Mary's Tennessee Jam Cake with Caramel Frosting

1 box spice cake mix + 2/3 c. yellow cake mix*
1 c. buttermilk, or 4 T. dry buttermilk** mixed with 1 c. water
1/3 c. applesauce
1/3 c. oil
3 eggs
1/4 t. cinnamon
2/3 c. blackberry jam, with or without seeds, your choice
1 c. chopped pecans, optional

Caramel Frosting:
1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Spray pan or coat with grease and flour. Place all cake ingredients, except pecans in mixing bowl and beat on low until combined. Increase speed to medium for 2 minutes. Add pecans. Pour into sprayed bundt or angel food cake pan. Shake a little to level it out. Bake 40 minutes until done (check with a toothpick). Cool for 5-10 minutes before inverting onto plate. Cool. This is a very moist cake.

*Cake mixes used to be 18 oz. but now they are 15 oz. Adding 2/3 c. yellow cake mix to any cake will make up the difference.
**The buttermilk directions say it works best to add the dry buttermilk to the dry ingredients and add the water when other liquid ingredients are added.

Caramel Frosting:
Place butter and brown sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes--Time it! Add milk, return to a boil and remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pour immediately over cooled cake. Serve with a big glass of cold milk!


***Another Caramel Icing: (This is the one I use with my fresh apple cake)

Caramel Frosting:
2 T. butter
3-4 T. milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

Melt butter in pan and add brown sugar. Add 3 T. milk. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/2 confectioners sugar and vanilla. Add remaining confectioners sugar, mixing well, and spread over cake. *I had to add a little more milk to make it spreading consistency.

First picture is after baking, before adding frosting. Second picture is after adding frosting (I burned the first batch, so watch it closely).

Broccoli, Apple, and Blueberry Salad

1 1/2 lbs. fresh broccoli, cut into florets
1 c. fresh blueberries
1/4 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. craisins
1/4 c. sunflower seeds (kernels only)
1 apple, chopped
1 T. lemon juice

Dressing:
1 c. Greek yogurt
1/4 c. honey
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. apple cider vinegar
1 T. poppy seeds

Combine first 5 ingredients. Combine apple with lemon juice, then add to other ingredients. Whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour over salad. Mix. Can be served immediately or up to 3 days later.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

64 oz. bottle ketchup*
1/4 c. liquid smoke
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and simmer on stove until desired consistency is reached, or place in small crockpot for 4-6 hours. Add fresh ground pepper if desired.

*Save bottle to pour BBQ sauce back in when done. (Use a funnel to place back in bottle.)

**frozen meatballs may be added to mixture if desired for tasty appetizers or sliders.

Cheesy Bundt Bread

3 c. SR flour, sifted
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
3/4 c. sour cream
3/4 c. plain yogurt
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder

Preheat oven to 350. Spray bundt or angel food cake pan. Combine flour with garlic and onion powders. Whisk together eggs, sour cream, and yogurt. Add to flour mixture. Add butter and stir. Combine cheeses and add to mixture. Pour in pan. Bake 50-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Amish Chicken and Pasta

6-8 chicken breasts, or 24 tenderloins
1 c. flour
2 t. garlic powder
1 T. salt
1 t. pepper
2 t. paprika
1 1/2-2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2-2 c. water
bowtie pasta, follow directions on box

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour and spices. Dredge chicken in flour mixture. Place in sprayed 9x13 dish. Combine water and whipping cream. Pour over chicken. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours until golden brown. Serve over pasta. I also served a Caesar salad with this for a complete meal.

*the first time I made this, I only used 1 1/2 c. whipping cream and water, but it didn't make enough gravy to go around for everyone that wanted it. From now on I make it with 2 c. of each.  The chicken tenderloins were very tender and easy to cut with a fork.

1st picture is after baking. 2nd picture is a serving over bowtie pasta.

Hugh's Chocolate Chess Pie

1 1/2 c. sugar
3 T. cocoa
1 T. plain flour
1/2 stick butter, melted
5 oz. can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla
1 regular pie shell

Preheat oven to 425. Combine sugar, cocoa, and flour. Add eggs, butter, milk, & vanilla. Mix all together and pour into pie shell set on cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce temp to 325 and bake another 30 minutes. Cool and eat. YUM!

Rainbow Cabbage Stew

2 large onions, chopped (I used sweet)
2 lbs white cabbage, chopped
1 lb. red cabbage, chopped
2, 26 oz. cans Del Monte green pepper and onion pasta sauce
2, 14.5 oz. cans Del Monte basil, oregano, and garlic diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 zucchini, cut in strips, like used in stir fry
1 c. carrots, sliced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 T. Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (or to taste)
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/2 head broccoli, broken into small florets
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced

Place liner in 6 qt crockpot. Add pasta sauce and tomatoes. Add all veggies except broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Add sausage. Add seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stirring occasionally. Add broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Cook additional 2 hours. This is a very hearty and filling stew (if you want it to be more of a soup, add some broth or water to it). I served it with homemade chicken salad.

*May add 2/3 c. rice or serve over rice, if desired. I didn't.
**We had recently been to a Parkinson's support group meeting and the speaker had said that people needed to "eat the rainbow" more, so that's what inspired me to come up with this recipe.
***Other veggies may be used or substituted as you desire. I waited to add the broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms so they wouldn't get too mushy and might retain some of their color. May add beef or chicken broth, or water, if desired, I didn't add anything.

1st picture: before cooking started, a very colorful stew. This picture shows the broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms on it, but it was just to show the rainbow of color.

2nd picture: The stew was all mainly the same color, but the nutrients were still there which was what we were going for.

Kathy's Holubki Soup

2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 large onions
3 lbs. cabbage, chopped
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 c. beef broth
2-28 oz. cans tomato sauce + 2 cans of water
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2/3 c. dry rice, optional

Brown beef and onions in skillet, drain grease. Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on medium setting for 4 hours.

*My crockpot doesn't have a medium setting, so I would cook it on low for 6-8 hours.

**Holubki (or Golabki in Poland) is Slovak for stuffed cabbage rolls.

Homemade Whipped Cream #2

1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
2 T. confectioners sugar

Place metal mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes.  Place heavy cream in bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat or cream will become lumpy and like butter.

Lemon Blueberry Trifle

16 oz. cool whip, thawed*
1 angel food cake, cut into cubes
2 cans lemon pie filling, I used Lucky Leaf brand, no high fructose corn syrup
2 c. lemon yogurt**
3 c. blueberries

Reserve 1/4 c. blueberries for garnish. In a large bowl combine pie filling and yogurt.  Set aside. In a 3 1/2 qt clear serving bowl, layer cake, lemon mixture, blueberries, and cool whip. Repeat layers ending with cool whip. Garnish with blueberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yum!

*You can make homemade whipped cream instead if desired:
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
2 T. confectioners sugar

Place metal mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes.  Place heavy cream in bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat or cream will become lumpy and like butter.

**I couldn't find lemon yogurt at our store so I just used 2 c. vanilla yogurt and folded in 4 individual (from a snack pack) lemon puddings instead.

1st picture: side view of trifle. 2nd picture served up on plate.