Double Chocolate Waffles w/ Berries & Cream

Double Chocolate Waffles with Berries & Cream

recipe from Our Best Bites

2/3 C flour
1/3 C corn starch
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
6 T granulated sugar
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 C mini chocolate chips

Berry Sauce & Topping
3 C berries, fresh or frozen
1/4 C raspberry jam (you could use strawberry if you prefer)
2 T hot tap water
optional: powdered sugar to taste

Sweetened whipped cream
Start by making the berry sauce since it can sit while you make the waffle batter. Combine jam and warm water and whisk until combined. Add in the berries and gently stir until combined. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, you can add a little powdered sugar if you'd like. Set berry sauce aside and make waffle batter.

Waffles:
Preheat a waffle iron. Combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk for a minute so it gets a little frothy. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry a little at a time, whisking to combine. Just stir until they're combined and don't over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips. This is a pretty thin batter, so don't be expecting something that looks like a pancake batter. It's supposed to be thin.

You shouldn't need to grease your waffle iron. Place batter in and cook according to your iron. Be careful to not overfill. This batter has plenty of leavening so it will expand.

A tip: Instead of pouring batter, use a ladle and spoon it in, making sure to stir the batter each time. Otherwise the chocolate chips won't be distributed.

It's a little harder to tell when chocolate waffles are done because you can't go so much on color. Go by smell and touch and realize that they will crisp up a little more after they come off the iron.

When done cooking waffles, top with berry sauce and sweetened whipped cream.  YUM!!!

Fruit Soup

I like to plan my weekly menu every Sunday night before I go shopping Monday, but I've been in a bit of a recipe-idea slump lately. So I enlisted my family's help. Everyone -my three oldest kids (5, 7 and 10) and my husband- thinks up one dinner idea each week and then I fill in the gaps. They have actually come up with some good ideas- fish tacos, ribs, eggs & bacon, etc. But sometimes I have to tweak the kids' ideas a bit. My 5 year old wanted soup and grilled cheese for his dinner, so I adapted that to a summer version, and we had croissant sandwiches and this delicious fruit soup. I had seen the idea on the Sister's Cafe and adapted it to suit our tastes (it called for canned peaches and orange juice concentrate, neither of which I ever buy, so I changed those). It was so fruity, cool and refreshing- I could've eaten the whole thing myself!

Fruit Soup
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 c. orange juice
3 Tb tapioca (be sure to use the “minute brand” quick cooking tapioca)
2 1/4 c. additional orange juice
2 cans mandarin oranges (with or without juice)
1 bag frozen mixed berries (or an equivalent amount of fresh)
2 c. fresh strawberries, sliced, just before serving
2 bananas, just before serving

Bring sugar, water, orange juice and tapioca to a boil. Continue boiling on medium high for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Some tapioca will be clear and other granules will have a white center. Take off heat. Let sit for 30 minutes. (This is when the tapioca will become more clear.) Add 2 1/4 c. orange juice. Chill for several hours or overnight. Add mandarin oranges and mixed berries. Before serving add strawberries and bananas.

Strawberry-Lime Chiffon Cake with Coconut Cream

I got the idea for this dessert from a blog post at Our Best Bites, but all I remembered was the title and I didn't want to go find the recipe, so I made up my own. It turned out just as good as I had hoped. It was the perfect spring dessert!

Strawberry-Lime Chiffon Cake with Coconut Cream

for the Chiffon Cake (recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen):
2 c. sifted flour
1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

for the Strawberries:
1 lb. strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
1/4 c. sugar
2 tb. lime juice

for the Coconut Cream:
1 c. whipping cream
2 tb. sugar
1/2 tsp. coconut extract

for topping:
toasted coconut, if desired
(toast in oven for about 10-15 minutes, checking and stirring frequently to avoid burning)

Make the cakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have two 9-inch round cake pans ready, lined with parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray, but otherwise ungreased. (I actually used two 9 x 5" loaf pans this time, greased only, and it worked fine)
2. Sift the flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder and salt together twice into a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, beat the yolks, water, oil, zest and vanilla on high speed until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture until smooth. In another large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry.
4. Use a rubber spatula to fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Do so gently, only until the egg whites are no longer visible. Overdoing it will deflate the egg whites, and yield a denser, shorter cake.
5. Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake them until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 40 to 50 minutes, checking your cake every five minutes or so from the 30 minute mark on.
6. Let cakes cool on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release, then flip out onto a plate (or your hand, if you’re daring) and then another plate. I only used one cake for this recipe (that will feed about 8-10 people) and froze the other for another time.

While the cakes are baking, mix the sliced strawberries, sugar and lime juice. Place in refrigerator. Just before serving, whip the cream and add sugar and coconut extract. To serve, slice cake into 8-10 pieces, top with strawberries, coconut cream, and toasted coconut. YUM!

Update: The OBB recipe is very similar to this AND is in their new cookbook, which I got for Mother's Day. It is full of great recipes and beautiful photos- I highly recommend it!!

Strawberry Napoleons

Need a last minute Valentine's Day dessert? I just couldn't resist the strawberries on sale this week, so we've had strawberries in fruit salad, strawberry sauce on pancakes, and these for dessert tonight. These little babies were refreshing, light and delicious. The perfect sweet ending to a Valentine's dinner! And super easy, too!

Strawberry Napoleons

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (that is 1/2 a package)

1 lb. strawberries, sliced

4 tb. sugar, divided

1 c. heavy cream

chocolate sauce or melted milk chocolate, if desired

Unfold puff pastry and cut into 3 strips along perforations, and then cut each third into 4 pieces. Lay on greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, remove to wire rack to cool. Sprinkle sliced strawberries with 2 tb. sugar and stir (this can be done ahead of time and kept in fridge). Whip cream and mix in sugar. Once cool, split each pastry piece in half (so you should now have 24 pieces). Lay one piece on a plate, top with a few strawberries and a spoonful of whipped cream, then another pastry, more strawberries and cream, and then a third layer. Top with a fourth pastry piece and a drizzle of chocolate sauce or melted milk chocolate, if desired. Continue to make 5 more servings with remaining ingredients. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy!

Christmas Crackles & Orange Ricotta Cookies

"Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver, and the other gold."

This is the Christmas cookie I remember making every year with my mom, without fail. The recipe was handed down from my grandma, Mimi. These are so good, and I can't believe I haven't posted them here before! It's just not Christmas without a plate of Crackles! They are also fun to make with the kids- they love to roll them and then coat them in the powdered sugar. Make sure to plan ahead- the dough needs to be refrigerated overnight.

Chocolate Crackles
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
½ c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ c. chopped walnuts (optional, I don’t like nuts in cookies, so I never use them)
powdered sugar, for rolling
Cream oil and sugar, mix in melted chocolate. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt. Add nuts if desired. Cover bowl and chill in fridge overnight (or at least 4 hours). Shape dough into small balls (about 1"), and roll in powdered sugar. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.


I love the chocolate-orange flavor combo, so when I saw this recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod, I knew I had to try it. I was a bit skeptical of the whole ricotta cheese in cookies idea, but I went with it and I was not disappointed! I used milk chocolate instead of dark, because that's what I had and I prefer it anyway, but I'm sure either would be great!

Orange Ricotta Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 orange, zested (1 tsp zest)
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons orange juice
To drizzle:

1 cup chopped dark or milk chocolate, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until ingredients are combined. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and the sugar. Beat the until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, orange juice, and orange zest. Beat to combine.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients. Spoon the dough (about 1 tablespoon for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
5. To glaze the cookies: combine the powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let glaze harden for about five minutes. Drizzle cookies with dark chocolate and let the cookies set up.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Caramel Dip

Delicious on cold, crisp apples, this dip is perfect for fall. It can also be used as a caramel sauce for ice cream and other desserts. Package in jelly jars for a cute gift. YUM!

Caramel Dip

1 c. real butter

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1 can sweetened condensed milk

dash salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, condensed milk and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Mix in vanilla. If using as a sauce, reduce boiling time to 3 minutes. Keep covered in refrigerator and reheat as needed. Makes about 4 1/2 cups.

Cowboy Cookies

I got the recipe for these cookies from the Sister's Cafe blog, and man, were they good. Full of chewy oats, sweet coconut, and creamy chunks of chocolate, these cookies were a really hearty version of a chocolate chip cookie. Mmmm!

Cowboy Cookies
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks (I used milk chocolate)
1 cup chopped pecans or shredded coconut (optional- I used the coconut)

In a large bowl stir together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In the bowl of your mixer blend the butter and sugars until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Blend in vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in dry mixture, half at a time. Mix in chocolate chips and coconut. Refrigerate dough for at least 1-2 hours (I did not do this). Heat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray. Using a scant 1/4 cup per cookie shape dough into balls and slightly flatten (I just dropped balls on). Place about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

**To change it up--**
Omit the chocolate chips, cinnamon and nuts and add:
2 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries

Cherry-Lemon Scones

This recipe came from the Sister's Cafe blog, and it was delicious! Perfect for breakfast with some scrambled eggs on a lazy Saturday morning.

Cherry-Lemon Scones

2 c. all purpose flour

¼ c. granulated white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ c. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

½ c. dried cherries

Zest of 2 lemons

2/3 c. buttermilk

Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 Tb milk

white granulated sugar, for sprinkling the tops of the scones

OR after they are baked drizzle with lemon glaze

Glaze:Juice of one lemon

Powdered sugar--just keep spooning it into the juice until desired consistency for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400° and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or spray with cooking spray).In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the dried cherries and the lemon zest. Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 1 ½ inches thick. Cut this circle in half, and then cut each half into 3-4 pie-shaped wedges. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. Sprinkle with raw sugar (if desired). Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Glaze if desired. Makes 6-8 scones.

Caramelitos

I found this yummy bar recipe over at Sister's Cafe. It was easy and delicious!

Caramelitos
1 cup flour

1 cup quick oats (I used regular)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup caramel topping

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, melted

3 Tablespoons flour

Mix 1 c. flour, oats, sugar, soda, salt and butter. Press half of the mixture into a 11x7 pan and set the other half aside. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Blend 3/4 cup caramel with 3 T. flour. Pour (drizzle) over chocolate chips. Sprinkle the balance of the flour oat mixture over the dessert. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool and set before slicing.

Asphalt Pie

Our favorite things at Winger's are the wings (of course) and Asphalt Pie. One of these days I'll get around to posting my copycat wing recipe (it's awesome!), but for now here is the pie (it was SO good, and it costs less to make a whole pie than to buy one slice!):

Asphalt Pie
1 Oreo pie crust (I make my own with 18 crushed Oreos and 4 tb. melted butter, then freeze)
1 carton mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened (actually I used about 3/4 of the carton)
caramel ice cream topping
sweetened whipped cream, or Cool Whip if you prefer

This is really easy. Pile the softened ice cream into the pie crust (I just melt it in the microwave for about a minute and then stir it up). Place in freezer for several hours, until ice cream is firm again. Remove from freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving to make slicing easier. Slice into 8 wedges, and top each wedge with a drizzle of caramel and a scoop of whipped cream. YUM!

Strawberry Shortcake

Fluffy Chiffon Cake + Real Whipped Cream + Fresh Strawberries=

Strawberry Shortcake (YUM!)

1 layer chiffon cake (recipe makes two, freeze the other for another time)

1 lb. fresh strawberries

sugar

1 cup whipping cream

Slice strawberries and sprinkle with sugar (how much depends on how sweet your strawberries are). Store in fridge while you bake the cake (recipe below). Using an electric mixer, whip the cream, adding about 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. After cake has cooled, cut the cake into 8 wedges. Top with berries, any extra juice, and whipped cream. Enjoy!

Chiffon Cake (slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

2 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 large egg yolks at room temperature

8 large egg whites at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Make cake layers: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have two 9-inch round cake pans ready, bottom lined with wax or parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray, but otherwise ungreased.
2. Sift the flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder and salt together twice into a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, beat the yolks, water, oil, zest and vanilla on high speed until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture until smooth. In another large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry.
4. Use a rubber spatula to fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Do so gently, only until the egg whites are no longer visible. Overdoing it will deflate the egg whites, and yield a denser, shorter cake.
5. Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake them until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean about 30 minutes.

6. Let cakes cool on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release, then flip out onto a plate (or your hand, if you’re daring) and then another plate.

Favorite Brownies & Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I have been searching for a good brownie recipe for a long time. I really like my brownies fudgy and slightly gooey, but every time I try to make homemade brownies they turn out pretty cakey. I hate to admit it, but I actually like brownie mixes better. But I would rather make homemade so I can control what's in there (no HFCS for us, thanks!). I found this recipe and thought I'd give it a go. I did add some chocolate syrup in the mix, and they turned out very good! Thick, fudgy, yum! No more boxed mixes for me! They would be great alone, but I also recently found this frosting recipe I love, so I put that on top. Next time I might add a layer of mint frosting in the middle.

Favorite Brownies (adapted from the Open Pantry)

1 cup Butter

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

2 cups Sugar

4 Eggs

1 1/2 cup Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tsp Vanilla

1/4 cup chocolate syrup

Melt the butter, add the cocoa and sugar and mix together. Add in eggs, mixing well. Add the remaining ingredients, mix, and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (from Stephanie’s Kitchen)
½ c. butter, softened
1/3 c. cocoa
2 2/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cream, half & half, or milk (I use milk)
1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Blend butter and cocoa until creamy. Alternately add powdered sugar and cream/milk. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

*You can make vanilla buttercream by replacing the cocoa with more powdered sugar, or make variations by substituting the vanilla for other flavorings in chocolate or vanilla buttercream (try almond flavoring, coconut, raspberry, orange, lemon, mint, etc.)

Nanaimo Bars

I read about these bars on another food blog, and since they are a traditional Canadian treat, we thought we'd celebrate our obsession with the Vancouver Olympics by eating these for our Family Home Evening treat last night. The story is that a lady in the city of Nanaimo submitted the recipe for her no-bake bars to a city cookbook contest and won. No wonder, they are seriously awesome! The bars were eventually named after the city (which is on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada).

Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer:

½ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup sugar

5 tbsp. cocoa

1 egg, beaten

1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs

½ c. finely chopped almonds

1 cup coconut
Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8" x 8" pan.

Second Layer:

½ cup unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream (I used milk successfully)

2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder (or vanilla pudding mix)

2 cups powdered sugar
Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Third Layer:

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Next to the beloved Christmas Crackles, these are my favorite cookie to bake during the holidays. They are soft and chewy and spiced just perfectly. I got the recipe from an old neighbor, Jennifer Lund. It makes plenty to share with friends or neighbors!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 c. butter

2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. molasses

4 1/2 c. flour

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

granulated sugar, for rolling

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and molasses and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

*You can also chill the dough, and then roll it and cut it into shapes using cookie cutters. Bake a little less time since they are flat, or they will be pretty crispy!

Banana Cream Pie

I keep saying that Chocolate Almond Mousse Pie is my fave, but I think I'd forgotten how much I loved homemade Banana Cream Pie. It is at least a close 2nd, if not a tie for the top. I got this recipe from my mom-in-law. PS I am going to admit that there was one slice left the next morning, and it was so scrumptious, I just couldn't help it, so I ate it for breakfast! :0

Banana Cream Pie

3 cups milk

3/4 c. sugar

5 tb. cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

3 egg yolks

2 tb. butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 bananas

1 baked pie shell

Scald milk in a glass bowl in microwave for 5-6 minutes on power level 8. Meanwhile, mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk the mixture into the scalded milk. Beat the egg yolks, slowly pour in 3/4 c. of the milk mixture, stirring. Add the egg mixture back to the rest of the milk mixture and whisk. Cook on power level 8 for 3-4 minutes. Whisk, then cook for 2 more minutes. Whisk again, cook for 1 minute and continue this until custard is very thick. When thickened, stir in butter and vanilla. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate (can be made the night before serving). When ready to serve, gently mix in sliced bananas (or coconut) and spread in pie shell. Be sure to serve with REAL whipped cream!

Perfect Pumpkin Roll

I got this recipe from the My Kitchen Cafe website and it was easy and oh, so yummy! A perfect fall dessert!

Perfect Pumpkin Roll

Cake:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

2/3 cup mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture - a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.

Pizza & Breadsticks, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, and Chili Rellenos!

Okay, I have to catch up before I post my more recent recipes. So sorry they are all clumped together. The above picture is some pizza and breadsticks I made with the 100% whole-wheat bread dough (recipe below a few posts). They were delicious! For the pizza, I used about 1/3 of the dough, rolled it into a 15" circle on my pizza stone, topped it with 1 c. sauce, 2 c. mozzerella, and toppings. I baked it for about 15 minutes at 425. The breadsticks I just rolled another 1/3 dough into a large rectangle, cut into strips with my pizza cutter, and brushed with butter/garlic salt/parmesan mixture and then baked until done. I used the other 1/3 dough to make a small loaf of bread.

This is the delish cake the kids made me for my birthday (with my supervision, of course). I got the recipe from my new favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen. The recipe calls for rum, but you can just leave it out and it still turns out great! Oh, yeah, she hates the bright red cherry thing, so she didn't do that, but I like them so I added them back in.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Topping:

1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored (I used 1 can pineapple slices)

3/4 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
Batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon dark rum

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice (saved from pineapple can)

2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake
Special equipment: A well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet. If you lack a cast-iron skillet of this size, make the caramel in a small pot and scrape it into the bottom of a similarly-sized cake pan. (I used a 9″ cake pan in the pictures above, do not use springform, it will leak!)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make topping: Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.
Make batter: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.) Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet five minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack. Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

Both Dustin and I love Mexican food, and we both agree that although we like tacos, enchiladas, and the likes, our very favorite is chile rellenos (stuffed green chiles). However, the varieties found at some restaurants (actually most of them around here) are sadly lacking. They most often consist of a smallish chile and some cheese wrapped in humongous amounts of an eggy batter, fried, and then soaked in red enchilada sauce until soggy. Yuck! Nothing like the lightly breaded, slightly crispy rellenos that really let the smoky flavor of fire-roasted chiles shine through. So we make our own. I adapted this recipe from Mrs. Grigg's Cookbook.

Chile Rellenos

10-15 large whole skinned fire-roasted Anaheim chiles (canned or fresh*)

colby-jack, cheddar, or jack cheese, sliced into strips about 1/4" by 3"

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

flour

salt and pepper

vegetable oil, for frying

Heat oil (about 1" deep) in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Rinse seeds out of chiles, pat dry. Place one strip of cheese in each chile. Mix eggs and milk in one bowl, and flour with a little salt and pepper in another bowl. Dip each chile in egg mixture, then flour mixture, then egg again, and flour again. Slide carefully into hot oil. Fry about 4-5 at a time until golden, turn over and fry until golden on second side. Remove with tongs onto a plate lined with paper towels. Fry remaining chiles, eat and enjoy! I usually serve them with refried beans and either corn or spanish rice, along with some quesadillas for the kids.

*If you want to roast your own chiles, choose large straight ones. Using either a gas burner or a grill, roast the whole chiles over a hot fire until completely black, turning to roast all sides. Wrap chiles in a damp kitchen towel, and allow to steam for 10-15 minutes. Peel off black skin and remove top and seeds.

Baklava

Oh, my. How I love baklava. I had never tasted it until we moved here to Price. How I went for over 30 years without experiencing this delectable treat is beyond my comprehension. One of Dustin's Greek patients sent him home with a load of food one day when we were in the hotel, including a plate of baklava. Oh, yummy! Since then, I've had it a few more times, including at the Greek festival here (there are a lot of Greeks in Price, believe it or not), where it cost me around $3 for a tiny piece. Crazy, I know, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, I got the craving lately, and decided it was time to have my first experience working with Phyllo dough. The results are fabulous! The recipe's a little long, so instead of posting it here, I'll just include the link to the recipe I found. It also has lots of great tips. It was time consuming, but not difficult, so if you are up for it, give it a try! Go here for the recipe. Meanwhile, enjoy drooling over the pictures! PS, I am not a fan of walnuts, so I used almonds instead and it turned out great.

Beautiful Brown Bananas

Most things are bad when they go bad, right? Except bananas! When bananas get over-ripe you can make the yummiest things! My 2 favorite things to make for snacks (or breakfast) when my bananas go brown are banana bread and chocolate-banana milk. I actually make banana pancakes, too, but I haven't made those in a while, so I don't have a pic. I have had many banana bread recipes over the years, but this is my favorite. Dustin brought some home that an old lady patient of his had made, and it was the best I'd ever had, so I told him he had to get the recipe. The secret is butter instead of oil, and 4 bananas instead of the typical 3. When I only have 1 or 2, I make chocolate-banana milk, my own recipe.

Best Banana Bread

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter

4 mashed bananas

2 eggs

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch salt

3 tb. buttermilk (I mix 3 tb. milk and 1/2 tsp. lemon juice and let it sit a few minutes)

Cream butter and sugar. Add bananas and eggs. Add dry ingredients, then buttermilk. Pour into greased loaf pans (1 large, 3 small, or 24 muffins). Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (large pan). 3 small pans takes about 25-35 minutes, muffins take about 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Banana Milk

4 c. milk

1-2 bananas

chocolate syrup (as much as you like)

Mix all in blender until smooth. Serves 4. YUM!

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

Thought it would be fun to try this recipe from Kraft instead of the traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year. It was really good, especially if you are a caramel/nut lover!
Turtle Pumpkin Pie
1 graham cracker pie crust
1/4 c. caramel topping
1/2 c. pecan pieces
1 c. cold milk
2 sm. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 sm. tub cool whip
Pour caramel topping into crust, sprinkle w/ pecans. Beat milk, pudding, pumpkin and spices. Stir in 1 1/2 c. cool whip. Spread into crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Top w/ remaining cool whip, and more caramel and nuts if desired.