Baking – Plum Cooking.com

Easy Homemade Pound Cake

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 22:10:13 +0000

Easy Homemade Pound Cake From Scratch

I’ve had lots of store-bought pound cakes over the years and not one of them could compare to a fresh homemade pound cake made completely from scratch.

What makes it even better still is the fact that this easy homemade pound cake only takes minutes to prepare and then just pop it in the oven.

There’s just something about that fresh buttery texture that seems to shine through when you make one for yourself. Not so much though when you bring one home from the store.

Give this easy homemade pound cake a try, and let us know how you did.

What Your Going To Need

A Stand Mixer, Or A Hand Mixer, And A Mixing Bowl
A Silicone Spatula
A 10 Inch Tube Pan

How To Put It Together

Preheat oven to 325°

Cream butter in mixer

Add sugar to creamed butter and mix well

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

Mix in flour and vanilla.

Pour into greased and floured 10″ tube pan.

Bake for approximately 1 hour or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

More Great Dessert Ideas

Fresh Eggs In My Area

Amazing Oriental Hamburger Casserole

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 17:25:37 +0000

Oriental Hamburger Casserole

Why would you pay for a pre-made frozen, or boxed oriental hamburger helper-style meals when a dozen servings of this amazing oriental hamburger casserole recipe is so easy to make.

This recipe is quick, simple, delicious, and sure to please the whole family.

One of my favorite things about this amazing recipe is how well it freezes. So why not make it ahead for those busy weeknights? Then toss it in the oven, (or the microwave) when you get home.

Give it a try, and let us know how you did.

What Your Going To Need

A large skillet
A 9×13 baking dish with a cover or you can use aluminum foil.
A cutting board
A knife for cutting (or use a chopper)
A can opener

How To Put It Together

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large skillet lightly brown the hamburger.

Add both the onions and the celery. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 5 mins or until the onions look a bit translucent.

Add soups, soy sauce, rice, and mushrooms to the pan and mix well.

Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and bake covered for 30 mins.

Uncover; sprinkle chow mein noodles over the top and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.

More Dinner Ideas

Farmers Markets In My Area

Easy Baked Acorn Squash

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 12:39:31 +0000

Baked Acorn Squash With Brown Sugar And Butter

Simple And Delicious

There are probably more ways to cook squash than there are varieties of squash out there, but one of my favorites will always be baked this way.

We make ours with homemade butter, homemade brown sugar, and natural maple syrup. I gotta say, when it comes to this particular squash, I think it’s hard to beat.

More Side Dish Ideas

Farmers Markets In My Area

Easy BBQ Beef Short Ribs Recipe – Oven Baked

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 02:39:08 +0000

This easy BBQ beef short ribs recipe bakes in the oven low and slow, The end result is tender and delicious.

This Beef Short Ribs Recipe Is Oven Ready

Simply season your beef short ribs and lay them close together and bone side down in a baking dish. Cover with the oven-proof lid for the dish or you can cover tightly using aluminum foil if needed.

Pro Tip: A baking dish with an oven-proof lid however means you do not need to waste your money on aluminum foil!

Place your covered pan of seasoned short ribs in a 275° F oven for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Check your ribs for doneness at about the 3 1/2 hour mark. Your ribs will be done when the meat is fork tender and visibly pulling away from the bone. If they are not quite done yet place them back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes.

More Dinner Recipes

Local Meat Markets

Easy Wrapped and Roasted Garlic Scapes

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 14:34:49 +0000

Roasted garlic scapes are a great way to use fresh garlic scapes are in season.

Wrapped And Roasted Garlic Scapes

Freshly roasted garlic scapesare easy to make and there are several ways to do it. When you make roasted garlic scaFes the flower head gets a kind of stringy texture to it, so you will want to trim those off and discard them or chop them up for use in a different recipe. Wash and clean the scapes placing them in a large bowl. Add your olive oil and massage the scapes with salt. Lay out a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap the garlic scapes tightly in the foil. You can toss them on the grill or lay the package on a sheet pan in a hot oven to roast them

Why Don’t They Sell Garlic Scapes In The Store

Of course you can’t make roasted garlic scapes if you can’t find garlic scapes.

First, they typically have to cut the garlic scape off the plant by hand, but you can find garlic scapes in some markets, especially farmer’s markets.
You’ll have to be quick about purchasing your garlic scapes because garlic scapes are a very short-season crop. If you find them at all, it will likely be in the last few weeks of June.

The First Problem, store-bought sour cream is cheaper because they reduce the cost of making the sour cream by adding regular milk instead of cream along with a lot of thickening agents, starches, and gums, among other more artificial ingredients.

The Second Problem is, When you find a quality store-bought sour cream that doesn’t contain all the added junk, the price tends to become prohibitive. Therefore you do not save any money by making it yourself, so unless you’re just experimenting, you may as well have just purchased the cultured butter.

When, Where, and How To Plant Garlic

One great solution for having freshly roasted garlic scapes is to grow your own garlic.

While you can plant garlic in the early spring, garlic, people will usually plant it during the cool of fall as temperatures begin to come down.

Zones 1-4 plant bulbs in late October – November.
Zones 5-7 September – October
Zones 8-9 November – December(In Zone 8-9) You’ll need to store your garlic bulbs in the refrigerator for at least a couple of months before planting them, allowing the garlic to go through the vernalization process of a cold winter.

To grow garlic in 1 year, you will want to plant garlic cloves instead of seeds.

You can plant 4-9 garlic gloves per sq. foot in a garden bed, raised bed, planter boxes, or even in pots, and the bulbs will grow throughout the fall, winter, and spring. I usually plant 5 leaving plenty of room for the bulbs to grow. Cover them with a few inches of leaves or straw for the winter and rake most of that back in the spring.

Buy garlic for planting here

Easy Cornbread Recipe

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:51:05 +0000

There is nothing quite like fresh homemade cornbread! We’ve been making this easy cornbread recipe for years in our house and it makes the best homemade cornbread time and time again! The crust is perfectly golden, the center fluffy and moist. That’s a combination that is really tough to beat.

Try Our Easy Cornbread Recipe

This cornbread has been a must-have in my home for years, and the whole family looks forward to it when they know we are having it with dinner.

Once you have mastered this easy cornbread recipe, I am sure it will become a favorite around your home as well.

I think we love this homemade cornbread recipe so much because it is so simple to make. Plus, when you compare the price of cornmeal to those little boxes of mix, this recipe will save you money also.

Bonus: When you keep a good supply of cornmeal around, not only will you be able to make this easy cornbread recipe, you’ll never need to buy one of those premade mixes again and you will also discover many other great recipe ideas that use cornmeal.

Pro Tip:

Can’t use sugar, or prefer reduced sugar?

This easy cornbread recipe is very versatile. Simply substitute the sugar for Splenda and it comes out perfect. Or you can also reduce the amount of sugar you use to as little as 1/4 cup.

Ingredients for your Easy Cornbread Recipe

Yellow Cornmeal: Medium or fine-grind works well and will give your cornbread a beautiful golden-brown color. The medium grind gives the cornbread that slightly grainy consistency that I personally love.

All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour will help the cornbread to rise and give it the consistency of bread.

Granulated sugar: This gives the cornbread a touch of sweetness to balance out the flavor of the cornmeal and the bread flour. If you prefer low-calorie sugar, using Splenda in place of the sugar will make your homemade cornbread low-calorie. If you like your sweet cornbread recipe a little less sweet, you can always adjust the sweetness by adjusting the amount of sugar or even the Splenda.

Baking powder: When you’re learning how to make cornbread, you will find that the baking powder helps the dough expand as it bakes.

Salt: It doesn’t take much but you’ll want a little to bring out all the flavors in your scratch cornbread recipes.

Butter: Gives this easy cornbread recipe a moist, rich flavor that just can’t be beaten.

Milk: Makes this easy cornbread recipe moist and rich

Egg: Helps to bind everything together, plus it helps the cornbread to rise.

How to Make Homemade Cornbread

This is where you discover this easy cornbread recipe is so versatile it makes this is the best cornbread recipe out there.

Preheat oven to 400°

Cut 1/3 cup of butter from a stick of butter and set aside in a microwave-safe container. Add the remainder of the butter to an 8-inch cast-iron skillet well and set that aside for the moment.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients, cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Place your cast iron skillet with butter into the preheated oven to heat the skillet.

Using a microwave-safe container, melt the 1/3 cup of butter and then mix with milk to cool. Add the egg and whisk all liquid ingredients together until well blended.

Make a well in the center of your dry cornbread ingredients and add your liquid ingredients. Mix just until the cornbread mixture comes together with only a few lumps remaining in the batter.e

Pour all the batter into your prepared, hot cast-iron skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve hot.

The Possibilities Are Endless

Topping Ideas for Homemade Cornbread

Toppings make your cornbread even better. Here are some of my favorite toppings we use for our homemade cornbread.:

Butter (Well, that’s kind of a given) but there are different types of butter you might try.

A dribble of honey is always good on cornbread

Any kind of jam or jelly.

You can even use your homemade cornbread to make sandwiches. Ham & Cheese anyone?

You can also use your homemade cornbread as a topping too. My favorite is crumbling it into a good old-fashioned bowl of ham and beans, or chili with a little shredded cheddar cheese on top. You can even use your homemade cornbread in soups, rather than crackers.

I think I’m making myself hungry just typing this!

FAQ’s

How long will cornmeal keep?

Best if used by date: When stored properly, ground cornmeal is fine long after the best if used by date. This date is the manufacturer’s suggestion for peak quality, not food safety.

How can you tell if ground cornmeal is bad or spoiled?

The best way to tell is to look at and smell the ground cornmeal. if insects appear in the cornmeal or the cornmeal develops a flavor, appearance, or odor that is off it should be discarded.

For more information on the length of storage, check with our friends at StillTasty

If you are looking for some of the best airtight containers on the market to store your cornmeal in, I would highly recommend you check here.

Do I have to use a cast-iron skillet?

Nope, you can make this easy cornbread recipe in pretty much any 9-inch pan. A cast-iron skillet helps to give the cornbread that crunchy edge though and I would highly recommend having one. Personally, I have one cast-iron skillet that is literally dedicated to making cornbread.

You can also make a double batch in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9×13-inch baking pan if you wish. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time to 35-40 minutes if you are doubling the batch.

Muffins are easy also, just adjust the cooking time to around 15 minutes

Can I use white cornmeal for this recipe?

Of course, personally, I prefer the yellow cornmeal in this easy cornbread recipe because it gives the cornbread that beautiful golden color but white cornmeal works just fine.

Can I Substitute the butter for Vegetable Oil?

Not a problem, you don’t need to use butter. You can use any mild oil that you prefer, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or even avocado oil if you wish!

Can I Make This Cornbread Gluten-Free?

Absolutely! You can make this easy cornbread recipe gluten-free by simply swapping out the all-purpose flour for a 1-to-1 ratio of gluten-free baking flour and it will work out great.

Why is My Cornbread Crumbly?

Cornbread is unlike shortbread in that a little bit of crumble is normal but it shouldn’t be completely dry. Trick number 1, use equal portions of all-purpose flour and cornmeal. Trick number 2, Don’t overbake it.

Once you’ve become a pro at this recipe, Why not try your luck at homemade buttermilk biscuits or even biscuits and gravy?