Angel Food Cake with Fruit

So we have all had the well-known strawberry shortcake, and if you love that, but are looking for a new spin on it, this is your recipe!

Ingredients:

One angel food cake (I just bought mine)

2 (12 oz.) packages of frozen mixed fruit (mine was strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)

water and sugar (to make a simple syrup)

whipping cream and powdered sugar (if you are going to make homemade whipped cream)

First, to make a simple syrup, boil one cup of water and add 1-2 cups of sugar, depending on how sweet you want it. Let it boil for a minute while continuing to stir, till the sugar is dissolved. Then turn off heat and let it cool. Put the frozen fruit (semi-thawed) into a bowl and when the simple syrup is cooled, pour it over the fruit and stir.

To make homemade whipped cream, just add whipping cream (I usually add about 1 cup) to your kitchen aid (hopefully you have one or this will be a sacrifice of the arm to make), and whip it for about 5 minutes or so until it is light and fluffy. Then add desired amount of powdered sugar (I like it sweet so I add about 2/3 cup). You can add almond or vanilla extract (about 1 teaspoon each) to add a little flavor zing to it.

Chocolate Banana Bread

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack to middle position. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with coarse brown sugar (optional, but I always do!). Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*My kids LOVE this, they call it chocolate bread and ask for it all the time

Johnny Appleseed Day

It's Johnny Appleseed Day today, so I thought it would be perfect to post my Dutch Apple Cheesecake recipe. This is awesome! Here is the recipe:

(adapted from I-Love-Cheesecake)
The Crust:
20 Gingersnaps
2 Tablespoon very soft butter

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages of softend Cream Cheese
1 (14.5-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch
2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Teaspoon cinnamon spice
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 can caramel apple pie filling

Crumb Topping:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Dutch Crumb Topping: Blend together brown sugar, flour, melted butter, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl until mixture is crumbly. Set aside to use at end of baking cycle.

Crust: Preheat Oven at 350°F. Process gingersnaps and soft butter for crust in food processor until crumbs are nice and moist. Pat into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

Filling: Preheat Oven at 350°F. Place a pan with about 2-inches of water in bottom of oven, to create moist atmosphere. If necessary refill with hot water every 30 minutes during baking. In large mixing bowl, slowly mix softened cream and sweetened condensed milk. Add in cornstrach, vanilla extract and cinnamon spice and blend well. When well blended, add 3 large eggs, one at a time and continue to mix. Mix in the whole can of caramel apple pie filling.

Bake for 35 minutes, pull from oven and sprinkle Dutch Crumb Topping on top and pat well. Return to oven for 20 minutes.

Remove cheesecake and run knife round edges of cake to loosen. Turn off oven heat and return cheesecake to oven and crack door and let set one hour, to slowly start cool down. (This cooling method will help you bake a crack free cheesecake. )

Remove and finish cooling on wire rack. Chill for 3 hours then remove sides of springform pan.

Drizzle with caramel sauce of your choosing (like caramel ice cream topping) or just top with Cool Whip. Serve and enjoy your Dutch Apple Cheesecake.

*My cheesecake took a little longer to bake, just keep checking it, make sure it is not jiggly.

Now while you are eating your Dutch Apple Cheesecake, take a minute to learn more about Johnny Appleseed HERE.

Valentines Day Kids Craft

First a good joke I heard:

A woman woke up and told her husband, "I just dreamed you gave me a diamond necklace for Valentine's Day, what do you thin it means?" "You'll know tonight," he said. That evening the husband came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--to find a book entitled “The Meaning of Dreams.”

Don't we all love Valentine's Day! :) I know it is technically a 'lovers' holiday, but I am really a holiday person, I like to celebrate all the holidays, and make them special for my children as well. So every year, I look for fun things I can make and do with the kiddos.

Kids crafts:

I love doing fun kids crafts for the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, ect. ect. Here are some cute, easy, cheap, simple ideas that you probably already have everything for:

Children's Handprint Bouquet

(to see step by step directions and pictures, go to "Artists helping Children".

*I think the lilies are so cute, but I did this for my mom once with my kid's handprints on all different colored paper, and put them in a vase.

(mine)

The Valentine's Day Scroll

Got this idea from "All Free Crafts". I think it is so cute. The directions are to first put the painted handprints on canvas or construction paper, then paint on simple leaves and stems, then have the child write a message. Sponge gold paint around the edge of the paper, dry, then roll it up and tie ribbon around it like a scroll.

Cream Filled Strawberries from Cafe Johnsonia

Don't these look so delicious and yet simple - something you could do easily with your children.

Recipe:

2-16 (more or less depending on the size) large strawberries
4 oz. cold heavy cream
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2-4 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar (make is as sweet as you like)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
a little vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar with an electric mixer. Add the heavy cream. Continue beating until the mixture thickens. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Place in the fridge for several hours, or overnight.

Cut an "X" into the bottom of each strawberry.

Fit a pastry bag with a star tip and fill it with the cream. Carefully pipe the cream into the center of each strawberry, allowing some of it overflow from the cuts you made on the strawberry.

Serve immediately, or cover with plastic film/wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

*if you want REALLY simple and quick., you could always, just 'X' cut the strawberries and spray whipped cream inside.

Valentine Cookie Pops

This was taken from Pillsbury; however, my favorite sugar cookies are the powdered Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix. These stay soft and every time I make them, I always get compliments, so I would make them with that mix, rather than the Pillsbury refrigerated dough. Then place cookie dough pieces 2 inches apart. Into side of each piece of dough, insert wooden stick 1 inch, overlapping wooden sticks as necessary. Bake according to package directions. Cool completely. Spread with frosting and decorate with candies Tie 18 inches of red ribbon into bow around each stick next to the cookie.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fruit Cobbler

1 can of pie filling (I usually use peach, but any will work)

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cake mix (dry) (I usually use vanilla or yellow)

1 cup melted butter

In a 9x13 pan, layer ingredients in the order above. Bake 325 for 45 minutes. The original recipe calls for cherry pie filling with white cake mix. You can mix and match to make different creations.

Orange Julius

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

12 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender, add ice cubes one at a time.

Amazing Lemon Bars

I love lemon bars and my whole life I had stuck to one recipe in one of my mom's cookbooks; but one day I decided to venture out and see if I could find a recipe that would make even better lemon bars, amazing ones, the best; and I found one. It is Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) recipe also found here, that I just changed a little, so good, so try this one out:

For the crust:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 lemons about)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (6 lemons)
• 1 cup flour
• I added a little orange zest and fresh squeezed orange juice from one of those cutie oranges
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet. Chill for a half hour or so.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust (I poured it over the crust while it was still hot) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set.

*I think there is a huge taste difference if you chill these in the fridge for at least an hour once they are done. They taste better a little cold (to me anyway). The crust is so good, like a shortbread type cookie, and the filling is delicious. It's the perfect crust to filling ratio. The original recipe calls for 3 cups of sugar in the filling but many of the reviews said that was way too much. I have a huge sugar tooth, and thought that 2 1/3 was perfect.

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