Donna's Almost Homemade Red Velvet Cup Cakes

For Our Annual Super Saturday Craft's, Day the Relief Society provided lunch and dessert was pot luck. I decided to make red velvet cake but did not have enough time, so I opted for using a box mix, altered to be moist as home made. I topped it with easy roses made of the "original Heavenly Frosting" recipe I use on my Red Velvet Cake.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 water
1/3 cup crisco shortening- melted, instead of oil. This makes the cake moist like homemade.
3 extra large eggs

Directions:
Mix well and pour into 24 cup cake wrappers. Bake at 350 for 19-223 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

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Heavenly Frosting
This is the original frosting used on the red velvet cake.

Ingredients:
5 heaping tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup softened butter ( I have also used margarine or Crisco™ when I did not have butter)

Optional: 1 drop green food coloring

Directions:
Cook flour and milk in a sauce pan on the stove, stirring constantly until thickened, like a thick white cream sauce, or pudding. Cool mixture completely. Cream sugar and butter, beat in vanilla and food coloring. Whip in cooked mixture, on high speed until fluffy like whipped cream.

Easy Decorating:
#20 Star tip from Wilton (six slits)
12 In Wilton Decorator Bag
No coupler needed, just slip the star point down into the bag and out the hole. I use a bag that is already trimmed to use with a coupler.

Fill bag with Heavenly Frosting. Start in the center of the top of the cup cake, squeeze frosting through tip as you spiral outward, moving around the center, ending at the edge. This will make a quick shabby chic rose on the top of the cup cake, no rose pedal tip needed.

Boiled Snow Crab

We like to get crab when it is on sale and freeze it for special occasions. This is a rare treat.

Ingredients:

Snow Crab

Crab boil:

• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt and cayenne pepper

Directions:

Mix spices and pour into pot of boiling water. Toss in crab and cook 5-6 minutes. Fresh non-precooked crab needs to cook about 20 minutes until the crab turns red. Most crab purchased in American supermarkets is already pre-cooked when you buy it in the store, so you are merely heating it through and flavoring it. This can be served hot with lemon and clarified butter, or it can be chilled and served on salad.

Tuna Sandwiches

My aunt Grace asked me to make tuna sandwiches for the lunch held the day of the joint memorial service for her husband and my mother. I made the version below, minus the cucumber slices. Just as I was ready to actually assemble the sandwiches aunt Grace handed me some of her sweet green tomato relish and suggested I add a teaspoon. I dutifully did so. I had never heard of sweet green tomato relish. Secretly, I thought YUK! However, my mom taught me to eat what was served and look for a way to compliment the chef. This time I was the chef, but my aunt was the head chef. I tried the sandwiches, I was surprised and yes I had another sandwich. The flavor was an unexpected delight! That is what I get for being brave;)

Ingredients:

1- 6 oz. can tuna drained
1 thin slice of onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
Kraft mayonnaise
onion salt

Optional:
1 teaspoon sweet green tomato pickle relish (this adds a sweet zip)

Toppings:
cucumber slices
lettuce leaf
whole wheat bread slices

Directions:
Drain tuna. Slice and chop the onion slice. Chop the celery stalk. Combine tuna, onion, and celery. Add mayo and mix to desired spreading consistency. Onion salt to taste and mix well. Optional: add sweet green tomato relish, mix well. Spread on whole wheat bread, top with cucumber slices, a lettuce leaf, and a second slice of whole wheat bread. Slice the sandwich diagonally and serve!

Donna's Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
1 lb small shell macaroni (or substitute any other macaroni)
1- 6 oz. can tuna, drained (or 2 cans depending on your preference)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen peas, rinsed
1/8 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Colby, or Colby/Jack)
Kraft Mayonnaise (or half and half with plain yogurt, or ranch dressing)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook macaroni to package instructions, rinse, and drain. Drain fluid from tuna. Chop celery. Rinse peas in cold water to thaw. Finely chop onion. Grate cheese. Mix ingredients in large bowl. Gently stir in mayo/dressing to desired consistency. Season to taste, chill for one hour or longer, serve.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This is Donna's Ranch Chicken Salad recipe and we have used variations of this at Princess Circle meetings and as finger food at special events.

Ingredients:
2 cans chicken breast (drained)
1 tablespoon Real Bacon bits
1/8 cup chopped celery
1+ tablespoon mild cheddar cheese grated
Ranch dressing (made from Hidden Valley Ranch packet)
Optional-
1 scallion finely chopped
1/2 cup finely shredded lettuce

Directions:
Drain chicken and shred chunks. Add bacon, cheese, celery, optional ingredients) and mix well. Add ranch dressing to desired consistency. Serve on crackers, rolls, white or wheat bread (or both), pita bread, or tortillas.

Note: This can be mixed with grapes (red or green, cut in half), nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pecans) and tossed with salad greens, or pasta (rotini, rigatoni, farfelle, macaroni, mostaccioli, etc.).

Berry Biscuit Bliss

Ingredients:
Buttery Breakfast Biscuits
1 Cup Blackberries
2 Cups Raspberries
1 lb. Strawberries cored and quartered
Sugar to taste

Directions:
Make Buttery Breakfast Biscuits. Cut in heart shape. Mix berries and sugar. While biscuits are still warm, slice open, spoon berries over biscuits. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Buttery Breakfast Biscuits

(biscuits before baking)

When I was a little girl my mother used to make baking powder biscuits and cut them out with a floured drinking glass. I do not have her recipe. These make flaky, tender biscuits and can be eaten as a bread with dinner or can be used as a base for a meal or dessert. This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens Old Fashion Baking Cookbook. I have used this recipe since 1990 when the cookbook came out. I have usually made this with whipping cream, but it also works well with milk. I always double the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup Butter
3/4 Cup Whipping Cream, Light Cream, or Milk

Directions:
In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt (I use a wire whisk). Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the dry mixture until it looks like crumbs. Make a well in the middle and pour in liquid all at once. Stir lightly with a fork until well moistened.

On a lightly floured counter (I use a pastry cloth) dump contents of the bowl. Flour hands and knead by gently folding and patting the dough 10-12 times. Dough will be very soft and sticky, add a little flour to make it easy to pat out into a thickness of about 1/2. Cut out with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, I prefer heart shaped. Dip cutter in flour between cuts. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove immediately from baking sheet.
Serve hot.

Makes 10-12 biscuits.