I have the best cake recipe for you today. It is going to knock your socks off! Don’t look at me sideways, but it’s made with a cake mix. Yes, it is true. I didn’t believe it myself when I tasted it. I just knew my friend Marilyn was lying, but no she doesn’t lie! It is like a big chewy brownie with a hint of rum, chocolate chips and nuts. Now who is not going to love it? When you take a bite you are going to think that you have died and gone to heaven – chocolate heaven that is.
Filed under Desserts
I think that I have found the perfect pudding for you! There will be no more instant pudding nor will there be the yucky pudding that is ready made in those plastic tubs. This is put together in less than 10 minutes from start to finish. It is a really rich chocolate pudding that no one will believe you made in the microwave.
When I posted the recipe on my Promethean board one of my students said, ” Beginner skill? Mrs. Lupo you know that we are way beyond beginners now!” That being a true fact we still have only 45 minutes to get the job done. This recipe was just the perfect fit! So here are my tips for the pudding after making it twice at home, 4 times for my students, and 24 groups of students making it. Now yours will be perfect!
Filed under Desserts
After doing as little shopping one of my favorite places to have lunch is Prime at Lenox Square. I just love their Cobb Salad with blue cheese dressing. I am happy to say that I have found the recipe so now all of us can enjoy it at home. It packs a lot of flavor and you’ll find you only need a small amount so guess what – a reduction in the amount of calories. I can go for that! I just put together a chopped salad including chopped romaine, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and hearts of palm. I placed all the vegetables in a container with a top and added about a heaping teaspoon of dressing. I put the top on it and gave it a good shake. Oh my Gosh! So help yourself to the greatest salad dressing and it is just a shame that it is so easy to make.
Filed under Salad, salad dressing
I found one of the easiest brunch recipes today. Your’re going to either hate me or love me. Especially when we’ve all made our New Year’s resolutions to be more healthy. It won’t hurt to indulge in just one small piece, though. The recipe is from one of my favorite recipe sources Pillsbury. It is a bake-off winner from 1998 and so simple that if will leave you wondering if you have done something wrong. I just bet that you have all the ingredients right there in your kitchen to get this started at your earliest convenience. You’ll need a Pillsbury pie crust, light brown sugar, softened butter, chopped pecans, and powdered sugar. While to pastry is coming to room temperature you can measure all your ingredients. In a mere 30 minutes you will have one of the best pastries that you could buy anywhere.
Now here’s how to put it together.
Last month I served these to my book club. Now they are here for you to pull out for your next get together. They are so easy to make. In fact you can prepare the dough ahead of time and freeze so it will be sitting there ready when you are ready. A hundred years ago I made these cheese straws using a manual cookie gun and I found them quite difficult to push through. Now Paula Deen has saved all of us some manual labor. How much easier can you get than slice and bake?
Filed under Appetizer
This recipe is really a throwback to my college days when I was a flunky for the head of the Home Economic’s Department. I probably made a million of these Spritz Cookies and became quite a natural with a cookie press. These little cookies are quick to make, but I am hesitant about using the word easy. The dough is quite easy to prepare as long as you can operate a mixer, but the kicker for some could be the use of a cookie press. Following the directions in the Use and Care Manual will be a great help . I found the diagrams are very easy to follow. Now it may take a couple of tries to get the feel of how long to press the trigger, but you can just throw the dough back in the press and start over. If you don’t have a cookie press I encourage you to run out an get one especially if you have children. They love this gadget! You and your family can make some great holiday memories! Check out the little puppies we made at the insistence of one of my angels!
Filed under Cookies
I hate it when I find just the right shade of lipstick and you are standing at the cosmetic counter glaring at the salesperson as they say to you with a smile “Sorry, but the color has been discontinued.” What? Tell me you are kidding? It has been brought to my attention many times that I should buy two of everything that I love. You know that special t-shirt, sweater, jeans, and the list goes on. So you know where this is going. I am a granola girl. I love it with cold skim milk in the morning, for a snack, or dinner. More than once or twice I have fallen for a certain brand and out of no where production of this wonderful product stops. No one calls me. No one asked my opinion. It just stops appearing on the shelf. It’s sad. Now I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago and I am making my granola. Well, really it’s not mine but thanks to Katie Workman I can have my favorite granola anytime I want it. So can you and you will love it!
I love Thanksgiving. It is all about family, friends, and food with lots of tradition thrown in. It’s not as stressful as Christmas. There’s not a million parties to go to and the stress of finding all the perfect gifts. I pretty much took Thanksgiving for granted until Jonathan was in high school playing tennis. He played in Louisville, Kentucky on Thanksgiving Day. There were not too many places open and the restaurant we chose was filled with those like us that had no family or friends around. It was a sad sight and quite depressing. Since then I’m so thankful that I am lucky to have my family and friends to celebrate with. I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving with all the ones that you care about.
Filed under Desserts
I made this soup two days in a row. One day I had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is that good! I love Real Simple recipes and this one is a big hit! Don’t change one thing until you make it at least once then you can substitute tofu, chicken, or shrimp for the pork. I love it! The ingredients are fresh and full of flavor. The fresh ginger is unbelievable! Once you and your family discover this fresh flavored dish you will go back to it again and again. It is one of the best soups that I have ever had!
Filed under Main dish
Here I am back again with a boatload of recipes for you! School is in full swing and everyday I am bombarded by the question when are we cooking? I hate it that we can’t cook everyday, but there are Standards to be covered and all that other stuff the state requires. I am excited about this year’s angels that have been given to me to broaden their knowledge about my love of cooking. I have a plan to teach them 30 dishes that everyone should know when they leave home and endeavor life on their own. I am excited especially when I hear a student talking to a friend and saying to them that I am a cool teacher. It really makes my day because there are times that I have some self doubt. You know every once in a while you just want to know if they really care about what you are doing. I had a lot of fun doing this recipe from Pillsbury. There are so many students that want to help me in the kitchen! For this first demonstration of the year I had some great volunteers. Surprisingly none of the four had any cooking experience, but they did great! I am looking forward to another fabulous year with rewarding cooking experiences to share along the way.
Filed under Appetizer
The Teacher Cooks 