Mango Bread

Ingredients:
-1 C AP Flour
-1.5 C Oats
-3 tsp baking powder
-1 mango, finely diced
-2 shakes of ginger
-1/2 C sugar
-1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 C Milk
-1/4 c vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 375 and grease a loaf pan (mine was my Rachael Ray Oven Lovin 9" pan).  I mixed all of my wet ingredients first in my kitchenaid, then added in the dry right on top of it. 

I am not one who is much for separate bowls for anything.

I baked mine for about 30 minutes in my gas oven, but I would plan on 30 being a minimum.  The top of it should start to brown, and I toothpick tested mine since it was more like a muffin type thing than a doughy bread. 

Cool on a rack and enjoy this hearty, tasty bread. 

This recipe does not make a highly spiced one, so depending on your taste preferences you may want to add more ginger.  Mango is a really deep, rich fruit in my opinion, I like to think of it as the butter of fruits.  If you want this bread to be more sweet and dessert-like, I would suggest adding in coconut to make a tropical escape bread. 

This would also make great muffins as well!

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:
-3 C sugar
-1.5 sticks butter
-5 oz can evaporated milk
-1/2 jar of Marshmallow fluff mixed with enough peanut butter to make it a full jar (I would guess about a cup, I honestly did not measure...)
-1 tsp vanilla

This is adapted from the recipe on the back of marshmallow fluff jars.  I originally thought that by mixing in the peanut butter it would taste like a fluffernutter does...hence the mini marshmallows on top.

Yea it just tastes like peanut butter.  BUT it does taste fantastically rich and brilliant for peanut butter so it still has its merits.

Anyway just line a 9 inch pan with foil.  You will want to boil the butter, sugar, and milk at a rolling boil for about 4 minutes, always stirring.  I would personally suggest using a candy thermometer and waiting til it reaches 234F, again stirring constantly. 

I did not have a candy therm and I don't think I boiled mine quite long enough, just shy of it.  Mine was soft but still firm enough to handle and devour.  It was also my first time making fudge.

Anyway then you will remove it from the heat and add the fluff and peanut butter and vanilla, pour it into the pan, and let it cool.

I have a really humid apartment because I am one of those strange souls that can function without the AC going 24/7.  Definitely keep in mind that fudge can take a good long while to set, even overnight.  I had let mine set, and it was still a little soft after an overnight cooling.  My mom suggested cutting it into squares so to increase the surface area that air could get to and help the setting process.  I did that and it helped, and then eventually I popped mine in the fridge part for storage purposes, part for firming purposes, and partly just because I wanted my jelly roll pan back (I had put all of my cut pieces on there).

Anyway, the taste is amazing, I would leave off the goofy marshmallows on top they really did not pan out as well as I had hoped. 

I have been wondering what something like almond butter would taste like in a recipe like this.  I have personally never had it and it would have to be amazing to justify the cost, but I am just a curious sort.  Although, as soon as I quit slacking and start getting back on track I will own a food processor and can make my own almond butter.

It's on the agenda.

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!

Strawberry Crisp (using frozen berries leftover from a sale)

 For a small (2 serving) Dish:
-about 1 C strawberries, thawed (I left mine whole)
-Lemon juice or extract
-1 tsp honey
-Dash of ginger
-1/4 (or equal parts if increasing the recipe) oats, almond flour, and brown sugar combined (fine to use regular flour if you don't have almond flour)
-About 1 TB or so of butter

Once the berries are thawed you will want to drain them and then toss them in a the honey and lemon.  Just a squeeze of lemon is needed, or a drop or two of extract.  It really helps them have a bright fresh flavor.  You don't necessarily have to add in ginger, but a little hint of it is a berry's best friend in my opinion.

Preheat your oven to 350 and layer the berries first and then the oat mixture.  I would suggest melting the butter and pouring it on, but I don't have a microwave just yet and could not make that happen.  I left mine as pats on there, and it still turned out alright although mine did not adhere into a hard topping.

Strangely enough some of my brown sugar stayed in its clumps instead of properly melting.  I will attribute this to mine coming in contact with too much humidity in my apartment.  I should probably have put it in something a little better than a Ziploc bag.  The great thing about a crisp is that even if it doesn't turn out perfect...it is still delicious.

Bake for about 22 minutes, I would highly suggest something better than a glass dish. I do not have any ramekins here or small metal pans of any sort (although I guess I could have used my loaf pan but I just now realized that).  I have never been a fan of baking in glass, and things never seem to get done as properly.

Again though, even a slightly off crisp is very tasty!

Like I said the berries had a really bright flavor in this, and this one was EXCEPTIONALLY good cold the next day.  In fact, I think I liked this one even better cold than I did hot.  An apple one? Way better hot.  But this one was even more flavorful when it got nice and chilly in my fridge.

Crisps are a great way to use those berries that you buy too many of when the store has them on sale for a dollar and they are starting to go bad in your fridge...I am sure none of you are so drawn in by fruit sales that you buy more than you can use, of course ;).  That is surely only an error in my shopping tendencies!

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!

Tortellini Pasta Salad: Feta, tomato, flavored oil

Ingredients:
-1 to 1.5 C tri-color tortellini (I get mine in big packs from SAMs, divide into smaller bags and freeze)
-1 roma tomato, diced
-1/4 C Athenos Feta Cheese crumbles (I used fat free)
-2 TB flavored oil of choice (I used a sun dried tomato basil)
-Salt

I cooked my pasta, which the kind I get only takes about 5 minutes to get done, and drained it.  All it was a matter of then was tossing it all together, putting a pinch of sea salt on it, and chilling it overnight so I could take it for lunch the next day.

Now.  This recipe is good for sure.  But it would be BETTER with bacon crumbled up in it.  This tortellini is really cheesy and good but if it was partnered with BACON it would be fantastic.

If you get a tortellini that does not already have some herbs mixed in, then you might consider adding some extra basil or similar depending on how flavorful your oil is.

But seriously...bacon.

I always have to come up with some pretty creative lunch ideas because I cannot stand lunch meat.  I mean once in a blue moon I will eat a bologna sandwich if I have cheesy Ruffles (worst possible choice I know) but I cannot, and will not, eat sandwiches consistently for lunch.  So between chipotle chicken salad, pasta salads like this, and fruit salsa I have managed to find quite a few lunch options that are not contingent upon me using a microwave!

And I do so love flexibility.

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!

Cheesy Chipotle Corn Muffins

The recipe I adapted this from can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/chipotle-cornbread-recipe/index.html

I halved the original recipe, so double or increase this as needed:
-1/2 C Corn Flour (I use Maseca)
-1/2 C AP Flour
-1/2 TB baking powder
-1/4 C frozen corn
-1/2 C milk (I used whole milk)
-1/2 C Colby jack cheese (original uses cheddar)
-1 egg
-1/2 TB honey
-2 TB butter, melted (I actually melted my butter by pouring about 2 tsp of boiling hot beef stock over it as it was going with my meal, so mine did have just a touch extra liquid)
-1/2 chipotle pepper, minced
-1 tsp adobo sauce (significantly less than the original, can be adjusted according to taste preferences, I like hints of chipotle)
-salt

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a muffin tin.  I mixed my dry ingredients first, and mixed the butter (melted with stock, I don't actually have a microwave with me just yet), honey, adobo, and pepper.  I then added the egg, butter mix, corn, and cheese into the dry.  It should be on the stiff side for a batter.

I divided the batter evenly between the 6 muffin wells and baked for 20 minutes in a dark nonstick pan.  Depending on your pan and your oven they may take a little longer.  I toothpick tested mine just to make sure they were done.  20 minutes was spot on perfect for my oven (gas oven). 

You may want to up the spices in these, but I really thought they were tasty! I like the texture of these as they were a little more on the soft and moist side like a cake.  The addition of the corn is NON NEGOTIABLE! :)

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!

Bubble Guppie Cake

An interesting thing to do with tall cakes is to put edible images on the side of them to look like murals.  This cake is actually 3 layers tall, and has multiple edible images around the sides.

The rest of the cake is decorated with white chocolate letters and sea shells.  These are really fast and simple to make using candy molds.  If you want to add a little color without having to dye the chocolate, you can mix up a little edible pearl dust with vodka and paint over them.

By setting the cake on a blue foil covered board, you get more of an under the sea type of feel.

The sides of this cake were sprayed blue with edible color spray.  This helps give the sides a varied look without having to dye icing blue, which takes a lot of color and can be quite messy.

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!

HEAVEN in a Pan: Caramel Apple Cake (a caramel cream cheese icing!)

 Ingredients:
-1 Box cake mix and required amount of oil and eggs (I HIGHLY suggest using Duncan Hines, it is more moist.  I used Betty Crocker today and I was not nearly as content with the texture)
-1 C CHUNKY applesauce (I really like Meijer's best)
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp ginger
-dash of nutmeg
-1/2 jar* caramel ice cream topping (I have decided I like Hershey's best)
-1 block reduced fat cream cheese
-1 lb powdered sugar

Mix the cake mix, oil, egg, applesauce, and spices together.  Grease a 9x13 inch cake pan and pour in, baking as per box instructions.  Well, as per instructions unless you are using a dark nonstick in a gas oven.  Mine always seems to bake much faster here than at home, so you may want to just keep an eye on it as it gets within the last few baking minutes. 

 When the cake is done (I use the toothpick test method) you can pull it out and use the back of a wooden spoon or a knife to stab a few holes in it, just like you would a poke cake.  Spread/drizzle a thin layer of caramel over the cake while it is hot. 

With the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese and about 3 TB of caramel together until incorporated.  Mix in the powdered sugar.  You may find that you need a little bit of water to thin it back out a little.  I added just a half tablespoon or so of warm water to mine, as I had no concern if it ended up setting later and wanted a soft icing.

When the cake is COMPLETELY cool, top with the caramel cream cheese icing. Use a knife or similar to drizzle more caramel on top.  I swirled the knife around the jar a few times and then pulled it out quickly and let it drizzle around on the cake.  It is not exact science. The only thing you need to know is that everybody loves a caramel drizzled dessert.

It is really up to you how much caramel you put under and on top of the icing of course, which is why I put the * next to that ingredient. 

I made the cake the night before a party and put it in my refrigerator in one of my cake carriers.  I was fortunate enough that my cake pan fits perfectly in my bright green cake carrier.  I was so ready to give that thing a good toss (I only paid $5 for it, nothing fancy) but now that I know my pan fits it...whole new ball game.  I can take yummy pans of yumminess anywhere!

It is really ironic because I actually don't even like caramel apples, I think they are hard to eat.  However, if you put them in a cake they are very simple to DEVOUR.  I left the remaining slices with my friend but brought one slice back that I intended on eating tomorrow at work...

Yea, all great and good except I ate it in my car on the way home.  True story.  Guess I could pour some of the caramel on applesauce and pretend it is the same...

This cake got rave reviews, and it was a nice change of pace for me.  We spend a lot of time doing fancy cakes with beautiful decorations and so on and they are both beautiful and tasty, but I also think that some of the best cakes come out of 9x13 inch pans.  There is something really comforting about the classics, the pineapple upside down cakes and oatmeal cakes and whatever else cakes of the world.  They are the family reunion type cakes, tradition-bearing cakes, the things that really take you back to your childhood.  And let's face it...they don't take 3 hours to decorate.

Sold.

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!