Working Girl's Birthday Cake

At the beginning of October my manager/coach had her birthday, and I wanted to do something nice for her. What goes perfectly with birthdays? Oh, right, birthday cake! However, her birthday was in the middle of the week, and the last thing I wanted to do after spending time making dinner was to bake a cake from scratch. So then what were my options? A boxed cake!

Who writes about making a boxed cake on a food blog? Well I'm about to. But this particular post isn't necessarily about my ability to bake, but my ability to bake something while working at least 40+ hours a week.

My coach wanted a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. So I chose the betty crocker yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix. This helps the cake to stay moist and fluffy. I also used betty crocker chocolate frosting. Nothing special, but I figured it would be worth a blog post.

I did add a bit of vanilla extract to make it a little more exciting, but that is my only deviation from the recipe on the back of the box. I baked the cake the night before and set the two cake rounds on a cooling rack overnight. This way when I transported the cake I wouldn't worry about messing up the frosting.

Again, this cake is nothing special. But it did the job, and she loved it.

Don't forget the candles.

Vanilla Ice Cream French Toast

Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day. Hands down. The doctors say it, mothers say it, grandmothers say it, I've said it. But sometimes it gets forgotten about, and can turn into a boring meal - nothing special. However, it's my favorite meal of everyday, and I have assigned myself the task to jazz it up and keep it interesting.

Bring in the vanilla ice cream. Main purpose - desert, milkshakes, our best friend on a lonely evening. Hardly ever does the thought cross our minds to include it on our breakfast menu. Well nor do I. But when I was 15 years old my friend's mom used it to make french toast. A partial substitute for milk and sugar, the ice cream brings the perfect amount of flavor and difference to this dish. And who doesn't like ice cream?

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Yield: 6 Pieces of French Toast

Level: Easy

I use vanilla ice cream, but any flavor would work. Coffee, chocolate, peanut butter. Imagine the possibilities.

Ingredients:

2 cups melted vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

6 slices fluffy bread (challah, italian or french)

maple syrup

whipped cream

Directions:

Melt 2 cups of ice cream in a microwave safe bowl. Whisk in the milk, sugar, and cinnamon, and let cool. Once cool, whisk in 2 eggs. Preheat a nonstick skillet or pancake griddle over medium heat.

Dredge each slice of bread in the ice cream mixture and place in the skillet. 

Cook until each side is golden brown and fluffy to the touch. Repeat this with all of the pieces of toast. To keep the finished pieces of french toast warm while you cook, stick in a baking dish in the oven at about 200 degrees (just a warm oven).

I served mine with brown sugar and honey sausage links, with a small slice of butter, whipped cream, and maple syrup. However, make this recipe your own, and serve it with whatever your family and friends prefer.

Salmon Chowder Bread Bowl

Salmon... grilled, broiled, sushi style, baked, smoked... it's amazing, any way you cook it. I love salmon. I'm from Seattle, WA, so how could I not love it?

I try to eat salmon, or some other kind of seafood, at least once a week. It is so delicious, and so healthy  that it is a win-win situation. This time, I may not have been thinking of my health, and decided to put this salmon into a chowder, and throw the chowder into a bread bowl. I didn't forget the vegetables though, so hopefully I get a little credit for that.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 Bread Bowls (2 Quarts)

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Onion

1 garlic clove minced

3 tablespoons butter

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth

1 cup peeled potatoes, diced

1 cup peeled carrots, diced

2.5 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 to 3/4 tsp dill  (dried or fresh)

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 can (14.75 oz) cream-style corn

2 cups half-and-half cream

1 lb salmon filet
 4 sourdough bread rounds
fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

Soup:

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add 1.5 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, potatoes, carrots, dill, and broth, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are nearly tender.

While the vegetables simmer, season the salmon filet with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Broil in the oven for about 15 minutes or until flaky.

Break up salmon into small chunks. Add cream-style corn, half-and-half, and the salmon chunks to the saucepan and simmer for another 15 minutes or until heated through. 

Bread:

While the salmon chowder is simmering, carve out the top of the bread rounds and place in a 300 degree oven for about 2 or 3 minutes. Just until the bread is warmed.

Finale:

Spoon salmon chowder into the bread bowl and sprinkle the top with chopped parsley. Serve warm, and ENJOY!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

I live in California, so I feel like summer never really ends, but when I saw this on the food network I had to recreate it.

Strawberries and Rhubarb go perfectly together, and while normally we see the pair in a pie, I thought a crisp would be absolutely scrumptious!

I made this batch in individual ramekins, for one specific reason - it looked cute - but this delectable dish can also be made using a other baking dishes.

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 8 Servings

Level: Easy

Ingredients 

Filling:

4 cups strawberries, quartered and stemmed

4 stalks rhubarb, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Zest and juice of 1 orange

2 tablespoons strawberry balsamic vinegar (regular balsamic is perfectly fine too)

Topping:

1 1/4 cups flour (whole-wheat or all-purpose)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter, cut into pea-sized pieces

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Filling - combine all ingredients into a large bowl and stir until everything is coated and combined. Chill in refrigerator until topping is done.

Topping - using a food processor, combine the flour, oats and brown sugar and pulse. Add the butter, vanilla, and salt, and pulse until the mixture becomes dry and crumbly. Add 1 tablespoon of water bringing the ingredients together.

Finale - Spoon the strawberry-rhubarb mixture into the individual ramekins about 3/4 full, and crumble the topping over the filling. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the filling starts to bubble, and the topping is light brown in color and looks crispy.

I served this delicious wonder with Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato, courtesy of Sprouts Farmers Market.