Betty Crocker Summetime Cakes!

This summer is filled with MANY parties and I usually try to take something fun with me! I wanted to share some recipes with you! Summer is one of the best times to be creative - people are so hungry from sitting in the sun it does not matter if you mess up anywhere! · Ice Cream Cone Cakes – Kids of all ages will love personalizing these single-serving cakes! · Flip-Flops Cake – Personalize these edible summer wardrobe favorites with candies and fruit snacks – transforming a sheet cake into footwear that looks (and is) good enough to eat. · Watermelon Cake – Your family’s favorite fruit is about to get even more popular. This melt-in-your-mouth cake offers a surprise in every bite, with chocolate chip “seeds” and a green jelly bean “rind.” · Cookies n Cream Cupcakes – Perfect for family picnics, these cupcakes taste like your favorite ice cream without all the mess! · Butterfly Cake – This beautiful, and fun, cake transforms a traditional birthday cake into a beautiful butterfly perfect for outdoor summer parties. While I was at Betty's website trying to pick out some recipes to try out I discovered that they are actually pretty straight forward!

With school ending tomorrow I have been writing my "TO TRY" list : make a cake for everyone's birthday, make a giant diamond ring cake, make a cupcake cake of a baby, get a tan, etc. (:

Angel Food Cupcakes

Fish Cake

Be sure to go to the website for more amazing ideas!  As soon as school is out for the Summer I am going to try the cute fish cake!    

Although this was a sponsored post, I love it! <3

Chicken Chili!

With the freeze warnings and cold mornings, it is a wonder how anyone can  get out of bed!  We both like to cook, often from scratch.  We both come from grandmas that did everything from scratch, on Italian and one  Polish.   VERY different cooking tastes, but the same basics!  Once the weather begins to get cold it is always soup and chili weather. 

I call this Chicken Chili.  Usually I would put it into a pot and cook it all day, checking up on it  and stirring it.  But I decided to use a slow cooker because I have a TON of laundry to do. I usually have more stuff to add to our chili, but there is no way I am venturing outside on this chilly (: ha ha :) day! 

After looking through the cabinets I realized we had 3 cans of beans, about 6 cans of diced tomatoes, many cans of actual soup, and a lot of sauces.  I buy sauce like I buy shoes - if it looks good I'm trying it!

So I found the 2 cans of beans I could use, Great Northern and Kidney (the 3rd was Green Beans).  Big surprise, I had lots of diced tomatoes to choose from!  To create the 'sauce' I added Tomato Sauce and 1/2 can of water to create the cooking base.  

Add whatever spices you want!  I had Paprika, Basil, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, and of course Garlic Salt.  Yum!  I had left over chicken from the last nice day to cookout and chopped it into tiny cubes and dropped it in.  I basically just dumped what I felt like eating until it smelled good - :)  Right before you are finished simmering it in the slow cooker (3-6 hours), add some Buffalo or Hot Sauce to this!  Yummy!   PS.  Did you know this is Gluten-Free!?

I was going to call this Chicken Dump, but realized it may sound disgusting.  (:  Enjoy.

Chili Cheese Fries

Chili Cheese Fries - Gluten-Free :)

I can not wait until it is dinner! While I was learning what my good/bad/trigger foods were I always defaulted to potatoes. They are filling, easy to make, and fun to cut. I would be the strange kid who loved peeling potatoes! Tip: My dad and mom always gave me the carrot peeler to peel potatoes. I never got the real, true knife. To this day I would rather use the carrot peeler!

Be sure you have the following – as with any recipe you can substitute what you want and do not want!

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

How to work your magic:

1. Oven- Center rack at 425 degrees F. Line 2 pans with parchment or foil.
2. Mix together cornstarch, chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, cumin.
3. Rinse potatoes and peel with a carrot peeler! Use a big person knife and slice around a 1/4-inch piece off the potato lengthwise – now it is your bottom! Continue to slice potato into 1/4 to 3/8-inch wide planks.
4. Stack ‘em in piles 2 to 3 planks high, and slice lengthwise into 1/4 to 3/8-inch fries.
5. Toss your ‘fake fries’ around in olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and whatever grill seasoning you have. Sprinkle the cornstarch mixture over the potato slices like snow. Grab a pair of tongs to evenly coat everything.
6. Spread potatoes in a single layer across the pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes – mix 2/3 times during cooking to get every side crispy.  Remember to add the cheese on top if you want before you are ready to serve!

Enjoy ‘yins fries!

Tasty Tuesday~7/24

Growing up in an Italian family was amazing.  Every woman in our family was a fantastic cook!  My great grandma and grandma however, guarded their recipes like they were gold.  And in our family, they really were.  They were known for giving you a recipe with an ingredient missing or unknown measurements.  You you try to duplicate their great dish and it would turn out good, but not as good as theirs.  As my grandma was laying in the hospital bed, she leaned over and whispered the secret to her antipasto dressing.  Now if I could only get my mother to tell me..... Anyway, one of my favorite memories is of helping my great grandma, Grandma U, make gnocchis.  Now that I am a wife and mama, I wanted to try to make them myself.  I found this Mario Batali recipe that is the closest I have ever tasted my Grandma U's.


Ingredients
3 pounds russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, extra large
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup canola oil


Directions

1. Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through vegetable mill onto clean pasta board.Set 6 quarts of water to boil in a large spaghetti pot. 
2. Set up ice bath with 6 cups ice and 6 cups water near boiling water.
3. Make well in center of potatoes and sprinkle all over with flour, using all the flour. Place egg and salt in center of well and using a fork, stir into flour and potatoes, just like making normal pasta. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to touch.
4. Roll baseball-sized ball of dough into 3/4-inch diameter dowels and cut dowels into 1-inch long pieces. Flick pieces off of fork or concave side of cheese grater until dowel is finished. Drop these pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming dowels, cutting into 1-inch pieces and flicking off of fork. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them to ice bath. Continue until all have been cooled off. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water. Toss with 1/2 cup canola oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.

Bon Appetit!

Blueberry Banana GF Bread!

Growing up with a Polish grandma has taught me one thing - measuring is done with the eye.  :)

1 1/2 cups GF Flour - Gluten Free Pantry

1/4 cup canola oil2 whole eggs + 3 egg whites

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup mashed ripe bananas  - I used all our bananas, like 3

1 teaspoon vanilla extract - Nielsen-Massey :)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon Coco Powder

1 cup blueberries - Rinse them!

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks - Enjoy Life Mega Chunks

1 tbl. Yellow Dog - Mom's Gourmet 

1.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pan with butter - I used a glass baking dish. 

2.Whisk together all ingredients except for blueberries & choc in mixing bowl until combined.

3.Gently fold in blueberries & chocolate chunks.

4.Pour batter into prepared baking pan.

5.Bake for 45-55 minutes or until top is no longer wet and a knife comes out clean from center.

Remember: Allow to cool before removing from pan and slicing and add some butter slices on top :)

Yum! GF Blueberry Banana Bread!

Tasty Tuesday with Mom's Gourmet Spices!

This Tasty Tuesday, I decided to do something a little different than just post a recipe.  A few months ago, Trista and I went to the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland.  We tasted HUNDREDS of products and one of the few products that stood out to us was Mom's Gourmet.  All their products are low or no salt, MSG and gluten free(yay Trista!)  I was lucky enough to get a few bottles of their artisan spice blends sent to me to try.  The first thing I noticed was their great labels!  All their products have funny animal names and cute drawings on them.

How cute!

I tried the following kinds:

Yellow Dog Sweet Shake- Blended with brown turbinado sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Red Dog Rub- Blended with mild and warm red peppers, parsley, garlic, other spices, and a hint of salt.

Black Dog Belly Rub- A peppery blend of seasonings.

Rowdy Kitty Rub- Blended with red, green and black peppercorns, garlic salt and herbs.

These rubs all pack a punch!  You can really taste all the different flavors in each blend.  I promise you that they would give any boring recipe a little added umph.  Now to prove this, I used them in some standard, easy recipes all week long.  

I added the Yellow Dog Sweet Shake to butter toast for my daughter.  She's not a big eater but she ate the whole piece of toast(which is unheard of in our house).  There's no recipe for this(duh) but it did make her toast extra special that day.

For the Black Dog Belly Rub, I used it as a replacement for my normal spices in my loose meat sandwiches.  Loose meat sandwiches don't sound very good but they are!  Here's my recipe:

Loose Meat Sandwiches

1 lb Ground Meat

1 onion, diced

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Black Dog Belly Rub

1 tub of condensed beef stock(I use Knorr's)

1/2 cup of water

Rolls

Cheese

1. Add olive oil to pan and add onions.  Saute a few minutes until they start to become see-through.

2. Add ground beef and brown.  Drain.

3.  Return beef and onion mixture to the pan and add a liberal shake of Black Dog Belly Rub.

4. Add water and beef stock. Mix and simmer.  

5. Cook until water is almost gone.

6. Place beef mixture on rolls with cheese and any other condiments you find tasty!

Tonight I made roasted chicken breasts with potatoes and onions.  I used the Red Dog Rub on the potatoes and onions and the Rowdy Kitty Rub on the chicken.  This is a really easy, basic recipe.  But it sure is tasty!

Baked Chicken with Potatoes and Onions

4 Chicken Breasts

3 potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks

1 medium onion, cut into fourths

Olive oil

Red Dog Rub

Rowdy Kitty Rub

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Add potatoes and onion to a bowl with just enough olive oil to coat them.

3. Toss with Red Dog Rub(I used a lot because I wanted a bold flavor).

4. Bake, covered, for an hour.

5. Sprinkle generously chicken with Rowdy Kitty Rub.

6. After taking pan out of the oven, top with the chicken breasts.

7. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes.

Super tasty and easy! We will be using our Mom's Gourmet spices all the time now.  All their spices are only $8 and the bottle is twice the size of normal spices.  It's a great deal!  If you want more info about all the different varieties(there's 10), check out their website and Facebook page!

Bon appetit!

Tasty Tuesday-6/26

With frozen pizzas being over $5(even for store brand), I have been making my own pizza dough for over a month now.  I like the I can separate into small batches and freeze it.  Then I can make a small one for lunch or combine two and make a large one for dinner.  I also like that I can add whatever toppings I feel like eating that day(usually sun-dried tomatoes).  Here is the recipe that I use: