Recipes of a Lifetime for the Trip of a Lifetime

If you know Yvonne then you know that she LOVES to cook.  If she's happy, she cooks.  If she's sad, she cooks.  If she's depressed, she cooks.  Yvonne just loves to cook.  It's her "thing."  That's why she's amassed a few recipes through the years.  And by a few, I mean a LOT.

In thinking of ways to raise funds for Yvonne's Trip of a Lifetime to see her mother, we thought one of the most fitting ways is to use her love of cooking.  That's why we're putting together a cookbook of some of her favorite dishes.  It's a wonderful way for her to share her love, and it's a fitting way for her to be remembered for years to come.  

Please visit the "Recipes of a Lifetime" page and let us know if you'd like to order a book when they're available, hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks.  It will contain at least 50 recipes, and all proceeds will go toward Yvonne's Trip of a Lifetime.  

So, that's where we stand.  If you would like to see what's been donated, that's all on the Thank You page.  Then there's the Amazon list, and we have several ways to donate.  

• CashApp: $thespiritlady or $mysticlady54

• Paypal: @marmeesfriends or @musiccitywhowho

• Zelle: circleofspirit@gmail.com

• Venmo: @mysticlady54

• Amazon Wish List: Yvonne’s Trip by Donna Marsh

• By Mail: Contact me for our mailing address

• Gift Cards: Kroger Co., Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Texas Roadhouse, McDonald’s, etc.

My Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love pumpkin cheesecake.  In fact, I've yet to eat a pumpkin cheesecake I didn't like, but this particular one is still my favorite.  I got the recipe from a holiday article in the Herald-Citizen back in the mid 80's, and I've yet to find one better.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 stick unsalted butter, melted                                                                    

Filling:

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

5 eggs

One 16-ounce can pumpkin puree

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons dark rum

2 Tablespoons minced crystallized ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Topping:

1 ½ cups sour cream

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons dark rum

Directions

Combine crust ingredients.  Pour into a buttered, 10-inch springform pan and press the mixture onto the bottom and one-third up the sides of the pan.  Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cheese and sugar until smooth.  Continuing to beat at medium speed, add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

In a mixing bowl combine pumpkin, vanilla, rum, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mix until smooth.  Add pumpkin mixture to the cream cheese and beat to combine.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 1 ½ hours, or until set.

Whisk the sour cream, sugar, cinnamon and rum together and spread over the cake.  Allow to cool and then chill for at least five hours before serving.

Can be made up to two days ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.

Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa

I’m just going to come out and say it. I’m a sucker for the movie Steel Magnolias. I watch it each time it’s on TV. I quote dialogue right along with the characters, and I cry every single time Shelby dies. I can’t help myself. 

If you’re familiar with the movie then you may have noticed how food plays such a part in the story. There are Easter eggs (twice!), the groom’s armadillo cake, shrimp at the festival, Clairee and Quiser in the grocery store, Annelle cooking something that freezes beautifully, and then there’s Truvy’s Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake.

During one of the beauty shop scenes Clairee asks Truvy for the recipe for Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa, and Truvy replies, “It’s just a cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar, and a cuppa fruit cocktail, with the juice. Mix it up and bake at 350 ‘til gold and bubbly.” Truvy then goes on to say how rich this dessert is, so she recommends serving it over ice cream to “cut the sweetness.”

You may notice how similar this recipe is to my Mom’s Fruit Pie. The main difference is the texture, which is due to the amount of liquid. Both, though, are rich and fabulous, so enjoy!

Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup self-rising flour (Bisquick also works great.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fruit cocktail with the syrup (Use the entire 15-ounce can for added moisture.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix the ingredients until blended, and then pour into the lightly greased 8x8 baking dish, spreading the batter out as needed.

Bake until golden brown and bubbly, usually about 40 or 45 minutes.

A Cuppa Comfort

When I feel bad I crave fruity things. When it’s a dark and stormy night I crave hot comfort food. Tonight is one of those nights when it all comes together. It’s dark and stormy and I have felt much better, so I made Mom’s Fruit Pie.

About 40 years ago my aunt Joyce McCormick made a dessert for a family gathering that I just fell in love with. It was gooey, chewy, fruity, and I thought I had found my forever-favorite dessert. (This was before I discovered New York style cheesecake.) When I asked Joyce what the heavenly confection was, she said, “That’s just Mom’s fruit pie.”

Joyce gave me a copy of the recipe, and it was, sure enough, titled Mom’s Fruit Pie. I just wish I had thought to ask her if that is the actual name or if it was her mother’s recipe. I fantasize that it’s a family recipe handed down from my grandmother to my aunt and then to me, but a fantasy may be all that is.

First, the recipe as it was given to me. Then I’ll share some “enhancements.”

Mom’s Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large can fruit cocktail

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the butter in a 13”x9” baking dish and place it in the preheating oven.

Mix the flour, sugar, and milk until well blended.

Once the oven is preheated and the butter is melted, pour the fruit cocktail into the baking dish, syrup and all. Then pour the batter over the fruit. Do not stir.

Bake until the crust is golden brown. This may take as long as 45 minutes.

Now, the first thing you’ll notice, if you know a bit about baking, is that this is not a pie. It’s actually a cobbler. It’s also a thin cobbler if you bake it in a 13”x9” pan, but that can be a good thing because this sucker is RICH, and you’ll want smaller servings. Plus, the thinner cobbler also means more chewy and less gooey. You can bake it in an 8”x8” if you like it thicker, or you can half the recipe and use the smaller pan to make less. As I said, it’s rich.

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. You can use any fruit in syrup, and it will work. Peach is my favorite. You can also use fresh or frozen fruit, about 2 cups worth, with no syrup. It changes the texture, but it’s still a delicious cobbler. You can also substitute Bisquick for the flour, and it works just fine.

And tomorrow I’ll tell you why this recipe may seem familiar to movie buffs.

Until then, enjoy!

Chocolate Éclair Cake

I received this easy, delicious recipe from my cousin Carla McDowell, of Maysville, Ky., over 30 years ago, and it has been a family favorite since.

Chocolate Éclair Cake

Ingredients:

 Filling:

• 2 (3.5 oz.) boxes French vanilla instant pudding
• 3 c. milk
• 1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
• Graham crackers 

 Topping:

• 1/3 c. cocoa
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 stick (1/2 c.) butter (or margarine)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

 Directions:

Filling:

• Combine pudding mix and milk; beat. Stir in Cool Whip.
• Place a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9" x 13" dish. Spread 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and pudding; then top with a final layer of graham crackers.

Topping:

• Bring cocoa, milk, and sugar to a full rolling boil; boil about 1 minute, stirring very frequently. Remove from heat and cool one minute. Add butter and vanilla; stir until butter is melted.
• Pour chocolate topping over the top layer of graham crackers.
• Refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours before serving.

A tip to make this dessert even easier is to use a can of chocolate frosting.  You can spread it right on the top layer of graham crackers or warm it in the microwave for just a few seconds and then pour it over the cake.

Personally, I like to make it with three layers instead of two.  It just seems to just give it more of a cake texture, and the filling layers aren’t so heavy. You might need a few more graham crackers if you want to try it that way. 

However you make it – enjoy!

When Two of My Favorites Come Together

Driscoll's Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake

Those who know me know that there are two things I absolutely love – cheesecake and fresh berries.  When I came across this recipe on the Driscoll’s website I began to think I had died and gone to heaven.  Then I realized that if I were truly in heaven I could taste this wonderful concoction, and since that wasn’t happening I knew I must still be alive.  And that means I must make this fantastic dessert.

Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake 

Yes, you read that right!  Could anything sound yummier? I doubt it.  

But I have a problem.  

I'm on a very fixed, tight income, and I can't just run out and buy the ingredients for things like this.  I have to wait and build them into next month's budget.  Or the next, depending on the cost.  

Can I wait??  It's going to be difficult, but I will.  In the meantime, if anyone makes this please tell me if it's as delicious as I am imagining.