Joy in the Kitchen!

  Ahhh   it's nearly time for April Fools Day !  I'm no expert on the origins of this day and I'm definitely NOT a fan of mean or hurtful pranks, but I do love to have a bit of fun with my family on this day!  Food is one of our favorite ways to celebrate any holiday, why not this one! You can find some other ideas in a previous post HERE  that I wrote a few years ago.  Some of those ideas take a little more time. This year, even if you don't have much time to be in the kitchen, you can select a few of these ideas to serve your family!  It's fun all day while kids are asking "what's for dinner" to say Fish Tacos or Chicken Sandwiches and then plate these up and serve! Life's too short!   Laugh! Here we have a colorful dinner consisting of a  Chicken Sandwich, with Fruit Slices, and Chips on the side. I just had to share a close up of that chicken sandwich.  Just makes your mouth water! You could add this lovely egg salad as a...

  I brought home an old cookbook from my Mom's stash of recipes.  I wish I'd have asked her more about it when she was alive, but now I'm just making guesses as to it's history.  This book is the Larkin Housewives Cook Book .  Copyright 1915,16,17, and 1923.   I love old books.  My Mom was born in 1929.  I would guess this is her mothers' cookbook.  Her mother passed away when Mom was 6 years old.  My grandpa cooked and had housekeepers to come watch after the house and children for several years after.  Any of them could have enjoyed using this cook book.    There are a few recipes with "good" or "very good" penciled in to the side.  A few small notes in lovely handwriting. (There are even pencil scribbles from a child on a few of the back pages - I had fun imagining my Mom or her brothers doing that while their mom's back was turned.)   One way I can tell the best recipes is in play in this book though, th...

  I don't know that it's fair to call this a pound cake, nothing was measured by pounds!   But it is moist and dense and delicious, just like old fashioned pound cake!  And chocolate to boot!  Can't beat that.  This is lovely in a Bundt pan but would work well in 2 loaf pans as well.  The smooth chocolate ganache on top is my favorite but you can just sprinkle with powdered sugar as it's cooling for a lightly sweet touch. I made this recently for an auction at church.  It was fun to see all of the fun desserts that others brought to auction off as well!  We went home with a delicious German Chocolate cake. Mmm! Triple Chocolate Pound Cake 1 chocolate cake mix (I prefer fudge or rich chocolate) 1 6oz box of instant chocolate pudding 1/2 cup white sugar 2/3 cup water 3/4 cup oil 1 cup sour cream 4 large eggs 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips Ganache 3/4 cup heavy cream 2 cups chocolate chips, semi sweet or milk 2 tsp. coconut oil, optional Prehe...

Lemon is such a vibrant fruit!  Color and flavor are bright and refreshing.  This old fashioned Luscious Lemon Cake is tart and sweet with a glaze that really packs a punch.  My mouth is watering just thinking about the melt-in-your-mouth goodness!   I got this recipe from my Mom who got it years ago from her friend at church.  I find so often that these recipes that were passed around amongst acquaintances are some of the best!  Tried and true, recipes to use over and over and pass along to a friend.   There is a 5 pound bag of lemons in my fridge waiting to be used so this seems like a tasty opportunity to share this recipe! Luscious Lemon Cake 1 lemon cake mix (any brand will work) 1 small package of lemon gelatin  4 large eggs 3/4 cup oil 3/4 cup water Glaze juice of 3 lemons grated rind from those lemons 2 cups of powdered sugar Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat together (by hand or in a mixer) the first 5 ingredients, scrapi...