Coconut Cupcakes

Prepare a white cake mix according to the box directions for cupcakes. Allow to cool before frosting. You could also make a large cake and use the same frosting.

7 minute Frosting from Betty Crocker

(which should not be called 7 minute frosting because it actually takes 9 1/2 minutes! just wanted to point that out ;0)

2 egg whites

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar or 1 tbsp light corn syrup

1/3 cup cold water

1 tsp vanilla

Combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and water in top of double boiler. Beat on high speed 30 seconds with electric mixer. Place over boiling water (water should not touch bottom of pan); beat on high speed 7 minutes. Remove pan from boiling water; add vanilla. Beat 2 minutes longer on high speed. Fills and frosts two 8- or 9-inch layers or frosts a 13x9-inch cake.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with coconut.

* I also added a small splash of coconut flavoring to the icing along with the vanilla. These were served at a board meeting and were a big hit. They were quick and easy to make and transported very well.

Simple Meat Loaf

What you need:
1 to 2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 egg
13 to 15 Ritz Crackers, crushed
Tony Chachere's original Creole Seasoning, to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Form into a loaf and place in pan. Cook, covered with foil at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil and cook till juices run clear.








My meat loaf, served with sauted yellow bell peppers, baby bells mushrooms and onions. A cucumber, tomato, and purple onion salad topped with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing and strawberries.

For the next day, slice leftover meat loaf for sandwiches.

Homemade Tamales

Tamales

1. Wash and soak 1 seven ounce bag dried corn husks overnight.


2. Take 10 large dried ancho or chili Nuevo Mexico peppers and remove stems, split open and remove seeds. Cover with boiling water and let stand for 20 minutes. Pour juice and peppers into blender and pulverize. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Discard debris that is left in the strainer. Put juice aside for later.


3. Brown 4.5 to 5 pounds of 80/20 ground beef.
Add:
1 large onion, pulverized in blender
1 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
About two cups pureed, strained chili peppers
Mix well and set aside.


4. To make your Masa you will need:
8 cups Martha White Self Rising Cornmeal
2 cups lard or Crisco
Remainder of pureed, strained chili peppers
Water
Place remainder of pureed, strained chili peppers to a large measure cup and add water so you have 8 cups of liquid. Place liquid mixture into a large pot and bring to a low boil. With a whisk, begin adding cornmeal. When all cornmeal is added, continue to whisk and add the lard or Crisco. Mix until well blended.

5. To assemble your tamales: Pat corn husk dry and spread two heaping tablespoons of masa in the middle of the husk using a plastic putty knife. Then put one heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the middle. Pick up the sides of the husk and bring together so the masa forms around the filling. Roll the side together and fold the bottom over.


6. Cooking: Stand tamales upright, with folded end down, in a steamer and steam for about an hour, replenishing the water as needed. Serve hot plain or add a red or green enchilada sauce.


7. Freezing: Wrap in foil, we do a dozen per package, then place in a freezer zip lock bag and seal well. Thaw and steam as needed.




Hot tamales at 9:20 in the morning....we couldn't wait!


Here is a great video about making tamales from a child's point of view. It takes you through each step. They use pork instead of ground beef.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4xCli6IxDI

Orange Glazed Ham

1 large to medium bone in ham butt

1 can orange soda (not diet)

brown sugar, about a cup

Place ham flat side down in a large roasting pan and pour orange soda over. Pack brown sugar all over the ham. Cover with foil and bake at 300 to 325 degrees for 2 to 2.5 hours. Remove foil and begin basting every 15 to 20 minutes; letting the ham cook for another 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the meat begins to seperate.

Best Slaw Dressing EVER!

Coleslaw

what you need:

1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix

1 small to medium chopped onion

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Ground black pepper to taste, I like a lot.

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup mayonnaise (or more if your mix is too thin.

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Juice from half a fresh lemon (or more if you wish)

In a large bowl, combine bagged slaw mix and onion. In a seperate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, buttermilk, mayo, vinegar and lemon juice. Mix with a whisk till smooth and pour over the coleslaw. Stir well and let chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

*If your slaw mix is too thin, add more mayo. The dressing should cling to the coleslaw, not be soupy. The use of a fresh lemon is critical to this recipe, it really sends it over the top! You could also add some fresh lemon zest for some real zing.

The slaw in the photo is not a store bought bagged mix. I had a head of cabbage so I used it along with some purple onion. I was out of carrots, but I would usually add them too.

Homemade Yogurt

Homemade yogurt using a minnow bucket instead of the Yogotherm. The minnow bucket, purchased at Wal-Mart (sporting goods section), costs about $4 verses the Yogotherm, ordered from http://www.cheesemaking.com/, costs $39.95 plus shipping. You do the math! We bought the Yogotherm and have used it many times. Our only problem with the Yogotherm is the plastic bucket provided for making your yogurt or other cheese products. We found that the bucket left an off taste, sometimes slimy, to whatever product we were making. To solve that problem we now use an old pickle jar instead, which works wonderfully. Of course we didn't think of using a minnow bucket until AFTER we had purchased the Yogotherm. What you need:
1 to 2 quarts of milk, you can use whole, 2%, 1%, or reconstituted dry milk.
1 packet yogurt culture

For your homemade yogurt maker:
1 minnow bucket
1 glass jar with a lid
2 washclothes, one for the bottom of the bucket and one to place on top of the jar before you put the lid on.
1 dish towel to wrap around the jar to prevent heat loss.
Heat milk in a stainless steel or enamel sauce pan to 180 to 185 degrees, don't let it boil. Once the milk had reached the desired temp, remove pan from stove and place in a sink filled with cold water. Cool milk to 110 degrees.

When milk has cooled to 110 degrees, pour into jar in the minnow bucket. As you can see we wrapped a towel around our jar to fill the gap between the jar and the edge of the bucket to help with heat loss.

Add 1 packet of yogurt starter and stir well. Put lid on jar and cover with washcloth and finally the bucket lid. Leave the minnow bucket out on the counter for 8 to 12 hours, we leave ours out overnight.

After 8 to 12 hours you have yogurt! If you like regular yogurt you can stop here. Pour your yogurt into a storage container and put in the fridge. However, if you want Greek style yogurt you will need to strain it first. Line a strainer with a coffee filter and pour yogurt into the filter. Let drain in the fridge to desired thickness, 6 to 12 hours. We drain ours in two batches because we don't have a large strainer, but you could line a large strainer with papertowles and drain it all together.

After the yogurt has drained this is what it will look like. Yogurt is easy to make and you don't even need the starter packets. You can also use store bought yogurt to make homemade yogurt. Use 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt for each quart you plan to make.
For this batch we used the Yogourmet starter that we purchased at a local health food store. One box has enough starter to make 6 quarts of yogurt and costs $5.99.

Mimi's Layerd Salad

VERY EASY! This salad is a great compliment to a meal or a meal by itself.

Layered Salad

1 head lettuce, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1 small package of frozen English Peas, uncooked

1/2 cucumber, quartered

1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1 small can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 to 1.5 cups mayo

1/2 cup shredded cheese, your choice

3 to 4 hard boiled eggs, sliced

6 to 8 slices bacon, fried crisp & crumbled

2 or 3 green onions (scallions) chopped

In a large bowl, layer ingredients as listed. When you come to the mayo layer, spread it out to the edges of the bowl. Allow salad to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving.

Other optional toppings include:

Chopped ham, turkey, or pepperoni

Sunflower seeds

Sun dried tomatoes

Black Olives

Sliced mild banana pepper rings

Chopped bell pepper

Sliced carrots

Fresh spinach

You can also omit the mayo layer and add your own favorite dressing at serving time.