I used to be quite a cake baker.  Back in the day, I baked and decorated cakes to sell and I even made my own wedding cake.  But, over the years, I slowly got out of the habit of baking and even sold all my specialty pans and decorating supplies.  Now that I am retired, I have been dabbling a little in cooking and baking – not a lot, yet, but a little here and there!  I saw a recipe for a Lemon Blueberry Cake on Pinterest and thought it looked so good!  So, I decided to do one.  I used that cake as inspiration, but I did not follow their recipe.  I put my own twists to it and made it up as I went along.  I’ll admit, I’m pretty rusty in the baking/decorating area and didn’t have all the tools needed to do it properly, but it came out pretty darned good, if I do say so myself – good enough for me and to share with family!

Here is the result:

Here’s how I did it:

I made up TWO lemon flavored cake mixes.  While mixing, I added TWO boxes of instant lemon pudding.  To compensate for the extra powder ingredients, I overflowed the oil just a little and added a splash of lemon extract.  I split the mix into THREE 9 inch round cake pans.  I sprinkled fresh blueberries in TWO of the pans* and baked per the instructions on the box.

I made up TWO boxes of instant lemon pudding and put it in the refrigerator to set up.  I made up a batch of homemade buttercream frosting using one and a half times the ingredients and lemon extract, instead of vanilla, and added yellow food coloring.

Once the cake was baked and cooled, I started stacking the layers.  I put one of the blueberry layers on the bottom, then a layer of lemon pudding, then the plain layer of cake, then another layer of pudding, and finally, the second blueberry layer.  I frosted it all with the lemon buttercream frosting.  To give it a little touch of decoration, I put little ruffled dots all around the rim of the top of the cake and in a circular pattern in the center of the top.  Then, I put a fresh blueberry on every other dot and one in the center.

And that is it!  It is VERY good – moist, lemony, and the blueberries really give it a nice touch!

Now for what I wish I had done differently:

Don’t get me wrong – it came out very nice and I’m pretty darned proud of it!  But, if I do it again (and what I would recommend to anyone else), I’ll make these changes:

* Just after I put the pans in the oven and started to clean up, I realized I forgot the blueberries!!!!  So, I pulled two pans back out and sprinkled the blueberries on top and just pushed them down a little.  The cake rose up around the blueberries, so it was OK.  But, most of the blueberries are right on the edge of the layer and not really mixed in throughout the layer.  So, next time, I’ll put them in and stir them up to mix them in better.

Also, for the blueberries — I would put more in the two layers.  I thought I was putting too many, but it really could have used a few more to make it that much more “blueberry-y”

I thought I was putting a lot of pudding between the layers, but there really isn’t much there, after all – just a thin layer.  Next time, I’ll put a thicker layer of pudding between the layers so there is a nice amount to off set the cake.

I also should have repeated the decoration pattern along the bottom edge of the cake – it would have looked more “finished”, if I had.

So, that’s that!  I had fun and it was all kinda like riding a bike — I think I just might do a little more baking from time to time!

I stopped in at Food Lion last night for a few groceries and made an amazing discovery – a new kind of bread!  I had a craving all day for a good hamburger made with onion soup mix, so I got a small package of hamburger and a bunch of other stuff I was out of.  When I got to the bread aisle, I looked for some hamburger buns and something caught my eye.  I’m not sure why I even gave it a second look cause I was specifically looking for hamburger buns……but, it looked cool, so I picked it up for a closer look.  The package was Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats – 100 calorie thin rolls – soft 100% whole wheat!  They kinda look like pita bread, so I thought they would be hard and dry – but, I poked at them and they felt soft!!!  I’m always looking for bread that won’t add on a lot of carbs, so I thought they might be worth a try.  I almost bought a package of hamburger buns, too……just in case……but, decided that would be a waste of money, so just got the package of deli flats.

I got home and put my groceries away, fed the girls, and made my hamburger – mixed in an envelope of onion soup mix and a little Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder!  It was delicious!!!  But, the best part by far was this new bread!!!  It was surprisingly good!!!  It had a really nice whole grain flavor that was very evident – even over the highly seasoned hamburger, the miracle whip, the ketchup, and the sugar-free sandwich pickles!  I was shocked that I could taste the bread at all! 

And it only had 19 total grams of carbs!!!  And only 100 calories!!!  And BIG flavor!!!  And soft!!!  It comes in three varieties, too — Soft 100% Whole Wheat, 7-Grain, and Whole Grain White. 

I have a new favorite sandwich bread!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  Try them out — I bet you like them, too!

I love eggs!!!  I can eat them at every meal and never get bored with them!  BUT – I am very particular about my eggs – you might say I’m an egg snob!  I don’t want a runny white OR a hard yolk!  I don’t like them scrambled, unless there is no other choice or I can’t have toast with them.  And I don’t want “stuff” on my eggs — why drown a perfectly good egg with something that is going to totally mask the delicious flavor?  So, no ketchup, Texas Pete, cheese, hollandaise sauce, or other junk on my eggs, please (except for omelets – that’s a different story!)!!! 

In restaurants I order them “over easy”….that usually gives me a nice solid white and a nice runny yolk to dunk my toast in!  Yep, I’m a toast dunker – so report me to the proper eaters police!  I try to show good manners when I eat – I chew with my mouth closed, I don’t talk with my mouth full, I don’t sop up my plate with my bread (well, except for when I’m eating eggs, that is), and I ensure the risk of half the contents of my fork/spoon falling off in my lap is as low as possible (although I rarely leave a meal that I don’t discover a little something on the front of my shirt – what’s up with that – leftovers belong in the fridge, not on my clothes!), etc……but I do love to dunk my toast in my eggs!  It is like a special privilege that I hold very dear and won’t apologize for!!!

Other ways I love eggs:  deviled eggs, egg salad, omelets, hard boiled (the white part only, though), fried egg sandwiches, and in things like macaroni and potato salad!

But my most favorite way to prepare eggs is to poach them!!!  I just had a plate of poached eggs on toast and it was an absolutely perfect breakfast!!!   Poached eggs are easy to prepare and they are usually easier to get done just the way you like them than when you fry them.  I take a small but deep frying pan, fill it with just enough water to just slightly cover the eggs and bring it to a boil on the stove.  Once the water is boiling nicely, I drop a couple eggs into the water – if I am cooking for multiple people, I do them separately – it is easier to get them just right if there is no more than 2-3 eggs in the pan at a time.  While they are cooking, I get the toast ready.  Once the water starts to boil up around the eggs good and they start to get solid, I like to loosen them from the bottom of the pan (I don’t know anyone else who does this, but I think it helps the process, so I do it) to let them float around in the boiling water!  I use a slotted spoon to lift them out of the water when they look like they are getting done – a jiggle them slightly on the spoon – if the white still jiggles, I lay them back in the water for a little bit longer!  The trick is to watch them closely and check them often to get them just right — otherwise, you can risk ending up with hard boiled eggs, instead!  When done, I place them on toast that is already prepared, buttered, and on the plate – one whole slice and one cut in half and placed on each side of the whole slice.  I sprinkle just a little salt and pepper on them and they are ready to go!!! 

A similar way to prepare eggs and have them come out with the “poached” effect is to baste them!  You can baste an egg if you only have a grill and don’t have a pan that you can poach them in!  I learned this technique when I worked at Woolcott’s Dairy during my senior year in high school – it is pretty cool!  You get the grill hot enough so that when you sprinkle water droplets on it they sizzle.  Treat the grill with a light film of butter or oil so that the eggs won’t stick, but not enough to actually fry them (actually using something like Pam is even better because it doesn’t add any fat).  Put the eggs on the grill and then sprinkle pieces of crushed ice around them on the grill.  Cover the eggs with a lid and let them steam until they are done the way you want them!  The steam bastes the eggs just like poaching them does!  Some people claim that basting is done by cooking the eggs in extra butter and then spooning the hot butter over the top of the eggs, but that just sounds gross to me and adds cholesterol and fat to the eggs.  This is a much better way to cook them – they look appealing (the top gets a film over the yolk, even though you don’t flip them), they are easy (no flipping, so no risk of breaking the yolk) and they are a healthy way to cook them – no added fats at all!

Thank you for joining my “Eggs 101″ class!

A couple weeks or so ago, Lindsay posted a great sounding Honeyed Pork Chop recipe on her blog – Anyone Hungry?.  In our comments to each other, we thought that the recipe might be really good done in a crock pot with a pork loin.  Well, I fixed the crock pot version for dinner today and it was GREAT!!!

Here is how I used the recipe in the crock pot:

Click here for Lindsay’s Honeyed Pork Chop recipe

I bought a really nice pork loin and browned it in a skillet.

I cut the loin in 1/2 so that it would lay flat in the bottom of the crock pot and added the chopped onions on top and around the meat.

I made the sauce per Lindsay’s recipe and then made another 1/2 batch of the sauce.  I poured the sauce over the meat and onions – it was just enough to just barely cover the meat.  (my crock pot has a narrow round base, so it didn’t take a lot of sauce.  if you have a bigger based crock pot – like the oval kind – you may want to make more sauce so that it nicely covers the meat)

I cooked it on low in the crock pot for about 8 1/2 hours.

I served it with peas, applesauce, and stuffing.  The meat fell apart as I took it out of the crock pot and it turned into more of a pulled pork than a sliced roast.  The meat was so tender and moist and had the most incredible flavor!!!

I’m sure the pork chop version is wonderful, too — but the crock pot version was amazing!!!

Try it — you won’t go wrong — it really makes a delicious (and very easy) dinner!

Here are some of my favorite holiday recipes:

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Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

One 3oz package of cream cheese
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp cold milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups cool whip
1 graham cracker pie crust
Two 4 serving size packages vanilla instant pudding
One 16 oz can pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

Mix cream cheese, 1 Tbsp milk and sugar until smooth.
Stir in cool whip
Spread on bottom of crust

Pour 1 cup milk into bowl
Add pudding
Beat until blended
Let stand 3 minutes

Stir in pumpkin and spices – mix well
Spread over cream cheese / cool whip mixture 
Refrigerate at least 2 hours 

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Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
1 cup oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup raisins

Mix all together until blended well
Pour into two (2) loaf pans – fill 1/2 full
Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean 

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Pumpkin Bread

2/3 cup shortening
2 2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
One 16 oz can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup raisins 

Mix all together until blended well
Pour into two (2) loaf pans – fill 1/2 full
Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean 

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This one is more for Christmas and I posted it last year, but thought it was worth including:

Egg Nog

6 eggs separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 quart whole milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 pint heavy whipping cream – whipped

Beat egg whites until stiff
Gradually add sugar
Beat and set aside

Beat egg yolks until thick
Fold into egg white mixture

Stir in milk and vanilla
Fold in whipped cream

Chill and serve

Optional additions:

Cinnamon and/or nutmeg – either add to mixture or sprinkle on each serving
Dollop of cool whip on each serving
Rum to taste 

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!