Fathers Day Treats: German Pancakes and Macaroons June 17, 2012

Happy Father’s Day!
I love German pancakes. They are so fluffy and if you let them cook a little too long, they will rise up and look really cool. We let our pancakes cook a little too long and thus, our cool picture was made. We got the pancake recipe from our friend Sherry. The pancakes are fantastic; you can top with any of your favorite toppings.
I love macaroons, coconut is so yummy. It reminds me of tropical island vacations and the beach. Our dad loves macaroons . The macaroon recipe is from the Lion House. At first, I wasn’t sure if the macaroons would turn out; however, they did turn out and they are so good! I was hoping for a comparison to the macaroons at Disneyland and I found my match which made me happy. To make the chocolate macaroons, we melted chocolate chips in the microwave, and spread the chocolate on top of the macaroons. These macaroons are so simple to make, but be warned, your hands might get a little sticky.
Sorry for the overlapping categories.

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Sherry’s German Pancakes

Preheat oven to 400.

Spray a 9-13 glass pan. Put two Tbsps butter in the pan. Put the pan in the oven as it warms.

In a bowl, mix

6 eggs

1 cup flour (gluten free flour)

4 Tbsps sugar

1 cup milk

4 Tbsps melted butter

Pour the batter into the pan after the oven has reached 400 and cook for 10-15 minutes. (We topped the pancakes with banana slices).

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Easy Macaroons from the Lion House

1 pint pineapple sherbet, softened (or you can use orange, raspberry, or vanilla)

1 pkg. (18¼ oz) White cake mix (gluten free)

2 tsp. Almond extract

6 cups flaked coconut

In a large mixing bowl, combine sherbet, almond extract and dry cake mix; mix well. Stir in coconut. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake 350-degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to finish cooling. The flavor of these cookies can be changed by changing the flavor of sherbet or use 1 pint vanilla ice cream for plain macaroons. Makes 3 ½ dozen. (We used Vanilla ice cream and the macaroons were delicious)!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Chips…or not and Chicken Tortilla Casserole June 14, 2012

This weekend was crazy, full of baking! First, I had to make chocolate chip cookies so a friend and I could take a meal to someone. Next, I made four pumpkin bundt cakes, for our neighborhood walk about. That’s where a few houses volunteer to serve treats and everyone walks around and mingles. While the first batch of bundt cakes was baking, I made a chicken tortilla casserole. My sister was studying for midterms, so she had the task of reading the recipes to me and checking on my progress. I got everything made, but it took a couple hours and made my kitchen messy.

The bundt cake in the picture has chocolate chips, but I made two plain bundt cakes to go along with the pair of chocolate chip cakes. The bundt cake tastes wonderful with or without chocolate chips. My sister found this recipe.
The chicken tortilla casserole comes from our family friend Pam. I believe this recipe will be a new meal in our “Sunday Dinner” rotation. We haven’t made the casserole in years; however, everyone was stoked when we were digging into it!

I’m not putting a recipe up for the chocolate chip cookies. I used pre-made cookie dough because I didn’t have time to make my own dough, and it was much easier. Plus, everyone has a good chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Sorry for the overlapping categories.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Chips… or not.

1 yellow cake mix (gluten free)

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

1 3.4 ounce package of vanilla instant pudding

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil (applesauce)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Optional: 4 ounces chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Icing

4 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese

1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350. Coat 9 inch bunt pan with spray and flour.

In a bowl, add cake mix, pumpkin, pudding, water, and oil. Mix for a few seconds, then add eggs, vanilla cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Mix until blended. Turn mixer on high and mix until very smooth. Pour cake batter into coated bundt pan. Bake about 60-65 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool about 10 minutes. Loosen all sides with a flat knife and put cake on a plate.

Frosting:

Whip cream cheese till smooth, add powdered sugar, milk, and mix until smooth. Should be somewhat thick. Drizzle frosting all over top of cake. (This is the best frosting we’ve found).

Enjoy!

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Pam’s Chicken Tortilla Casserole

4 chicken breasts cooked and cut up (or shredded)

3 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 13 ounce can evaporated milk

2 4 ounce cans diced green chiles (mild)

1 dozen flour tortillas cut into strips (You only need about 6-8 tortillas. Use corn tortillas if gluten free.)

3/4 pound sharp cheese shredded

1 Tbsp chile powder

1 onion chopped (or you can use the dry onions)

2 Tbsps jalapino green taco sauce

In a bowl, mix soup, milk, chilly powder, onion and taco sauce.

Layer the chicken, tortillas, chilies, cheese, and soup mixture. Repeat that again. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies June 3, 2012

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade; or, you could make these lemon cookies!

I saw this recipe online and decided to try it. I have always liked things that are citrus flavored and I thought these lemon cookies would be perfect for summer. The cookies are soft light snacks, with lemon in them. We are talking about lemon here. So make the cookies and then how about some lemonade.

Summer is in the air folks, get baking!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Makes 2-3 dozen
Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1½ cups all-purpose flour (gluten free all purpose baking flour)
½ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or use parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix. Stir in all dry ingredients except the powdered sugar until combined. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a teaspoon sized ball of dough into a bowl with the powdered sugar, roll to coat. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 8-9 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Enjoy!