7-Up Pound Cake (from Jeanne Robertson) - A New-to-Me Recipe

I love listening to Jeanne Robertson on YouTube.  She tells stories on herself that are downright hilarious!  Some of my favorites are "Don't Bungee Jump Naked," "Don't Mess with Broom People," "Sleeping in Tubes," and "Don't Send a Man to the Grocery Store," which is where I first heard about 7-Up Pound Cake.

This is kind of a crazy cake recipe.  There is NO leavening agent in it to make it rise - no baking powder, no baking soda.  I kept looking at it to see what was going on.  It turns out that it's the carbonation in the 7-Up that makes it rise!  I did a little research and found a claim that you MUST use 7-Up because it supposedly has more carbonation than most lemon-lime sodas.  I don't know whether that's true, but after making the cake, all I can tell you is it works!  The cake rose just fine, has the right density for a pound cake, is moist, and it tastes great!  And no complaints from the guys, so it's a success.

7-Up Pound Cake

1 c butter

1/2 c shortening

3 c granulated sugar

1/4 t salt

5 eggs

1 1/2 t lemon extract

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

3 c all-purpose flour

7 oz 7-Up (almost one small can)

Glaze (optional)

1 c confectioner's sugar

1 T 7-Up

2 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (you'll turn it down when the cake goes in).  Grease and flour (or spray heavily with Baker's Joy or similar baking spray) a 10-inch Bundt pan.

Cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy (using a stand mixer will make this a LOT easier).  Add eggs, one at a time, and then the extracts.  Mix in the flour, alternating with the 7-Up.

Put the pan in the oven, turn the temperature down to 325 degrees (300 degrees in a convection oven), and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 65-75 minutes.

Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack (this is important to keep the cake from sticking to the pan!) for 20 minutes (NO MORE), then invert it onto a serving plate.

If glaze is desired, mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.  Let the cake cool completely before drizzling the glaze over it. 

That Darned Knee! And Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies - A New-to-Me Recipe

I haven't been posting regularly the past couple of weeks because we've had yet ANOTHER setback with The Knee That Won't Cooperate.  

After the first replacement, infection, debridement, wound vac, once-a-day IV antibiotics (administered by yours truly, about five minutes each time), removal of the knee implant, installation of an antimicrobial spacer, twice-a-day IV antibiotics (again, administered by yours truly, taking about 1 1/2 hours each time), and finally a new replacement, more infection was discovered three weeks ago.  So, out came the nice new implant and another spacer took its place.  

Now I'm giving yet another IV antibiotic, this time by the old-fashioned drip method, three times a day, over four hours each time, which means I have to do something with the IV every four hours, around the clock.  Can you imagine being hooked up to an IV bag twelve hours a day?  UGH.  I don't know whether I'd have the patience.

Anyway, it's getting really, really OLD.

And on top of that, my tomato plants are PRODUCING, so I'm also trying to fit in canning sessions.  I have a couple dozen of the monster tomatoes waiting for me on the kitchen counter, and a bunch more staring at me from the garden through the back windows.  The plants look more and more disreputable, and the tomatoes look more and more red, ripe, and HUGE every day.

But for something different, I decided to try a new cookie recipe.  After all, cookies are pretty quick and easy, and these just sounded interesting.  That Man has been scarfing them down, so I guess that's a pretty good endorsement!

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/8 c (1 c plus 2 T) all-purpose flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 c refrigerated butter, diced

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/2 c dark brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1/2 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 c (7-oz bag) Decas Farms Julienne Cut Baking Cranberries

1 c white chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 1/2 c, but, hey, chocolate!)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, then add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.  Slowly add the flour mixture and blend.  Stir in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheets, leaving about an inch between them.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes.  Allow to cool on the cookies sheets before removing.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (or Pork) - A New-to-Me Vintage Recipe

One of my friends posted a recipe on her blog, and it sounded so delicious I just had to try it!  I used a dutch oven, but a wok would be better.  I even have one, but I didn't think about it when I made the recipe.

She says she found this recipe years and years ago on the back of a can of Dole pineapple.  Sometimes recipes on food packages aren't all that good.  Not this one!  YUM!  The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, but so many times I've followed a recipe to the letter and the soy sauce seemed to overpower the dish, so I made the executive decision to halve the amount of soy sauce, which made it just about perfect (to me).

I actually doubled the recipe the first time I made it because I only had a 28-oz can of pineapple!  It worked just fine.


Sweet and Sour Chicken (or Pork) - from a Dole pineapple label

1 lb chicken breasts or pork tenderloin cut into 1" cubes
1 T canola oil
1 medium onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, minced
2 carrots, sliced
1 medium bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 15-oz can pineapple chunks, undrained
1/4 c vinegar
3 T brown sugar
3 T catsup
1 1/2 T lite soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 t ground ginger

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil and brown the chicken.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the carrots and bell pepper and cook until the carrots are tender.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, then add to the cooked chicken and vegetables in the wok and bring to a simmer.  Cook about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and become translucent.

Serve with rice.

Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops with Pineapple Topping (A New-to-Me Recipe)

After eating out for nearly two weeks in September (more about that in an upcoming post), I was in the mood for some home cooking.  Unfortunately, I'm the one who does the cooking!  Or, perhaps, fortunately.  I don't know what would happen if one of The Guys took over.  Probably Subway every day for lunch and a rotating menu of takeout from Culver's, Taco Bell, KFC, and Big Hoffa's Smokehouse (a local barbecue place - YUM)!

I went to The Magic Box (A.K.A. the freezer), opened the door, and a package of thick-cut boneless pork chops leapt out at me.  Going through my stack of Recipes to Try, here's what I chose for dinner.  It's sweet but has a spicy kick to it, and it was quick and easy to make using everyday ingredients.  Just my kind of fast food!

There was no coriander or cayenne pepper in the house (how did that happen?) so I was forced to make a special trip to buy them.  It was worth it!

I served this with oven-roasted potato wedges and steamed vegetables.  Eight-ounce pork chops are huge (pork-zilla?) and each is probably two "normal" servings.  (But hey, what is "normal" anyway?)  Nobody at our house had seconds because we were all groaningly full.  I will make these again!

Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops with Pineapple Topping

 

For the rub:

1 1/2 T packed brown sugar

1 t ground coriander

1 t ground ginger

3/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t red cayenne pepper

For the chops and topping:

4 6- to 8-ounce boneless pork chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick

2 T canola oil

2 c pineapple, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used a 16-oz can of sliced pineapple)

2 T packed brown sugar

2 T lime juice

2 T minced fresh cilantro

Mix all the rub ingredients in a bowl.

Mix the pineapple, brown sugar, and lime juice for the topping in a small saucepan and set aside.

Trim the chops, pat dry, and rub evenly with spice rub.  Heat the oil in a 10 1/2- or 12-inch skillet at medium heat until it just smokes, or until someone yells "It smells like something's getting hot out there!"  (Guess who.)  Lay the chops in the skillet and cook covered until well browned on one side (about 5 minutes).

Flip the chops, cover, and continue to cook until the meat registers 140 degrees with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the chops (about another 5 minutes).  Remove from heat and let sit covered to rest while you make the topping.

Cook the pineapple topping on medium-high to high heat until it boils, then turn down to medium heat and cook about 5 minutes.  Take it off the heat, stir in the cilantro, and serve spooned over the pork chops.