How to Make Easy, Simple Moist Apple Cake



This is one of my favorite recipes because it came from my Grandma Summers. Once my husband told Grandma how much he liked this cake. Ever after, she make this cake for him almost every time we visited.

 

This is a very easy cake to make and is very, very moist. To begin, chop up 3 1/2 to 4 cups of fresh apples.

 

 

These are the ingredients you will need:

 

 

2 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

2 teaspoon Vanilla

1 1/3 Cup Oil

3 T. Water

3 Cup Flour

1 Heaping Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

3 1/2 - 4 Cups Chopped Apples

1 1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts (Optional)

 

This is what I call a dump cake. You take all the ingredients and dump them together. Stir until well mixed.

 

This is the "dough" before I added in the apples. It's so thick that it is the consistency of play dough. At this point, you will be thinking, "This can't be right". Trust me. It's very right. Pinch off a piece and taste. It's delicious.

 

 

Now mix in those chopped apples and the nuts must if you must. I don't particularly care for nuts so I usually leave them out. It will be hard because the cake mix is so thick. Keep trusting me.

 

Pour into a greased cake pan. Pour is not really the right word. The mixture is so thick that the process is more like dumping and spreading. Bake at 350 degrees until done. The cake is done when an inserted knife comes out clean. I start checking at about 45 minutes.

 

Cut into pieces and put a dollop of whipped cream on top for garnish. The whipped cream is a very important feature. Don't forget it. Eat and enjoy.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

One box spice cake mix and one can pumpkin

A friend recently asked me, "Where do you get your recipes?" Well, this recipe came from a small, white  haired lady I met at the grocery store. We literally bumped into each other as we were both reaching for Spice Cake Mix.

She said, "I need this to make my famous Pumpkin Spice Cake Muffins. My family loves them!" 

"That sounds delicious," I responded. "I wish I had your recipe."

"I'll give it to you," she smiled.

Right there in the aisle of Dillon's, I wrote her recipe on the box.

"Take one box spice mix and add a can of pumpkin and half a cup of water. Mix and bake," she confided.

"Really!" I said surprised. "No oil or eggs?"

"No. Just cake mix, pumpkin and water," she stressed.

She was so convincing, I purchased three boxes of Spice Cake mix because she said they are hard to find and only sold in the fall.

Ad one half cup water

Mix pumpkin, cake mix and water together

If you have a three year old handy wearing an Iron Man costume, it is acceptable to allow him to mix the three ingredients. If you do not have a three year old available, you may mix the ingredients yourself, though it may be difficult to find an Iron Man costume in your size.

It's OK to lick the beater because there is no egg

For the cream cheese filling you will need one package cream cheese,
one egg and half a cup of powdered sugar. Mix together.

It has been my experience that if a three year old says,
"But Nana, I really do know how to crack eggs,"
you should not necessarily believe them. Three year olds
often over-estimate their cooking abilities.

Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and egg together

Keep the three year old busy putting paper cups in muffin tins

Fill cups about third full with cake batter/pumpkin mix. Put about a teaspoon
of cream cheese filling on top of cake mixture.

It will look something like this...

Now put some cake mixture on top of the filling.

To make struesel, put half cup of flour, quarter cup of brown sugar,
half a stick of butter and half a teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl

Mix together with a fork until crumbly



Place struesel on top of muffins and bake at 350 degrees for
about 20 minutes.

 I have to admit I was worried. The cupcake/muffin batter seemed exceptionally thick. I kept imagining the little old lady driving home and saying, "Oh, My! I forgot to tell that young lady to add half a cup of milk!"

They ended up being quite delicious. Without the cream cheese filling, I think they would have been pretty dense but you can try it and decide what you think.

Pretty muffins on cake stand

A friend made me this cake stand

Simply take an inexpensive glass candle holder (like you find at the
dollar store) andsuper glue it to an old fashioned, attractive plate
(the kind you see everywhere including the thrift store, garage
sales or probably your cupboard)

How to Make Easy Spicy Red Jambalaya

I like mine spicy! I'm talking about Jambalaya, of course. Jambalaya is so easy to make and there are a million different varieties. Cajun Jambalaya does not contain tomatoes and is also referred to as "Brown Jambalaya". Creole Jambalaya does contain tomatoes and so is aptly named "Red Jambalaya".  Jambalaya originated in the Caribbean Islands and was a mish mash of Spanish and native foods.  Jambalaya is primarily a rice dish or a pilaf (rice cooked in a seasoned broth). Gumbo on the other hand is a soup usually thickened with okra with rice cooked separately. I don't trust people who eat Gumbo or slimy okra.

A trinity of flavor...peppers, onion and celery

Start with a large dutch oven or very heavy cooking pot. Throw a couple of tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the pot and heat. Next, add one chopped up onion, half a chopped up green pepper, half a chopped up red pepper and about three stalks chopped up celery. Saute.

Pre-cooked chicken

My husband loves Jambalaya because it has so much meat in it. He said he felt tingly all over today just thinking about Jambalaya for supper.

I purchase chicken on sale, then bake it all at once. I cut up the baked chicken, freeze it on a flat surface for a couple of hours and then put the chicken chunks in a zip lock baggie.  This way, I only have to use my oven once and have a good supply of cooked chicken on hand to make a variety of meals. It really speeds up the cooking process if you don't have to bake the chicken. But if you don't already have some baked chicken, bake a couple of breasts, chop and add to the saute vegetables. Of course, you can cheat and buy pre-cooked chicken strips but they are not as good.

Pre-Peppered Hamburger

The best cooks just know how to cover their mistakes. The other night I was making tacos. As I was browning the hamburger, I went to add pepper. The lid fell off the pepper and about a third of a cup of pepper dumped into the skillet. It was inedible to all but people who make their livings as Fire Eaters. I froze the very peppery hamburger and have slowly been adding it to other dishes. So tonight, about a third of a pound of hamburger and a tablespoon of pepper went into the pot.

Instead of hamburger, you could use shrimp or ham. Personally, I hate anything that comes from the sea. I tell people I am allergic to fish. I am not, I just hate it. I have found if you tell people you hate fish, they will try to convince you fish is good and even go so far as to bring fish they have prepared  in a campaign to sway you to the fish side. However, if you say you are allergic, people tend to leave you alone.

Vegetables, hamburger and pepper

On to the best part, Andouille sausage. Trust me, you don't want to know a lot about sausage or what it is made of. Andouille is a heavily smoked, spicy sausage and exceptionally delicious if you don't over think it.

Andouille Sausage

Cut the sausage into little round bites of heaven and add to the pot. Continue cooking the mixture over medium heat.

Gettin' there

A dish without garlic is just naked. I added about five cloves of garlic. If you microwave the cloves for about 10 seconds, the outer covering will just slip off, making it very easy to put through a garlic press. If you don't own a garlic press, for goodness sakes go out and buy one.

Garlic about to be pressured

Tomatoes

Next, add a couple of cans of tomatoes. And though I forgot to take a picture, also add a couple of cans of chicken broth.

Progress so far

Rice

 Now, add about one and half cups of uncooked rice. Do not use that horrible instant stuff. Use real rice.

Mr. French

I can't look at French's Worchestershire sauce without thinking about Mr. French, the butler on Family Affair. I really wish I had a butler. Or any staff at all. I've obviously been watching way too much Masterpiece Theatre.  Add about a tablespoon of Worchershire.

Creole Seasoning

Last ingredient, add one tablespoon Creole seasoning. Now if you really want to be authentic, add a teaspoon of file' powder. File' powder is ground sassafras leaves. If you are fresh out of sassafras leaves, just leave it out. I did.

Red Jambalaya

Now, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked. I forgot to take a final picture but believe me, it looked just like this but thicker.

It cost about $12 to make this dish because of all the meat. I considered it about 8 servings and my husband said four. So, between $1.50-$3.00 a serving depending on how gluttonous you are feeling.