Curious George Cake

I did this cake for Super Girl's Birthday, then Tasha did it (with a teeny bit of help from Moi) for Aubrie's Birthday. To be fair, Tasha's looked cuter. So I'll tell you how we did ours differently too!

You'll Need:
1 cake mix of your choice
2 round cake pans
muffin tin or 2 muffin liners (the aluminum kind)
1 can chocolate frosting
1 can caramel frosting
2 cookies for eyes (I used oreos, tasha used Thin mints with white frosting blobs and M&M's for the pupils)
Frosting for drawing the face (white, red, pink and black)

Bake the cake mix according to the directions except make 2 cupkakes and the 2 round cakes.
After the cake has cooled, stack the round cakes on top of one another (you may have to cut the top off the one on the bottom in order for them to stand securely, you can also put a layer of caramel frosting in between the cakes, you'll have enough for decorating still)
Frost the entire cake and the top of the 2 cupcakes with the chocolate frosting. Place the 2 cupcakes on the sides of the round cake for George's ears

Then make an 8 with the caramel frosting on the round cakes. It should cover most of the face. Also, make a small semi-circle on each cupcake with the caramel frosting.

If using oreos for eyes, either scrape out some of the middles, or put a circle of black frosting for pupils. If using thin mints or the whole oreo, place a large circle of white frosting on the cookie, and use a brown m&M for pupils! Make eyebrows, nose, ear creases, and outline mouth and face with black frosting. (Tasha used 2 brown m&m's for a nose and red m&m's for the smile.) Fill in the mouth with red frosting and use the pink frosting to make a tongue (optional).


I didn't like the look from just scraping out the middles for the pupil, so I added black frosting.


Then the frosting from George's mouth started to fall out of the outline, so I had to double it up.
I got the idea from this link...thanks PBS!

http://www.pbs.org/parents/parties/curiousgeorge/food_cake.html

There's lots of other cute ideas there for a Curious George Birthday, or for other PBS characters too (Arthur, Boobah, Clifford, Cyber Chase, Dragon Tales, It's a Big Big World, and Teletubbies)
Check them out at http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/ and click on the Parties tab!

Hot Dog Dinner

Another one of my mom's awesome recipes! I have adapted this one to our family's taste buds too.

2 cups of rice, uncooked
1 pkg hotdogs
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2-3 Tbls Butter or margarine
15oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbls Brown sugar

Get the rice started cooking however it is that you cook your rice (I do mine in the microwave). Slice the hotdogs lengthwise twice,
then cut into bite size pieces.
Saute the onions and hotdogs together in the butter.
Once the onions are cooked and the hotdog pieces are browned,
add the tomato sauce, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce. Mix well and heat until rice is done. Serve hot over cooked rice.
Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product...we were REALLY HUNGRY!!!

Terrific Truffles!

These delectable treats are perfect for the holidays and super easy to make!

I can't take the credit for this recipe, or for the picture of the product! My friend J gave these to me for my birthday! There are 2 kinds of truffles pictured here. The Chocolate coated ones with sprinkles are the Chocolate Truffles, and the powdered sugar ones are the Peanut Butter Truffles. She got the recipe for the Chocolate Truffles from the Kraft Food & Family Magazine Holiday 08/Winter 09 edition, and the Peanut Butter Truffles from the Kraft Food & Family Holiday 06 edition. She followed the recipes except she added a little something to the Chocolate Truffle Recipe.

Chocolate Truffle Recipe
Makes 3 dozen truffles, 18 servings of 2 truffles each:

2 1/2 pkg (20 squares) Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, divided
(only 8 squares if you will be coating truffles in powdered sugar or cocoa)
1 pkg (8oz) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract (This is what my friend J added, I think you could add mint or orange extract instead to flavor them too.)
Decorations (finely chopped nuts, sprinkles)

Melt 8 squares of chocolate. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy, stir in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. Shape into 36 balls. Place on wax paper-covered tray. Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles in melted chocolate. Return to wax paper. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

These are DIVINE and VERY RICH!

Peanut Butter Truffles
3 doz. or 12 servings, three truffles each

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP or COOL WHIP Extra Creamy Whipped Topping, thawed

1/4 cup powdered sugar

MICROWAVE chocolate in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

STIR in peanut butter until well blended. Cool to room temperature. Gently stir in whipped topping. Refrigerate 1 hour.

SCOOP peanut butter mixture with melon baller or teaspoon, then shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

You can also dip the peanut butter ones in chocolate, just like the chocolate truffles, you will need 12 oz. of semi sweet chocolate for dipping.

Now, there is some nutritional information coming your way, just in case you are like me and need to know what exactly is going in your body! Beware, it's not always nice!

Chocolate Truffles: 1 serving = 2 truffles
Calories 190

Total fat 14 g

Saturated fat 9 g

Cholesterol 15 mg

Sodium 50 mg

Carbohydrate 19 g

Dietary fiber 3 g

Sugars 14 g

Protein 3 g

Vitamin A 4 %DV

Vitamin C 0 %DV

Calcium 2 %DV

Iron 6 %DV

Peanut Butter Truffles: 1 serving = 3 truffles
Calories 220

Total fat 15 g

Saturated fat 8 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 60 mg

Carbohydrate 21 g

Dietary fiber 2 g

Sugars 14 g

Protein 4 g

Vitamin A 0 %DV

Vitamin C 0 %DV

Calcium 0 %DV

Iron 6 %DV

Hope you can still enjoy these after knowing that information!

Hamburger Pie

My mom has made this recipe for years. I have adapted it to fit a busy lifestyle!

What you need:
Glass casserole dish that will fit in your microwave, approx. 8X11.
1 lb ground beef, raw
1/2 medium onion, chopped (optional, but it's WAY BETTER WITH THEM!)
1 can green beans or corn, drained
1 can tomato soup
6 servings of instant mashed potatoes, prepared
1-2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (the bigger the pan you use, the more cheese you'll need)

Brown the meat in a large skillet. About 1/2 way through browning, add the onions.

Once it's all browned, pour in the soup and drained veggies. Let the soup heat up.

Put mixture in bottom of pan. I like a taller pan, and my mixture fills up 1/2 the height.

Top with prepared potatoes

and grated cheese.

Microwave on high for about 3-5 minutes. Serve hot! Goes great with any salad and rolls!

Breakfast Quesidilla

A Really easy,fairly fast, very Yummy and kid friendly breakfast that's good.

Tortilla's
Eggs
Cheese
Bacon and Or Sausage

Make eggs before hand along with bacon and sausage. Break Bacon into little pieces. Put tortilla in pan put cheese, eggs and meat on top and put flip to p of tortilla over just like a Quesidilla

Brownies

There so good I had to take a bite before I took the Pic

These are one of my trademarks I am constantly being told how good there are. I have to agree these are one of my Family Recipes that my family has used for years.

1 cup Margarine
1/3 cup Cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Flour
2 tsp Vanilla

Mix Margarine, Cocoa and Sugar together until well blended. Put eggs in 2 at time mix together. Add flour and Vanilla mix together. Pour into a buttered, Floured baking Dish and bake at 350 for about 20-25 mins you want to make sure that when you pull them out they are a little doughy at least that's how we like them it makes them chewy.

Chicken Enchiladas

OK so I have had this recipe for years this is a meal that my dad has always made since I can remember and it is one of my favorite meals. Make sure you have about an hr to devote to it, as it takes awhile to prepare but totally worth it.

1 pkg corn tortilla's
Oil for frying
Sour Cream
Cheese
Green Chili Enchilada Sauce 1 big can 1 small can
Chicken probably about 1 lb
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
Big Pot for mix
Baking dish

First you cut you chicken up into little pieces and then cook it. Next mix Chicken, Cream of Chicken soup and big can of Green Chili Enchilada sauce together in a pan warm all together. Next you will fry all you tortillas up if you have help then it goes faster one can fry while the other one puts everything together. After your tortilla's are ready and your mix is warmed up you will begin to put the Enchilada's together. First you lay a tortilla out a put a small spoonful of the mix onto the tortilla, next cheese and then a small spoon of Sour Cream. After you have put them all in the Tortilla you wrap it up and put it in the baking dish. You continue on until you have about 2 rows with about 8-9 or so on each side it just varies how much you have. When the bottom is full you pour half of the small can of Enchilada sauce over the top and then some cheese. Then continue on to the next layer. You will have 2 layers and once finished rolling all the tortillas pour remaining enchilada sauce and mix over the top and cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 15-20 mins or so just long enough for everything to heat through and the cheese to melt.

The sauce I use

The Mix (Chicken,Enchilada sauce,Cream of Chicken soup)

Getting ready to put it all together

What the Enchilada's look like

One layer done. Hope you enjoy they are so yummy let me know if you have any questions

Potato Salad

I have used this "recipe" for years and have always received rave reviews!

6-8 medium potatoes
3 hard boiled eggs
1/2 c chopped dill pickle
1 TBS pickle juice
3 TBS mayonnaise
2 TBS miracle whip
1-2 TBS mustard
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder

Peel, cut and cook the potatoes until done, but not mushy. Rinse and cool in cold water. Pour into a large serving bowl. Chop the hard boiled eggs and add them to the potatoes. Add the pickles and mix well. Add the mayonnaise and the miracle whip a little bit at a time until the desired texture is reached (I like my potato salad really moist). Then add in the pickle juice and the mustard until the right color/taste is reached. Then you start adding in the salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. I can't tell you amounts because it's different every time. I just go until it tastes right, but I leave it a little bit weaker than I want because the tastes intensify when it is refrigerated. If you will be serving immediately, you can season it stronger. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes approximately 8 servings.

Creamy Potato Soup

This one is super yummy on a cold winter night or just one ever and it is way easy to make.

1 Onion
6 Potatoes
6 Carrots
6 Celery
6 Pieces of Bacon cooked and broken up
6 TBSP Butter
6 TBSP Flour

Peel and cut of Veggies and then cooked until tender. Meanwhile cook bacon and then break up into pieces. Saute onions in the butter the add flour to mix, once veggies are done add onions/flour mix to veggies ( keep them in there water that is your base) add bacon and salt and pepper to taste. I made it a little thick last night so just add more water to thin it out as needed I also added a little bit of Garlic Powder and Oregano for flavoring since it tasted a little bland. It tasted really good with the garlic that was the first time I had added it but it turned out well.

Sauteing the Onions

After you add the Flour

Homemade Buttermilk Syrup

This is my families favorite syrup. We are completely addicted now. It's super easy to make.

In a large pan toss in:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine
3/4 cup of Buttermilk
(I actually just make sour milk most of the time with regular milk and 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice added in, or I may substitute with coconut milk that I keep in my pantry.) Really who has time or the fridge space to keep buttermilk all the time???
2 Tbsp. of Corn Syrup
1 tsp. of Baking Soda

Bring everything to a boil of 2 minutes. It is going to foam up a ton. This is why you need to use a large pan (like as in one for boiling a pot of potatoes) even though it is only for about 2 cups of syrup.
After it boils mix in 2 tsps. of Vanilla.


I hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

This is a recipe I got from a book I read called Justifiable Means by Shannon Guymon. It has been tested by a few people and most of them enjoyed it a lot! hope you do too!

I made a graham cracker crust, but it came out too hard, so I would suggest following the recipe. Also, this was a VERY LARGE and THICK cheesecake. It could easily make 2 normal thinner cheesecakes! It is very rich and delicious to me!

CRUST
Make a basic sugar cookie recipe with butter. Roll out thin onto cookie sheet. Cook for 10-12 min. Let cool, then crumble. For every 1 cup of crumbs, use 1 cup of melted butter. Pat into a springform pan.

CHEESECAKE
4 boxes (8oz) cream cheese
2 TBS Butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
juice from 1 lemon
3 eggs
8 oz sour cream
6 oz semisweet chocolate

Beat cream cheese until smooth Add sour cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and eggs. Melt bubtter over low heat. Stir in chocolate until melted. Blend into batter. Pour into crust lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 75 minutes. Cool completely.

RASPBERRY SAUCE
1/3 cup sugar
2 TBS Cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp red food coloring (optional)
2 cups fresh or frozen whole raspberries, thawed and drained

In medium sauce pan, combine sugar and cornstarch; mix well. Gradually stir in water, lemon juice and food color. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 cup of the raspberries. Continue cooking until thickened and clear, stirring constantly. Pour into bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until just cool, about 1 hour. Fold in remaining raspberries. Spoon evenly over cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until set.

Apple Pie Filling

The BEST APPLE PIE FILLING RECIPE EVER!!! Makes 25 cups filling (5 very full pies, or 6 normal)




24 cups thinly sliced apples
3 TBS lemon juice
5 cups water
4 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg

Toss the apples with the lemon juice. Set aside. Put the water in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to water. Stir well and bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then add the apples. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until apples are tender about 6-12 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Ladle into freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Cool at room temperature no longer than 1 1/2 hours. Seal and freeze. Can be stored for up to 1 year!