Margarita Cake

I get emails from the Betty Crocker Website every week or so with recipes; this month's recipe-theme was for Mother's day and there were a few cakes using margarita mix. That sounded exciting and perfect for my mom because she does not drink alcohol and is always sad when I make things that contain it; this recipe is completely non-alcoholic! All I had to buy was white cake mix, a lime, margarita mix, and whipped cream. Easy! I used the original mix, instead of strawberry flavored variety and ended up with a citrus-y light cake. Both my mom and my boyfriend's mom loved it.

Margarita Cake

1 box white cake mix
11/4 cups bottled nonalcoholic margarita mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
3 egg whites
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Additional grated lime peel, if desired

1.Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening and lightly flour (or spray bottom with baking spray with flour).

2.In large bowl, beat cake mix, margarita mix, oil, 1 tablespoon lime peel and the egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden brown and top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Frost with whipped topping; sprinkle with additional lime peel. Store covered in refrigerator.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 375°F. Decrease oil to 1/4 cup; use 4 egg whites.

* I used two 8inch pans instead of one 13 x 9, and baked them for 25 minutes.
* The original recipe calls for a pretzel crust, but I omitted that.









Strawberry Margarita Cakes

Doublewide Grill

There is a restaurant in Pittsburgh's Southside that I had been meaning to go to for a while. My boyfriend and I finally went, and it was awesome! They serve you your food on metal trays, and for about $15 you get 5 different things! The best thing on the menu is the Pineapple-Rum Sauce they put on their tilapia... I don't eat fish, but I tried a tiny bit of my boyfriend's and it was crazy good, I am going to try to re-create the recipe with this one I found online:

Pineapple Rum Glaze

2 tablespoons butter
1 small red onion, diced
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grilled pineapple, diced small
1/4 cup honey
3 ounces dark rum
1/2 cup pineapple juice
4 green onions, chopped
lemon or lime pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation
In a saucepot over medium heat, add the butter, red onion, shallots and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until the onions are soft, but not brown. Add the grilled pineapple, honey, dark rum, pineapple juice and green onions. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

St. Patrick's Day!

For St. Patrick's Day, my boyfriend and I went to a local bar, Callaghan's, for breakfast... Green Eggs and Ham!!! I had to take a pic of the food for my blog so here it is:



Despite the neon green coloring, everything tasted really good!!

Mint Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Around Christmastime, I ordered a Hershey's Calender, with just a few proof-of-purchases. The calendar has a recipe for each month, and for St. Patrick's Day, there were these cookies that you make with brownie mix. It seemed simple and they looked fun, so I made them and brought them into work, and gave some to my friends. Everyone liked them, but some people were not too thrilled with the minty icing, so maybe just keep it green, but don't add the extract!!

I have to type up the recipe, because I can't find it online, but here are some pictures for now:

Ashley's Wedding Reception

At the reception for my friend Ashley's wedding, I took a few pictures of the baked goods! Her wedding cake, a cookie tray, and a close up of my favorite cookie in the whole world!!!

Ashley's Wedding: Raspberry Mini-Cheesecakes

In February, one of my friends got married, and her mom asked if there was anything I wanted to make for the wedding. I couldn't think of anything and then I saw this recipe on the back of a Hershey's Kiss bag. I had the peppermint kisses, but I figured I could make the same cheesecakes with the white-chocolate raspberry ones, and make them in little foils so that there would be a lot. I bought graham cracker crumbs and added sugar and melted butter to them and then put a spoonful in each foil. Then I put the cheesecake mixture on top and I got nearly 4 1/2 dozen from this recipe!

To make them extra special for the wedding, I added one frozen raspberry to each mini cheesecake before baking, and they tasted really great!!



KISSES Candy Cane Swirl Cheesecake

Ingredients:

* COOKIE CRUMB CRUST(recipe follows)
* 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 eggs
* 42 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies, divided
* 1 tablespoon milk
* Sweetened whipped cream

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare COOKIE CRUMB CRUST.

2. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Set aside 1/4 cup batter; spread remaining batter in prepared crust.

3. Remove wrappers from candies. Place 30 candies and milk in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until candies are melted and mixture is well blended when stirred. Gradually blend reserved cheesecake batter into candy mixture. Drop candy mixture by tablespoonfuls onto vanilla batter. Gently swirl with knife for marbled effect.

4. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven to wire rack. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool completely; remove side of pan. Cover; refrigerate until chilled. Garnish with whipped cream and remaining candies. Cover; refrigerate leftovers. 10 to 12 servings.

* I only baked mine about 25 minutes
* The melted kisses do not retain their red color, they blend to look chocolaty.