Southern Red Velvet Cake

(photo courtesy of www.mccormick.com, recipe from www.foodnetwork.com)

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Oil Spray for the pans & cooling rack(s)

2.5 cups flour

1.5 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1.5 cups veggie oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tbsp (1 oz) red food coloring (this is a lot more than I thought it was, so have a lot on hand)

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil and flour 2 round cake pans (I used 9x1 inch).

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating pans halfway through cooking, until cake pulls away from edges of pans and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cakes cool 10 minutes on cooling rack in pan, and then remove from pans. Cool completely on cooling rack.

Make cream cheese frosting (see below)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 oz butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat ingredients with electric mixer until good and fluffy.

Place one of the two cakes on a plate and frost top liberally. Place second cake on top and frost top and sides. Decorate as desired after that.

Cake should be stored in refrigerator

The Verdict: Cake was good, but a little dry. Need to think up a way to moisten it some...or keep looking for a recipe we like more.

Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken & Broth
1 3-4 pound chicken, cut up
3 qts water
1.5 tsp salt
1 small onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
Chicken stock (if not cooking a whole bird)

Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1.25 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 tsp of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley to the pot. Reduce heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for two hours. The liquid will reduce by about a third.

2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the veggies and such. Keep the stock and the chicken.

3. Pour 6 cups of the stock back into the pot (keep leftover stock for another recipe, it can be frozen). If you started this recipe w/o the stock, add in store bought instead. Add pepper, remaining salt, and lemon juice. Reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

4. For the dumplings, combine flour, baking powder, salt and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth. Let dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll dough onto a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick (originial recipe says 1/2 inch, we found that too thick).

5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all the dough. Dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often. If you started with pre-cooked chicken, it can go in now too.

6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat into bitesized peices. Discard skin and bones. Simmer another 5-10 minutes.

7. When gravy has reached desired consistency, serve hot with veggies (if desired).

*We both really liked this one. Ate up every last bit of the leftovers.

Pulled Pork Tacos

Time: 15 mins hands on
Serves 6

2 cups store bought salsa, plus more for serving
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Salt
1-2.5 pound boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, cut into wedges

In a 4-6 qt slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano and cocoa and 1 tsp salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily. On high 4-5 hrs or on low 7-8 hrs.

20 mins before serving, heat oven to 350. Stack tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm (about 15 mins).

Meanwhile, while using two forks, shred the pork and stir into the cooking liquid.

Serve with lime, cilantro, sour cream and extra salsa