May15

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

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I tried this pasta dish last summer because it seemed very quick and easy. Scott likes to order seafood pasta at restaurants so I wanted to try to make something similar at home.  He loved it and I have made it several times since then. Today, I called and told him to choose anything he wanted for me to make for dinner- and this is what he chose.

Ingredients

16 oz uncooked linguine
1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Traditional New England clam chowder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb uncooked peeled deveined large shrimp, tails peeled
1 package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (3 cups)
4 medium green onions, chopped (1/4 cup) (omitted)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
  Salt and pepper to taste, if desired
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz), if desired

Directions

1. In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook linguine as directed on package. Drain well; return to Dutch oven and cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in blender, place clam chowder, milk, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the garlic; blend on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Set aside.
3. In 12-inch nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add shrimp, mushrooms and onions; cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp turn pink.
4. Stir in pepper flakes and soup mixture; cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour over cooked linguine in Dutch oven; toss gently to coat. Top individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

From: www.bettycrocker.com

 

May15

Austin’s Funfetti Birthday Cupcakes

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Pillsbury’s Funfetti cake mix is my favorite cake mix to make. I think I will start a tradition of making them for Austin’s school birthday parties because a) it’s faster and easier to make on a weeknight than homemade cupcakes and b) kids always love them.  All I added to the batter was meringue powder to make them rise more. Austin really enjoyed these. When he turned one, he hardly knew what to do when we put cake in front of him, but now he is a pro!

May4

Trudi’s Potato Salad

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This post was written by my mom.

 
 
 
 

 

I usually don’t measure ingredients when making potato salad, however I paid special attention today (and kept notes), making adjustments as I went along. I guess I did pretty good since my daughter, who to my knowledge has never eaten potato salad, (even though I have made it since before she was born) ate some and said it was good!

 

This batch was also special because my daughter asked me to make it for my grandson’s second birthday party!

Ingredients

5 lbs potatos

2 stalks diced celery

1 small sweet onion diced

6 hard boiled eggs chopped

3 hard boiled eggs sliced for garnish

¼ cup sweet relish

¼ cup salad cubes ,drained

1 large jar diced pimento

1 ¼ to 1 ½ mayonnaise

2 tsp celery seed

2 tsp prepared mustard

2 tsp sugar

Seasoned salt and black pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish

Directions

Peel, cube potatoes, cook in dutch oven pot until fork tender.

Drain in colander, cool in refrigerator for approx 15 minutes

Return to pot add onions, celery and eggs.

Mix remaining ingredients (except sliced eggs) in bowl, pour over potatoes and stir until well coated.

Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed

 

May4

Austin’s Baseball Birthday Party

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Austin’s 2nd birthday party was a success! The baseball theme was a lot of fun. Here are some of the food related pics. The baseball cake was harder than I expected and there were a few mishaps during the process.  What you see is really Plan C of what I envisioned but, in the end, I was pretty happy with it.  Austin loved it and that was the most important thing! I bought the Betty Crocker dome cake pan and it was a lot of fun to use. 

For lunch, we went with the most obvious ballpark food- hot dogs. Scott made them on the grill. I made baked beans in the slow cooker and my mom was nice enough to make her classic potato salad.  We ordered a chicken nuggets party platter from Chick-Fil-A. We also set out a veggie and dip tray, popcorn and Cracker Jacks.  Dessert was yellow cake, chocolate cupcakes and birthday cake flavored ice cream.  It really could not have been much easier!

 

 

 

 

May4

Classic White Cake

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I was nervous about this recipe because it was for Austin’s birthday cake but it got good reviews on The Food Network so I decided to give it a try.  I followed the directions for the yellow cake instead of white but it still looked more like white cake. The cake came out good but I think that I might add a little more milk when I make it again.  I used a dome cake pan along with the insert pan so it took longer to bake- about 50 minutes.  I filled and topped the cake with Wilton’s Buttercream frosting.

Classic White Cake

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Set rack at the middle level in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Butter the bottom of two 9-inch round or one 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan. Line bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scape the bowl and beater often.

Pour the batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with metal spatula. Bake cake(s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.

Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely.

Note: For a classic yellow cake- Substitute 3 large eggs and 1 yolk for the egg whites.

From: Food Network

May4

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cupcakes

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This is one of my favorite cakes to make. I made them as cupcakes for the first time for Austin’s birthday party.  I only made one small alteration to the recipe- I added 3 teaspoons of meringue powder to help them rise more.  I frosted them with buttercream frosting.

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

    • Directions

    1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

    2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

    3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

    VARIATIONS:
    ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

    THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

    BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

    CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

    From: Hersheys.com

    May4

    Hot Dog Chili

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    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs ground beef
    • 1/2 cup onion, diced
    • 1 clove garlic, crushed
    • 2 teaspoons chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 cup ketchup *
    • 1 cup water *

    Directions

    Brown ground beef in a pot, drain and return to pot. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2-3 hours. *You may need to add more water or ketchup depending on how long you cook the chili. The longer you cook it, the smoother it gets but you lose the liquid so I added some here and there and did not really measure it. 

     

    Apr28

    Grapefruit Martini

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    Ingredients

    1 1/2 – 2 oz Absolut Ruby Red vodka
    3 oz grapefruit juice
    two splashes pineapple juice

    Directions

    Pour vodka, grapefruit juice and pineapple juice into a shaker with ice cubes. Shake well and strain into a sugar rimmed cocktail glass.