Cherry Coke Chocolate Cake

For the Dotson Thanksgiving, I made a new recipe from the Tasty Kitchen website. And it was REALLY good!  I have plans to make it again, but this time doubling the amount of cherries to the cake.  Here's the recipe below if you'd like to try it.  Also, when I made the frosting, I added a little cherry juice to add flavor and color to the frosting.   Here is the link to Tasty Kitchen, go on over there and check out their yummy recipes!  http://tastykitchen.com/

Cherry Coke Chocolate Cake

1 jar (10 Oz) Maraschino Cherries, Drained, Reserve 1/4 Cup Juice

1 box (about 18-20 Oz. Box) Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 cup Cherry Coke
½ cups Vegetable Oil
3 whole Eggs
1 container (12 Oz) Whipped Vanilla Frosting
1 cup Marshmallow Creme
24 whole Maraschino Cherries With Stems, Drained Well, For Topping

Chop the jar of cherries, set aside. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, Cherry Coke, oil, eggs and reserved 1/4 cup cherry juice. Stir in chopped cherries. Pour batter into a 9×13 cake pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Cool cake completely for about 1 hour. Mix together frosting and marshmallow creme to frost cake. Top cake with whole maraschino cherries.  Or dip cherries with stems in chocolate. Refrigerate cherries to set chocolate before putting them on the cake.

Baked Chicken with Cola Barbecue Sauce

Sunday is my day to experiment with new recipes.  I nearly always cook dinner for my family - sometimes it's just my Mom that comes over.  Sometimes the whole crew shows up.  This Sunday it was my Mom, my niece Tabby, and my great niece Makayla. 

Makayla had requested Butter Noodles for dinner.  (it's really complicated to make....boil some egg noodles when done drain, add butter, salt, and pepper.  That's it.  Pretty simple.  Sometimes I go wild and add Parmesan cheese!)

I decided to try a recipe from the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine.  http://www.sandralee.com/  It was quite easy and the results were great.  Very moist and tasty!  It's very similar to a recipe that my Mom used to make, but she cooked her chicken in an electric skillet and just mixed Pepsi and BBQ sauce.

Below is the recipe as written in the magazine.  I pretty much followed the recipe, I did leave the skin on so that the chicken would be extra moist and I cooked the chicken in my large cast iron skillet.   Oh...and I cooked the chicken on the stove top a bit longer than what the recipe called for.  I made sure it was good and brown on both sides.  I used a package of drum sticks and a package of thighs.

Baked Chicken with Cola Barbecue Sauce
recipe from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine

1 1/4 cups Coca-Cola
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp hot sauce (I just used a few dashes)
1 tsp garlic salt (I was out of this so I used garlic powder and just added a sprinkle of salt)
8 bone-in chicken pieces (skinned, but I didn't do this, I left the skin on)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil

In a medium saucepan, combine the cola, ketchup, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, and garlic salt.  Bring to a boil over med-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from  heat, reserve 1 cup sauce in a small bowl for serving.

Preheat oven to 350.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large ovenproof skillet, heat oil over med-high heat.  Add chicken and cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally.

Place pan in oven and bake chicken for 20 minutes.  Discard excess fat from pan.  Brush chicken with 1 cup of sauce.  Bake 15-30 minutes longer  (I baked for another 20) or until done.  Serve with remaining reserved 1 cup of BBQ sauce. 

Ham and Beans

Ham and Beans


1 lb brown beans
Wash beans. Dissolve 3 tbsp of salt in water and pour over beans. (enough water to cover beans) Let sit overnight.

Next morning, chop up an onion and a few stalks of celery and add to the beans. Add some salt and pepper. Then throw in a pkg of smoked ham pieces (I bought a small package from the SuperCenter) Bring beans to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook, stirring often until beans are tender. Add more salt and pepper to your taste.

Mom's Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes

Call me crazy, call me OCD but yes...I'm already planning my Thanksgiving menu and shopping list.  Our family has certain things that are traditions.  I mean, if we don't have these sweet potatoes IT IS NOT Thanksgiving.  It's just a given that Mom will make them.  And a given that my brother Donnie will be walking by scooping off some of the melted, marshmallows.  It's a TRADITION.  And really, isn't that what makes the holidays so great?  I love thinking back to Thanksgivings 20 years ago and guess what -- Mom was making this and my brother was stealing the marshmallows!

 Mom’s Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes

2 large tall cans of sweet potatoes, drained

2-3 handfuls of brown sugar
8 oz whipping cream
¼ stick butter
2 bags mini-marshmallows

Put butter in 9x13 pan and melt.  Swirl to coat pan.   Pour sweet potatoes in pan, then cream, then cover with brown sugar.  Bake 350 for about an hour.  Then add 1 bag mini-marshmallows and cook  until melted and toasted, about 15 minutes.

 

Ma's Cranberry Relish

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away and I'm thinking about the menu and remembering the relish Ma made every year for Thanksgiving.  I didn't like it as a kid but I do like it now. 

Try it this year, I think you'll like it too.  (make 2-3 days ahead)


1 bag cranberries washed

1 orange, peeled

3 red apples, peeled and cored

1 can crushed pineapple

2 cups sugar

Dash of salt

Put all in food processor and chop/mix. Refrigerate.