New Adventures

Sorry we  haven't been on lately. We've got a new adventure.  We have recently got a new addition to our family.  We got a puppy.   He's a miniature dachshund.    We got him and he was 2.2 lbs.  The best part is his name is Thor!  What a big name for such a small guy.   Thor fits his attitude. Nothing scares this dog.  He will sit on the couch and fly off just if he sees a light go on.  We have to be careful.  Dachshund do offen have back problems.   So if he jumps  off and hurts his back he could have serious hip/back problems.   

Also, Our summer is coming to an end.    We will be posting through-out the year, but still not at frequent as before.   But don't stop coming back and checking! 

Thank you all for checking back and staying will us as we have had some troubles.

More recipes are to follow soon. 

"Surprise" Vanillia Cupcakes

“Surprise” Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Cupcakes:                                      

2 ¼ cup Cake Flour

1 T Baking Powder

½ tsp Kosher Salt

1 ¼ cup whole milk

4 large Eggs Whites

8 T unsalted butters, room temperature

1 ½ cup sugar

Vanilla Bean Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean.

2 tsp clear Vanilla Extract

 

Filling:  Apple Pie Filling

 

Butter Cream Frosting:

3 sticks Unsalted Butter

Vanilla Bean Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean

2 tsp Clear Vanilla Extact

1 ½ lbs Powdered Sugar, sifted

4-8 T Heavy Whipping Cream

1/8 tsp salt                                                                                         

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake pan with your choice of paper liners.

Bake cupcakes on center rack in oven.

 

In a separate bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.  In another separate bowl mix egg whites and whole milk until well blended.  Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds, on medium speed with your electric mixer, until light and fluffy.  While the mixer continues at medium speed, add the vanilla extract and 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Then beat in half of the wet mixture, following up with half of the remaining dry ingredients.  When everything is well blended, add the rest of the wet mixture.  Follow that up with the remaining dry ingredients.  Now that everything is in the bowl, beat for a couple more minutes on medium speed until everything is well incorporated.  Mixture should be light.

I like to make regular sized cupcakes for this recipe, so I scoop the batter into my cupcake pan with a large ice cream scoop.  Bake for 15 – 25 minutes until not quite brown.  Best way to tell if they are done is by putting a toothpick in the center on an inside cupcake.  If it comes out clean, then they are done.  Let these cool completely before you even think about filling them.

To fill your cupcakes:  Don’t be intimidated when it comes to filling a cupcake – it really is very easy.  For this cupcake the filling is a little heavy so I use an apple corer to take the center of the cupcake out.  I have seen some cupcake corers but they seem a little large for this type of filling.  You will not need these cupcake “cores” so they might make a well deserved snack while you are working so hard.

Take your apple pie filling and chop it into workable pieces.  (I put mine in the food processor and pulse until the pieces are fine [not as fine as applesauce]) and then put in a large plastic bag for piping into the cupcakes.  Cut ¼ to ½ inch off of the corner of your plastic bag.  Squeeze the pie filling until it comes out the cut corner of the bag and fill your cupcakes.  This method is a lot less messy than trying to spoon the filling in.

Finally the Buttercream Frosting.  I like to use the whisk attachment on my mixer.  Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy.  Add the extract and vanilla bean seeds.  Add 2 tablespoons of the cream and half of the sugar and mix.  Add 2 more tablespoons of cream and the remaining sugar.  Beat until well incorporated.  At this point you can decide for yourself the texture of your frosting.  I like mine to be a little stiff for piping, but if you like yours looser – add more cream just a little at a time until your desired texture.  Once you have the icing how you like it, then add in your salt and mix well – at least 3 more minutes on medium speed. 

All you have to do is put your frosting on.  I like to pipe my frosting on using a disposable cake decorating bag and a cake decorating tip # 1M.  If you are piping, make sure you start from the outside of the cupcake making a complete circle and working your way into the center.  This way your pie filling will not get into your frosting and will remain a surprise.

 

 

Pig Picking Cake

Pig Picking Cake

I have heard lots of reasons why this is called a Pig Picking Cake.  The one that I believe is that it is so good you make a pig out of yourself picking at it until it is gone.  Make it for yourself and let me know what you think.

                                                                                                                                      

1  box of Yellow Cake Mix

1  11 oz. can Mandarin Oranges with juice (I actually get a bigger can than this and use the extra for snacking and decorating.

4  eggs

½  Cup Canola Oil

1  9oz. carton of Whipped Topping

1  8oz. can Crushed Pineapple with juice

1  small box of instant Vanilla Pudding

 

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg.  I prefer to make a sheet pan of this cake, so I just grease my cake pan.  I have heard that you can do this with round cake pans and stack them like a 2-3 layer cake.  If that is your preference, then you should grease and flour your cake pans.

Mix the cake mix, Mandarin Oranges and juice, eggs, and oil in a mixer for 2 minutes.  Make sure all large lumps are broken up.  Pour into you pan(s) and bake 20-30 minutes depending on your oven.  Insert a cake tester into the cake, if the cake is done it will come out clean.

Set cakes aside until completely cool.

Topping:

While the cake(s) are cooking, I like to make the topping.  It really needs time to sit so the instant pudding has a chance to set.  Mix all of the remaining ingredients until well blended.  Do not let  this set out, it needs to be refrigerated.

After the cake is completely cool, you may put your topping on the cake.  Since this is not a normal “smooth” icing, I use extra orange slices to decorate.

This cake is great made the day ahead of time.  Just cover and keep in the refrigerator, but good luck keeping your family out of it.

Salisbury Steak

This is a favorite comfort food of my family. I hope you and your family like it as well.
1 (10.5) ouce can condensed French Onion Soup
1 ½ lb ground beef
½ c dry bread crumbs
1 egg
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 T all-purpose flour
¼ C ketchup
1 ½ C water
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
½ tsp mustard powder
1 pkt brown gravy mix
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French Onion Soup, ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper. Form into 6 oval shaped patties.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown patties and set aside. Pour off excess fat.
3. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over meat in skillet. Cover and cook for additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Note: You may want to adjust amount of water depending on how strong you like your gravy.

History of the Blog

       I was looking for a fun summer project. My mom, dad, and I are all good cooks. My mom is into baking, canning, and home cooked meals. My dad is doing an exploration of noodles from all different lands. My speciality runs more on the technical side. So I'll be doing the blogging and photography. We love feed-back and we will try and make all requests. I hope you'll follow along our journey.