German Chocolate Pound Cake

My grandmother, Margaret Oakley, gave me this recipe at my Pampered Bride shower in 2002, a few months before I got married.

I tried making this recipe once, when we were newlyweds. For some reason, my pan was too small and it overflowed all over my oven.

This time...no such thing happened and we ended up with a delicious chocolate cake!
Grandma notes on the back of the card "No frosting needed. It's already in the cake."

Ingredients

1 box (18 1/4 oz) German chocolate cake mix
1/4 c. vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 c. water
3 lg eggs
1 carton (15 oz) coconut pecan frosting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup pan. In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil, water, and eggs. Mix on low speed about 1 minute. Scrape bottom of the bowl and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Add frosting and beat on low for 2 minutes. Pour in pan and bake 55-60 minutes until cake taster inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cook in pan. Invert cool cake onto a plate and let cool thoroughly before slicing.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Our Christmas dinner this year included a turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, corn, homemade bread, and this yummy dessert!The recipe I used was written in my husband's handwriting from when he was a teenager! Our friend Paul also made this dessert several years back when we had Thanksgiving together (oh, how I miss those times!).

Ingredients & Directions

2 c. crushed pretzels (not too fine; 9 oz of thin pretzel sticks works)
3 T. sugar
3/4 c. butter, melted (I used about 2/3 c this time)

Mix pretzels, sugar and butter. Press into a 9 x 13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Let cool.

8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sugar
8 oz container Cool Whip, thawed

Mix cream cheese and sugar well. Fold in Cool Whip. Mix well. Pour over cooled pretzel crust.

1 lg (6 oz) box strawberry jello
2 c. boiling water
2 10 oz pkgs frozen strawberries

Mix jello and water until jello dissolved. Add frozen strawberries until thawed. Let the mixture thicken. Pour over cream cheese mixture and chill in refrigerator until firm.

Apple Betty

I love fall! My friend Kristin said she's come to realize she loves the first part of every new season. I'd have to completely agree! I do love every season and the fresh start it brings. (Although, I love all of summer!) I love the cooler, crisp air of fall. I love the smells associated with fall -- cinnamon and apples in particular.
I stumbled upon this recipe last week and decided I just had to make it. The twins and I went to a local store that was having apples on sale for 77 cents/lb and I loaded up.
Apple Betty
4 cups thinly sliced apples (peeled if you want, I didn't bother)
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash each cloves and allspice
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Mound sliced apples in the pie plate. Sprinkle with orange juice.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugars, spices, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Scatter over the apples.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Serve warm.Rylee was so cute because we have an "Auntie Betty" at GFA. She kept talking about Auntie Betty as we were getting the dessert ready and then enjoying it's sweet goodness. My kids love Auntie Betty and they loved thinking about her as we were enjoying the ooey-gooey apples and topping with ice cream.

Best Ever Popcorn Balls

I discovered this recipe in the fall of 2008 while my in-laws were visiting around Thanksgiving. I had lots and lots of popcorn and decided it would be fun to make sweet, sticky popcorn balls. After trying several recipes, we (my MIL and I) decided this was the best!

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 teaspoons cold water
• 2 5/8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup marshmallows
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 5 quarts plain popped popcorn (I use my large Pampered Chef Micro Cooker and put just plain popcorn kernels in it. I microwave on high for about 3-5 minutes until it stops popping. Good, pure, plain popcorn!)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, confectioners' sugar, marshmallows, and vanilla. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating each kernel.
2. Grease hands with vegetable shortening and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools. Wrap with cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

The process of pressing it into balls can be really, really sticky (I know...they're popcorn balls!). But, we found that we liked it just as much if we tossed the sugar mixture with the popcorn, spread it on a sheet to cool, and just ate it as sweet popcorn crunch!