Baked Mac & Cheese

before baking...

First time when I was asked whether I would like some mac & cheese, I did not know what the 'mac' stood for. When I learned that fish is traditionally served here with macaroni and cheese, I was quite surprised. I would have never thought of such a meal configuration before. Where I come from, fish is always served with potatoes - either fried (french fries) or boiled, but never with elbow shaped pasta and cheese! Nevertheless, the two and fish match quite well and I learned to like it. Mac & Cheese goes nicely with fried meat too.
I have tried quite a few mac & cheese recipes, including making it on the stove, but this one seems to be the best of all.

Easter Goodies & How To Sweep The Table Fast

The Easter goodies you can see in the pictures below are already gone but it is nice to think how delicious they were.
The cake was so good, moistened and not too sweet. It can be a really good birthday or any other holiday cake too. I did not have a kind of butter cake mix which was required in the original recipe, so I used what I had - a cake mix with 1/3 cup vegetable oil as an ingredient. That is why while making the cake I skipped butter of course. Besides that, I followed the instructions given by The Southern Lady  in her post. The Mandarin cake was a true success.
I used two round, 9" cake tins - my cake had two layers not three though. Another great recipe worth keeping!

Mandarin Orange Cake

These deviled eggs were my first try ever. Next time, to adjust the taste of eggs to our likes, I will certainly add some more mustard and sweet relish than the recipe says. We liked them anyway, but they could have been a bit more spicy.

This recipe also comes from the Southern Lady pages

After Easter:

Egg Leftovers - I used them to make a quick salad:

• one big potato - peeled, cooked and diced.
• 2 pickles - diced
• 2/3 TBS mayonnaise
• salt & pepper to taste
• deviled eggs - leftovers - diced

You just need to mix all the ingredients and the salad is ready. I enjoyed it even more than the eggs themselves.

While having a meal, it often happens that some bread crumbs land on the table, making it a bit messy. To clear it, there is no need to remove the table cloth, you just need to find the right equipment.

before Easter...

A little table sweeping set is quite useful and convenient then. You just sweep the table/table cloth and all the crumbs go onto the little shovel, and your eating space is tidy again. My mum used to have quite a stylish table sweeping set, which she had received from her mother. It was made of metal, nicely decorated with a fancy pattern. The sweeping brush was a bit shorter and made of some very soft something. All in all, it looked more like a prop from 'Downton Abbey times'. Guess, maybe it was though not literally of course. The set I have is both simple and inexpensive which actually is a great advantage. Since it is not too big, you do not need much space to store it either.

The set found and bought at Dollar Tree

Getting Ready for Easter

Time to start getting ready for Easter. I am going to be busy with baking and preparing for the holiday. More on the results of mu Easter actions soon....

Happy Easter to you all!

Cocoa Swirl Cake

This cake is actually called German Marble Cake. While making it, I swirled the cacao and yellow batter with a knife, probably more than it was required in the recipe. I did that as I do not like the bitter taste the cocoa layers in any cake.

The overall effect is quite good, as the cake is tasty and not too sweet. However, I skipped making the chocolate mocha frosting (see the recipe) to have a lighter treat and to adjust it to our tastes also (not everybody likes coffee as an ingredient). Besides, the swirly pattern, which would be covered by the frosting,  made the entire cake look quite interesting.
All in all, it is a good and easy to make coffee cake.

Another Southern Recipe

I love trying new (to me), traditional, Southern recipes. Of course I am always glad when we are pleased with the results of my tries. Recently, I have mostly made some new/old cakes. The one you can see in the picture is a yellow cake (made from a scratch) - a very useful and easy recipe which can be a basis for various baking creations. The fudge-like frosting reminds me the taste of the Polish fudge called 'Krowka'. All in all, together with the cake, it makes a deligthful (but quite sweet) dessert.
To bake the cake, I used two round 9" meatl tins (baking time was 20 minutes). Unfortunately, when I was making it, I had not enough vanilla extract to add to the frosting, which did not spoil its flavour though. However, next time I will cut down on white sugar, to make the frosting a bit lighter.

I followed the original recipe (with white sugar for the frosting). It was not difficult, you just need to cook and boil the fudge mixture long enough, stirring it all the time. It makes the white sugar dissolve/ change its structure and blend with all the other ingredients. As you can see I put pecan halves on both layers of the frosting. It makes the taste of the cake even more interesting.

The traditional recipe was found here.

Very Good Coffee Cake

This is a great cake with a touch of cinnamon, brown sugar and pecans. Not too sweet, just right to enjoy it and have more than one piece at a time. It is a good everyday dessert option and a wonderful treat which would be appreciated at any holiday gathering as well.

Since the ingredients are the basics, which are always available in my kitchen (flower, butter, cinnamon, an egg, baking powder, brown/white sugar and pecans), there is no need to do special shopping to make this cake. I like it as it makes the recipe really handy - I can make the cake any time, without prior planning.
The recipe, which was found here is certainly a keeper.

Chicken & (different) Dumplings

This is my husband's idea, which I like very much. While making this meal, instead of cooking the dumplings, it is much more convenient and easier  to use tortillas cut in little strips. After adding them to the soup, you cook the chicken and tortilla pieces for a few minutes. The result is really good - nice, light and tasty 'dumplings'. A little thing but makes life simpler!