Igloo Cake with Milano Penguins

My oldest daughter celebrated her 8th birthday this past weekend. She loves penguins and picked out this cake. The "recipe" was found in this month's issue of "Family Fun" but was simply an "ice cream cake". Peyton wanted "real cake"; so I did my best to make it work. We baked a 9 X 13 for the base. Then, the igloo was one Pampered Chef 4 cup batter bowl and one cupcake for the entrance.



We baked the 9 X 13 first. While that was cooling, I baked the batter bowl cake and cupcake 25 degrees cooler, so that the batter bowl cake would cook through evenly. I think it took almost an hour. Then I let those cool. After all three were cool, I placed the igloo and cupcake on the 9 X 13, using a toothpick to secure the entrance to the rest of the igloo. I covered with frosting and used a toothpick to draw the lines on the igloo to look like blocks of ice.

I sprinkled with clear cake sprinkles to add the look of shimmering snow. The pond is blue gel topped with blue sprinkles.

The Penguins are Milano cookies with 3 sides dipped in melted chocolate. I laid them on wax paper to set. Then, I piped on frosting features (eyes % beak). We placed them on the cake, using toothpicks to prop them up.

Overall, I am happy with how it turned out.

Asian Sesame Salmon

Have you tried the McCormick Recipe Inspirations? AWESOME! They pre-measure out the spices you need and have a small list of additional ingredients. SOOOOO convenient. My husband LOVED this salmon.




IF you buy the Recipe Inspiration kit, this will be included:
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced onions
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional...we did not use)

You will need to supply:
1/3 c honey
1/3 c green onion
2 Tbl. soy sauce
2 pounds salmon fillets

Mix honey, green onions, soy sauce and all the spices except red pepper in small bowl until well blended. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired. Place salmon in 13 X 9 inch baking dish. Spoon honey mixture evenly over salmon.

Roast salmon in preheated 375 degree oven 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting occasionally with honey mixture.

Apple Cake w/Cinnamon Butter Sauce

I'm back! Sorry for my lack of posts, but I started The 17 Day Diet and was limited in what I was "allowed" to eat for the first two cycles. Also, my husband spent 2 weeks in Africa, therefore me and the girls were living on Mac & Cheese, chicken nuggets, cereal, and oatmeal. But now I'm back with many new recipes to post!

While my husband was away, a dear friend was thinking of us and sent a sweet care package to entertain the girls and I. Included were some cookbooks. This cake is definitely post worthy. YUM!

This recipe was from Pillsbury Down-home Cooking & Baking.

CAKE
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c butter, softened
1 egg
1 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I omitted)
1/4 tsp salt
2 c chopped apples (I left the peeling on)

Beat brown sugar with butter until light and fluffy. Add egg. Add try ingredients. Stir in apples. Spread batter in greased 8 inch square pan. (Batter will be thick). Bake 25 to 35 minutes in 350 degree oven. (We needed 35 minutes).

Meanwhile, make CINNAMON BUTTER SAUCE...
1/3 c butter
2/3 c sugar (I used brown)
1/3 c half & half (I used milk)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all sauce ingredients in small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts and sauce is hot, stirring frequently. Serve warm sauce over warm cake.

Baked Garlic Chicken

I REALLY liked this chicken a lot. This recipe came from a Taste of Home cookbook. The recipe below is to serve 4. (The original was to serve 8, so I cut it in half.)

1 c sour cream
1 Tbl lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 c crushed butter flavored crackers (about 25)
1/4 c butter or margarine, melted
1/8 c vegetable oil (I used canola)

In a large, shallow glass dish, combine the first seven ingredients. Add chicken; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Place cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl; roll chicken in crumbs until coated. Transfer to a greased 9 X 13 baking dish. Combine butter and oil; pour over the chicken. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

The girls were hungry for cookie dough, and I just wasn't in the "Christmas Cookie" kind of mood quite yet...so we made these. They were really good. The "double" part of the title comes from two types of chocolate chips (NOT chocolate dough). The original recipe actually only called for 2 SIZES of chips (regular semi-sweet AND mini semi-sweet), but I changed it to be two different flavors of chips. I'm thinking "triple" would be good too, including white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips...This recipe was adapted from Crisco (but we added less chips AND the two different flavors...we go for the "less is more" approach when it comes to chocolate chips, m & m's etc. in cookies). These cookies are darker in color because of the generous amount of vanilla & brown sugar.

1 1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c butter flavored Crisco
2 Tbl milk
1 Tbl vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c milk chocolate chips

Cream sugar with shortening, milk and vanilla. Add egg. Add flour, salt & soda. Stir in chips.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375.

Crockpot Potato Chowder

I got a new crockpot and a Taste of Home Crockpot cookbook for my birthday recently. Yesterday was a total soup day, so I tried this since we had all the ingredients on hand. I wondered if this soup would be bland, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was sooooooo good. We of course topped it with some shredded cheddar cheese as well!

8 c diced potatoes (we left the skins on)
1/3 c chopped onion
3 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 can (10 oz) cream of chicken soup
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (8 oz)cream cheese (cubed)
1/2 pound bacon (cooked and crumbled)
snipped chives
shredded cheddar cheese to top, if you'd like

In a slow cooker, combine the first five ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until potatoes are tender. Add cream cheese; stir until blended. Garnish with bacon and chives if desired. We topped our bowls with some shredded cheddar!

Pork Chops

These pork chops were delicious. Should have made more because both of the girls ate their fair share. (Usually, we only make 2 to 3 servings and the girls share with us since they aren't huge meat eaters. I only made two (large)chops and it simply wasn't enough.) This recipe came from a family at church.



4 loin pork chops
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger (I used fresh ginger)
1/2 c soy sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used refrigerated minced)

Combine all marinade ingredients and soak the pork chops for at least 4 hours. Broil for 20 minutes or until done. Also great on the grill.