1-2-3 CAKE

Every Thanksgiving  my grandmother would make her famous 123 Cake. She didn't have a mixer she would beat this cake by hand and folded the dry ingredients in a little at a time before baking. She said it needed 300 strokes, my sister and I would count as she mixed and the best part was we got to lick the spoon.

The pound cake, most known as a rich cake, originally contained a pound of each of the main ingredients, including flour, sugar, and butter. That’s where the pound cake gets its name.


GRANDMA'S 123 POUND CAKE


Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour sifted (to day we use Swans Down Cake Flour)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon brandy- or 1 teaspoon brandy extract
1 teaspoon orange zest, grated (optional)
1 - 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed


Directions:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour the Bundt pans. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat on medium speed 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and flavorings, creaming by hand until smooth after each addition. Spread batter into prepared 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake until tester inserted into cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on rack.
Glaze with OLD-FASHIONED BOURBON GLAZE: Combine sugar, bourbon, zest and enough orange juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle onto cake.

SWEET POTATO PIE

You will never go back to pumpkin pie again,  you will be a sweet potato pie convert after you take your first bite.

SWEET POTATO PIE

Ingredients:
3 - Frozen Unbaked 8” Or 9” Single Crust Pie Shells
4 - Pounds Uncooked And Unpeeled Sweet Potatoes
1/2 - Cup (1 Stick) Butter
2 - Cups Sugar
3 - Large Eggs
2 - Cups *Evaporated Milk
1 - Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 - teaspoon Salt
1/2 - teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until tender. When you stick a
fork in them it should go in easy but you don't
want them to fall apart. Let the potatoes cool and then peel them.
Blend your sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl with a blender to**remove strings,
repeat this three our four until you have remove just about all the strings
Next cream the softened butter with sugars. Add to the blended sweet potatoes
and continue to mix while adding the eggs one at a time. Add your milk,
vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt and mix thoroughly.
Finally, pour mixture evenly into your three frozen unbaked pie shells. Bake for
1 hour and 30 minutes at 350 degrees on your center oven rake. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a soufflé and then will sink down as it cools.

Tip:
I double the recipe and bake two pies at a time.
* DO NOT use sweet condensed milk
**Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer on "medium" for one to two minutes remove the beater blades wash off all the string  with tap water, repeat this step five to ten times until  all the  strings are gone.

Super simple macaroni and cheese to make without having to make a white sauce! Everyone loves my Mac & Cheese this is a Holiday Dinner must have.

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MACARONI AND CHEESE

Ingredients:
5 cups cooked elbow macaroni (approximate) 4 cups uncooked)
4 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups whole milk (low fat milk alters the texture!)
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
paprika

Boil your macaroni according to package instructions. Do not overcook it. Drain macaroni in strainer.
Mix macaroni, butter, salt, pepper, 1 cup sharp cheese, 4  cups cheddar cheese, taste test time add more salt and pepper as needed. pour into a 9 x 13 pan or 3 quart casserole dish.
Mix eggs and milk in a bowl and then gently stir into macaroni mixture. Sprinkle with paprika
Cover everything with aluminum foil and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Uncover and add 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese across the top. Bake uncovered until it turn golden brown about 15 minutes.

 

Green Bean Casserole

This is always served for Thanksgiving Dinner, everyone just loves this casserole.

Green Bean Casserole

2 (10 3/4-ounce) can Campbell's Condensed Golden Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
4 cans cut green beans (drained)
1 Large French's French Fried Onions

1. Mix soup, milk, soy, black pepper, beans and  2/3 fried onions in bowl and pour into  13 x 9 pan or 3 -quart casserole dish.
2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes
3. Stir. Sprinkle with remaining fried onions on top and  Bake 10 minutes.

Makes 12 servings

TIP: Use 2 (16 to 20-ounce) bag frozen green beans, 4 (9-ounce) packages frozen green beans or 3 pounds fresh green beans for this recipe

Cleaning and Preparing Fresh Green Beans:

Wash fresh green beans thoroughly in clear, cool water. Lift beans from the wash water and leave garden debris behind. Rinse again.

Break off the end (the top and tail) as you wash them. Leave whole or cut into desired lengths. Beans can be cooked whole, cut crosswise, diagonally or French-cut. If you want sweet tasting, crisp fresh beans, cut them as little as possible. The recipes I will post next will use can string beans, I just wanted everyone to know how to prepare fresh sting beans.