Strawberry Cake Roll

 From: Here


Ingredients:
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon water
About 10 strawberries (add more to taste)
2 cups heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 17x11x1 inch pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar while beating.

2. In a little bowl, sift the flour and the baking powder. Reserve.

3. After beating for 2-3 minutes, slowly add the flour and baking powder and mix with a spoon. When the batter is homogeneous, add the water. Combine slowly.

4. Pour the batter on the pan and spread evenly with a spatula.

5. Bake for about 10 minutes. Don’t over bake because it will be hard to roll.

6. While the cake is baking, whip the heavy cream. You can add sugar to taste, but it’s very good without it! Cut the strawberries into little pieces and mix with the heavy cream. Refrigerate.

7. Lay a waxed paper on your counter (or a clean kitchen towel). As soon as your cake is out of the oven take out the cake from the pan with the parchment paper, turn over on the waxed paper and remove the parchment paper, roll with the paper and let cool. 

8. When the cake is completely cool, unroll then spread the heavy cream with the strawberries on the cake. Roll again and you’re done!

Verdict:
Thumbs up!! I am starting to love cake rolls! This was super easy and very delicious! At first I thought it was a bit plain but within just a couple of bites it really grew on me! This cake lasted less than 12 hours after it was made, if that tells you anything.

I do recommend putting sugar in the whipping cream as you're making it. It just wasn't quite sweet enough on it's own, I thought. Also, in the original instructions you can see that she tells you to whip the cream, refrigerate it, and then you would end up putting it on the cake a couple of hours later. I didn't do that. I whipped it and then spread it on immediately. It still tasted the same, but I didn't give it time to thicken. I realized this later in the evening when I sliced a piece of cake and used some of my refrigerated leftover whipped cream. It was so much thicker than it had been earlier. As you can see I also topped mine with blueberries from our bushes! The mixture of strawberries and blueberries - delicious!

I definitely recommend this recipe to ANYONE. Totally yummy and I will certainly be making this again! By the way, I didn't use fresh strawberries. I had some frozen from last summer and used those. They were perfectly fine!

Family Fit Fried Potatoes

From: Here

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, scrubbed clean with skin on
½ large onion
1-2 tsp Kosher or Sea salt (to taste)
1 tsp black pepper
olive oil

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then slice to no more than 1/4 inch thickness. Slice onion in thin slices. In a frying pan heat ½ inch of olive oil to medium heat. Place potatoes in frying pan. Top with onions (do not put onions in before potatoes, because they will burn before the potatoes cook through). Salt and pepper. Put a lid on it and let it sit for several minutes. When the bottom layer of potatoes start to brown, turn them. Leave the lid off for a few minutes, turn the potatoes again, and put the lid back on for about 5 more minutes. Potatoes are done when a fork pierces them easily.

Verdict:
Yum! Thumbs up! Great side dish, quick, easy, delicious if you like potatoes! I didn't get a picture of these before they got gone but I will definitely be making these again in the future. 

Pepperoni Pizza Roll

From: Here

Ingredients:
1 package Rhodes bread dough
Pepperonis
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning, or oregano, or basil, or parsley, or any combination
Garlic powder or garlic salt
Any other pizza ingredients you might want

Loosely cover the frozen bread dough with plastic wrap. Allow dough to thaw for a few hours at room temperature. When dough is completely thawed it will be puffed up a bit. When dough is completely thawed it will be puffed up a bit. Brush dough with olive oil or whatever cooking oil you prefer. Lay pepperoni on dough covering entire surface. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Next, sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. You can use grated from a can if that is what you already have on hand...but you can buy the shredded Parmesan in a bag. Lightly sprinkle with Italian herbs...basically, some dried oregano, parsley and basil. Be careful, not too much....oregano can be very strong and you don't want too much! Add a sprinkling of garlic powder. Roll up dough starting at one edge of square.  Place rolls on baking sheet, leaving space between. Brush some melted butter on top of uncooked pepperoni roll. You do not need to let rise. Bake it right away. It will rise up in the oven perfectly. Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 15 to 25 minutes.
Oven temps. and times may vary. When done, top of roll should be golden brown and you should be able to make a tapping sound on the crust with your fingernail...just the same as when baking bread.  Make sure you allow pepperoni roll to cool completely before serving.

Verdict:
My picture is AWFUL! It doesn't do justice to this food, so please click over to the original recipe to see beautiful pictures. :)  This is basically the same recipe as the calzones we make (and I've made those into strombolis before) but I wanted to try this because of the bread dough. I've never used bread dough before. I cooked these for 25 minutes and they were still a bit doughy in the middle. But once I finally got them cooked all the way through they were delicious!! I think if I did this again I would stick with pizza crust from a can or homemade dough. Or maybe just do a calzone - those never end up doughy for me! But I would recommend that you try this recipe, for sure!

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins

From: Here


Ingredients:
Filling:

• one 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• a few drops of Fiori di Sicilia flavor, optional but very tasty (you can substitute vanilla or almond extract)

Muffins:

• 2 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup grated carrots, lightly packed; about 2 medium-large carrots

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan. Or line the pan with paper muffin cups, and grease the cups.

2) To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds. Stir in the sugar and flavor. Set aside.

3) To make the muffin batter: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and oil.

5) Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

6) Fold in the grated carrots, stirring to combine.

7) Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom.

8) Dollop on a heaping tablespoon of filling; a level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

9) Cover with enough batter to fill the muffin cups quite full. The batter will come to within about 1/4" to 3/8" of the top of each muffin cup. But don't try to use all the batter; unless you have particularly deep cups, you'll have abut 1/3 cup batter left over. Bake it in a separate custard cup, if desired.

10) Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) comes out clean, about 20 minutes. The tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch.

11) Remove the muffins from the oven, and as soon as you're able to handle them, transfer them to a rack. If you serve the muffins warm, the filling will be molten. If you wait for them to cool, it'll firm up.

Verdict:
Thumbs up!! When I make these the next time I will use just a tad less muffin mix and a tad more cream cheese on each muffin. They were definitely tasty!! I just would have loved more cream filling than what I did! I highly recommend making these. Super easy and delicious? That's a great recipe!!

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients:
Filling:

• one 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• a few drops of Fiori di Sicilia flavor, optional but very tasty (you can substitute vanilla or almond extract)

Muffins:

• 2 1/4 cups AP flour
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup grated carrots, lightly packed; about 2 medium-large carrots

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan. Or line the pan with paper muffin cups, and grease the cups.

2) To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat on low power for 40 seconds. Stir in the sugar and flavor. Set aside.

3) To make the muffin batter: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and oil.

5) Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

6) Fold in the grated carrots, stirring to combine.

7) Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom.

8) Dollop on a heaping tablespoon of filling; a level tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

9) Cover with enough batter to fill the muffin cups quite full. The batter will come to within about 1/4" to 3/8" of the top of each muffin cup. But don't try to use all the batter; unless you have particularly deep cups, you'll have abut 1/3 cup batter left over. Bake it in a separate custard cup, if desired.

10) Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) comes out clean, about 20 minutes. The tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch.

11) Remove the muffins from the oven, and as soon as you're able to handle them, transfer them to a rack. If you serve the muffins warm, the filling will be molten. If you wait for them to cool, it'll firm up.

Corn Dog Bites

From: Here

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour, divided
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup milk
• 8 hot dogs, cut into thirds
• Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

1. Preheat about 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees over medium heat.
2. Combine 2/3 cup of flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, garlic powder and onion powder in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the milk.
3. In a pie plate or other shallow dish, add the remaining flour.
4. Dredge each hot dog piece in the flour and then dip it into the cornmeal batter. Shake off any excess batter, but be sure that the hot dog is fully covered in batter.
5. Drop into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown and crispy.
6. Fry in batches, being careful not to over crowd the pan.
7. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until all of the hot dogs are fried.
8. Serve immediately with ketchup and mustard, if desired.

Verdict:
THUMBS UP! Oh praise be! Years ago when I could afford to buy the high-priced corn dog nuggets I ate them all. the. time. Before I had kids. Since we've started pinching pennies I've quit buying things like that. Although I just priced some and they really only cost about $0.75 per corn dog, I would imagine these are much cheaper than that. They were SO easy to make and they tasted so good! Definitely will be making these again in the future for a quick lunch or dinner!  Also, I used turkey dogs and they tasted perfectly fine.

Glazed Pork Chops

From: Here

Ingredients:
4 thick cut pork chops
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine the brown sugar and spices (salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and garlic powder or whatever spice blend you like). Remove the pork chops from their package and rub the brown sugar/spice mix all over both sides. Use all of the spice mix. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat. When the oil is nice and hot (it will look wavy in the pan), add the pork chops. Cook the chops for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are nicely browned. If you are using an oven safe skillet, place the skillet in the oven for an additional 5 minutes to make sure they are cooked through. If your skillet is not oven safe (most plastic handled skillets and teflon are not safe in the oven), transfer the chops to a baking sheet lined with foil then place in the oven. Remove the chops from the oven and drag each side around in the thick glaze that has formed around the chops in the pan prior to serving.


Please note: I always cook my pork chops 5 minutes on each side in a skillet as this directs, but then it usually takes 25 minutes of cooking in a 325 degree oven for them to be completely done. Do what works best for you.


Verdict:
Thumbs up! Every time I make pork chops I make Stephen's one way and then I try a new recipe for myself. I'm not the biggest fan of pork chops but I love trying new recipes!  Last night I needed a recipe for myself in a hurry so I headed to Pinterest of course! I found this recipe within a couple of minutes and had all the ingredients for it so of course I tested it out! I am really happy with it. It is a great sweet rub, super easy to do, and tasted great. Mine didn't make quite as much glaze as you will see on her blog, but it was still very yummy. I would do this again and maybe make a little more of the rub - I only used it on two pork chops and I wouldn't have minded having more of that glaze.

Chocolate Cake

From: Betty Crocker cookbook (2005 Breast Cancer Edition)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Lightly grease cake pans or a 13x9 baking sheet. Lightly flour bottom and sides of pans. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating for 3-4 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl; continue beating for 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Beat for 20 seconds more. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes for 8-inch pans and 13x9 pan, 30-35 minutes for 9-inch pans, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake for 10 minutes before removing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I needed a chocolate cake in a hurry so I chose the simplest recipe I could find! We had an incident with a child playing too close to the cake with a balloon as you can see....  Anyway, the cake was great - I think. I only got a small taste but since there wasn't a drop left at the end of the night I consider this recipe a success! Delicious and I would definitely make this again in the future!!

Another favorite chocolate cake recipe of mine

And this moist one that I love

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

From: Here

Ingredients:

Topping:

1/2 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C ketchup

 

Meatloaf Mix Ingredients:

3 lbs lean ground beef

1/2 C milk

2 eggs

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 bags onion or 1 onion chopped

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 C oatmeal

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan. Combine meatloaf mix ingredients. Form into loaf and top with ketchup mix (mixed ketchup and brown sugar). Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

 

 

Verdict:

I wasn't a big fan of this. I thought it was very sweet, and my husband and 3-year old wouldn't even touch it. This picture, though, shows exactly how much my 20-month old ate in one sitting. So obviously this might be a good match for your family! As for myself, I'll stick with my mom's meatloaf.

 

Crispy Onion Rings

From: Southern Living

Ingredients:
1 large sweet onion
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg white
1/2 cup AP flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
Cooking spray
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Slice onion crosswise into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Carefully separate slices into rings.Whisk together buttermilk and egg white in a small bowl until blended.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I liked this recipe but honestly I couldn't tell much of a taste difference between this recipe and this recipe I made a couple of years ago. I would definitely use either of these recipes. Homemade onion rings are no joke! They are so delicious!