Last Saturday morning my church circle met and Helga Anderson served a delicious coffee cake with fruit for our treat. She graciously shared the recipe with me, so I am passing it along to you. I make one that has similar ingredients but not the butterscotch pudding, It had a great flavor, so I hope that you will like it too. Thank you Helga!
 
Best Ever Coffee Cake
 Mix in a bowl:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 box (4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 box ( 4 oz. ) instant butterscotch pudding mix
 In another bowl mix:
1 cup oil
1 cup + 1 tbsp. water
4 eggs
 Add dry mix and blend til smooth and lumps are gone, around 2 minutes, at medium speed.
 
Topping:
 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
 Pour half of the batter into a buttered 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle half the sugar/nut mixture over it. Pour rest of the batter evenly and sprinkle rest of topping over last layer of batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
 Have a great week!

Nothing smells more comforting than home made bread or rolls baking! My granddaughter, 12-year-old Justice, swims on a swim team. She has a competition in St. Paul this weekend, so my son, Jim, thought they would come this far from Sioux Falls spend the night and then in the morning be on their way to the swim meet. Justice ordered a POWER breakfast on Saturday morning which consists of homemade cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and bacon. She said that the last time they stayed here before a swim meet she had done well in the competition because of the POWER breakfast I had cooked for her. So I made the rolls and put them in my freezer so I would be ready. I mixed them up, covered the dough to raise and then finished a book I was reading. Trouble is I had forgotten about my roll dough raising, so it was well over the bowl onto the counter! I punched the dough down and let it raise again, no harm done and I kept track of the time. I like this recipe because you don’t have to knead the dough, I mix it up with my mixer.
 
Cake Mix rolls
2 pkg. yeast
3 1/2 cups warm water + 1 tsp. sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
5 cups flour
 
Add yeast and sugar to warm water. When yeast is dissolved and starts to get foamy, add cake mix, vanilla, salt and flour. Mix well, cover tightly with plastic wrap, let rise at least an hour or until double, punch down and let rise again. Pour dough out on well floured surface, sprinkle a little flour on top and knead a couple of times so you can handle. Divide dough in half and roll out half at a time fairly thin, spread with soft butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and about 1/3 cup sugar, roll up and cut each half into 12 slices. Place slices cut side up in two greased 9x13 inch pans, cover with a towel and let raise until double, takes 30-40 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until light brown and sound hollow when tapped. Cool and frost with powdered sugar frosting. You can use canned prepared frosting too. We like them warmed up a bit. Makes 24 rolls and freezes well. I usually thaw warm in the oven and then put the frosting on when they are warm. This dough is very sticky so when its raising I push it down with a spoon.
As I was reading last weeks recipe for KIMA, I omitted that when you drain the liquid from the peas, the liquid should go into the hamburger mixture. If you use frozen peas (like I have done), add a 1/2 cup of water to the mixture and let it cook until it thickens.Have a great week!

KIMA

We had an active weekend at our home. Our son John and family came down to meet his new granddaughter, Lydia. They brought their baby a 10 week old German Shepherd along with their three year old German Shepherd.  Our granddaughter brought along their terrier mix, a very spirited girl. Needless to say our poor Maggie was traumatized! She has never acquired the art of socializing with her own species, so someone had to hold Maggie the whole weekend. I wonder why we bothered to vacuum and dust on Friday?
The recipe that I am sharing with you today is found in the UMC cookbook and submitted by Florence Howk. It’s quick, easy and very tasty. I hope that you will think so too.
 
KIMA
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. (scant, unless you like curry) curry powder
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 ( 8 oz.) can peas, drained
 
Cook hamburger and onion together. Drain off excess fat. Add tomato sauce and seasoning. Simmer 20-30 min. until sauce thickens and seasonings blend. Add peas and heat. Serve over cooked rice.
 The saying is that it will snow three times after seeing the first Robin, so now we have had two snows, one more! Have a great week!

The robins are back!  
It must be spring. Pa Lloyd was out on the bike trail today and saw a flock of robins, a sure sign of spring! My tulips are also up. That man of mine put a fence around them so the bunnies won’t have a spring salad!
 
A couple of weeks ago I shared a recipe with you for chicken pockets, which I have to admit take time to make. My granddaughter, Samantha, shared her recipe for a much easier version to make. She and her husband make them often and say they freeze well, so here is her version of chicken pockets!
 
Chicken cream cheese pockets
2 cups cooked and pulled chicken
4 Tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large can Pillsbury crescent rolls

 Sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chicken, cream cheese, half of butter portion, mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Lay out a single crescent roll triangle. Stretch it out so that it is slightly bigger than normal. Place about 1/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of the crescent roll. Wrap dough around chicken mixture sealing edges, creating a pocket. Do this for each crescent roll. Place onto a parchment lined cooking sheet. Melt remaining portion  of butter and brush onto each roll. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. While baking, combine evaporated milk and cream of chicken soup over medium heat. Stir to incorporate and heat until simmer. Turn off heat let cool, spoon over rolls when serving.
 Have a great week!

New Arrival!
We have a new great-granddaughter! Lydia Renee arrived at 1:00 a.m. February 27th, weighing six pounds eight ounces., 19.5 inches long, lots of dark hair. She was born at Sanford hospital in Sioux Falls to our granddaughter, Samantha and her husband Justin Phillis. Samantha says she has a great pair of lungs and is healthy in every way! We are so anxious to meet her. I love the smell of babies, well most of the time!
On to this week’s recipe. I love Mexican food, but not too spicy, so this recipe fits the bill. I think the mushroom soup mellows out the spice. I like to serve it with shredded lettuce and tomato, Spanish rice and a dollop of sour cream, if you want. I freeze half of it for another meal for the two of us. I have had this recipe for so long, I have no idea where I found it. Probably from a magazine. I hope that you enjoy it too!

Skillet Enchiladas:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce
1/3 cup milk
1-2 Tablespoons canned, chopped mild green chilies
8 corn tortillas
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided
1/2 cup chopped ripe olives

In large skillet, cook hamburger and onion, drain. Stir in soup, enchilada sauce, milk and chilies. Bring to boil, cover and simmer on low 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile in another smaller skillet, heat 1/4 inch oil. Dip each tortilla in hot oil for 3 seconds on each side or just until limp, drain on paper towels. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup cheese and 1 tablespoon olives. Roll up and place over beef mixture, spooning some sauce over enchiladas. Cover and cook through another five minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, heating until melted. Is good served with shredded lettuce/tomato, Spanish rice and a dollop of sour cream.
Have a great week!