Soda Cake

This recipe really is as simple as buying a box of cake mix and a flavor of soda. You can even create a layered cake using 2 or more varieties.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix
• 1 can of any flavor of soda

Directions:

1. Mix together in a bowl and bake according to the instructions on the package.

Directions (for layered cake):

1. Separate a package of cake mix into 2 bowls (1 ½ cups each).
2. Mix in half a can of soda into one bowl, and half a can of another soda into the other bowl.
3. Pour into two round release pans and bake according to instructions on the package.

Cream Cheese Frosting

This cream cheese frosting recipe is my favorite.  Not too sweet from the sugar or too sour from the cream cheese.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 1 stick softened butter
• 3 ½ cup powdered  sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together.  Simple as that.

To make the chocolate cream cheese frosting, because I thought it would go well with the flavors I had chosen, I used  ½ cup less powdered sugar and added ½ cup cocoa powder instead. I also added a 1 teaspoon of cinnamon for a little kick. It was so good I wanted to eat it by the spoonful!

Spread some of the frosting to the top of one of the cakes, put the second layer on top and then finish frosting the whole cake.

Flavors

So, for my first try at this, I tried Orange Crush and Cream Soda. The orange came through and so next time I will try a grapefruit soda or other fruit flavors like peach or tangerine.  I’d also like to try Dr. Pepper – perhaps with a chocolate cake mix.

Mix and match!  What flavors would you like to try?

BLT Club Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of bacon, thick cut
• 1/2 head of iceburg lettuce, chopped
• 2 cups of grape tomatoes, sliced length-wise
• 2 slices of Swiss cheese, cut julienne style
• 2 tbsp diced red onion
• 1 lemon
• 1 box of Mostaccioli pasta
• 1 lemon
• Real mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper
• Chives to top

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions. Refrigerate until cold.
2. Fry the bacon and crumble into large pieces.
3. Combine the lettuce, grape tomatoes, Swiss cheese, onions, bacon, and pasta.
4. Add mayonnaise until everything is coated.
5. Add the zest of half a lemon and the juice of half a lemon.
6. Mix well to combine.
7. Add salt and pepper and chopped chives.
8. Refrigerate until needed and serve.

The next time you are invited to a barbecue or picnic, wow your friends and family with this BLT Club Pasta Salad recipe.  If you do not have chives for the top of the pasta salad, you can use chopped green onions instead. To keep the bacon crisp, you may want to add it right before serving the pasta salad instead of letting it sit in the refrigerator already mixed in with the other ingredients. Now that I have shared my best Memorial Day recipe, what is your favorite recipe to bring along to a barbecue or cook out?

Here are 5 unique lemonade recipes that are sure to impress the children and adults alike.

Spiced Lemonade

Say goodbye to boring lemonade. This recipe has spice and pizzazz like no other. The fennel and star anise make a truly inspiring beverage that will keep you coming back for more.

Ingredients:

• 3 lemons juiced
• Grated ginger (about 1/2 inch of ginger)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 star anise (whole)
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seed
• 1 cup of ice
• Fresh mint leaves (to taste: I use a small handful)

Directions:

Toast fennel seeds and star anise on the stove, 15-30 seconds until lightly toasted. With an electric grinder, grind the star anise and fennel until it is a powder. Add the powder and all the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend until all the ice is crushed. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

This is a refreshing twist on standard lemonade and incorporates both strawberry and basil. You can even add vodka to make a tasty, adult-only beverage for those hot days.

Ingredients:

• 8 lemons juiced (if juicing by hand use 10 lemons)
• 10-15 strawberries
• 1/3 cup fresh basil
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 cups water
• 1/3-1/2 cup of vodka (optional!)

Directions:

Add all your ingredients together and blend in a blender for approximately 30 seconds. Garnish with a basil leaf and serve over ice.

Dijon Lemonade

It may sound less than appealing, but if you can get over the fact that the drink contains Dijon mustard, you will definitely love it. This is another lemonade recipe that can easily be turned into an adult-only beverage with a little spiced gin.

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons juiced
• 3/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup spiced gin (optional!)
• Lemon wedge or cucumber for garnish

Directions:

Juice your lemons and mix with water and sugar. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Add in Dijon mustard and stir until fully incorporated. Add gin if desired. Serve cold over ice.

Watermelon Fennel Lemonade

This is a tasty twist on lemonade that uses the sweetness of watermelon with the licorice flavor of fennel.

Ingredients:

• 3 lemons juiced
• 1/2 cup watermelon juiced
• 1/2 fennel juiced
• 1 cup water

Directions:

Juice all items and then blend. Serve cold over ice.

Blackberry Lemonade

Blackberries are almost in bloom and make a fantastic addition to any lemonade recipe. Here is a wonderful blackberry lemonade recipe that the whole family will love.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 1 cup blackberries
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 cups water

Directions:

Heat one cup of water on stove until boiling and add in sugar. Stir sugar until fully dissolved. Blend the blackberries with the lemon juice and strain to remove any seeds. Stir the remaining ingredients together and serve over ice. Garnish with lemon wedge or mint leaf.

What is your favorite lemonade recipe?

photo credit: miss karen via photopin cc

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A quesadilla is a savory Mexican turnover that is generally made in a soft flour tortilla. The mixture can be just about anything including refried beans, cheese, ground beef or shredded chicken.

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken breast
• 2/3 cup salsa
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 soft tortillas
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 cups Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese, shredded
• Sour Cream
• Chives, chopped

Directions

1. Combine the shredded chicken, salsa, cumin, salt, and oregano in a pan.  Cook over low heat until warm, stirring occasionally.
2. Turn the oven to 475F.  Put three tablespoons of butter on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven until it is melted.
3. Remove the cookie sheet with the melted butter from the oven.
4. Take a flour tortilla and place it on the cookie sheet making sure the back is coated with melted butter.
5. Place the shredded chicken mixture on the left half of the tortilla.
6. Sprinkle the shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese over the chicken mixture.
7. Fold the right hand side of the flour tortilla to the left forming a half circle.
8. Press down gently so it stays.
9. Continue with each tortilla until they are each filled and folded.
10. Bake in the 475F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning.
11. Cut each folded quesadilla in half.
12. Serve with sour cream and top with freshly chopped chives.
13. You can top with extra salsa or quacamole if you like as well.

Enjoy! What are your favorite Mexican food-inspired dishes?

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and both pudding mixes. Add the eggs, oil and water and mix until well blended.
3. In a second bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts.
4. Pour half of the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of the nut mixture. Pour in the rest of the batter and spread and then sprinkle with the rest of the nut mixture.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes.

Tortellini Spinach Salad

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 cucumber
• 1 zucchini
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 red bell pepper
• 9 ounces three-cheese tortellini
• ¼ cup Italian salad dressing
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups fresh spinach

Directions

1. Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. While this is cooking, chop the cucumber, zucchini, yellow squash and red bell pepper into 1 inch squares.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the tortellini, chopped vegetables, salad dressing, and seasonings.
4. Top with the grated Parmesan cheese.
5. When ready to serve, serve it over the spinach. This can be eaten right away or can even be held in refrigerator for a day.

Healthy Stir Fry

 Ingredients

• 1 pound beef top round steak or chicken
• 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed with press
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 16 ounce bag fresh vegetables for stir-frying (such as broccoli, carrots, snow peas, celery)
• 2 tablespoons grated, peeled fresh ginger
• ¾ cup water
• Brown or white rice to serve over

Directions

1. Cut steak or chicken into 1/8 inch thick slices. Toss the meat with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 crushed garlic clove. Let this stand for at least 5 minutes.
2. Cut onion in half and then thinly slice crosswise. Cut red pepper into ¼ inch slices.
3. In deep nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add half of beef/chicken and stir-fry 30 to 45 seconds or just until beef/chicken is no longer pink. Transfer beef/chicken to plate. Repeat with remaining beef, without adding additional oil.
4. In same skillet, heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil until hot. Add the onion; cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes stirring occasionally.   Add vegetables for stir-frying, red pepper, ginger, water, and remaining soy sauce and garlic to skillet. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp, stirring frequently.
5. Remove skillet from heat; stir in beef/chicken with its juices. Serve the stir fry over rice.

Simple healthy recipes for the kids to make for their moms or for the family to make together. Keeping it simple gives you more time to spend with the kids on your special day.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers.

photo credit: lafattina via photopin cc

Goldfish

Everyone loves the cheesy cracker taste of a goldfish, and they make a great snack.  But the store-bought ones have all those unhealthy added preservatives in them.  When I ran across this recipe at tastykitchen.com, I was surprised at how easy it was to make my own.  The hardest part was cutting them out into little shapes.  I used tiny cookie cutters and the circle part of one of my pastry tips.  Tasytkitchen has more ideas on making cookie cutters, but I knew my husband wouldn’t be picky about the shape. After the first oohs and ahhs from your kids and after they taste them, your kids won’t be picky either!

Ingredients (makes approximately 7 dozen crackers)

• 8 ounces, weight sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut Into cubes
• 1 cup flour
• ¾ teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

• Pulse everything (except water) together in the food processor until the dough resembles coarse sand.
• Pulse in water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes.
• Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes. You can use a toothpick to make the eyes and smile if desired.
• Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350º F for about 15 minutes, or until crispy.

Roasted Chickpeas

I love to snack on wasabi peas, so when I ran across this recipe for roasted chickpeas, I had to try it.  These turned out crunchy and really tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, drained again, and spread on paper towels to dry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or half as much table salt

Directions

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Heat the oil in a small pan over low heat, then add the curry and garlic powders, and stir until fragrant.
• Turn off the heat, pour in the chickpeas, and stir gently with a rubber spatula until they’re coated with the oil and spice.
• Spread chickpeas in a foil-lined rimmed baking pan and bake for forty-five minutes to an hour, shaking the pan every ten minutes or so.
• When they’re done, some will be brown and crunchy and some will be golden and still a bit soft in the middle. Ideally, none will be totally black.

I’m not a fan of curry flavoring, so I added some hot red pepper olive oil to the regular olive oil and used celery salt instead of curry powder.  Any combination of spices can be used.

These are addicting and anytime you can come up with a healthy easy snack to make, it will make it easier to stick to the healthy instead of diving into that potato chip bag!

One of my favorite things to grill is asparagus. Asparagus is simple, tasty, and perfect for adding a little elegance to your grilled meal.

Prep Your Asparagus

The first step to awesome grilled asparagus is ensuring you are cooking the right portion of the asparagus. The tips have a different distinct flavor than the stalk. You can technically grill the entire stalk of asparagus, but I prefer to cut off the bottom 1-2 inches of the asparagus because it tends to be tougher than the rest.

As with any vegetable, don’t forget to wash your asparagus before cooking.

Choose Your Grilling Method

Asparagus can be cooked by placing it directly on the grill or it can be cooked in tin foil for a steamed taste. I prefer the tin foil method so you can easily cook with oils and vinaigrettes. Place your asparagus in center of a square piece of tin foil, add butter, vinaigrette or other toppings now, and wrap loosely. Place the tin foil directly on the grill. Cook about 6 minutes for a firm texture, or 8-9 minutes for a nice and soft steamed asparagus.

Add Some Flavor

You can really change the taste of your asparagus when you add toppings. Give it a kick with citrus, add tang with vinaigrette, or flavor it with cheeses or nuts. Here are some toppings to consider for your grilled asparagus.

• Lemon juice
• Freshly squeezed orange juice
• Salt and pepper
• Balsamic vinaigrette
• Parmesan
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Hollandaise sauce
• Garlic
• Panko

There really is no end to your topping choices. Once you have chosen a topping consider adding some elegance to your presentation by adding some garnishes. If you are making a citrus asparagus, plate the asparagus with lemon wedges or orange slices.

Add a Little Protein

Do you prefer meat in your dishes? No problem. Bacon goes perfectly with asparagus and can make for beautiful presentation. You can cut your bacon into smaller pieces and individually wrap your asparagus spears, or you can bunch your asparagus into small bunches of 5-6 spears and tie them together with a strip of bacon. The bacon should be cooked on the asparagus for added flavor. If you are cooking your bacon on the asparagus you will want to grill the asparagus until the bacon is thoroughly cooked.

Asparagus prepared on the grill can make the perfect side dish to any outdoor party. How do you prepare your asparagus on the grill?

photo credit: KayOne73 via photopin

The traditional deviled egg recipe that I use calls for mayonnaise and yellow mustard. But I also like this French Deviled Egg recipe. It’s a little bit different, using a combination of creme fraiche and Dijon mustard.  Creme fraiche is French for soured cream. It’s a heavy cream that has been soured and thickened. It is similar to sour cream, but it is a bit thicker and not as sour. You will find it in a little tub in the dairy section of your grocery store.  If your store has a specialty cheese section where you can buy the more expensive cheeses, look there first.

French Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 4-5 tbsp creme fraiche
• 3 baby gherkins
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Paprika

Directions

1. Hard boil the eggs.
2. Peel the eggs and rinse them.  Slice each hard boiled egg in half.  Scoop out the yolk and put it in a bowl.
3. Mash the egg yolks with a fork.
4. Very finely chop each baby gherkin.
5. Mix the chopped baby gherkins, the mashed egg yolks, the creme fraiche, and the Dijon mustard well.
6. Adjust the quantity of creme fraiche and Dijon mustard as needed until you have the right consistency of the deviled egg filling.
7. By the teaspoonful, spoon the deviled egg filling into the half egg white.
8. Sprinkle the tops of each egg with paprika.
9. Refrigerate until needed.

The next time you are invited on a picnic, to a barbecue or are asked to bring a dish for a family event, surprise them with the slightly different taste of French deviled eggs.

Stuffed Chili Peppers

And THEN, in our Bountiful Basket for this week, we got chili peppers and avocados.  The best way to deal with the skin on chili peppers, is to roast them. This also gives them a nice smoky flavor.  oat each chili pepper with a little bit of oil. Place them on a foil covered cookie sheet and put under the broiler.  Set the timer for 5 minutes and then turn them. Watch them carefully at this point as they will burn easily. Keep turning them until all the skin is browned on all sides, and just beginning to pull away from the pepper.  Remove them from broiler and place them in a plastic bag. Seal it shut and let the steam do it’s job for at least 30 minutes.  You should now be able to remove the skin and seeds easily.

So, what to do with those chili peppers? Here are some tasty ideas:

• Chop them up and use them in salsa or pico de gallo.
• Make an egg casserole and add them for flavor.
• Use them whole and stuff them.  (You can even freeze them for later). Take cream cheese add chopped green onions.  Stuff this into the chili (use a pastry bag) and wrap with a piece of bacon. Seal it with a toothpick. Grill the stuffed peppers on your grill or in a pan turning until the bacon is cooked.  You can also add sausage or other meat if you want.

Flat Green Chili Cheese Enchiladas

These delicious enchiladas can be served immediately or frozen for several meals.

Ingredients:

• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 bunches green onions, chopped
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 28 ounce green enchilada sauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Heat a little bit of oil in a saucepan.
• Dip the tortillas in the oil (until they bubble up a little) and place on paper towel.
• Grease a 13×9 inch baking dish or two smaller baking/pie dishes.
• Pour the green enchilada sauce into a saucepan.
• Spoon a little bit into the baking dish.
• Dredge 4 tortillas through the enchilada sauce and layer on bottom of baking dish.
• Put a third of the cheeses and onions over the tortillas.
• Spoon a little of the enchilada sauce over this layer.
• Repeat this 3 times.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes.
• They can be a little soupy so you may want to not use all the enchilada sauce.  Let them rest for about 5 minutes.

Pico de Gallo

Pico de gallo is a perfect addition to all your Mexican-inspired meals.

Ingredients:

• 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes (or use fresh if you want)
• 2 large bunches of green onions, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 16 ounces diced green chilis
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili tepins (finely ground) or pequins if you can’t find tepins
• Add the following to taste:
• Pepper
• Salt
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Pinch of oregano
• Dash of vinegar

Mix all ingredients together.  Be careful with the tepins because that is where the heat is going to come from.

Mexican food can be mild or spicy – your choice.  Time for a Mexican fiesta!

photo credit: OakleyOriginals via photopin cc