Recipes by Request

As per request, here are some recipes I've made lately.

A salad dressing for a spinach salad with craisins and sliced almonds. I adapted the recipe from Jamie's Cranberry Spinach Salad on allrecipes.


2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon powdered onion
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Mix all ingredients together and pour over salad. This makes enough dressing for several large salads.


Also, an awesome chili recipe adapted from Boilermaker Tailgate Chili on allrecipes.


1 pound ground beef 
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans in sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon bacon bits
2 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup water
1/8 cup chili powder
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon white sugar


Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground beef and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
Pour in the chili beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, bell peppers,  bacon bits, bouillon, and water. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.


If you're looking for a great cornbread recipe to go with your chili, I recommend this one found here, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/golden-sweet-cornbread/.


And lastly, a Pumpkin Pie, adapted from Paula Deen for using homemade pureed pumpkin.


1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups pureed pumpkin, from scratch
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.
Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Basketball Cake

Ezra recently turned 2. He loves balls. Especially basketballs. So he got a basketball birthday cake. It was a super quick cake job. And the chocolate wasn't cooperating. Good enough for a 2 year old.

Chocolate Flower Cups

I was first introduced to these chocolate flower cups at a Church Young Women's meeting. I knew I would have to try them myself sometime. So I used the hubby's birthday party as my excuse to try them out. The best part is that they are so simple for how impressive they look.

First blow up as many water balloons as you need. One to make each cup. Then, melt some candy melts or chocolate in a bowl. If you want multiple colors drizzle the different color chocolate on top. Take a balloon and place it in the chocolate. Tilt the balloon back and forth 4 times to create the petals.

Pull the balloon out of the chocolate and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. After the sheet is full of balloons stick it in the fridge for 5 minutes.

Cut the top of the balloon with scissors.

Carefully holding the base of the cup without putting too much pressure on the petals, pull the balloon away from the chocolate.

I found that some of the balloons would rip and get stuck to the chocolate. I simple scraped the balloons out. If any holes are made in the bottom of the cup, fill it with a little more melted chocolate and refreeze.

Then fill them with something delicious. I used pudding and fruit. You could also use ice cream, just fruit or any other yummy concoction. Make sure you let me know if you try it yourself!

Corn and Bean Salsa

This has to be my all time favorite recipe to make in the summer. It's so healthy and refreshing. I've seen several variations on this recipe and it's been called several different things too, one of which is Cowboy Salsa or Cowboy Caviar. Here's my version of it.

Corn and Bean Salsa

1 lg red pepper, thinly diced

1 lg green pepper, thinly diced

4 roma tomatoes, thinly diced

1 can corn or frozen corn

1 can black beans

1 can dark red kidney beans

6-8 oz balsamic vinaigrette

Stir it all together and refrigerate. Serve with chips or without. It's yummy enough to stand on it's own. I use a fat free balsamic vinaigrette and it is wonderful. Use as much or as little dressing as you like.

Best White Cake Recipe Ever

So I've been promising to post this recipe for some of you. Sorry it's taken so long. I don't know how I get so busy and preoccupied. Seriously, I only play with my children all the time.

This is the recipe I used for Mikey and Petra's wedding cake. I found it on the web in several different places. You can find it at food.com.

White Sour Cream Wedding Cake

1 box white cake mix

1 c all purpose flour

1 c granulated sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/3 c water

1/8 c vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 c sour cream

4 large egg whites

Stir dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. Add remaining ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325. Depending on what pan size you are baking in it can take anywhere from 20-60 minutes. So watch your cake.

*Just a reminder. When baking, for best results always use the most fattening products, unless other wise specified. ---Use the real fattening sour cream.

Lemon/Lime Wedding Cake

My brother Mikey just got married. Hooray! Mikey and Petra decided on a lemon/lime reception theme. It was awesome. I'm wishing I would have taken some pictures of it all. They asked me to do the cake. To say I was a little intimidated would be a major understatement. But since Mike and Petra were so cool and laid back about the whole thing, I was able to keep my calm. The cake was their idea and I just embellished it.

Love Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Valentines. I know that was long ago, but here they are anyway. Super simple, yet fun. All you need is chocolate cupcakes, a can of fudge frosting, and some white chocolate or candy melts.

Simply, heat up the fudge frosting in the microwave for a few seconds, and stir. Dip the cupcakes in the melted frosting. (You'll probably need to transfer the frosting into a bigger bowl for easier dipping.) Melt the white chocolate. Put into a squeeze bottle, or a piping bag and write love on the cupcakes.

You could write all kinds of messages on the cupcakes for almost any occasion! So fun!