Here's a couple "sauce on the bottom" cake puddings: Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Pudding Cakes Cinnamon Pudding Cake ===================== 1-3/4 cups brown sugar 1 ½ cup cold water 2 tablespoons Butter 1 cup milk 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons Butter 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons Baking powder ½ tsp. Salt 2 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon ½ c. chopped walnuts ( optional ) . Preheat oven to 350° Combine brown sugar, water & 2 Tbsp butter in small saucepan, bring to a boil, remove from heat & set aside. Cream together 2 Tbsp. Butter and sugar, add milk, then add flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.Spread in ungreased 9 x 9 x 2 in. Pan or oven proof dish. Pour reserved brown sugar syrup over batter-sprinkle with nuts. Bake 35-40 min. Shared by D. Nourse to Citizen Recipe Request Column 1999 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake ================================ 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk 3 tablespoons LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 (10-ounce) package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed 1 cup hot water 1/3 cup chocolate flavor syrup Powdered sugar, if desired Fresh raspberries, if desired . Heat oven to 350°F. Place flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt into greased 8- or 9-inch square baking pan; stir with fork to combine. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla until well mixed. Stir in raspberries. Combine hot water and chocolate syrup in small bowl. Pour evenly over batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set and edges pull away from sides of pan. Let stand 25 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired. Ingredient Substitution Index Nutrition Facts (1 serving): Calories: 220, Fat: 4.5g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 310mg, Carbohydrates: 45g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Protein: 3g 12864 © 2007 Land O'Lakes, Inc--serves 9 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Apple Pudding Cake ================== posted by NotEnoughRoses Cake mixture: 1 cup chopped pecans 2/3 cup vegetable shortening 1-1/3 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 cups all-purpose flour 6 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 5 medium apples) Sauce mixture: 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup water 1 cup heavy cream, optional . Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease a 13- x 9- x 2-inch pan. In a frying pan over low-medium heat, toast the pecans until they begin to color and become fragrant, about 7 minutes. Pour into a dish and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour, and beat into the sugar mixture. Fold in the chopped apples and the nuts. The mixture will be stiff. Spread into the prepared pan. (Don't bake it yet.) In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar and the 2 tablespoons of flour. Add the butter, vanilla and water, stir, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil gently for 3 minutes, stirring often. Pour this hot sauce evenly over the batter. Do not stir. Bake 1 hour. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired. Serves 10 to 12. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 6/14/01.

Suzie, I'm not able to offer much help in the dessert category but I can tell you that if I were your neighbor, I'd love to come for a little dessert, but I would most definitely appreciate something 'not sweet' and 'not dessert'. That's just me, and maybe I'm not alone. Personally, I like a little something sweet once in a while, but not too much and not too often. So, I'd be delighted to come to your party for the friendship and camaraderie, but I'd be really happy if you had something simple like chips and salsa to offer also. (Doesn't need to be a lot or anything fancy, just something to cut the sweetness.) One of my favorite savory 'cookie' is: BLUE CHEESE WALNUT BITES (BHG 2000) 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 2-3 teaspoons cracked black pepper 8 ounces blue cheese 1/4 cup butter 1 cup chopped walnuts 2 egg yolks, slighty beaten In a medium mixing bowl combine flour and pepper. Using a pastry blender cut in cheese and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add walnuts and egg yolks. Stir until combined. Form the mixture into a ball; knead until combined. Divide dough in half. shape each half into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 425* Cut each log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms and edges are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp. Store tightly covered. Something else that is seasonal and easy and all you need is some chips or crackers with it: Posted by: Elvis (My Page) on Tue, Dec 3, 02 at 21:45 Here's a stunning looking, easy-easy dip. Almond Pinecones: 1 1/4 c. Almonds 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/4 c. mayo 10 bacon slices, crisp and crumbled (fake will NOT do) 2 T. minced green onion 3/4 t. dill weed 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper, any color Roast almonds till slightly browned (VERY slightly). Combine all other ingredients and chill several hours or overnight. Form the dough into 1 pinecone shaped (flat on serving platter side) mounds. Starting at pointy end of cone place overlapping almonds in a scaly fashion to make them resemble cones. Garnish top ends of cones with pine, if available in your area. Simply adorable, and delicious. Serve with crackers. Very seasonable. Tip: Don't store with the almonds in place for more than several hours, as they will become soggy from the dip.

No, Annie, this isn't the same camping that you do. A lot of the cooking is, though. We used to tent camp all the time and loved it. Heard and watched racoons raiding our cooler and grabbing the marshmallows the neice left out. Stuck in a tent with a huge dog during a terrible storm with lots of high winds and lightening and all the other memorable times. Now, I am nearing 70 and DH isn't far behind. With the physical problems we have, we've had to make adjustments in life and the tent camping days are over for me. We've tried, but it just isn't something I can do any longer. Happy memories, but just not able to do it anymore so I stick with the physical things I can still do like gardening. As I said, DH is younger and still is able to do it, but I don't think for too much longer. He is going to do some of the Appalachian Trail in a month or so since it has been a dream of his. I will be his restocking source at different trailheads for as long as he can keep it up. We'll see how much of it he can do. I support him 100%. I would have tried to do part of it, but he's strongly against it. With my health issues, I'd have a heart attack or stroke very soon after starting. I really wish I could, but I just do what I can and I know that is beyond my capabilities. I don't look so broken, but I am and it can't be fixed. I guess what you would call our camping is the closest we can get to the olden day's camping and we do spend a lot of time doing easier (for me) hiking at the different places we go. Oh, and as much as DH has been the extreme outdoor person for most of his life, he's the one that doesn't want to do the campfire cooking. He says its too much trouble. Eeesh! I had to coerce him into getting me the smoker I wanted for last Christmas. Anyway, the next time you go camping, think of me and how I'd love to be there with you doing the same things, the same ways.

I owe somebody here a big apology! I copied and saved this recipe from here but I don't know who posted it originally. Sorry! Its a yummy cake (yes I've made it) and it doesn't get much simpler :) Pine Nut Cake (Budin de Pinones) 2 large eggs 1 can (14 oz/440 g) sweetened condensed milk (I have also used fat free with good results) 1-1/4 cups (5 oz/155 g) pine nuts confectioners sugar (for dusting) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/Gas 4). Put all ingredients in a blender and blend, stopping to scrape the pine nuts off the sides of the blender as needed, until completely smooth. Butter a round 9-inch (24-cm) cake pan, place a wax paper round on the bottom of the pan. Butter again and flour lightly. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold the cake, bottom side up. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving. Great with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream. Great with Italian meals, Spanish or Mexican meals, or anything at all. Note: I always flip the thing over so the top side is up since it's more attractive...