There is nothing better than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. It’s one of the most ultimate and decadent comfort candies (Reese’s Peanut Butter cups…OMG)

Recently when I asked my stepson, Ian, what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and he suggested peanut butter – and his girlfriend, Gracie, suggested chocolate frosting…my heart was very happy 😊

PS. I am all about using generic brands – which work just as well. But there are a few exceptions like peanut butter and chocolate that I use the trusted brands that I love the most and that’s Jif Peanut Butter and Hershey’s Chocolate.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cake w/Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients for the Peanut Butter Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil which worked perfectly!)

1 ½ cups light brown sugar

¾ cup smooth peanut butter (I always use Jif – it’s my personal favorite!)

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

⅓ cup sour cream

¾ cup milk

Ingredients for Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter (or margarine (one stick)

2/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa

3 cups Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar

1/3 cup Milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions for Peanut Butter Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease two cake pans very well. I always grease the pan, layer of parchment paper on the bottom and then grease again. This gives you extra protection from the cake sticking to the pan!

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

Then in a separate large bowl, beat together the oil, light brown sugar and peanut butter until all is a smooth texture. You can beat by hand or a hand mixer – however you prefer.

Into the large bowl, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk in the sour cream. Do not over mix – just enough to combine the ingredients.

Mix in about 1/2 of the dry ingredients from the small bowl and then add the milk. Mix thoroughly.

Then add the rest of the dry ingredients until the flour mixture is incorporated.

Divide and pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and put into the oven to bake.

Bake for 25 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. If not completely done, keep checking every 3 minutes.

When completely baked, remove from the oven.

Cool for about ten minutes and remove the cake from the pans onto a cooling rack.

Start making your frosting…

Directions for Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately, add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.

Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

When the cake is completely cooled (in about an hour) start frosting.

I used Reese’s mini peanut butter cups (unwrapped) for garnishing to give the cake extra chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness! 😋

Today in American History…our 31st U.S.President, Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. His favorite food was fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. His favorite dessert was his Grandmother Hoover’s Peach Cream Pie. So to honor President Hoover’s birthday today we are enjoying his favorite meal 🇺🇸

Today is National Book Lovers Day (it’s like Christmas for my cousin Vicki 🤣) It’s a special day for everyone who loves to read. I encourage you to find your favorite quiet place and a good book and just take the time out of your day and read 📖 ❤️

My family knows how much I love Abraham Lincoln so I’m finally diving into this wonderful book.

I had a few leftover strawberries, bananas and blueberries and was trying to figure out what to make with these. I could have made a healthy fruit smoothie but nah…not that a smoothie isn’t delicious BUT I just love to bake. So what’s better than a delicious fruit bread with a few pecans thrown in too 😋

Strawberry-Banana Bread w/Blueberries

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas, smashed

⅓ cup butter melted

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice (I used lime)

½ cup strawberries, chopped

½ cup blueberries

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix mashed bananas and melted butter, using a wooden fork or spoon. Mix in the sugar, egg, and honey.

Add the baking soda and salt into the mixture and mix.

Add the flour, mix just enough to blend the ingredients.

Add lime (or lemon) juice, chopped strawberries and whole blueberries to the batter and mix them in to distribute evenly through the batter. Mix in the chopped pecans.

Butter a traditional sized loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, butter the parchment paper too! Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake for 1 hour (test with a toothpick for doneness – if not? Cook a few minutes longer)

This wonderful cake is so easy to put together and you most likely already have all of the ingredients in your own kitchen. It’s topped off with a delicious vanilla-butter sauce that gives extra sweetness and moistness to the already delicious buttery cake.

I guarantee that it will make you a star at your next get-together and everyone will be asking for the recipe!

Kentucky Butter Cake

Ingredients for the Cake

1 Cup unsalted butter, softened

2 Cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Glaze

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions for the Cake

Preheat oven to 325 Degrees

In a medium bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Stir together the buttermilk and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup and set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on a medium-high speed until light and airy, about 3-5 minutes.

Add eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating until incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl often.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture in thirds.

Mix until thoroughly combined, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.

Generously coat a 10-inch Bundt pan with baking spray.

Transfer batter to the prepared Bundt pan.

Bake for 60-70 minutes until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, preparer the glaze. Add the sugar, butter, and water into a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved, making sure not to let the glaze boil.

Stir in the vanilla extract

When cake has finished baking, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Using a large skewer, immediately poke deep holes all over the cake without removing from pan.

Slowly pour half of the glaze (about 3/4 cup) over the top of the cake, giving the cake time to absorb before adding more glaze. Allow the cake to rest for 10 minutes to allow the glaze to absorb fully.

Be sure not to let it sit in the pan longer than 10 minutes, or the glaze could cause the cake to stick inside the pan.

Loosen the sides of the cake, then invert the cake onto a plate or serving platter. Warm the remaining glaze up slightly, then slowly pour over the top of the cake.

Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.

(Recipe adapted from Southern Living)

As we are in the throes of Summer and the heat (and humidity!) is atrocious in Virginia it’s the perfect time to enjoy something cool and refreshing for dinner.

I’ve made this salad for years and it’s fun because you can add your favorite seasonal fruits and veggies – so you can really make it as your own – however you like it!

The homemade honey-vinaigrette dressing is the perfect topping for this bowl of deliciousness!

Delicious Summer Salad

Ingredients for the Salad

2 cups of green leaf lettuce

2 cups of fresh spinach

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

1 cup of strawberries (quartered)

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

1 cup of mandarin oranges

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup matchstick carrots

1 1/2 chopped pecans

1 cup of crumbled Feta Cheese

Ingredients for the Honey-Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons of honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, add the green leaf lettuce and spinach

Add the fruit and veggies

Add the crumbled feta cheese and chopped pecans

Mix and toss really well.

Directions for Honey-Vinaigrette

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well. Put into an airtight jar with a lid and shake. Pour over each bowl of salad.

Store any leftover Honey-Vinaigrette in the refrigerator for a few days (if there is any left!)

I served the salad with cold rotisserie chicken. It made for a delicious dinner 😋

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have known each other basically all of their lives.

Growing up as next door neighbors in the small town of Plains, Georgia, their families were close friends. Jimmy’s mother, Miss Lillian, even helped bring Rosalynn into the world during the Summer of 1927. A young Jimmy, at three years old, met her for the very first time a few days afterwards.

When Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter became officially engaged he gifted her with an engraved compact that had the letters ILYTGwhich meant “I love you the goodest” (it was something his parents affectionately said to one another).

They were married on July 7, 1946 at the Plains Methodist Church in their hometown and as they say…the rest is history.

Happy 77th wedding anniversary to this wonderful couple.

Today in American history…Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower were married on July 1, 1916 in Denver, Colorado.

Former First Lady Bess Truman loved to cook for her family. The recipes were simple and good old homestyle cooking. One of her recipes was this delicious concoction of Candy Carrots.

The syrupy sweetness of the melted brown sugar and butter make a perfect vegetable side dish (or maybe even a dessert!)