Caramel Apple Cake

This cake was really easy to make. All I did was use a spice cake mix (Duncan Hines.) I cut up 2 granny smith apples and folded them into the batter. I cooked it as instructed on the box.

Then I mixed caramel syrup with white icing (I think I used a little much this is why the icing looks runny.) Then put some caramel on top and some apples.

That's all there is to it. This cake was really really good too. Nothing but compliments on it :o)

Banana split pie

So I completely made this recipe from scratch and pretty much made up the rules as I went. So I'll try to explain it the best I can :o)

Here is what you will need

Pie Crust
1 3/4 cups of vanilla wafers
1/3 cup of butter

Directions: Of course you will need to crush the vanilla wafers. I did so in my food processor and then combined it with the butter. Then you just press down the mixture into a pie pan like in the picture below. Once pressed down use a fork to decorate the sides like a real pie crust if you'd like. Place in the refrigerator for about an hour so it can set well.

Next you'll need to prepare the filling. This is made up of:

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 mashed bananas

1/2 package of french vanilla pudding

1 jar of marciano cherries

Directions: Combine cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, bananas, and vanilla pudding. Also to the mixture I added about a 4th of a cup of cherry juice. Add a little at a time and make sure you dont make the micture too soupy. It's a pie filling so it needs to be thick in consistancy. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and then add cherries into the pie throughout so there's a cherry in every bite :o) or however many you'd like.

Put the pie in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but the longer the better to ensure it's cold all the way through which will make it easier to cut.

Before serving add cherries, cut bananas, wafers and chocolate syrup to the top!

So I completely made this recipe from scratch and pretty much made up the rules as I went. So I'll try to explain it the best I can :o)

My favorite pancakes

This recipe isn't anything too special but I LOVE it. All you do is make the super easy instant pancakes out of a box, add a little cinnamon and a little almond extract and you're done! It's so easy but I think the flavor is GREAT!

Brownie Cookies

These are actually really good if you like brownies! They are really easy to make to

What you'll need

1 box fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oil
3 tablespoons water
2 eggs

if you want to add chocolate chips, walnuts, anything you like in brownies you can add them in the batter as well.

Then you want to preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Scoop the batter onto a greased baking sheet and keep them about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until cookies appear set and do not look “wet” in the middle.
Let cool before using icing, of course you can skip the icing but i don't recommend it :o)

Now instead of using the pastry decorator I just put some icing in a plastic baggy and cut a little hole in the in the corner.

Pork Chops with Cabbage and Cornbread

This was my first time experimenting with cabbage. I LOVE it but had never tried making it before. First I tried making a form of sweet cabbage and I thought it was really good.

What you'll need...
Bacon (I used turkey bacon)
Sugar
Salt & Pepper
A head of cabbage

First you want to chop up the cabbage in to strips or little pieces either way it'll work. Once you've done that set it aside. Cook up the bacon most of the way in a little bit of oil. Pull the bacon out and leave the grease in the bottom of the pan and cook the cabbage in it. Add salt, peper and sugar to taste and then add the bacon back in. You can really cook the cabbage as long as you want it depends on how firm you like it. Whatever you do don't burn it because I hear it stinks and is really gross! :o) I cooked mine for about 10 to 15 mins because I like mine a little softerNext is the Pork Chop. This pork chop was really good. You will need...

Olive oil

Garlic cloves

Onion

Tarragon

Salt

Pepper

Sage

Pork Tenderloins

First thing I did was preheat the oven at 400. Then heat some olive oil in a grill pan. I seasoned up the tenderloins with tarragon, salt, pepper, and sage. I threw some onions and garlic in the grill pan. I seared the tenderloin on each side until it was golden brown. Then I made a little bowl out of aluminum foil and put each tenderloin in aluminum foil added some more olive oil, onions, garlic and seasonings wrapped them up and put them in the oven until they were fully cooked.

Lastly I cheated on the cornbread and made it from a box :o)

I prepared it from the box instructions. I also took some butter and added honey to it and brushed it on the top when the cornbread came out of the oven.

And here is the finished product! Yummy!!!

My First Specialty Cake

I don't really have a recipe for this one because I just baked a bunch of cakes and put them together in the shape of Optimus Prime. I dyed some vanilla icing and used fondant for the decorations on the top as well as used icing paint to do some other detail work.

I made the cake for my friend Brittany's son's birthday this past September. It took so much more work than I thought it would but I can't wait to make another one. I realized a lot of things I could have done to make it easier and cleaner looking. I think my next one will be for my mom's birthday.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

This cake is SO good and SO easy to make! If you like chocolate and you like cherries you will LOVE it.

Here is what you will need:

A Duncan Hines Devil Food Cake Mix (plus ingredients on the back of the box)

1 large jar of Maraschino Cherries

1 package of chocolate pudding

Start out by preparing Devils food cake according to directions on the back of the box

Add in half of the chocolate pudding package and half of juice from cherry jar. Make sure that the cake mix is the right consistency (just like any other cake you might make.)

Next add in the cherries to the cake mix. I used a lot of cherries, nearly the whole jar and I could have used more. It's really up to you how many you want to use. It is really yummy to bite into one in the cake so the more the better. You can save some to put on top however. Make sure you remove the stems! :o)You can use the instructions on the back of the box to cook the cake. It depends on what type of pan you put them in. Remember you can make them as cupcakes as well! The best way to tell they are done is to insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean it's done. This cake is really moist and even more moist around the cherries so the tooth pick might come out with a little chocolate on it but not much. Let the cake cool to room temperature before frosting.

For frosting I used Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting.

Add cherry juice to the frosting to give it a cherry flavor. Add a little at a time and mix in if you add too much the frosting will become too thin. Add just enough to give it a cherry flavor.

My finished product....

Banana Split Cake

This is honestly, by far, the best cake I've ever made and actually ever tasted. I saw a recipe in a new cookbook I got for Banana Split cupcakes so I kind of tweaked it a little bit and made it into a cake. So let me try and relay what I did as best I can.

Here's what you'll need:

• Oven preheated at 350 degrees
• Yellow cake mix (I always use Duncan Hines)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup of water
• 1 ripe banana mashed well
• 1 10oz jar of marchiano cherries chopped into quarters
• 2 tablespoons of juice from marchiano cherries
• 1/2 of a .9oz box of banana cream jello pudding mix
• 1/4 cup of cooking oil
• chocolate syrup
• sprinkles
• vanilla frosting

1. Set aside 2 tablespoons of cake mix
2. Mix the remaining cake mix, 3 eggs, mashed bananas, 1/2 of pudding mix, and oil until all ingredients are incorporated well.
3. In separate bowl mix chopped cherries with the 2 tablespoons of cake mix you set aside earlier. Make sure cherries are coated with mix and add to the rest of the cake mix.
4. Add cherry juice

Now because I was kind of winging this recipe what I did was make sure that the cake batter was the consistency of what any other regular cake batter would be. Not to thick, not to thin. If yours turns out too thin add some more of the pudding mix, if it turns out to thick add a little more cherry juice, water, or oil.

Next you can make this into a cake or cupcakes. The trickier part is the cooking time. Mine took a little over 30 mins. I didn't make cupcakes because my oven tends to burn the bottom while the inside isn't fully cooked. I suggest cooking it for about 15 mins and then checking it every 5 mins or so. When you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean, it's done.

Let the cake cool so it's room temperature to the touch.

Top the cake with Vanilla frosting:

Drizzle the cake with Chocolate frosting:

Drizzle it with sprinkles!!

And you have a really really great tasting Banana Split Cake!

Dinner time!

So I know this isn't the greatest picture but I thought I would start posting some recipes on here. I LOVE cooking and am going to start cooking something new once a week and post it on here. Sooo here goes. Above is:Lemon/Basil Chicken with Basil Butter. Now I have to admit I'm not the best at measuring I just throw in whatever looks right. So I'll see what I can do for measurements for you:

Start out with how ever many chicken breast you want. I used 2 because I was feeding 2 people :o)

1. To get the chicken breast ready I rubbed them down with butter, sprinkled them with fresh lemon juice, pepper, garlic salt, and a little bit of seasoned salt.
   
2. Chop up some fresh basil into small pieces and sprinkle that on top.
   
3. Grill the chicken until done.

Next is the basil butter. This is the best part of this dish in my opinion. All you do is to dip your chicken in it!

1. I just use regular butter out of the tub (country crock whatever you have in the fridge.) Of course again the portion is going to depend on how many you're serving. For 2 chicken breasts I used about a half a cup.


2. Chop more basil (the more the better) and mix into the butter, add a little more lemon juice and garlic salt. And you're all done.
   

I also made Cheesy Garlic Potatoes. These are really easy, again I made enough for 2.

1. Cut 6 red potatoes into quarters and put into sauce pan cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil.


2. In another saucepan combine 1 cup of Velveeta cheese cut into cubes, a handful of mozzarella cheese, grate in 1 large clove of fresh garlic, 1 teaspoon for nutmeg and you will also have to add in milk to thin out the cheese. This should be saucy so that it can be incorporated into the potatoes.


3. Once you can easily insert a fork into the potatoes they are done. Drain the potatoes and return to pan. Mash the potatoes also add salt, pepper, seasoned salt and a little bit of garlic salt. Slowly add the sauce to the potatoes a little at a time. (Many times I've added too much sauce so add slowly and mix in until the potatoes are a good consistency.)


4. Garnish with parsley if you like!

Next is the Cheesy Garlic Biscuits. Now these I do know the measurements on because baking needs to be a little more exact. You will need:

1 1/4 cups of biscuit mix
1/2 cup of grated sharp cheddar
1/2 cup of water

1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
   
2. Combine biscuit mix, cheddar and then water, spoon the dough onto cooking sheet (it doesn't have to look like a biscuit)


3. Cook for 10 mins.

While the biscuits are cooking there is a garlic butter you'll put on top when they come out of the oven you need to make.

1. Heat a half a stick of butter in the microwave until its mostly melted (doesn't have to be all the way)
   
2. Add teaspoon of garlic salt and some parsley.
   
3. Brush on top of biscuits when they come out of the oven.

Lastly is the Lemon Asparagus. These are really easy and very good. For 2 people I took 8 pieces of asparagus.

1. Fill the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and let the olive oil heat some.


2. Drop in asparagus, sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
   
3. Cook asparagus for about 5-7 minutes.

And then you have one yummy meal!! I have to say this is not the order I cooked this in. I had them all going at once. I made the dough for the biscuits, and started boiling the potatoes first. Then the chicken, potato sauce, put the biscuits in, and did the asparagus and it should all come together about the same time. But whatever works for you!

Hope you enjoy as much as I did!