This is a simple and delicious crock pot dessert. More importantly it is CHOCOLATE! It's hard to go wrong with chocolate but it is possible. I've seen some pretty disappointing dessert recipes to make in the crock pot or a microwaved mug. This one is good. Really good! It comes from the October 2002 Family Fun Magazine.
Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
6 Tbsp. butter
1/3 c. chocolate chips
2/3c + 1/3 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. + 1/3 c. cocoa
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. milk
1 egg yolk (I usually toss in the whole egg)
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. hot water
* optional whipped cream or ice cream.
** drizzling with raspberry sauce (warm raspberry jam) is amazing.
Directions:
Coat the inside of a 2 1/2 - 5 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. (Cake's cooking time and final appearance will vary depending on your crock's size.) Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In large bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler and mix well. Whisk in the 2/3 c. of sugar, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, vanilla extract, salt, milk, and egg. Add the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour the batter into the slow cooker and spread it evenly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, cocoa and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/4 - 2 1/4 hours, depending on the size of the crock pot. Even when done, the cake will be very moist and floating on a layer of molten chocolate, but you'll know it's ready when nearly all of the cake is set and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pot. As you check, try not to let the condensed steam from the lid drip onto the cake. When it's done, turn off power, remove lid and let cool for 25 minutes. Serves 6-8 with whipped cream or ice cream on top.
ENJOY!
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
R.I.P. (or “rest in PIZZA”) With “Heart-y” blood sauce
Each year the 4th grade does a “gross grub” luncheon instead of a Halloween Party… no sweets allowed. So Tristan and I decided last week what our plans would be and signed up to bring this goody in. Apparently most of his friends are pretty jealous of Tristan’s pizza lunches when he brings them in and so we thought this would be fun to add to the grub table with a Chicago style cut for everyone to enjoy. I added the pepperoni to this after it was baked but still hot so the pepperoni would stay in place to spell RIP.
Friday night pizza with a movie started out many years ago at our house now as a cost cutter. We wanted a break, wanted some fun, so did our kids but we were also feeling tired after a long week working and most important was the fact that we were tight on money so going out let alone paying for a babysitter was not possible. Also, it was something for the kids and I to look forward to as they got older and for all of us when Rick was working Friday nights. The menu for one night a week is a no brainer; nice for me, and we NEVER seem to get tired of eating pizza. Pizza is cheap to make and fun to eat. That’s that! Plus if you’re feeling lazy or rich you can order out or pick up a pizza or even buy frozen and heat it up. Pizza is pretty easy to come by.
4 1/2 tsp. yeast (or two packages if you purchase it in the pouches), 2 cups warm water, 1 tsp. salt, 4 tsp. olive oil, 6 c. flour, cornmeal
Directions:
Add yeast to 2 cups warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes if you have time; long enough for it to dissolve and begin to bubble. Add salt, olive oil and flour to the yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook until kneaded. Divide dough in half and with cornmeal roll out into a circle to fit the pan forming a collar around the edge of the pan with your fingers. Place on sprayed or lightly oiled pans. You can let these unbaked crusts sit covered to rise for up to an hour if you need/want or you can immediately dress your pizzas. It works well either way but works better with letting rise with certain pizza pans. Add toppings as desired and bake at 450 for 14-15 minutes.
Pizza Sauce (the BEST sauce)
I make my own pizza sauce. At one point I was buying a huge can of pizza sauce, splitting it at home and freezing it because this made a small difference in my budget. Sometimes it was a pain to remember to defrost the sauce in time though. I don’t know how much it costs in the stores anymore because it’s been years since I’ve purchased any. One time I discovered I was OUT of sauce and had absolutely no money to buy any. (I’m rather strict with my budget because I have to be and if it’s not there it’s not there). Not wanting anyone to be disappointed I came up with my own sauce after reading through some old classic cook books using basic ingredients I did have on hand in my pantry. The next week I doctored it up based on my previous experience with it and I now consider it perfected. We prefer this sauce over any we’ve purchased and it is way less expensive than store bought canned sauce.
Incidentally an improvement to this sauce came in the form of home canned tomato sauce this year. I made 14 jars of it; enough for 28 pizzas and it is SO GOOD!!! But store bought canned tomato sauce works fine.
Directions:
Olive oil, 8 oz. tomato sauce per pizza, 1 tsp. minced garlic or 1 clove garlic per pizza, pepper, parmesan cheese, oregano
Brush each pizza crust thinly with olive oil. Stir 1 clove/1 tsp. garlic into each 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. Spread garlic tomato sauce over oiled pizza crust. Sprinkle pepper over tomato sauce. Lightly sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then sprinkle oregano over the parmesan. Dress with Mozzarella or a mozzarella/provolone blend. Add desired toppings; pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, black olives or whatever else you like. Bake as directed above in the recipe for the crust.
(In a pinch you can use garlic powder or dried minced garlic to = 1 clove. Tomato paste can also be played around with to make pizza sauce but the above really works well and is our favorite).
ENJOY!
Friday night pizza with a movie started out many years ago at our house now as a cost cutter. We wanted a break, wanted some fun, so did our kids but we were also feeling tired after a long week working and most important was the fact that we were tight on money so going out let alone paying for a babysitter was not possible. Also, it was something for the kids and I to look forward to as they got older and for all of us when Rick was working Friday nights. The menu for one night a week is a no brainer; nice for me, and we NEVER seem to get tired of eating pizza. Pizza is cheap to make and fun to eat. That’s that! Plus if you’re feeling lazy or rich you can order out or pick up a pizza or even buy frozen and heat it up. Pizza is pretty easy to come by.
So pizza making every Friday night which is about 104 of the pies a year (more now) has added up to virtually THOUSANDS of pizzas coming out of my oven over the years. I’ve been making two every Friday and now sometimes I make three pizzas to have a few leftover pieces for lunches to stick in the freezer for a later date and also to satisfy some growing appetites. In that time, nearly 1 1/2 decades, I’ve tried many different pizza crusts but this is the recipe I always fall back on now. It’s easy to handle and is tasty as well.Crusty Pizza Dough (makes 2 crusts)
4 1/2 tsp. yeast (or two packages if you purchase it in the pouches), 2 cups warm water, 1 tsp. salt, 4 tsp. olive oil, 6 c. flour, cornmeal
Directions:
Add yeast to 2 cups warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes if you have time; long enough for it to dissolve and begin to bubble. Add salt, olive oil and flour to the yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook until kneaded. Divide dough in half and with cornmeal roll out into a circle to fit the pan forming a collar around the edge of the pan with your fingers. Place on sprayed or lightly oiled pans. You can let these unbaked crusts sit covered to rise for up to an hour if you need/want or you can immediately dress your pizzas. It works well either way but works better with letting rise with certain pizza pans. Add toppings as desired and bake at 450 for 14-15 minutes.
Pizza Sauce (the BEST sauce)
I make my own pizza sauce. At one point I was buying a huge can of pizza sauce, splitting it at home and freezing it because this made a small difference in my budget. Sometimes it was a pain to remember to defrost the sauce in time though. I don’t know how much it costs in the stores anymore because it’s been years since I’ve purchased any. One time I discovered I was OUT of sauce and had absolutely no money to buy any. (I’m rather strict with my budget because I have to be and if it’s not there it’s not there). Not wanting anyone to be disappointed I came up with my own sauce after reading through some old classic cook books using basic ingredients I did have on hand in my pantry. The next week I doctored it up based on my previous experience with it and I now consider it perfected. We prefer this sauce over any we’ve purchased and it is way less expensive than store bought canned sauce.
Incidentally an improvement to this sauce came in the form of home canned tomato sauce this year. I made 14 jars of it; enough for 28 pizzas and it is SO GOOD!!! But store bought canned tomato sauce works fine.
Directions:
Olive oil, 8 oz. tomato sauce per pizza, 1 tsp. minced garlic or 1 clove garlic per pizza, pepper, parmesan cheese, oregano
Brush each pizza crust thinly with olive oil. Stir 1 clove/1 tsp. garlic into each 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. Spread garlic tomato sauce over oiled pizza crust. Sprinkle pepper over tomato sauce. Lightly sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then sprinkle oregano over the parmesan. Dress with Mozzarella or a mozzarella/provolone blend. Add desired toppings; pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, black olives or whatever else you like. Bake as directed above in the recipe for the crust.
(In a pinch you can use garlic powder or dried minced garlic to = 1 clove. Tomato paste can also be played around with to make pizza sauce but the above really works well and is our favorite).
ENJOY!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
A is for Apple
What to do with three bushels of apples besides eat them fresh, make them into sauce, pies or caramel apples…
Drink a glass of fresh apple cider with a homemade cinnamon cider doughnut.
Serve Apple Crabmeat Ramekins for dinner and let your husband make you Apple Crisp a la’mode for Sunday dessert.
Make Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies sweetened with homemade applesauce for Family Night or bag lunches and serve Hot Apple Fritters for breakfast.
(Thank you to Mary Erickson, Rachael Case, Applehood & Motherpie, and The Essential Mormon Cookbook for the above recipes.)
Using pumpkin grown in the backyard (or a can will do) make up your own recipe for two sizes of positively addictive
Apple-Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins – by Heather Hand
2 cups pumpkin puree’
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. peeled diced apples or 1/2 jar of drained apple slices
2/3 c. olive oil
3 eggs
2 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oats
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using mixer, mix all ingredients together except oats. When well blended add oats and stir in until just blended. Lightly spray muffin pans and add muffin batter to fill 2/3rds of each muffin cup. Bake mini-muffins for 15 minutes and regular sized muffins 20-25 minutes. Makes lots! (Depends on the size of tin you are using).
*You can also use about 1/2 a jar of home canned apple slices for this recipe but be sure to drain off any syrup first before adding it to your ingredients. The texture of the muffin as well as moisture content will change with canned apple slices but the muffins are still excellent either way.
Drink a glass of fresh apple cider with a homemade cinnamon cider doughnut.
Serve Apple Crabmeat Ramekins for dinner and let your husband make you Apple Crisp a la’mode for Sunday dessert.
Make Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies sweetened with homemade applesauce for Family Night or bag lunches and serve Hot Apple Fritters for breakfast.
(Thank you to Mary Erickson, Rachael Case, Applehood & Motherpie, and The Essential Mormon Cookbook for the above recipes.)
Using pumpkin grown in the backyard (or a can will do) make up your own recipe for two sizes of positively addictive
Apple-Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins – by Heather Hand
2 cups pumpkin puree’
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. peeled diced apples or 1/2 jar of drained apple slices
2/3 c. olive oil
3 eggs
2 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oats
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using mixer, mix all ingredients together except oats. When well blended add oats and stir in until just blended. Lightly spray muffin pans and add muffin batter to fill 2/3rds of each muffin cup. Bake mini-muffins for 15 minutes and regular sized muffins 20-25 minutes. Makes lots! (Depends on the size of tin you are using).
*You can also use about 1/2 a jar of home canned apple slices for this recipe but be sure to drain off any syrup first before adding it to your ingredients. The texture of the muffin as well as moisture content will change with canned apple slices but the muffins are still excellent either way.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Kitchen Mixes
Mix recipes requested… and granted!
There are many reasons to make your own food from scratch at home. There are health benefits to knowing what you put into the food you fix for your family. Let’s not even get into the corn byproducts that the food industry and government are sticking into all premade and processed foods causing… no, I won’t get into it. There are home budget benefits as well since you can actually make these “mystery” convenience foods right in your own kitchen for pennies on the dollar in most cases. And once these mixes are made they become time savers as well as you can make delicious wholesome foods in record time. It just takes a little bit of planning.
Why are the foods we eat such a mystery to people? We eat AT LEAST three times a day and yet so many feel that a homemade frosted cake is opening a box at home and then opening a can of frosting to spread. My Mom and I were talking about this just yesterday. Pickles are something that must grow on trees or maybe bushes; they certainly can’t be MADE. Raspberries grow on trees and where does a potato come from? The Ground? In the dirt??? Gross! (These are all true stories… from adults… and a few teenagers). The reason food is a mystery is because we’ve made it that way.
Salad dressings found on the grocery store shelves are an American phenomenon, as I have been led to understand, though my own traveling experiences have barely ever left American soil. A good friend of mine that we used to picnic with often who is from South America brought one of the best tasting green salads ever to share on one of those picnics. I asked her what the dressing was and I was floored at the simplicity when she told me. It was full of flavor but made with very few ingredients. The dressings on our American grocery store shelves are often “fat-full” and have an ingredient list a mile long of things I can hardly pronounce not to mention the good ones cost DOLLARS and the cheap ones don’t taste so good. Then there’s eating for $3 a day per person and you can imagine I don’t want to spend DOLLARS on fattening salad dressing either. Then I was forced to figure out a salad dressing one day as I discovered we were completely out of dressing, we were having company over for dinner AND it was Sunday which meant, among other things, that there were no purchases at the store in my future that day.
I sent in my salad dressing idea to one of my favorite “frugal living” blogs/sites when she did a piece on homemade salad dressings and I actually got a personal response from its author who is really and truly an unofficial genius at frugality. The internet has really led me into a world of connections with people who live like me and have similar priorities though our basic reasons for lifestyle may vary. She thought my idea on making and storing the salad dressings was fantastic and she hadn’t yet thought of it on her own. So there it is… I must be an expert… at salad dressing!?!? Maybe just creative thinking outside the box. Well, it’s something!
Here are a few of my favorite salad dressings and a couple other dry mixes too. I store the dry ingredients in clean dry pint jars and a pint is the perfect size for mixing in the wet ingredients once you decide to make the salad dressing. They are capped with clean pre-used canning lids and rings. (I like to re-use as much as possible). Once I have filled my line-up of jars with dry ingredients I label the jar with masking tape to indicate the type of dressing. Then on a piece of masking tape I stick on the bottom of the jar I indicate the wet ingredients to be added along with their amounts. That way, homemade salad dressing is quick as a wink to make on a busy night and easy enough to create that my older children can even whip it up easily when it is their week for "dinner prep." Usually several kinds of dressing mixes are on my pantry shelves for the “dinner helper” to choose from. And when they’re gone I get out all of my spices and mix up the different combinations all over again. *Important to note; most of my spices are bought in larger quantities at Sam’s Club for further cost savings. With as much cooking as I do for a larger family I don’t have any trouble going through these ingredients. Most of these dressings can sit on the shelf ready and waiting for at least 6 months.
Home-Style Ranch
Dry ingredients: 1 tsp. dry parsley, 1/8 tsp. dry dill, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/8 tsp. dry mustard, optional 1 1/2 tsp. dried chives.
Wet ingredients: 1 c. mayonnaise (no substitutes), 2/3 c. buttermilk (made from 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and milk to total 2/3 c.), 1/4 tsp. white vinegar.
Whisk together. Best results requires 4 hours chilling time before serving.
Italian Dressing
Dry ingredients: 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning.
Wet ingredients: 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 c. canola oil, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. white or white wine vinegar.
Whisk all together. Store in fridge for 2 weeks.
French Dressing
Dry ingredients: 1/4 c. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika (smoked gives it a bacon flavor), 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. onion powder
Wet ingredients: 3/4 c. vegetable oil, 1/4 c. vinegar
Shake until blended. Chill.
My sister requested a couple of other mix recipes as well. I guess her family must have liked “dinner in the mail” that I made for them and sent over 2,000 miles.
The following I store individually in small plastic Ziplocs and then place folded Ziplocs in Mason Jars to keep the dry ingredients fresh. You can make make as many of these packets as you think you’ll use in 6 months.
Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix 1 Tbsp. dried minced onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. dry mustard, 1/4 tsp. celery seeds, 1/4 tsp. chili powder.
Brown 1 pound ground beef. Optional; toss in a chopped green or red pepper with the beef. Add in 1 packet of the seasoning mix with 1/2 c. water and 8 oz. tomato sauce. Serve on hamburger buns (or make your own). Yum!
Taco Seasoning Mix Use in any favorite mexican recipe calling for taco seasoning
2 tsp. dry minced onion, 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (reduce for milder taste), 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tsp. cumin
Brown 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or cook beans until soft. Add 1/2 c. water with one packet of taco seasoning mix to the beef or beans.
Enjoy!
There are many reasons to make your own food from scratch at home. There are health benefits to knowing what you put into the food you fix for your family. Let’s not even get into the corn byproducts that the food industry and government are sticking into all premade and processed foods causing… no, I won’t get into it. There are home budget benefits as well since you can actually make these “mystery” convenience foods right in your own kitchen for pennies on the dollar in most cases. And once these mixes are made they become time savers as well as you can make delicious wholesome foods in record time. It just takes a little bit of planning.
Why are the foods we eat such a mystery to people? We eat AT LEAST three times a day and yet so many feel that a homemade frosted cake is opening a box at home and then opening a can of frosting to spread. My Mom and I were talking about this just yesterday. Pickles are something that must grow on trees or maybe bushes; they certainly can’t be MADE. Raspberries grow on trees and where does a potato come from? The Ground? In the dirt??? Gross! (These are all true stories… from adults… and a few teenagers). The reason food is a mystery is because we’ve made it that way.
Salad dressings found on the grocery store shelves are an American phenomenon, as I have been led to understand, though my own traveling experiences have barely ever left American soil. A good friend of mine that we used to picnic with often who is from South America brought one of the best tasting green salads ever to share on one of those picnics. I asked her what the dressing was and I was floored at the simplicity when she told me. It was full of flavor but made with very few ingredients. The dressings on our American grocery store shelves are often “fat-full” and have an ingredient list a mile long of things I can hardly pronounce not to mention the good ones cost DOLLARS and the cheap ones don’t taste so good. Then there’s eating for $3 a day per person and you can imagine I don’t want to spend DOLLARS on fattening salad dressing either. Then I was forced to figure out a salad dressing one day as I discovered we were completely out of dressing, we were having company over for dinner AND it was Sunday which meant, among other things, that there were no purchases at the store in my future that day.
I sent in my salad dressing idea to one of my favorite “frugal living” blogs/sites when she did a piece on homemade salad dressings and I actually got a personal response from its author who is really and truly an unofficial genius at frugality. The internet has really led me into a world of connections with people who live like me and have similar priorities though our basic reasons for lifestyle may vary. She thought my idea on making and storing the salad dressings was fantastic and she hadn’t yet thought of it on her own. So there it is… I must be an expert… at salad dressing!?!? Maybe just creative thinking outside the box. Well, it’s something!
Here are a few of my favorite salad dressings and a couple other dry mixes too. I store the dry ingredients in clean dry pint jars and a pint is the perfect size for mixing in the wet ingredients once you decide to make the salad dressing. They are capped with clean pre-used canning lids and rings. (I like to re-use as much as possible). Once I have filled my line-up of jars with dry ingredients I label the jar with masking tape to indicate the type of dressing. Then on a piece of masking tape I stick on the bottom of the jar I indicate the wet ingredients to be added along with their amounts. That way, homemade salad dressing is quick as a wink to make on a busy night and easy enough to create that my older children can even whip it up easily when it is their week for "dinner prep." Usually several kinds of dressing mixes are on my pantry shelves for the “dinner helper” to choose from. And when they’re gone I get out all of my spices and mix up the different combinations all over again. *Important to note; most of my spices are bought in larger quantities at Sam’s Club for further cost savings. With as much cooking as I do for a larger family I don’t have any trouble going through these ingredients. Most of these dressings can sit on the shelf ready and waiting for at least 6 months.
Home-Style Ranch
Dry ingredients: 1 tsp. dry parsley, 1/8 tsp. dry dill, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/8 tsp. dry mustard, optional 1 1/2 tsp. dried chives.
Wet ingredients: 1 c. mayonnaise (no substitutes), 2/3 c. buttermilk (made from 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and milk to total 2/3 c.), 1/4 tsp. white vinegar.
Whisk together. Best results requires 4 hours chilling time before serving.
Italian Dressing
Dry ingredients: 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning.
Wet ingredients: 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 c. canola oil, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. white or white wine vinegar.
Whisk all together. Store in fridge for 2 weeks.
French Dressing
Dry ingredients: 1/4 c. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika (smoked gives it a bacon flavor), 1 tsp. dry mustard, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. onion powder
Wet ingredients: 3/4 c. vegetable oil, 1/4 c. vinegar
Shake until blended. Chill.
My sister requested a couple of other mix recipes as well. I guess her family must have liked “dinner in the mail” that I made for them and sent over 2,000 miles.
The following I store individually in small plastic Ziplocs and then place folded Ziplocs in Mason Jars to keep the dry ingredients fresh. You can make make as many of these packets as you think you’ll use in 6 months.
Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix 1 Tbsp. dried minced onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. dry mustard, 1/4 tsp. celery seeds, 1/4 tsp. chili powder.
Brown 1 pound ground beef. Optional; toss in a chopped green or red pepper with the beef. Add in 1 packet of the seasoning mix with 1/2 c. water and 8 oz. tomato sauce. Serve on hamburger buns (or make your own). Yum!
Taco Seasoning Mix Use in any favorite mexican recipe calling for taco seasoning
2 tsp. dry minced onion, 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (reduce for milder taste), 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic, 1/4 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tsp. cumin
Brown 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or cook beans until soft. Add 1/2 c. water with one packet of taco seasoning mix to the beef or beans.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Pumpkin Cream Trifle
So it’s not autumn anymore but it’s still a great season for utilizing the recent pumpkin harvest. Being in charge of FHE treats tonight gave me an opportunity to try something new… and DELICIOUS! My baker boy enthusiastically got to work helping to count out measurements and crack the eggs calling himself “Chef Nathan”. The recipe utilizes things that I had down in my “pantry” and the cake mix needed to get used up soon since I find them handy to have on hand but rarely make anything with box mixes. Here’s is what we came up with and it’s so good it may replace a Thanksgiving Pie next year. The cake is unbelievably moist and tastes wonderful all by itself without anything to dress it up. This worked out well for one of my children who prefers plain cake w/ NO cream. Also this recipe is super easy and would be even easier if the instant pudding in a box is used.
Pumpkin Cream Trifle – Serves 16 – Easy Recipe
1 box of spice cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (I make my own pudding mix)
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. vegi/canola oil
1/2 c. water
3 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 with non-stick spray. In large mixing bowl combine cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin, oil, water, eggs, cinnamon and ginger. Mix until batter looks thick and well blended about 3 minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake 32-39 minutes till cake center is done and edges spring back. Cool completely. (This cake can freeze at this point if desired for later time).
Cream
2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding made w/ 2 cups of milk (again, I made my own non instant pudding and cooked it accordingly)
Combine pudding w/ 1 container (2 cups) Cool Whip or Whipped Cream
Assembly
Cut or tear cake into 1 inch cubes and layer in trifle bowl w/ Cream mixture and English Toffee Bits and Pecans (pecans are optional) 3 times each. Drizzle with Caramel Sauce. Serve immediately or refrigerate covered for no longer than 24 hours.
Adapted from the World Wide Ward Cookbook p. 214
Pumpkin Cream Trifle – Serves 16 – Easy Recipe
1 box of spice cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (I make my own pudding mix)
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. vegi/canola oil
1/2 c. water
3 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 with non-stick spray. In large mixing bowl combine cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin, oil, water, eggs, cinnamon and ginger. Mix until batter looks thick and well blended about 3 minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake 32-39 minutes till cake center is done and edges spring back. Cool completely. (This cake can freeze at this point if desired for later time).
Cream
2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding made w/ 2 cups of milk (again, I made my own non instant pudding and cooked it accordingly)
Combine pudding w/ 1 container (2 cups) Cool Whip or Whipped Cream
Assembly
Cut or tear cake into 1 inch cubes and layer in trifle bowl w/ Cream mixture and English Toffee Bits and Pecans (pecans are optional) 3 times each. Drizzle with Caramel Sauce. Serve immediately or refrigerate covered for no longer than 24 hours.
Adapted from the World Wide Ward Cookbook p. 214
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