Wacky Cake

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet as it is one of our favorites here. It is an egg-less cake and it is really nice and moist.

1 1/2 Cups Flour
3 Tbsp Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Vinegar
5 Tbsp Coconut Oil (or other vegetable oil)
1 Cup Warm Water

Combine all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Make 3 holes in the mixture.
Pour vanilla in 1 hole, oil in 1 hole and vinegar in the other hole.
Pour warm water over all ingredients and stir with wooden spoon.
Pour mixture in cake pan.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes (insert toothpick in the center to make sure it comes out clean and is done). 20 minutes for cupcakes.

Icing
You don't have to ice this cake as the top gets nice and moist, but I usually melt about 1/3 of a bag of milk chocolate chips and drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the cake. Let the cake cool before you frost and place the cake in the fridge to let the chocolate harden.

Guacamole

You can easily double or triple this recipe depending on how much guacamole you need. We love to serve guacamole with black bean quesadillas or nacho chips.

1-2 avocado
1 tomato
1 clove of garlic
a few squirts of lime juice
salt to taste

Peel and mash up the avocado. Chop the tomato and add to the avocado. Chop up the garlic and add to mixture. Add a few squirts of lime juice and some salt. Mix it all well and voila! Homemade Guacamole! :)

Baked Brie

I tried this recipe on Christmas eve and it was wonderful served with apple slices and crackers: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-brie-in-puff-pastry/detail.aspx

You will need:
half a pack of frozen puff pastry
1 wheel of Brie cheese (I used double cream brie)
some sliced almonds
apricot jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Slice the Brie in half, horizontally. Lay the puff pastry in the pie pan. Place half of the Brie (rind-side down) onto the pastry dough. Sppon some jam over the top and Sprinkle almonds evenly. Spoon some jam on other half of pastry and then place the other half of the Brie (rind-side up) over the almonds. Bundle the pastry dough around the Brie.
3. Once the brie is wrapped in the puff pastry, put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to prevent the cheese from becoming too liquid during the baking process.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.


The 1st time I made this, I misread the instructions and put everything on a pie crust (instead of a pie pan) and it still turned out nice :)

Pizza Casserole

This is what I am trying out for supper tonight:
http://formamas.blogspot.com/2011/08/pizza-casserole.html

I'm adding some onions and green peppers in with the ground beef. If I had mushrooms, I would add that too. I don't have enough pasta sauce, so I am adding half a can of tomatoes as well.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

-2 cups of icing sugar
-2 tablespoons of butter
-1 cup of peanut butter
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of rice krispies
-Semi-sweet chocolate


Mix together all ingredients (except chocolate). Form balls with mixture.


Melt chocolate in a pan and roll balls into melted chocolate. ( be careful when melting chocolate to avoid burning of chocolate). Melt it in a metal bowl or pot over boiling water for best results.

White chocolate bark and dipped oreos

A couple weeks ago we made some candy cane and white chocolate treats. Here is the prep:

Line cookie sheets with wax paper

Melt the white chocolate in a metal bowl or pot over boiling water and add a few drops of mint extract

Spread chocolate thinly on wax paper and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top

Freeze for 5 minutes and break into pieces

We also dipped the top half of oreo cookies in the melted chocolate and sprinkled candy canes on top

Egg Muffins

These are really good as part of breakfast or brunch.

6 Eggs
1 Cup shredded Cheddar
1 Cup shredded Monterey Jack or Mozzarella
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Cup Croutons (flavoured or not)
Onion flakes, salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together, spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

Alfredo Sauce

I got this recipe a few years ago from my friend Katie and tried it right away (being a fettuccini alfredo fan and all) It was so rich and good. And I can't believe I haven't tried it again since... I'll have to add it on my menu plan :)
I first posted this on an old blog so I thought, since I have a blog dedicated to recipes now, I'll post it here too.

8 ounces Cream cheese -- cut in bits
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Milk
8 ounces Fettuccine; cook -- drain
In large saucepan combine cream cheese, Parmesan, butter and milk, stirring constantly until smooth at low heat. Toss pasta lightly with sauce, coating well. Leftovers freeze well.

Creton

Have you heard of creton? It's a meat spread that is from Quebec and it is delicious on crackers or toast. It makes for a great protein snack and the recipe is quite simple.

1lb ground pork

1lb ground beef

1 package of onion soup powder

water

Directions:

Put the ground pork and beef in a medium saucepan (you can mash it all together with a potato masher)

Add the onion soup powder and add enough water to cover the meat

Simmer uncovered on medium-low heat until water is absorbed (stir occasionally)

Once it's done, use a hand blender to puree the meat to become spreadable

Allow to cool and put in a few containers and refrigerate or freeze

Biscuits

2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3 Tbsp Butter

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 Cup Milk or Buttermilk

Mix 1st 4 ingredients together until crumbly

Stir baking soda into milk & then add to flour mixture

Mix until combined

Turn out onto floured surface & pat down

Place on greased cookie sheet

Bake at 450* for 10 - 12 minutes