Swedish Pineapple Cake

Today was third Sunday at church, a time of "shaking salt" together, sharing our love of friends, and recipes. How many times have you brought home a recipe written out on a napkin ? LOL...this happens often to me, the recipe hound...I love to find out who made that fantastic dish...Sharing is caring....and this recipe belongs to the new minister's wife, Jana, a fantastic cook....I will be making this often, believe me, it is so wonderful, and a rich, tasty, creamy, dessert. And as Jana put it, "no eggs and no oil in it".

Swedish Pineapple Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 large can crushed Pineapple
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Topping (On hot cake )

8 ounces Cream Cheese
1 stick margarine or butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pecans

Crab Apples

I am really crabby today....LOL....My dear friend Karen has a tree full of crab apples. She had picked all around the tree...her height's worth, and asked me if I wanted the rest of the apples, from the middle up...so funny...and of course, I never turn fruit or veggies away. Benny got a ladder, and we spent the morning getting the tiny green fruits pulled off the branches. This tree is one of the old Pioneer type...tiny and green...but still make wonderful jelly.

I love the little glass cutting boards (Dollar General)...
I watch my favorite TV shows and slice the blossom end off and pull out the stems..It takes a LONG time to do these tiny little tart apples. After rinsing them with water, I use a cup of water to start with, add more as they cook, and it took a long time to cook these little ones. I let the pan cool overnight, and this morning, I drained the juice off them. I had two whole cups ! I added equal amounts of sugar and started the batch. Crab Apples have their own pectin, so Certo is not needed. However, these apples were soooo sour, I had to add more sugar than the usual one to one ratio. I cooked them till the jelly dribbles off the spoon, and then threw in a few sprigs of Chocolate Mint leaves from the garden. I ended up with four pints. I have now finished the rest of the apples, and will make more tomorrow. Benny loves homemade jelly, so he is happy.

Plum Syrup

Summer is going by fast....I will not miss the high temperatures, but am thankful for the wonderful fruit my plum tree produced this year. Made lots of plum jam for breakfast times during the winter months. Whenever I have plum juice left over after measuring for my jam, I put it to good use. I mix sugar to taste in it, and a squeeze of lemon juice, bring it to a good boil till it is nice and thick, and I pour it into bottles. I love to pour the syrup into my saved and clean glass SOBE bottles. What is it about that cute little lizard on the top of the bottle ? It always brings a smile to my face. Now they are just putting their drinks in plastic ones, and I do not care for those bottles. This morning we had french toast for breakfast, slathered with butter, and plum syrup. Heavenly ! I also make apricot syrup when I have juice left over from making jam. I keep it refrigerated, and it will last for months....great over waffles as well.

Watermelon Salsa

I love those little critters, they roll around on your plate and stare at you ! My BIL outdid me yesterday...his recipe was better than mine, so I had to breakdown and get it from him today....enjoy....

Watermelon Salsa

2 cups diced watermelon
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
(You can use black beans instead....)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate
for a least an hour. Drain if necessary before serving.

Yum...Yum...Yum....

My Favorite Zucchini Bread

Now that summer is here, my squash is prolific in feeding us...we love squash...and this is my favorite zucchini bread recipe. I think the brown sugar has something to do with it...having our own pecan trees helps, nuts in everything...

ZUCCHINI BREAD

2 eggs
1 cup cooking oil (I use Canola)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup White Sugar
2 cups grated Zucchini
2 TBSP Vanilla
3 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use Pecans)
You can also add a handful of raisins if you like them.
Beat eggs. Add oil, sugars, vanilla and zucchini. Mix
lightly. Combine flour,baking soda, baking powder and
cinnamon. Add slowly to the batter and mix lightly. Fold
in nuts (and raisins ).
Pour into two greased and floured bread pans or spray
with Pam.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick
inserted in center comes out clean.

Buttermilk Coconut Pie

Buttermilk Coconut Pie

5 eggs
1 stick melted butter or margarine
(I prefer butter )
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
1 cup coconut (I toast my coconut )
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

Beat eggs well, add butter, buttermilk,
sugar and coconut.
Pour into the pie shell...bake at 350
degrees about 30 minutes or until the
set in the center.

Tri-Colored Pasta Salad

Tri-Color Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package Tri-colored pasta
(sometimes I use two packages)
3 medium carrots, shredded
1/2 cup diced celery
1 large green pepper, chopped
(I use about a cup of diced red,
yellow, and green peppers)
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 cups mayonnaise
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed
milk (Eaglebrand)
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
(cider vinegar works, too)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Cook pasta according to package

directions; drain and rinse in cold water.

In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta,

carrots, green pepper and onion.
In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise,

milk, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper until

smooth. Pour over pasta mixture and toss

to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.