Martha A. Cheves's Blog, page 95

7-Up Blueberry Pineapple Pudding

After making the 7-Up Pound Cake I was left with extra 7-Up Soda.  I'm not a cola drinker but hate to throw anything away so I found another use for 7-Up.  This is my recipe for

7-Up Blueberry Pineapple Pudding

1 pkg. Instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup 7-Up
1/2 cup blueberries
4 pineapple rings cut into small pieces and drained

Whisk together the pudding and 7-Up.  Stir in blueberries and pineapple chunks.  Spoon into serving dishes.  Top with cool whip and garnish with pineapple and blueberries.  Serves 4

This is another one that I'll be playing with using other soda/cola flavors.  With the 7-Up you actually taste the flavor of the drink which compliments the blueberries and pineapple.  You can always change the fruit, change the soda flavor, for diabetics use sugar free pudding mix and sugar free soda.  This is not just delicious it's also a pretty dish.

Bounce This Along

Sent to me by a friend and I felt this might just benefit all of us.

U.S. Postal  service sent out a message to all letter carriers to put a sheet of  Bounce in their uniform pockets to keep yellow-jackets  away. 

Use them all the time when playing  baseball and soccer. I use it when I am working outside. It really  works. The insects just veer around  you. 

All this time you've just been  putting Bounce in the dryer!

1. It will chase ants  away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels  mice.

2. Spread sheets around  foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it  keeps mice from entering your  vehicle. 

3. It takes the odor out  of books and photo albums that don't get opened too  often. 

4. It repels mosquitoes.  Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during  mosquito  season. 

5. Eliminate static  electricity from your television (or computer)  screen.

6. Since Bounce is  designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen  with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from  resettling.. 

7. Dissolve soap scum  from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of  Bounce.

8. To freshen the air in  your home - Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang  in the closet. 

9. Put Bounce sheet in  vacuum cleaner.

10. Prevent thread from  tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before  beginning to  sew. 

11. Prevent musty  suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage  before storing. 

12. To freshen the air in  your car - Place a sheet of Bounce under the front  seat.

13. Clean baked-on foods  from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit  overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently  weakens the bond between the food and the  pan.. 

14. Eliminate odors in  wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the  wastebasket. 

15. Collect cat hair.  Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract  all the loose hairs. 

16. Eliminate static  electricity from Venetian blinds.. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of  Bounce to prevent dust from  resettling. 

17. Wipe up sawdust from  drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect  sawdust like a tack  cloth. 

18. Eliminate odors in  dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of  a laundry bag or  hamper. 

19. Deodorize shoes or  sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers  overnight. 

20. Golfers put a Bounce  sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees  away. 

21. Put a Bounce sheet in  your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will  keep them smelling  fresh. 

22. Wet a Bounce sheet,  hose down your car, and wipe love bugs off easily with the wet  Bounce. 

7-Up Pound Cake

When I first saw this recipe I almost rejected it because I found no leavening.  What will make it rise?  I then found that the ingredient 7-Up would make it rise.  So today I gave it a try.  Of course I did make a couple of changes and will point them out along the way.  So here is a wonderfully delicious recipe for a

7-Up Pound Cake.

3 cups sugar
2 sticks margarine (I used butter softened)
1/2 cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
5 eggs
1 tsp. coconut extract (I had imitation so I used 1 Tbsp.)
1 tsp. lemon extract (Didn't have this ingredient so left it out)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon juice (I used 1 Tbsp as a replacement for the lemon extract)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup 7 Up (Measure this 1/2 cup at a time due to foaming)
3 cups sifted all purpose flour

Do not preheat oven.  Cream sugar, margarine and shortening.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add extracts, lemon juice and salt.  Add flour and 7-up alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Pour batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan.  (I used baking non-stick spray which has the flour mixed in.  I also used an Angle food pan.  Place in a cold oven.  Set oven to 325 degrees.  Bake about 1 hour.  Test for doneness.  Cool in pan 10 minutes.  (I ended up baking mine for 1 1/2 hrs. so the timing will depend on your oven.  If you find the top is browning too quickly, place a loose sheet of foil over the top.  You probably won't have that problem with this low of a setting.) 

This cake is so good.  It's moist and by using the butter and butter flavored Crisco you get a strong butter flavor.  This cake can easily be made using vanilla flavoring if you don't have the lemon and coconut extracts.  This is a cake I really want to play around with using different soda/cola flavors.  I see this as a basic recipe that would be delicious made with orange, strawberry, Dr. Pepper, etc. sodas.

Smores and More

This one came to me while walking through a variety store of all places.  The store has a food section and I spotted marshmallows and decided to come up with a new recipe using them.  So here is what I did.

I used (1) 1 lb. pkg of coconut cookies, these I placed in a plastic bag and pounded them until they were crumbs.  I melted 1 stick of butter and mixed it in with the cookie crumbs.  I pressed the crumbs into the bottom of (2) 9 x 13 baking dishes (I planned on taking them to a cookout so I needed a lot).  I had (2) 7oz. bags of chocolate covered peanuts and sprinkled them over my cookie crumbs.  Then I sprinkled everything with chocolate chips (picture on left).  And topped everything with mini-marshmallows.  The only thing left was to bake in a 350 degree oven until the marshmallows melted and browned.  The picture on the right is the finished product.  I think most of you know that I don't like chocolate but even I liked these.

Changes - change the cookie - chocolate cookies, sugar cookies, etc.  Change the chips to maybe caramel or butterscotch.  Just get creative.

Croutons & Almond Chicken

This is another version of my Potato Chip Chicken.  With this one I used crushed herb seasoned croutons instead of the potato chips.  For my original recipe go to Martha's Recipe Cabinet and look up Potato Chip Chicken and simply change out the 2 ingredients.

Italian Sausage Patties over Spaghetti

This one is so simple you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself...maybe you did.  I used 1/2 lb of Italian Sausage and 1/2 lb. of lean ground beef.  Mix the two together and form into patties.  The number of patties will depend on the size you make them.  I made 5 out of mine and pressed them thin.  In a large fry pan fry on med. heat until done.  I covered mine to make sure they cooked through without browning.  Remove from pan.  Pour off drippings.  I even wiped my pan out to get out as much grease as possible.  Place patties back into your pan in a single layer.  Top with a heafty amount of cheese.  I used an Italian blend.  Spoon a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce over your patties and cheese.  Cut heat down to medium and cover.  Cook until cheese melts.  Serve over spaghetti noodles.

These are SOOOO good.  Changes can include adding mushrooms, bell peppers, black olives, etc.

The Last of the Good Guys

I've just posted a review for Ernesto Patino's book The Last of the Good Guys.  Check out my review and the author's recipe for Chicken Verscruz by going to my site A Book and A Dish.

Beef Roast with Chicago Steak Seasoning

Last week I received a sample package of Weber's Chicago Steak Seasoning.  Today I decided to slow cook a roast.  So I combined the 2.  I rubbed the roast (round) with olive oil, rubbed on the seasoning, seared on all sides, covered and slow cooked for about 3 hrs.  Juicy!  Tender!  Great Taste!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Brownies

These are so simple and so chewy!  I made a package of brownies according to the package but added about 3/4 cup of chocolate covered peanuts and about 3/4 cup of mini-marshmallows.  Simply bake according to package and that's it!  Think With Your Taste Buds!

The Fashion Police

If you are looking for a good book with humor and a little murder, go to my site A Book and A Dish to read my review for The Fashion Police by Sibel Hodge.  While there, check out the author's recipe.