Blog Hiatus

I'm going to take a few weeks off (this week and next week -- maybe longer, but I'll tell you when the time comes) for a break and a vacation. This week is going to be really busy getting ready for the vacation and next week will be the vacation. I might take a longer one because I'm getting a little tired of blogging and because I only have so many recipes I can post.

But I have a delicious recipe (obviously -- I'm not going to give you something gross) for pumpkin bread and another for... well, I'm calling it pasta soup (because there's pasta salad, so what about soup?) but my mom said it actually tastes pretty similar to Hamburger Helper and since I personally don't like Hamburger Helper, I'm not going to call it that and turn off potential eaters by giving it the wrong title. So.

I'll see you in two weeks! Until then,

(like, your break)

Decadent Hot Chocolate Rewrite

Updated the Decadent Hot Chocolate recipe, if you guys want better cocoa (if I do say so myself -- though the America's Test Kitchen one was pretty good too).

Check it out and tell me what you think!

Salted Caramel - My Way

You may remember my post on our favorite salted caramel recipe?

Well, that wasn't exactly the recipe we use. That's why I'm here. Like, that's why this post is here. That's why I wrote this post.

This is exactly the recipe we use.

More or less.

You'll Need

• 1 stick butter, unsalted
• 1/2 c light brown sugar
• 1/2 c granulated (white) sugar
• 1 c cream
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Melt the butter
2. Dump in sugars, stir, mix in
3. Stir until sugar mix starts to get a little bit hard. You'll know when it gets "hard" because the mix will start sliding off of your spatula, leaving close to nothing behind when you pull it up out of the mix (tell me you do that too because if you don't, I have no idea how to explain what "hard" means here)
4. Once it's "hard", add cream, stir until boiling. Keep stirring, even after it's started boiling, then after a little bit of stirring (30-60 seconds?), turn off heat.
5. Add salt, stir until salt is well mixed in.
6. Pour into quart jar, store in fridge until needed.

For Heating Directions

1. Put jar in microwave
2. Microwave for 30 min, no more
3. If it's not runny and easy to use, put it in for 30 seconds more, but BE VERY CAREFUL -- you can overheat it and then it's "hard" and gloppy and gross
4. Take out, serve and

Salted Caramel is great for...

1. drinks
   
   1. (hot) coffee
   2. cold coffee
   3. hot chocolate/cocoa
   4. cappuccinos (frozen)
2. frosting/topping (see #1 under #10)
3. decor on cake
4. candy
5. desserts
   
   1. ice cream sundae
   2. mug cake
   3. cake
      
      1. or, decor on cake (see #5)
   4. pie (pecan pie - yum!)
   5. pizookies
6. sweet dips
   
   1. cookie dough dip and the like
7.  or your mouth!

March Wrap-Up

Think of all the wonderful stuff you've accomplished in March...

Now think of all the stuff I've accomplished in March!

Still nothing?

Just to get you started, here are a few things I've done to this blog -- all in March.

March 2 -

• Repost: Two-Ingredient Cough Syrup

March 8 -

• Post: 5 Min or Less - Frozen Cappuccinos

March 10 -

• Came up with the FIRST Kitchen Tip! (see below)
• Post: Kitchen Tip - How to Evenly Melt Butter (Microwave-Style)

March 11 -

• Made scrambled eggs, inspiration for the second Kitchen Tip (see below)
• Post: Kitchen Tip - How to Make Almost-Best Scrambled Eggs Ever

March 14 -

• It's Pi Day!
• Made two key lime pies, ate one (with help, not by myself!)
• Repost: Key Lime Pie, Mom's Way

March 22 -

• Post: Apple Spice Dump Cake

March 31 -

• Made 2016 SPRING BANNER! (aw yaya!)

So, that's it. April Fool's, that's not it! ...but, that's it for March. ;)

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...