Eldest child found this recipe on Pinterest, did some tweaks, made cupcakes instead of a sheet cake, and they were a hit at the office pot luck and at home aka there were none left over when Eldest came home. Ironically, Eldest is the only one who does not care for the taste. "Too coffee forward", but then, she's a "I'll have a little coffee with my cream and sugar" kind of gal.
Cake
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup hot coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a medium mixing bowl, beat two eggs. Continue beating while adding the sugar gradually until fully combined and a fluffy pale yellow. Continue beating while adding the hot coffee and vanilla. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until smooth.
Pour into a very well greased 9x13" pan, well greased Bundt pan, or well greased cupcake liners using a 1/3 cup measuring cup (made about 18 cupcakes). Emphasis on well greased. Cake will stick otherwise.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, or until done. Do not over bake. Set on cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting 1
Ingredients
1 lb/bag powdered sugar (also known as confectioners or icing sugar)
1/2 lb butter (1 cup/2 sticks), softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
Cream butter until light. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, then vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth and spreadable. Add a spoonful of milk if needed to thin the frosting.
Crumb Mixture to go with Frosting 1
Ingredients
1 lb ground walnuts
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
In a bowl, mix walnuts and crumbs together. Sprinkle over the frosted cake and gently press into the top.
Frosting 2
Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons coffee, or as needed
In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and coffee until a thin syrup. Add as much coffee as needed. Will be pale brown and smell vaguely like maple syrup. (I do not know why coffee plus vanilla and powdered sugar does this, but it does) Drizzle over the top of the fully cooled cake and let set. Crumb mixture optional.
Daughter checking in again. Mom put a version of chicken pot pie (which we often use the day after Thanksgiving with leftover turkey instead of chicken to use up some of the leftovers) on the blog years ago. It's tasty, it's comfort food, it's fairly easy. But, unfortunately, our local grocery store chain (Giant Eagle) has chicken pot pies in their hot food counter that has such a good flavor to the, for lack of a better word, gravy inside, topped with a circle of puff pastry. We have been trying for years to mimic the taste of it, and despite being given false leads from some of the staff at our local store, we think we have come pretty darned close. To keep with the theme of Low Budget, most everything you could get at a Dollar Tree if need be, but if you want to get the same experience, two items (the fancy cream of chicken soup and puff pastry topping) were bought on sale at Giant Eagle.
Ingredients:
1 can of Swanson's Chicken a la King
1 can of Cream of Chicken with Herbs (regular cream of chicken will work, but the additional flavors takes it to the next level. Store brands don't typically make this flavor, so we get them when on sale)
1 large can of chunk white chicken or 2 small cans
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can peas
1 can sliced carrots
1 roll of puff pastry, or biscuit like topping of your choice (like sheets of crescent rolls with the perforations sealed or biscuit mix poured on top)
If using puff pastry, 1 egg
Preheat oven to 425 F.
In a 9x13" baking dish, mix the Chicken a la King and cream of chicken soup. Open the cans of vegetables and chicken, draining off the liquid. Layer the three cans of vegetables in the baking dish, distributing evenly. On top, layer the shredded chicken evenly. You can mix it together or leave as a layer on top. Top with puff pastry or biscuit topping of choice. If using puff pastry, wisk one egg and use as an egg wash over the top of the puff pastry.
Bake at 425 F for 30 mins or until topping is fully cooked. Makes 6 servings.
This recipe, like the basic white bread recipe, can be done without a bread machine. You will need to bloom the yeast first, though.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Warm water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 Cup Sugar
3 Cups Flour (Bread or All Purpose)
3 Teaspoons Yeast
Put in the machine pan in the order listed. Could be made into one fluffy loaf of bread (I'll make it as a loaf for holiday meals, like Thanksgiving dinner), or cut the dough into 12-16 evenly sized balls, shape, and place in a 9 by 12 inch cake pan or casserole dish. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the top with butter.
One thing we found is that the rolls, next day, work great for a substitute for a hamburger bun.
Daughter here. One thing I keep an eye open for at thrift stores is bread machines. More often than not, they were never opened/used, and just gathering dust in someone's closet. They are a great time saver, and if you are like me, it'll save wear and tear on your shoulders, since it does the kneading for you. You still have to monitor it, and adjust the recipe to that day's humidity, but it can be a "set it and forget it" kind of thing.
Personally, I rarely actually bake the bread in the machine, and just use the dough setting. I'll punch it down, shape, and set it for a second rise in a loaf pan, and bake in the oven. But on a busy day when I have a lot to do and I forgot to get the bread started before dinner, I will use the bake setting. The only downside is that there will be a slit in the bottom of the loaf from the mixing paddle.
This is a basic white bread recipe. No frills or anything, and it can be made without a bread machine, you would just have to activate the yeast before starting. Most bread recipes can be converted to a machine recipe. You just need to put the ingredients in the mixing pan in a certain order, just like in this recipe. It's typically liquids first, like water, milk, eggs, salt, sugar, and the fat being used, flour on top of the liquid mixture, and, in a divot in the flour, the yeast.
Ingredients:
1 cup hot, but not boiling water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit)
1/4 cup of oil (vegetable or grapeseed is what I use)
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Cups bread flour (All Purpose can work, or a mixture of Whole Wheat and White Bread flour, but all whole wheat would need more water added to the mix. In our house, we use King Arthur brand, since it is not enriched flour. If whole wheat is in the mix, you will need to add more moisture.)
3 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast (This is more than what is in a packet. I buy the little jars of it at the grocery store, and keep it in the fridge once opened. It rarely fails to rise for me, unlike the packets.)
Put the ingredients in the machine's pan in the order listed (wet, dry, then yeast). If your machine has different loaf size settings, this is somewhere between a 1 lb and 1.5 lbs loaf, but I typically just use the 1 lb settings, with a medium crust. If you plan to use your oven, just use the dough setting, & it will mix and do the first rise. If you want a second rise, punch it down before shaping in your loaf pan, and let rise for about half an hour. I will spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and lay on top of the loaf (not pinching it down, in case the loaf rises in the oven while baking), and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the foil, and finish baking for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is as golden brown as I like. Your mileage may vary, depending on your oven. Mine just likes to make a dark crust unless I use the foil trick. Another method is to use a Pullman pan. I recommend spraying the pan and using parchment paper to line.
Let the bread cool before slicing outside of the pan on a rack.