strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting

Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
what you need [cake]...Nonstick vegetable spray
All-purpose flour, for pans
3 cups self-rising flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries, strained*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 large eggs, beaten

what you need [frosting]...1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 3 cups (approx. 1 box) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tablespoon milk (if needed)

what to do [cake]...Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside [I made mine in a bundt cake pan but takes much longer to cook]

- Prepare the cake batter; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes [bundt cake took an hour to cook]

- Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

what to do [frosting]...

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness is achieved. You may need less than 3 cups if you like your frosting less sweet. Stir in vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a looser consistency.

- Frost cake as desired and refrigerate until ready to serve.


* You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. If you use frozen, let them defrost on a cookie sheet. Then place in a food processor and pulse until pureed. Run through a medium-sized strainer to remove the seeds.

taco casserole

taco casserole
what you need...

2 ounces Tortilla Chips (about 24), plus additional for serving
1 Tbs Chili Oil (or olive oil and red pepper flakes)
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 pound Ground Chicken
2 Tbs Taco Seasoning
1 can Black Beans, drained
1 cup Hot Salsa
1 cup shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

what you do...Heat oven to 350.  Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and sautee until soft. Add meat and taco seasoning. Cook, breaking up meat with a spatula, for about 5 minutes. Add beans and salsa. Mix well and continue to cook until salsa thickens.

Line the bottom of a large baking dish with tortilla chips, pressing down on them lightly to break them into bite-sized pieces. Spread the meat and bean mixture over the chips and top with cheese. Add sliced jalepenos or other toppings that you want to be cooked. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey. Scoop up or with additional chips or into tortillas if desired.

status update: christmas 2013

butter tips

every time i see butter written down in a recipe i hear my husband obnoxiously [love you] saying it in his best julia childs voice from the julie & julia movie [don't ask why he's seen that one either...] but seriously, one of the worst things is to get all inspired to make a great recipe only to find out that it calls for softened butter after you are 3/4 of the way through your recipe or beyond the point of turning back. you pop butter in the microwave, you end up with the valley in the center of somewhat melted butter and the rest so soft that it creates a hot & greasy mess as you open it. or almost even worse than that, you say screw it who the heck cares if its softened my kitchen aid mixer can cream it regardless ending up with large chunks and a burnt out mixer.

creaming butter & sugar together [as many recipes of baked goods require] should be the longest step of the entire recipe if you do it the way we are all actually supposed to. melted butter effects the consistency of the batter and the creaming process is essentially shot at that point. It really is recommended that if you melt the butter, that you put it in a small bowl and back in the fridge for your next baked potato or grilled cheese sandwich and start with a fresh stick. i will admit i've made a batch of muffins or two that ended up with grainy looking "creamed" butter and sugar versus the beautiful, slightly yellow lofted goodness a great recipe has.

in the ideal world we would all have the butter softened perfectly out of the wrapper and ready to go the moment we are ready to get baking. what i have found is that the days that i pull butter out, i don't end up baking...the days butter is frozen solid, its a matter of life or death for me to have a fresh sour cream pound cake...the solution?

all you need is a sandwich size ziploc bag. put your butter in there, and run some hot water over it for about 60 seconds, rotating the butter and the bag so that you don't end up with a hole where the stream of water poured onto the bag. within a minute of using not so scalding hot water, i've been able to soften my butter (from refrigerated temperatures) and creaming it with the sugar within minutes!

reduced sugar=reduced taste?

i read an article not too long ago that 1 gram of sugar equates to 3.87 calories. i was always curious...what does that mean for me the "eater" of these reduced sugar foods? i gave it a personal test. one of foods i eat from time to time is Quaker Apples & Cinnamon instant oatmeal. accidentally, i picked up the "lower sugar" box and started to compare the nutrition facts.

specific to the oatmeal....lower sugar (6g sugars) vs.  regular (12g sugars)

women suggested guidelines is to consume no more than 24g of sugar a day. additionally (& most importantly), i cannot taste the difference in the two oatmeals! i'll keep my reduced sugar product (not chemically sweetened) product and enjoy my glass of wine to make up for the 6 grams of sugar that i saved in my day!

has anyone else had anything lately that is reduced sugar (but not chemically sweetened i.e. aspartame) that is better than the "regular" version?? next on my list is peanut butter!