Chocolate Raspberry Pound Cake

1 C. seedless black raspberry preserves, divided
2. C. flour
1 1/2 C. granulated sugar
3/4 C. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 C. butter or margarine softened
1 16 oz. container sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Raspberry cream (recipe follows):
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen red raspberries in light syrup.
8 oz. pkg. whipped topping, thawed.
2 Tbsp. raspberry liqueur, if desired

Blend raspberries in food processor or blender. Strain into medium bowl; discard seeds. Blend with whipped topping. Stir in raspberry flavored liqueur.



Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 12 C. fluted tube pan.

Place 3/4 C. raspberry preserves in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30-45 seconds or until melted; cool. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add butter, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and melted preserves. beat on medium speed of electric mixer 3-4 minutes until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Place remaining 1/4 C. preserves in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted. brush over warm cake. Cool completely.

At serving time, sprinkle powdered sugar over top. Serve with raspberry cream.

Blackened Salmon

Yummy yum yum

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com. I found it to be a bit spicy, so I've reduced the cayenne pepper here by about half.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 
  
• 4 salmon fillets, skin and bones removed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, salt, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil and oregano.
2. Brush salmon fillets on both sides with butter, and sprinkle evenly with the cayenne pepper mixture. Drizzle one side of each fillet with remaining butter. 
3. 
   
4. In a large, heavy skillet over high heat, cook salmon, butter side down, until blackened, 2 to 5 minutes. Turn fillets, drizzle with remaining butter, and continue cooking until blackened and fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Zuppa Toscana

Oh my gosh, this was so good. Way better, in my opinion, than the one Olive Garden serves. Yum yum yum. One batch made plenty for my family of 6 with a little left over.
Credit for this delicious recipe goes to That's Some Good Cookin'

1 pound spicy Italian sausage

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

7 cups chicken stock

2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups chopped kale

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces. Drain, set aside.
2. In the same Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown bacon; remove and set aside to drain on paper towels. Leave two tablespoons of rendered bacon fat in the skillet.
3. Sauté the potatoes, onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat over medium or medium low heat. Sauté until the onion begins to be translucent and the potatoes are still a little firm, but are beginning to soften.
4. Add the sausage, bacon, 7 cups water, and 3 chicken bouillon cubes to the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
5. Stir in kale and cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat until warm throughout.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This is an adapted recipe from Bob Harper and Rachael Ray. It is super healthy, stuffed with vegetables, but surprisingly delicious too. It made enough for two nights for 6 people.

• 2 clove crushed Garlic
• 1 cooked Spaghetti Squash
• 1/2 cup low fat Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese
• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• 2 cups roasted Vegetables (such as red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)
• 1+ cup Marinara

1. Roast halved and seeded squash face down in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
2. At same time, roast vegetables on cookie sheet.
3. Saute onion about 10 minutes, to translucent.
4. Add sausage and garlic and brown the meat
5. Combine squash, roasted vegetables, cheese and meat in a large bowl.
6. Add marinara sauce
7. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese on top
8. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes

Zucchini Fritters (or pancakes)

Another recipe from my favorite recipe blog, and this one is a big winner. I hate zucchini, but these were delicious. I even ate way more than my share. It wasn't a chore at all to swallow this zucchini down and it was significantly healthier than making bread with the squash.

My mom made something like this when we were kids, that we called zucchini pancakes. I don't think it had the Parmesan cheese in it though. We would douse those in malt vinegar and gobble them up. It's been decades since I've had her version, and had actually forgotten about them until this tasty treat popped up online.

For the record, I'm doubling their recipe here because that's how I made them and we ate every last one.

8 C. grated zucchini (one medium-large and one regular sized zucchini got me there)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
1/2 C. sliced green onions
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
4 Tbsp. flour
1 egg + 1 egg white
Olive oil

Place shredded zucchini in a strainer over a bowl or in sink.  Toss with salt and let sit for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press zucchini down with hands to expel liquid through strainer.  Transfer zucchini to several layers of paper towels and place another layer of paper towels on top of it.  Press and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible.

Place zucchini in a bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Toss together.  

Heat a large, non-stick skillet to medium-high heat.  Add enough olive oil to coat the pan.  Drop zucchini batter by 2-tablespoons full (I used an ice cream scoop) into pan and lightly spread/flatten.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crisp on one side and then flip.  Continue cooking until golden and then transfer to a wire rack with a paper towel on it.  *note cooking time greatly varies due to pan type, stove, etc.  Go by color and cook until they’re nice and golden-crisp.  

 Nutritional Info (per 1 fritter): Cal: 27, Fat: 1, Carb: 2, Pro: 2, Fib: 0

Quinoa in the pressure cooker

Not a recipe, just instructions so I don't forget...

1 1/2 cups quinoa 
2 1/4 cups water

Cook 2 minutes on high pressure, followed by 10 minutes letting it sit.

Quinoa Couscous Salad

This is a good basic quinoa salad recipe. It's easy to add or take away from this and have it still taste good. I really like the addition of the couscous, which gives the salad a much lighter texture.

1 C. cooked quinoa
1 C. cooked couscous
2 stalks chopped green onions
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 C. pinenuts
1/2 C. corn
1/4 C. raisins
1/8 C. parsley
lemon juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Greek Quinoa Salad

2 C. uncooked quinoa
4C. chicken broth
1 cucumber
1 red onion
1/2 red bell pepper
crumbled feta cheese
1 jar artichoke hearts, chopped
olives
cherry tomatoes halved

Dressing:
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C. olive oil
black pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and broth to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Chop remaining ingredients. When quinoa is done let it cool. I put the pot in a sink full of ice to speed this process up. Toss all ingredients together and enjoy

Mango Steak Stir Fry

This recipe comes from  OurBestBites.com. It has a distinctly Thai flavor to it. I think it's probably the mint. Whatever it was, delicious would be a great way to describe it. Though next time I might add a bit more salt and red pepper flakes.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce (if this needs to be gluten-free, check the soy sauce label)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
12 ounces flank steak, thinly sliced (if it’s semi-frozen, it’s easier to slice)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil (olive, coconut, or canola), divided
1 small red onion, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 cup cubed, ripe (but not too ripe) mango
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped or torn
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Instructions:
Whisk together the water, lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, and corn starch. Set aside.

Toss together the basil, cilantro, and mint and set aside.

Sprinkle the steak with crushed red pepper and black pepper and toss to combine. Heat half of the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. When hot, add the steak and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until almost cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and add the onion, pepper, and ginger. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until tender-crisp.

Add the garlic, steak, mango and stir-fry until the steak is cooked through.

Add the sauce and cook until thickened slightly.

Serve immediately over rice and sprinkle with herb mixture. Serves 4.

Calories: 215
Fat: 11
Fiber: 2
Carbs: 13
Protein: 16
WW Points Plus: 6

Butternut squash sausage mushroom pasta

How do you like that? The title has pretty much all the ingredients listed! OK, not really, but it does seem excessive.

This recipe comes from RealHouseMoms.com. It was one of those recipes that my whole family enjoyed eating, and I felt good serving because it was loaded with healthy things.

Ingredients

• 1.22 lb Turkey Sausage (I used Sweet Italian)
• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 T butter
• 14.5 oz whole wheat Penne pasta
• 1 T olive oil
• 8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrroms
• ¼ c shallots, diced (I used green onions)
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 c baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 2 T shaved parmesan cheese
• 4 sage leaves, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

     

Instructions

1. bring salted water to a boil in a large pot (Here I just cut my squash in half, took out the seeds and microwaved the heck out of it to get it soft.)
2. add butternut squash and cook until soft
3. remove and add to blender
4. blend with ¼ c of cooking water
5. add pasta to boiling water
6. while that cooks remove sausage from casing and add to a large deep skillet over med high heat, break apart as it cooks
7. remove from pan after fully cooked and set aside
8. add olive oil to pan and mushrooms, cook until tender then removed and set aside
9. add butter to pan and sauté shallots and garlic, cook until golden, stirring often
10. add butternut squash, spinach, sage, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste
11. add back in the sausage and mushrooms and another ¼ c of cooking water
12. remove pasta once done and add to large dish
13. toss with sauce
14. serve with parmesan cheese, optional

Creamy chicken filo pockets

I gave up working with filo dough several years ago after some very frustrating experiences. Then I lost my mind and decided it couldn't really be that hard to work with and I should try again. It was a terrible, horrible, ugly mess. After wrapping exactly one of these I swore to never use filo again. Somehow I pulled enough torn pieces together to get 5 pockets made. I threw the rest of the dough away, never wanting to set eyes on it again. I cooked the pockets and lo and behold they came out beautiful and delicious. So, yeah, I'm going to make this again. Next time I'll know that it doesn't matter if all the sheets tear and stick together and dry out. It still comes out wonderful :)

2-3 C. cooked chicken, cut up into chunks
1 package of mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
3ish cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 C. chicken stock
2 oz. cream cheese (or a couple spoonfuls of sour cream, or 1/4 C. or so of heavy whipping cream, you get the idea)
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. mustard
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, whatever)

Saute the onion and garlic in butter. When about half cooked, add the mushrooms and cook until soft.

Add the chicken stock and cook down about half. Add the cream and mix in.

Remove from heat. When the mixture is nice and creamy, add the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
Add the chicken (crisp bacon, mixed veggies and other things could also be really good in this)

Open one sheet of dough. Spread melted butter all over. Add another sheet on top of the first. Butter again. Place about 1/2 C. of mixture in the middle at the bottom edge. Sprinkle some cheese on top. Fold dough over and around to make a nice, neat pocket (ha, yea right!).

Place on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining filling. Butter the tops of all the pockets then bake in 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until the pockets are golden and crispy.

Asian BBQ Chicken (and Pork)

I made this as a marinade for my chicken, grilled it up and served it over rice. It was superb! The next day I made the same marinade and tossed it in a crockpot with a pork roast. I served that on pita bread with coleslaw. It also was superb. This is a great sauce!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/05/asian-bbq-chicken/

1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.  Optional:  garnish with sliced green onions

Cabbage Enchiladas

Credit http://healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/01/winner-winner-beef-enchilada-dinner.html for this recipe.

A weird thing happened. My kids asked what we were having for dinner (8,000 times) and every time I told them it was cabbage enchiladas, they said things like, "That sounds yummy!" & "Mmmmm". It was kind of weird, but I ran with it. In the end, everyone liked the meal. I didn't even have to remind them to stop staring at the food and put it in their mouths. And this enchilada sauce is super good. I'm officially saying goodbye to the canned stuff.

• Enchilada Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
• 1 C. Beef broth
• 5 oz. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Directions

In saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together all ingredients except olive oil.

Bring to low boil then reduce heat to low to keep warm.

Before pouring over cabbage rolls, whisk in olive oil.

 Beef Enchilada Cabbbage Rolls

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• medium head cabbage
• shredded cheese
• 2-4 avocados

In a large stockpot, add a couple of cups of water and bring to boil.

Remove core from cabbage and very carefully peel off 10-12 leaves.

Place leaves in boiling water and turn off heat.

While cabbage leaves are softening, pan fry ground beef, onion, salt and pepper in skillet.

Once ground beef is cooked though, remove from heat and add crushed garlic.

With tongs, remove one cabbage leaf at a time, fill with beef mixture, roll tightly and lay in glass baking dish.

Cover cabbage rolls with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Serve with avocado slices and sour cream and enjoy!

Creamy Mac & Cheese

• This was super easy and really creamy. Not grainy like most homemade Mac & Cheese recipes I've tried. I love me a one dish meal.

It comes to us from http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/03/skillet-creamy-macaroni-and-cheese.html

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups water, plus extra if needed
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 12 ounces (about 3 cups) elbow macaroni
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks
• Ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring often, until the macaroni is tender and the liquid has thickened, 9 to 12 minutes.
2. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, the cornstarch, mustard and hot sauce together in a small bowl, then stir into the skillet. Continue to simmer slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
3. Off the heat, stir in the cheddar and Monterey Jack, one handful at a time, adding water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce (I didn’t need any additional water when I made it). Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Breakfast Hashbrown Casserole

this was a good basic breakfast casserole recipe. I liked the two cooking stages a lot. It came out with a really good texture. You can definitely add other things you like,  but I wanted to have the basic on here for future reference.

Bag of frozen hashbrowns
1-2 cups Ham or cooked sausage
1 cube butter
1-2 cups shredded cheese
Other toppings (green onion, bacon, tomatoes, olives, etc)
6-10 eggs (the recipe calls for 6, but I always like more)
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

Cover bottom of 9 x 13 pan with half or whole bag of hashbrowns. Pour melted margarine over the top. Layer chopped ham or sausage and grated cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

Beat together  eggs,  evaporated milk, and seasoned salt. Add to hot casserole and bake at 350 degrees for an additional 30 minutes.

Pear & Cream Cheese Tart

This comes from Flower Patch Farm Girl. Yes you should make it. Yes it's easy and yes it tastes gourmet. AND...it has fruit in it so it's totally healthy!
 1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup flour
1 pkg (8 0z) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 thinly sliced pears, peeled

Preheat oven to 425.
Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. (I do this in my Kitchenaid mixer.)
Add flour, mix well.
Spread firmly onto bottom and up the sides of a springform pan (I push it about 3/4 of an inch up the sides of a 10-inch pan. A 9 inch pan is a more standard size, so you could push up about an inch.)

Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar in same bowl.
Add egg and vanilla, mix well.
Spread evenly over crust.

Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Toss sliced pears with sugar mixture until covered.
Arrange pears in concentric circles on top of cream cheese filling, starting with the outside and working in.
Eat any left-over cinnamon sugar pears.
(Do not share.)

Bake 10 minutes then reduce to 375 and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown at edges and the middle is set.
Cool on wire rack.
Remove outside of springform pan.
Refrigerate tart for a few hours until cool and well set.

Italian Chicken Sandwiches with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Another great meal from OurBestBites.com. The whole family loved this! Buy enough buns for everyone to have seconds.


Ingredients
7-ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry (about 3/4 C)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
kosher salt and black pepper
1 large french baguette (about 24″ long) or 4 large hoagie buns
2 cups cooked shredded or (or a few chicken breasts grilled and sliced)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or several slices
a handful of fresh basil leaves
Instructions
Place roasted red peppers, garlic, mayo, and lemon juice (if you don’t have a lemon, sub red or white wine vinegar, or just leave it out!) in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt and a few cracks of fresh ground pepper. Process until smooth and then store in the fridge until ready to use. You can make the sauce ahead of time.
Slice bread in half to open it up. Lightly brush with olive oil or butter and place under a broiler until golden brown and toasted. Remove from oven and spread red pepper sauce on the bottom half of the bread. Layer chicken on top of it and top with cheese. Place back in the broiler just until cheese is melted. Top with basil leaves. Spread red pepper sauce on other side of bread and put sandwich together. Slice in to 4 large hoagies, or 8 smaller sandwiches.

Lasagna Soup

Credit goes to http://peggyunderpressure.com/2012/12/deconstructed-lasagna-soup-electric-pressure-cooker-recipe/ for this delicious dinner

This recipe is for a pressure cooker, but it would be super easy to make in a regular pot too.

• Lbs. Spicy Italian Sausage (You can also use lean ground beef or even ground turkey)
• 2 16oz. Cans of Chopped Tomatoes (Omit one can if you want less calories)
• 1 8oz. Can of Tomato Paste (Omit completely if you want less sodium and calories, which I did so I don’t have a photo of it)
• 1 Whole Yellow Onion, chopped
• 3 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning 
• 4 Cups of Chicken Broth
• Package of Mafalda Pasta, which look like cute little pieces of lasagna (You can use broken pieces of lasagna as well, which is what I did. Or fusili pasta)

Cheese Balls:

• Shredded Mozzarella
• Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

In your handy dandy pressure cooker’s inner cooking pan/pot, put a bit of olive oil and heat up the browning feature if your model has it.  Otherwise you can do it on the stove in a saucepan.

Crumble the sausage or whatever meat you are using and brown the meat in the pot.  Add the Italian Seasoning and lightly saute everything together.  Turn off the browning feature.

Add in the minced garlic and chopped onions.  Also the cans of chopped tomato and tomato paste.  Give everything a good stir.

Now pour in the Chicken Broth or water.  I did a mix of broth and water until my pot was at the MAX line full capacity.  Make sure not to over fill pass this line or you’re going to have a mess.

DO NOT ADD THE PASTA YET!  We’ll do that later.

Close the lid and lock it.  Set the pressure valve to Airtight.  Program your pressure cooker to cook for 10-minutes.  Or if it has a pre-set SOUP function, go ahead and press that.

That’s it.  It’s all ready to go.

Now, I want to make sure everyone knows that when you’re making a large pot of soup that has a high liquid content, the pressure cooker will take longer to come to pressure because it has to take time to heat up the liquid inside it.  Once it is all heated and the pressure has been reached, the cook time will then begin and count down.

While the pressure cooker is doing its thing, you can make the cheese balls!  Lasagna is known for all its cheesy goodness.  And I know cheese is really not the way to go if you’re trying to watch your calorie count.  But it’s okay, you’re just using a little bit of cheese.  It’s nothing compared to the baked lasagna that’s loaded with gallons and gallons of thick fattening cheese in layers and layers.

To avoid making a mess, use a clean plate and put some shredded mozzarella cheese onto the plate.  Then scoop out about 2-3 tablespoons of ricotta cheese and mash it onto the plate and mix it with the mozzarella.  Mash and roll until both cheeses are incorporated and roll it into a nice tight ball.  You can choose to add some dry parsley and dry basil to the cheese balls too.  Make however many balls you want and cover with saran wrap.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the soup.

Whenever the pressure cooker has finished pressure cooking, adjust the pressure valve to Exhaust to release all the pressure.  For a big pot of soup, it may take almost 2-minutes for it all too release completely.  Once all the pressure is released, open the lid.  The unit should also have gone to the Keep Warm setting automatically.

Give everything a good stir.

Add about 1-2 cups of pasta to the soup.  Don’t add too much because the pasta have the tendency to soak up a lot of the liquid and get really bloated looking.  Add just enough for the amount of servings you want.  Season with salt but don’t go overboard.  I always leave salting my food towards the end or when I’m actually serving it.  Shut the lid to the pressure cooker again and program it to cook for just ONE more minute.

Once that has completed, go through the usual cycle to release the pressure and unlock the lid.

Ladle a nice portion into a serving bowl and drop a cheese ball into the center of the soup.  Serve while it’s nice and hot!  The cheese will melt and make the soup sort of creamy. 

Devil's upside down cheese (or is it flan?) cake

I'm well aware that a half eaten cake is just not that beautiful, but I've come to accept that I'll never get a picture before we consume, so this is what I've got. 

This bad boy comes from www.everydayfoodstorage.NET. I saw it on TV a while ago, pinned it and forgot about it. I rediscovered it yesterday and had to make it. I love that it can be made with food storage items. I didn't love that it took 2.5 hours to make. However, it was still simple and well worth the time. My family raved about it!

Ingredients:

• box chocolate devil's food cake mix
• water (amount per cake mix)
• oil (amount per cake mix) or bean puree (in the same amount as the oil-to learn how to use the bean puree for oil click HERE)
• eggs (amount per cake mix) or 1 T dry egg powder + 2 T water for each egg
• 1 (11 oz.) jar caramel sundae topping
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk*
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk*
• 1/2 c.. fresh milk*
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
• 1 t. vanilla
• 5 eggs (powdered eggs can be used but it will change the texture a little-use a heaving 1/2 c. egg powder + 1/2 c. water
• Or omit the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and fresh milk and use:
• 1 2/3 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 2/3 c. dry non-instant powdered milk or 3 1/3 c. dry instant powdered milk
• 1 T butter

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick coating. Pour caramel into prepared pan. Prepare cake mix according to package directions and pour cake batter into the Bundt pan over the caramel topping.

To make the flan: Pour condensed, evaporated and fresh milks into a blender with the cream cheese, vanilla and eggs. (If using powdered milk, just add all ingredients to the blender.) Mix well.

Pour flan mixture very slowly over the cake batter. (You will see pieces of cake batter floating to the top-this is normal). Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick spray and cover the pan TIGHTLY with aluminum foil. (This step is VERY important.)

Set the Bundt pan into a large pan and set on the oven rack and slide into the oven. Carefully pour hot water into the larger pan to a depth of 2 inches (The Bundt pan will be sitting in two inches of water).

Bake for 2 hours (Yes, I mean it TWO hours-don't worry, nothing will burn, I promise!). After the two hours, remove cake from water and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the aluminum foil. Invert cake onto a large plat with rim (or you'll have a caramel mess everywhere). Cool completely then refrigerate. Refrigerate leftovers.

NOTE: Even though the flan is poured on top of the cake batter, it will sink to the bottom of the pan.

Clam Chowder

3 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams

1 cup minced onion

1 cup diced celery

2 cups cubed potatoes

1 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 C. milk

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water Just to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in flour and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.

Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.