Monday, July 29, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Food Friday--Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I may have mentioned in the past that we are weird people. None of us is really fond of chocolate. We don't really eat much in the way of candy. When I cleaned and organized my refrigerator a couple of weeks ago I threw away half of a pie and most of a red velvet cake--not because they weren't good, they were very good--we just don't eat that much junk food most of the time. I have a small container of ice cream that I bought for my son's birthday three years ago and about half of it is still in the freezer.
But when it comes to pineapple upside down cake, we will devour it in just a few days. If I would let us, we would just sit there and eat the entire thing warm from the oven. I won't let us do that, but boy is it tempting. :)
Needless to say, this is a cake that is greatly enjoyed by all of us. I adapted a butter pecan cake recipe that I have had for so long I don't even remember where it came from (it was good, too, but this is better).
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
What you need:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached, though bleached flour works just as well)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (aluminum free if possible)
1 teaspoon salt (If you use salted butter, you probably don't need to add the extra salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (If you can afford it, please use the real stuff, not the imitation. It's so much better!)
1 cup milk
For the 'topping':
1 stick of butter (again, unsalted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 20 ounce can of pineapple (I use crushed, but whatever makes you happy is fine)
What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 13 x 9 glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt one stick of butter. Once it's melted, add in your brown sugar and stir well. Add in your pineapple (if using crushed or chunks. If using rings, just add the juice from the pineapple and place your pineapple rings in the baking dish) and stir until all of the brown sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and pour into the baking dish.
Now, take your dry ingredients and put them into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the butter, 2/3 of the cup of milk and the vanilla. Beat on low speed for about one minute. (If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large bowl and a hand mixer.)
Next, add the remaining milk, and the eggs and beat on low for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on high speed for one minute.
Now, carefully scrape the batter out of your mixing bowl and onto the top of your pineapple-butter-brown sugar mixture. This batter is thick~ish, so you will have to spread it carefully over the pineapple mixture. Just take your time and you will be able to cover most of the pineapple.
After your cake batter is evenly spread and covering as much of the pineapple mixture as you can, put it in the oven for 45 minutes, then check it with a toothpick. It is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If after 45 minutes, it's not done, bake it for another 5 minutes and check it again. The exact time varies depending on your oven, but be careful not to overcook it or the cake will be dry.
Remove from the oven and let cool for at least an hour before enjoying.
But when it comes to pineapple upside down cake, we will devour it in just a few days. If I would let us, we would just sit there and eat the entire thing warm from the oven. I won't let us do that, but boy is it tempting. :)
Needless to say, this is a cake that is greatly enjoyed by all of us. I adapted a butter pecan cake recipe that I have had for so long I don't even remember where it came from (it was good, too, but this is better).
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
What you need:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached, though bleached flour works just as well)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (aluminum free if possible)
1 teaspoon salt (If you use salted butter, you probably don't need to add the extra salt)
1/2 cup of butter, softened (I use unsalted)
2 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract (If you can afford it, please use the real stuff, not the imitation. It's so much better!)
1 cup milk
For the 'topping':
1 stick of butter (again, unsalted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 20 ounce can of pineapple (I use crushed, but whatever makes you happy is fine)
What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 13 x 9 glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt one stick of butter. Once it's melted, add in your brown sugar and stir well. Add in your pineapple (if using crushed or chunks. If using rings, just add the juice from the pineapple and place your pineapple rings in the baking dish) and stir until all of the brown sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and pour into the baking dish.
Pineappley-sugary-buttery goodness
Now, take your dry ingredients and put them into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the butter, 2/3 of the cup of milk and the vanilla. Beat on low speed for about one minute. (If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large bowl and a hand mixer.)
Next, add the remaining milk, and the eggs and beat on low for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on high speed for one minute.
This batter is thick, but spreadable.
Now, carefully scrape the batter out of your mixing bowl and onto the top of your pineapple-butter-brown sugar mixture. This batter is thick~ish, so you will have to spread it carefully over the pineapple mixture. Just take your time and you will be able to cover most of the pineapple.
Partially spread
You don't have to cover everything. As long as it's mostly covered, it will be fine.
After your cake batter is evenly spread and covering as much of the pineapple mixture as you can, put it in the oven for 45 minutes, then check it with a toothpick. It is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If after 45 minutes, it's not done, bake it for another 5 minutes and check it again. The exact time varies depending on your oven, but be careful not to overcook it or the cake will be dry.
Just try to resist me!
Remove from the oven and let cool for at least an hour before enjoying.
I'll eat that if you don't want it!
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Food Friday--Mini Pot Pies
Pot pies are a comfort food for so many people, but they can be complicated and time consuming to make. I have devised a way to make individual pot pies that is really easy and only takes a few minutes to put together. They are tasty and if you use the "healthy" kind of soup, (low fat and lower sodium, or even better, make your own!) they are not awful for you.
My son likes these an awful lot, and this recipe makes 16 of them, enough for several meals for us, which is always a bonus in my book.
Mini pot pies
What you need:
1 can "Healthy" Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery soup. (If you choose to put chicken in your pot pies, cream of chicken soup works.)
1 16 ounce bag of frozen, mixed vegetables
2 containers large, Pillsbury Grands-type biscuits, low fat if possible
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, other seasonings as desired, to taste
What you do:
Grab a 12-muffin muffin tin and generously spray it with nonstick spray, and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
While the oven is heating, thaw your frozen veggies either by putting in a microwave safe bowl and nuking them for about 6 minutes, or by bringing them to a boil in some water in a pot on your stove top.
Once thawed, drain and dump in your can of soup.
My son likes these an awful lot, and this recipe makes 16 of them, enough for several meals for us, which is always a bonus in my book.
Mini pot pies
What you need:
1 can "Healthy" Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery soup. (If you choose to put chicken in your pot pies, cream of chicken soup works.)
1 16 ounce bag of frozen, mixed vegetables
2 containers large, Pillsbury Grands-type biscuits, low fat if possible
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, other seasonings as desired, to taste
What you do:
Grab a 12-muffin muffin tin and generously spray it with nonstick spray, and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
While the oven is heating, thaw your frozen veggies either by putting in a microwave safe bowl and nuking them for about 6 minutes, or by bringing them to a boil in some water in a pot on your stove top.
Veggies having a sauna in the microwave.
Once thawed, drain and dump in your can of soup.
If you don't overcook the veg, it has such pretty colors. :)
Add in your seasonings of choice and stir thoroughly. If you decide to add chicken, this is the time to do that. Set this aside for a few minutes while you ready the biscuits.
Open your biscuit containers and one at a time, flatten the biscuits into fairly flat, roundish circles, then place each one in a section of your muffin tin.
Mostly flat and approximately round. I just squish them with my hands.
Ready for filling.
After filling all 12 sections, fill each biscuit with a generous spoonful (or two) of your filling. (You will have four biscuits and enough filling for them left. Cook them after these come out of the oven.)
Filled and almost ready to eat.
Pop them in the oven for 16-20 minutes depending on how brown you want your biscuits.
Remove from the oven, let cool for about a minute, remove from the muffin tin and serve!
Done.
I normally serve these with a salad, and one is enough for me. The menfolk will eat salad and two of these, and sometimes the teenager will eat three.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Just putting this out there
If you can help, please do, even if it's just by spreading the word.
http://igg.me/at/cbanes/x/3915526
http://igg.me/at/cbanes/x/3915526
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Happy Monday
We had a fairly nice weekend, spending time with some friends that recently moved away, wandering through a 19th century living history museum village and having our church's annual God Auction (how we choose our patron for the coming year).
To continue along in that spirit, I think that we should have a particularly good kilt wearer to start the week off right.
To continue along in that spirit, I think that we should have a particularly good kilt wearer to start the week off right.
My cock and I want you to have a happy Monday. :)
Friday, July 12, 2013
Food Friday: Fried Potatoes
When we were first married we didn't have a lot of money, and at various times throughout the last 15 years we have struggled financially. During those times we have had a few inexpensive meals that we depended on. Macaroni and cheese, buttered noodles, and fried potatoes being chief among them. For several months, we practically lived on fried potatoes. Sometimes we were able to get an onion to put in, and if we were really lucky we could afford an onion *and* a cheap pack of sausage.
I don't miss those days at all, and we have come a long way since then. However, we like potatoes fried with onions so much that sometimes we eat it just because, which was the case a couple of days ago. And this time, I had both an onion and sausage for it. :)
Fried potatoes (with onion and sausage)
Once in the past, I sliced the potatoes and put them in a single layer on a baking sheet and baked them until they were browned, then added them to the already cooked onion. It was okay that way, but I prefer everything all cooked together. I think it tastes better that way.
What you need:
Potatoes, sliced into rounds (I buy the cheapest 5 pound bag I can find. We prefer Yukon gold, but really whatever is cheapest is fine. Also, how many you need kind of depends on how many people you are feeding. I used about four pounds and had enough leftovers for two of us for lunch the next day.)
1 large onion, sliced
1 package (12-14 ounces) of turkey smoked sausage, sliced into rounds (this is what I use. Feel free to use kielbasa or beef/pork smoked sausage if you prefer, or even better, leave it out!)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil or butter or nonstick spray
What you do:
Add olive oil/butter/nonstick spray to a large skillet or other large pan, set over medium low heat while you prepare the food. Slice your onion into thin rounds and add to the pot, then slice the sausage and add on top of the onion and let that cook for a few minutes while you slice the potatoes.
Give the onion and sausage a good stir and then add the potatoes and stir again.
I don't miss those days at all, and we have come a long way since then. However, we like potatoes fried with onions so much that sometimes we eat it just because, which was the case a couple of days ago. And this time, I had both an onion and sausage for it. :)
Fried potatoes (with onion and sausage)
Once in the past, I sliced the potatoes and put them in a single layer on a baking sheet and baked them until they were browned, then added them to the already cooked onion. It was okay that way, but I prefer everything all cooked together. I think it tastes better that way.
What you need:
Potatoes, sliced into rounds (I buy the cheapest 5 pound bag I can find. We prefer Yukon gold, but really whatever is cheapest is fine. Also, how many you need kind of depends on how many people you are feeding. I used about four pounds and had enough leftovers for two of us for lunch the next day.)
1 large onion, sliced
1 package (12-14 ounces) of turkey smoked sausage, sliced into rounds (this is what I use. Feel free to use kielbasa or beef/pork smoked sausage if you prefer, or even better, leave it out!)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil or butter or nonstick spray
What you do:
Add olive oil/butter/nonstick spray to a large skillet or other large pan, set over medium low heat while you prepare the food. Slice your onion into thin rounds and add to the pot, then slice the sausage and add on top of the onion and let that cook for a few minutes while you slice the potatoes.
We are sliced potatoes. We are not photogenic.
Give the onion and sausage a good stir and then add the potatoes and stir again.
Cooking in equal parts olive oil and butter. Yum. :)
Season as you desire with salt and pepper. I don't normally use much salt, but I did sprinkle in some pepper and a healthy dose of garlic-herb seasoning I picked up at the City Market and store in a re-purposed jar.
I am not really Hungarian paprika. I am garlic herb seasoning.
Stir the seasonings in and plop a lid on and walk away. Go do something else for about ten minutes, then come back and stir it. Stir every ten minutes or so until the potatoes are as done as you would like them. It normally takes about a half hour over medium low heat.
Serve with ketchup if desired, and in our house, all three of us add ketchup, some of us more than others.
(I'm not naming any names here, but my son drowns his in ketchup).
Yummy as is, yummy without sausage, yummier with a dab of ketchup.
This was my Christmas/Yule/Winter Avarice gift last year. It's beautiful! And sharp.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
New Car Guardian
In previous cars, we have had a guardian, a small god, of the car. It has usually been a stuffed ferret inexplicably named Wiggy-wiggy.
For my new car, I decided that since it is a blue box on wheels (and being a Doctor Who fan), that a new guardian might be in order.
He hangs from the mirror and EXTERMINATES as necessary. :) He is as yet unnamed, and I am open to suggestions.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Happy Monday
Sorry it's late today. I have had a crazy busy day that started way too early and looks as though it will continue for a while longer.
I have posted this gentleman before, but his expression makes me chuckle every time I see it. :)
Also, I wanted to take a moment and tell you all how happy I am that you take time out of your lives to come here and look at the pictures, and read the recipes and the other things that I post. I am thrilled you are here!
I have posted this gentleman before, but his expression makes me chuckle every time I see it. :)
Happy Monday!
Also, I wanted to take a moment and tell you all how happy I am that you take time out of your lives to come here and look at the pictures, and read the recipes and the other things that I post. I am thrilled you are here!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Random musings
Somehow it has gotten to be Thursday already. I don't know where this week has gone. I guess it has gone the same way that the past 15 years have gone.
My son celebrated his 15th birthday earlier this week, and that has had me feeling melancholy, then last night he told me that he wasn't sure if he still wants me to tell him goodnight at bedtime anymore. We have had this routine for most of his life, and the fact that part of him doesn't want me to do it anymore hurts more than I thought it would.
I understand he is growing up, just like he is supposed to, just like his father and I did before him, and our parents did before us. This is the way of things, and it's not bad, but there has just been too much reality this week and I am having a difficult time handling it.
I like to think when I get bummed out, but sometimes that gets me into trouble because I think about some issue and then that leads to thinking about other things, then suddenly I am drowning in every single little insignificant problem that I have, crushed by guilt about most of it and feeling helpless, lost and utterly alone.
That's where I am now. Alone. Feeling like no one gives a crap about me, and I am pretty sure it would take quite some time for most people to realize I was gone were I to actually remove myself from the current version of my life. (Just to be perfectly clear here, I am NOT talking about suicide. I'm too nosy to kill myself. Something good might happen tomorrow and I do not want to miss it. So, that's not going to happen. I am talking about packing up a few things and going somewhere else.)
I have wondered just how long it would take various people to figure out I had left were I to actually give in to the impulse and leave. My son would figure it out first, I think, if I didn't take him with me. Everyone else, I'm not sure. Some people it would take weeks or even months for them to wonder where I was.
Sometimes I do think about heading out and starting a new life somewhere else. I fantasize about what might happen to me, how things would be different than they are now. Then I realize that I have no way to pay my bills or support us, and I just got a new car that I do not want to lose, and I realize I would miss my friends, even the one who blows me off all the time for no good reason.
And though I am not done writing, my owner (my feline overlord Winnie) has started causing no end of mischief--something she only does when her food bowl is empty or when she wants me to go to bed so she can sleep on my feet. And, as it is coming up on 2:30 in the morning, she may be right that I should go to bed.
Perhaps I can revisit this in the future and finish my thoughts. Education--both mine and my son's, other events that have happened this past week, some of the physical garbage that is going on in addition to the brain weasels running rampant.
Also, to my husband who may be upset after reading this because I didn't specifically say that I would miss him, I lumped you in with "my friends" because I didn't want to make a run-on sentence even more unwieldy. Also, don't be offended or upset by my thinking about running away. I'm just having a moment and it'll pass shortly.
My son celebrated his 15th birthday earlier this week, and that has had me feeling melancholy, then last night he told me that he wasn't sure if he still wants me to tell him goodnight at bedtime anymore. We have had this routine for most of his life, and the fact that part of him doesn't want me to do it anymore hurts more than I thought it would.
I understand he is growing up, just like he is supposed to, just like his father and I did before him, and our parents did before us. This is the way of things, and it's not bad, but there has just been too much reality this week and I am having a difficult time handling it.
I like to think when I get bummed out, but sometimes that gets me into trouble because I think about some issue and then that leads to thinking about other things, then suddenly I am drowning in every single little insignificant problem that I have, crushed by guilt about most of it and feeling helpless, lost and utterly alone.
That's where I am now. Alone. Feeling like no one gives a crap about me, and I am pretty sure it would take quite some time for most people to realize I was gone were I to actually remove myself from the current version of my life. (Just to be perfectly clear here, I am NOT talking about suicide. I'm too nosy to kill myself. Something good might happen tomorrow and I do not want to miss it. So, that's not going to happen. I am talking about packing up a few things and going somewhere else.)
I have wondered just how long it would take various people to figure out I had left were I to actually give in to the impulse and leave. My son would figure it out first, I think, if I didn't take him with me. Everyone else, I'm not sure. Some people it would take weeks or even months for them to wonder where I was.
Sometimes I do think about heading out and starting a new life somewhere else. I fantasize about what might happen to me, how things would be different than they are now. Then I realize that I have no way to pay my bills or support us, and I just got a new car that I do not want to lose, and I realize I would miss my friends, even the one who blows me off all the time for no good reason.
And though I am not done writing, my owner (my feline overlord Winnie) has started causing no end of mischief--something she only does when her food bowl is empty or when she wants me to go to bed so she can sleep on my feet. And, as it is coming up on 2:30 in the morning, she may be right that I should go to bed.
Perhaps I can revisit this in the future and finish my thoughts. Education--both mine and my son's, other events that have happened this past week, some of the physical garbage that is going on in addition to the brain weasels running rampant.
Also, to my husband who may be upset after reading this because I didn't specifically say that I would miss him, I lumped you in with "my friends" because I didn't want to make a run-on sentence even more unwieldy. Also, don't be offended or upset by my thinking about running away. I'm just having a moment and it'll pass shortly.
This is my new car, Q,
and this is my owner, Winnie.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Anyone want to offer me a job? Update!
I found a place that I worked briefly that has not yet gone out of business! I had completely forgotten about it, but my son and I stopped in for a root beer a few weeks ago. The place is called Mugs Up. It's a little dive of a drive in that makes their own root beer in a giant vat in the basement of the building, and serves it in glass mugs that are put into the freezer wet so that they are frosty and icy and keep your drink nice and cold.
I don't know how they have managed to stay in business when even national (and international) corporations succomed to my curse, but I'm glad they have. :)
I don't know how they have managed to stay in business when even national (and international) corporations succomed to my curse, but I'm glad they have. :)
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