Recipes for “Busy Day Cake” (Revisited!)

“Busy Day Cake” is our (almost weekly) go-to recipe. We’ve enjoyed experimenting and coming up with these “spiced up” options:

You can see the original recipe on this earlier post: “Busy Day Cake”

Cinnamon Coffee Cake:

Before baking, sprinkle the batter with a mixture of ½ cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon. Or add 1 Tbsp butter to the cinnamon/sugar mixture (working it in with a fork) and pour only half of the batter into the baking pan, sprinkle with half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture, then spoon remaining batter on top, and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture. Then bake as directed in original recipe.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

For dark chocolate cupcakes (or cake), add ¼ cup baking cocoa and substitute ½ cup of strong, black coffee plus ¼ cup milk (for ¾ cup milk in the original recipe). Then bake as directed in original recipe.

These were an early b-day gift for DJ’s teacher!

Recipe for “Busy Day Cake”

(adapted from a childhood favorite in Better Homes & Gardens)

Great for cupcakes, too!

This recipe makes one 9x9-inch pan (or 12 cupcakes); I usually double the recipe and bake it in a 13x9-inch pan (or as 24 cupcakes).

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour *

½ cup sugar

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¾ cup milk

⅓ cup oil

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour a 9x9-inch baking pan (or line muffin pans with paper liners).

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine milk, oil, egg, and vanilla; beat with electric mixer until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until combined, then beat an additional two minutes on medium speed. Turn batter into prepared baking pan (or spoon batter into muffin cups).

Bake cake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven. (For cupcakes, bake 15 to 20 minutes.) Cake is done when it springs back to the touch (or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean).

Spice it up by adding (blueberry) jam (as pictured above)! Pour only half of the batter into the baking pan, spoon jam onto it, then spoon remaining batter on top, and sprinkle sugar on top of it all. Then bake as directed.

Enjoy!

*Make your own cake flour by replacing 2 Tbsp of cornstarch in 1 cup of all-purpose flour!

Recipe for Simple Butter Frosting

This recipe makes enough to (generously!) frost top and sides of one two-layer 8-inch round cake.

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp butter

4 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup (whipping) cream (+ 1 to 2 Tbsp, if necessary)

(food coloring)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in ¼ cup cream (and food coloring). Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar. (Add 1 to 2 Tbsp cream, if necessary, to make frosting of spreading consistency).

Keep the frosted cake refrigerated, if necessary, until ready to serve.

Recipe for Quick Cupcake Frosting

This recipe makes enough to (generously!) frost two dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients:

½ cup (100 grams) butter

3 cups powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

2 to 3 Tbsp milk

Directions:

Cut butter into pre-measured powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is crumbly. Add milk – one tablespoonful at a time – beating constantly until reaching spreading consistency. Spread onto (cooled) cupcakes.

Recipe for Cocoa Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

This recipe has been updated from the “bonbon” version (the one that calls for chocolate chips); this one substitutes cocoa (with modifications to the amounts of butter and sugar) instead. So these are even more like the ones Mommy used to make!

So much yummy-ness!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup sugar

¾ cup butter (150 grams)

¼ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup cocoa

2½ to 2¾ cups quick cooking oats (200 grams)

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together sugar, butter, and milk. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and then cocoa, and mix until well blended; add oatmeal.

(If the mix starts to get crumbly, stir in a teaspoon or two of hot water; the cookies should then set up fine.)

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. (I prefer to use dinner plates and refrigerate the cookies so they get firm faster!)

Enjoy!

Recipe for Pink Guava Jam

This is an easy recipe for pink guava jam!

Ingredients:

3 cups pink guavas, seeded and chopped

2 medium limes, juiced (about 4 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 ½ cups sugar

(1 tsp salt)

This recipe is a combination of two other recipes: Basically, I started using one and then, when doing a last minute search, ended up finding one specifically for pink guavas – the kind that the tree in our back yard produced in abundance this year! We were pretty happy with the results of the combined recipe, so I’m posting it here.

Pink guavas, as we can testify from experience, are ripe when they either fall off the tree on their own or when they come off the tree when barely touched. When ripe, they will be pink on the inside and quite soft. The inside pinks range from light pink to bright pink.

Directions:

After washing the guavas, cut them in half and spoon out the middle sections containing the seeds. (The seeds are quite hard and unpleasant when accidentally bitten!) Chop the half guavas into “cubes” and measure the required quantity. (I tripled this recipe on our first try.)

Put the cut-up guava “meat” into the blender, add lime juice and cider vinegar, and pulse until relatively but not completely smooth. Pour into saucepan, add the sugar (and salt, if desired) and stir until well-mixed. (I had an eager 4-year-old assistant for this part!)

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The jam will be become a more intense pink at this point – and the whole house will smell wonderful!

After simmering for 30 minutes, remove from heat and let cool. Pour into jars and refrigerate until use. The jam will thicken as it cools.

OR: Pour into sterilized jars and process in boiling water for ten minutes (with at least one inch of water over top of jars). Remove from canner pot and place on a towel, allowing jars to cool. Listen for lids to pop, signifying airtight seal.

Note:

Last year the guava tree in the back yard gave us about 15 guavas. One year later, we’re “guesstimating” that we’ve harvested about 100! Very exciting! If I’d realized the harvest was going to increase almost ten-fold, I would’ve followed the advice given in one of the recipes I consulted: “Freeze if you cannot make jam on the same day – a good option as guavas mature at greatly varying times.”

Making jam brought back memories of three of my favorite people: my Mommy and my Grampa & Gramma in-love!

I “canned” the guava jam in a less-than-professional way, recycling jam jars I had on hand, hoping the seals would reseal – just like Grampa did during our last visit with him. I figured that whether they truly “sealed” or not, I could keep ‘em in the fridge – just in case… But they sealed – just like Grampa’s! Sweet memories…

Reposting from “Happy, Strong Home” Blog: Wholesome Recipes & Money-Saving Tips

Reposting from my friend Julie at Happy, Strong Home:

How to Feed a Family (of 4) for $125/Week at Whole Foods

Julie says:

“When we switched to organic and natural foods about six or seven years ago, the sticker shock was brutal! We transitioned item by item every few months to adjust our menu without adjusting our budget too much.

 

I often hear how expensive it is to eat organic (not gonna lie, depending on what you buy, you can blow your budget on products with the “organic” label!).

 

But I’m here to show you how to create a menu to feed a family (of four!) on just $125 per week.”

We don’t have a Whole Foods Market in my neighborhood in Uruguay, but I’m planning to check out some of the recipes Julie shares in this post...

Check ‘em out!

Thanks, Julie! J

Favorite Recipe: Corn Casserole

Also called corn pudding, corn spoonbread, or even corn cake, this recipe has been a favorite, often showing up at extended family potlucks!

Mix together dry ingredients* and set aside:

1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

In another mixing bowl, mix together:

1 can (15 to 16-oz) whole-kernel corn (undrained)

1 can (15 to 16-oz) creamed corn

3 eggs

½ cup corn oil

½ cup (melted) butter

1 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)*

Combine dry and wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour into ungreased 1.5-liter (1.5-quart) glass bread pan (or casserole dish) and bake at 350 degrees F for at least one hour – until firm and top is golden brown. (May take longer than one hour.)

 

Awesome as left-overs, too!

Enjoy! (We surely do!)

 

 

*Frugal Notes:

• The original recipe calls for Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. My dry-ingredients substitution has worked marvelously – and will undoubtedly continue to serve us well in other areas of the world where Jiffy Mix doesn’t even exist!

• I regularly substitute plain yogurt for sour cream – with great success!

Recipe for Greens & Rice Casserole (Modified)

I recently modified the recipe for the Greens and Rice Casserole, using one pound of fresh spinach I had frozen and adding grated carrot. We were pleased with the results!

This really does make a great meatless meal!

 

I also cut the original recipe in half:

Ingredients:

1½ cups frozen spinach, cooked (measured after cooking, not before)*

1½ tsp dried onion

¼ tsp “Mrs. Dash” seasoning (optional)

½ cup carrot, grated

1½ cups cooked whole-grain rice (measured after cooking, not before)

1½ cups shredded cheese (1 cup medium cheddar + ½ cup mozzarella)

½ cup “broth” from cooking the spinach

3 eggs, beaten

½ tsp salt (optional)

 

*One pound of fresh spinach equals approximately 1½ cups cooked. I used Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spinach from Sam’s Club. (Definitely great quality!)

 

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, cook the frozen (or fresh) spinach in about one cup of water until tender. Reserve at least ½ cup of the “broth” for baking. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Pour into an oiled 8x11-inch (or 9x13-inch) baking dish.

 

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until set in the middle. (Test with a fork.)

Notes:

• I sprinkle a generous portion of extra (mozzarella) cheese on top!
• Next time, I plan to increase the grated carrot to one whole cup.
• I’m still hoping to try this recipe with chopped or grated zucchini instead of greens...

Favorite Recipe: Tomato Bread

An experiment just over three years ago resulted in a favorite recipe for our family: Tomato Bread! (Click the link for the recipe.)

 

It’s a pleasing pumpkin-color – and is very yummy! (I need to take a picture to post.) I recently (and successfully!) substituted cooked, mashed acorn squash for the pumpkin puree.

 

I most recently served this bread with Lentil & Ham Soup, and we took the leftover bread as a snack on a recent trip. It’s also great as sandwich bread – just put your imagination to work!

Recipe for Lentil & Ham Soup

Right before Christmas we were given a ham bone. I had lentils on hand so I looked up my recipe for Lentil & Sausage Stew, compared it to a recipe for Split Pea & Ham Soup, and came up with this one! We enjoyed this simple yet hearty soup, served with homemade Tomato Bread.*

 

I made one huge batch and froze the rest for later. (It freezes well.) The following recipe, paired with homemade bread, easily makes two meals for our family of four. (For a smaller batch, divide the recipe in half.)

Ingredients:
3 cups dried lentils
12 cups water
1 Tbsp dried onion
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt (optional)
4 to 8 medium carrots, grated (approx. 2 to 4 cups)
(I like to add lots of veggies!)
1 meaty ham bone

Instructions:

Rinse and drain lentils. Put lentils and water in a large pot and bring to a simmer. (Add onion, thyme, and salt.) Add ham bone and then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until lentils are tender and ham is “falling off” the bone. Remove the bone and chop (or break up ham pieces to desired size). Add grated carrots and simmer 15 minutes more before serving.

Garnish with freshly ground pepper, freshly grated carrot, etc.

(Yields approximately ten 1-cup servings.)

*Tomato Bread pairs perfectly with this soup!

Sharing a Favorite Cookie Recipe!

We’re doing some baking today, with the idea of emphasizing giving this Christmas. We’re starting with a favorite family recipe, posted earlier on this blog.

Enjoy!

We like these because they taste good and because they’re good for us – or at least better than most cookies can be!

Recipe for Chocolate (Spinach!) Smoothies

We have a new favorite snack at our house: “Green” Smoothies, fondly referred to as “oo behpahp” by our two-year-old – his way of trying to say jugo especial (or “special juice” in Spanish). When the Little Man hears the blender, he races into the kitchen, exclaiming: “Oo behpahp! Oo behpahp!”

 

 

Our favorite is the Chocolate Spinach Variety. The “recipe” makes about four 1-cup servings and can be easily modified:

 

1 or 2 medium bananas (preferably frozen)

handful of fresh spinach leaves (I put in plenty: about 1 cup!)

1 Tbsp olive oil (to add a creamy texture)

1 to 2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract (important to help bring out the natural sweetness of the bananas)

1 to 2 Tbsp honey

1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup almond milk (or whole milk)

6 to 8 ice cubes (optional)

 

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Using our Ninja Blender, we pulse a dozen or so times and then blend continuously for about 30 seconds.

This is a wonderful way to get little people to eat raw spinach! Our first-grader wants to try out the recipe on unsuspecting cousins: If you don’t know you’re getting a spinach smoothie, you’d probably have a hard time guessing it’s a main ingredient!

Recipe for Pasta Frola: A Typical Dessert in my Uruguay

Pasta Frola is a typical merienda (tea time) treat in Uruguay (and neighboring Argentina). Lemon zest and quince jam give this “pastry” a refreshing flavor – and the lattice top makes an inviting presentation.

Ingredients:

 

½ cup sugar

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

11 Tbsp (150 grams) butter

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp lemon peel, finely grated [You can substitute orange zest.]

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ cup dulce de membrillo (quince jam) [You can substitute raspberry jam or strawberry jam.]

1 Tbsp water

 

Directions:

 

Cream together sugar, egg, egg yolk, and butter. Add vanilla and lemon peel (or orange zest).

Mix well.

Add flour and baking powder.

Mix well.

Reserve one-third of dough for decorative lattice top. Spread remaining two-thirds of dough in 8x8-inch glass baking pan.

Beat dulce de membrillo (or jam) and water with a fork until smooth. Spread on top of dough in pan.

Lightly flour and then roll out strips of pastry and lay in crisscross pattern on top of jam. [Because the dough is delicate and rather hard to handle, I laid out strips in one direction and then gave only the appearance of a lattice, “cutting and pasting” strips instead of actually going under the first rows of strips.]

 

 

 

Bake at 375F for 25 to 35 minutes.

¡Buen provecho! (Enjoy!)

 

(I used raspberry jam this time.)

Goin' Bananas!

We were recently given a huge bag full of very ripe bananas! They were perfect for baking, but there wasn't time in my schedule to make up a huge batch of banana bread in one sitting. So, I made several batches of banana puree to freeze and use as needed instead.

I started by peeling and cutting the bananas and putting them in the blender. (Ten to twelve medium bananas fit at one time.)

I used our Euro-Pro Ninja Master Prep Blender and Food Processor. Because it has double blades, I didn't have to add any liquid to help the blending, although I did add one tablespoon of lime juice per batch (to keep the bananas from turning brown).

We love our Ninja Blender and Food Processor!

It's a great tool for healthy eating and saving!

Using a measuring cup, I divided the banana puree into one-cup and one-and-a-half cup containers. I also froze some puree for snacks for our Little (banana-loving!) Man.

Now I can thaw the puree in exact amounts for two of our favorite recipes: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Banana Split Bread!

Recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

These quick cookies bring back favorite childhood memories of cooking with Mommy. My modified recipe uses a good bit less sugar than most.

Due to issues with the oven where we were staying during the past three months, we were limited in our baking choices. These became an even greater favorite!

Made with grated semi-sweet chocolate, these taste more like
“healthful” bonbons!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
½ cup butter (100 grams)
¼ cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (OR 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely grated)
2½ to 2¾ cups quick cooking oats (200 grams)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together sugar, butter, and milk. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and mix in chocolate, oatmeal, and vanilla.

(If the mix starts to get crumbly, stir in a teaspoon or two of hot water; the cookies should then set up fine.)

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. (I often use plates.) You can refrigerate these so they get firm faster.

Enjoy!

Recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is my adapted “healthful” version of a friend’s recipe.

These have quickly become a favorite! After all, everything’s better with chocolate – especially dark chocolate!

In a mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup bread flour
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

In another mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients:
1 egg
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in:
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
¾ cup chocolate chips

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for five minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

This recipe makes 12 to 16 muffins.

Enjoy!

Eating from the Pantry: Again!

Well, we’re back – and back to Eating from the Pantry, trying to stretch our bucks and see how long we can make the stock pile (and creativity!) last… Other than spending about $9.00 at Aldi for milk, eggs, and fresh fruits and vegetables when we returned, we’ve been eating from the cupboards and freezer. (The fridge was basically empty when we got home, and the cereal stash in this picture has basically been depleted.)

Here’s the menu for last weekend and this week:

June 12 thru 20

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal (with ground flax seed, honey, and milk)
Homemade Apple Cider
Cereal
Scrambled or Fried Eggs, Toasted Sweet Butter Bread or Honey Oatmeal Bread
(Check out the new and improved recipe for the Honey Oatmeal Bread!)

Lunches:
Sat & Sun: Lunch with extended family…
M: Whole Grain Spaghetti with Meatball Sauce, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cantaloupe
T: Lunch with friends…
W: Whole Grain Spaghetti with Meatball Sauce, Tomatoes
Th: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Bananas
F: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Cantaloupe, Mandarin Oranges
Sat & Sun: Leftovers

Suppers:
Sat: Leftover Pizza (from our trip), Cantaloupe
Sun: Snacks
M: Late lunch doubled as supper…
T: Late lunch doubled as supper, with a Cantaloupe Snack before bed
W: Late lunch doubled as supper, with a Cantaloupe and Cookie Snack after church
Th: Whole Grain Spaghetti with Sausage Sauce, Chopped Spinach, Tomatoes, Fresh Berry Pie topped with FREE IceDream from Chick-fil-A!
(The pie included black raspberries, wild blackberries, and mulberries from our back yard, plus blueberries from Aldi.)
F: Tuna Noodle Casserole, Fruit
Sat & Sun: Leftovers

I'll most likely be getting more creative in the next two weeks...

Recipe for Honey Oatmeal Bread

This bread has a very pleasing texture!

Ingredients:

1½ cups (warm) water
½ cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
¼ cup oat bran (or Grape Nuts or bran flakes cereal, crushed)
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
½ tsp salt
¼ cup honey (or molasses or maple syrup)
1½ Tbsp vegetable oil
1½ tsp (active dry) yeast

Place ingredients in the bread case and insert the bread case into the bread machine. Select the Basic (Medium) Bread Mode and press Start.

Enjoy!

Recipe for Lentil and Sausage Stew

Serve this simple, hearty stew with whole-grain (homemade) bread* to make a great economic meal – complete with protein, vegetables, and fiber! I like to make one huge batch and freeze some for later. (For a smaller batch, simply divide the recipe in half.)

Ingredients:
2½ cups dried lentils
8 cups water
6 small (red) potatoes, cubed
1 lb sausage (chorizo, Italian, etc.)

Optional:
1 tsp salt
1 or 2 onions, chopped
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium carrots, grated (about 2 cups)

Instructions:

Rinse and drain lentils. Put lentils and water in a large pot and bring to a simmer. (Add onion, garlic, and salt.) Add potatoes and sausage and then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are done and most of the water has been absorbed. (Add grated carrots and simmer 15 minutes more before serving.)

Garnish with freshly ground pepper, freshly grated carrot, etc.

(Yields approximately ten 1-cup servings.)

*We love homemade Sweet Butter Bread.