horizontally. Arrange croissant halves, cut sides up, in a single layer on an extra--arge baking sheet. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until light brown. Set aside.
2. In a very large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon; set aside.
3. Cook onion, sweet peppers, mushrooms, and basil in hot bacon drippings about 5 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally. Add spinach; stir until wilted and well coated. Transfer onion mixture to a colander set in sink; drain. Stir in bacon. Set aside.
4. In a greased 3-quart rectangular baking dish, arrange croissant bottoms, cut sides up, in a single layer, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle cheese over croissants. Spoon onion mixture over cheese; add croissant tops, cut sides down.
5. In a large bowl, beat eggs with a rotary beater; beat in milk, mustard and black pepper. Carefully pour egg mixture over strata; gently press down on croissants. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours.
6. Uncover strata. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degree F oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and strata puffs up, covering with foil the last 15 minutes of baking time to avoid overbrowning. Remove from oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Killer Chicken Queso

This is my jazzed up version of classic queso dip taken to a heartier level, perfect for football games, tailgating or for taking along to pot lucks in a slow cooker! This is a serious crowd-pleaser that is served hot as a dip, spooned over crisp tortilla chips nacho-style, or rolled up in a warm flour tortilla! The heat can be turned up or down with the addition of jalapenos to taste.

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (such as RO*TEL), drained
• 1 (1 pound) loaf processed cheese food (such as Velveeta), cubed
• 2 large cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup diced green onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper, or to taste (optional)
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

Place the diced tomatoes, processed cheese, chicken meat, sour cream, green onion, taco seasoning, and jalapeno pepper into a slow cooker. Cook on High, stirring occasionally until the cheese has melted and the dip is hot, 1 to 2 hours. Stir in the black beans, and cook 15 more minutes to reheat.

Caraway Dill Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. caraway seeds
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh dill
• ¼ c. Lard
• ½ c. whole milk
• ½ c. Buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the caraway seeds and dill. Using a fork, cut the lard into the flour mixture until it forms small, pea-size crumbs. Create a well in the center and pour in the whole milk and buttermilk. Slowly stir in the flour from the sides until the milk is incorporated.
2. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Using a rolling pin dusted in flour, roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick circle.
3. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough scraps as needed, roll them into a 1/2-inch-thick circle, and continue cutting until you have 8 biscuits total. Place the biscuits, sides touching, in a cast-iron skillet. Bake until the tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes.