Strawberry Rhubarb Trifle

I have had access to a lot of Rhubarb in the rental house we have been living in in Minnesota. This is from the Taste of Home magazine. I made it for a progressive dinner that our branch had. I shared some with our next door neighbors. Sue asked for the recipe. Here it is...

SERVINGS: 12-14

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 cups milk

5 egg yolks, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING:

4 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 prepared angel food cake (8 inches), cubed

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. 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 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature without stirring.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the rhubarb, sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 5-8 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and mixture is thickened. Cool completely.
In a bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold a fourth of the whipped cream into the custard. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
Place half of the cake cubes in a 2-1/2-qt. trifle bowl. Spread with half of the rhubarb mixture; top with 1 cup of strawberries and half of the custard. Repeat layers. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Yield: 12-14 servings

Rhubarb Muffins

Rhubarb is a staple in Minnesota. The house we are renting in Hutchinson has lots of rhubarb behind the garage. I have been able to share lots of it with friends as we have been here. I offered this recipe to my "park buddy" Rachel.

1 1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c rhubarb
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c chopped nuts
Topping:
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
1/3 c sugar
In a bowl combine first 5 ingredients. mix well. Stir in flour and rhubarb. Pour into greased or paper lined muffin tins.
Mix topping ingredients: sprinkle over muffins and press lightly into batter. Bake at 375 for 15-18 min. Yield 15 muffins. (I usually double the recipe because how dumb is 15 muffins when they make 12 in a pan.)

Carmelitos:

I read about these on a blog linked off Cristine's blog and had to try them. They are better than any ooohie gooie bar I have had.
2 cups oats
2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 and 1/2 sticks melted butter (this is not a typo it's a lot and I only use real butter)
1 package milk chocolate chips
1 jar Caramel (the person I got it from says it has to be Mrs. Richardson's but I have used Hersheys and if it is that much better then I would probabally sell a child for some)

Mix all ingredients except caramel and chocolate chips. Mix will be crumbly. Put 3/4 of the mix in a 9x13 pan . Bake at 375 degrees for 17 minutes. Take lid of caramel and microwave for 45 seconds - pour on top of baked mix, then pour bag of chocolate chips on. You can kind of mix them around a little if you want, careful not to dig up any of the baked portion. Use your hand to break up and sprinkle the rest of the crumbly mix over the top. You can use a spatula if you like to lightly pat it down. Bake 8 minutes more and voila! I like to make these the day before I actually need to serve them so they have plenty of time to set.

Air buns

This is Colletta Yerka's submition to the Hutchinson Branch cookbook given to me by my grandmother in-law. When I told Colletta that I was making them she said they were addicitive. She was right! They are different than any yeast bread I have made and she is right they are addicitve.

2 c boiling water
1 c sugar
1/2 c shortening
1 tsp salt
Stir all the above to melt shortening, then cool until warm.

1 1/8 tsp yeast
2 tbsp warm water
Dissolve these and add to water mixture. Then add:
2 eggs
7 c flour

Start at 4-5 PM. Knead ever hour until 9 PM. Grease pans. Make egg size buns. Grease tops or spray with Pam and cover with plastic wrap over night Bake at 6 AM at 375 for 20 minutes

Snickers Salad

I posted about the Sickkers Salad so I guess I should post the recipe. This one came out of my Betty Houston recipe but the one my friend made did not have has many candy bars. There were actually 2 submissions to the same book the other had a can of crushed pineapple and 1/2 c. peanuts. I guess it is all a matter of taste.
5 apples cubed
6 regular size Snickers bars cut in small pieces
8 oz cool whip
Combine all ingredients and chill until serving time.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. butter (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla
Add powdered sugar to desired consistency mixing with electric mixer.

Cristine's Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs (room temp)
Cream together
Add:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. buttermilk
3 c. flour
Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Roll and cut
**The dough for these is like a really thick cake batter. If it is cold it is easier to manage but it may be tempting to add more flour the warmer it gets. If I am making a lot I will take some dough and leave the bowl in the refrigerator. The more flour you add the tougher the final cookie.