Sunday Dinner: Elizabeth's Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Elizabeth is carrying on the family tradition. At twelve, she's just beginning to learn to cook and like most little girls she loves to make sweet treats.

Elizabeth is wearing an Ike's shirt that my Mom bought her when she was only a year old. At twelve, it finally fits her. For those of you who may or may not know, Ike's Korner Grill is the family restaurant my grandparents began years ago when their children were still small. My cousin still runs it today. If you're in Spartanburg, SC and looking for a great hamburger, it is still the place to go. They also serve hot dogs with Grandmother Rodger's legendary chili, and of course there is always the fried bologna sandwich. Ike's was recently featured in Southern Homes and Gardens magazine. My grandmother would have been so tickled.

The first thing my mother taught me to bake was a cake. It was so much fun learning the correct way to crack an egg, measure the ingredients, and then put them all together blending them with an electric hand mixer. Mom guided me step by step allowing me to do it all by myself. Cooking for family is a way of expressing love.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
• 1 box yellow cake mix (non butter recipe)
• 1 large package of chocolate pudding
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 cup sour cream (8oz)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix together. Bake at 325° for 50 to 60 minutes.

Sunday Dinner: Grandmother's Applesauce Cake

Grandmother's Applesauce Cake

Grandmother's Applesauce Cake has long been a family favorite. Even though it is not your typical birthday cake, it is often one of the most requested by the birthday boy or girl. It is a very simple cake to make and for my Grandmother who often lamented about her ability to make ugly cakes, this one was always consistently the same, which was a good thing since the cake does not have frosting, which was often her speckling for attempting to make an ugly cake look pretty.

Grandmother Rodgers, Elizabeth, Mom

Next week, my niece, Elizabeth is making dessert. She is twelve and she'll be making a chocolate chip poundcake. I thought it would be nice to feature a picture of Elizabeth with Grandmother and Mom.

When you make this cake, be sure not to follow the directions on the box. Just follow the recipe below. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.

Grandmother Rodgers’ Applesauce Cake

Ingredients for cake:

•                Yellow Cake Mix

•                2 eggs

•                1 can applesauce (approx. 15 oz)

•                ½ tsp cinnamon

•                ¼ tsp nutmeg

•                ¼ tsp cloves

•                ¼ tsp ginger

Ingredients glaze:

•                1 cup powdered confectioners’ sugar

•                ¼ cup orange juice

•                ¼ cup butter

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients (do not prepare cake mix according to box instructions).

Bake for 30 to 35 min in 350° oven.

Drizzle glaze over warm cake.

Sunday Dinner: Hamburger Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Every week without fail there were certain things at Grandmother's house you could always count on: mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese (or macaroni pie as she called it), corn, green beans, cornbread and biscuits. After all with such a big family to feed, bread was filling. The meat and dessert varied and other side dishes were added depending on the season or Grandmother's preference. She made salmon patties once that had my very pregnant sister in law tossing her cookies before lunch was even served. After that she saved salmon patties for a lunch meal during the week.

So how to I decide each week what I am cooking? Part of it is my own preference and the other part is what is on sale at the grocery store. Roasts are easy because I can put it in the crockpot before church and it is ready by noon. Ground beef is on sale this weekend so it will be my Mom's hamburger steak with mushroom gravy.

You will need ground beef, butter, worcestershire sauce, and 1 to 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.

Make the hamburger patties. We usually make them medium size. Add butter and worcestershire sauce to a frying pan, cook on medium high until done. If you cover the meat while cooking, it makes it more tender. Remove the patties from the frying pan and add the cream of mushroom soup to the drippings. Stir until warm, you can add some milk to thin it. I didn't mention seasoning, but Mom always used garlic salt and pepper sprinkled over each patty while cooking. This is definitely a favorite with my family and it is pretty easy to make.

I may look tomorrow to see if I can find some fresh okra, which is another family favorite. I'll save that recipe for later, maybe next week.

Sunday Dinner: Happy Mother's Day and Lime Poundcake with Strawberry Sauce

My brother's birthday is at the end of April. Our family loves to give funny cards. I walked into the card store just like I did every year, but this time it was different. There were signs, banners, and displays all proclaiming Mother's Day. It would be our first without her. I turned around and walked out. Even though I was a mother, I hated Mother's Day that year and for several years afterwards. I still avoid card shops at this time of year.

My mother always cooked Sunday dinner at my grandmother's house and Mother's Day was just like any other Sunday. One year my brothers sent all of the women out of the kitchen after dinner. They proceeded to wash, dry, and put away all the dishes. They made our mother go sit and enjoy herself. And of course she was proud of her little boys for being so kind and considerate.

Sunflowers were one of my Mom's favorite flowers so when I saw these today, I knew they were right to mark the occasion. There is just something about fresh flowers.

My mother loved to cook and desserts were always her specialty. A couple of weeks ago I came across this recipe for a Lime Poundcake with Strawberry Sauce over on Southern Belle View. I couldn't wait to try it. My biggest obstacle turned out to be finding the Betty Crocker Poundcake mix that is used as the base for the recipe. I had to go to three grocery stores so I hope you have a better luck than I did.

As the cake baked, the house smelled wonderful. The strawberry sauce is a nice blend of tart and sweet. My niece preferred her strawberries whole and added a dollop of whipped cream so you may want to try that too. So if you want to try a great recipe, hop on over to Southern Belle View and give it a try. I promise that you will enjoy it.

With my Grandmother and Mom. I miss them both so much. Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. Motherhood is one of the greatest blessings of a woman's life.

Sunday Favorite: Macaroni & Cheese

My grandmother grew up during the depression. She was a very frugal person and that was apparent in her macaroni and cheese. Grandmother's version was mostly macaroni with only a little cheese. After Grandmother left for church my Mom would grate more cheese and add it to the casserole. It was always a favorite among all the grandkids. It is simple and tasty.

Macaroni & Cheese

2 cups dry elbow macaroni

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

Butter

Directions: 

Boil macaroni noodles as directed. 

Pour hot cooked macaroni noodles into casserole dish.

Put half cheddar cheese into macaroni noodles and stir.

Beat eggs and add milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over noodles.

Cover with the remaining cheese.

Add a few pats of butter over the cheese.

Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes.

I prefer to grate block cheddar cheese, which seems to give it a better flavor.