White Cake and Best Icing Ever

Cake:

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• Sprinkles, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
5. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in the milk until batter is smooth.
7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.
   

Icing:

Ingredients

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 package instant pudding mix
• 1 tsp extract
• food colouring, if desired
• Sprinkles, if desired

Directions

1. Whip whipping cream in a kitchen aid mixer until stiff peaks form.
2. Add in pudding mix and extract of your choice and continue whipping, add a bit of milk if icing becomes too thick to spread.
3. Mix and match pudding flavours and extracts for variety. (examples: vanilla pudding mix and vanilla extract, chocolate pudding mix and peppermint extract, lemon pudding mix and lemon extract, white chocolate pudding mix and vanilla extract. 

 I made this cake in 2 long 9X13 pans and then cut them into pj shapes when my girls' school did "The Pajama Game" as their musical. This was their "cue to cue" treat. I used white chocolate pudding mix, vanilla extract, purple food colouring, and yellow and mint candy melts to decorate. The purple outline was done in purple candy melts-melted and piped in a ziploc bag.

Apple Nachos

3 granny smith apples (sliced)

3 red delicious apples (sliced)

1/2 cup chocolate caramel sauce (I used this recipe but when it didn't thicken up at all, I threw in some milk chocolate chips and stirred them in. You could easily used bought chocolate or caramel sauce)

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1 tbsp Epicure selections Vanilla sprinkles

1 tbsp Epicure selections Chocolate sprinkles

1 hand full of M&Ms (I used limited edition cherry ones)

Place apple slices on a platter. Pour on sauce and add desired toppings. Serve immediately to hungry blogger friends.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (with canned soup)

1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
or creamy poblano & queso soup (bought in the US)
4 oz can green chilies (optional)
6-8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cup grated cheese, Monterey Jack or Cheddar

Saute onion in butter. Mix in flour. Add next 4 ingredients. Stir until it boils. Add chicken and mix.

Tear 2-3 tortillas into pieces. Place in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Spoon 1/2 chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.
Tear 2-3 tortillas into pieces and place on top of chicken mixture. Add remaining amount of chicken mixture and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining torn tortillas and top with 1 cup of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese bubbles.

Perogy Rollups (Using Leftover Potatoes)

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

8ish cups mashed potatoes (leftovers are perfect!)

8 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

10-12 lasagna noodles (cooked)

grated cheddar cheese

sour cream and more bacon, for garnish

Directions:

Sliced onion into very thin small pieces. In a frying pan, cook in brown sugar and butter until onions caramelize. Add in potatoes and heat through. Add bacon and cheese and heat until cheese begins to melt. 

Lay cooked noodle out on a flat surface and place slightly less than 1 cup of filling. Roll up and tuck end under. Continue with remaining noodles and filling. 

At this point, you can bake these topped with some additional cheddar cheese and then top with sour cream and bacon and serve. 

Or...you can freeze after rolling up on a tray and then transfer to a air tight container or ziploc bag. To cook after freezing, place frozen rolls in a baking dish and top with a small amount of white gravy (1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp flour cooked in a sauce pan and then add about 1 1/2 cups milk. Season with salt and pepper as desired). Bake covered until rolls are cooked through and then top with cheese and uncover until cheese is melted. Serve garnished with sour cream and bacon. 

Baked Freezer Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef

1 small onion chopped finely

3/4 cup bread crumbs, blended oatmeal, or cracker crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp worchestershire sauce

3 tsp French onion soup mix (epicure selections)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and combine well. Roll into equal sized balls of your choice and place on 2-3 large cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees until fully cooked through. Let cool completely and then freeze in a labeled ziploc bag. Using these meatballs gets supper on the table in no time because the meatballs have already been fully cooked and so they just need to be heated through. Makes enough for 3-4 meals for my family with leftovers for lunch.

Serving ideas:

Spaghetti and meatballs

Sweet and Sour meatballs over rice

Brown mushroom gravy with meatballs over mashed potatoes

Meatball subs

Meatball soup

or with any of these sauces

Sundried Tomato and Basil Naan Bread Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle

Ingredients:

2 pieces Naan Bread
1/2 cup of your favourite tomato sauce
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (the ones I used came in a jar packed in olive oil), cut into small pieces
1 pkg fresh mozzarella pearls (I bought this kind in the States)
5-6 fresh basil leaves, snipped into small slivers
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Top each naan bread with a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle on sundried tomato pieces. Place mozzarella pearls evenly on top. Add fresh basil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust starts to brown slightly. While the pizza is baking, heat vinegar over high heat stirring constantly until boiling. Keep stirring until vinegar starts to thicken. Drizzle on warm pizza when it comes out of the oven. Serve immediately.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 4 medium)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup milk
• FROSTING:
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
2. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
3. For frosting, in a small bowl, beat peanut butter, milk and vanilla until blended; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over cake.