Potato Doughnuts

When my brother, sister and I were in elementary school, our mom would come to each of our classrooms and make doughnuts for our class.  She brought the dough already prepared and she would heat up her wok.  She would cut the doughnuts out in front of the class and we would watch them fry.  Each time she came, the smell of her doughnuts would fill the school and it must have been torture to everyone else who had to smell them but not get to eat one!  I also remember her frying hundreds of doughnuts at  church Halloween parties, school fundraisers, and at our house for special guests.  She would only make this recipe in the fall, so when I feel the weather begin to change from summer to fall, it's like there is a force greater than myself forcing me to pull out the Potato Doughnut recipe and get frying.  It's just in my blood now.

1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream together in mixer.

2 eggs
3/4 cup cold mashed potatoes
3/4 cup milk

Then add eggs and potatoes.  (I usually use instant potatoes, but if you have a couple of leftover baked potatoes, that works well too.  If I mash my own potatoes, I prefer to keep some little lumps in the potatoes.)  Then add milk and mix.

3 3/4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg

Add all dry ingredients at once and mix until well combined.
Chill dough for at least an hour.

Prepare oil:  My mom always used her large electric wok and a whole can of Crisco.  It will take about 10-12 minutes to get the oil hot enough, so get it going before you start rolling out the dough.  I recently used a dutch oven to fry them in and it also worked great.  I used vegetable oil and filled it about 3/4 full and it was fine, I could only do about 5 at a time though.  With the wok you can do several more at once.

Prepare dough:  Roll out dough but not too thin (thin dough makes a crunchy yucky doughnut!), maybe 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  Cut with a doughnut cutter (a biscuit cutter with a circle in the middle.)  Place cut doughnuts on a lightly floured pan to let rest for just a few minutes.  While they are rising, use a sharp knife and make several small slits around the circle.  This will give them a great texture when they fry.

(In this picture, you see the side of the doughnuts that didn't have the slits.)

Test the oil to see if it is hot enough by placing a doughnut hole in it.  It should sink to the bottom and be covered with bubbles and then pretty quickly come up to the top covered in little bubbles.  When the oil is hot enough, gently slide a few doughnuts into the oil.  Depending on your heat (which I would say should be med to med-high), it will take about 3 minutes per side.  Use two forks to flip them over. I like them to be just golden brown.  Let them cook on the other side until golden and then remove from oil and place on a cooling rack lined with a paper towel to cool.

Prepare glaze:  The glaze doesn't really have a recipe.  It's just powdered sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt and milk.  I start with about 2 cups powdered sugar, about 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of salt and then about 1/2 cup milk.  Whisk it well and maybe add more milk or sugar depending on the consistency desired.  I've always made it pretty runny so you can hold the doughnut and dunk it half-way into the glaze and then let sit, if you can, to let glaze set.

makes about 2 dozen
You should probably double the recipe because your neighbors will be able to smell it and they will want some too!

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

1 large boneless chicken breast

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 TBL butter

1/4 cup chopped chilies or more to taste (optional)

16 ounces stewed tomatoes OR 2 cups fresh cut-up tomatoes

8 ounces or 1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup hot or medium chunky salsa

3 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil 

16 tortillas

2 1/2 cups grate cheddar or monterey cheese 

3/4 cup sour cream

Cut chicken breast into bite-sized chunks or shred. Sauté chicken with onion, garlic and fresh chilies in butter until chicken is tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, cumin, salt, oregano, and basil to cooked chicken mixture. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Dip each tortilla in sauce (or very hot water) to soften (optional). Place chicken sauce and 2 tablespoons grated cheese on each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in 9x13 inch dish (you can stack on top of each other if you want). Blend sour cream into remaining sauce mixture, pour over tortillas (sour cream is optional). Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Marinara Sauce

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans whole tomatoes
olive oil
chopped parsley
chopped basil
1/4 cup red bino
salt and pepper

 In a pot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until suayes. Blend tomatoes in blender. Add tomatoes, parsley, basil, and wine. Let simmer for two hours.

Chicken Parmagiana

Chicken Breasts 4
Breadcrumbs      2cups
beaten eggs        3
Mozzarella Chesse 1 lb.
Parmesan Cheese
marinara sauce (see recipe above)

Cut  in small 3x3 inch thin, flatten the chicken breasts. Dip in beaten eggs and then breadcrumbs. Fry in butter over medium heat until golden brown. Cover with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Pour marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place in over at 350 degree for 30 minutes.

 Put extra sauce on table to dip bread sticks in.

Betty Salisbury's Coconut Carrot Cake

This has been a favorite treat of ours in Peru. Simply delicious! 

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 can crushed pineapple (no juice, well drained)
2 cups grated carrots (well-packed)
1 1/2 cups coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:
1 cup coconut plus 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top of cake
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix first 4 ingredients. Beat oil, sugar and eggs, adding flour mixture as you do so. Beat. Add pineapple, carrots, coconut and nuts. Pour into a greased and floured 13x9 inch pan. Bake in 350 oven for 50-60 minutes. Prepare frosting by lightly toasting 1 cup coconut and then mixing it with 1/2 cup butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Cover the cooled cake and sprinkle with 1/2 cup coconut.

Coconut Lime Popsicles

 www.lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup cream of coconut

1/2 cup milk (whole or lowfat)

grated zest of one lime

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup shredded coconut

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. (I cooled mine in a bowl set in a water bath to speed up the process. The simple syrup (sugar and water) can be made ahead of time, though.)

Combine the remaining ingredients with the simple syrup in a blender and process until well blended and smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 4-6 hours, or until firm.

Makes 3 cups of liquid or 8-10 pops

Mom's Famous Marshmallow Brownies

I have a new favorite blog: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/  It's full of not only recipes, but lots of fun ideas.  I tried these once last week and took them to work.  Everybody really loved them.  I made them again this weekend and increased the amount of cocoa used to make them chocolatier and loved them even more.


1 c. margarine (I used butter)
2 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa (I used 2/3 c.)
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour (I decreased this by a bit to account for the added cocoa)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla


Soften margarine and blend in 2 cups sugar and cocoa.  Beat together and add 4 eggs, one at a time.  Add flour, salt and vanilla.

Spread on large (10x15x1 inch) greased cookie sheet.  Bake 25 minutes at 350.  Remove from oven and cover entire top with 1 package of miniature marshmallows.  Return to oven for 3 minutes, until soft and puffy.  Cool and frost with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:
1 stick margarine (1/2 c.), softened (used butter)
1/4 cup milk
1-2 tsp vanilla
3 tablespoons of cocoa (I doubled this)
2-3 cups of powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth.  Add more powdered sugar or milk until you reach desired consistency and spread on top of bars.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I have used the same recipe for cinnamon rolls for a long time because they were fine and I was comfortable with the recipe.  I was hesitant to try a new bread recipe because it's so disappointing when it doesn't turn out because it was a lot of time, effort and anticipation---especially when it's a bread recipe.  But a few weeks ago I bought the Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls at Costco and everyone loved them and I knew that my recipe wasn't cutting the mustard!  So I ventured out and came upon this recipe and it was really good!  It's a cinnamon roll recipe, not a roll recipe turned into cinnamon rolls.  I didn't let them sit overnight, just out for a couple hours on the counter and they were great after dinner! (The photo is not with the frosting recipe I included.  The frosting I included makes them look way more irresistible!)

• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs

Filling:

generously cover dough with cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar and raisins. (Don't skimp on the cinnamon, especially!) 

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. Then sprinkle the raisins and chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.
5. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.
6. The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
7. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. 

Ms. Humble's Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting16oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, cold. Higher the fat content, the better (I'm using 40% Ultra)

Beat the cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks, then add the whipped cream into the cheese mixture and quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.