pound for pound

Another new recipe for you to enjoy!

As a Biggest Loser fan I also am a fan of the Pound for Pound Challenge. Honestly I should have signed up as I lost my baby weight. It would have been some free pounds anyway.

But the reason for this post is not about losing pounds, it's about baking some. Today Seth and I made pound cake - something I have never attempted to make before. It is a yummy treat and also a great way to use up a ton of eggs if you have too many around as I do...did. The crust is crunchy and the inside melts in your mouth. You MUST try it.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
(thanks to Family Circle Magazine)

makes 24 slices (2 loaf pans)
prep: 10 min
bake time: 1 hour 12 min.

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray; dust with flour and shake out excess. Set aside.

Lightly flour pans prevent sticking.

2. Stir together flour and salt; set aside. In small bowl, stir together eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Set aside.

My Kitchen Aid Stand mixer is the best for baking and this recipe is no exception.

3. Mix butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 6 minutes or until very light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and gradually pour in egg mixture. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Into a hot oven for more than an hour and then cooling time takes patience!

4. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans and smooth tops. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 30 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on rack.

So yummy the photo makes my mouth water...

blue in the face

Blueberry Pops, Martha Stewart Style

Today has been an all day rain fest so we are snug inside the kitchen. Seth's first request: more Popsicles please! Today we tried Blueberry Pops thanks to Martha Stewart. They are still freezing but if the taste of the blue goo we poured into our popsicle makers was any indication; they will be amazing.

The important step in this recipe is getting the "blue goo" for the Popsicle and leaving the skins and yuck behind. We used a sieve as Martha suggested. (I also used this method making homemade baby food with Seth and will be doing it again soon with Eli.)

This is how the finished product looked thanks to my handsome demonstrator!

Seth was a riot with the blueberries, considered by him to be a special treat. We have a huge bag a frozen blueberries that we use for the recipes. Thus I knew I had extra out on the counter for snacking but lo and behold the kid downed a pint of them while we were baking today! I think we can expect blue coming through, if you know what I mean...

The Blueberry Bandit!

The blue dude strikes again looking more like a dinosaur this time...

This photo was Seth's idea - I can't agree more. I love time with my big boy!

ice, ice baby

Summer days require special summer treats. Since I can't hardly justify a daily Dairy Queen we decided to make some fun treats of our own. Check out these simple recipies from my favorite, but now long gone magazine, Wondertime: Ice, Ice, Baby.

There are three recipes to try. We started with watermelon pops to help use up the enormous amount of watermelon we had leftover from Memorial Day weekend. Seth loves them!

I am fortunate to have a hand-me-down Vintage Tupperware set of Popsicle makers (from the 50's?!?) but these would be great to have too. So much fun and it isn't even summer yet... officially...

Apple Cake Perfection

Apple Cake Perfection

I made this cake for our ECFE group this past week and now I am making it again for a neighborhood party. It is full of apples and yummy spices that just melt in your mouth!

Apple Cake
Serves: 16
Prep Time: 20 min.
Total Time: 1 hour

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 lbs apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 by 13 in pan; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the apples, walnuts, butter and eggs; stir just until combined.

2. Spoon into pan; smooth with a spatula. Bake 40 to 45 min or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar to serve.

Notes:
Best apples for baking are hard and crisp so they retain their shape when baked. Gala and Golden Delicious are good choices however I have used Honey Gold both times myself.

Thanks to this handy Food Conversion chart I learned that 1 1/2 lbs of apples is equal to about 6 cups chunked.

All-Natural Play Clay

As we are once again stuck inside it's time to start pulling ideas out for...hmm... shall I say the "cold winter" months?! Yuck! Since we are in our Baking/Measuring Unit until the end of October it seemed appropriate to get into the kitchen. Today we tried a recipe I found in my Family Fun magazine called All-Natural Play Clay. It took a few tries to get it just right but the kids had fun being able to make it on their own and then play with it too. Check out the link and have some indoor fun!

Note: For the measuring cup challenged: 3/8 cup is the same as 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Hate to admit it, but I had to call my mom to figure that one out. Math genius I am NOT!

A Veggie Tip

With three hungry kids around the house five days a week, I am always looking for ways to cut corners in the kitchen. I find that we eat a lot of veggies but it can take ime to clean and cut them right before a meal. To save that time I now clean and cut my veggies when I come home from the store and place them with a small amount of water in quart size Ziploc bags. They can then be stacked in the fridge drawer where they are easy to pull out to dip or throw on a salad. It works great with sweet peppers, carrots, cucumbers and celery!

How are you saving time in the kitchen? I would love to know!