Sour Cream Pound Cake

Posted on January 11, 2023 by sparecake

Using up some sour cream, I lucked into a winner of a recipe in the process! This cake uses what feels like a ridiculous amount of sugar and eggs, but it comes together to be a really nice texture, and not overly sweet at all. This cake would be a good to pair with almost any flavor of frosting/icing – I went for an orange icing that was nice!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12 cup bundt pan well.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. (I actually did 2 at a time…)

Add the flour in 2 batches, beating on low speed until just incorporated. Add the salt and baking soda and again beat until just combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat one final time until just combined, with no streaks left.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake 75-85 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test. I ended up giving mine 80.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely before adding the frosting/icing of your choice.

Sour Cream Bundt

From Grandbaby Cakes.

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 3 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12 cup bundt pan well.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add the flour in 2 batches, beating on low speed until just incorporated. Add the salt and baking soda and again beat until just combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat one final time until just combined, with no streaks left.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake 75-85 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely before adding the frosting/icing of your choice.

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Chocolate Mousse Squares

Posted on January 4, 2023 by sparecake

Rich chocolatey floof with an oreo crust, that makes enough for a party or leftovers for a whiiiiile. (And as long as it’s covered, it does last well in the fridge!)

Ingredients:

Crust:

  • 1 14 ounce size package of Oreos
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Chocolate Mousse:

  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
  • 3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 4 cups mini marshmallows
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 4 cups heavy cream, well chilled, divided
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

To make the crust, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 18×13″ sheet pan. Combine the crust ingredients in a food processor and process until well crushed, like the texture of sand.

Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake 10 minutes. I found that it was only just barely enough to cover the pan, with a few tiny gaps, but the crust expanded a bit while baking and filled in the gaps. Let the baked crust cool completely, at least 15 minutes.

To make the filling, combine the butter, chocolate chips, marshmallows, milk and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until well melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool to room temperature. (It would cool faster if you transferred to another bowl, but who wants to make that extra dish to clean?)

Meanwhile, beat 3 of the cups of cream to stiff peaks.

Fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture, and spread evenly over the cooled crust.

Let chill in the refrigerator, uncovered, at least an hour, up to a day. In that time, the mousse will firm up enough that if you then cover it, the plastic wrap won’t stick.

When ready to serve, beat up the remaining cup of heavy cream with the sugar to stiff peaks, then use to decorate/top. A tip I got from my mom that works well here is, if you’re not going to serve/eat all that whipped cream right then, once it’s beaten to stiff peaks, beat in a spoonfull of vanilla or white chocolate pudding powder – this will keep the whipped cream from separating (oozing liquid), so you can top the dessert and not have to worry about the whipped cream going weird before you’ve gotten through all the leftovers. Additionally, if you’re going to be bringing this dessert with you, you can scoop the whipped cream into a ziplock, get where you’re going, and cut a corner off the ziplock to use as a piping bag, and squeeze it onto the mousse when ready to serve. (I cut off an excessively large corner, so my decorating was a ridiculous joke.)

Scoop, trying not to eff up the surface of your sheet pan, and enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse Squares

From Sheet Pan Sweets.

Crust:

  • 1 14 ounce size package of Oreos
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Chocolate Mousse:

  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
  • 3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 4 cups mini marshmallows
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 4 cups heavy cream, well chilled, divided
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

To make the crust, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 18×13″ sheet pan. Combine the crust ingredients in a food processor and process until well crushed, like the texture of sand. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake 10 minutes. Let the baked crust cool completely, at least 15 minutes.

To make the filling, combine the butter, chocolate chips, marshmallows, milk and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until well melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, beat 3 of the cups of cream to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture, and spread evenly over the cooled crust. Let chill in the refrigerator, uncovered, at least an hour, up to a day.

When ready to serve, beat up the remaining cup of heavy cream with the sugar to stiff peaks, then use to decorate/top.

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Corn Pudding

Posted on December 28, 2022 by sparecake

One of the cookbooks we cooked out of in my library’s cookbook potluck book club this fall had a bunch of recipes that sounded good, but ended up needing a lot of changes to actually make them work. It appears I didn’t even write down the name of the book, it was so annoying, but if you followed the directions from that book you’d have to clean your whole oven anyway because her dish side was wildly inappropriate, so…no credit to her.

The recipe calls for 1 can of creamed corn and one of sweet corn. I canned A LOT of creamed corn at work at some point, which is sort of somewhere in between the texture of what you’d get from regular/commercial creamed and canned corn, so I have just been using two cans of my own creamed corn.

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 14 ounce can creamed corn
  • 1 14 ounce can sweet corn
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 8.5 ounce box of Jiffy cornbread mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ dish well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and corns and stir together.

Stir in the sour cream, eggs, sugar, and salt.

Stir in the box of Jiffy until just combined.

Pour into the greased dish.

Bake until golden on top, and nearly set in the center, about 35 minutes. It may still look jiggly, but if a knife inserted 2″ away from the center comes out clean, you’re good.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

I’ve made this several times lately, and I’m not sick of it yet! If you want to make it more meal-like, toss on some shredded chicken, bbq sauce, and a bit of shredded cheddar and hey presto!

Corn Pudding

 

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 14 ounce can creamed corn
  • 1 14 ounce can sweet corn
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 8.5 ounce box of Jiffy cornbread mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ dish well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and corns and stir together. Stir in the sour cream, eggs, sugar, and salt. Stir in the box of Jiffy until just combined, then pour into the greased dish. Bake until golden on top, and nearly set in the center, about 35 minutes. It may still look jiggly, but if a knife inserted 2″ away from the center comes out clean, you’re good.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

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Economical Gold Cake with Luscious Lemon Frosting

Posted on December 21, 2022 by sparecake

A very nice, fluffy, yolks-only cake from a 1933 cookbook I got from a friend earlier this year. This is the second thing I’ve made from the book, and both have turned out very well! I was a bit worried that the amount of lemon juice in the frosting would be too sour, but I was underestimating the amount of powdered sugar – plenty sweet, with a nice flavor!

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter or other shortening, room temperature (I used some vegan butter I wanted to get out of the fridge)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 egg yolks, beaten until thick and lemon-colored
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:

  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, divided
  • dash of salt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water

In general with these old cookbooks, they have you sift the flour both before measuring, so it’s fluffy and not tightly packed in the measuring cup, and then to combine with other dry ingredients (in this case, the baking powder). Sometimes I do, this time I skipped – I kind of assume that they’ve had 90 years to figure out how to avoid clumping so it’s less important. If you don’t sift before measuring, though, just be cautious not to let your 2 cups get heaping, as you already may have a bit more flour than the recipe writer intended.

Grease an 8×8″ pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour with the baking powder and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the beaten egg yolks and beat well. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 of milk, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Spread in the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until the edges are browned and start to pull away from the walls of the pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, first beat together the zest and butter.

Beat in 1 cup of the powdered sugar and the salt. Beat in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and the water, then another cup of powdered sugar. Add the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, then beat in the final cup of powdered sugar, and frost your cake.

Economical Gold Cake with Luscious Lemon Frosting

Fractionally adapted from All About Home Baking.

Cake:

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter or other shortening, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 egg yolks, beaten until thick and lemon-colored
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:

  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, divided
  • dash of salt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water

Grease an 8×8″ pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour with the baking powder and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg yolks and beat well. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 of milk, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Spread in the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until the edges are browned and start to pull away from the walls of the pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, first beat together the zest and butter. Beat in 1 cup of the powdered sugar and the salt. Beat in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and the water, then another cup of powdered sugar. Add the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, then beat in the final cup of powdered sugar, and frost your cake.

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Japchae Hotteok

Posted on December 14, 2022 by sparecake

These would probably take several tries to get perfect looking, and I’m all out of the right noodles so that isn’t happening right now, but they’re VERY DELICIOUS so I’m going to share and we can all slowly perfect our japchae pancake making together over time!

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 teaspoons neutral tasting oil (=veg, canola, etc.)
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp
  • 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) bread flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • additional oil for frying

Filling:

  • 3 ounces dangmyeon noodles (Korean sweet potato noodles – Amazon has them if you don’t have a local Asian market)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon mirin (if you don’t have mirin, use rice vinegar and an extra pinch of sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 ounce carrot, finely chopped (I just bought shredded carrots, I needed most of the bag for something else anyway)
  • 1 ounce finely chopped chives
  • 2 green onions finely sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

To make the dough, combine the water, yeast, milk, and sugar in a small container and stir together. Set aside ~10 minutes until foamy, then add the oil and butter. (I only almost forgot the fats!)

Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.

When the yeast mixture is ready, slowly pour it in while stirring with a rubber spatula, then keep stirring another 5 minutes until very smooth. Cover, and let rise ~45 minutes until doubled. (As usual, an oven with just the light on is a good, slightly toasty place for letting dough rise, as long as you don’t accidentally preheat the oven with your bowl still in it!)

While the dough rises, prepare the filling. First, cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Remove them from the water when cooked, put in a medium bowl, and toss with the sesame oil.

Either while the noodles cook or after, make their sauce by combining the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and mirin in a small dish and stirring together.

Place a medium skillet over medium-low heat and heat the tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the noodles and sauce and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Transfer the sauced noodles back to their bowl. Cut the noodles into short pieces using kitchen shears. Add the onion, carrot, chives, green onion, and pepper, and stir to combine. At this point, you’ve made quite tasty japchae, and you’ve got enough to spare a few bites to try.

When the dough is doubled, prepare your workspace.

You’re going to be shaping little ball/blob/pancakes, and you’ll need a greased surface (like a plate/cookie sheet sprayed with baking spray) to put them on until they’re ready to go into the pan. You’ll also need a large nonstick skillet with enough oil in it to cover the bottom, heated to medium. Additionally, you’ll need cooling racks or paper towels for the cooked pancakes to wind up on. Finally, you’ll need a spatula!

Grease your hands and grab 2 – 2 1/2 ounce portions of the dough. Flatten it out into a circle in your hand and put 1 tablespoon of filling into the center. Gently draw the sides of the dough up to seal them together into one ball. This dough seemed way too gloopy for that to be possible at first glance, but it did end up working!

Shape the filled balls of dough, then put 2-3 in the waiting skillet – you’re going to flatten them later, so even if it looks now like you have room for more, that may be risky! Cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown, then flip. Flatten, by pressing down with the spatula, until about 3/4″ thick, and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until golden on the other side. Remove cooked pancakes to your racks/paper towels, and repeat with the remaining balls.

While eating these hot, straight from the stove is ideal, they actually held up well for several days. Leftovers are better if either toasted back up on the stove, or in a toaster oven.

Realistically, your kitchen is going to be a bit of a mess, but it’s totally worth it!

Japchae Hotteok

From Simply Korean.

Dough:

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 teaspoons neutral tasting oil (=veg, canola, etc.)
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp
  • 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) bread flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • additional oil for frying

Filling:

  • 3 ounces dangmyeon noodles (Korean sweet potato noodles – Amazon has them if you don’t have a local Asian market)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon mirin (if you don’t have mirin, use rice vinegar and an extra pinch of sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 ounce carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 ounce finely chopped chives
  • 2 green onions finely sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

To make the dough, combine the water, yeast, milk, and sugar in a small container and stir together. Set aside ~10 minutes until foamy, then add the oil and butter.

Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. When the yeast mixture is ready, slowly pour it in while stirring with a rubber spatula, then keep stirring another 5 minutes until very smooth. Cover, and let rise ~45 minutes until doubled.

While the dough rises, prepare the filling. First, cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Remove them from the water when cooked, put in a medium bowl, and toss with the sesame oil.

Either while the noodles cook or after, make their sauce by combining the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and mirin in a small dish and stirring together.

Place a medium skillet over medium-low heat and heat the tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the noodles and sauce and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the sauced noodles back to their bowl. Cut the noodles into short pieces using kitchen shears. Add the onion, carrot, chives, green onion, and pepper, and stir to combine. At this point, you’ve made quite tasty japchae, and you’ve got enough to spare a few bites to try.

When the dough is doubled, prepare your workspace. You’re going to be shaping little ball/blob/pancakes, and you’ll need a greased surface (like a plate/cookie sheet sprayed with baking spray) to put them on until they’re ready to go into the pan. You’ll also need a large nonstick skillet with enough oil in it to cover the bottom, heated to medium. Additionally, you’ll need cooling racks or paper towels for the cooked pancakes to wind up on. Finally, you’ll need a spatula!

Grease your hands and grab 2 – 2 1/2 ounce portions of the dough. Flatten it out into a circle in your hand and put 1 tablespoon of filling into the center. Gently draw the sides of the dough up to seal them together into one ball.

Shape the filled balls of dough, then put 2 in the waiting skillet – you’re going to flatten them later, so even if it looks now like you have room for more, that may be risky! Cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown, then flip. Flatten, by pressing down with the spatula, until about 3/4″ thick, and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until golden on the other side. Remove cooked pancakes to your racks/paper towels, and repeat with the remaining balls.

While eating these hot, straight from the stove is ideal, they actually held up well for several days. Leftovers are better if either toasted back up on the stove, or in a toaster oven.

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Easy Mug Omelette Rice

Posted on November 9, 2022 by sparecake

A couple weeks ago I watched a video of 6 Japanese recipes that all used eggs as a main ingredient and took ~15 minutes to cook. There was a tasty looking rice breakfast thing that, as cooked in the video, would be super annoying to make every day – cooking the rice and bacon and a little bit of onion every day? No thanks! So, I took the rough idea and mass cooked the rice part, so there’s more like 2 minutes of prep per morning after the initial prep work, and you’ll get 5-6 hot, filling, tasty breakfasts out of it. Hooray! There is a ton of ingredient overlap between this and the rice cakes I ate for breakfast every day for years, but that’s definitely sweet, where this is savory.

I dunno if it’s necessary to let anyone worried about the shine know that that’s melty cheese, not uncooked egg…

Ingredients:

Rice Mixture:

  • 1 cup raw sushi rice, plus water called for on package (1 1/3 cups probably)
  • 1/3 pound bacon
  • 1/2 an onion, diced
  • at least 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 can sweet corn (thawed frozen corn would be fine too)

Final Prep (you’ll need this each day)

  • 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon mayo

(don’t actually bother measuring any of those – you’re basically pouring as small an amount of milk and as small a squeeze of mayo as are practical)

In a small pot, cook the rice according to package directions. While the rice cooks, cut up the bacon and cook until crispy. I prefer to just cut the bacon directly over the pan using kitchen shears. Remove the bacon from the pan and let drain on paper towels. Pour off most of the grease, then cook the onion over medium heat in the same pan until softened and lightly browned.

Once the rice is cooked, stir in the ketchup, then the bacon, onion, and corn, until evenly mixed through. Transfer to a container to store in the fridge.

For breakfast, spoon some of the rice mixture into a mug, leaving at least a half inch clear space at the top. Sprinkle the cheese over the rice mixture.

In a small dish, beat together the egg, sugar, milk, and mayo with a fork.

Pour over the cheese on the rice mixture. Some will run down into the rice, which is fine.

Microwave 2 1/2-3 minutes (my microwave needs 2 1/2). While the dish cooks, if you want you can prepare the next day’s egg mixture, then cover and throw into the fridge.

Once cooked, feel free to top/decorate with more ketchup. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

Ok I admit it’s ugly, but it tastes good!

Easy Mug Omelette Rice

Roughly based on this site.

Rice Mixture:

  • 1 cup raw sushi rice, plus water called for on package (1 1/3 cups probably)
  • 1/3 pound bacon
  • 1/2 an onion, diced
  • at least 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 can sweet corn (thawed frozen corn would be fine too)

Final Prep (you’ll need this each day)

  • 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon mayo

In a small pot, cook the rice according to package directions. While the rice cooks, cut up the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and let drain on paper towels. Pour off most of the grease, then cook the onion over medium heat in the same pan until softened and lightly browned.

Once the rice is cooked, stir in the ketchup, then the bacon, onion, and corn, until evenly mixed through. Transfer to a container to store in the fridge.

For breakfast, spoon some of the rice mixture into a mug, leaving at least a half inch clear space at the top. Sprinkle the cheese over the rice mixture. In a small dish, beat together the egg, sugar, milk, and mayo with a fork. Pour over the cheese on the rice mixture. Some will run down into the rice, which is fine. Microwave 2 1/2-3 minutes. While the dish cooks, if you want you can prepare the next day’s egg mixture, then cover and throw into the fridge. Once cooked, feel free to top/decorate with more ketchup. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

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Oreo Bars

Posted on October 26, 2022 by sparecake

Real easy, one bowl, super tasty Oreo bars. Just what I wanted! I made this, but the time/temp listed in the original recipe were very wrong, so I made it again to fix that but doubled it when I did, because…of course?

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 30 Oreos, roughly chopped
  • chocolate chips of choice

This is only half the needed Oreos!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13″ dish with parchment paper or foil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and the brown sugar.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla as well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, whisking until combined.

Gently fold in the Oreos.

Transfer the dough into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle whatever type of chocolate chip you like over the top, if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center (but not into a chocolate chip) comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then slice and serve.

Oreo Bars

Adapted from I Heart Naptime.

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 30 Oreos, roughly chopped
  • chocolate chips of choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13″ dish with parchment paper or foil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and the brown sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla as well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, whisking until combined. Gently fold in the Oreos, then transfer the dough into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle whatever type of chocolate chip you like over the top, if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center (but not into a chocolate chip) comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then slice and serve.

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Chicken Parmesan Lasagna

Posted on October 12, 2022 by sparecake

So, admittedly I do already have a Chicken Parm-asagna post from years ago on here, and it’s real good. But I got a recent mailing from my supermarket that included a recipe for chicken parm stuffed shells, which sounded really good even when I ran headlong into the fact that the store doesn’t carry the jumbo pasta shells they call for in the recipe. They do, however, have lasagna noodles, so here we are! This version has panko spread on top, which I really liked on the first day when they were still crunchy! I prepared this as a make-ahead thing, so you can just take it out of the fridge, at the finishing touch, and chuck it in the oven for a quick dinner when you get home from work. The leftovers held up well to being chucked in tupperware and hauled around up to Michigan and back!

The recipe uses some pre-shredded chicken. I am a big supporter of throwing a bunch of chicken breasts in a crockpot on low for a work day, shredding it when I get home, and freezing 1-2 breasts-worth in their own tupperware for upcoming recipes. It turns out real handy for me!

Ingredients:

  • 1 24 ounce jar spicy marinara sauce, divided
  • 2 cups ricotta
  • 1 1/2 cups Italian style blend shredded cheese, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
  • 1 cup cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • boiled lasagna noodles
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Grease a 9×13″ baking dish, then spread enough of the marinara into the dish to cover the bottom when you spread it around.

In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Italian cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, the chicken, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Spread a layer of lasagna noodles in the prepared dish. Top with half of the cheese/chicken mixture, then a layer of the pasta sauce.

Add another layer of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Top with a final layer of noodles, some more sauce, and the remaining 1/2 cup each of the two shredded cheeses. Cover and throw in the fridge overnight.

When you’re about ready to eat, Sprinkle the panko over the top.

Place in a cold oven. Turn on to 400, and bake for 30 minutes (starting the timer without waiting for the oven to preheat). Slice and serve.

Chicken Parmesan Lasagna

Adapted from some Kroger flier recipe.

  • 1 24 ounce jar spicy marinara sauce, divided
  • 2 cups ricotta
  • 1 1/2 cups Italian style blend shredded cheese, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
  • 1 cup cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • boiled lasagna noodles
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Grease a 9×13″ baking dish, then spread enough of the marinara into the dish to cover the bottom when you spread it around.

In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Italian cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, the chicken, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Spread a layer of lasagna noodles in the prepared dish. Top with half of the cheese/chicken mixture, then a layer of the pasta sauce. Add another layer of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Top with a final layer of noodles, some more sauce, and the remaining 1/2 cup each of the two shredded cheeses. Cover and throw in the fridge overnight.

When you’re about ready to eat, Sprinkle the panko over the top. Place in a cold oven. Turn on to 400, and bake for 30 minutes (starting the timer without waiting for the oven to preheat). Slice and serve.

 

 

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Chicken Tamale Pie

Posted on August 31, 2022 by sparecake

A really satisfying, warm, cheesy, chicken-y dinner! The ingredient list may look long, but the cornbread comes together quickly and then I was able to just about get the sauce done while the cornbread cooked, and the chicken bit down while the sauce cooked, so it felt like it all went speedily enough. My pro-tip as far as the chicken goes is, get a whole bunch of chicken breasts, throw them plain into a crockpot for 3 hours on high/6 on low, shred all the meat, and put 1-2 breasts worth into tupperwares and into the freezer for this and SO MANY other meals when it’s handy to just pull out the chicken all ready to go.

Ingredients:

Cornbread:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup finely ground cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup canned corn (if you have the energy to grill your own corn on the cob, go that way, but it’s not for me)
  • 4 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese

Enchilada sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
  • 15 ounces tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Chicken layer:

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1/3 cup canned corn
  • 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
  • 6 ounces freshly grated white cheddar cheese
  • sliced green onions for topping
  • fresh cilantro for topping (no thx)
  • lime wedges for spritzing (not for me)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Start making the cornmeal by whisking together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined.

I used our Jimmy Red cornmeal from work, hence the color.

Fold in the corn and cheese, then pour into a 10 inch cast iron skillet.

Bake 15-18 minutes, or until just set. (I only own 9 and 12 inch skillets and went with the bigger one to avoid the risk of the ingredients overflowing a smaller pan – if you have to do the same, just check your cornbread at or before the shortest end of the timeframe to avoid burning.)

The corn kernels stick out quite dramatically with this cornmeal!

While the cornbread bakes, heat the olive oil a large saucepan over medium heat for the enchilada sauce. Add the flour and stir until golden brown, around 2 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients for the sauce and stir together, then bring to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to low and cook at least 5 more minutes, or until the cornbread is ready.

While the sauce cooks, stir together the chicken, green chiles, the remaining corn, and 2 ounces of the cheese.

When the sauce and cornbread are ready, poke holes all over the cornbread and drizzle 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce on/into the cornbread.

Stir another cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture.

Spread the chicken mixture over the cornbread.

Pour all the remaining sauce on top, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with green onions and cilantro, and serve with lime wedges for sprinkling.

Tastes better than it looks! 😉 And if you refrigerate leftovers, those will hold their shape better than the stuff straight out of the oven.

Chicken Tamale Pie

From How Sweet Eats.

Cornbread:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup finely ground cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup canned corn
  • 4 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese

Enchilada sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
  • 15 ounces tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Chicken layer:

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1/3 cup canned corn
  • 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
  • 6 ounces freshly grated white cheddar cheese
  • sliced green onions for topping
  • fresh cilantro for topping
  • lime wedges for spritzing

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Start making the cornmeal by whisking together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined. Fold in the corn and cheese, then pour into a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until just set.

While the cornbread bakes, heat the olive oil a large saucepan over medium heat for the enchilada sauce. Add the flour and stir until golden brown, around 2 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients for the sauce and stir together, then bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook at least 5 more minutes, or until the cornbread is ready.

While the sauce cooks, stir together the chicken, green chiles, the remaining corn, and 2 ounces of the cheese.

When the sauce and cornbread are ready, poke holes all over the cornbread and drizzle 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce on/into the cornbread. Stir another cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture. Spread the chicken mixture over the cornbread, then pour any remaining sauce on top. Top with the remaining cheese and bake 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with green onions and cilantro, and serve with lime wedges for sprinkling.

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Homemade Frosty

Posted on August 3, 2022 by sparecake

It’s Wendy’s, without the nightmare of ‘leaving your own home’! This recipe actually makes enough to fill my Cuisinart ice cream maker twice, which is either a good thing or a hassle depending on your mood (=if you’ve already tasted the finish product and realized you want more yet).

Ingredients:

  • 1 quart chocolate milk
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed in the fridge for a few hours
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

That’s it! Store in the freezer – it firms up some, but never gets as hard as ice cream.

Chocolate Frosty

From AllRecipes, including tips in the comments.

  • 1 quart chocolate milk
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed in the fridge for a few hours
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

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