Epic Banana Bread

Submitted by Chuck Cady

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
3 oz cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
2 ripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour 1 loaf pan.
3. Cream butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar until light and fluffy in large bowl
4. Add mashed banana, sour cream, and egg and mix until smooth. Set aside
5. In small bowl, add dry ingredients. Whisk until mixed.
6. Add dry ingredients into large bowl. Hand mix until moistened, about 50 strokes. Batter will be lumpy, this is ok.
7. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 60-65 minutes.
8. Leave in pan for about 5 minutes, then turn loaf onto cooling rack to cool.

Blue Ribbon Gingersnap cookies

Submitted by Chuck Cady
This is an easy recipe for soft, chewy cookies.

Ingredients

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup granulated sugar (for dipping)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream shortening, brown sugar, molasses and egg in large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and spices together. Instead of sifting, you can whisk dry ingredients together thoroughly.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, blending until mixed together. Dough can be chilled for easier handling.
5. Shape the dough into small balls the size of whole walnuts. Roll balls in sugar, place on baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
6. Cool on sheet for one minute, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Original recipe at http://picky-palate.com/2007/11/09/soft-perfect-gingersnaps/

Corn Bread, Sweet

Submitted by Chuck Cady
This recipe comes off the side of a corn meal box. It's sweet and tasty, and easy to make.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup corn meal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp butter, melted

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8 inch quare pan.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl, and mix together.
3. Combine all wet ingredients in small bowl, and stir together.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
5. Stir ingredients together just until blended. Mixture will be lumpy.
6. Pour into greased pan.
7. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Corn Bread Muffins

1. Line muffin tin with paper cups
2. Fill paper cups 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Homemade Root Beer

Submitted by Chuck Cady
Making root beer is very simple to do. Waiting for it to ferment is the hard part!

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbsp root beer extract
- 1 2-liter plastic bottle

Directions

1. Using a funnel, pour sugar and yeast into bottle.
2. Fill bottle halfway with tepid water. Screw top onto bottle and shake vigourously until sugar is mostly dissolved.
3. Remove bottle top and add root beer extract. Fill bottle with tepid water, leaving about 1 inch from top. Screw top onto bottle and shake again.
4. Lay the sealed bottle on its side in a cool location (60 - 65 degrees F) for about three or four days. After this time, refrigerage overnight to chill the root 8beer.
5. Serve chilled.

Notes
Each day as the root beer is fermenting, check the pressure in the bottle. To do this, press the the side of the bottle. Once it is hard, carefully open the bottle to release the pressure and close it.

Do not leave the finished root beer in a warm place once the bottle feels hard. After a couple weeks or so at room temperature, especially in the summer when the temperature is high, enough pressure may build up to cause the bottle to explode!

Artificial sweetener cannot be used to replace the sugar. Sugar is required for yeast to generate carbon dioxide which carbonates the beverage. No sugar, no carbonation. You might experiment with less sugar and add a substitute to make up for the lower sweetness. You can add 1/4 oz by weight of corn sugar (dextrose) or cane sugar to carbonate the soda and sweeten with a substitute.

There will be a sediment of yeast at the bottom of the bottle, so the last bit of root beer will be turbid. Decant carefully if you wish to avoid this sediment.

See how to make homemade root beer for more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Easy Crockpot Chili

Submitted by Chuck Cady

This recipe is designed for a 6 quart crockpot

Ingredients

4 (15.5 oz) cans red beans, drained
2 (24 oz) bottles chunky salsa
3-4 (28 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 pkg chili seasoning

Directions

1. Stir beans, salsa, and tomato sauce, and seasoning into crockpot.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
3. Top with cheese, sour cream, sliced olives, etc.

Notes:

• This is really good the next day. It tends to thicken overnight, if it lasts that long.
• Instead of tomato sauce, you can use whole tomatoes. Simply puree them in a blender.
• You can use taco seasoning instead of chili seasoning They tend to use the same spices.

The Best Banana Bread

Submitted by Chuck Cady
Prep time: 15 minutes.
Ready in 1 hour 15 minutes.
Servings: 15
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3. Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas.
4. Add flour, baking soda, and vanilla, stirring just until combined.
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour, or 25-30 minutes in cupcake pan. Toothpick should come out clean when inserted.
6. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Easy Cheesecake

Submitted by Chuck Cady
Originally in the 1994 cookbook

This recipe came from a magazine advertisement years ago.

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, soft
⅓ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
8 ounces sour cream, optional
8 ounces cool whip (small tub)
1 (6 oz) graham cracker pie crust
1 can cherry pie filling or fruit of choice

Directions

1. Beat cheese, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream until smooth.
2. Fold in cool whip. Spoon into crust.
3. Chill until set, about 4 hours. Top with fruit.

- How the first Cady Cookbook came to be

During the summer of 1979, I had graduated from high school and was preparing to head out to college where I would be "grown up". Unfortunately, it also meant that I would leave home and have to rely on my own cooking skills. So I began the quest to copy Mom's recipes so I could cook them for myself.

And now it is April 2012. I estimate that since I was married I have cooked approximately 10000 dinners (give or take a few). I remember Mom saying that she absolutely hated having to figure out what was for dinner, and now I know why.

Chuck took over the cookbook next, and formed the cookbook into a collaboration between all the family members. I still use his hard copy to this day when I recreate beloved family meals.

In an attempt to at least try to enter the 21st century I am now taking the cookbook online with this blog. I hope to make it available for all in the family to post their recipes, as well as comment on other family member's cooking.

Hopefully when my kids need a recipe for dinner, they will have a headstart on the rest of the world. Enjoy!