3 evening time Recipes

butter or margarine, softened, granulated sugar, light brown sugar , firmly packed, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, milk, vanilla extract, grease and flour three nine-inch round cake pans and preheat oven to 350of. cream the butter or margarine with both granulated sugar and light brown sugar until very light and fluffy, then add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt and add to the batter alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. stir in the vanilla extract. divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake in the center of the preheated oven for twenty-five to thirty minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the layers comes out clean. cool layers in their pans over a rack for ten minutes, then loosen and turn out layers directly onto racks for cooling. cool layers thoroughly before icing (recipe follows). recipe yields a nine-inch, three-layer cake.

brown rice , rinsed three times and drained (instant or quick works, too, but not as well), water (adjust amount depending on type of rice and method used for cooking), mixed herbs, divided (herbes de provence or fine herbes, e.g.), garlic powder, divided, dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, pitted black olives, drained and rinsed (small), canned artichoke bottoms in water, drained, rinsed, and coarsely chopped, tomatoes, coarsely chopped or 2 cups grape tomatoes, carrots, shaved with a peeler into strips, stalks celery, washed and coarsely chopped, cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped, fresh parsley (chopped ), red onion, coarsely chopped , about 1 cup, roasted cashews (almonds work well, too), capers, sharp cheddar cheese, very coarsely chopped (may also use other sharp or tangy cheese, such as gruyere, feta, even blue), cooked chicken breasts, cold, coarsely chopped, mandarin orange segments, drained and rinsed, hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped (1 large or two small), head bronze leaf lettuce, olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, herb seasoning mix (fine herbes or some other commercial blend, your choice), lemon juice, salt & pepper