Apple Spice Dump Cake

Hi guys! Long time, no see, right?

Yeaaah, don't get me started.

Anyway, I found this recipe from a long time ago when I went on an overnight hiking trip (which was really fun by the way -- it was very pretty). The food wasn't all that fantastic, but the best of it was the dump cakes we had. My favorite was this one -- apple spice dump cake. It's not terrific, but it'll get you by on a camping trip.

Me, I was starving, so it was great.

But it probably wouldn't be if I had it again. Besides, I was younger then and was willing to eat anything set before me. Now...not so much.

So, the cake.

DIRECTIONS FOR CAMPFIRE APPLE DUMP CAKE

You'll Need

• 1 can apple slices
• 1 bag/box spice cake mix 
• 1 stick butter, unsalted

Directions

1. dump apple slices into dutch oven
2. dump in cake mix, dry. Smooth over apple slices
3. cut butter into slices abt 1/2 inch thick, put them in dutch oven, checker-board style, starting in center and moving out
4. put lid on dutch oven, put on fire for 30 min
5. take off, serve, and

Enjoy!

Or you can do it at home.

DIRECTIONS FOR HOMEMADE DUMP CAKE
Note: this isn't homemade if you don't make the batter from scratch. Just so you know.

You'll Need

• as many apple slices as fit in 6 oz. can (1-2 small apples, I'd guess)
• 1 batch batter (I'd make my batter from scratch because that will boost the yummy but you do what works for you)
• 1 stick butter, unsalted

Directions

1. do steps 1-3 in the directions for campfire apple spice dump cake
2. put lid on dutch oven, put on stove for 30 min on 6 or set oven to 350° and bake for 30 min, checking to see if it's done (I say check it because I've never made this at home, so I have to guess)
3. Take out/off, serve, and

For additional flavors, you might want to try these combinations below. You can switch out the fruit for any other fruit you like. You can also switch out the cake mix, but make sure it doesn't clash with the fruit!

The first ingredient is the fruit, the second is the kind of cake mix. For example, "apple and spice". "Apple" is the fruit, while "spice" is the kind of cake mix.

1. peach and spice
2. raspberry and chocolate
3. blueberry and chocolate
4. apple and lemon
5. apple and white
6. peach and white
7. lemon and lemon
8. raspberry and lemon
9. pineapple and spice
10. strawberry and spice
11. raspberry and rhubarb

Mix and match, test the waters, and see what you like!

Key Lime Pie, Mom's Way

Happy Pi Day!

Because of it being Pi Day, I'm going to go back, delete my previous post on "Key Lime Pie, Mom's Way" and repost it here, because we're going to make it today, because it's easy and it's Pi Day, so why not?

And, I don't want to be repetitive, so to everyone who doesn't read this blog frequently (haha, I don't even read it frequently), it will just look like what everyone else is doing on Pi Day.

So, simplest pie ever for Pi Day.

Copied directly from Mom's recipe on paper to here. Enjoy!

You'll Need...

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 11 graham crackers)
• 3 T white granulated sugar
• 5 T unsalted butter, melted

Lime Filling

• 4 tsp grated lime zest
• 1/2 cup strained lime juice from 3-4 limes (if you use Key Limes, you need 11-12 limes)
• 4 egg yolks (the yellow part... haha, ask how I know)
• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Whipped Cream Topping

• 3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions...

CRUST
Heat oven to 325. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add melted butter, stir with fork until well-blended. Scrape into a 9" pie pan; press crumbs evenly over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake about 15 minutes, until just a shade darker. Cook to room temp, about 20 minutes. Leave oven on.

FILLING
whisk zest and yolks in medium until tinted green. (Isn't it pretty?) It'll take about 2 minutes. Don't skimp on time! Beat in milk, then juice; set aside for 10 min to thicken. Pour lime filling into cooled crust; bake until center is set, yet still wiggly when jiggled (look at all those "g"s! Onomotopoeia!) Cool to room temp and refigerate until cold, at least 3 hrs (at this point, you can cover with oiled plastic wrap directly on the filling and hold in the fridge for 24 hrs).

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
Up to 2 hrs before serving, whip cream to very soft (floppy) peaks. Add confectioners' sugar 1 Tbsp at a time while whipping to stiff peaks. Don't over-beat or it will be greasy. Spread over pie and serve.

Kitchen Tip - How To Make Almost-Best Scrambled Eggs Ever

I know, it sounds a whole lot like a recipe but trust me it's just how to add a little zing to your already-probably-perfect scrambled eggs.

Me, I don't know how to make eggs because I had to teach myself.

Like, have you ever ever ever heard of a recipe for scrambled eggs?

No.

You haven't. You just have not. It's not really anywhere in one of those cookbooks anywhere that you've ever heard of.

Because the thing is, it's kind of something you're like almost born with -- something you have to teach yourself.

And I did that.

But I think I taught myself wrong.

(wrongly?)

Anyway, to add some zing...

Kitchen Tip - How to Evenly Melt Butter (Microwave-style)

We've all had this trouble, haven't we?

Too little patience, too many ideas, a tempting microwave sitting right there...

That's the smooth and paved way to doom and you've probably taken it countless amounts of times, have you not. Just kidding, you probably haven't. Let me guess you've done it 0-5 times.

Well, I've done it two times and counting but I found a way to do it the right way.

I stumbled upon this convenient "life"hack a few days ago when I was making a batch of cookie dough (ee-yum -- we have the best recipe ever...but everyone says that, so I won't). I put in two sticks of butter and they both need to be softened -- it takes, oh, two hours?

On a good day.

Just kidding, I have no idea how long it takes to soften because I always leave it there and forget about it and then come back like five hours lady and it's softened. Whoooops. Oh well.

So, on that particular day that I was making the cookie dough, I decided I didn't have enough patience to get sidetracked and then wait a whole long time to have the butter soften and then start the process of making the cookie dough so I decided to give the microwave a go.

Now remember, I try to stay away from microwaves when I'm messing with softened butter because I always end up with a butter puddle. That's the way I roll when I'm trying to soften something.

I melt it.

But this time I was feeling adventurous and pressed for time (sort of -- not really, but I was telling myself I was pressed for time to give myself a boost of confidence and shake off that foreboding sense of doom) and so I popped the butter in the microwave.

5 Min or Less - Frozen Cappuccinos

I'm surprised I haven't posted this yet. I was sure (so sure that I even searched this blog just to make sure) that I had already posted this recipe.

If not, then I'll go ahead and do it, because everyone should have this recipe.

It's really good -- especially on a hot, hot melting summer day. The ones that are creeping up on us. Today it was -- is -- like, 70 out. It was terrific! I love summer. Cannot wait!

Serves: 4 (if you're serving in small glasses -- but it really serves 1, in a coke glass)
Time: 5 min, max

Ingredients

• ice cubes, a lot of 'em
• 1 t inst coffee
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1/4 c cream
• 1/4 c milk

Directions

1. fill the cup you'll be using to serve with ice cubes, up to the brim. Pour into the blender.
2. pour in sugar, cream, milk in that order (saves cup measures and cream -- explanation later)
3. dump in inst. coffee
4. pulse on high till smooth, or until ice breaks down (about 5 pulses)
5. pour into cup(s) and

 
You know how I told you to pour the sugar, cream, milk in that order into the blender because it saves cup measures and cream? And how I told you I'd explain it later? This is the later. One, it saves cup measures because you only need one cup measure to measure those three ingredients because once you've gotten the dry ingredients out of the way, you can measure lots of wet ingredients and reuse as you please. Second, it saves cream because you know how cream is thicker than milk? Well, that means cream's going to "stick" to your cup measure and leave a lot behind, unlike the milk (unless you're using 2% or whole, or anything other than skim -- I use skim. Can you tell?) which just slides right on out -- all of that white water that people slap a label on and call "milk". Or, more accurately, "skim". So if you use cream and then pour the milk in after you've used the measuring cup, it will act as a cleaner-outer and clean out all that cream and dump it in with the milk, cleaning the sides of the measuring cup, too. Simple, right? You betcha. Enjoy those dishes that aren't as much as you'd use if you had used two measuring cups -- one for the dry, one for the wet. You can thank me later. Like, this later, in the comments. winky face.

Two-Ingredient Cough Syrup

So sorry I haven't been active on here -- I've been wiped out by the flu for the past three days.

OK, raise your hand here if you've had the flu and nobody's seen you for a while.

Like, I haven't done anything except lie around the house which isn't a big help to some people, but at least I can just sleep. Nights are the worst though because my eyes are super watery and ache-y and who ever heard of falling asleep with your eyes open? No, really, it looks like either I'm crying or there is an onion nearby because my eyes will fill up with water when they're closed and then just leak. I'm turning into a fountain.

I wonder what the Wicked Witch of the West did when she got the flu?

Last night was horrible -- I went to bed around 10:30pm and didn't go to sleep until a little after midnight. Then I woke up at 3am, 4, 6:30, 8, and then 9:15.

That's the way I sleep when I have the flu.

What sucks is that I got sick two weeks ago, so to get sick again is not cool. It means I'll be stuck with a cough for four to five weeks because I always have a cough for a long time after I'm well.

Anyway, I'm still sick, so because of that, check it out...

Quick, Two-Ingredient Cough/Sore Throat Syrup.

Serves: depends on how much honey you put in, and I haven't made it in a while, but it's enough to last you for a couple of hours, depending on how fast you take it in
Time: 1-3 min

You'll Need

• a spoon
• a bowl, a little bigger than a ramekin
• a strainer
• a lemon squeezer or a juicer

Ingredients

• honey
• half a lemon

Directions

1. Squeeze lemon
2. Place strainer over bowl, pour squeezed lemon into bowl or pick out the seeds and pour the lemon in -- it's fine if there are lemon strings
3. Pour in honey until it's a tangy sweet. Taste as much as you want throughout the whole process. Won't hurt your throat if you do.

You might be uneasy about how much honey to put in so I'll just tell you something I find handy: stop pouring the honey in after a little bit, get a spoon, and try some. If it tastes sweet (like, honey sweet) and that's all, then you've added a little too much honey. In that case, just squeeze the other half of the lemon. Then taste it again after you've strained the other half of the lemon (that you just squeezed). This batch of cough syrup will last you one day and will be sticky if you get it on your pillow. So keep it in the bathroom at night. In the day time just keep it in the kitchen and away from little kids. If the mixture tastes a little tangy, then it's perfect. You want it to taste a little tangy. But even if it's sweet and not tangy at all, you don't have to put in the other half of lemon. The honey helps your cough and if you have a sore throat lemon helps too.

When you take the syrup stuff you want to drip it down your throat. Put it as far back on your tongue as you can without gagging. Then let it slide down your throat and try not to swallow until you have to and you should be good.

The cough/sore throat should go away relatively soon.