Semi-Homemade Apple Pound Cake

I doctored up a box of pound cake mix today with ingredients I had on hand. It was so delicious at the potluck party I took it to that I had to commit it to the blog before I forgot what I did.
For Cake:
1 Box Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix
2 Large Eggs
1/4 C Apple Sauce
1 T Low Fat Sour Cream
1 T Margarine
1 1/4 C Water
1/2 t Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice

For Glaze:
1/2 C Apple Juice
2/3 C Light Brown Sugar
1 T Margarine
1/4 t Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice (or just cinnamon)

Directions: Combine all of the ingredients for the cake in a bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes or by hand for 4 minutes. The batter will be thick. Follow the directions on the box for pan sizes and bake according to the box directions.

Heat all of the ingredients for the glaze over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and it boils. When it begins to reduce, pour into a bowl to cool. It will thicken up a bit and will be the consistency of syrup.

When the cake is done and still hot, use a skewer to make holes all over the top. Pour the glaze over the top and allow it to flow into the holes. Remove cake from the pan and serve. Store leftovers (if there are any) in an airtight container.

Roasted Veggies and Grains

Summer Veggies are the very best and I love to roast them gently with perfect seasonings. Here is my way - with mostly pictures and little text.
Green Tomatoes - they fell from the vine in a storm and I couldn't let them go to waste! Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Onion, Carrots, Eggplant, and Patti Pan Squash
In order to maintain the flavor of the veggies, I only added Olive Oil, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Chopped Garlic, and Tastefully Simple Pesto Seasoning. You can just use jarred Pesto or Italian Seasoning if you prefer.

Place on a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and roast in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.




Top with shredded cheese and - voila!

Gazpacho

I made this a couple of months ago - honestly, life has gotten in the way of this blog. I wanted to post it before the last tomatoes fall off the vine. This no-cook-no-heat-up-the-kitchen dish is a must have on hand for summer. Note that you do need to make it the day before so the flavors marry. I took this recipe from Simply Recipes and recommend that blog to anyone anywhere. I LOVE IT!

Ingredients
•6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
•1 purple onion, finely chopped
•1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
•1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped
•2 stalks celery, chopped
•1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
•2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1/4 cup red wine vinegar
•1/4 cup olive oil
•2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
•2 teaspoons sugar
•Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
•6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
•1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
•4 cups tomato juice
Method

To easily remove skin from tomatoes, slice the tomatoes under the skin from the top to the bottom and around again on two sides so you make an X on the bottom. Place them on a baking sheet and broil on low for about 5 minutes. You will see the skin start to pull away. Let them cool a bit and then peel them.
Combine all ingredients. Blend slightly, to desired consistency.
Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend.

Serves 8.

Crab Boil

In South Carolina - my home State - it was born as Frogmore Stew and referred to as Low country Boil. In Maryland, it is the same thing but with CRAB! Of course, with crab - what else?!

When my younger sister and her family came to visit, we made some delicious Crab Boil and added shrimp because; as my friend Shani would say: "And is better than or."

The ingredients: Kielbasa Sausage, Small Potatoes or Potatoes cut into large chunks, corn on the cob, shrimp, and crab.

The basic rule is to cook the items that take longest first and finish up with the shrimp. We had the crabs steamed in advance and heated them separately in the oven (sort of cheating) because I don't have a pot big enough for all of that goodness! You can find crab boil or low country boil seasoning in the store but if you want to "wing it" you can always use old bay, garlic, and onions. You can also mix paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper together - yum!

Make sure you have some sour cream, melted butter, cocktail sauce, cider vinegar, mallets, brown paper, and beer!

A Mexican Concoction

Tonight I made chicken quesadillas and topped them with black beans, sour cream, and salsa. They were delicious.

Pepper Jack Cheese
Grilled Chicken Breast
Tortillas
Margarine
Sour Cream
Salsa
Seasoned Black Beans

Here is the play by play.



Spread margarine on one side of 4 flour tortillas. Place two, margarine side down, onto a medium-high griddle and top with cheese and chicken.


Top with the other tortillas, margarine-side up, and flip (carefully) over.


While the tortillas are browning, heat the black beans. Once the quesadillas are done, serve topped with the beans, sour cream, and your favorite salsa!

A tale of two meatloaves

I bought ground beef in bulk and decided to make up two meatloaves and freeze one. I made them at the same time so I used the same base ingredients for the meat and then changed up the seasoning for each. The base recipe included ground beef, 2 shredded zucchini, 2 shredded carrots, and 1/2 C breadcrumbs.

For the BBQ Meatloaf, I added 2T BBQ Seasoning* and 1/3 C BBQ Sauce. For the Italian Meatloaf, I added 2 T Italian Seasoning* and 1/3 C Marinara Sauce.


Mold into a loaf shape and freeze one for later. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375 F. Top the Italian Meatloaf with 2/3 C Marinara Sauce and top the BBQ Meatloaf with 2/3 C BBQ Sauce. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.


Serve with Garlic Mashed potatoes and peas and carrots.

Leftover meatloaf makes delicious sandwiches!


*I use Tastefully Simple Seasonings

Chicken Tortilla Soup

There are plenty of delicious recipes for Chicken Tortilla Soup online and in my friends' recipe books but I opted to use a mix because I had one.
I added some Simply Salsa Seasoning, a can of seasoned black beans, and some of the Grilled Chicken. I fried up my own tortilla strips (whole wheat, of course) in light vegetable oil over medium high heat in a skillet.
Top the soup with the tortilla strips and serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream.

I made quesadillas for the boys.

Either way, it was delicious!