Missie's Cake-In-A-Mug Recipe

Menu Maker Mom Twin, Missie, loves to cook.  She especially loves to make cakes-in-a-cup.  Cakes -in-a-cup are so great for kids with a sweet tooth (which ones don't have a sweet tooth 24 hours a day???), for college students, or for anyone who likes to have a bite of cake now and then without breaking out the cake pans.  You can also add your own flavors.  We love to add a packet of instant coffee, or a quarter teaspoon of rum extract, a few tablespoons of chocolate chips, some nuts, or even a couple tablespoons of mashed banana or raspberries.... Be creative!!!

Here are a couple of her FAVE recipes:

Chocolate Cake:
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 teaspoon chocolate pudding mix
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg beaters)
3 tablespoons milk 3 tablespoons oil (or applesauce)
1/2 tsp. vanilla 

1.  Greast a large coffee cup by using non-stick cooking spray or butter.
2.  Put the dry ingredients in a ceramic mug,  mixing well with a fork.
3.  Pour in the milk, vanilla and oil, and mix well.
4.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
5.  Add the chocolate chips (if using) and mix again.
6.  Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug and look like an erupting volcano, but don't freak out and turn the microwave off.  It's okay!!!
7.  Allow to cool a little, then EAT!   This is best eaten warm.

To make life easier for mom (and a whole lot cleaner!), make several packets of dry ingredients ahead of time.  Young cooks will have a few less items to throw around the kitchen!

NOTES: 
1. Don't forget to get the inside of your cup greasy with cooking spray or butter before you start!
2. Use a full-size cup!

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Here's a way to make a bunch of cake mix packets from boxed cake mix:

1 box cake mix, any flavor
1 box instant pudding mix in a complimentary flavor(3 1/2 ounce )

Place dry cake mix and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl and stir well to blend.
Measure out 1/2 cup portions and place each in a plastic sealable snack bag.

To cook:
1. spray inside of coffee cup with non-stick vegetable spray. 
2. Empty contents of cake mix bag into cup and add one egg, one tablespoon oil and one tablespoon water. 3. Mix well.
4. Microwave on high for 2 minutes at 1000 watts.

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Glaze for cakes-in-a-cup:

1/3 cup of powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of one of the following:  powdered creamer (for vanilla cake, etc.), hot cocoa mix (for chocolate cake), Crystal Light flavor (for fruit flavor cake like orange and lemon), strawberry milk flavor (for strawberry or funfetti cake), etc.

Put the glaze mix into additional snack bags.

While cake is baking, place glaze mix into a small bowl and add 1 1/2 teaspoons water.  Pour glaze over warm cake-in-a-cup and enjoy!


You can also use fudge topping, Carmel topping, marshmallows, or chocolate chips on top of cake before microwaving.

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By the way, cake mix and glaze mix packets tucked into mugs make GREAT gifts and party favors!  Just don't forget to include the directions!!

There's hummus among us...

I just love hummus.  It's creamy, slightly tangy, and oh so nourishing.  It's got a perfect mix of high quality fiber and powerful protein.  So cool and yummy served up with pita bread, cucumbers, bell peppers, and celery.  When you throw in the fact that hummus is pretty much a whole food that's super low in bad fat, you just can't ask for more!

Unfortunately, hummus is expensive when you buy it at your deli.  Luckily for my budget, it's so easy to make.  The stuff whips up in a jiffy!

Follow along with me as we make enough for several day's worth of lunches or snacks:

INGREDIENTS:

2 clove garlic

1 (10 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained (save the liquid)

4 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

black pepper to taste

spices to taste (use what you like:  cumin, or basil, or chili powder, or smoky paprika for example)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. tahini (If you can't find it at your store, you can order it here:)

Just a few ingredients here.  See how easy??  You can do this!

(You can see here that I like mine with cumin.)

Put the garlic in a blender or food processor and chop.  Put the drained garbanzo beans into the processor, along with the lemon juice, tahini, chopped garlic, and salt.  Whir it up until it's quite mealy in texture. 

Add some of the reserved liquid through the chute and process some more.  The texture should end up like thick peanut butter.  Not too stiff, but not too loose.  Just make it the way that looks best to you!

When done, mound your hummus into a dish and drizzle with a good quality organic olive oil.  Pair your hummus with pita bread, olives, and fresh veggies of your choice. 

Thought I'd stop here and show you my old workhorse, the Cuisinart food processor.  I love Cuisinart.  After all, they practically invented the food processessor.  Mine is at least 15 years old and runs like there's no tomorrow.  We use it to chop bushels of hot peppers and tomatoes to make vats of picante sauce, take it to our church picnic to chop buckets and buckets of onions, and also use it for the little everyday stuff. 

I love the Cuisinart!  My kitchen wouldn't be complete without it.  Think I'll go stare at it for a while.  See you in a few...  I'll leave you to look at Cuisinart's current selections.  (Please don't drool on your keyboard!)

I'm back now.  Here's a pic of the final product....

 

Mmmmmmm......  Healthy Heaven.....

Kitchen Tip Tuesday: CROUTONS!

Don't you just love croutons?  I mean really, what's a garden salad without those little crunchy squares of flavored bread?  Luckily for me I almost always have a stash.  After all, there's always a couple of slices of left over bread or rolls to be dealt with.  With these little bits of bread, my freezer stays stocked with bread crumbs and croutons!

Here's last night's leftover sliced and buttered bread.  It sure was good!  Now, it just sits and waits to be forgotten and thrown away.  But not in this house!  I'll give it a second life as crunchy croutons.

This is so simple!  Just cut the bread into small 1/2" squares.  Spray the bread cubes liberally with non-stick spray and sprinkle with your favorite seasonings.  I used garlic salt and italian seasoning.  Mix the bread cubes with your hands to distribute the spices.  Spray some more and sprinkle some more, if you need to. 

Spread the bread cubes evenly on a cookie sheet, broiler pan, or any other flat pan that can go into the oven.  Set the oven temp at 250 degrees F.  Bake for about half an hour to 45 minutes.  Basically bake until the bread cubes looks like croutons!

Cool your croutons before storing them in a tightly sealed container.  I store mine in the freezer, just to be safe.  Can't wait to add them to my salads this week!

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Menu Maker Mom ~

Makin' Yummies... Stuffin' Tummies

BEES!!!!

Take a look at that!!!  Do you know what it is?  BEES!!!!  Millions of them!!  And guess where they were?  On a branch of a tree in my front yard, right next to my driveway... where I had just parked my car!!!  Yes ~ They were right next to my car which held 3 noisy teenage girls, who poured out the doors, laughing, yelling, slamming those doors, and running.  YIKES!!!

The bees formed a dripping ball around the branch.  I'm assuming they were surrounding their queen.  They were calm and didn't to fly about much.  I prayed that if they decided to swarm about that they were not the aggressive type.  My mother-in-law had some bees chase her a couple of years ago.  She was mowing the lawn with the riding lawn mower, and the vibration must have aggravated some nearby bees.  As they began to swarm her, she hopped off the mower and ran toward the house.  All the while, the bees continued to chase her and swarm around her head.

She ran through the house toward the bathroom, still being chased.  A few bees still swarmed around her head as she ran.  After she dropped to the carpet and began to roll, the last remaining bees flew off.  My mother-in-law stood up shaken and stung.

As I looked at our buzzing, branch hugging bees, the thought of them possibly deciding to chase me gave me the chills, so I quickly went back into my house after snapping this photo!

After about an hour, I went back outside to take another look at our buzzing bees.  They were gone.  I guess our tree was just a rest stop for them as they travelled to their final destination.  Wherever they ended up, I hope the honey was good!

In honor of our flying guests, I offer my favorite bread recipe.  I make my bread in a automatic bread maker, and it makes my whole house smell so yummy.  Once done, it doesn't last long around here, as my hubby and daughters quicly slice the warm, yeasty bread and slather it with real butter and local, organic honey.  YUMMM!!!

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HONEY WHEAT BREAD

1 pkg. yeast

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2-1/2 cups bread flour

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. butter

1 egg (room temperature)

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. warm water

Put dry ingredients into automatic bread maker.  Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mix.  Bake the bread on the Whole Wheat setting of your bread maker.

Serve with butter and honey!

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If you enjoy making this bread, you might consider getting several Zip-Lock baggies and filling each with the measured out dry ingredients.   You can be making bread every few days, if you like, and your family will once again give you the MAMA!!!  (Don't forget ~ that means Most Awesome Mother Award!!!)

There are lots of bread makers on the market, and you can spend a little or a lot.  Here are a couple of examples:

SO YUMMY!!!! 

And Soooo  M-M-M Good!!!

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Menu Maker Mom

Makin' Yummies...  Stuffin' Tummies

Father's Day Shrimp Boil

Hello, my old friends! It's me, Menu Maker Mom!!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've shared. As an apology, I offer you my recipe for our shrimp boil!

This is such a fun party, and everyone has a great time. You can never go wrong when you offer shrimp and cold beer to your family and friends! Oh, and don't forget the mimosas... That's what we had, and they were so very refreshing!

This is a fun activity for a summer evening, and really pretty easy to do.  The aroma is very strong, so I recommend that you do this outside in a turkey fryer, and not in your kitchen with a large stockpot.  The most important part of the process is the timing.  Follow the timing that I list and it will all be cooked to perfection!

SUPPLIES:
Gallon-size zip lock bags
Kitchen Timer
Boiling Basket
Turkey Fryer
















INGREDIENTS (I put the meat and veggies into large Zip-Lock bags, so they are ready to be emptied at the right time) :

2 Crab 'n Shrimp Boil bags by Zatarain
1 bottle Crab 'n Shrimp Boil oil by Zatarain
1 cup salt
3 large onions, peeled and cut in half
2 bulbs garlic, top cut off (don't separate the cloves, leave whole)
2 lemons, cut in quarters
10 ears corn, shucked and cut in half (can use frozen halves)
3 pounds link sausage (down here we like Polock's Wedding Sausage!)
4 pounds raw shrimp, large size without heads
3 pound bag small red potatoes

FOR SERVING:
Cocktail sauce
Lemons, cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Set up the turkey fryer with the boiling basket. Fill with water and set it on the fire. Bring water to a boil.
2. Once water boils, add the 2 bags of Crab 'n Shrimp Boil, the bottle of Crab 'n Shrimp Boil oil, the salt, and the garlic. BOIL 15 MINUTES.
3. Add the potatoes. BOIL 7 MINUTES.
4. Add the corn. BOIL 5 MINUTES.
5. Add the sausage. BOIL 5 MINUTES.
6. Add the lemons and onions. BOIL 3 MINUTES.
7. Add the shrimp. BOIL 3 MINUTES.
8. Strain out the water and empty all the goodies in one of the following two ways:
     (a) If you are serving from a buffet-type table, pour the shrimp and goodies into the aluminum turkey pan. You can see from our photo that we served this way, as we had other salads and sides that required a plate and fork.
     (b) If you are serving the traditional way, cover a table with several layers of newspaper. Pour the shrimp and goodies down the table. Everyone eats with their hands! When done, wad up the paper and all the mess and toss into the garbage can! Easy!

Be sure to have cocktail sauce and fresh lemon wedges on the table.  A little Tobasco sauce is good too!

Hope you have a chance to try this out. It is so much fun and gets everyone involved in some way. Be sure to have lots of ice cold beer on hand and take plenty of photos.
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Menu Maker Mom ~
Makin' Yummies... Stuffin' Tummies

Menu Plan Monday

Okay, Okay.... Please forgive me... I'm sorry... I never posted those blasted chicken recipes! My day job really gets in the way of my recipe posting! I just wish I'd win the lottery... Okay... I know... You have to actually play the lottery if you expect to win!!!

Well, I promise to get you some new recipes this week. Really!

In the meantime, here's what we'll be eating around here this week:

Monday - Volleyball Game Day - Venison Chili (Thanks, Deanna, for the venison!!)
Tuesday - Spaghetti and meatballs, garden salad, garlic bread
Wednesday - Enchilada Casserole, green beans, tortillas
Thursday - Chix 'N Dumplin's!
Friday - Stuffed Taters and Salad, lemonade!
Saturday - Mom & Dad are going out!

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Here's a recipe I think you'll enjoy:

Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
2 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (15-oz.) can Enchilada Sauce
2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated
1 pkg. (12) corn tortillas

1. Brown ground beef and onion.
2. Stir in Enchilada sauce and soups.
3. In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish, layer the tortillas, sauce, and cheese. Be sure to start with a thin layer of sauce. Ending with cheese.
4. Bake at 325, covered, for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes longer. Makes 8-10 servings.

** You can make this in two 9 x 9 pans and freeze one for eating later. Just thaw and bake as directed.

CORN and SAUSAGE CHOWDER :: YUMMY ON A COLD DAY!!

This Corn and Sausage Chowder will warm you up on a cold day! It's savory, yet fresh and will fill up hungry tummies for just a few pennies! You can pick up the sausage and canned creamed corn on sale at Super S this week. See my Super S Deals listing for more info on how you can save! After you get your groceries, don't forget to add this dish to your Make-A-Menu Calendar.

1 16-oz. package smoked sausage

2-3 potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 small onion, grated

2-3 celery ribs, chopped finely

1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water

salt and pepper to taste

1 15-oz. can cream-style corn

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp. olive oil

shredded cheese for garnish

1. Slice sausage thinly and fry in a large saucepan. Remove sausage to a paper-towel lined plate or bowl.

2. Heat olive oil, then saute potatoes, grated onion, and diced celery. Add water or chicken broth, the cooked sausage, salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft.

3. Add can of cream corn and 1 cup milk. Cook until heated through.

4. Serve and garnish with shredded cheese.

5. Finish a bowl, then rub your belly. Mmm, mmm, mmm!!!!

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Stay tuned for tomorrow's Bargain Meal of the Week using HEB sale items. You'll love my newest dump-in-a-freezer bag recipes:

Parsely Parmesan Chix

Grilled Herbalicious Chix

Orange Sticky Chix

(By the way, I'm a lazy typist, so my new word for "chicken" is "chix". I love it!)

POTATO CHOWDER WITH KIOLBASSA

This is the most awesome, filling potato chowder. My daughter absolutely loves this on a cool day, and she's been asking for it for a while now. I lucked into a really good deal on potatoes, so here comes potato soup!

You don't have to add the kiolbassa if you don't have it or don't care for it. My family loves the taste of the sausage with the potatoes. If you don't have sausage on hand, fry up a little bit of bacon and serve it as a garnish with a small bit of shredded cheese.

This is great in the crockpot. Mine is a large 6-quart one.

6 cups peeled, diced potatoes
2 links kiolbassa, boiled and sliced
5 cups water
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 teaspoons low-salt chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
12 oz can evaporated milk
8 oz. shredded cheese

1. Combine all the ingredients except the milk and cheese in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on High until vegetables are tender. Just remember that new crockpots cook faster and hotter. I can burn things easily if I don't watch it! You will cook this on low around 4 or 5 hours.
3. Stir in milk and cheese, melting, before serving.

If you have bits of leftover carrots, broccoli, celery, corn, etc., you can add them the chowder.

MMMM, MMMMM-MMMMM-MMMMM GOOD!!

AUNT JAMIMA DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE...

Aunt Jamima has no place in my pantry. Yes, she is a lovely guest to have as an empty container filled with a stem or two of fresh sunflowers in the summer kitchen. But when it comes to drowning waffles or pancakes in sugar, my kids have politely asked her to leave the premises.

We call our breakfast confection Mom's Sticky Syrup. It's so easy to make and mmmm-mmmm good!

3 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups water
3 T. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. butter flavoring
2 tsp. maple flavoring

Bring water, sugar, and molasses to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Add flavorings. Cool and put in a container with a sealable lid suitable for pouring.

Yes, we're bad parents. We feed this to the children then send the happy, bouncing-off-the-walls kiddos off to school to let the teachers work out the kinks. (It's causing school officials to threaten to take away my MAMA award...)

FRUGAL FRIDAY - Looks like Play-Do, but isn't...

This is sooo easy that an 11-year old can do it!! In fact, an 11-year-old did do it! While she only made one color of play dough, it was the coolest blue play dough ever on the face of the planet. This recipe is softer than commercial play dough, smells better, and molds so much better. And you can make it in a jiffy!

Here's the recipe:
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
food coloring

Mix all the ingredients in a 1-1/2 quart saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, cook this over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until it forms a ball, stirring constantly.

Turn it out onto a cutting board or roulpat and let it sit for 5 minutes to cool.

Using a bit of flour, knead it until it is no longer sticky, but remains very soft.

Look! You've made play dough!
Now make something cool!

MAKE IT FROM SCRATCH blog carnival

The Make it from Scratch blog carnival is originated at Our Red House . I'm new to the blog world, and the idea of going to a carnival while on the computer still hasn't made connections in my little brain. Still, I'm going to try to go to the carnival. My fingers are running over to the party via my keyboard right now!

My contribution to the Make it from Scratch carnival is the Tortilla recipe I promised in an earlier post. We made tortillas tonight with our Mexican Picadillo... Actually, my 11-yo daughter made it. While our mexican flapjacks weren't exactly round, they were totally yummy! Made me want to don my sombrero! Mucho bueno!!

Tortillas

1 Tbsp. baking powder

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 - 3/4 cup warm water

1. Put the baking powder, flour, and salt in a big gowl. Mix well.

2. Add the shortening to the bowl. Mix with a fork or pastry cutter until it is mixed together. It will be dry and crumbly.

3. Add about 1/2 cups warm water and mix to create a dough. If it is too dry, add a teeny bit of water. If it is too sticky, add a teeny bit of flour. Only adjust with minimal amounts of ingredients at a time.

4. Knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should not be dry, and should almost be slightly sticky. If it absolutely sticks to your fingers, about a tablespoon of flour can be added.

5. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with a dishtowel or plate. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

6. Make little balls the size of golf balls. Roll them until flat with a wooden rolling pin. You might have to cover your rolling area with a little flour. Don't use too much, though!!

7. Cook the flat tortillas on a hot griddle until they have brown spots on each size.

8. Eat with lots of butter!

My mother frequently made us tortillas when we were growing up. We always felt so lucky! Her tortillas are so soft and just delicioso! Years ago, I asked her to tell me the secret to making such good tortillas and her answer was, "practice." I also asked the lady at our local taco joint, Rock House, what her secret was. Her answer was, "always use the same bowl."

(Actually, I make my tortillas with my Kitchen Aid Mixer, which I love so much that I want to marry it.)

So go pick out your bowl and name it "My Tortilla Bowl." Make your tortillas, then make them again, then make them again, etc., etc. You'll get the fluffiest, yummiest tortillas you've ever had!