Birthday Cake

Here are two recipes for cake that works well in layering. I made an R2 D2 cake for hubby's birthday using 2 recipes of the Never Fail Chocolate Cake and 3 of the Butter Sponge.



Butter Sponge Cake

Ingrediants
2 eggs
dash salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
3 Tbsp sugar

Beat eggs until very light, beat in salt, sugar, and vanilla. Heat milk and butter to boiling point (I do so in the microwave till it starts to bubble). Add to first mixture. Sift in flour and baking powder... blend in. Bake in greased 8 inch square pan at 350F for 25-30 minutes (less if doing cupcakes). When done sprinkle top with orange rind and 3 Tbsp sugar. Turn off heat and return to oven for 5 minutes (I don't usually bother with the orange rind and sugar at the end).

Never Fail Chocolate Cake

Ingrediants
2 Tbsp butter melted with
5 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup white sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla

Break one egg into measuring cup and fill with milk (1 cup). Sift dry ingredients. Add milk and egg, then butter/cocoa mixture. Mix well. Bake in 8 inch square pan in 350F oven for 30 minutes.

To Make R2 D2 cake

Make 3 batches of butter sponge. Bake in the following size pans: 2x 6 or 7 inch round pans and one 8 inch square pan. Make 2 batches Never Fail Chocolate. Bake in one 6 or 7 inch round pan and one bowl or half round pan that is the same size as the rounds.
Once cakes are baked, layer one white and one chocolate round layer. Place wood dowels or shishcabob picks into the cake and place a cardboard layer on top (cut a bit smaller than the cake and covered in tinfoil. Spray before putting on). Then put the last white layer and the chocolate bowl cake on top to make a dome. Cut the legs of R2 out of the square. Also cut a small triangular piece for the front of R2.

Ice the dome portion of the cake using your fave icing (I made butter icing using 1/4 cup softened butter, 4 1/2 cups icing sugar mixed into it, add 1 tsp vanilla and then add milk until spreading consistancy, about 3 Tbsp). Keep it white and just cover the round cake layers (not the "dome") with the icing for now. Add the legs to the cake using toothpicks to "fasten" into place. Also add the triangle piece. Cover these pieces with white icing. Add enough black coloring to the remaining icing to make a silvery grey color. Cover the dome. Pipe this icing (thinning if necessary) to the bottom of the cake. Make more icing if necessary and add enough blue coloring to make bright blue icing. Ice the blue sections around the head, the top, the back, and the legs. I used a toothpick to "cut" the pattern of panels and such into the current icing on the cake. This adds a 3D effect. Fill those panels that need to be blue.

Once done that, out of silver paper make the vents, fans, and the lights on top of R2 D2's head and use icing to fasten the "flat" pieces. The lights can just be "plugged" into it. If you have black shoestring licorice (I do not) use them as the wires on the legs. It's easier to decorate the cake if you have a pic of the unit in front of you.

There you have it. One R2 D2 ready to eat.






Here are two other cakes I made using these recipes. Enjoy, and have fun baking.

The Second Week

So, this week I did something different. I didn't make a lot to freeze, but I did do some.

Monday: I made mashed potatoes and chicken with veggies. Made triple the potatoes and put 2/3 in the fridge for later meals.

Tuesday: Burritoes for today. We make the meat with 1 lb hamburger, a can of red kidney beans, onions, and tomato paste, ketchup, spices, etc. We put 2/3 of it into the fridge yet again.

Wednesday: This is the supper with friends day yet again. Loads of fun!

Thursday: This is where I used the leftovers. I made 2 leftover casseroles and froze one of them. I also baked a lot of cake... 5 batches to make a birthday cake for my hubby's 30th birthday party I planned for Saturday. Ended up freezing about half of it.

Friday: We made pizza. I planned on making stirfry, but decorating hubby's cake took so much time I forgot to make the rice which takes an hour (I do NOT make minute rice). Instead, I made the stirfry Sunday (today)... with extra rice for one of next week's meals.

Saturday: This was hubby's birthday party... even though it is 3 weeks early. I brought out the tie fighter pigs in a blanket I made using the bun dough from last week's baking. There were veggies, cake, chips, and a meat and cheese tray a friend brought. Not to mention punch (made using 2 cans orange juice, 4 of water, 1L of ginger ale, and some scoops of raspberry sherbet). Here's a pic of the cake.



And today was the stir fry... from friday's plan. Again, not a lot went into the freezer, but this week was focussing on hubby's birthday party and trying to get the meals later in the week to be easier so I could focus on that cake... which took 6 hours work to finish. Crazy.

One Week Cooking Schedule: Freezer Foods

As I've been getting closer to my due date, I've been trying to come up with a few meals I can make that can go into the freezer for the first few weeks after the baby is born... to make things easier on us. I decided to do a one month meal plan, starting a month before my due date, and in the process hope to make meals that I can do "double" of, and freeze the second portion. It means a lot less cooking in the long run. Plus, since it's just the two of us, it makes things easier since most recipes are for 4-8 people.

This was the schedule for this last week, including links to the recipes which are already posted on the site.

Monday: Using the versatile biscuit dough, I made pigs in a blanket and cinnamon rolls. I froze only a few to see how it would take to the freezer. It worked out just fine, as we had the remaining bits for lunch a few days later. Much better than keeping biscuits on the counter anyway.

Tuesday: I made a quick supper here, just mac n cheese. What I did freeze for later was the banana blueberry muffins.

Wednesday: I made whole wheat buns, and we had a few of them for a faspa-like supper. For those who don't know, faspa is a mennonite name for a meal that consists of buns, preserves, pickles, cheese, and now we usually include peanutbutter, cookies and such. I made 1 1/2 batch of buns and turned some of them into pigs in a blanket as well for freezing. I know already that those will work just fine.

Thursday: Here I made the hamburger potato casserole from the mix n match potato casserole recipe. As always, I cooked the one and froze the other, making sure to mark the temperature and time for cooking right on the container to make things easier when we pull it out of the deep freeze.

Friday: Here I made a batch of tangy tuna patties, freezing 2/3 of it and making only two of the patties, which I made a larger size to work well on buns as a burger of sorts. These are easy to cook, and without needing a recipe, it'll make a quick easy fish meal later.

Saturday: Today I made meatless lasagna, seperating it into thirds and freezing 2 of them while baking the one. I bought reusable aluminum pans with lids for the job, and they work really well. I will use the remaining 3 for the lasagnas I plan on making in another week or two. Again, on the lids I marked the date made plus the cooking time and temperature.

Sunday I leave free, and lunches as well.

Another freezing tip: It's always nice to seperate meals into each of their own bags or containers. I like making sauces, make double, and freeze half in it's own bag (it freezes better this way as you can make it flat, and thaw it in a bowl in the bag in lukewarm water). I always mark the date made, what is in the bag/container, and if needed, the cooking time and temperature.

Tangy Tuna Patties

I got this recipe from another website... I cannot remember which, I've had it for so long (if it happens to be yours, feel free to comment and say as much! I love it). I changed it a bit depending on what I have in my fridge. It's quite tasty!

Tangy Tuna Patties

Ingredients

12 ounces canned tuna, water packed and drained (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp chili sauce (we used a chicken spicy sweet chili sauce... very tasty)
1 Tbsp prepared horseradish (I used dijon mustard)
1-2 cups oatmeal (regular is better than quick cooking)
ground pepper

Combine all ingredients except oatmeal in a large bowl, mix well.
Mix in 1/4 cup oatmeal at a time until mixture is a good texture to form patties (moist, not drippy)
Place bowl in fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to make patties.
Form mixture into a ball with your hands (makes about 9 total) and flatten into a pattie and fry on medium heat on the stove. We've also grilled them on an indoor grill (they'd fall through a BBQ).
Serve by itself with tarter sauce and rice and steamed veggies, or do like in the picture and make into a fish burger with tartar sauce and serve with salad and fries.

Whole Wheat Buns

This recipe I got from my mom. It is really good, but I do still find mixing the bun dough to be a challenge.

Whole Wheat Buns

Mix the following:
4 cups warm water
1 cup oil
2 Tbsp honey
1/3 cup molasses
2 eggs

Mix the following (in seperate bowl):
3 cups white flour
2 Tbsp fast rising yeast
2 tsp salt (usually, I do 1/2 this or less)

Throw dry mixture into wet mixture and mix. Add whole wheat flour (about 7 cups) until right consistancy (not "sticky", rollable). Roll into buns and let rise under a towel until "light" (looking double the size... or more). Bake in 350F oven for 15-20minutes. If doing bread, do 45 minutes.

Meatless Lasagna

I got this recipe from Amanda Beale from Babyzone's forums! Thanks Amanda! I broke it into 3 pans, about bread loaf size, and froze two for later.

Meatless Lasagna



Ingrediants

filling
1 cup cottage cheese
1 jar pasta sauce (about 700mL or just less than 3 cups)
1 grated zucchini
1 package frozen spinach (optional)
1 can mushrooms (or fresh, again optional)
grated carrots (optional)

Lasagna noodles (about 12)
shredded mozza cheese
grated parmesan cheese

1. Mix filling ingrediants
2. Layer pan with the following: 1/3 noodles, 1/3 filling, mozza cheese. Repeat 2 more times.
3. Add parmesan cheese to top if desired.
4. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

This is a rather flexible recipe. I added spinach to mine (didn't feel like grating carrots and had no mushrooms left... sigh). It takes about 1 hour total time from start of prep till ready to serve. Serve with salad and toast or breadsticks.

Versatile Biscuit Dough

So, today for supper I decided to make some pigs in a blanket... using biscuit dough. Along for the ride came these quick little cinnamon rolls. So, you get an appetizer and dessert (or tomorrows breakfast) all in one little handy dandy recipe. Want to try? (biscuit dough recipe from my mom)

Versatile Biscuits



Ingrediants

• 3 cups flour (I used 2 whole wheat and 1 white)
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• dash salt
• 2 Tbsp lard
• 1 1/4 cup milk

Mix all dry ingrediants. Cut in lard until small 'crumbs' appear. Add milk, stir. Knead on floured surface (or in the bowl, whatever works for you) 10-20 times or until even consistancy. Roll out 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1 1/2" squares. Bake 10-12 minutes at 425F until lightly browned on top.

Pigs in a Blanket
Cut weiners/sausages (if sausage, cook a little first) in half, roll into dough (thinner dough is better... I did mine a bit thick). Basically, 1"x2" pieces. Bake 10-15 minutes (or until browned on top).

Cinnamon Rolls
If doing all dough as cinnamon rolls, roll in a 16" x 10" square. Mix 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, and 2 tsp cinnamon together. Spread on dough leaving 1" along the long side. Roll from the empty side to the other (if you wish to add raisins, do so before rolling). Cut roll into 20-24 pieces. Place together in a parchment covered pan, or put in muffin tins. Bake until browned in center (10-12 minutes).  Alternately, you can wrap the roll in cling wrap and refrigerate overnight before baking the next morning.

Wraps
Make them like you would the cinnamon rolls, only instead of making the cinnamon mixture, place mayonnaise on the biscuit, and then add shredded cheese, thin sliced ham, and spinach/lettuce before rolling.  Slice into 1/2 inch sections, lay on a parchment covered cookie sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes.

Leftover Casserole

Today my parents and sis came over for lunch and I needed to make something that would be ready after church. We had burritos the night before, and there was so much meat left over (we always do 1 lb hamburger with 1 can of beans... last night we used black beans) that I decided to make something with that instead of trying to defrost meat... as I forgot to take some out the night before. Oops. And oops again as I don't have a picture... hey, it's a casserole! Kind of resembles Shepherds Pie.

Leftover Hamburger Casserole

Ingredients
-3 cups leftover meat mixture (thick chili)
-8 medium potatoes, mashed (I like to add a bit of butter, some milk, and any sour cream, salt and pepper to taste)
-frozen mixed veggies of your choice

1. Cook the veggies in the microwave. I like using 1/2 cup per person (I had 3 cups). Usually takes only 5 minutes. Drain.

2. In a greased 9x13 pan place the meat, then layer the veggies on top with the mashed potatoes on last. Sprinkle some cheddar and mozzarella cheese on top.

3. Cover and bake in 350F oven for 30 minutes. Serve with green salad and bread/buns. Makes enough for 6... at least in my family! ;)