Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Posted by Donna:


These sandwiches are great for showers, brunches, teas, or a light summer meal. I've taken them to potlucks at our church when the menu was sandwiches, chips, and desserts.


Cucumber Sandwiches

1 carton ( 8 oz.) cream cheese
2 tsp. ranch salad dressing mix
2 medium cucumbers, sliced
rye tea bread---I've bought mine at Wal-Mart at the deli.
dill (optional)


Mix the cream cheese and ranch dressing together. Spread on each bread slice. Peel and thinly slice the cucumbers. Put one cucumber slice on each piece of bread. Sprinkle a very, very small amount of dill on top of each cucumber slice. I always leave the sandwich open-faced, but that's just personal preference. Also, the amount of dill used is personal preference. I like the sandwich just as well without the dill added.

Honey Gingerbread Mini Sandwiches

Posted by Lori:
This is another delicious recipe from the Durant Ladies' Tea. It was made by one of the ladies there and found in a Taste of Home magazine. These little, sweet sandwiches make a perfect breakfast, snack, or light lunch.

Honey Gingerbread Mini Sandwiches

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg, slightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 3" x 5 1/2 " mini loaf pans and dust with sugar. (It doesn't say how many mini loaf pans.  I am assuming 2.) 

In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves.  With spoon or wire whisk, stir in remaining bread ingredients until well blended.  Divide batter evenly among the loaf pans.

Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on cooling rack 10 minutes.  Remove from pan.

Slice gingerbread in 1/4 inch slices and spread with cream cheese.

Chicken Salad

Posted by Lori:

There are many different varieties of chicken salad recipes around - from plain to fancy.  This chicken salad (in lower right of above photo) is delicious and has many different flavors that mingle together to provide a treat for your tastebuds, and is another recipe compliments of the ladies of the church in Durant, OK.  (See previous post for more details.)

Chicken Salad

4-5 cups cooked chicken (shredded or finely chopped...preferrably chicken breasts)

1/4 cup finely chipped red onions
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 small apple (cored and finely chopped)
1/3 cup toasted chopped almonds (coarsely chopped)
1/2 cup red seedless grapes (sliced into halves or quarters)
2/3 cup Craisins
1/2 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 teaspoons honey (to taste)
Black pepper

In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, celery, onion, Craisins, grapes, apple, and almonds.  Toss to combine.  In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), and honey.  Add wet mixture to chicken mixture.  Combine well.  Season with black pepper to taste.

This salad looks very elegant served on a leaf of lettuce. It tastes great eaten alone, as well as with bread or crackers.

Marinated Veggies

Posted by Donna:

One of my favorite sides in the summer is this simple two veggie combination. I like to have this instead of a green salad.

small banana peppers,seeded and chopped
tomatoes, seeded and chopped ( I like fresh best, but if those aren't available, I use the Roma tomatoes)
Italian Dressing

Combine all the ingredients and chill about an hour before serving. This is especially good with red beans and cornbread---and fried potatoes----and green onions.

Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad

Posted by Lori:
Saturday my daughter and I had the privilege of attending a Ladies' Day Tea in Durant, Oklahoma. The decorations were beautiful and the food was delicious! If you are interested in seeing more pictures, please visit my devotional blog here.

I planned to ask for some of the recipes, but I didn't have to. My daughter opened up here program and almost all of the recipes were printed inside. It's as if the sweet ladies of the Northwest church of Christ knew we were going to want all of those recipes! (I'm pretty sure that's because we usually ask for great recipes, don't you???). So, I'll be sharing these recipes with you in the next few weeks.

Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad
(Pictured on left side of plate in above photo)

Toss together:
Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, and other greens (as desired)
Fresh strawberries, quartered
Blueberries
Mandarin oranges
Pineapple tidbits
Pecans

Durning House Poppy Seed Dressing:
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups vegetable oil
2/3 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
3 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons minced onion

Combine sugar, oil, and vinegar.  Heat in microwave until sugar dissolves.  Pour mixture into blender and add remaining dry ingredients.  Blend well.  Store in refrigerator.  Yield:  4 cups.

Crispy Oven Chicken

Posted by Donna:

Something really, really strange is happening at my house. Larry is eating chicken and actually complimenting it. Either it is very good, or he is very hungry and appreciates any homemade meal he gets!!!!!!! No, I really think I've found the solution of fixing chicken more often at our house. This is just another version of a baked chicken. Most oven baked chicken recipes are pretty similar, but have been tweaked just a little. Larry wanted to know what the crust was on this because he thought it had a really good taste. If you have the same problem at your house, maybe this recipe will help. This recipe came from a guest contributor in a "Cooking with Paula Deen " magazine. I love trying out new versions of recipes--even if they are "tweaked" just a bit. I like to do my own tweaking as well.

Crispy Oven Chicken

1/2 cup all-prupose flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup whole mild

1 cup Panko

1 cup crushed potato chips

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

2 chicken breasts (the recipe calls for a whole chicken cut up, but I always use chicken breasts.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or foil that has been sprayed with Pam cooking spray.

In a shallow dish, place the flour. In a separate dish, whisk the eggs and milk together. In a third dish, combine the Panko crumbs, potato chips, salt, and cheese.

Dip the chicken in the flour. Shake off the excess flour. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture--then in the crumb/potato chip/cheese mixture.

Place the chicken in the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

I really think the next time I use this recipe, I'll omit the Panko crumbs and just do the chips. I love coating things with chips. It may not be the healthiest thing to do, but it sure adds to the taste.

Italian Chicken

Posted by Lori:

Our brother and sister-in-law on my husband's side just returned home from Italy.  They took a cooking class while they were there.  I'm really hoping she'll share some recipes and tips with me sometime about authentic Italian cooking.  But, for now, here's an Italian Chicken recipe - not authentic, but very good!

Italian Chicken

1 package frozen chicken tenders

2 cans tomatoes, Italian style

1 package spaghetti sauce mix (I used thick & zesty style)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place frozen chicken tenders in 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Pour 1 can of tomatoes over the chicken.  Sprinkle half of the spaghetti sauce mix over the chicken and tomatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove casserole dish and  pour remaining can of tomatoes over the chicken.  Sprinkle remaining sauce mix.  Re-cover with foil and bake until chicken is done...about 30 more minutes.  Serve chicken and juice over hot pasta.  Top with grated cheese, if desired.

Of course, you could use fresh chicken, but you may need to reduce baking time.  There might not be as much liquid left either, so you might want to heat up a jar of spaghetti sauce to serve over the top.

Roast Beef Sundae

Posted by Lori:
Did you realize that July was National Ice Cream month?  How fitting for a hot summer month!  Here's a sundae recipe, but there's no ice cream in the list of ingredients. 

We first saw this advertised at the Oklahoma State Fair last fall.  We had leftover roast, so we decided to make our own sundaes in pretty sundae dishes.  And, there's even a cherry on top!  A cherry tomatoe, that is!

Directions:
Place a layer of mashed potatoes in dish, followed by roast, more mashed potatoes heaped up, then gravy (looks like chocolate or caramel sauce), followed by grated cheddar cheese sprinkles, and topped with a cherry tomatoe. 

Very cute and tastes great!

Some of our children wanted bowls instead of sundaes, so they did kind of like the Kentucky Fried Chicken bowl - used the mashed potato base and added corn, carrots, green beans, roast, gravy, and cheese.  And, as KFC would say, it was "finger lickin' good!".

2 Minute Hawaiian Pie

Posted by Donna:

A couple of years ago, I received this recipe through an e-mail from a friend of a friend. Also, a friend of mine from church had mentioned this to me, as well. Since it has been so hot , I decided it was time to bring out a "cold" dessert. Needless to say, Larry loved it!!! He told me he could eat the whole pie at supper the other night! That's huge coming from Larry. He also said he liked it better than chocolate pie---that's even "huger"!!!!!!!! It has got to be the pineapple.

2 Minute Hawaiian Pie

1 (5 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding and Pie filling

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 ( 8oz.) container sour cream

1 ( 9 inch) graham pie crust

In a large bowl, combine the vanilla pudding mix, undrained pineapple and sour cream. Stir until well blended. Pour mixture into pie crust. Cover and chill 2 hours. Before serving, put cool whip on top.

It is a good refrigerator dessert. Hot foods don't sound very good when the temperatures are extremely high. I tend to look for things that are cold.

Chicken Fajitas

Posted by Kimberly:


Recently, my daughter wanted to invite her teacher from Kindergarten and her 1-year-old son to go swimming with us. Her teacher and I started visiting about cooking, and she told me about this recipe. She said that she liked to make it when they had guests over and that it was always a crowd-pleaser. So, when Mom and Dad came to our house over the 4th of July, I decided that I would try it out on them. We all just loved it.... even Dad who is not a big fan of chicken unless it is fried!


Crockpot Chicken Fajitas


4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 can Rotel

1 package taco seasoning


Put all ingredients in your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and serve with all of the fajita fixings.


This chicken is so tender and the flavor is delicious. It could actually be served in a number of ways, i.e. over nachos or in a salad.


I have already made this again since Mom and Dad were here. It is just so good, super easy, requires few ingredients, and goes a long way.
 

Chicken Spaghetti

Posted by Kimberly:

For the past three years, we have spent Memorial weekend with my husband's family. Our family and his sister's family meet at his parents' house and we eat, fish, have a campfire cookout, ride 4-wheelers, and eat some more. This time when we were there, Craig's mom served us chicken spaghetti at one meal. I have a chicken spaghetti recipe that I have used in the past but never was that crazy about it. It just didn't have a lot of flavor. Well, the one Craig's mom made was really good and flavorful, so I quickly "stole" her recipe! :)

Chicken Spaghetti

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped/shredded

1 lb. spaghetti

Chicken broth or water

1 bell pepper, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 lbs. Velveeta, cubed

1 stick butter (plus a little more for sauteing)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 cans Rotel

Cook spaghetti in water or in chicken broth until al dente. While spaghetti is cooking, saute bell pepper and onion in butter. After vegetables are sauteed, add Velveeta, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, Rotel and 1 stick of butter. Cook over low heat until Velveeta and butter are melted, stirring frequently. After sauce is melted, add it and the chicken to the spaghetti and mix thoroughly. Pour into two, greased 9x13 baking dishes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly hot.

This makes a lot and is great for large groups. Also, you can serve one for your family and freeze the other or take it to family in need.

Next time I make this dish, I am going to reduce the amount of Rotel that I use by 1-2 cans. It was a little too spicy for my kids, so I think that would help them eat it better.

Carrot Salad

Posted by Donna:

This is another salad I used to make when I was ambitious and cooked a lot!!!!!! I'm surprised I haven't already posted it. The hot summer days certainly make salads come to mind before anything else as far as I'm concerned.

Carrot Salad

2 lbs. carrots---cooked and drained

1 large green pepper---diced

1/2 or all of a large purple onion (personal taste)---diced

Mix one can tomato soup, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup oil, 1 T. mustard, and salt (optional) and pepper to taste. Let set overnight.

As I was typing this, I realized how much the sugar/vinegar/oil mixture is used for so many vegetable/green salads recipes. The creator of this certainly came up with a good thing.

Mom's Baked Beans

Posted by Kimberly:

Anytime we cookout out hamburgers in our family, you can almost bet that we will have baked beans. I have always loved Mom's baked beans, so several years ago I asked her for her recipe. Well, she didn't really have measurements, but since I HAVE to have measurements when I cook, I made her guesstimate how much she used of each ingredient. :)

Baked Beans

5 cans Pork n' Beans

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 yellow onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

dash of garlic powder

4 slices uncooked bacon

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Lay bacon strips across beans. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Whenever we cookout at our house, I always make these and people love them. I think you will too!!!

P.S. Mom always tells people that Lori and I are better cooks than she is. Well.... who do you think taught us how to cook???!!!!

Freezing Fresh Corn on the Cob

A friend recently visited a town that grows lots of corn.  She and her husband took orders from people all over town and then spent several hours delivering the corn when they arrived back here in Tipton.  I think she said she had 40 orders at $10.00 each.  The corn came in a huge grocery bag piled high.

I had never put up fresh corn on the cob, but this same friend told me just what to do - using the dishwasher I had washed a large amount of potatoes in the dishwasher before baking them. 

The corn turned out perfectly.  In fact, that same friend said it could be eaten straight from the dishwasher.  I tried it - delicious! For this Gratituesday, I'm grateful for fresh corn on the cob - straight from the garden and into my dishwasher, then into my freezer!  To see what others are grateful for, visit Heavenly Homemakers.

Step 1:  Remove husks and silk.

Step 2:  Place corn in dishwasher.  Wash (without soap, of course) on normal cycle and heated drying cycle.

Step 3:  Remove heated corn and put in pot filled with ice water to stop the cooking.

Step 4: Once cool, remove the corn, drain thoroughly (I used paper towels), and package for freezing.

Step 5:  Place corn in several zipper-type freezer bags and place in freezer.

Cook and enjoy!

Banana Bites

Posted by Donna:

Very seldom do I sit down during the day and watch television. I won't let myself turn it on during the day because I'm convinced it would become a habit. But, I'm so glad I did break my rule and watch Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade. This was such a cute and easy idea for a snack or light dessert.

Banana Bites

Vanilla wafers

sliced bananas

vanilla instant pudding

Place the desired number of wafers on a serving tray. Put one banana slice on each wafer. After preparing the instant vanilla pudding according to the package directions, spoon it into a ziploc bag and close. Snip a small opening in one corner of the ziploc bag. Pipe the pudding on top of each banana slice. Crush a few vanilla wafers and sprinkle them on top of the pudding. Now how simple is that.

I think this is a great idea for kids' snacks---and the good thing is----- they could make this for themselves. I think we adults will enjoy it as well.

Chili Corn Bread Salad

Posted by Donna:

Here's a recipe I haven't fixed for a while. I know I've never prepared it for my family, but I've taken it to potlucks at church. It's seems like we--or I should say "I"---make a lot of the different recipes only for special occasions. I hope I'm not the only one that does this!!!!

1 pkg. ( 8 1/2 oz.) corn bread/muffin mix

1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained

1/8 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. dried oregano

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup ( 8z.) sour cream

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

2 cans (15 oz. ) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans (15 1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped green onions

10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions. Stir in the chilies, cumin, and oregano. Spread in a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and dressing mix. Set aside. Crumble half of the corn bread into a 13 inch x 9 inch dish. Layer with half of the beans, mayonnaise mixture, corn, tomatoes, green pepper, onions, bacon and cheese. Repeat layers. The dish will be very full. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

I think this recipe came out of an old Taste of Home magazine---not sure. Regardless, it is a good salad. I've fixed another version of it---but it was called Southwest Cornbread Salad. It's also on this blog. There are just a few differences in the recipes.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie

Posted by Lori:
This original recipe was found at Allrecipes.  I added some of the reviewers suggestions and a few of my own changes.  All I can say is - WOW!  This is a great pie! 

If you don't want the chocolate, just omit it.  It will still be a great fresh strawberry pie, without the store-bought glaze that so many recipes use.

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY PIE

2 pounds fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate chips, divided (milk, semi-sweet, or dark...could use a Hershey's chocolate bar or 2)
One baked 9 inch pie crust (I recommend mom's recipe)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar

In small bowl, melt half of chocolate chips in microwave. Use caution as chocolate burns easily. Stir until smooth. Spoon melted chocolate into baked pie crust. Spread carefully over bottom and up sides (halfway) of crust.  The remaining chocolate chips will be used later.

Use half of the strawberries across bottom of chocolate covered crust, keeping pointed ends facing up. 

In small sauce pan, mash remaining strawberries. (I used a small juice cup to mash them.)  Add sugar, lime juice and cornstarch.  Stir together over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Continue to boil for three minutes or until mixture thickens.  STIR CONTINUALLY.

Pour thickened strawberry mixture over strawberries and chocolate.  Refrigerate for several hours.

In small bowl, using electric mixer on high speed, whip heavy whipping cream with sugar until soft peaks form.  Dollop or pipe onto cooled pie. Melt remaining chocolate chips.  Drizzle onto pie.

(Note:  For the whipping cream and chocolate drizzle, I used pastry bags and decorator tips, but using a spoon will work just fine!)

Coca Cola Marinated Steak

Posted by Lori:

A few weeks ago I bought a Coca Cola (referred to as "Coke" in the remainder of this post) cookbook. I looked through and found many new recipes to try, although I was surprised to see that not ALL of the recipes had Coke as an ingredient (I found that really strange, actually, since is was name Coca Cola Cookbook!). Anyway, the first recipe I tried was a steak marinade. It wasn't anything special to any of my family, but I decided to try the Coke again.  I really wanted it to be good!  Tonight I tried it again, but added some other ingredients. This is the marinade I came up with and our family thought it was great!

COCA COLA MARINATED STEAK
4 pounds steak if your choice
2 cups Coca Cola (Coke)
2 tablespoons steak seasoning (I used Durkee brand Grill Creations, Kansas City Style)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Place steaks in glass casserole dish.  In small bowl, mix together Coke, steak seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce.  Pour over steaks.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours or more.  Turn steaks over in the middle of marinating.  Grill or broil steaks as desired, basting with marinade during cooking (***see note below).

****When using a marinade to baste your steak, stop basting it five minutes before you finish cooking, so the raw meat juice traces in the marinade can cook thoroughly.

Sour Cream Strawberry Jello Salad

Posted: by Donna

I said I wasn't going to post any more jello salads for a while---but I forgot about another one of my favorites. So, here goes!!!!

Sour Cream Strawberry Jello Salad

1 pkg. strawberry jello

1 cup hot water

1 small can crushed pineapple

1 pkg. frozen strawberries

1 pint sour cream

1 banana (sliced)

Dissolve jello in the hot water. Mix with the one mashed banana and pineapple. Pour half of this mixture into an oblong dish and let gel. Spread the sour cream on the jelled mixture and then pour the remaing jello on top of it and let it gel.

I love the contrast between the sweetness of the jello and the sour cream. It makes for a very good gelatin salad.

German Chocolate Cake

Posted by Donna:

My husband's favorite cake is this cake. The recipe can be found on the inside packaging of a German Chocolate bar. I have more trouble locating this recipe when I get ready to make it---it's always hidden away in all my "mess." I decided to go ahead and post this recipe for this reason. Maybe some of you need it to be more accessible as I do. This will save me from going crazy trying to find it.


German Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup water

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup softened butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

Microwave chocolate and water in a large microwavable bowl on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until the chocolate is almost melted, stirring after each minute. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

Mix the flour and baking soda--then set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg y0lks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

Beat the egg whiltes in another large bowl with an electirc mixer on hight speed unitl stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the batter. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes--or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting it.

The cake can also be made in three round cake pans. If so, line the bottoms of the pans with wax paper, and grease the sides of the pans. Once baked, run a spatula between the cakes and the sides of the pans. Cool about 15 minutes--then remove the cake layers from the pans. Remove the wax paper. Cool completely on wire racks. Spread the frosting between the layers and onto the top of the cake.

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting

1 -1/2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 -1/2 tsp. vanilla

About 2 cups coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a large sauce pan. Cook on medium heat 12 minutes or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constanly. Remove from heat.

Add the coconut and pecans and mix well. Spread on the cooled cake. If making the cake in three layers, first cool the frosting to room temperature or of desired spreading consistency.

This cake takes quite a while to make---but it is certainly worth the effort!!!! There's nothing better than a moist German Chocolate Cake.

German Chocolate Brownies

Posted by Lori:
My sister tried German Chocolate Brownies when we visited Fredericksburg, Texas, in March. I don't like a lot of coconut recipes, but made this dessert for our reunion last Saturday. However, there were sooooooo many great desserts, these brownies were hardly touched. I wasn't sure if they were going to be good enough to post, but Monday I sent them to work with my husband. These German Chocolate Brownies received rave reviews, so you're getting the recipe today. Warning: These are rich! :). I guess they really shouldn't be named "German Chocolate Brownies" since there's no German Chocolate in them, but it is the icing that is typically served on a German Chocolate Cake - hence the name.

Begin recipe with the Fabulous Brownies I have posted before. Use chocolate icing, then top with German Chocolate Cake Icing. ENJOY!

FABULOUS BROWNIES
1 pound (4 sticks) butter (not margarine)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
5 cups pecans (optional)

DO NOT USE ELECTRIC MIXER, but mix by hand in order given above. Place in greased and floured (or sugared *** see note below) pan. The recipe says to use a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 x 1) or 2 cake pans (9 x 13). I use the same large Doughmakers pan I've mentioned several times that's 13 x 18.5 and it works fine, too. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Do not overbake!! Cool and ice with icing below.

Chocolate Icing:
1 stick margarine (not lowfat)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar

In a medium sized saucepan, bring margarine, cocoa and milk to a boil over medium heat. Remove from stove and add vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar.

German Chocolate Icing:
1 cup sugar
4 medium egg yolks
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ounces grated coconut
1 1/2 cups finely ground pecans
1/4 cup warm milk

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Stir with a wire whisk until the yolks are fully incorporated. Add the butter. Heat over low to medium heat for 12-15 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Cool some and spread over chocolate iced brownies.

**If you like a lot of the German Chocolate Icing, you may want to double it, but this will ice the whole pan or the two pans.

***Sugared pan: My husband likes a brownie from a bakery in Lawton, OK. Their brownies have a sugared bottom. I'm not exactly sure this is how they do it, but it works for me! Grease the bottom of the pan (I use shortening because Doughmakers pans can't be sprayed). Sprinkle sugar in the bottom of the pan and swirl around until sugar is covered on the bottom...just like you would do with the flour. It makes a crustier and sweeter bottom.