Cowgirls in the Kitchen

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Cheryl Pierson – April 28

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Hi everyone! Time for another edition of Vintage Recipes here at “Cowgirls in the Kitchen”!  Oh, golly, I had a lot of trouble deciding what recipe to feature today–so guess what? I had to include more than one! I think you will enjoy all of these and they are for very different types of “eating pleasure”, but none of them are hard to make (you know my rule about having to be something easy if I make it!)

This first one is one my best friend’s mom used to make sometimes when we were all over at her house and hungry. I had never had these before, and I begged my mom to make them, but with my dad’s work schedule, we rarely had leftover mashed potatoes, which is a key ingredient for these coveted MEXICAN HATS!  And these are so simple–I still make them sometimes just because I love them. (I will say, if I’m remembering right, ours looks more like a Mexican Hat than this picture, but this will give you an idea).

MEXICAN HATS:

You will need only three basic ingredients:

Bologna

Sliced American Cheese

Leftover Mashed Potatoes (though I have been known to make fresh or buy some ready-made)

On a griddle, place 4 pieces of bologna. Place a dollop of leftover mashed potatoes in the center, in a circle (like the rise of a sombrero) and cook on low heat. As the bologna begins to cook, the edges will turn up, curving around the mashed potatoes (again, like a sombrero). Place a piece of cheese on the top and let it begin to melt over the potatoes. Remove them from the heat, and season as you like. I’ve even been known to eat these with a little picante sauce.

Another version is to put these in the oven–I’ve never done them that way, but here’s how they say to do it, if you want to try that instead of the griddle–(and this calls for instant mashed potatoes, which of course, were not available back when I was eating them as a kid):

Heat oven to 325-350 degrees. place bologna on a cookie sheet and bake until bologna is desired color. Meanwhile cook the instant mashed potatoes according to directions on package. Take the bologna out of oven and put the 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes on it. then put the fat free kraft single on top and bake until cheese melts.

They are wonderful no matter how you eat them, and boy, do they bring back some great childhood memories.

FOR DESSERT: RUM CAKE AND GLAZE

My mom loved to make Rum Cake. This was back in the 60’s and 70’s when bundt cakes became all the rage. She got a HEAVY bundt cake pan (no teflon lining in it, that hadn’t become the norm yet) and that’s what she made these in.

 

Here’s the original cake recipe written in my mom’s handwriting. It’s really faded, and I’ve had to recopy it, but I keep this copy as a keepsake, remembering all the times she made this wonderful recipe and how much we all loved it and looked forward to it.

I’ve written the instructions below so you can read it better.

RUM CAKE AND GLAZE

1 box of golden deluxe butter recipe cake mix (you may have to substitute this for yellow cake mix–not sure they make this one anymore)

1 package Jello instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup rum, OR 1 teaspoon of rum flavoring

4 eggs

Grease and flour pan– you can sprinkle butter pats, brown sugar and nuts in before filling pan with batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Let cool about 15 minutes before inverting on cake plate and putting the glaze on.

GLAZE:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup of rum

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add all ingreditents to saucepan over medium heat. Stir well until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, and boil for TWO  minutes. You can pour the glaze over the top, or you can put the cake back into the pan and poke holes in it and pour some of the glaze over that to let it soak it up, then pour the rest of the glaze over the top. Mom always just poured it over the top and it was always wonderful.

And last, but not least, a tried and true recipe for plain, good ol’ fashioned pancakes that is simple to make and you can make it from ingredients you usually have on hand.

PANCAKES:

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Measure and sift dry ingredients. Add slightly beaten egg, milk, and oil together and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix. Don’t OVER mix. Spoon mixture onto griddle for whatever size/thickness of pancakes you want to make. Garnish with fruit, if you like, or you can also add chocolate chips, pecans, etc. while they are cooking. These are really good!

Cowgirls in the Kitchen – Cheryl Pierson

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Well, it’s my turn in the kitchen, and my rule is “THE EASIER THE BETTER!” (As long as it’s also delicious, of course!

I think I might have found a perfect recipe for what is sure to become a “Fall Favorite” at my house. I bought all the stuff to make this and I’m going to try it next week.

I found this recipe on a site called MAMA’S COOKING, and I know my mama would have really loved this! It’s called FALL DUMP CAKE–and I don’t think anything could be any easier than this. Take a look…

 

 

FALL DUMP CAKE
Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 12 servings

Here’s what they say about this wonderful dessert:

Ah, fall is in the air… can’t you smell it? Yes, we do mean smell and you’ll understand why here in a
minute! Load up your slow cooker with this Fall Dump Cake for the easiest, sweetest, autumn-flared
scents to circulate your surroundings for hours. Not only does it smell like all your fall fantasies, but
the way the syrupy apple filling blends so nicely with the crumbly, cinnamon-coated cake will have you
dancing around like a leaf on a windy day. Your senses will totally fall for Fall Dump Cake! ‘Tis the
season!

ALL RIGHTY THEN! If it delivers as described, this is one I’ll be making over and over again!

Ingredients
2 (20-ounce) cans apple pie filling
1 (15.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
whipped topping, to taste, for topping

Directions
Step 1
In a slow cooker, add the apple pie filling.
Step 2
Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the filling, then dot it all over with the butter cubes.
Step 3
Sprinkle the cinnamon over the apple mixture.
Step 4
Cover the slow cooker and cook on high heat until the filling is bubbly and the top is golden-brown,
about 2 hours.
Step 5
Serve the dump cake with the whipped topping.

If you do make it, I would love to hear how you and your family enjoyed it. I know my husband Gary will love it because he is an “apple” kind of guy, but I’m wondering if you could use peaches rather than apple if you preferred it? Or maybe even cherry? Lots of room for experimenting, I’m thinking!