Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This is a Southern Living recipe my friend - and then, neighbor - Melanie and I discovered when our oldests were babies. We both had the grocery list etched internally and could whip it up pretty much without cracking the book. Until now. My eyesight is hit or miss these days, and I interpreted the measurement on the butter as 1 1/2 POUNDS ... so I put in 6 sticks instead of 3. Coronary on a plate! Guess what, though? It's delicious. And it ought to be!

Oh, the pic was taken with my phone which doesn't have a flash ... the dark exterior of the cake is a shadow. Live and in person, it's a buttery, golden color all over.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened (that's 3 sticks ... or you can double it like I did!)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs (best at room temp)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Note: I find it helpful to unwrap the butter and cream cheese and place in the mixer bowl several hours before planning to mix; just throw a dish towel over the top to keep it safe.

Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing between each addition. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.

Place flour and salt in a bowl; stir lightly to incorporate. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture while mixing at low speed. Don't over-mix. Stir in the vanilla by hand using a large spatula or wooden spoon. Batter will have lots of volume.

Spoon batter into a well-greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan (the P'Chef Stoneware Fluted Pan works GREAT). Bake at 300F for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Personally, I'm okay with it still be a bit moist inside; gives it character. I take it out at the time limit no matter what. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes -- this gives you time to pick at all the flaky layers calling your name from what will eventually be the bottom of the cake. Go ahead. No one will see. :)

Flip it over onto a wire rack to cool completely. Stores at room temperature. Doesn't need icing, but add whatever you like. Warning: fresh berries and cream will make this cake twice as dangerous!

Nana's Macaroni 'n Cheese

Randy's mom has made this recipe as long as I've known her. (That's us in '08 at the Mayfield Dairy - yum!) It's the most sinful macaroni 'n cheese you'll ever eat, and this is honest first-hand knowledge! I have to restrain myself these days, but there have been times in my life when I could eat the whole batch.

Dangerous stuff I tell you ...

Nana's Macaroni 'n Cheese

8 oz. macaroni noodles, boiled and drained

1 large can of Carnation milk

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, melted

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese*

1 egg, lightly beaten

paprika

Coat the inside of a large crock pot with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, combine the noodles, both milks, salt, butter, 1 cup of the cheese and the egg; stir until combined. Pour this mixture into the crock pot. Add the rest of the cheese on top and sprinkle with paprika. Cook 3 1/2 hours on low heat.

* she's been known to use any combination of cheese including velveeta, American, and even canned cheese soup (this makes it really good)

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake

The credit for this recipe goes to my friend, Leigh Ann Bolton. She brought this to a Sunday School brunch several years ago, and I've been hooked ever since! You can use frozen berries as long as they were frozen whole and not in juice. There's no need to thaw the frozen berries first -- they'll soften as they cook!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake

½ c. butter, softened
1 ¼ c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
¾ c. milk
¼ c. water
2 c. fresh blueberries
8 oz. cream cheese cubed then softened
½ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. sugar
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. butter

Mix ½ c. butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add 1 ¼ c. sugar, mixing well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until blended after each one.

Combine 2 c. flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; stir well. In a separate bowl, combine milk and water and stir. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix at low speed after each mixture is added.

Once combined, gently fold in blueberries and cream cheese. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch square pan.

Combine ½ c. flour and remaining ingredients; stir well with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375-degrees for 50 – 55 minutes or until golden.

Pulled Pork

This is something I fix often -- most anytime we entertain, tailgate, or need to feed a crowd. It's super easy, virtually fool-proof, and it feeds a lot of people for very little expense. Randy likes his with BBQ sauce; I like mine plain or served over baked beans (you already know I'm strange, so this should come at no surprise); the kids like it anyway you throw it at them. It's great on a bun, bun-less, on a tortilla, hot, cold, immediately, left-over, and used in a completely different form later on (makes yummy enchiladas!). Try it. You'll be hooked!

Pulled Pork

- boneless pork picnic shoulder (I can only find them at Wal-Mart so far, Tyson puts them out); any size will do, but the bigger the better
- garlic cloves, peeled (use as many as you want; I usually do 4-6)
- coarse salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
- coarse pepper, same
- 1 cup of liquid (cider vinegar, water, apple juice, or any combination of; I like 1/2 vinegar & 1/2 water)

Remove the strings and plastic pop-up thermometer from the pork; place it in a crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients; cover and turn the temperature on high. Cook for 6 hours and don't mess with it if you can stand it. At this point, start picking at it with a fork. It will start falling apart, and it will be pink inside. Turn it down to low heat. Continue cooking for at least another hour, and continue picking at it so it will end up shredded. Search out the garlic and make sure it gets broken up into the meat. The liquid will get absorbed the more you stir and pick at it. Enjoy!

Chocolate Gravy

I am not kidding you -- this is the most crazy-wonderful thing you'll eat for breakfast, EVER! The mother of a friend of mine, Cindy McDougal (now Reeder), would fix this for us when I would spend the night. We'd put it on biscuits or pancakes . . . oh, it was so good. I had forgotten about it until discussing "growing up in middle Tenn." with a friend from church last fall while on a Sunday School camping trip. I actually left the camp site, drove home to get the ingredients, and then made it as part of our big breakfast the next morning. Most everyone thought we had lost our minds until they tasted it. Needless to say, it was prepared at this year's camping trip as well -- it's a tradition now!

Chocolate Gravy

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk

Melt butter and sugar in a small sauce pan until sugar dissolves. Add flour and cocoa, and stir will. Add milk, and stir over medium heat until smooth and thick. Serve with whatever makes you happy!

Makes about 2 cups.

Fudge Pie

This is a family favorite -- although sweet Hudson can't have any these days due to the wheat, but I'm working on a wheat-free crust and contents for him. This also work well in miniature using a cookie cutter with the crust and a mini-muffin pan. My mom passed this recipe down to me from a friend of hers from Lebanon, Tenn.

Fudge Pie

2 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked pie crust (homemade is best, Pillsbury is next, frozen is tolerable!)

Beat eggs with a fork or whisk in a small bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add sifted flour & cocoa; stir will. Stir in the vanilla. Temper the eggs by adding about a tablespoon of the chocolate mixture to the eggs, and stir to combine. Then, add the egg mixture to the original pan of the chocolate mixture; stir well to combine thoroughly.

Pour mixture into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 325 for 40 - 45 minutes or until the middle is set. Serves 8 if you're lucky!

Mary Thomas' Fairy Drop Cookies

These are the most awesome cookies, and they remind me of some I used to get at a bakery in Nashville when I was little. Mary is an amazing baker, and I think she adds some "Mary Magic" to make them taste the way they do!

FAIRY DROP COOKIES

1 cup butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cooking oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. almond extract
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat he butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; beat on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add cooking oil, eggs and almond extract; beat just until combined. Gradually beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough about 30 minutes .

2. Working with ¼ of the dough at a time, shape into 1 ¼ inch balls. (The dough will be soft; keep it chilled as you work with a portion.) Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. With the palm of your hand or, if desired, the bottom of a glass or a patterned cookie stamp dipped in granulated sugar, gently flatten the balls to about ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle with sugar (unless flattened with sugared glass or stamp) or leave plain for frosting.

3. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 10 – 12 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. The are better if you hardly see any browning at all. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, frost with almond frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy or colored sugar.

Makes 84 little cookies or 3 – 4 dozen big ones.

ALMOND FROSTING

In a small mixing bowl, beat ½ cup butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in ½ teaspoon almond extract and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Alternately, add 2 ½ to 3 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons light cream or milk, beating until smooth and easy to spread. To tint, if desired, stir in a few drops of food coloring or paste. Makes about 2 cups.