Honeydukes Pink Coconut Ice

by penji1
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Honeydukes Pink Coconut Ice

Another treat from the Harry Potter party, this one tastes delicious (if you love coconut) but I could not get it to set up, it was pretty gooey.  There are a lot of recipes out there for Pink Coconut Ice so maybe I need to try another.

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups coconut

pink food coloring

1  Mix powdered sugar and cream of tartar together on low.  Add sweetened condensed milk and mix well.  Stir in vanilla then add coconut and mix until well combined.

2  Remove half the mixture to a separate bowl and set aside.  Add pink food coloring to the remaining mixture in the bowl until desired shade is achieved and mix well.

3  Line a 9 x 9″ pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.  Pour pink batter into pan and spread evenly.  Top with white batter and spread carefully over the pink batter.

4  Place in fridge until firm then cut into squares.

for original recipe click here

Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Pudding Cookies

by penji1
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Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Pudding Cookies

Big Harry Potter party last night for the girls at church and I got to make all the treats!  These were delicious!

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 (3.4 oz) box butterscotch or vanilla instant pudding mix

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon imitation butter flavor

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips or toffee bits (straight toffee, no chocolate) or combo of both

1  Heat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugars together until smooth.

2  Add pudding mix, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and imitation butter and beat for 1 minute on medium.

3  Combine salt, baking soda and flour in small bowl and stir to combine.

4  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a 1/2 cup at a time until well combined then stir in butterscotch chips or toffee bits.

5  Scoop onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 11 – 15 minutes.

6  Cool on pans 2 minutes before removing.

I doubled the recipe and it yielded 6 dozen cookies

recipe from Sugar and Soul

“Naked” Wedding Cake with Blackberries and Blueberries

by penji1
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“Naked” Wedding Cake with Blackberries and Blueberries

I spent a good part of yesterday making this wedding cake for my friend Chantal who got married yesterday!  Usually I am my own worst critic when it comes to the cakes we make, I only see the flaws but I am really proud of this one and thought it looked great!  It smelled great too!  Chantal said it was “perfect” so really that’s all that matters.

The cake is a yellow cake made with the White Almond Sour Cream cake recipe, the bottom layers are 10″ across and the top are 8″.  The frosting is my favorite Buttercream Icing and then it’s topped with blueberries and blackberries and adorned with flowers to match the wedding flowers.  The wood platter displays the cake perfectly and matched the rustic theme so well.  Congratulations to Chantal and Mitchell!

Dump-It Tex-Mex Soup

by penji1
Dump It Tex Mex Soup

Dump – It Tex – Mex Soup

Made this for dinner the other night and the boys have been chowing down on it, they been eating it like salsa with Naan Chips.

2 (15.5 oz each) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15.5. oz) can pinto beans, undrained

1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, undrained

1 (15 oz) can corn, undrained

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies, undrained

1 (13 oz) can chicken, undrained and broken up with a fork

1 (1 oz) envelope taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.

recipe adapted from Pillsbury

Lemon Pesto Pasta

by penji1
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Lemon Pesto Pasta

I am aware that this perhaps does not look that good however if you love lemon, then you will absolutely love this pasta, it was to die for!

pesto

2 whole lemons

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

pasta

16 oz pasta of your choice

2 cups bocconcini mozzarella, halved

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

1  For the pesto, cut lemons into 8 wedges and remove seeds then cut wedges in half.

2  In a food processor or blender, puree lemons and garlic on high until lemons begin to break down.  Add almonds and puree.  Once mixture is well blended but still slightly chunky, add oil, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

3  For the pasta, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and cool.  Toss pasta, mozzarella and basil with lemon pesto.  Drizzle with olive oil.

recipe adapted from Sunkist

Easy Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake

by penji1
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Easy Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake

I wish I was eating a piece of this for breakfast right now instead of this silly protein bar!  Courtney and Jaren came over for dinner the other night and when she comes for dinner, there must be chocolate cake for dessert!

1 cup butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup water

2 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

2  Melt butter, cocoa and water over low heat, stirring constantly, until well combined.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

3  Combine eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl then mix in salt and vanilla.

4  Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and mix well.  Add flour, baking soda and sour cream until well combined.

5  Pour into bundt pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool 10 – 15 minutes in pan before removing.

I added some chopped up candies to the batter (from a box of chocolates we received as a gift) then I took some leftover chocolate buttercream icing and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds to melt it just a bit and then poured it over the cake as a glaze.

recipe from “Simple Simon and Company”

The Best M & M Cookies

by penji1
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The Best M&M Cookies

I guess the title says it all . . .

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups mini or regular M & Ms

1  Preheat oven to 350.

2  Beat butter and sugar until well combined.  Add egg, vanilla and milk and mix until smooth.

3  Mix in pudding mix, baking soda and salt then add flour, beating until just combined.

4  Stir in M & Ms.

5  Scoop dough onto greased or lined cookie sheets.  Bake 9 – 11 minutes or until edges begin to turn gold.

6  Let sit on sheets for about 3 – 4 minutes before removing.

I doubled the recipe and it made about 5 dozen.  The dough is really stiff so you can add more milk to make it a little more workable.  I had to press the tops down a bit before baking to get them into a better shape.

recipe from Cookies and Cups

German Sausage and Cabbage Soup

by penji1
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German Sausage and Cabbage Soup

Here is a very yummy and very speedy dinner idea for you, I’m pretty sure it took less than 30 minutes to prepare.  The use of coleslaw mix and frozen hash brown potatoes cuts way down on the prep time and make this meal so quick to fix and bonus, it’s delicious too!

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups coleslaw mix

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, sliced

1/2 teaspoon caraway seed

1 (14 oz) Hillshire Farms turkey sausage, cut in half lengthwise then sliced into bite size pieces

3 cups frozen southern style diced hash brown potatoes

3 – 4 (14 oz each) cans chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1  In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Cook coleslaw mix, onion, celery and caraway seed in oil for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are crisp tender.

2  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Heat to boiling then reduce to simmer for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and soup is heated through.

recipe from Betty Crocker

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

by penji1
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Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

Treats for a friend yesterday who likes lemon sugar cookies but I didn’t really have time to make those so thought I’d try these instead, they were delicious!

bars

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

10 tablespoons butter, softened

1 egg

1 egg white

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

yellow food coloring

yellow sanding sugar and lemon slices for garnish, if desired

1  For the bars, preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9 x 13″ pan.

2  Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

3  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar and lemon zest and stir together until combined.  Add butter and whip until pale and fluffy.  Add egg and mix until combined and then add egg white and mix until combined.  Add sour cream, lemon and vanilla extracts and mix until combined.  Slowly add dry mixture just until combined.

4  Spoon mixture into baking dish then spray hands with cooking spray and press dough into an even layer in the pan.  Bake until toothpick comes out clean and bars are set, about 15 – 16 minutes.  Cool completely.

5  For the frosting,  whip butter until light and fluffy.  Mix in powdered sugar, lemon zest and juice until light and fluffy.  Tint with yellow food coloring if desired.

6  Garnish with small lemon slices and yellow sanding sugar.  (A tip for the lemon slices, after cutting make sure that you lay them on paper towels so that the juice is absorbed before putting them on the bars.  I put another paper towel on top of the slices and pressed gently to draw the juice out a bit.)

recipe from Cooking Classy

Minecraft Fondant Birthday Cake

by penji1
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Minecraft Fondant Birthday Cake

My friend Michelle texted and asked if I would make a Minecraft birthday cake for her twin boys who were turning 7, after asking what Minecraft was and then doing a bit of googling, I said yes and this is the result.  I think it came out pretty cute.  The bottom is a 10″ vanilla cake layer and the top is an 8″ chocolate cake layer, both from the White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe.  The frosting is my favorite buttercream icing and all of the fondant is Wilton brand from Michaels.  Bob made the dynamite for me out of red Airheads cause he’s good at making things out of candy.  Happy happy 7th birthday to Beck and Killian!

cake inspiration from Sugar Love Cake Design