Cake with Diet Soda

I had The View on the television during lunch today and overheard a lady talking about making cake with diet soda.  She said instead of eggs and oil, just mix in a can of diet soda to any cake mix and the cake will turn out just fine.  Since I am addicted to Diet Mtn. Dew, this sounded like a great idea to me!  I immediately found the only box of cake mix in the house (white cake), mixed it with a can of Diet Mtn. Dew and baked it.  Yum!  Honestly, it doesn't taste much different from regular white cake...perhaps it tastes a little bit more like angel food cake than plain white cake.  I'm excited to try different flavors of cake mix with different flavors of soda.

DIET MTN. DEW CAKE

Mix a box of cake mix with one can of Diet Mtn. Dew

Bake according to instructions on the box.

Winter Day Dinner

I got this recipe from a casserole magazine that I saw in line at the grocery store.  This recipe is on the first page, and it's very tasty.  I followed the instructions this time, although I didn't include peas as the recipe calls for.  And next time I make this, I'll use regular cheddar cheese instead of Velveeta- I'd just rather have real cheese.

WINTER DAY DINNER

1.5 lbs. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

8 medium potatoes, sliced

CHEESE SAUCE

1/4 c. butter, cubed

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 c. milk

4 oz. Velveeta, cubed

In a large skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

In a greased baking dish, layer half of the potatoes, all of the meat mixture and remaining potatoes; set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth.

Gradually stir in milk.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened.

Stir in cheese until melted.

Pour over the potatoes.

Cover and bake at 350 for 1.5 hours or until the potatoes are tender.

 

 

 

Homemade Fish Sticks

I decided to try making homemade fish sticks for Berkley.  There's no way I'm going to buy them in a box, and I figured they just couldn't be hard to make, so I gave it a try tonight.  

I bought one piece of fish to try it on, but will definitely buy more next time and make these to freeze for a few days.  They are very tasty, and I will likely make fillets of fish this way (versus the "sticks") that our entire family can enjoy.

HOMEMADE FISH STICKS

Tilapia fillet (or other white, flaky fish)

Panko breadcrumbs (although you could probably use any kind of breadcrumb)

All-Purpose flour

Egg white, lightly whisked

Cut tilapia fillet into bite or "stick" sized pieces.

Dredge in flour, then egg white, then breadcrumbs.

Put on a baking sheet (I use a Silpat, but cooking spray would probably be a good idea otherwise).

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Note: These fish sticks get very hot in the inside, so if you're feeding them to children, give them sufficient time to cool.

Jambalaya

I received a crock-pot for Christmas and am excited to try out some new recipes...especially recipes with a variety of meats.  I find meat the most difficult thing to spend time cooking, so I'm hoping my crock pot will make meat a little less intimidating and time consuming for me.

I found the recipe for jambalaya at MyRecipes.com and it was quite tasty. 

SLOW-COOKER JAMBALAYA

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 lb. smoked sausage (I used a light kielbasa), cut into 2-inch slices

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

28 oz. diced tomatoes with juice

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 c. chicken broth

1 T. cajun spice mix

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 lb. peeled shrimp

1 3/4 c. rice

Combine chicken, sausage, onion, green pepper, celery, tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, spice mix, thyme and oregano in a large (5-quart) slow cooker. 

Cook on low for 5 hours.

Add shrimp and rice; raise heat to high and cook for 30 minutes more. 

Monkey Bread

I believe I got this recipe from the Pillsbury website.  This is such a yummy breakfast treat that often turns into a snack for a a couple days afterward.

MONKEY BREAD

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cans Grands biscuits

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 c. butter, melted

In a Ziploc bag, mix white sugar and cinnamon.

Separate biscuits and cut into quarters.

Shake biscuit pieces in bag to coat.

Arrange in greased bundt pan.

Mix brown sugar and melted butter.

Pour mixture over biscuits.

Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes (golden and not doughy).

Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Turn upside down on a plate and serve.

Fruit Dip

This is the easiest and yummiest recipe that's easy to serve as a light appetizer along with fruit- apple slices, strawberries, etc.

FRUIT DIP

1/2 container of marshmallow fluff (or use 1 small container of the Jet Puff brand)

1 container cream cheese, softened

Mix these together until combined well.