Cupid's Cake Magic

The question is: Is it a dessert or is it breakfast? Who cares! It is delicious enough for both. And no this isn't a Valentine's recipe. It just has a cute little name with a nice ring...Cupid's Cake Magic. But then again, you sure could serve it to that someone special on the official day of love.

I made this little magic cake for breakfast for our Sunday School class. And it received great reviews. It could be served with tea, coffee or for dessert with a nice cold class of milk. The crunchy topping really tops the cake. The pun is intended:)

Cupid's Cake Magic

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup soft butter
1 egg
1 cup milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square 9-inch cake pan. Combine dry ingredients. Add butter or margarine, egg, and milk. Beat hard for two minutes. Pour into pan. Cover with Crunchy Topping (recipe follows) and bake for 40 minutes.
YIELD: 9 to 12 servings

Crunchy Topping

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons soft butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Mix all ingredients together with a fork.

How much easier could this recipe be? Just mix and bake until golden! You could have this cake whipped up so easily for this upcoming Easter morning. No one will even care about their Easter candy with this around! Okay, well so maybe I will eat both this AND my Cadbury Eggs....

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Cheesy Spaghetti Casserole

Finally a main dish recipe...compliments of the infamous Momou. I will tell you two people who will get into a fight over this dish. My darling hubs and my baby sister. Oh yes...don't mess with them and Momou's Cheesy Spaghetti!

This casserole dish is delicious! Baby sister adores it because of the cheese and darling hubs loves that he can have spaghetti baked together and it is less messier. Did I mention this little dish has only 3 ingredients? Well it does. And it feeds a crowd. Talk about yummy and frugal!


Cheesy Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients:
12 to 16 oz. package of angel hair pasta
8 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1 jar of spaghetti meat sauce

Boil pasta until tender. Spread a layer of sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish, then a layer of pasta, and then a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat. Bake at 350
degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbling hot.

Just a little note. You can also add 1 lb of browned ground meat to the sauce for more umph!

Have a sick friend who you are bringing dinner to? Bring this. Have any sweet friends arriving home with a new baby in tow? Bring this. Sure you could bring old faithful lasagna. But spaghetti that travels in casserole form? Perfect! Add french bread and salad and you got yourself the easiest home cooked meal this side of the Mississippi!

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Momou's Famous Chocolate Icing

The day I discovered this particular recipe I was sitting on my bedroom floor as a new bride spending another afternoon sorting through Momou's priceless recipe collection. I came across a recipe written in her handwriting in a blue marker on a piece of cardboard. Such a different type of recipe compared to all of the other yellowed newspaper and magazine recipes. I took a closer look and all of a sudden tears started filling up my eyes. This was it. "THE" recipe. Momou's famous chocolate icing.

For each and every birthday Momou made us a delicious yellow two layer cake covered in this amazing icing. So many special memories are attached to this chocolate concontion. And I warn you, this icing is so delicious that you WILL want to lick the entire bowl!

Last Monday we celebrated my darling hubby's birthday so of course I carried on with tradition. A yellow cake topped with Momou's famous chocolate icing. It was a hit with the birthday boy and all of the others who had a slice.


Momou's Famous Chocolate Icing

Ingredients:
1 1 LB box of confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1 stick butter
3/4 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine cocoa and butter with mixer on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Mix in milk and powdered sugar at low speed, alternating between each. You may add more milk until you receive the spreading consistency that you desire. Voila! Easy as can be!

Oh and another warning...you will never want to go back to store brought icing that comes in a "tub". You just mark my words! Why would you when you can make this amazing icing from scratch in just a matter of minutes?

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Momou's Baked Macaroni

So how do I even begin to write about one of my most favorite and cherished dishes that has ever passed my lips? A recipe that I have loved since before I can even remember and a recipe that probably has more memories than any other. It is time for "that" blog...Momou's Macaroni. I need to stress to you that this is not, I repeat NOT your normal macaroni. Unless the macaroni dish that you bring to mind has sugar and evaporated milk in it. Because my friends...this one does.

There is nothing like this macaroni. Pure creaminess topped with pure sweetness. I have spent so many family dinners/holiday meals with this very macaroni present. If you called Momou right this second and asked her what Leesha's (that's how she refers to me) favorite Momou recipe was, she would know. Her Momou's macaroni.

I have to share 2 particular memories about Momou and this macaroni because this is "that" kind of recipe. One with many stories attached. First of all, when I was younger Momou would frequently come to stay the night with us. What precious times those were. I can remember how exciting a school day was just knowing that Momou would be waiting in the carpool line to pick us up. She would then take us to get a snack, our usual ICEE and bag of chips. Once back to our home, she would pop her trunk and there would be her glass 9x13 dish with all of the macaroni ingredients stacked up in it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Another sweet memory of Momou's sweet macaroni is that every single Sunday during hunting season I would know that I would be having macaroni for dinner. Do you want to know how I know this? Well, my dad, uncle and grandpa would hunt each and every weekend from Friday to Sunday and then head to Momou's for Sunday lunch. And every Sunday she would make her famous Sunday lunch. Chicken Fricassee, tomato gravy, rice and gravy, rolls and SWEET MACARONI! And that meant that Momou would always send some home to me. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

So how do you make this treasured macaroni? See below for this secret and get ready to fall in love...

Momou's Baked Macaroni
1 (12 oz.) package of long macaroni (Yes, this exists! The fancy name is Perciatelli. You may have to search hard but it is worth it. Try Kroger or Brookshires)
1 (12 oz.)can of evaporated milk
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons sugar OR MORE (you can bet that I add at least 1/4 cup)
6 to 8 oz. Velveeta cheese

In a large pot put water to boil. Salt to taste. Put in macaroni. (Momou breaks hers in half before adding to boiling water.) Boil until tender. Drain. Pour macaroni and all other ingredients into a 9 x 13 glass dish. Stir well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Now here's the trick...you HAVE to keep a watchful eye on the macaroni. Once the evaporated milk is just about gone you have to turn off the oven right then and there and let the macaroni sit. And then you will be assured of creamy and sweet macaroni.

A favorite pastime of mine, my aunts, sisters and Momou is to "try" the macaroni once it was out of the oven. We did this without barely anyone noticing. We did this by grabbing a lose edge of a noodle whose end was a little toasted at the top of the dish. Just simply pull this toasted end and it will just slide right out all creamy and yummy on the other end.

I hope this dish finds its way onto your table over the next Sunday lunch or holiday dinner. Or even a random weekday night! I assure you that your day will be much better knowing that Momou's macaroni is at the end of it. Enjoy!

P.S. The picture above is of Momou, my husband and I on our wedding day. We were showing Momou the goblets that we were using. They were the goblets made especially from Momou and Grandpa's 50th anniversary party. Jason had the larger goblet that was engraved "Lut" and mine was the smaller goblet engraved "Narcille". Priceless...

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Chocolate? Good... Mayonnaise? Good... Put them together? Even better! I'm so serious about this. I am not lying to you even one little bit. Chocolate and mayonnaise make a delicious combo. So what do we have here? CHOCOLATE. MAYONNAISE. CAKE. Oh, did I forget to mention that last little part about cake? Well you heard right!

Last Saturday night was a much needed girls night. First thing first... was to get the men (precious as they are) out of the house. Which is exactly what we did:) Then settle in over lots of food and talk nonstop. Which is exactly what we did:) Then came the main event: dessert time with a good girly movie. And this is where our Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake came into the picture...

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
1 package chocolate cake mix (with pudding)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup water
3 eggs
confectioners' sugar

In large mixing bowl, blend all ingredients at low speed for 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

Why add mayonnaise you might ask? Pure moistness! Imagine this sweet chocolate cake sprikled with powdered sugar and topped with vanilla ice cream. Now I don't mind bragging on these recipes because they are not mine. They belong to Momou.

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