The weather was too cold last weekend to be out and about, so it was a good time to do some baking! I was burned out with baking after Christmas but now I have been in the mood again. Besides, if I am baking the oven is on and that makes my kitchen cozy warm! Pa Lloyd doesn’t often request a particular item for me to bake, but once in awhile he asks me to make date/nut bread. He told me that when he was in the Marines his mom would send him loaves of date bread. By the time it arrived to him there would be mold growing on it, so he would just cut it off and eat it anyway. It always tasted good to him! Well those days are over and when I bake his date bread it doesn’t last long enough for mold to grow! I always buy the dates already chopped. Today I am sharing my mom’s recipe for date/nut bread with you!

Date Loaf:
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
1 egg
1 cup chopped dates, pour 1 cup of boiling water over the dates, add 1 tsp. soda to this mixture, let cool 10 minutes or so.
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
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​Cream sugar and butter. Mix in one egg, then add date mixture. Mix together, then add vanilla, flour and salt. Lastly add nuts. Mix well. Pour into a greased regular sized bread pan. Bake one hour at 350 degrees, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I usually check after 50 minutes. Let cool eight minutes in pan, then turn out and cool on wire rack.

Have a great week!

It was hard for me to cook for two when for so many years I was cooking for 6! Unfortunately Pa Lloyd doesn’t like leftovers so I have  to be creative so he doesn’t know he’s eating leftovers. Today I made one of my favorite recipes using left over roast beef. I made these often when my Granddaughter Sam was staying with us, she liked to take them for a meal when she was working instead of a sandwich. They freeze well.
 
Beef Flautas:
2 cups cooked roast beef ( thinly sliced strips)
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
12 corn tortillas

In skillet heat meat in 1 Tbsp. of hot oil, add red wine vinegar, chili powder, salt, garlic powder and oregano to meat, toss to coat, remove from pan and set aside. Wipe out skillet and add additional oil 1 inch deep, heat. Dip each tortilla in hot oil just til soft and limp, about 5 seconds, drain on paper towels. To assemble flautas, divide beef among tortillas, placing a few strips of meat at one edge of each tortilla, starting at filled edge, roll up tortilla tightly; secure with wooden tooth pick. Fry in hot oil til crisp or about 2 minutes, drain on paper towels. Serve warm, may serve with salsa and sour cream.  You can use as an appetizer, snack, or make Spanish rice as a side dish and serve them as a main coarse.

Have a great week!