More Treats for February

The month of February needs lots of treats to sweeten it, I've always thought! Although the shortest month in days, it seems like the longest in weather. Right now we're in the middle of an mean cold blast and warm comforting desserts can help lift the mood. 

Here are a couple I've made this month. The Glazed Cherry Coffee Cake is a favorite and the flavors can be varied with different flavors of pie filling and cake mix. Apple pie filling and spice cake mix for fall would be good. I like this recipe because it starts with a cake mix (easy) and adds flour and yeast for a more bread like coffeecake. 

And, I'd searched for a rice pudding recipe that uses cooked rice instead of starting with uncooked rice. I had leftover rice that needed a new preparation. This rice pudding is easy and the strawberry-rhubarb compote from the cheesecake (last post) made it super tasty. 

GLAZED CHERRY COFFEE CAKE

 

Ingredients: 

1 box yellow cake mix (will be divided)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup very warm tap water

1 pkg. dry yeast (2 ½ tsp.)

2 large eggs

5 Tbs. melted butter

1 can cherry pie filling

2 Tbs. granulated sugar

2 Tbs. warm melted butter

¼ cup sliced almonds

 

Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar + 1 Tbs. melted butter + 1 tsp. vanilla + pinch of salt

 

Instructions:

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups cake. Mix with flour and yeast. Add water and eggs. With an electric mixer, beat the ingredients 2 minutes, scraping bowl often; the batter will be very thick. Spread the prepared batter into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking pan, smoothing out the batter. 

2.    Spoon the cherry pie filling over the top of the cake batter in the baking pan. 

3.    In a medium bowl, combine the remaining dry cake mix with the melted butter to make the topping. Crumble the topping over the cherry pie filling, then sprinkle the top with sugar and sliced almonds.  

4.    Bake the cake on the center rack of the oven, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (There should be no cake batter on the knife, but there may be some cherry pie filling on it)

5.    When the cake is done, place the pan onto a cooling rack. Mix the glaze ingredients together, stirring in the milk a little bit at a time until the desired consistency is reached.  Glaze the cake while it is still warm, but not hot. 

 

 

Variations: 

Works with white cake mix also, use whole egg

Any flavor cake mix – pie filling combination

Yellow + blueberry or peach or strawberry

Spice + apple

Chocolate + cherry

 

RICE PUDDING                        

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups cooked rice

¼ cup craisins

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups whole milk

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

Directions:

1.    Place rice and craisins in a greased 1-qt. casserole. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, and nutmeg; pour over rice. 

2.    Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Pour milk over each serving if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.  

Sweets for Your Valentine Sweetie

 

Valentine's Day is a day for treating your special valentine, and yourself, to a sweet treat. I think cheesecakes are one of the most special sweet treats. I recently made this cheesecake for a family birthday celebration and it was a favorite we'll have again. The strawberry-rhubarb compote is yummy and also tastes great with oatmeal, rice pudding, and even on raisin bread toast. The cheesecake recipe is one I adapted from a favorite applesauce cheesecake we usually have at Thanksgiving. I wanted a coconut flavor like our other favorite birthday treat - coconut cream pie. This cheese cake is sweet, but not too sweet. With fewer eggs and cream cheese than many recipes it isn't overly rich, but more mild and smooth. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

COCONUT CHEESE CAKE WITH RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY COMPOTE

 

Crust: 

1 ¼ cup (20 squares) graham cracker crumbs

½ cup toasted flaked coconut

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup milted butter

 

Filling:

3 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I may try coconut extract next time)

2/3 cup flaked coconut, toasted

 

Directions:

1.    Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press in bottom of 10-inch springform pan. 

2.    In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and flour; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla extract; beat until blended. Stir in coconut. 

3.    Pour into crust-lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until center is set. (To minimize cracking, place shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack during baking.) 

4.    Cool. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 

 

Compote: (I used frozen fruit)

2 cups of rough chopped rhubarb

2 cups of rough chopped strawberries

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water or orange juice

 

Combine in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 7-9 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly and transfer to a covered container. 

 

To serve, carefully remove sides of springform pan from cheesecake. Slice into 16 slices, running knife under water between slices. Warm compote and drizzle over each piece. 

I think they liked it! Chicken Pot Pie

 

Cold day + new baby calves + hungry ranchers + chicken pot pie = happy family! Its still winter, no matter what the Groundhog might predict. And with the family ranchers out in the cold feeding cattle, checking cows, and finding new baby calves, it seems like a long time until Spring. This Chicken Pot Pie is pure comfort food, creamy and hearty with a crunchy biscuit topping. 

This is adapted from a recipe from Chef Ali, one of my favorite recipe sources. I added more chicken (1 more cup) and used canned mixed vegetables instead of frozen. Chef Ali's recipe uses a 12 oz. package of frozen baby peas and carrots, thawed. I like mixed vegetables for pot pies and had already bought 2 cans. You could go ahead and use both cans in the mixture, I thought 1 ½ was about right. It did fill the baking dish and spill over, thank goodness for the teflon oven mat! Also, you could bake this in a cast iron skillet or any oven proof skillet. I like to refrigerate leftovers in the baking dish, its harder to fit the skillet in the refrigerator. 

And from our KSU food safety specialist, Karen, a bit of history on pot pies:                                     There are many kinds of comfort food. But, the pot pie is one that has quite a history. A basic pot pie consists of a pie crust, poultry or meat, vegetables and gravy. It is a good way to use up leftovers for an easy meal.

Prior to becoming popular in American cuisine in the late 1700s, the pot pie was a very “lively” dish. According to Smithsonian magazine, cooks from the Roman Empire era would sometimes make pot pies with a living bird that would burst through the pie shell when cut and fly out. Surprise! While this would scare any unsuspecting diner, this active meal was still prepared in 16th century England.

Pot pies were also described as “Sea Pie.” This version typically included pigeons, turkey, veal and mutton. The name came from the pie being made aboard ships.

In 1951, the first frozen pot pie was created by the C.A. Swanson company and was made with chicken.

            LOADED BUBBLE-UP CHICKEN POT PIE

 

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped, cooked chicken

10 oz. can Cream of Chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 Tbs. dry Ranch dressing mix

6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1 ½ can mixed vegetables 

12 oz. can refrigerated Grand biscuits (10 count, each cut into 6 pieces)

 

Instructions: 

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2.    In a large mixing bowl, combine soup, sour cream, evaporated milk, and Ranch mix. When thoroughly combined, stir in chicken, cheese, and bacon. Fold in vegetables. 

3.    Pour the chicken mixture into a 10-inch baking dish. Dot the top of the filling with the biscuit pieces in a single layer, pressing them down into the chicken filling a bit. 

4.    Bake the pot pie, uncovered, on the center oven rack for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and hot and bubbly throughout. The temperature should register 160 degrees or higher in the middle of the filling.  Let the pot pie rest for 5-10 minutes before serving so the filling can set up a bit.