Crumb the Cake

I am not a cake decorator. Not even close, but I just learned a trick I wish I'd known long ago. Crumb the cake.

I decided to make a shaped cake (without a mold) for a 5 year old friend's birthday.  I had an idea and went with it, but until I was 90% I was sure I was going to have to rush to the store and start over by making a FLAT rectangular brithday cake, but it turned out surprisingly well.

Its the shape of a 5, but the circular part of the 5 continues to swirl up and around into a hill.

So here's the trick: Bake, cool (overnight is best), shape/cut the cake, then make a batch of thin frosting. Use this frosting to glue the cut pieces to eat other and then frost the cake. At this point it will look horrible b/c all of the crumbs will get caught up in the frosting. Don't stop. It will be okay! Let the cake dry for an hour or so. Make another batch of frosting the consistency you like (I made butter cream) and spread it on. The first layer of frosting will keep the crumbs and you'll end up with a nice smooth (non-crumby) finish. Decorate.

Since I had about 1/2 a cake left over, I crumbled the remaining cake up and turned it in to the road. I also made a pile of dirt (chocolate cake crumbs) in the corner, so I didn't have to be so careful about being tidy while applying the road. If I dropped some, I just swept it over to the corner with a pastry brush and added a dump truck when I was finished!

Heavenly Chocolate Mousse

My favorite dessert of all time is chocolate mousse.  I have tried to find a good chocolate mousse at a restaurant for the past 6 years or so.  Nothing has been what I was looking for.  My pudding with cool whip recipe is a good substitute, but lately I've wanted the rich, thick, creamy chocolate mousse that I remember from restaurants when I was growing up.  So I have done some research and found a recipe that I think will be good.  I'm going to try it this weekend and I'll update the review after.

Ingredients


8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water, divided
2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped

Directions

1.In a microwave or double boiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until the chocolate and butter are melted. If you use a microwave, melt in intervals and stir after each minute.  Cool for 10 minutes. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in ice and stir until cooled, about 5-10 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Craig's Cheesy Bread

Fabulous, easy bread. Goes great with soup, salad and pasta!

I've made this for almost 15 years! Thank you Craig!

6 pc Sliced bread (White, Wheat, Hoagies, Hamburger buns, etc) *
4 T butter *
2 T Parmesan Cheese * (grated)


Preheat the oven to 400 F to heat your oven. You will later switch to broil, but make sure that the oven is hot before you put the bread in the oven.  Lay pieces of bread out on baking sheet. Melt butter in a frying pan. When melted, turn off heat, add the cheese, mix together. Using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture on each piece of bread. Broil on high for 2-3 while watching. When the bread is brown and cheese has browned, remove from the oven. Try not to eat the whole loaf before you serve it for dinner. Beware, its difficult!

*these are estimates--I have never measured using this recipe, but have noticed when I have added too much cheese to the butter, it is difficult to spread and you'll end up having to make more mixture to cover all of the bread. I think that the 4T/2T should be a good ratio, but play with it.

* this is one of the only times I recommend using Parmesan in the can/jar rather than fresh grated. The consistency works better when mixing with the butter.  I had to use the fresh grated tonight (in the pic), but still recommend the can as it makes it more consistent and more delicious the whole way through!

* I don't recommend using heavy wheat, multigrain breads. They detract from the 'flavor' of the cheese!

Cheesy Potato Soup

Cheesy Potato Soup

8 med potatoes; diced
1 onion; chopped
5 c water
6 T butter
6 T flour
2 c milk
1 ½ c grated cheese
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 green onions, sliced
Optional add ins: broccoli, ham, carrots, celery


Combine potatoes, onions, and water in big pot. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender (abt. 15 minutes). Do not drain. In separate pan, melt butter, add flour. Stir and cook until mixture bubbles. Slowly add milk while stirring. Cook and stir until sauce thickens. Stir sauce slowly into potato mixture. Add cheese; cook until cheese is melted.  Serve and top with green onions if you desire.

Usually when I make this I add in broccoli.  Last night I decided to cut baby carrots into small pieces and celery finely chopped.  I added them with the potatoes.  I think that it would be really tasty with ham.  I would add it before the cheese (if it was fully cooked already).

Easy Instant Chocolate Mousse

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

milk

1 tub cool whip topping (thawed)

1 Hershey's bar

Mix pudding and milk as instructed on package direction. Let set in refrigerator.  Add half the tub of cool whip adn mix well.  Let sit 5 minutes.  Spread remaining cool whip over the top of pudding mixture.  Finely grate part of the Hershey's bar over the top.  Serve.

unexpected surprise

I was going through some CD's my husband made me that have info from my old computer.  I put one in and it had all the recipes I thought I would like to try about 5 years ago!  I put them on my new computer and will be trying them out soon.  It was such an unexpected surprise.  I've gotten some really good sounding recipes that are healthy (they are for people with diabetes) that I want to try.  In fact, after looking through them, I saw that my White Chicken Chili recipe comes from them.  I'll have to try some out soon and post if they are good or not.

Apri-Oaty Bars

1 c dried apricots *or any dried fruit
3 T water
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. oats
1/2 t. salt
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 T honey

Preheat to 400. Line 9X9 with parchment. Puree the apricots and water. Set aside. Stir the flour, oats, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Melt butter, sugar, and honey in a saucepan over low heat. When completely mixed, pour over dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Press 1/2 of the oaty mixture in the bottom of the pan. Press flat. Spoon the apricot mixture carefully on top of oaty mix and smooth--leaving 1" border around edges. Press remaining oaty mixture on top.  Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and  leave to cool for 5 minutes. Divide bars into squares and let cool completely in pan, before scooping them out.  Yummmy....

Kids cookbooks

I went to the library yesterday and decided to try looking for kids cookbooks again.  Searching for them on the computer site for the library hasn't been very promising, so I just went looking at the shelves.  The computer said that there are 5 total cookbooks for children in the whole library system.  When I went to the shelves, there were three whole shelves of them.  All kinds of cookbooks: cooking for parents and children, fun kids recipes, cooking by country (foods from Germany, foods from France, foods from Brazil, foods from China, and so on and so on), how to make food fun for kids, recipes made up by children.  It was a wonderful find!  I take a reusable shopping bag that I bought at Target (all the grocery stores have them too) to the library because the bags they provide always break on me.  This time I wasn't able to fit all my books in the bag because I got so many cookbooks!  I've looked through three of them so far and have found that many of the recipes are the same.
  My favorite one though is "Paula Deen's My First Cookbook".  It has many of the same recipes as the others (ants on a log, smoothies, pancakes, pasta with cheese sauce) but there are some good other ones also (Porcupine Balls, Gelatin Blocks, Campfire Stew, Applewiches, Monkey Bread, and Green Eggs and Ham).  Not only the recipes sound good, but I like the way the book is set up.  The first page of a recipe has a picture of everything that you need for the recipe (mixing bowl, utensils, what to cook in, ingredients), the recipes are easy to follow if you want to have the kids make it on their own (if old enough) or help you out.  To make the book fun for kids, all the pictures are realisitc looking cartoons.  It also had a small section for making playdough and bubbles.

Gnocchi update

I went to a grocery store the other day and was walking down the pasta aisle.  They had hard, dried, thin pasta that was named gnocchi.  I think that if you were to do a baked gnocchi with that, it would be tasty.  If you find the soft, plump rounded gnocchi, find a different recipe.  So the gnocchi recipe is this:
  Cook the gnocchi in boiling chicken broth.  Follow the directions on the package.  Drain the gnocchi.  Place in baking pan and sprinkle mozzerella and parmesean cheese on top.  Broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with crusty bread and a nice salad.

Grandma's Pumpkin Pie

3 eggs
1 1/2 c pumpkin
2/3 c sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c evaporated milk
1 pie crust


This recipe is for 1 9-inch pie.  Preheat oven to 425.  Beat the eggs together in a large mixing bowl (or electric mixer).  Add the pumpkin to the eggs. In small bowl combine the sugar and spices.  Add this mixture to the pumpkin.  Add the vanilla.  Slowly add the milk.  Line pie plate with crust (homemade or store bought) and add pie filling.  Cover pie crust with a pie guard or aluminum foil.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove pie guard from crust.  Turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake 45-50 minutes.

Company Potatoes

I've heard these potatoes called by a few names: Company Potatoes, Funeral Potatoes, Potato Casserole, Cheesy Potatoes.  Whatever you call them, they are good.

1 bag shredded hash browns (1 lb 4 oz or so bag)
1 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 c butter, melted
2 T onions, chopped
dash of pepper
Topping:
2 C crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 c margarine/butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 2 quart baking dish and place hash browns in bottom of dish.  Mix all remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add mixture to the hash browns and stir until well mixed.  Combine the topping ingredients and put on top of casserole.  Bake 45 minutes.  Makes about 10 servings.

We had this meal served with ham and veggies.  I've never tried it, but I think that if you add ham to the casserole it would be a good complete meal.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Maybe I've been living in the South too long.  Before living here I would have said, "Sweet potatoes?  No thanks."  Then a few years ago a friend of mine made them and I thought they were really good.  So this year for Thanksgiving I decided to try.  I didn't do the casserole with the marshmallows though, I just mashed them.  It was simple and pretty good.

3 Sweet potatoes (or yams, I'm not sure how you can tell which is which)
3 T butter
2 T brown sugar

I washed the sweet potatoes (but not peeled) and put them in water to boil.  If they are the larger size you may have to cut them in half.  When they were soft I drained them and let them cool.  When they are cool to the touch take off the peel.  In the pan add butter and melt.  Add the potatoes and "smash" (intentionally leave some pieces not mashed) then add brown sugar.

Shepherd's Pie

I've made the basic recipe for this a few times.  I decided to use up some of the veggies I had in the refrigerator this time and just added what I had.  It ended up turning out really good.  So if you don't like my veggie choice, put whatever you want in.  I used to just use canned corn, but anything works.

1-2 lbs ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or broccoli, celery, potato)
1/4 can water
dash of pepper
3 shakes celery salt
6 shakes garlic powder
4 shakes onion powder
6 oz mushrooms, halved and sliced
handful of baby carrots, sliced
3 hadfuls of broccoli, small pieces
5 medium potatoes (i like yukon gold), mashed
Grated cheese (as much as you like.

Preheat oven to 350.  Brown the beef in a frying pan.  Drain most of grease. Add seasonings.  Add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes.  Add carrots and broccoli.  Add can of soup and water.  Mix well.  Pour contents into a 9x13 pan.  Top with mashed potatoes.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle cheese on top and bake additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Baked Gnocchi

A few years ago I found a book that I just love.  "Under the Tuscan Sun".  It is much different than the movie.  The way she writes makes me feel as if I am there with her.  Throughout her books (I think there are 3 on Tuscany) she has recipes that she learned while living in Italy.  One was gnocchi.  It is a dumpling made of potato.  The way she described it made it sound wonderful.  So I've been thinking about it for the past 5 years.  A few months ago I checked out quite a few childrens cookbooks and one had a recipe for Baked Gnocchi.  I was very excited and looked at 5 different grocery stores to find some.  The recipe was simple, boil the gnocchi in chicken broth for 5-8 minutes until they float.  Put in pan and cover with cheeses.  Place under broiler.  Unfortunately it didn't tast very good.  The gnocchi was very chewy (maybe they weren't done even though it said when they float they are done?) and I was so dissapointed.  So here's my cooking flop.  I don't know if maybe the brand I bought wasn't very good or if to have good gnocchi you have to make your own.  Either way, I'm not trying that recipe again.

Menu Planning

Lately when I've gone to the store I just pick up stuff that I think will be good with what I have at home, but no real plan on what to have and when.  I noticed that my grocery bill was getting higher than it should.  So last week I sat down and went through my cupboards and freezer to see what I had.  I checked my list of meals that I know how to make (about 50 different ones I know we like), and tried to figure out what meals I could make without having to buy many groceries.  I came up with 13 meals that I just needed a few things for.  So my shopping bill was only $50 last week!  That was great for me.  I decided that I would make a schedule for two weeks of meals.  That way I don't have to start thinking at 4:00 about what we will have for dinner.  Of course, if something comes up I can move the meals around, but it's nice to have a general plan.  Here's what my list looks like:  Baked Spaghetti, White Chicken Chili, Pot Roast with veggies, burritos, Chicken rice casserole, Homemade tomato soup, breakfast, meatloaf, Baked Gnocchi, Chicken Rice Soup, Crockpot pork chops, Shepherd's pie, fish sticks, Beef casserole.  I had all the meat for the meals, I just needed to buy salad makings and other veggies, and some bread to go with the meals.  The only thing I have to buy this week is snacks for the kids (apples, goldfish veggie crackers, yogurt).

Snowmen ...

A fun winter cake topper ... or can be done on individual cupcakes!

Cake or Brownie Mix
Whipped Topping
Large Marshmallows
Black icing
Assortment of sprinkles/candy to decorate.

Make cake/brownies. Cool. Spread on the whipped topping snow. Find the perfectest marshmallows and cut about 1/4" off the bottom of 1/2 of them. Squish these a bit to make them seem smaller. Stick to the uncut marshmallows. Decorate with icing, sprinkles, candy pieces. I just used things we had at home!! I borrowed this idea from one I found online. They used Jr. Mints as a beret for the snowman, which was very stylish! But.. I didn't want to make ANOTHER run to the grocery store, so we went for eclectic!! Very fun and easy!
Tip: Wet a toothpick and poke it into the place where you are going to poke in arms or the nose. It will make it much easier to get it in the snowman!! Happy Holidays!

Polar Bear Cupcakes

Cake Mix
White frosting
Coconut flakes
Chocolate Frosting
Blue food coloring
Live Saver Mints (halved)
Small black candy (optional)

Make and cool cupcakes. Frost with white frosting, sprinkle coconut (for fur). Mix blue food coloring into chocolate frosting and  put in a pastry bag with a fairly large tip. Pipe on a nose. Change to a small tip and pipe the mouth. Place the ears and the eyes. (I used little black bat sprinkles I had leftover from Halloween for the eyes, but any small black circular candy would work... or a bit of the piped frosting, too!) Super easy!

Kitty Cupcakes

Cake Mix
White frosting
Pink frosting (in tube or pastry bag)
Green M&Ms
Saltines (quartered)
Pink pastel mints (halved)
Pretzel sticks (halved)

Make and cool cupcakes. Frost with white frosting. Place M&Ms as eyes and pastel mints as a nose. Pipe the mouth on with the pink frosting.  Stick saltine quarters into the cupcake so that they make a pointy ear. Place pretzels in as whiskers. All done. Super easy... and lots of fun!

Chicken Rice Soup

49oz Chicken Broth
2 cans Hormel Chunk Chicken (or 1 lb shredded chicken)
26oz spaghetti sauce
2 T chopped parsley
3 cups cooked rice
Grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, combine first 4 ingredients.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.  Add rice; simmer 10 minutes.  Serve with cheese.

Kitchen Gadget

I used to sell Pampered Chef products so I have many of their items.  Surprisingly one of the things I use most often is their Bamboo Tongs.  They are for getting bread, bagles, and English muffins out of the toaster.  I think they sell for about $3.50.  Definitely worth the money if you have the chance to buy them.  I'm sure you can get a similar product at a kitchen store or Target.

Crockpot chunky applesauce

6 med granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into fourths
2/3 c sugar
¾ c apple juice
2 T margarine, melted
1 t ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat setting 2 1/2 to 4 hours or until apples break apart. Stir well to break apart bigger pieces.

Award Winning White Chicken Chili

Every year at our church we have a chili cook off.  A few years ago I decided to enter...and I got the Grand Champion award.  What a surprise!  It is a really good chili recipe.  Not a hot chili (but that can be changed by ingredients you put in if you want it hotter), but very nice flavors.  Hope you enjoy it.

This recipe is set for using a slow cooker.  Can be modified for making on the stovetop.

3 cans white Great Northern bens, drained
2 c shredded cooked chicken
1 c finely chopped onion (or equivalent to onion powder-which is what I use)
1/4 t garlic powder
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 T ground cumin
1/2 t salt or 1 chicken flavored bouillon cube
2 cans chicken broth

1. Place all chili ingredients into a 4 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker.  Stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook until the ingredients have cooked down and the liquid has thickened (4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low).
3. Spoon the chili into bowls and garnish with your choice of toppings: sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, monterey jack cheese.  You may serve with tortilla chips or cornbread.

The Best Banana Bread

No, I'm not being vain... that is really the name of the recipe! (but it is very yummy!)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c. butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
2-4 ripe bananas
2 eggs
3/4 c sour milk (buttermilk, or regular milk with lemon juice added) or sour cream

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and soda in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat eggs and add to butter/sugar mix. Mash bananas; add and mix. Add milk; mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Bake 45 - 50 minutes in 2 greased loaf pans in the center of the oven.

Verde

I love green salsa. I really prefer it to red any day! This is such a simple recipe! I use this recipe to dip chips in, on tacos, as enchilada sauce. Its great! I grow them in my garden--easy to grow and super easy to preserve!!

Tomatillos (enough to fill one layer in a 9 X 13 pan), paper skins removed, rinsed
4 cloves garlic, peeled whole
1 med onion, peeled and quartered
1 small Jalapeno (remove seeds for a milder salsa, include seeds if you like it spicier!)
Handful of Cilantro, washed
1/2 teas Cumin
1 T Salt (or more to taste)
Pepper (to taste)

Preheat the oven to 350. Place rinsed tomatillos in a 9 x 13 baking dish with the onion and garlic. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tomatillos are soft and starting to shrivel. Let cool. When cool enough, puree tomatillos, garlic, and onion in the blender. Add cilantro and blend again.  Add cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Blend again. Chill in refrigerator. Serve

Pumpkin Seeds

I made these last night.  They are a very good snack.  I also have a granola recipe that calls for mixed types of nuts and seeds that I use the pumpkin seeds for.

2 c pumpkin seeds (the seeds from about 2 medium pumpkins)
1 1/2 T butter (melted)
1 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 t seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix the seeds, butter, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning salt in a bowl.  Spread the seeds on a large baking pan (I use a jelly roll pan).  Bake the seeds for 45-50 minutes or until golden bown.  Stir seeds ever 15 minutes.