Bake Me More

Today my oldest niece is celebrating her 17th birthday and since I can’t seem to sleep until a decent hour, I figured I could throw a cake together for her birthday. So at 5 this morning the oven went to 350 degrees…

I needed something easy, yet fun. I know I won’t win any prizes with this one… especially considering the icing was thrown together at the last-minute and the cake hauled around town all morning, with a maniac driver I might add. But I had fun, and my niece had fun. Hey, we all had fun.

The cake just a good ‘ole yellow cake mix, but the frosting is homemade. It is a classic buttercream (from Wilton), my go to frosting recipe. I’m not even sure I measure the sugar anymore, I just add until I get to my desired consistency. Though I wouldn’t recommend that. I do recommend the taste test. Add sugar until you reach your best taste – that could be extra sweet, or just minimally sweet. I tend to go to extra sweet!

A little food coloring and some Wilton decor later, I have this. Here’s to hoping my niece has a great day!

Classic Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla, clear if possible
• 2 – 3 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Mix butter and shortening until creamy. Add vanilla, then add sugar about 1 cup at a time. Add milk until desired consistency.

I know, not much on the directions. For the whole story, check out the recipe at the Wilton site.

Everyone is about “easy”, especially when it comes to feeding thier family. Tonights dinner was no exception. I was tired and would have been happy making PB&J sandwiches. I was able to get motivated however, and prepared this easy meal that went over quite well.

I recently saw a recipe at on myrecipes for BLT wraps, printed it, and added it to my dinner list. The next day, I came across the same recipe at recipegirl.com. An omen? Probably not, but her “lightened recipe” was more enticing to me, and it will become a regular in our house. This is a simple 5 ingredient recipe that can easily be adapted to include just about any ingredient.

BLT Wraps

from RecipeGirl

• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• ½ cup dried tomatoes in oil, drained well & chopped
• Eight (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 large head iceberg lettuce, chopped (I only used about half)
• 16 bacon slices, cooked & crumbled
• salt and pepper, to taste

Combine mayonnaise & tomatoes in a small bowl. Spread evenly over 1 side of each tortilla, leaving a ½ inch border. Sprinkle lettuce & bacon evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roll up tortillas tightly; cut in half diagonally, and secure each half with a pick.

Yield: 16 half-sandwich wraps

Source: Adapted from Southern Living

To go with the wraps, I use a 3 ingredient soup that was also a hit with the family. Even better, my teenage daughter, who has a great dislike for carrots, had no idea they were even in the soup. (That is until she reads this post!) This is a Kraft / Velveeta recipe that is quick and tasty, and gets a serving of vegetables in one bowl. The only thing I added was some bacon that was extra from the wraps and 1 tablespoon of corn starch to thicken the soup. Next time I will use 2 bags of vegetables.

 Velvety Vegetable Cheese Soup

from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

 Ingredients: 

• 1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend
• 2 cans (14 oz. each) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
• ¾ lb.(12 oz.) VELVEETA (2% Milk) Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

Directions:

Place vegetables and broth in large saucepan; cover. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 min. or until vegetables are tender.

Mash vegetables with potato masher to desired consistency. (I used an immersion blender). Stir in Velveeta; cook 5 min. or until cheese is melted and soup is heated through, stirring frequently. Note: If you want a simple soup recipe, this is it, or, it is a great base for any fabulous soup. Try adding potatoes, corn, other vegetable…the possibilities are endless!

Per serving: 1 Cup – Reduced fat version (From Kraft’s website)

Calories  170, Total fat  6 g, Cholesterol  40 mg, Sodium  1170 mg, Carbohydrate  10 g, Dietary fiber  2 g, Sugars  6 g, Protein  15 g

Grands Pull Apart Rolls

Ok, so I have been monkey bread crazy lately, but hey, it’s an easy way to impress people with a rich and decadent dessert. This one is basically the same recipe as the Monkey Bread I just posted recently, except it uses Pillsbury’s Grands Cinnamon Rolls versus regular biscuits. It also is coated with the icing that comes with the rolls. Using cinnamon rolls to make monkey bread is kind of like using ganache on cupcakes verses frosting. Oh, and let me tell you the aroma of this baking is to die for. Two words here, “Eat Me”.

Grands Pull Apart Rolls (aka Monkey Bread)

Recipe adapted about a thousand times from Pillsbury

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cans Grands Cinnamon Rolls

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter and brown sugar and stir until smooth. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Slice cinnamon rolls in quarters and roll each in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place in greased bundt pan. Pour butter mixture over sliced rolls.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. The rolls are done when it is firm or “springy” when pressed. *Watch for over-browning of top rolls. You can place a sheet of foil loosely on the top if needed.

Before icing - look at the gooey brown sugar!