Applesauce Cake

I put up applesauce last year and after serving some up for breakfast, I had just enough left in the jar that was screaming to be turned into a delicious spice cake, so I caved. :)  I can always count on Betty Crocker for a good recipe; however, I did leave out the raisins and nuts, because… well… sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don’t.  I remember as a kid just begging mom to leave that stuff out.  In my mind, she had just destroyed a perfectly good dessert.  Now-a-days, I’m the one throwing them in… but every once-in-a-while, those childhood taste buds revisit, and I humor them.

Applesauce Cake (Betty Crocker)

Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups applesauce

Into a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add raisins, chopped walnuts, melted butter, and applesauce. Beat until well blended. Pour batter into greased and floured 9-inch square pan or 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 baking pan. Bake at 350° for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool and spread with cream cheese or butter frosting. If desired, decorate applesauce cake with grated orange peel and walnut halves, or top with cream cheese frosting.
Number of Servings: 20

Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe

First of all… I just have to say THANK YOU to my cute little brother and sis-in-law. They got me one of these for my birthday in the spring… (It just came about a month ago. There were complications with delivery. :)

Jealous? You should be. Aren’t they good to me!!! It has been so fun to experiment with and it’s just so nice to have light is my light-lacking apartment. THANK YOU!!!

Second of all… this is a really yummy version of fried rice. A real twist. Shrimp is growing on me. My friend shared a bag with me as they were cleaning out and moving, so it has been fun to experiment. Texture is a big thing for Doug and he wasn’t quite ready for the peanuts and pineapples, and though he knows better then to tell me so , I could tell it wasn’t his favorite. I however, really liked it. So you just never know until you try it out, I guess. :) (I also threw some ham and tomatoes in there.)

Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe (Taste of Home)

• 2 eggs
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups cooked instant brown rice
• 1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
• 1/2 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup chopped cashews
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add eggs; cook and stir until set; remove from the skillet and keep warm.
• In the same skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the rice pineapple, shrimp, cashews, peas and green onions; heat through. Combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil and pepper; stir into rice mixture. Stir in eggs. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1-1/3 cups equals 342 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 128 mg cholesterol, 521 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 16 g protein.

Beef Stroganoff

This is a favorite at our house (particularly with my hubby), so to find a recipe (on the back of a plain yogurt container) that still gives you the rich flavor, but spares you the fat and calories made me a happy cook! Yogurt stands in for the sour cream.
You won’t even miss it.

*Lyd’s Tip: This is a great way to use up left over beef or pork from that Sunday roast or slow cooked shredded meat – I even like to save some of the drippings because it adds so much flavor (there went all the calories I just saved... but it was worth it, right? Don’t worry that it has a different flavor profile. For example, sometimes I use the shredded pork from my South Carolina Pork Sliders, and I use the drippings. It create a whole knew version of flavorful stroganoff that you just couldn’t achieve any other way. :) You can kind of substitute that for the beef stock, too.

Beef Stroganoff (mountainhighyogurt.com)

• 1½ pounds beef tenderloin,
  cut into thin strips (Time to repurpose that roast I was talking about.)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 3 tablespoons grated onion
• 1½ cups beef stock
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste (How strange is that? I know, and who has 3 tablespoons handy—I hate opening a can for that, but it did give it a cool flavor. Don’t panic if you don’t have it though.)
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh basil
• ¼ cup sherry (I don’t use alcohol, so this is when I either throw in apple juice or those roast drippings I was talking about in Lyd’s Tips.)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (I don’t always have fresh mushrooms—my daughters would like it if I didn’t have any, but I drain a can and it works pretty well.)
• 1 cup Plain Mountain High Yoghurt
• 2 cups cooked rice or noodles
• I sprinkle with Parmesan.
  

Season beef with salt and pepper to taste, then dust with the flour, tossing until all surfaces are coated.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm oil, then add beef and onions. Cook until beef is browned but still pink on the inside, about 6 minutes.

Add beef stock, tomato paste, basil, sherry, and mushrooms. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in yoghurt, and serve over rice or noodles.

Makes 6 servings.

Scandinavian Almond Cake

My sweet neighbor, Melissa, brightened my day by sharing this yummy treat with us- it was gone in seconds.  I was excited to find a new home for the almond extract that is collecting dust on my cupboard shelf.  I think this one has a nice balance of sweetness and it was really good with strawberries on top!

Scandinavian Almond Cake (lefsetime.com)

• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 1/4 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 stick melted butter

Beat together sugar, egg, extract and milk. Stir in flour and baking powder. Then add butter. Mix well. Spray cake pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle slivered almonds into bottom of pan if desired. Pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or till edges are golden brown. Cool cake in pan completely before removing. To remove place inverted Almond Cake Plate to top of cake pan and then flip. Dust with confectionary sugar if desired. Due to the ridges in cake pan, slicing is a 'piece of cake'.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I just counted up over 20 posts that I need to catch up on!  I have gotten so behind!  A new little baby can just throw off all sense of time!  July?  Where… when?  I don’t remember a July this year!!!  ANYWAY, speaking of babies… this was a meal that my sweet friend Rebecca brought me while I was out of commission and we all enjoyed it so much that I had to get the recipe.  Makes a great freezer meal!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole (Rebecca Alldredge)

• 1 pkg frozen broccoli spears                                            
• 4-5 chicken breast cut up          
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice                                      
• 2/3 cup Milk
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup                                          
• 1/2 cup Mayo or salad dressing     
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 3 cups of Cooked rice (leftover, fresh or instant)

Mix ingredients together, sprinkle with cheese, salt (to taste) and paprika. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with breadsticks or nice green salad. Enjoy!

Tip: you can cook it with the chicken raw or cooked, if chicken is raw cook the full 30 minutes; if not raw then cook til heated through and cheese has melted.