Chocolate Chip Cookie "Cake"

Chocolate Chip Cookie "Cake" (11/26/10)
I created this recipe last week as a replacement for Mike's birthday cake. He doesn't like cake! (Can you imagine? Marrying someone who doesn't love cake when I love to bake? Oh well--leaves me room to get creative!) So I had to come up with something else. He does love chocolate chip cookies, so I figured I would try a cookie in a cake form. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and so is he! Maybe we've created a future birthday tradition? :)

You will need:
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup margarine (softened but not melted)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a round cake pan.

2. Beat together shortening, margarine, and sugars until creamy.

3. Add in egg and vanilla. Mix well.

4. Stir in flour and baking soda. Mix until flour is totally incorporated.

5. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

6. Pour mixture into cake pan.

7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle.

8. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over cake. They will melt on their own, but you might need to spread the chocolate evenly over the cake.

9. Allow chocolate to harden before serving. Enjoy!

****UPDATED PICTURES HERE****

Fruit Slush

Fruit Slush (6/9/10)

My mom made this recipe a few weeks ago for her Bible study group. It is a recipe she got from one of her friends, and it was a huge hit with everyone! It is the perfect dessert or snack for the summer!

You will need:
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups water
6 oz frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed)
8 oz frozen strawberries
16 oz crushed pineapple, with juice (I would modify the recipe to use only 8 ounces)
4 medium bananas
7 Up, Sprite, or Ginger Ale

1. Cut fruit into small pieces.
2. Stir together sugar and water until sugar is dissolved.
3. Stir in lemonade and orange juice.
4. Add in fruit.
5. Stir all together and freeze in plastic bowl with cover.
6. Remove from freezer after 1.5 hours, just when it is becoming slushy, and stir it.
7. Return to freezer until 30 minutes before serving.
8. Scoop into individual bowls and pour a small amount of 7 Up over slush. We also added a few slices of fresh strawberries.
Enjoy!!!

Sugar cookies

For probably 2 years now I have been looking for a sugar cookie recipe that tastes like some cookies I made for some friends. The only problem was, the ones I made were really those break and bake cookies, and I wanted something I could make from scratch. I thought I had found the perfect recipe when I had some cookies from the nursing home, but when I made them, the texture just wasn't right. I have tried recipe upon recipe and I just haven't found one that is what I am looking for. Today I was reading blogs and I came across a recipe that looked like it was "the recipe". I couldn't wait, so I made the cookies this afternoon...and, the verdict is in...these are the closest I have come to "the recipe"!!!! I am so happy! Here is the recipe.

Vault Bread

Vault Bread (3/1/10)
I've recently been introduced to the wonder of beer bread. Simple and delicious! I read in one recipe that you can subsitute a can of soda for a can of beer which got me thinking...and that thinking led to the creation of this bread.

I substituted a can of Vault for the beer. And rather than pour the melted margarine over the top of the bread, I made an icing glaze and poured it over. The result was delicious! The baking actually brought out the underlying orange flavor in the Vault and the sweet topping complemented it fabulously!

You will need:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (12 oz) can Vault
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Add in Vault.
4. Pour into greased bread pan.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown and a knife comes out clean when stuck in the center.
6. Mix together powdered sugar and milk to make icing.
7. While bread is still warm, pour icing over top.
Enjoy! Let me know if you have tried making beer bread with any other sodas!

Cheesy Dutch Oven Bread

Cheesy Dutch Oven Bread (07/09/09)


I had seen a recipe for Dutch Oven Bread a while ago, and I finally decided to make it today. I had a big chunk of Muenster cheese leftover from another recipe, so I decided to create my own bread and see how it turned out. And here it is!

You will need:
1 cup water
1 tsp yeast
1 stick (8 TBSP) margarine
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
4 cups all purpose flour (bread flour works too)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used muenster)

1. Combine water (110 degrees) and yeast in mixing bowl until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Melt margarine and combine with yeast mixture.
3. Mix in garlic powder and salt until dissolved.
4. Scoop in 4 cups of flour and mix until fully moistened.
5. Add in cheese.
6. Mix bread until a windowpane can be achieved. (This is when you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you’re kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it’s ready.) I used my stand mixture and it took about 12 minutes on level 2.
7. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until double in size (1-4 hours).
8. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
9. Grease a dutch oven pan with olive oil and place dough in pan.
10. Cut an 'X' in the dough to allow it to bloom.
11. Bake for 30 minutes with the cover on, then another 15-30 with the cover off. I sprinkled more cheese on top of the bread during the last 5 minutes of baking. I placed a cookie sheet under the pan to prevent the bottom of the pan from burning. If the bottom of the bread is too dark when it's done baking, just slice it off.
Enjoy!!!

*After tasting this bread, I was quite pleased, considering I just threw stuff together with no idea how it would turn out. However, there are a few changes I would make. I think I would use a stronger flavored cheese, maybe a sharp cheddar instead. The muenster was good, but Mike and I both thought it lacked flavor. I think I would also increase the amount of garlic powder, probably to 4 tsp instead of 2. I wish the bread had risen more, but from previous uses of the yeast I have, I think my yeast is going bad, so that would explain the lack of rising. I will definitely be making this bread again!

Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (5/11/09)
Out of 3 recipes I made today, this was the only one that turned out the way it was supposed to. Of course it turned out so well that I just had to share it!


Cupcakes
You will need:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup whole milk

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

2. In a large bowl mix together butter and sugar until fluffy.

3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg is added.

4. Mix in vanilla.

5. Alternate mixing in milk and dry ingredients.

6. Mix ingredients thoroughly, then scoop into muffin tin. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup and the amount is just about perfect.

7. Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until poufy but not brown.


Buttercream Frosting

You will need:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup margarine or butter (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk

1. In a large bowl cream shortening and margarine.

2. Mix in vanilla.

3. Gradually add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating at medium speed. Icing may appear dry, but that's okay.

4. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.


Decorate cupcakes
Allow cupcakes to cool completely. Scoop frosting into frosting bag or tube. I used a star shaped tip. I then circled around the cupcake with the tip, outside to inside.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Chicken Alfredo Pizza (5/06/09)

A week or so ago I made Fettucini Alfredo for dinner. We had lots of leftover Alfredo sauce so I had to make a dinner using it. We didn't have much in our house, so I had to be creative. Here's what I came up with...

You will need:
Alfredo Sauce (recipe below)
1 package of crescent rolls
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 small can of mushrooms
parmesan cheese
garlic powder
shredded colby jack cheese (mozzerella or cheddar can be used as well)

1. Make alfredo sauce:
You will need:
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic
2 cups milk
6 ounces Parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add in cream cheese and garlic. Stir until smooth. Add milk a little at a time until mixture is completely smooth. Stir in parmesan cheese.

2. Remove crescent rolls from package. Press on to 9x13 baking sheet to form crust. Seal seams together.

3. Spread alfredo sauce over crust. You will have plenty extra (you can use the rest over noodles).

4. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and garlic powder over sauce.

5. Top with chicken and mushrooms. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

Cherry Danish Dessert

Cherry Danish Dessert (1/18/09)

I made this dessert the other night when my mom had her home group over. Mari requested that I put it up here because "It was so good!" And best of all, it's super easy!

You will need:
2 8 ounce cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8 ounce boxes of cream cheese
1.5 cups powdered sugar (divided)
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1 21 ounce can cherry pie filling
1 to 2 TBSP milk

1. Unrolls one can of crescent rolls. Place in the bottom of a grease 9x13 pan. Press onto bottom of pan to form crust, press seams together to seal.
2. Beat together cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, the egg white, and vanilla until well blended. Spread onto crescent roll crust.
3. Spread pie filling over cream cheese mixture. I think that I might try using strawberry or blueberry sauce sometime.
4. Unroll remaining can of crescent rolls onto sheet of wax paper. Press it out to form 9x13 crust and press seams together to seal. Flip crust over pie filling to form top crust.
5. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Cool at least 20 minutes.
6. Gradually add milk to remaining 3/4 cup sugar, mix until smooth. Drizzle over warm dessert.

Original source: Kraft Food and Family Holiday 2005

Donuts

Donuts (1/09/09)










The donuts are so easy to make and they are absolutely delicious!!!

You will need:
1 cup sugar
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
2 eggs (I only had 1 egg, so I substituted 2 T applesauce for the other egg...it turned out really good)
1 cup milk
3 T melted margarine (or butter)
Oil for deep frying


1. Mix together sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour.
2. Beat eggs (or egg and applesauce) and stir into dry ingredients.
3. Mix in milk and melted margarine.
4. Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.
5. Cut with a donut cutter. If you don't have a donut cutter, use a glass and a pop bottle cap for the center cut-out.
6. Heat oil to 375. Fry several donuts at a time (I did 4 at a time, it depends on how big your deep fryer is).
7. Drain on cooling rack or paper towels.
8. Decorate as desired...powdered sugar, cinnamon and sugar, or frosting work well.

This recipe made me 31 donuts and 34 donut holes.






Mix ingredients















Roll out dough and cut circles




















I used an old play-dough circle cutter to cut out the donut holes






























Put them in the oil
















They should flip on their own

I let the donuts drain a bit before I put them on the cooling rack

Pizza Casserole

Pizza Casserole (10/24/08)

Mike and I made dinner together a couple Fridays ago. His mom gave us this recipe for Pizza Casserole and I thought it was delicious!

You will need:
1 pound ground beef
4 cups cooked noodles (your choice of which kind, we just used egg noodles)
1 can pizza sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 package of pepperoni

1. In a frying pan, over medium heat, brown beef until there is no pink left. Drain grease.
2. Cook noodles until al dente. (One minute less than recommended cooking time)
3. Mix pizza sauce and soup together in frying pan with ground beef.
4. In an oven safe pan, mix together noodles and meat mixture.
5. Add in 1.5 cups of mozerella cheese and most of the pepperoni.
6. Cover top of noodle mixture with remaining pepperonis and 1/2 cup cheese.
7. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through.
Enjoy!!