Rainbow Swirl Cake

Rainbow Swirl Cake

Use your favorite white cake recipe and prepare according to directions. Divide the batter into 7 equal portions and add a different color of liquid food coloring to each portion. Grease and flour a round cake pan and then drop the bowls of batter in the pan, one by one. In between each color, gently bang the pan on the counter to spread the batter a bit. Cook according to directions for your cake recipe and frost with white frosting.

Ok, I'll be honest. I haven't actually made this cake. BUT you just use your own vanilla cake recipe so it's not really the flavor that I'm excited about... it's just that it looks like a really fun cake!:) I thought the little kids would think it was fun... I'm going to make it with Ava when she's older.

I found this and the pictures at http://almostbourdain.blogspot.com/

Roman Egg-Dipped Panini

I checked a panini cookbook out from the library, aptly named Panini, to see what exciting things it might hold for my panini grill, which I love. So, I made this sandwich for the J for breakfast today (you know, my eternal search for new breakfast ideas also goes on...). They were easy to make and tasty. They'd be great for a lunch as well and, in fact, I don't really think they were intended for breakfast but I figure they have eggs so he could get by with it. :)

Roman Egg-Dipped Panini

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced*

8 sliced Pullman-type bread (pain de mie or pane in cassetta)**

1 1/2 C whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil for grill

Cut crusts off of each slice of bread. Divide cheese among 4 of the bread slices. Top with remaining slices of bread and gently press closed. You can cut each sandwich in half or leave whole.

In a large, shallow bowl (I think with a flat bottom is best), whisk together the milk, eggs, salt, and pepper until well blended and frothy.

Lightly soak the assembled panini in the milk mixture until very moist, but not soggy. Transfer to a plate and let sit for a few minutes to finish soaking.

Lightly oil the panini grill and preheat to medium. Grill the panini until the bread is golden, the egg mixture sets, and the cheese melts and barely begins to dribble out. Serve warm.

*I didn’t have sliced mozzarella on hand so I used shredded Italian blend cheese. That worked but it would be easier to dip with a slice of cheese in the middle of the bread rather than tiny little shreds of cheese.

**Poor man’s bread substitution - Italian bread, sliced diagonally, crusts removed.

Altered slightly from Panini by Carlo Middione.

My Grandma's Thunder Cake

This is adapted from a book, Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco, that we randomly got at the library one time.  We never tried the recipe, but last year Avery's teacher read the same book and they got to try the cake too.  The kids love it (ok, we all do) and Avery reassured everyone, "You can't taste the tomato; it just makes it moist."

My Grandma's Thunder Cake

1 c. butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs, seperated
1 c. cold water
1/3 c. pureed tomato (from 1 seeded, peeled tomato)
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
strawberries, optional

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the vanilla and egg yolks, blending well.  Beat in the water and tomato puree (it will look curdled).
Add the dry ingredients.  Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into chocolate mixture.  Bake in one of the following: 2 greased and floured round pans, a greased 9x13 pan, or a jelly roll pan at 350 for 20-40 minutes, depending on the size of the pan.
Frost with chocolate frosting.  Top with strawberries, if desired.

Spicy Chicken Strips

I tasted these at Wal-Mart from the food demo lady and decided to give them a try. They're super easy and the dipping sauce in tangy.


Perhaps I shouldn't have told Tiernan we were having snake that I caught in the back yard....

So even after we told him it was just his favorite chicken it still took a little convincing to get him to try it.

Spicy Chicken Strips

Boneless, skinless chicken breast - cut into strips (or leave it whole)
Mrs. Dash original seasoning

To make it very spicy coat the chicken in the Mrs. Dash seasoning then brown in a frying pan sprayed with Pam type spray. To make it a little less spicy just sprinkle with the Mrs. Dash. The plate also shows just plain chicken strips I made for the kids.

Dipping Sauce:

Dijon mustard
Lemon juice
Honey if you want more sweet than tangy

Squirt a little mustard and pour a little lemon juice in a bowl and stir. Cut your chicken into bite size pieces and dip in the sauce.

(Tiernan did actually try it - we gave him the plain chicken - and he declared that "snake" is good!)

Moroccan Potato Bean Soup

This soup is a nice change of pace from your standard potato soup. Jeremy doesn't really love curry but he did like this and I thought it was way yummy.

Moroccan Potato Bean Soup

6 cups water
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half
1 cup dry potato pearls

In medium-sized pot, bring water and kidney beans to a boil. Once they are boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. In a small frying pan saute onions in olive oil until brown. Add water mixture and onions to crock pot followed by potatoes, chicken bouillon granules, spices and soy sauce. Cook on low for 3 hours. Add milk, cream and potato pearls and stir until well blended (potato pearls will take a little while to dissolve).

Blue Cheese & Toasted Walnut Spread

This dip is deee-lish! Very easy to make and will keep for a few days.

Blue Cheese & Toasted Walnut Spread

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 C (about 5oz) crumbled Gorgonzola or Saga blue cheese, at room temperature

1 C sour cream

1/2 C mayonnaise

1 C chopped toasted walnuts

1/4 C chopped green onion

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Milk to thin dip if necessary

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remainder of ingredients and mix until well blended. Add a little bit of milk, if needed, to thin the dip.

Serve with water crackers, wheat thins, pear slices and apple slices (dipped in lemon water). Or whatever suits your fancy.

Altered slightly from a recipe in The Big Book of Appeitzers by meredith Deeds & Carla Snyder.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

This was so yummy. Jeremy gave it a 10 and he's not very liberal with his 10 ratings. :)

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

1 can refrigerated pizza dough (or ready made dough of your choice)
mozzerella cheese, to taste
.25 lb gouda cheese
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1/2 cup cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
diced onions, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll pizza dough on cookie sheet. Spread generous amount of barbeque sauce on dough (around 1/4 cup). Top with mozzerella cheese and gouda cheese then add chicken and diced onions. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until crust is medium brown and cheese is crispy.

This really is better with the cheese a bit crispy, not just melted. Also, gouda is expensive, but you can get it by the pound at most stores and then it's not too bad. And it's worth it on this pizza. :)

Caramel Sandwich Cookies

These cookies are DI-VINE. So yummy! I ate two and had a bit of a stomachache though haha. Really, though, you should give them a try!

Caramel Sandwich Cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt, a little heaping
2/3 cup pecans
2 sticks butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour

Caramel Sauce
Melted White Chocolate, optional

Instructions:

In mixing bowl, combine sugar, salt and butter until creamy. Meanwhile, chop pecans into fine pieces. Add pecans, flour and vanilla to batter and mix until just combined. Roll dough into a log about 1 foot in length and wrap with saran wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once dough is done refrigerating, slice into pieces about 1/4 inch in thickness and bake on ungreased baking sheets for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Cool on pan for 1-2 minutes and then cool completely on cooling rack. Once cookies are completely cool, generously dab the caramel sauce on the bottom side of one cookie and top with another cookie to make a sandwich. If using, dip half of sandwich in white chocolate.

Caramel Sauce

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbs light corn syrup

Stir in all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring just to a boil, then remove from heat.


I tweaked this recipe from the one in BHG magazine this month. They used store bought caramels and I think those are gross so I made the caramel sauce. Also, my white chocolate turned out un-dippable so I didn't use it but I really don't think the cookies need it! They're delicious on their own!

**Also, if you make the caramel sauce while the cookies are baking it will have time to cool to room temp and it won't be so runny when you try to build the sandwiches.

Brown Sugar Muffins

I know Jeremy is tired of toast for breakfast so I've been trying to make things he can take and eat on his way to school. These are not terribly flavorful when they're warm, but if you let them cool down they're quite tastey!

Brown Sugar Muffins

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare 12-16 muffin tins.

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour wet indgredients in the dry bowl and mix just until combined. Divide among the prepared muffin tins and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Chicken Fajita Braid

Hmmm, perhaps I should have used a nicer looking pan....

1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls or 1 can refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 Tablespoon oil
2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup green or red bell pepper cut into strips (or combination of both)
1/4 cup salsa (I used La Victoria Green Salsa Verde because it's my favorite :)
2 cups shredded Cheddar-Monterrey Jack cheese blend (8 oz.)
1 egg white, beaten
2-3 chopped fresh tomatoes

Heat oven to 375. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Unroll dough onto cookie sheet (if using crescent rolls, pinch the seams to seal) press to 8X12 inches.

In skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken; stir in chili powder, salt and garlic; cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add onion and bell pepper strips; cook 2 to 3 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center and the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Spoon chicken mixture in a 4-inch strip lengthwise down the center 1/3 of dough leaving 1/3 on each side empty for folding. Top with salsa; sprinkle with cheese. With a sharp knife make cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips over filling' press edges to seal. Brush with egg white.

Bake 22-25 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Top with chopped tomatoes. Cut crosswise into slices.
Serves 4-6

Italian or Ranch Pasta Salads

These are two super quick and super easy pasta salads:

For the Italian Pasta Salad, cook desired amount of Penne noodles (or really any kind of noodles) and once they are cool, add chopped broccoli, diced tomato, chopped cucumber and feta cheese. Top with Italian salad dressing. For the Ranch Pasta Salad do add all the same ingredients except switch out the feta cheese with Parmesean cheese and top with Ranch dressing instead of Italian.