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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Summer Pasta Salad with Peaches

4 Jun
This salad was a hit all around!

This salad was a hit all around!

I’m always getting emails with recipes in my inbox, and every so often one of them will catch my eye and I’ll open it up. The other day I happened to notice a recipe from Cooking Light for a Summer Peach and Tomato Salad.

The name of the recipe, the combination of peaches and tomatoes made me click on it and read it. Of course other than peaches and tomatoes, yet not all the kinds of tomatoes they recommended, I didn’t have most of the ingredients for the salad. I didn’t have Sherry Vinegar or red onions or Feta cheese (I don’t even like Feta cheese) or fresh Basil.

Even still, the recipe stayed on my mind. I knew I wanted to try it one day. In the meantime, I still had to come up with my meal planning for this week, and one night we were going to be grilling pork chops. I went downstairs to my pantry to see what I could put as a side dish or two with the chops, and of course, we had next to nothing since we hadn’t done our “big shopping” yet. However, we had a box of pasta, we had honey and olive oil, I knew we had tomatoes, cucumbers, mozzarella cheese and….fresh summer peaches. I decided to do a variation on the Cooking Light recipe and make my pasta salad for the side dish, but add in some peaches with the other veggies.

“Ewwww….” my daughter said. “That sounds gross together.”

Excellent. A vote of confidence.

Not.

But no worries, I was going to try it anyway. To me, the tomatoes and peaches sounded like they’d go well together, and I looked up a substitution for Sherry Vinegar which said Rice Wine Vinegar which we always have and like to use.

I put on the water to boil and began slicing my peaches. As my pasta cooked and I sliced, that same daughter wandered into the kitchen.

“Can I help?” she asked.

I let her help despite her lack of confidence in this new recipe. As I sliced up the peaches, she threw them into a big bowl and added in the tomatoes, honey, olive oil and vinegar. As I drained the pasta, she peeled and sliced the cucumber and threw that in too. She took a taste.

“This is actually pretty good together!” she said.

I might’ve said, “I told you so,” but I will neither confirm or deny that.

We tossed in the pasta and mixed it all together noting how pretty the reds and yellows looked together. I was wishing I had fresh Basil to add a touch of green, and I debated adding another peach, but decided for this first time out, just to leave it all as is, and see how well this Summer Pasta Salad with Peaches went over with the rest of the family.

Well….I couldn’t have been happier. Everyone loved it and the combination of the peaches with the other fruits, veggies and seasonings was perfect.

My daughter redeemed herself by exclaiming over and over again how great this was together, and I was happy.

I would definitely recommend bringing some summer into your recipes too, adding in peaches and other summer fruits to some of your regular meals. Making this recipe made me even more excited for the end of school and the summertime and for all the delicious summer-only items that are starting to come into season now.

Next time you’re making a salad, think of Cooking Light and their recipe, of my Summer Pasta Salad with Peaches, and see what variation you can come up with!

Even though initially she thought this salad didn't sound appealing at all, she was my biggest helper and biggest fan of the recipe at mealtime!

Even though initially she thought this salad didn’t sound appealing at all, she was my biggest helper and biggest fan of the recipe at mealtime!

 

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Taco Stuffed Shells from She Knows and Gina

21 May
This Mexican/Italian meal was yummy!

This Mexican/Italian meal was yummy!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JUNE 26, 2013

I am never afraid to admit it: I love Facebook. I really do. I love connecting with people and I really love re-connecting with people. I also love food. I love seeing all the neat things that people are cooking and eating. Recently, a friend of Don’s from high school, Gina, posted the link to a recipe that he thought looked amazing. He posted it on my wall to see what I thought, and I thought it looked good too!

The recipe was from the site She Knows, and it certainly looked delicious! It was a recipe that combined jumbo Italian pasta shells with a Mexican filling. It sounded like something everyone would like and I actually had all but two of the ingredients to make it, we were only missing the taco seasoning and the cream cheese, both easy enough to pick up. This was also something we could make to fit our dietary restrictions just by using fat free cheese and low fat cream cheese. We also used ground turkey instead of ground beef, a leaner option.

This past weekend Don gave it at try. Using Gina’s recommendations, he also picked up a couple of side items: lettuce, tomato and avocado, which we served on the side. Everyone loved them! Everyone had second helpings also. This is a recipe I’d definitely make again.

Thank you for sharing, Gina!!

Stuffed Mexican shells recipe as seen on the “She Knows” website

Yields 16 stuffed shells

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 16 large pasta shells
  • 1 cup medium-spiced salsa, divided (more if desired) **we used mild, not medium
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

  1. Brown ground beef, drain and add in package of taco seasoning. Prepare meat according to taco seasoning packet directions.
  2. Once cooked down, add in cream cheese and stir until it’s completely combined. Set aside.
  3. Add water to a large pot and put on stove to boil. Once boiling, add in 1 tablespoon kosher salt and large pasta shells. Boil till al dente.
  4. Once shells are cooked, drain, lay out in a single row and cool till they are cool enough to touch. Fill each shell with taco/cream cheese mixture. Start off by adding 1 tablespoon per shell and then adding more if there is leftover filling.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. Add 1/2 cup salsa to the bottom of an 8 x 8-inch pan and put stuffed shells into the pan so they are snug. Top shells with remaining 1/2 cup salsa.
  7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until everything is warm.
  8. Take off foil and sprinkle with cheese and bake for another 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.

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Fun Friday: In honor of National Chocolate Chip Day…Chocolate Chip Fruit Pizza

16 May
fruit pizza

This was such a great recipe, it got all thumbs up, all the way around!

This week I received an email message from a fellow cast member from last week’s Listen To Your Mother. The message was letting me know that today was going to be National Chocolate Chip Day!

I do believe that every day should be National Chocolate Chip Day and at my house, I celebrate on almost a daily basis.

Conveniently enough, I’d just tried out a new recipe from Skinnytaste, one of my favorite blogs for lowfat recipes. I’d received it in my inbox earlier this week and knew it was a “must try” recipe for sure.

The recipe was for a fruit pizza, and it looked so refreshing. We had some unusually hot weather on Sunday and Monday and I knew that Monday afternoon the kids would be looking for a nice cool snack when they came home Monday afternoon.

When I looked at the recipe for the fruit pizza, I had everything for it except for white chocolate chips. I decided that instead, I would use my semisweet chocolate chips, making the crust a chocolate chip cookie crust. It was perfect! I had a good mix of fruit, although slightly different options than she used on hers: I used blackberries, strawberries, blueberries and kiwi. I actually had more than enough, so that I ended up doing a side dish of all the extra fruit and they ate that as much as they ate the fruit pizza. I love seeing my kids eating so much fresh fruit, especially this time of year when the weather is warm and the delicious fruits are plentiful.

I am posting the recipe here just as it appears on the Skinnytaste blog. I do hope you’ll visit the blog however, I always find great things there. In fact, just last night I made one of her chicken recipes, and my daughter said, “I just love when you make this chicken!” So do check the Skinnytaste blog out!

Here’s the Skinnytaste Fruit Pizza recipe. I have just two minor modifications other than the semisweet chocolate chips vs. white chocolate chips: I bake with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, and I used nonfat plain yogurt instead of applesauce. Other than that, I followed her recipe as is. Everyone loved it, and it made a great after school snack recipe. I had enough that it lasted us for two days. I’d definitely make this again!

Fruit Pizza
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 30 • Size: 1 bar  • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 140 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 24 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 17 g
Sodium: 72 mg • Cholesterol: 10 mg

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose unbleached flour (Gold Medal)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, unpacked
  • 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate

For the Frosting:

  • 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

To Assemble:

  • 1 large mango, diced
  • 3 diced kiwis
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup raspberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly spray a 9 x 13 x 1.375 inch non-stick baking pan (quarter sheet pan) with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir to blend.

In another bowl, whisk the sugars with the butter, egg whites, applesauce and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula in two additions until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smooths out. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Spread the batter onto the baking pan using the back of a measuring cup to smooth evenly.

Bake 14 to 16 minutes, until the edges are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don’t over-bake or your bars will be dry. Let it cool completely on wire rack.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting; in a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until well-blended.

Cut the bars into 15 large squares (5 cuts by 3 cuts with the knife). Then cut each square in half diagonally to create triangles. Spread the frosting in a thin, even layer over the surface of the cookie, leaving a small margin around the edges. Layer the fresh fruit over the frosting. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

 

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Garlic Roasted Kale

14 May
This made a nice change for us as a side dish with dinner.

This made a nice change for us as a side dish with dinner.

A while back I posted the recipe from our visit to the White House for the 2012 Kid’s State Dinner for Kale Chips. That visit was our first experience with kale chips, but it was not our last. My kids love them and it makes a great after school snack for sure.

Recently, however, I received an email for a variation of kale chips. This recipe was for Garlic Roasted Kale from the site My Recipes.com, and I thought I’d give it a try. The things that attracted me to this recipe were the fact that it included garlic, which I love, and it also included kosher salt, which I enjoy the flavor of as well.

I gave it a try one afternoon and the kids absolutely loved it. I decided to try it again most recently as a side dish for our dinner, instead of our usual broccoli or green beans or salad. As my kids were walking through the kitchen, they each asked what I was making and each time they were so excited when I said kale. I had to just shake my head in amazement. I don’t think I ever imagined I’d get three cheers for kale. Ever.

Below is the recipe from My Recipes.com for Garlic Roasted Kale. The only thing I skipped in this recipe was the vinegar at the end because I did not think the kids would like it, although I was pretty sure I would. The rest I did as was called for.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil$
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • 10 ounces kale, stems removed and chopped$
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • DIRECTIONS
    1. Arrange oven racks in center and lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°. Place a large jelly-roll pan in oven for 5 minutes.
    2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Place kale mixture on hot pan, spreading with a silicone spatula to separate leaves. Bake at 425° for 7 minutes. Stir kale. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until edges of leaves are crisp and kale is tender.
    3. Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinegar; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

 

 

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Fun Friday: Raisin Bran Muffins

9 May
Another great muffin recipe!

Another great muffin recipe!

Some people are ever-searching for the next great chocolate chip cookie recipe or the best-ever brownie recipe.

Not me.

I’m all about muffins. I’m always searching for another great muffin recipe to try out.

Each time I find one, I get excited because each and every muffin recipe is completely different from the last.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted one,  I’ve really tried to hold off, but today I just had to post a new one.

This was sent to me by my friend Gina, and it was a huge hit here at our house. I liked it because I love raisin bran muffins in general, I love the sweetness of cooked raisins, and because it makes a lot of muffins. One of the reasons I hunt down so many muffin recipes is because I often use them as after school snacks one day and breakfast the next. This recipe made enough that it was perfect for that endeavor.

The recipe originally hails from Pinch of Yum, according to the page I printed out with the recipe on it and the author is listed as Angela Oldenburger. She recommends using some of the batter as needed at first and saving the extra in the fridge to cook in a ramekin one serving at a time, at a later date. If you choose to do that, you would microwave the batter for one minute in the ramekin. I did not do that, I made all of mine at once. They go too quickly here!

I am putting this very easy recipe below. I hope you’ll try it and I hope you’ll pay a visit to Pinch of Yum and see all the deliciousness over there!

RAISIN BRAN MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of oil

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 cups of buttermilk (sub one cup of milk and one cup of plain yogurt) ***I used 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and enough milk added to that to make 2 cups.***

Fast, easy and yielding a large amount of muffins, this was the perfect recipe for me!

Fast, easy and yielding a large amount of muffins, this was the perfect recipe for me!

4 cups Raisin Bran cereal

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1 Mix in order and bake in muffin tin at 400 degrees for 12-20 minutes, depending on pan size. Let cool at least ten minutes. Top with butter and honey.

2. Save leftover batter in the refrigerator. For individual servings, scoop into ramekin/mug and microwave for one minute.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Asparagus saute

7 May
This was such an enjoyable lunch!

This was such an enjoyable lunch!

I was having one of those days.

I was starving. It was lunchtime. I didn’t know what I wanted to eat.

Open the fridge, close the fridge.

Open the freezer, close the freezer.

Nothing seemed appealing at all.

I’d been having a crazy craving though: asparagus.

My family doesn’t love it, so I don’t get it often. I order it in restaurants whenever I can, for that very reason.

Recently however, my niece had asked us what our favorite vegetable was as part of a school project. I answered asparagus, qualifying that answer with “I’m the only one who likes it very much, so I don’t often get to eat it.”

Ever since I’d sent her that message, I’d been craving it.

When I looked in my freezer, I saw I had some in there. I decided to start there and build my lunch from the ground up.

I threw my asparagus in the cast iron skillet.

Opened the fridge (again) to see what else was there.

Half a tomato. That works. I chopped that up and once my asparagus was almost cooked to perfection, I threw the chopped tomato in and sauteed it in with the asparagus for the last few minutes.

I toasted my new favorite kind of bagel: honey oat and added some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on top.

I thought my lunch was complete and I couldn’t wait to eat it, but then I remembered a friend had posted a photo of a meal that included eggs and asparagus. Her eggs were sunny side up, but I had hard boiled in my refrigerator (I almost always do) so I decided just to chop that up and throw it on top.

It was a most enjoyable, relatively healthy lunch!

I showed one of my daughters with a more adventurous palate, and she declared that it did in fact look delicious and that in the future she’d like to try it herself, subbing in spinach for the asparagus.

So although it’s not a true dinner, this could be a healthy side dish or a breakfast for dinner meal, or as I had it for a lunch.

Give it a try!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Egg and Sausage Casserole

30 Apr
This was a great last minute save for our dinner a few weeks back!

This was a great last minute save for our dinner a few weeks back!

Ever have one of those nights where you’ve counted on leftovers for dinner but yet when you open the fridge, there aren’t any?

Yup. It really stinks when that happens, doesn’t it?

We must’ve had a very hungry week the week prior to our spring break because when we made our menu for the week, knowing we’d be going away for the break week, we tried hard to use what we had and we worked in leftovers on the menu for a particularly busy night where we’d have to eat and run. But, we did an extra good job of using what we had because when I looked, I realized I needed a new plan for dinner that night.

Coincidentally, because I get so many meal ideas and recipes in my inbox each day, one happened to catch my eye and spark my interest for dinner that night. It was an egg and sausage casserole which was supposed to be cooked in the slow cooker, most likely for an Easter brunch type of meal, but it gave me an idea for my last minute Wednesday-before-the-chorus- concert-and-dance-class night type of meal instead.

I began looking on the internet and Pinterest for egg casserole ideas. I wanted to make a good-sized one so that I could also use it for the remaining week’s breakfasts and lunches too. I am a big fan of the “Cook Once, Eat Twice” philosophy.

The recipe I came up with was well-received by my family and I even served it with an English Muffin bread, which I made in the bread maker while I was gone for the afternoon. I did not need to slow cook my casserole, so I baked it in the oven instead. It was a perfect meal.

Here is the recipe I somewhat created, based on all the recipes I saw that day.

EGG AND SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil

12 package cooked sausage (I used a combination of cut up low fat turkey sausage links (8) and what I had left of my Jimmy Dean low fat Turkey sausage crumbles.)

14 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 small onion, chopped

Several small potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces (I used six potatoes, I could’ve done with five. Six was just a bit much, even for a large casserole.)

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (we use low fat)

DIRECTIONS

I precooked my potatoes and my onions and sausage in olive oil on the stove top first. I put them into two cast iron skillets since I had such a large amount, and cooked them before putting them in the bottom of my casserole dish. I poured my eggs on top of them once in the dish, and topped with the shredded cheese.

I baked my casserole for one hour at 350 degrees. Be sure to check it by putting a knife through. The casserole looks done about halfway before it is done. Halfway through, I covered it with foil because the top was golden brown but the inside was still loose.

 

 

 

 

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Resolutions and Recipes: Sweet and Sour Beef and Broccoli

9 Apr

ORIGINALLY POSTED JANUARY 13, 2012: Earlier this month, when I talked about grocery shopping on a budget, one of the staples that I mentioned buying pretty regularly was stew meat. I have two recipes that I use most regularly when making something with stew meat (and I NEVER make stew, I don’t like it.) Recently though, I was looking for something new and different to make with the beef. I did a search of Allrecipes.com and I found one. The recipe called for cooking the stew meat through, throwing in broccoli and onions and adding a teriyaki sauce to it while it simmers and everything cooks through. I figured I’d try it out since I almost always have broccoli on hand and I had an onion. So, I went on Allrecipes.com again and found a teriyaki sauce recipe.

The end result, a one-dish meal (I love one-dish meals) that got all thumbs up all around and looked like this:

Sweet and Sour Beef and Broccoli Teriyaki

I love a meal that you can make in just one pan. Easy to cook, serve and clean up.

Below is the recipe for the sauce as I found it on Allrecipes.com.

Restaurant Style Teriyaki Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. grd. ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

5 Tbl. packed brown sugar

1-2 Tbl. honey

2 Tbl. cornstarch

1/4 c. cold water

DIRECTIONS

1) Mix soy sauce, one cup water, ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar and honey in small sauce pan.

2) Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water together in a measuring cup.

3) Add the cornstarch and water to the pan of sauce.
Heat to desired thickness, add water to thin.

I served this on a bed of brown rice.

ENJOY!

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Fun Friday: Dump Cake for April Fools Day or any day!

4 Apr
This was a quick and easy dessert!

This was a quick and easy dessert!

In a recent What’s for Dinner Wednesday post, I mentioned that the stir fry recipe I was trying out reminded me of a cake recipe I’d once heard of called Dump Cake, because like that cake recipe, the stir fry recipe was one where you just dumped a whole bunch of ingredients in and cooked them.

That reference in my post got me thinking about Dump Cake recipes. I couldn’t remember having had one myself and I wasn’t even sure where I’d heard about Dump Cake, but I knew I had somehow, from somewhere. So of course I turned to Google and searched the term Dump Cake to see what kinds of recipes would come up and to see if Dump Cake was something I’d like to try making. As I looked, I found that they varied slightly in the types of ingredients that could go in them. Some had canned fruits, some had fresh. Some had butter: one stick or two, and some had a can of soda. They all used a yellow cake mix and all called for an optional addition of chopped walnuts.

I decided to find one somewhere in the middle. I had a can of crushed pineapple already and a yellow cake mix. I did not want to go the soda route, so I knew I’d be using butter (we use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter), but I didn’t want to use a lot. Ultimately, I chose a recipe that used a can of crushed pineapple, a can of cherry pie filling, one stick of butter and a cake mix. I did not choose to use the walnuts.

The recipe I chose was from Allrecipes.com, and it claimed to be “as easy as dumping ingredients in a pan,” and it sure was. There were enough steps for everyone to have a turn helping to make the cake. We were using this as part of this year’s April Fools Day dinner, our first ever, and the girls and I were in cahoots, creating a fun meal for their dad. Part of the fun was having a “cake” for dinner and this Dump Cake for dessert.

The “cake” for dinner was going to be heart-shaped and as it turned out, our Dump Cake turned pink, so it was a very funny meal to be eating in April.

The recipe, as it appears on Allrecipes.com is below. It truly is as easy as they say, and it was really tasty too! We had ours with a simple squirt of whipped cream, but I’m sure it’d be delicious with ice cream on top too. I’m also sure that any variety of fresh fruits would be good as well. The only thing I was unsure of was whether or not to spray my pan with non-stick spray, and I opted to do so, rather than risk the cake not coming out of the dish.

Next time you’re looking for a fun cake to make, remember my April Fools Dinner and try a Dump Cake!

DUMP CAKE BY ALLRECIPES.COM

A few ingredients were all we needed!

A few ingredients were all we needed!

INGREDIENTS

 Original recipe makes 1 – 9×13 inch cake

  • 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
  • 1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple
  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
  • 8 ounces chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a 9×13 inch pan mix cherries and pineapple. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pineapple, and cherry mixture stir until just combined. Then sprinkle walnuts over top. Drizzle top with melted butter or margarine.
  2. Bake in a 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 35 or 40 minutes or until golden brown. 

    "Cake" for dinner and Dump Cake for dessert for April Fools Day!

    “Cake” for dinner and Dump Cake for dessert for April Fools Day!

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: An April Fools Day Dinner!

2 Apr
Not for pranks, but just for fun, an April Fools Day Dinner

Not for pranks, but just for fun, an April Fools Day Dinner!

If you’re a fan of The Whole Bag of Chips, you know from reading over the years that I incorporate creativity into our meals whenever the opportunity exists, whether it’s green smoothies for St. Patrick’s Day or creating a special cake for a sleepover birthday party. I always try to make things fun whenever I can.

But I don’t love April Fools Day and I never commemorate it in any way at home. In general I don’t love pranks, especially when they’re mean, but last year specifically, we had a terrible April Fools Day, with a funeral in the morning and a wake in the evening. It had been such a sad day all around, and yesterday I was thinking back to that day and all that took place throughout, and I was thinking of those two families one year later in their own lives, as well.

As sad a day as it was last year, I decided that I’d do something fun this year. For the first time ever, I’d acknowledge April Fool’s Day with some mealtime antics.

For once, we didn’t have to be anywhere before or after dinner and it was a beautiful day outside. I clicked over to Pinterest, and I searched for April Fools Day Dinners. There was certainly plenty to choose from! I quickly assessed what was offered and thought about what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to have candy or dessert for dinner, so that ruled out all of the neat ideas for making things that looked like dinner, using candy. As cool as that sounded, I wanted dinner to be dinner. I saw lots of ideas for using meatloaf and mashed potatoes for cupcakes and cakes, which I thought would have been perfect, had I not just made Shepherd’s Pie last week, and a whole lot of it, enough for leftovers a couple of times. We were meatloaf and mashed potato’d out, but it’s something I’d consider for another year.

I finally found something I could pull off: an April Fools Cake recipe that looked like a cake but was actually similar to a pizza. It was from Taste of Home, and it called for using a bundt pan, of which I only have a heart-shaped one, but I thought that’d add to the fun. At first I thought I’d do this to surprise the kids, but then I decided that time-wise that wouldn’t work out very well since I’d have to do it while they were all here. I opted instead, to let them in on the fun and give them all a job to do in creating our “cake” for dinner and they could in turn, surprise their dad when he got home from work. The months of March and April are pretty insane for an elementary principal, with lots of dinner-less late nights, and I thought this would brighten his day as well as give the kids something fun to do.

I also decided to make “Dump Cake” for dessert so that they could then say we were having cake for dinner and cake for dessert. I had them help out with that also, but that’s a post for this week’s Fun Friday! You’ll have to check back in a few days to see that post!

The recipe was an easy one and I had to modify it to use what I had at home because I didn’t want to go out to pick anything up or spend any additional money on ingredients. Their recipe called for a Bisquick type of mix, which I had here. It called for three cups, and when I measured what was left in my box it was *exactly* three cups. That was pretty great. It called for sausage and pepperoni in the “pizza” type of filling but I opted to use meatballs instead, since everyone likes them. I also threw in olives. It called for slices of mozzarella cheese for the “frosting,” which I did not have. I had shredded instead. I decided we’d be “drizzling icing” instead of frosting our cake. It worked out fine.

Overall, this was a fun recipe for April Fools Day dinner. I don’t know that it’s something I’d incorporate into our regular menus throughout the year, as we regularly make some kickin’ real pizzas that I like much better. But, it was fun, and the kids liked surprising their dad, and he liked playing up the surprise as well. He enjoyed the meal. We followed dinner by a long walk outside until after dark, and came in for our Dump Cake dessert, which was really just a perfect day to replace my memories from last year. Now next year when I look back on April Fools Day, it won’t have such a dark shadow in my mind. Instead, I’ll remember this day, which was much, much better. No sadness or pranks, thankfully, but some great, great family memories.

And I’ll take that ANY day of the year.

Below is the Taste of Home recipe as they have it on their site, with all of my modifications in italics. Their recipe served as my inspiration, but I adapted it to suit our needs quite a bit. Next year, when April 1 rolls around you might want to give it a try too!

APRIL FOOLS CAKE BY TASTE OF HOME

Ingredients

  • 1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce
  • 1/2 pound Johnsonville® Mild Ground Italian Sausage, cooked and crumbled  *I used meatballs and olives*
  • 1 package (8 ounces) sliced pepperoni *I skipped this*
  • 3 cups biscuit/baking mix
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted *I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter*
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt *I had to make my own with garlic powder and salt*
  • 5 to 6 slices mozzarella cheese *I used shredded mozzarella for icing instead of frosting*

Directions

  • In a bowl, combine the pizza sauce, sausage and pepperoni; set aside.
  • In another bowl, combine the biscuit mix, milk, eggs, butter and
  • garlic salt. Spread half of the batter on the bottom and up the
  • sides of a greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Spoon meat mixture over
  • batter; cover with remaining batter.
  • Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until browned and a toothpick
  • comes out clean. Invert onto a baking sheet. Arrange cheese over
  • cake. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  • Using two large metal spatulas, transfer cake to a serving platter;
  • serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

 

 

 

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