Strawberry Cake

For mom's birthday, I made her a strawberry cake- not just any strawberry cake, but the recipe my granny was using to make a cake the day she had my mom! Now, it does use cake mix and jello, but it has the addition of fresh strawberries, pecans, and coconut so you would never guess that it starts with cake mix. And it is topped with a strawberry cream cheese frosting- delicious! Everyone really seemed to like it! You can find the recipe here.


Here is a pic of Steve and me with the dinner we cooked.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadillas

"This is a winner!" Nick commented on tonight's dinner, and I agree! Quesadillas aren't normally the type of thing I would cook for dinner, but I love goat cheese and thought it would be good to branch out a little. I am glad I did! The goat cheese is tangy and balanced out nicely by the sweetness of the roasted corn. I found the original recipe in Cooking Light, but changed it a little so my version (which serves 3) is below. I served it with a side salad and black beans. Oh, and Nick had chicken in his (he really liked, but I don't think it needed it!)


Ingredients:
- 3 oz goat cheese, softened to room temp
- 3 Tbsp milk (I used 2%)
- 3/4 cup frozen corn kernals
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- Salsa (I used Tostito's Medium)
- 3 10" Wheat Wrap/Tortilla (I used Tofuyan)

Directions:
1. Once goat cheese has softened, put in a bowl with milk and beat with hand mixer until smooth.
2. Heat skillet (lightly coated with cooking spray or olive oil spray) over medium heat.
3. Saute corn until it starts to brown. Remove from heat and stir into goat cheese.
4. Spread goat cheese and corn mixture onto one half of each tortilla.
5. Sprinkle each with green onions and dabs of salsa (dabs is a technical term here!)
6. Fold empty side tortilla over cheese side.
7. Heat skillet (lightly coated with cooking spray or olive oil spray) over medium heat.
8. Cook each quesadilla until golden brown on both sides.

Mediterranean Salmon

I made this Mediterranean Salmon on my trip to the beach with mom, Meggy, and Nat! I have made it a few times before and haven't gotten any bad reviews yet:) It is easy to make and doesn't take much time so it is even a good for a weeknight. The recipe is from Southern Living, but it is from the "Healthy" section and really is good for you! I pretty much follow the recipe, but I do make a few minor changes- reduce amount of olives, reduce oil, and broil the salmon. The recipe with these 3 adaptions is below. And, it is great served over roasted asparagus...yummmm.

Ingredients
* 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
* 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 (15-oz.) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/4 cup chopped black olives
* 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 4 (6-oz.) salmon fillets
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
1. Sauté onion in 1/2 Tbsp. hot oil in a saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes or until slightly softened. Add beans, olives, and tomatoes; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, and stir in basil.

2. Sprinkle salmon fillets evenly with salt and pepper. Broil in oven until cooked through and fish flakes easily with a fork. It took about 8-10 for me, but it will depend on the thickness of the salmon fillets.

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars

Before I went on vacation, I wanted to make Nick a treat to compensate for the the fact that I was going to the beach while he was stuck working:) (I am sure he thought that was a fair exchange as well!) I didn't have much time so I picked a recipe for cheesecake bars that I found here because 1) I wouldn't have to buy much, 2) It was quick and easy to make, 3) He likes cheesecake. The recipe is for strawberry cheesecake bars, but we had blackberry preserves so that is what I made- you could use any kind you want though and they would be delicious! You can also halve the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan if you want.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups graham crumbs
¼ cup butter, melted
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
3 tbsp of lemon juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup blackberry preserves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease and line an 8” x 8” square baking with parchment paper or nonstick foil (for easy removing you slices later)
2. Mix crumbs and butter together and press firmly into bottom of the pan. Set it aside.
3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and lemon juice in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition, just until blended.
4. Pour cream cheese mixture over crust.
5. Heat blackberry preserves slightly in the microwave (like 15 seconds). Gently drop preserves by small spoonfuls over top of batter. Use a knife and drag it through preserves and cheesecake batter to swirl.
5. Bake approx 40 min. or until center is set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight before cutting it.

Strawberry Chantilly Cake

Happy Birthday to Meggo, Happy Birthday to Meggo!! Today she turns 25! For Meg's Bday, I made a Strawberry Chantilly cake about a month ago (before I left Wichita). She seemed to like it because she was very particular about who she would share with :) The actual cake isn't that hard to make, but make sure you spray your cake pans with a baking spray with flour! I forgot to do this, and it was a disaster- that is why Meg ended up with a three layer half cake rather than a whole two-layer cake. Anyway, on to the actual cake...the cake itself is a fluffy white cake with a sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberries in between the layers. The cake has a light texture to it and is complemented well by the not-too-sweet chantilly cream and strawberries.


For the Cake (recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated):
Ingredients-
Nonstick cooking spray with flour
2¼ cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¾ cups granulated sugar (12¼ ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds with cooking spray
2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs.
4. Add all but ½ cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1½ minutes. Add remaining ½ cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
5. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans, spreading evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
6. Let cakes rest in pans for 5 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks.

For the Chantilly Cream:
Ingredients-
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla extract

Directions-
Combine all ingredients in a chilled bowl and whip just until stiff peaks form but not too long because you don't want it to be over-whipped!

Strawberries:
1. Wash strawberries and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Remove stems and slice lengthwise.


To assemble cake:
1. Once cake has cooled, place one layer on cake stand or plate.
2. Cover with Chantilly cream, place fresh sliced strawberries on top of cream covering the top of the cake.
3. Place second layer of cake on top and cover completely with Chantilly cream.
4. Smooth cream all around the cake and decorate top as desired.

Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze

I made this salmon for Dad's birthday dinner, but I am just now getting around to posting it. I had made it several times before and decided I should stick to a "tried and true" recipe for the occasion rather than risking it with a new recipe! It is from Giada DeLaurentis on Food Network. She really has some great recipes, and this one has gotten a 5 star review from 222 reviewers so you know it has to be good! I followed the recipe exactly so I am just going post a link to it- you can find it here.

Very Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

For Dad's Birthday (the big 6-0 !!), he requested crunchy chocolate chip cookies. Now, I am not a crunchy cookie person so I can't really relate to this desire, but apparently some (crazy) people do like crunchy cookies. So, to make them crunchy, I found a recipe that used all white sugar and had a high butter ratio because that's what makes them have that crunch. I am a big fan of the sweet/salty combo (and I think Dad is too) so when I took the cookies out, I sprinkled them with some Fleur de Sel (sea salt), which added some delicious saltiness. I can't wait to try it on some chewy chocolate chip cookies! So, if you like REALLY crunchy chocolate chip cookies, these may be for you. The original recipe can be found here, but my modified version is below.


Ingredients
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* Fleur de Sel, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven (baking time will vary depending on size of cookies so watch first batch closely- they are done when the edges start to brown).
4. Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle with Fleur de Sel.

Apple, Grape, Turkey Sausage Salad

Well, I am now working on "Operation: Clean out Wichita Fridge and Freezer" and I wasn't sure what to do with the Smoked Turkey Sausage so I figured it could be a good substitute for chicken on salad since I like just about anything if it is on a salad. It was tasty and good for a change although the sausage is a much stronger flavor than chicken (not in a bad way) so be prepared for that if you try it!

Ingredients:
1/2 fuji apple, diced
1 cup of grapes, halved (you can use either color but purple/red look prettier :) )
1 bag of lettuce/your favorite salad mix
4 or 5 oz of turkey sausage, sliced
any kind of cheese- I recommend fat free feta, Nick recommends goat or cheddar
Newman's Own Light Balsamic Dressing

Directions:
1. Heat non-stick skillet on medium
2. Add sausage and cook until browned
3. Let cool for a few minutes while you assemble salad
3. Place greens on plate and top with apples, grapes, cheese, and turkey sausage
4. Serve with dressing on side or you could toss the greens with the dressing before assembling- whatever your preference is