May 2006

1-1/4 cups boiling Dr. Pepper
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Pour Dr. Pepper over oats. Stir well and allow to stand for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cream shortening, add sugars gradually; cream well. Add eggs, beating until mixture is fluffy. Sift flour with salt, soda, nutmeg and add to creamed mixture - mixing well. Add oatmeal mixture and mix thouroughly.

Pour into greased and floured 9×9x2 inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until cake tests done.

Remove from oven, spread topping (recipe below) over cake. Place under broiler until until bubbly and lightly browned.

Serve warm.

TOPPING:

Mix 1/3 cup melted butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup light cream, and 1 cup finely grated coconut.

Serves 12-16.

Dr. Pepper has always been my favorite soft drink, since I drank from a sippy cup. (And having just spilled tea down the front of my new top, I’m thinking that maybe I should have kept one such cup around!) About 5 years ago, after coming face to face with how many calories were in the 2 liter that I downed daily (!!!) - I moved switched to Diet Dr. Pepper: Frankly the best soft drink in the world!

So, when I came across an old Cookin’ With Dr. Pepper booklet from 1965, I was over the culinary moon. This recipe is one from the collection.

I’m tweaking a Baked Beans recipe from another book that originally used Coca Cola (my second-fave soft drink - awesome in it’s own right). The beans are heavenly when used with Coke, but I’m trying to make them just as good with the Doctor. So far, they turn out too sweet - even when I use the Doctor that’s on a Diet.

But I’m working on it. I’m also anxious to try a Barbecued Chicken recipe that uses Dr. Pepper. My sweetheart of a husband got me a new grill for Mother’s Day, and this recipe will probably be the second one I try out on it - AFTER grilled hot dogs. First dogs first!

Joi

The tantalizing little tempters above are Key Lime Truffles (5 pc.) from the Queen of the world of chocolate - Godiva.

They’re just in time for summer and make perfect little “I will make it through the day” incentives to keep on your desk….you know, right next to that cup of coffee or tea.

With enough chocolate and caffeine, you can hit me with just about any sort of day…throw in a little Key Lime or coconut and I’m a force to be reckoned with!

Joi

Did you see the Paula Deen episode featuring Ice Cream Balls with Pecans and Caramel Sauce?

Have. Mercy.

Click the link above to check it out. I plan on making these in a few days, and I fully plan on making a complete ice-cream slurpping idiot of myself. I’m looking forward to it more than I care to admit.

Joi

One of the gifts my husband gave me for Mother’s Day was a cookbook I’d been wanting - Rachel Ray’s Express Lane Meals. Personally I think it’s her best cookbook yet. It’s packed with amazing recipes that I can’t wait to try as well as great advice on what foods to keep on hand, how to buy in bulk - She has some advice on freezing chicken that I’ll use forever now.

The recipe I’ll probably try first is one for fried, Crispy Scallion Sticks…or Spanish Pork Chops…..or the Bacon and Creamy Ranch Chicken Burgers….

Great stuff!

To grab this cookbook, or any of her other great books, see The store at Food Network..

Joi

Isn’t she adorable? In case you couldn’t tell already from reading this blog - I’m a huge fan of Rachael Ray’s. I love her bubbly personality and the way the television lights up when she’s on. I swear, life can be getting you 4 kinds of down and you can turn on one of her shows and turn everything back to normal in no time.

She’s one of those people who puts a smile on your face - and frankly, that’s my favorite kind of people!

Here’s a little quick Rachael Ray trivia:

The “Sweetie” she often talks about is lawyer and musician John Cusimano.

Rachael’s career began at a Macy’s in New York - at the Candy counter.

She’s 5′3″ (Something we share in common.)

She posed in lingerie for FHM magazine. She caught heat from uptight fellow chefs, but Rachael says, “I think it is kinda cool for someone who is goofy, and a cook, just a normal person to be thought of in that way.” I agree! She’s having fun and showing that sexy wears lots of different personas.

They have a pit bull named “Boo” and goldfish named “Jaws” and “Orca.”

They live in a small, rustic, lakeside cabin in New York’s Adirondacks.

She has a plaque in her home that says, “Martha Stewart Doesn’t Live Here.”

Apparently she doesn’t bake well or whistle: “I’m a lousy whistler. I can’t make coffee, I can’t bake and I can’t whistle. There. I’m outed, on all levels.”

I can’t for the life of me understand it, but Rachael has a few critics (How can you criticize Rachael Ray?!?!) out there. I dunno, I guess no one can be very popular without having a few. Below this post is a link to a great article defending her.

It’s strange that anyone would criticize her - especially chefs, she’s making what they do look ultra cool. Of course, she has a lot more supporters and fans than she does non-fans. She makes a whole lot more of us smile than not!

My oldest daughter, Emily, and my youngest daughter, Stephany, helped me put together a collection of e-books for our Buttermilk Press Publications. We have a Chicken Recipes eBook, an Amish Recipes eBook, one for Ice Cream Maker Recipes, and one for South of the Border Cooking. Each is absolutely full of amazing recipes, and I’d be really hard-pressed to say which is my favorite.

We have quite a few more in the works for this summer. We’re trying out recipes almost daily! Tough job, but someone has to do it!

Any money that comes in from any of the eBooks in our Buttermilk Press Collection will go toward Emily’s college education. She is taking classes, working part time, and helping out (when she has the time!) with our home business. However, the cost of an education is positively unreal - and this past Spring she found herself unable to take as full a load as she’d like.

Basically, as you can gather, this is a “mom” doing what we moms do best. Looking out for our babies - even if we are now looking up to to them. (How do they manage to grow taller than the person who created them?)

If you should find yourself in the market for a collection of recipes - please see our Recip-E-books Page. You’ll receive a great collection of recipes (no matter which book you go for), and a certain young lady can stop worrying about “how many” classes she can afford and start worrying about “how many” classes she can handle!

Joi

I read a lot of Jean Chatzky’s money advice. The lady knows her $tuff. I was recently absorbing wisdom on her website (http://www.jeanchatzky.com), when I came across a little snippet about dining out.

We Americans spend an unreal amount of money eating out! Guess that’s why whenever you see a new building being constructed, you can bet the odds are good that it’ll be a restaurant - or a bank for them to keep their money (that was once our money) in. Ronald McDonald must need multiple banks.

It made me start thinking - there are probably lots of ways to save money when eating out. Since I’m not an expert at saving money on anything, I launched a search this morning to find people who are. I’ve rounded up the best advice they had to share as well as links to their sites. The first one actually is courtesy of me - something I’ve learned the hard way. It’s actually burned me twice!

• When you’re “going buffet,” check the price beforehand. They usually aren’t posted in restaurants where the buffet is the main draw. Take a look at what’s on the buffet, measure that against the cost, then see whether you think it’s worth it or not. Keep in mind, it’ll take the same amount of food to fill you up - whether you have a plate dinner or a buffet.
• Keep an eye out for “Kid’s Night” deals. Most restaurants feature at least one night a week when kids under 12 eat free or for 1/2 price. (The Money Instructor)
• Check the mail for coupons and use them. (The Money Instructor)
• Most phone books include great coupons for restaurants - as well as lots of other places. (Get Cooking - I came up with another one. Whoop whoop.)
• Order Pizza!!! Pizza restaurants always have special deals, and you can look for additional coupons in your weekly paper. Alright! Permission to eat at my favorite Pizza Place: Mancino’s on 54 in Owensboro, Kentucky. In fact, one of their Taco Pizzas, my daughter Steph and I have dinner plans tonight. (The Money Instructor)
• Check out the slew of tips HERE! There are too many to go into - but a lot of them are really good.
• Buy and use the Entertainment Books that are sold in a lot of communities. Lots of great bargains live inside these books. (Mommy Savers)
• Have your cake, and share it, too. Go ahead and order dessert, but share it with one or two others. We actually always do this. We’ll order two different desserts and put them in a rotary cycle around the table. Dessert portions are usually pretty big, so they can charge what they want to. Plus, after a big meal, you probably won’t be too hungry anyway, so sharing’s cool. (Free Money Finance)
• “A $35 restaurant bill for a family of four can feed that family for several days. More importantly, if you are in debt or otherwise tight, eating out too much can suck up money that you can use to work toward financial freedom.” (From Better Budgeting)
• Join a dining program such as idine. (Better Budgeting)

  Another tip from The Money Instructor was to have coffee at the end of the meal rather than dessert. You’ll save money and calories.

  Speaking of desserts - be weary of Pecan Pies in most restaurants. I’ve never, ever gotten a good Pecan Pie outside of my my mom’s, my aunt’s or my own kitchen. As a matter of fact, most I’ve tried out have bordered between disgusting and deadly!

  Have an amazing weekend,
  Joi

New York City, San Francisco, and Las Vegas represent the United States on MSN Travel’s list of the Top 10 Cities for Foodies. Click the link to vist the other cities that would make our food loving hearts skip a beat.

If I could choose just one of the ten, I’d love to be sitting at an outdoor cafe in San Francisco with my husband, daughters and lots of great food in front of us…. Although I could see us in Rome wrapping ourselves around a plate of spaghetti. Okay, I’m torn - I’ll have to go to both.

Now all I need is the thousands of dollars to make it all happen!! (Hmmm, I’ve always wanted to see Canada, too…… Oh, and Barcelona.)

I wonder how Miami kept from making the list. Also, it’s on a smaller scale, but Louisville, Kentucky actually has some pretty amazing places to eat.

Joi

Giada de Laurentiis pretty much rules. Said another way, she is the Italian bomb! I love her show on the Food Network - she makes cooking seem like such an art, and there’s something unbelievably calming and relaxing about listening to her. I’ve noticed, too, that she has one of those smiles that, upon seeing it unleashed, you have to smile back. Of course, the main thing is her cooking skills, which are amazing. I always come away with something I can use.

I found a recipe online for homemade pizza by Giada, and I can’t wait to round up all the ingredients and give it a test drive. Click right about HERE to check it out for yourself.

To check out Giada’s cookbooks (or Paula’s or Rachel’s) - cool your heels in the The store at Food Network.

Joi

1 cup white sugar
1 cup salad oil
1/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup catsup
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons minced onion
1 tsp. celery seed

Blend together and chill.

For 65 GREAT Amish recipes, see AMISH COOKING!

Joi