German Pancakes

4 eggs

1 T sugar

½ t salt

2/3 cup sifted flour

2/3 cup milk

2 T softened butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter well 9” pan. Put eggs in blender, cover and blend until light yellow in color. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Pudding Casserole

1 box vanilla wafers

2 boxes cook and serve pudding (we used chocolate, it's yummy!)

12 oz whipped topping

Line bottom and sides of 9X13 pan with vanilla wafers. Make pudding according to directions. We never bring it all the way to a boil. We're impatient like that. Once it is deemed thick enough we pour it slowly over the cookies. Top with a few more cookies if you want. We do because we like it that way. Cover with saran wrap, so the saran wrap is sticking to the pudding. This keeps away that nasty film that we don't like so much. Chill for 4 hours. Top with whipped topping. Keep chilled until ready to serve. If you can stay out of it for that long. Good Luck!

Pesto

*3 bunches basil

1 cup olive oil

3/4 cup grated parmesian (not the stuff in a can! you have to use real cheese!)

(pecorino romano or any other hard white chees works well, too)

1 package (2.25 oz) pine nuts - toasted

3-4 cloves garlice - sauteed (barely browned)

2 tomatoes - diced (optional)

2 chicken breasts - cooked, cubed (optional)

1 box pasta (any shape; we used cellentani in the picture above) - cooked according to box directions

dash nutmeg (optional)

salt, pepper to taste

Puree the following in a blender or food processor: basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and nutmeg. Stir into cooked pasta. Add diced tomatoes and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Buon appetito!

*Note: as with most of our Italian cooking, we don't really measure anything, so the above amounts are an approximation.

Corn Bread

1 cup corn meal

2 cups flour

1 T baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup melted butter

4 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine egg yolk, milk, vanilla, and melted butter. Stir into dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter.

Bake in 9x13 greased pan at 350 for 25 min. DO NOT OVER BAKE!!!

Mexican Lasagne

Sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 bottle taco sauce

2 cups cooked chicken

2 envelopes sazón

Filling

1 large can refried beans

1 cup sour cream

Sprinkles

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 can black olives, sliced

3 cups shredded cheese

1 lb box lasagna noodles

Layer in 9x13 pan in this order:

Sauce, noodles, filling, sauce, sprinkles, noodles, filling, sauce, sprinkles, noodles, sauce, sprinkles.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, remove plastic and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, then uncover and bake another 20 minutes.

Chocolate Essence of Angel

There are three parts to this. Cake, Mousse, and Frosting. YUM! We just made a Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix. Follow directions on box for a bundt cake. Let it cool. Cut off the top 1 inch of the cake and set it aside (Very Carefully). Hollow out a little trench, making sure to leave sturdy walls on each side. About 1 inch on each side.


Mousse

Watch this video to see how to correctly make it.

5 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Unsalted butter, diced
3 large eggs, separated
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Combine the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not simmering, water, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool until the chocolate is just slightly warmer than body temperature. To test, dab some chocolate on your bottom lip. It should feel warm. If it is too cool, the mixture will seize when the other ingredients are added.

3 Once the melted chocolate has cooled slightly, whip the egg whites in a medium bowl until they are foamy and beginning to hold a shape. Sprinkle in the sugar and beat until soft peaks form.

4 When the chocolate has reached the proper temperature, stir in the yolks. Fold in the whites, one third of it at a time.

5 Fold in the whipped cream, one third of it at a time.

Fill the trench in bundt cake with mousse and then place top back on in the right direction.

Frosting

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

Combine sugar and cocoa. Stir sugar and cocoa mixture into cream. Refrigerate 1 hour. Whip cream to soft peaks.

Frost cake. Keep Refrigerated. Enjoy Yumminess!

We plan on trying this as a layered cake as well. We'll post pictures as soon as we do.

Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS


Muffins

· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

· 3/4 cup white sugar

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1/3 cup vegetable oil

· 1 egg

· 1/3 cup milk

· 1 cup fresh blueberries


Topping

· 1/2 cup white sugar

· 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

· 1/4 cup butter, cubed & softened



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.