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PFC Catch-up - wks 7, 8, 9, 13, and 14

9/7/2012

1 Comment

 
As you may or may not know, I'm a writer for the site Quarter Life Daily. They finally got around to posting my article about traveling in Guatemala!  Check it out: http://qldaily.com/travel-tips-for-guatemala/.

Seeing as how Madam Fury's Traveling Show has taken up all my time the past few weeks, I think it's about time I caught everyone up with some Pinterest Recipes - considering I'm currently in wk 19, and haven't shared any recipes past wk 7. I know, I know. I said a while ago I was going to be better about keeping up - but this time I really mean it!  So, here we go.  We got some good, some mediocre, some delicious, and some disappointing.
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Chocolate Oreo Cream Cake - Wk 7 (orig. recipe)
1 Box Cake Mix (I got Devils Food)
Ingredients on to make box cake (eggs, oil, etc.)

Filling
8oz Cream Cheese, room temp.
1/2 C sugar
2 C Cool Whip
12 Oreos, crushed.

Frosting
1/3 C + 1 Tbls Cocoa Powder
6 Tbls Butter, softened
4 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
6 Tbls Milk


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1. Prepare boxed cake mix according to directions for 2 9-in round cake pans.  It's best to grease then line the bottom of the pans with parchment/wax paper for easy removal.  Cook cakes according to directions, let cool 10min, then remove and let cool completely.

2. Once cakes are cool, make filling by beating Cream Cheese and Sugar until blended. Fold in Whipped Cream until almost blended, then fold in the Oreos.

3. In another bowl, make the frosting by whisking the Cocoa Powder and Powdered Sugar. Then add the butter, vanilla, and milk. Blend until smooth (by hand or an electric mixer). Add more milk if necessary to make it spreadable.


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4. Assembling the cake - Put one of the cakes on your serving platter, cut off the rounded top, then cover with the filling. Feel free to eat the excess top :)  Cover the cake evenly with the filling, then put the other cake on top.  Use the frosting to fill in the gaps so the middle is even with the cake edges. Cover top and sides of the cake with chocolate frosting. Enjoy!


This was relatively easy to make and pretty tasty - my friends quite enjoyed it.  I thought it was good, but I'm not sure it's good enough to make it into my cook book. I'd need to make it again to gauge.

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Chip Dip - wk 8 (orig. recipe)
8oz Cream Cheese, room temp
1 C sour cream
2 Cans refried beans (I used 1 can regular, and 1 can black refried)
1 packet taco seasoning
1lb ground beef
4 C shredded cheeses (I used a Mexican mix and Pepper Jack)
tomatoes/scallions - optional toppings

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown the meat, pour out grease, and mix in 1/2 taco seasoning. 
2. In a large bowl mix Sour Cream, Beans, and rest of the taco mix.
3. I used my square glass baking dish, layering the meat, bean mix, then cheeses. Cook 25-30min, until cheese is melted. Serve with Tortilla Chips and desired toppings.


This was an ok recipe. It didn't really impress me - but I served it at a 4th of July party and my friends loved it. If I ever made it again, I'd at least double the meat and taco seasoning.


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Spiked Lemonade - wk 8 (orig. recipe)
Pink Lemonade
Coconut Malibu
Triple Sec
Mango Rum
Mango
Water



1. Add the appropriate amount of lemonade powder to fill a 2 quart container. Add 1/3 C Malibu, 1/3 C Triple Sec, and 1 C Mango Rum.  Fill the rest with cold water.  Add in chopped up Mango pieces. Serve cold.

I had to modify this from the original because I could not find watermelon vodka anywhere, and I had mango ingredients on-hand instead of strawberries.  It was good, and everyone loved it at the 4th of July party.



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Grilled Avocado - wk 9 (orig. recipe)
1 Avocado
1 Tbls Chipotle Sauce
1 Fresh Lime, cut in slices
Shredded Cheese (I used mozzarella)
salt and pepper

1. Slice avocado in half, remove stone. Cut criss-cross all over. Pour the sauce on top - make sure it gets in the grooves. Top with lime juice, salt, and pepper.  Add cheese into the hollow part.
2. Place in broiler 4 minutes.  Serve warm, with a bit more lime juice squeezed on top.

This was super easy and fast, and it tasted fine, but it wasn't spectacular. And the cheese gave me a headache.


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Sliced Baked Potatoes - wk 9 (orig. picture recipe)
Large potato(es)
olive oil
butter, melted
salt and pepper

1. Thinly slice almost all the way through, drizzle with melted butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Bake at 435 for 40-45min.



These are the most amazingly delicious potatoes I have ever tasted! I make them all the time and you should, too!

Wk 14 - New "Boiled" Egg Methods

Method 1: Adding 1 tsp baking soda to the water as you do your regular boiling - the shells were easier to peel, but there was still a little discoloration around the yolk.

Method 2: Baking the eggs at 325degrees for 30 min.  After they cook, put them into cold water until they can be handled - peel right away, under cold running water.  The peels come right off - the eggs weren't gouged/ruined at all!! They were also the creamiest eggs I'd ever had, and there was absolutely no discoloration around the yolk - just perfectly yellow :) And it's much easier than waiting for the water to boil, then remembering to turn it off, then check back in 20 minutes, and whatnot. Just pop them in the oven and leave them for 30 min. This method is definitely how I'll be doing my eggs in the future. 

Wk 13 -
Vanilla Oven Scent, and Vinegar Microwave Cleaning Solution
I loved doing the Vanilla in the oven - it's easy and makes the entire apartment smell lovely.  It's easier than going out to buy scent refills for my wall plug-ins, and cheaper, too!

I was thoroughly un-impressed by the supposedly magical microwave cleaning solution using vinegar.  It didn't do a dang thing to help make cleaning the microwave any easier, and simply succeeded in smelling up the whole apartment with its noxious fumes.  I'd also tried a hot water/vinegar solution that was supposedly supposed to make old paintbrushes like new again - also no results beyond smelling up the kitchen.  I am not a fan of vinegar.

Well, that about wraps it up for now. I got in 5wks worth of recipes/experiments.  More will be coming, never fear, dear readers mine :)



1 Comment
Nancy Menn
9/11/2012 12:20:19 pm

The baked "hard boiled" eggs sound delicious. I'll try them when you're home. Also the vanilla thing.

Reply



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