Overnight CoffeeCake

I love this because I can mix it up the night before and the next morning all I have to do is pop it in the oven for fresh, hot coffeecake.

Overnight CoffeeCake

Cake: 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 2/3 cup margarine 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk

Topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
2. Cream margarine and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in buttermilk and then add dry ingredients.
3. Spread batter into greased and floured 9"x13" pan.
4. Mix all ingredients for topping and sprinkle over batter. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
5. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes.

Sometimes I add coconut to the topping. When my kids were little, I poured the batter into 2 round cake pans instead of the 9"x13" pan. I baked baked both coffeecakes the next morning, one to eat and one to freeze. The coffeecake fit nicely into a gallon-size Ziploc bag.

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Take Your Bananas with You

Image by Harry‧黃基峰‧Taiwan via Flickr

I saw this recently in the food section of my Sunday paper, and I thought it was really neat. It's called the Banana Saver, and it's made to keep your banana from bruising when you pack it in your lunch. How cool is that? And why didn't someone think of this sooner?

They're designed to fit most bananas and even have a hole for the stem. Imagine - completely portable bananas without all the brown spots. I just might have to get some of these to try.

Mountain Cake

My cousin just posted pictures of some old family recipe cards, and this cake was one of them.

Like my mom said, it's a super familiar recipe...very much a part of her childhood - and mine.

Strawberries and Mountain Cake
Originally uploaded by bcmom.

I've heard of strawberries and shortcake, but I don't think I've ever had that. In our house it was always strawberries and mountain cake. We always had a large strawberry patch so we had plenty of strawberries, both to eat and to freeze for later use. I remember plenty of times we had strawberries and mountain cake for dinner! I always made this in a 13x9 pan, so the first time I made this after I got married, I didn't realize this recipe is only for a square cake pan. Of course, since we don't have our own strawberry patch, a square cake is plenty.

Mountain Cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix in milk. Combine dry ingredients, add to previous ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased square cake pan and bake 35-40 minutes at 350° or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with strawberries and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Now I'm wishing it was strawberry season.

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Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

I made this one other time, and I was going to make it for dinner tonight. Then I remembered that Cory had play practice from 5-7, and Jeffrey wouldn't be home until later, and I decided to go with something simple like opening a can of Campbell's Chunky soup to go with the sourdough bread I made today. Now I'm think either we'll have this for dinner tomorrow night when we can all sit down together, or I will try the Indian inspired version with the rice and take it for the potluck on Sabbath.

Campbell's® Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a 16 ounce package linguine
• 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

• Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine and broccoli well in a colander.
• Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often.
• Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture into the skillet. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

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Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo: Substitute grilled chicken breasts for the skinless, boneless chicken.

Indian-Inspired Tip: Omit the Parmesan cheese. Substitute 1 cup uncooked basmati rice for the linguine. Prepare as directed above. Stir 1 teaspoon curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin into the skillet in Step 3. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds, if desired.

Asian-Inspired Tip: Omit the Parmesan cheese. Substitute 1 package (6 ounces) rice noodles for the linguine. Prepare as directed above. Stir 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 cloves garlic, minced and 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root in to the skillet with the chicken in Step 2.

When heating leftovers in the microwave, add a little milk to get the creaminess back.

Find this recipe as well as many more at the Campbell's kitchen website.

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