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5/26/2013

Lemonberry Cake

So I'm quickly becoming a fan of dishes with a small number of ingredients.  Not just for the convenience, but because they also taste great!  Six Sisters' Stuff had a Diet Lemon Raspberry Cake recipe with just four ingredients and I knew I had to try it!  I'm not a super fan of raspberry, so I opted to change up the fruit a bit.  Here are the results:


Ingredients:
1 box lemon cake mix
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cup Sprite Zero
1 cup each fresh blueberries and blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, mix cake mix, egg whites, and Sprite.  Fold in fruit.  Pour into greased cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Top with light cool whip.  Fruit garnishment optional.

 
 
I was worried the lemon cake may be overpowering, but was delighted to find that its not at all!  The flavor is subtle and the fruit is a great added touch!  



Banana Breakfast Cake

Happy Sunday!  How's everyone's weekend so far?  We've been enjoying a pretty relaxing weekend so far!  One of my best friends came over Friday night for grilled burgers and veggies and game night.  We love board games of all kinds and enjoy having friends and family over to discover new games.  We opened up our new Deadwood game and spent the evening discovering the rules and developing strategies for a successful game.

Yesterday Troy and I went with my parents to lay flowers at my grandma's headstone and check out a quilt shop that recently hit our radar.  My mom and I love visiting quilt shops to check out the different fabrics, patterns and finished crafts on display.  And last night Troy and I stayed in for a movie night.

I'm glad we've kept the weekend pretty low-key and stress-free as we can.  I'm headed into work today for the afternoon and evening.  I have a love-hate relationship with weekend workdays.  They're great for getting a ton of things done since there are only one or two other people in the office, but terrible for being able to spend days off with family and friends.  Thankfully I'm off tomorrow in celebration of Memorial Day where we'll head to lay flowers at my aunt's grave and out for lunch with extended family.

Before I head to get ready for work, I thought I'd share a recipe I recently came across on the Chiquita Banana website: Banana Breakfast Cookie.  I read through the recipe a few times and tailored it towards our taste.  I had originally intended to make the cookies, but after seeing the batter, I opted to make a cake instead.  So without further ado, here is Banana Breakfast Cake.

 
 
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 whole bananas, mashed
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup craisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, banana, egg, and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually mix in flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and carrots.  Once mixed, fold in chocolate chips and craisins.  Pour into 9x9 greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.



I'm not usually one for adding carrots to my cakes as the texture is sometimes objectionable.  I must say, I was not at all bothered by the texture of the carrots in this dish.  With that being said, I'm thinking I may try this again sans carrots and chocolate chips, and instead with craisins and some other dried fruit.  I'll keep you posted!

In closing, please take a moment to remember the reason for this holiday weekend.  Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

5/22/2013

Taco Salad Casserole

Hi, everyone!  I recently ran across this awesome Beef and Bean Taco Casserole recipe and thought we should give something similar a try.  Troy and I both love Mexican food and taco salad is pretty tasty so we opted to end the weekend with something delish.  Hope you like it!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 half onion, chopped
2 cups white rice
1 package taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups tortilla chips, broken into smaller pieces
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce and additional shredded cheddar to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground beef and drain of grease.  Mix in refriend beans, onionm, rice and taco seasoning.  Reduce to medium heat until mixture is warm. 

Line the bottom of a casserole dish with the broken chips.  Top with the beef and bean mixture.  Sprinkle with bell peppers and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Serve over additional tortilla chips (optional) and top with lettuce and additional cheese.

5/21/2013

Slow Cooker Smothered Pork Chops

Good morning, everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  With the exception of our lunch date Saturday and our grocery shopping trip, Troy and I spent the weekend at home relaxing and catching up on a variety of shows on our DVR.  It was nice to finally have some time together without a ton of things to do!

Saturday night we opted for a slow cooker meal of Smothered Pork Chops.  This was by far one of the easiest things to make.  But easy doesn't mean not tasty!

Ingredients:
5-6 Boneless Pork Chops, thawed
1 Can Cream of Mushroom
1 Cup Water
White Rice

Directions:
Lay pork chops into bottom of slow cooker.  Mix cream of mushroom with water and pour over pork chops.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours until meat is tender.  Prepare rice according to package directions and serve with pork chops. 

5/18/2013

Scalloped Corn

Happy Saturday!  I hope everyone had a great week!  What's everyone got planned this weekend?  We're settling in for a relaxing weekend of catching up on items on our DVR.  And maybe trying a few new recipes to share with you later!

For now, enjoy a Scalloped Corn recipe I found through All Recipes.  Yum!


Ingredients:
1 15-oz can creamed corn
1 15-oz whole kernel corn, drained
1 8-oz container sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon splenda
1 package corn muffin mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together corn, sour cream, eggs, butter, and sugar.  Add muffin mix.  Pour into a grease cake pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!