Cinnamon Bun Cake

I decided to take over the blog today. It's me, Sue.

Jo has done about a bazillion blogs so I thought I better do one.

Jo introduced me to Pinterest a while ago and ever since I have been addicted. I found this delicious recipe there. Well, I have found a million delicious recipes there. This was just one of the first ones I have actually made.

The original recipe can be found HERE at the Six Sister's Stuff blog. (Very cool blog, by the way.)

If you haven't checked Pinterest out, you should. It's so addicting!

Cinnamon Bun Cake

Ingredients

3 cups flour
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp butter, melted

Cinnamon Swirl
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cups pecans, finely chopped 

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Prepare cake - Preheat oven to 350.
With an electric mixer; mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in 4 Tbsp melted butter. Pour batter into a greased 9 X 13 baking pan. (I made it into 2 - 8X8 square pans. NOTE - be sure to place pans on a cookie sheet as it tends to bubble up and over the edges of the pans and make a bit of a mess if you are not prepared!)

Prepare cinnamon swirl - In a large bowl, mix the 1 cup of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and pecans until well combined.

Drop evenly over cake batter by the tablespoon and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake. (This is kind of tricky. Just do the best you can.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center.

Prepare frosting - Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in icing sugar and vanilla. Spread on cake while still a bit warm. This makes it all melty and gooey and deliciously addicting. Of course, you could wait until it was room temp as well, but why would you want to do that?

I am glad I made it in 2 pans instead of just one. I was able to give one away as a gift. If I had kept it I would have eaten it all. It really is that tasty!

Oh, yeah, while this is baking...the smell is amazing! I guarantee you will be standing by the stove wishing this to cook faster so you can eat it.
(Update - Jo made this as a layer cake. Click HERE to see how she did it!)

St. Patrick's Day Sushi

I couldn't let St. Patrick's Day go by without  blogging about something St.Patrick's Day-ish. To be honest, Sue and I made a million Irish related dishes this week and I will be getting to most of them...eventually...

For today though - Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!

We made some traditional St. Patrick's Day sushi.

Wait...

What do you mean sushi isn't traditionally Irish?

Okay...so we made some with food traditionally eaten in Ireland into sushi.

Cabbage, potatoes, and corned beef. Doesn't get much more Irish than that, right?

We thought it might be fun to put an Irish spin on this Japanese dish. And, for those of you who don't like the sushi with rice and such.....you may just prefer this version.

(P.S. - It's a fun way to use up those St. Patty's Day leftovers)

St. Patrick's Day Sushi

Ingredients

whole cabbage leaves

mashed potatoes

corned beef, cooked

Directions

Cabbage leaves should be boiled, whole, for about 5 - 8 minutes - until soft. Drain the boiling water and immerse leaves in cold water to cool. Dry on paper towel. Be careful not to tear them!

Make sure your mashed potatoes are cool and lump free. (We used leftovers that had been mashed with milk and butter, but you can use plain mashed potatoes if you like.)

Slice your cooked corned beef into long, thin strips.

Step one.

Place cabbage leaf on a sushi mat.

Step 2.

Gently pat mashed potatoes over the cabbage leaf to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the leaf.

Step 3.

Place 2 strips of corned beef down the center of the leaf.

Step 4.

Gently roll away from you. Make sure you roll it as tightly as possible without tearing the cabbage.

Step 5.

Slice and enjoy.



These were really easy and fun. If you prefer them hot then you can just set them on a plate and microwave them after they are sliced. Doing it that way may mean having to eat them with a fork.

Our cabbage was quite thin and we ended up using 2 leaves on top of each other to finish the other rolls. (Sorry, I didn't get a picture of those.) It works well though so I would recommend that if you also have thin cabbage leaves.

As you can see from the above photos - 1 thin leaf will work just fine, you can just see some of the potato peeking through where there is rips.

I love St. Patrick's Day. It is one of the holidays that everyone gets into the spirit.

Everyone is Irish on St.Patrick's Day!!

It is on my bucket list to be in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day. I have been lucky enough to visit Ireland once and cannot wait to get back there. The land, the people, the food, pretty much everything...is fantastic.

Be sure to stop by Carole's Chatter for some exciting links!

5 Minute Peanut Butter Cookie

Sooooo.....good news.

The peanut butter cookie in a mug from No. 2 Pencil is just as delicious (if not MORE) than the chocolate chip cookie in a mug.

Crazy, right?

I mean....TWO delicious cookie that can be made in like 2 seconds!! What are the odds?

Trust me when I say - Go! Now! Try these!

(HERE is where you can find the chocolate chip cookie.)

5 Minute Peanut Butter Cookie

Ingredients

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 Tbsp brown sugar

pinch vanilla

pinch salt

1 egg yolk

3 tbsp flour

1 Tbsp salted peanuts, chopped

Directions

In a microwave safe bowl or mug, place peanut butter and butter together and microwave for about 6 seconds, until melted - or almost melted - and then stir to combine.

Stir in sugars. Then stir in the pinch of vanilla and salt.

Mix in egg yolk until well combined.

Stir in 3 Tbsp flour. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Microwave for 35 - 50 seconds, until done. Start checking for doneness at 35 seconds. (Mine took 50 seconds but it will depend on the power of your microwave)



 Let cool for a minute or two and then enjoy!
 

Can you imagine how good this would be with a scoop of ice cream? Ooooh! Reece's peanut butter cup ice cream!! I would be in peanut butter heaven.

If you would like to see some step by step photos you can visit No. 2 Pencil. She has some great pics. Plus....she also has a recipe for a Sugar Cookie in a mug. I know I will get to those soon!

I am seriously addicted to these 5 minute treats.

Until recently any of the ones I tried were gummy and weird and just not all that great. I find I like them better if I make them in a bowl instead of a mug....I think it cooks better or something. Maybe that's just me. Especially the cake recipes. They still look a little strange because, of course, they don't brown like they would in a regular oven.

Do I like them better than regular, baked-in-the-oven cookies and cakes?

No. Nothing beats the regular oven for texture and appearance, in my opinion.

That being said, when I don't feel like making a whole batch or I am having a have-to-have-it-now craving, these 5 minute recipes are life savers.

What do you think?
Update: I took new photo and thought I would share how dense and peanut butter cookie like this is! :)

 

I didn't have any peanute to sprinkle on top, dag-nab-it. Still tastes good though!

5 Minute Chocolate Chip Cookie

I don't where I have been for the last million years.

Did you know they have Cookie in a Mug recipes now?

I mean, I knew about the Cake in a Mug recipes and have even fallen in love with a couple. (5 Minute Chocolate Cake and 5 Minute Coffee Cake)

But...COOKIES...

Seriously??

I mean....why was I not told about this? Why is the media not reporting about this?

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but....I love cookies!

L.O.V.E. them.

Yes, I want to marry them.

If I could, I would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...and then for dessert. Alright, I know I technically could do that, but, I'm a responsible adult and understand that cookies are treats...not meals. (Although they should be.)

This recipe from the No. 2 Pencil blog is amazing.

I mean....I can now have a warm, soft, delicious, chocolate chip cookie in about 2 minutes. She also has a peanut butter cookie recipe that I am going to try after dinner tonight. I will definitely be getting back to you about how that turns out.

OMG! I just checked her blog again and she now has a sugar cookie in a mug recipe!

Eeeeeeeeee! I'm excited.

5 Minute Chocolate Chip Cookie

Slightly adapted from No. 2 Pencil

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 Tbsp brown sugar

pinch of vanilla

pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

3 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips (or regular)

Directions

In a microwave safe bowl or coffee mug, mix butter with sugars. Stir with a fork until well combined. Add vanilla and salt, stir. Add egg yolk (yolk only, not the white), and mix well.

Stir in flour until just combined. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips.

See...looks like regular cookie dough! And it is :)

Cook in microwave for 40 - 60 seconds. Start checking for doneness at 40 seconds. (I cooked mine for the full 60 seconds but it would have been okay at 55 seconds)

Are you excited?

I'm excited.

This was soooooo good. You can go to the No. 2 Pencil blog for step by step photos and her version of the cookie ingredients (She used 2 Tbsp of chocolate chips and measured her flour a tad differently) And of course to see her other brilliant recipes.

I can't wait to make the peanut butter and sugar cookies.

Now I can have cookies any time I want them, without the mess of having to make a whole batch.

Oh no!

Now I can have cookies any time I want them, withot the mess of having to make a whole batch.
That doesn't bode well for my diet efforts.

**UPDATE**
I just wanted to share some other pics of this delicious cookie. I made it with mini baking M&Ms instead of choc chips.

 

I just mixed up the ingredients as above and spread it in an individual casserole dish that was microwave safe.

 

 

Microwaved for 60 seconds and voila!

Colorful, fun cookie in no time at all.

Oh, yeah, this time I lined the bottom of the dish with a small cut out round of parchment paper so I didn't have to eat it out of the dish when it was done....

 

 

I simply ran a knife around the outside and it popped right out.

Yay cookies!

(FYI - It was a little thick because I used a narrower, taller dish. It is more cookie-like if you make it in a cereal type bowl as it is shallower and wider. You could probably even get away with microwaving the dough on a plate. )

Saucy Chicken with Ramen Noodles and Snow Peas

I LOVE this dish. Not only because it is simple...and easy....and inexpensive....and delicious...but, because it is sooooo quick to prepare.

Like when you are starving and want dinner in 2 seconds...that fast.

I had thawed some ground chicken to use in another recipe I had wanted to try but then realized that the other recipe required some effort and thinking and...well...I just was not prepared to do that.

I quickly looked around the kitchen and discovered I had several packs of Mr. Noodles on the counter and a bag of snow peas in the fridge.

Ta-dah! New recipe!

Saucy Chicken with Ramen Noodles and Snow Peas

Ingredients

3 pkgs (85 gr) Mr Noodles (Or Ramen Noodles)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1 small lime, juiced

3 Tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 Tbsp oil

1 lb ground chicken

3 cups snow peas cut in half

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 - 4 green onions, chopped



Directions

Cook noodles as per package directions until not quite cooked completely through. They should still be a little stiff. Remove from heat, run under cold water, drain, set aside. 

Mix together hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, lime juice, and chili sauce. Set aside.

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan over medium high heat.

Cook chicken until no longer pink. Add peas, garlic, and onion. Stir fry until peas are cooked.

Stir in sauce, mix well.

Stir in noodles. Cook until noodles are heated through and completely cooked.

If I remember correctly this was 4 generous servings. It probably could have served 6 or 7 if it was served with another dish. As it was, this was our meal for the night so we ate big portions.

I really like dishes that go from beginning to end in under an hour without a lot of chopping and prep work. It's not that I'm "lazy" per se.....

Well....okay....I am lazy.

But....generally I don't mind putting out some effort for a great recipe.

There are just some days that the thought of having to peel vegetables and chop them seems like climbing Everest. Those are the days I appreciate meals like this one.

Or...a peanut butter sandwich..


Stop by Carole's Chatter for tons more stir fry link ups. 

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

This is one of those dishes that you can throw together in under an hour. Who doesn't love that?

I swapped out the rice from an old broccoli and rice casserole that I found in one of the ancient cookbooks in our mom's cupboard for quinoa instead.

I don't know how people survived without photos in cookbooks back in the day.

You actually have to read through each recipe to see if it sounds good instead of just looking at the photo and judging it from that. Talk about work. Geeez.....

Anways... this worked really well.

I'm glad I have been brought over to the quinoa side.

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients

1 (10 oz) can of cream of broccoli soup

1/2 cup reduced fat mayo

1 cup shredded cheese (I used light, aged cheddar)

salt and pepper

2 cups cooked broccoli

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a 9 X 9 pan with cooking spray.

Mix together all ingredients - except Parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly on top.

Bake at 250 for about 30 minutes - or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

This is really filling and sooooooo delicious.

If you haven't yet tried quinoa then this is a good "safe" dish to try. It looks just like a rice casserole.

I used Fitday to work out some of the nutritional info. For about 1/2 a cup it is approximately - 200 calories, 10 gr protein, 9 gr fat, carbs - 13, Fiber - 2.

Not too shabby considering how deliciously cheesy it is!