Pistachio Poundcake

In a phone conversation with my dad last week, I had asked him what he thought of the idea of combining two of his favorite things: poundcake and pistachio. And a rare thing happened...he was agreeable. This is the result...

Pistachio Poundcake

1 box (16 oz.) Betty Crocker Poundcake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Jell-O Instant Pudding Mix, Pistachio flavor
4 large eggs
1 c. water
3 T. melted butter (no substitutes)
2 T. chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

Place oven rack in middle of oven; heat oven to 350˚.

Grease and flour selected baking pan:
12-cup Bundt pan; 9x5" loaf pan; or, two 8x4" loaf pans

Whisk pudding mix into cake mix; blend well. Beat in eggs, water, butter, and chopped nuts. Pour batter into pan; spread evenly.

Bake as follows:
Bundt = 38-43 minutes
one 9x5" loaf pan = 50-60 minutes
two 8x4" loaf pans = 33-40 minutes

Test doneness: a toothpick inserted into center of cake should come out clean.

Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.





NOTE:
My cake came out a little too moist in the center, yet the top was getting very browned. Next time, I think I'd begin baking it at 350˚ for the first 15-20 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 325˚ for the next 45-60 more minutes.

Also note that I added 2 drops of green food coloring to the batter, although I'm not sure how much difference it made:

Please don't write me to inform that "poundcake" is supposed to be 2 words. SHUT UP. I don't care. I'm spelling it the way I want.

I admit that I cheated a little bit by combining a Duncan Hines recipe I pilfered from online with a Betty Crocker box mix. But either way, I was able to get the results I wanted, basically. Dad was happy, and that was the point of this experiment, anyhow.

PB&J Protein Shake

So....what do you do when you can't decide what flavor of protein shake to have for lunch?

I looked in the fridge.

And saw an almost-empty jar of Low-Sugar Strawberry Preserves. (Smucker's, I think.)

"What goes with strawberry jam...?..." I thought to myself. "Peanut butter!"


PB&J Protein Shake

1 c. milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 T. low-sugar strawberry preserves
1 T. peanut butter (heaping!)
6-7 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender, and.....do I really need to give you "instructions"? LOL.

Garden Party

3rd Annual Garden Party/Plant Swap
Saturday June 4th at 12:00pm

I'm hoping the weather will cooperate this year, and we will have a good turnout for the swap this time. It's been a little sparse in the past, but now that this is the third time around, I'm hoping that people have a better idea of what to expect.

I've also expanded the guest list quite a bit, and created a FaceBook Event to help people remember the date. I'll bug/remind them again next week.

Here's the invite:


The basic premise is to share different types of plants among all the attendees.


What you should bring:

1) ONE flat of plants from any of the local garden centers or home stores.
If each person does this, there will be a nice variety available in the swap. I will separate them by type (annual, perennial, bulbs, etc.) and then we can divvy them up. You aren't obligated to take one of each—take only what you want.

2) Optional: Bring any plants from your yard that need to be thinned out or divided. You are not required to purchase extra plants—this part is strictly voluntary, for those who have the resources in their yard, and want to do the digging!

3) Optional: Extra seeds or seed packets that you'd like to share.
I know every year I save a TON of seeds from my columbines, marigolds, hollyhocks, dill, and all kinds of other stuff.

If you plan to attend, please let me know what you intend to bring, so that we can coordinate colors, and not get too many duplicates in the swap.

***Snacks and drinks will be provided, so you only need to bring plants!!!***

Photos from last year include: coleus, impatiens, mondra, verbena...

yellow tomatoes, garlic chives, snow-in-summer, and other stuff I can't remember...

Coconut-Crusted Chicken

This was dinner tonight. I'm amazed that I'm actually getting these photos posted so quickly, but after sharing the link for this recipe with several people, I feel I'd be letting them down if I didn't also share the photos right away.

The original recipe was from Taste of Home. But, I've made the following changes, beginning with, obviously, using chicken rather than turkey:

2 eggs
2 t. olive oil
1/2 c. flaked coconut (did not toast it in advance)
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
cooking spray



I've concluded that the bread crumbs don't add much to the coconut breading, in fact, they may have dulled-down the flavor more than I would like. Next time, I'd leave them out, and only use coconut. Maybe toast half of it and leave the other half plain, and see how that does in the oven.

It turned out very well, though. Casey had no complaints, and finished my 3rd chunk of chicken, when I got too full to eat it all.

p.s.
I love steamed broccoli!!

Pumped-Up French Toast

I've been thinking about this for a while, and now I finally got around to trying it...because my husband was hungry following a workout.

French Toast w/ Protein Powder Added

1 scoop (13 g.) protein powder (I used ViSalus Vi-Shape shake mix)
1/3 c. milk (I used whole milk)
1 large egg
3 slices whole wheat bread

Mix shake powder and milk in a shaker bottle, so that there are no lumps. Pour into a shallow bowl and add milk; whisk together.

Preheat non-stick skillet; spray with a tiny bit of olive oil cooking spray.

Dip bread into mixture, then flip it over to coat both sides. Drop in pan. Repeat with remaining bread. Cook until browned; turn over and cook on low until it is done to your liking.

Serve as you would regular French Toast. ENJOY!

Buttermilk Rye Rolls for Casey

These made the perfect sandwich rolls...just ask Casey!!!

Buttermilk Rye Rolls for Casey

1 c. warm water
1 c. buttermilk, warmed slightly (don't over-heat it)
2 T. canola oil
1/2 c. dry mashed potato flakes
3 c. flour
1 1/4 c. rye flour
2 t. salt
2 T. brown sugar
1 pkt. quick active dry yeast
2 T. butter (no substitutes)

Place ingredients into bread machine in order suggested by manufacturer. Set machine to "dough" cycle.

Remove dough from pan onto lightly floured surface; allow to rest 5-10 minutes. Butter a large cookie sheet or jellyroll pan.

Shape dough into individual rolls; place in center of cookie sheet.

Allow to rise in warm place for 30-45 minutes, or until double in size. Brush the tops of the rolls with hot water, using a pastry brush.

Heat oven to 350˚. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, until tops are nicely browned.

Strength in Numbers

Tracking Your Progress

One simple thing you can do to help you stay on the path to fitness is to make a visual reference which tracks your progress.

Use a wall calendar, datebook, or printed out calendar page, and put a sticker on the days you are active. By the end of the month, you will have a clear representation of the level of dedication you have achieved. From there, you can celebrate your accomplishments, as well as address any weak points.

I try to notate when I am out of town ("OOT"), or log any injuries and illnesses which may have slowed me down. It helps later when you can't remember why you were off on a certain day.

My calendar is simple—I just award myself a star sticker on the days I work out. But you can color code things, depending upon the activity, or however you want to design your plan.

There is definitely a sense of satisfaction when looking back on a month's worth of activity. I highly recommend this approach to tracking your progress.







>>>DISCLAIMER:
The "Serial Baker" (a.k.a. "Goldie") is NOT a certified personal trainer. Before beginning any exercise regimen, consult your physician for a full medical evaluation and his professional recommendations. It is your own responsibility to get your health checked prior to performing any tasks which can result in injury, illness, or mental fatigue. Advice given on this website is to be considered only a suggestion, and any persons involved—within this article, or follow-up comment(s)—will not be held responsible for any losses resulting from the use, or misuse, of this information.

Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts

(Original recipe from Stonewall Kitchen; some edits made by me)
http://www.stonewallkitchen.com/recipes/side-dishes/vegetables/R100222.html

Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts

1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts
1 t. salt
2 T. bacon bits
2 T. butter
1/3 c. Vermont Maple Syrup
2 T. pecans, chopped
2 T. slivered almonds

Trim ends of Brussels sprouts off. Remove any discolored outer leaves. If large cut in half.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt and Brussels sprouts. Cook until they are just tender, about 5 minutes. Do not over cook. Drain well and set aside. Dry pan.

Fry bacon over medium to medium-high heat until crisp and brown. Set aside on paper towels. Discard bacon fat.

To the same pan add maple syrup over medium high heat. Add butter and simmer until sauce thickens. Add well drained Brussels sprouts and toss. Add bacon, pecans, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

My notes:

I had bought about 1/2 pound of fresh Brussels sprouts. Also, I used turkey bacon, and cooked it in the microwave.


I didn't parboil the sprouts first; I just threw them in my big wok, hoping to brown them up a little:


Then I added the bacon, and the maple syrup and the nuts. Do yourself a favor and buy some real Vermont maple syrup, because the cheap stuff will not truly bring out the flavors in this dish. The first time I made this, I used some REAL maple syrup that Uncle Kevin gave us, and it was much better.


We had this with some chicken stirfry...

Cheesy Chicken Strudel Thing

This is a take-off on my Cheesy Crumbled Meat Thing recipe; using canned chicken for the filling.

Cheesy Chicken Strudel Thing

dough:
1/4 c. warm water
1 pkt. yeast
1 egg
3/4 c. sour cream
3 c. flour
1 t. salt
3 T. sugar

filling:
2 cans (9.75 oz.) white meat chicken
marjoram, poultry seasoning
1 c. cheddar, shredded
1 c. mozzarella, shredded
2 T. melted butter

1. In medium mixing bowl, combine with seasonings.
2. Mix yeast packet with warm water; stir well.
3. Blend in other dough ingredients; mix well.
4. Set dough aside to rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Roll out dough to about 18" long by 14" wide.
6. Brush surface w/ melted butter, allowing for edge margins and seam.
7. Sprinkle meat evenly over buttered dough. Top with cheese.
8. Roll dough to encompass filling. Seal seam edge w/ water. Be sure it sticks!
9. Place on well-buttered cookie sheet; allow to rise, covered, for 30 minutes.
10. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes. Slice and serve immediately.



Notice the burnt cheese puddle on the ends? Mmmm...

Crockpot Chicken with Baby Limas

I saw something similar to this in a recent magazine (unknown at this time; not looking for it!)...I used baby limas, chicken thighs, celery, onion and carrots to make mine. It was super yummy, and a great belly-warming winter meal.

Crockpot Chicken with Baby Limas

1 bag dry baby limas
3 - 4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. brown sugar
6 chicken thighs (I used bone-in chicken)
3 or 4 stalks of celery
handful of baby carrots
1 small sweet onion, quartered
1/2 t. marjoram
1/2 t. paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Cook in crockpot for about 6 hours, or until beans are tender. You may need to add more liquid, if the beans soak up too much of the broth as it cooks.

random amusements

Thumper in the sunlight.

random amusements

GO BEARS!!!!!

If I had more people coming over, I would make a Bears cake with this pan.
Maybe for the next game...? :)



LINK:
Wilton Helmet cake pan

2 year bloggerversary

So, another year has gone past, I joined FaceBook to try to get more people to visit my cooking blog, and it seems like I'm just spinning my tires. Still.

I would say that I'm becoming discouraged, since even less people post comments here than ever, but it has really been a lack of overall free time that keeps me from adding to the content here.

I have a back-log of food photos from October to current time, and I just can't seem to make the time to post new recipes to go along with the photos. The big hang-up, timewise, is that I can't copy the MS Word document and paste the text right into the blogger text box; it does funky things with meta tags and crap. So, then, just like I did last night, I've got to search through the "edit HTML" view and delete all the meta tag shit, so that my post will be accepted. See, I forgot that I have to copy the Word doc and post it in my "text edit" generic program, then copy and paste the text from there.

So, yeah, if I didn't have to jump through so many hoops, I'd probably be more active here.

I'll never stop cooking, of course, and the camera stays on the kitchen countertop, but transferring that into a blog post takes me more time than I'd like. AND, I should be working out at night....which I'm not doing, either... See? It's complicated.

Plus, I want to re-do the header of the site, and add some of my food photos, like Bob does on his blog, but I have not taken the time to figure out how the hell to do that. There's a really cool shot of my cookbook shelf that'd make a great image under the "Confessions of a Serial Baker" title. One day I'll get around to it...

So, yeah, I'm a little bummed, but I'm still constantly thinking of recipes...CONSTANTLY... I couldn't sleep last night, so I picked up a MS Everyday Food magazine from my bedside table...there were several things in it that I wanted to try! LOL!

Thanks to all my readers who....ah, hell, it's Auntie D, Amy, and Anne.... Thanks, girls, for sticking with me. :) Oh, and Bob. Thanks, Bob!!! I have more recipes to post, and I'll try to get to them soon.

Kind regards,
Goldie The Serial Baker



RELATED LINKS:
http://confessions-of-a-serial-baker.blogspot.com/2010/01/random-amusements.html

Cornbread-Stuffed Meatloaf

This is an interesting recipe...I forget where I got the original concept, but I made so many changes that now I consider it my own.

Cornbread-Stuffed Meatloaf

stuffing:
1 medium onion; finely chopped
2 c. fresh cornbread crumbs
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped (optional; I didn't have any fresh ones)

meatloaf:
2 lb. ground meat (I used ground turkey)
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs (regular)
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 t. marjoram
1/2 t. oregano

topping:
1/4 c. parsley leaves
1 can tomato sauce
1 c. shredded cheese (any kind)

In large bowl, combine ground turkey, regular bread crumbs, eggs, and seasonings:


In large frying pan, sauté onion (and mushrooms) until tender. Remove from heat; stir in cornbread crumbs; mix well. Set aside to cool.


I made a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix in a 8" square pan, then let it cool. I ended up using a little less than 1/2 of it for the stuffing, probably about 1/3 of the total cornbread. Mix the onions with the crumbled corn bread in a bowl (and mushrooms, if you choose).


In the bottom of a greased large loaf pan (metal or glass) layer 1/2 of the meat mixture, then top with the cornbread mixture, pressing it in, trying to keep it away from the sides of the pan:


Put the rest of the meat on top, to form the loaf, and enclose the stuffing.




Place the pan on a cookie sheet (in case it bubbles over) and pour tomato sauce over the top; sprinkle with parsley flakes. (I omitted the tomato sauce, because I didn't have any in the pantry.)

Bake at 350˚ for one hour. Remove from oven, top with cheese, and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and/or browned to your liking.


Serve with a side salad, grilled veggies, or boiled potatoes.

Sudden Apple Crisp

There's no recipe for this. I made it up as I went along. The only "different" thing about it is that I added some shredded coconut to the crumble topping.

Look at the pictures and see if you can follow along...

Pseudo-Roni

This came about because I was hungry for Rice-A-Roni, and we didn't have any in the pantry. So I thought, "well, I can probably make some..." And I did.

Pseudo-Roni

2 1/2+ c. chicken broth
dash of parsley flakes
2 c. instant rice
a handful (about 1/8 c.?) orzo pasta
1/4 c. (estimated) Asian rice noodles (or you could use angel hair pasta), broken into small pieces
2 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 T. toasted pine nuts (garnish)

In a small frying pan, melt butter; add orzo and broken noodles to pan, and allow to brown slightly.

In a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth to just about boiling. Add rice, parsley flakes, and browned noodles and orzo. Stir well. Simmer about 5 to 10 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. You may need to add extra water, if the noodles soak up too much and it starts to get too dry. Keep an eye on it as it cooks. Taste it, and add salt & pepper as needed.


Serve with toasted pine nuts on top: