Make Ahead Manicotti

This is a wonderful recipe I found for people on the go that still want a good meal fast. However, the fast part does come with a catch...as the title says, this is a make ahead recipe.

This recipe originally came from the Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats blog. You can find the original recipe by clicking here.

I will say that the shells weren't easy to fill with the cheap ziplock bags I had but I imagine that they're alot easier to fill dry rather than cooked. I don't have an answer for the best way to fill the shells that isn't very messy but I'll keep trying.

Apple Butter Bread

This is a new recipe that I got from my mother-in-law that I tried out for Bible study this week. The bread was very moist & was a great way to use some of the apple butter we have.

I made 4 mini loaves because I couldn't find my regular sized bread pan. It worked well but there was just barely enough dough to make the 4 loaves.

APPLE BUTTER BREAD

2 cups flour

½ cup apple juice
1 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup melted butter or margarine
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup raisins
½ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)
¾ cup apple butter

¾ cup apple butter (it's used twice)

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add ¾ cup apple butter, apple juice, butter and egg, stirring until moistened. Fold in raisins and walnuts. Pour half the batter into greased and floured 5x9-inch loaf pan. Spread remaining apple butter over batter. Pour remaining batter over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until loaf tests done. Cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool completely. Store in refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap. Yield 1 loaf.

Chocolate Decadence Cake

This is the easiest cake you could possibly make but trust me, you'll have everyone talking about it if you make it! I even had doctors tracking me down for the recipe at work.

Chocolate Decadence Cake

1 chocolate cake mix

1 small can sweetened condensed milk

1 jar hot fudge or caramel

1 container whipped topping

1 package heath bits

Follow directions to your favorite chocolate mix. While cake is still warm, poke holes all over cake with a fork. Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the warm cake. Warm hot fudge according to the directions on the jar, spread warm fudge over cake. You don't have to use the entire jar of fudge, just spread enough to liberally cover the top of the cake (see picture below).

Let the cake cool prior to frosting with whipped cream. Top cake with heath bits & fudge, if desired.

I usually use a 9x13 pan, I haven't tried making it a layered cake but it may be possible. The only thing is that the sweetened condensed milk makes the cake very moist that may make the top layer not hold up.

Penne with Salmon and Roasted Vegetables

What do you do when you husband comes home with about 4 fish that he just caught? I suggest making penne with salmon and roasted vegetables.

This is my husband showing off one of the Steelhead Trout that he caught. This is a very close relative to salmon so it can easily be substituted for the salmon in this recipe.


To view the original recipe from http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/, please click here.

A few things I did differently from the original recipe include using frozen onions & peppers in place of the leeks. To make a large batch of this recipe since it freezes well, I used an entire box of penne & instead of 1 summer squash, I used 2 summer squash & 2 zucchini. I used 2 of my trout filets instead of just 1 salmon filet & I seasoned them with Montreal steak seasoning. Also, I used an entire jar of pitted olives along with the juice. If you choose to omit them, there isn't as much juice & they add a little bit of saltiness.

Mocha Bundt Cake

Mmmm....cake. This cake was made as a special request for a coworker's 50th birthday. So a milestone birthday requires a milestone cake.

Although this is an increadibly easy and simple cake, it is very moist and filling.

To view the original recipe from Joy the Baker, click here.

Calzones

A couple of weekends ago my husband & I helped the youth at our church make pizzas for a fundraiser. We had some dough left over so that started my pizza making frenzy. I made a BBQ chicken pizza, a white or alfredo chicken pizza, & calzones with sausage & peppers.

I don't have the recipe for the yummy dough we used but I do have a pretty good recipe for the bread machine. This recipe came from my Oster bread machine book.

Pizza Dough

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cup bread flour

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (optional)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (optional)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons regular active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

Place all ingredients in bread pan in the order listed. Select whole wheat dough cycle.

Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into 12-inch circle on greased cookie sheet with floured fingers. Spread with favorite toppings. Bake 18-20 minutes or until crust is light brown.

To make BBQ Chicken Pizza: saute 1/2 chopped onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until transparent. Cook 1 chicken breast along with garlic, cumin, cilantro & chili powder (all season to taste). I used Sweet Baby Ray's sweet vidalia onion BBQ sauce, then added chicken & onions & topped with cheddar cheese.

To make White (Alfredo) Pizza: saute 1/2 chopped onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until transparent. Cook 1 chicken breast along with garlic & Italian seasoning (season to taste). After rolling out pizza dough, top with your favorite Alfredo sauce, then add chicken, then add mozzerella cheese.

Peanut Butter Torte

This new recipe was a hit this week. The peanut butter torte was very rich & creamy.

This recipe is another one that I found on the Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats blog.
To view the original recipe, click here.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. There are several steps & it does take some planning to make, but the end result is wonderful!