Cake Mix Graham Coffee Cake

Whip this up in no time. Great for potlucks!

1 - 432g (15 oz) golden cake mix

Crumb mix:
1  1/2 cups graham crumbs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1  1/2 tsps cinnamon
2/3 cup melted butter or marg

Drizzle:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp milk

Start by preparing the cake mix as directed on the package and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the crumb mix ingredients.

Grease a 13 X 9" baking dish and pour 1/2 the cake batter in. Sprinkle 1/2 the crumb mix on top then spoon on the rest of the batter. Top with the remaining crumb mix.

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, then let cool. 
I went back to unpacking Christmas decorations while I waited.

Mix the icing sugar and milk together and drizzle over top. That's it!

Original recipe:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/graham-streusel-coffee-cake

Baked Lemon Chicken Primavera with Spaghetti

Prepare ahead of time and just pop in the oven. Lots of colour and taste! And it serves 8! 

2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups cubed chicken breast (2 large)
1 tbsps olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2-3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
1  1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz/ 454 g spaghetti

Cook spaghetti as directed on package, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.

Drop broccoli and carrots into boiling salted water and cook 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside as well.

Cook chicken in olive oil until just cooked then add garlic and yellow pepper. Toss 1-2 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and par-boiled broccoli and carrots.

Salt and pepper to taste. (We like pepper!)

Sauce:

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 can evaporated milk, 350ml/ 12 oz size

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup parmesan

zest and juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

1/4 cup pasta water

Whisk olive oil, butter and flour together on medium heat and whisk in evaporated milk. Cook until thickened and add the mozzarella, parmesan, zest, juice, salt and pepper. Add enough pasta water for the consistency you like. Remember the sauce will thicken while baking. I used the full 1/4 cup.

Combine the chicken/veggies, spaghetti and sauce.

Pour into a 13 X 9" baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil.  Cover with foil and bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.

Remove foil, add an additional 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and bake another 10 minutes.

Sprinkle torn basil leaves and serve.

Adapted from
http://www.recipegirl.com/2013/01/04/baked-lemon-chicken-spaghetti-primavera/

Strawberry Blueberry Roulade

I'll start this blogpost by apologizing....for all the pictures!!
I just couldn't help myself, this roulade was just so beautiful!

You'll need:

5 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipped cream or Cool Whip topping, divided
1  1/2 - 2 cups strawberries, cut kind of small
3-4 tbsps blueberry preserves
Strawberries, blueberries, mint leaves to garnish

First off, I was a little intimidated by this but had to try it. Turns out it was easier to make than I thought.

Beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment of your mixer, then gradually add the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold in the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla.

Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and spread the meringue out evenly.  

Bake at 325 F for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Fully cool on rack, about 10 minutes. After about 5 minutes you can gently slide the meringue off the pan to the rack using the parchment to pull it over.

Once cooled turn it onto a sugared piece of parchment and peel the top parchment off.  I thought parchment wasn't supposed to stick to anything!  It did a little, but going slowly and sometimes using a knife to help I was able to get it off without too much damage.

Spread some blueberry preserves evenly over all.

Then use 1 cup of whipped cream or topping and spread it over the preserves, followed up by the cut strawberries.

Use the parchment to lift and start rolling up the roulade on the short side.

Once you've got it all rolled up, turn it seam side down on a serving platter.  I folded a piece of parchment the size of the roulade and placed it on top.

Then I held that in place while turning it over onto my platter with the help of the bottom piece of parchment. See the folded parchment is underneath.

Use the 2nd cup of whipped cream to cover the top ...

and decorate with more berries.

And take pictures!!

Lots of pictures  : )

Serves 10

Carrot Apple Coffee Cake

Just a dressed-up cake mix...

432g (15 oz) carrot cake mix
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 carrot, shredded
4 or 5 apples, sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Crumble:
1 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter

Mix the dry ingredients for the crumble together and cut in the butter. Keep chilled in fridge until needed.

Mix apples with lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon.

In a large mixer bowl combine cake mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs and shredded carrot. The batter will be thick.

Line a 13 X 9" baking dish with parchment and pour the batter in. As it is thick you need to spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle on 1/2 the crumble.

Distribute the apples evenly and cover with the remaining crumble. Press lightly with your hands.

Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes.

Serve plain or à la mode. 

Zesty Yogurt Dip with Fruit Platter

This was a lot of fun to arrange. I started with a bunch of my favourite fruits...pineapple, mango, papaya, kiwi, oranges, berries and melons.

Then I mixed up this dip:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1  1/2 tbsps honey
1/4 tsp lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsps cream cheese

Makes 3/4 cup

In a small food processor add some of the yogurt with the cream cheese and process until smooth. Then gradually add the rest of the yogurt and remaining ingredients.

I cut the top off the pineapple for interest on the platter and used the bottom as a bowl for the cherries. Half the cantalope became the container for the grapes and I kept the peel on some of the fruit, like pineapple, orange, kiwi, watermelon, for texture and visual interest. But also being practical, the peel makes the fruit easier to handle. I peeled the kiwi 2/3 around leaving the peel attached.

And aren't the honeydew hearts a cute feature!

My Mom's Fried Chicken Wings

Ok, this one has a story. 

To start off with, this is a favourite recipe of my mom's. 
Awhile (40 years) ago, I had a summer job out-of-town working in a campground and my mom and I spent the entire summer together there. My dad would come down after working all week to spend the weekend with us.

Well this one time my mom decided to make a batch of fried chicken wings for when Dad arrived. I don't know how she managed to get this all done in a tent trailer but she did. As a young person one is oblivious to this kind of stuff, but as I look back on it now that was quite a feat!

Before my dad arrived two young guys we knew dropped by. Mom innocently asked them if they'd like some chicken. Well, it's a good thing she set a few pieces away for Dad because those guys devoured the pan of chicken! Mom says she had made 100 pieces!!

We're still friends with one of the guys. And well, the other guy......he still loves this chicken ; )

So here it is....

6 lbs chicken wings, split
3 cups Italian bread crumbs
extra dried thyme (optional)
7 eggs
7 tbsps water
4-5 tbsps ketchup
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying

Once I split the chicken wings I had 72 pieces of chicken. (The wing tips went into a pot to make broth)

Mix the flour and cornstarch together in a bag.
In a separate bag mix bread crumbs and extra thyme if using it. I love having extra thyme! You may want to use half the bread crumbs at a time and replenish as needed. Also, have extra bags on hand as they get a little crusty and may need to be replaced.

I mixed 2 eggs, 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp of ketchup at a time for dipping, mixing more as I needed.

Working with a couple of pieces of chicken at a time, shake to coat in the flour. Next, dip into the egg mixture and finally drop them into the bag of crumbs and give them another little shake. Place the chicken on a parchment lined tray until all are ready.

Have about 2 inches of oil in your fryer or in a pot. The oil temperature should be 350-375F. Carefully place the wings in the hot oil for 2 minutes without overlapping them. Turn them over for another 2 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to the parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure the oil temperature returns to 350F before adding more wings.

Now, when Mom made these at the trailer she fried them for the whole cooking time which would have been about 15 minutes. I prefer to finish the cooking process in the oven.
So once all the wings have been coated and browned, bake in a 375F oven for 30 minutes.

Want to make them ahead of time? No problem.
Let them cool, then cover the pans with foil and put them in the freezer.

The night before you want them place the pan in the fridge overnight and warm to serve.
Oh, and they are also great cold if you want to take them along on a picnic.

Oreo No Bake Dessert

A great make ahead dessert for a crowd!

1 pkg regular Oreo cookies
1 cup pretzel twists, plus extra to garnish
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 - 4 oz (113 g) box instant chocolate pudding
2 - 8 oz Cool Whip containers
1 - 8 oz (250 g) cream cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar
caramel ice cream topping (optional)

Crush the oreos and pretzels using a rolling pin. I find using wax cereal bags for this job works well because they can stand up to more pounding than a plastic ziplock bag.

Melt the butter and mix it in with the crushed stuff. Prepare a 13 X 9 baking dish with cooking spray and press the crust into the dish.

Make the pudding as per package directions and refrigerate.

In a mixer cream the cream cheese until smooth, gradually adding the icing sugar. Fold in 1 - 8 oz container of Cool Whip.

Top the oreo layer with the cream cheese mixture. Spread the chocolate pudding on next. If using caramel topping drizzle it on here.

Finish this beauty off with the remaining Cool Whip and garnish with more crushed oreos and pretzels.

Cover and refrigerate.

What do you think?

Festive Fruit and Green Salad for a Crowd

With all it's colours this salad is just so pretty!

It makes enough for about 25 people but you can divide it down if you don't need that much. Have all your fruit and veggies chopped and stored in ziplock baggies until you need them. You can toss the dressing in right before serving.  I did that with one big bowl of salad, but left the second bowl undressed in case it didn't get used right away.

4 - 8 oz bags mixed greens and spinach
2-3 cups chopped celery
2  1/2 cups dried cranberries
4 cans mandarin orange segments, drained
3 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
2 tsps salt
1  1/2 cups pecan halves
1 pomegranate

Dressing:
16 oz vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder


Mix the dressing ingredients together and refrigerate. It is a little sweet on account of the sugar, but if you want more sweetness just add a little of the juice from the drained mandarins. I stored my dressing in mason jars because it was easy to transport to the dinner I was taking my salad to.

To prepare the apple slices dissolve 2 tsp of salt in a bowl of water enough to cover the sliced apples. Let them sit in it for 10 minutes, then rinse with cold water and pat dry. Place in a ziplock bag and remove as much air as possible (use a straw). Granny Smiths don't brown as easily as other apples do, but doing this will keep them white even longer.

Cut the pomegranate in half then submerge in a bowl of water. As you start peeling the membrane away it will float to the top leaving the pomegranate seeds on the bottom of the bowl.  So easy!

So when you are ready to serve this beauty simply empty all your baggies into a large salad bowl along with the greens, toss with the dressing, then sit back and wait for the compliments : )