Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Put the butter in a 9×13 inch baking pan and place in oven while preheating. When butter is melted, spread it to cover the entire bottom of baking pan.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the butter, then sprinkle the parsley and any other herbs over the Parmesan cheese.

Wash potatoes and slice them lengthwise. Place cut side down in the baking pan and place in oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes after removing from oven. If you don’t wait, the cheese might not stick as well.

Serve with a sour cream type of dip.
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These potatoes are very easy to make . . . . no peeling!!! They will be great to have at any cookout. They would also be a great potato dish to take to a pot luck dinner.

Here’s how they looked first put into the oven:

You can see the layer of grated parmesan and herbs on the bottom of the pan.  Also notice that six small potatoes fit nicely in a 9×13 pan.

Here’s a picture just out of the oven:

Remember, you have to wait a few minutes to take them out of the pan so the cheese will stick to them.

Here they are on the fancy platter. Those are my every day dishes – paper plates!

Earthquake Cake

1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury)
3 Eggs
1 1/4 cups Water
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Coconut
1 cup Pecans, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter or Margarine, softened
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
4 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 to 1 cup Chocolate Chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Sprinkle coconut, then pecans, evenly over the bottom of the cake pan and set aside.

Mix together the cake mix, eggs, water and oil in a mixing bowl. Beat for about 2 minutes with electric mixer. Pour over coconut and pecans in pan.

In small mixing bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cake batter. Don’t try to spread it out; just put it on in dollops.

Bake cake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a knife or toothpick into the chocolate cake. The toothpick should come out clean.

When done, remove cake from oven and immediately sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Allow cake to cool in the pan.

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Okay, now for my story….

This was a new recipe I had found on the internet, so didn’t know exactly what to expect. I changed the ingredients very slightly . . . the original recipe called for a German Cake Mix, but I used Devil’s Food Cake Mix (because that’s my favorite). I also added the chocolate chips.

I also attempted to spread out the cream cheese mixture on top of the cake, and that was probably my downfall. A few minutes in the oven, and the cake started to raise up. All of a sudden, my daughter exclaimed that the cake was boiling over! I immediately got a sheet of aluminum foil and placed it on the rack beneath the cake to catch the overflow. I looked at my daughter and explained that we had a volcano cake instead of an earthquake!

It was mostly the white part that spilled over, and actually, that part that cooked on the side of the pan was Awesome! Just after removing the cake from the oven when it was done, I scraped off the part that flowed over the edge, and tasted it . . . it was just like chewey, ooey, gooey, warm caramel! Oh yum!

I sprinkled the chocolate chips on the top of the cake and allowed the cake to cool in the pan. It cut very nicely, and there was that coconut/pecan layer on the bottom part. The chocolate part of the cake was so moist, yet held up very well.

When I saw the cake spill over, my first thought was that I would never make this again. But after watching my family devour it, I’ve decided this just might be a tradition recipe. My husband said it was the best cake he had ever eaten.

I really think the secret to keeping it from spilling over is that you have to drop the cream cheese mixture in dollops randomly on top, and not attempt to spread it out. Let me know how it works for you.

Now, I’d better get started on cleaning the oven. Thank goodness for self-cleaning ovens!

Using mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter.* Add vanilla and powdered sugar and continue beating with mixer until smooth and creamy.

*If your cream cheese and/or butter is cold, you can put it in the microwave for a few seconds (start with 15 seconds) until it is warmed up enough to blend well.

Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon desired, salt and water; stir until smooth. Add the blueberries and bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside to cool slightly.

Gently fold the strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and lemon juice into the blueberry mixture. Pour into pastry; dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry; make a lattice crust. Trim, seal and flute edges.

Bake pie at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 8 servings.

Place bread cubes in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Thirty minutes before baking, remove the berries from the freezer and set aside, and remove the baking dish from the refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, cut butter into brown sugar until crumbly. Sprinkle berries and brown sugar mixture over French toast. Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 8 servings.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms and cook until tender, then reduce heat to low. Add garlic and cheese. Continue to cook mixture until cheese is melted, then blend in milk. Add chicken, Worcestershire, and spaghetti, then mix ingredients and place in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350, or until hot and bubbly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine Alfredo sauce and milk in a bowl, then stir in rice, chicken, peppers, peas, and basil. Transfer to 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and stir. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 minutes or until heated through and golden.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix together soup and chicken broth, then add chicken. Combine butter with stuffing mix, then add that to the chicken mixture. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes. Top with cheese 5 minutes before it finishes baking.

Topping:
2-3 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
2 pkg. sliced almonds
1 1/2 stick butter

Prepare 9×13-inch casserole dish by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

Boil chicken breasts until done (no pink inside). Tear cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Put into large mixing bowl. Add other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared 9×13-inch casserole dish.

Melt butter, add crackers and almonds. mix thoroughly. Spread on top of casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

FILLING:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons water
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/8 teaspoon salt

SYRUP:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon orange extract

FROSTING:
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange juice and peel. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.

Transfer to two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For filling, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in orange juice and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat.

Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; gently stir in the lemon juice, orange peel and salt. Cool to room temperature without stirring. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

For syrup, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar, water and orange juice to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat; stir in extract. Cool.

For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients; beat until smooth.

Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; brush with 2 tablespoons syrup and spread with 1/3 cup filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer; brush with remaining syrup. Frost top and sides of cake. Yield: 16 servings.