Saturday, January 28, 2012

Warm Winter Lemon Cake

Warm Winter Lemon Cake
1-yellow cake mix
2 cups cold milk
1-1/4 cup water
2-40z lemon instant pudding
1/3 cup sugar
2 TBS powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cake mix as directed. Pour batter into a greased 13"x9" baking dish. Pour milk and water into a large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and sugar. Beat with a wire wisk about 2 minutes. Pour over cake batter. Place baking dish on a cookie sheet to catch the drippings. Bake 55 minutes to an hour or until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Natalie's Pasta Salad

1 pkg. rainbow pasta, cooked and cooled

Cut up the following in small pieces

1 C carrots
1 C celery
1 C cucumber
1 C onion
1 C green pepper

Dressing, mix together well
1 C cider vinegar
1½ C sugar
1 – 2 Tbsp Basil

Add everything together and chill before serving.

(Jean really submitted this, but she couldn't remember how.)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

It's zucchini season! Here's a great alternative to zucchini bread. It's super moist and yummy. My kids are eating the crumbs from the pan as I type.

1/2 c butter
1 t soda
2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs
5 T cocoa
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c buttermilk*
1/2 c oil
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1/4 c chocolate chips (to put on top before you bake it)

Blend all ingredients except zucchini, add it last. Pour mixture into cake pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 325 degrees 40-45 mins.

*I never have buttermilk on hand so I put 1 t lemon juice in a half cup then add regular milk to fill the cup. Let it stand for 5 mins & viola -- buttermilk substitute.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Cake: Homemade yellow cake recipe, (the heavier the better), prepared according to directions.

Milk Syrup: 1 (15 oz.) can cream of coconut (found in the drink mixers section of the store. This is NOT coconut milk.)
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Garnishes: 2 medium-size bananas
sweetened whipped cream
sweetened flaked coconut (toasted in 350° oven for 7 minutes)

Bake a 9x13” cake according to the directions. Cool completely, in pan, on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Pierce the cooled cake all over the top with the tines of a fork. The more pokes, the more the syrup will soak into the cake. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon some of the milk syrup over the cake. Let the syrup soak into the cake, then continue spooning it on top until all of it has been used up. When you have finished, not all of the syrup will be completely absorbed and might be pooling on top, but that’s ok because it will absorb as it refrigerates. Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until all of the syrup is absorbed; about 2 hours. Cut the bananas into slices. Slice the cake and serve it with whipped cream, sliced bananas, and toasted coconut, if desired.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

**This recipe calls for precooked rice and meat, so plan accordingly.

¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
¼ cup yellow onion, chopped fine
16 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1½ cups cooked rice
2-3 cups shredded or diced cooked pork, chicken, or beef (use your bottled meat here!)
1 cup shredded cheese
1-2 tsp. minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, (use the lesser amount for less heat)
chopped fresh cilantro, to your taste
salt and pepper
6 large burrito-size flour tortillas

Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and heat the oven to 450°. While the oven is heating, in a large skillet, heat 2 T of the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Cook the onion until it is just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beans, rice, meat, and chipotle. Cook until the mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, about ¼ tsp. each.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave the tortillas until they are warm and pliable, about 1 minute. Top each warm tortilla with some of the meat mixture, leaving about a 2” border at the bottom of the tortillas. Fold in the sides and roll up the tortilla tightly. Brush the wrapped tortillas with the remaining oil and arrange them seam side down on the hot baking sheet that has been preheating in the oven. Bake until the chimis are golden brown and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Garnish with enchilada sauce, lettuce, cheese, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, etc. YUMMY!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Raspberry Pretzel Salad

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
½ cup sugar
12 oz. Cool Whip
12 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries or strawberries, thawed and drained

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip together really well. Fold in pineapple and raspberries. Refrigerate.

1 cup broken pretzels
½ cup melted butter
½ cup sugar

Mix these 3 ingredients together in a cake pan. Press in pan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes. Allow to completely cool and then break into little pieces. Add to Cool Whip mixture just before serving.