Powdered Sugar Magic!

You can work a little magic in the kitchen with some powdered sugar! Have you ever tried this? For me, it's a "WHY didn't I think of that?" trick!

CHOCOLATE POWDERED SUGAR

2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

In a small bowl stir together powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa.

NOTE:
Chocolate Powdered Sugar is quite light in color.
Dark chocolate cookies show it off best.

OTHER VARIATIONS:
Make strawberry with strawberry quick powder.
Make lemon with lemonade mix.
Use koolaid packets to make rainbow colors with just a hint of flavor!
Add a pinch of cinnamon to the chocolate mix if you like!

This is just toooo simple and should be fun! Enjoy!

Fun with Food!

A perfect cake for the Daytona Race Day, a race car enthusiast, or kids who are enthralled with cars! Do you have a car lover in your family? A NASCAR fan?And who isn't interested in a NEAT cake?

Pudding Mix with Variations

Pudding Mix

1/2 C. cornstarch

1 C. flour

1 1/2 C. Sugar

1 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients well and store in sealed container.

Vanilla Pudding:

3 C. Milk

3/4 C. pudding mix

2 eggs, beaten

2 Tblsp. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

In medium saucepan, beat eggs and add rest of ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Cook for 1 minute.

 

Chocolate Pudding:

3 C. Milk

3/4 C. pudding mix

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 C. sugar

2 Tblsp. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

5 Tblsp. cocoa

 

In medium saucepan, beat eggs and add rest of ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Cook for 1 minute.

Who doesn't like pudding? The Jello mixes DO come in sugar free and I LOVE them. Pistachio is my fav and I really like the Watergate salad with it, SF whipped topping and crushed pineapple! But now and then, we are out of the convenience packages or would like to make our own from scratch. So I hope these recipes can help you out. I think I should try it with Splenda!

ENJOY!

Date and Nut Muffins

Is there anyone who doesn't love muffins? I know I love them! I also like to double batches I make so I can stick some in the freezer. It works great!

The recipe I'm sharing is one I need to try. What I'll probably do is add a bit of cinnamon and also some protein powder. They up the nutrition of muffins and I like to eat them for meals.

In adding the protein powder or even whey powder, they can be sent for lunches for the kiddos in place of a sandwich. Cream cheese instead of butter is great and fruity cream cheese spreads can be added to. Or, try a couple thinly sliced apple pieces with the cream cheese. The muffins in the photo above have a chunk of apple in them. That's do-able with most any muffin recipe too! I've done that before too and it works GREAT!

Muffins are versitle and we can be with them! ENJOY!

Date and Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cups chopped dates
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanila

In a small bowl, combine dates, boiling water and baking soda. In another small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and walnuts.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Beat in brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Add date mixture to egg mixture in large bowl, stir to combine. Add flour mixture to date and egg mixture, stir until just combined.

Spoon batter into greased of paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes.

Photo: Source unknown

I found a couple recipes that are pretty much identical for a diabetic friendly fudge! YUM! Being diabetic, it's been one of the things I've missed being able to have a few bites of. NO MORE! I'm trying this! I have a package of my soft goat cheese thawing to make this. This one even has some nuts in it.

SUGAR FREE FUDGE

Ingredients
2-8 OZ. PKGS REDUCED FAT CREAM CHEESE
2-1OZ SQS. UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE-MELTED AND COOLED
SUGAR SUBSTITUTE EQUAL TO 1 CUP SUGAR
1 TEASPOON VANILLA
1/2 CUP PECANS CHOPPED

Directions
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, chocolate, sweetener, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in pecans. Pour into an 8 inch square pan lined with foil, cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into 16 squares. Serve chilled.
Yields 16 servings
Source: Diabetic Connect

RED DEVIL MAGIC MAYONNAISE CAKE & DEVIL'S FOOD FUDGE FROSTING

Here's another tasty treat fit for Valentine's Day. 

Due to the mayo, this should be a rich, moist cake that is slightly heavier. I LOVE a mayo cake!

RED DEVIL MAGIC MAYONNAISE CAKE

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. sugar
1 c. cold water or cold coffee for mocha flavor
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cake ingredients in bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8-inch cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in pan, turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

DEVIL'S FOOD FUDGE FROSTING:

3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 tbsp. water or cold coffee
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.
Source: www.Cooks.Com

German Chocolate "Dump" Cake

It's time for a few Valentine's treats! And THIS one should be just the thing!

I love the ease of making a dump cake, but even though this isn't what I would consider a dump cake it sounds DELISH! Then at the end of the recipe it refers to the cake as an earthquake type cake. I don't know where the recipe came from (an am not trying to bash it!) I do think I'll give it a try. Then I think I'll add some of my frozen sweet cherries as part of the decoration. If it works out as I expect it will, I'll probably add cherry pie filling dolloped over the unbaked cake to add to it. I love a "typical" cherry dump cake and think the addition of the coconut and frosting will make this something very holiday like. Can't you see it "dressed" up for Valentine's Day or Christmas?

GERMAN CHOCOLATE DUMP CAKE

2 c. chopped nuts
1 can coconut
1 pkg. German chocolate cake mix

ICING:

1 stick butter
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar

Butter oblong 9 x 13 inch pan. Pack pecans in bottom of pan. Press coconut on top of pecans. Mix cake by directions on the box and pour into pan on top of coconut and nuts.
Melt 1 stick butter, add cream cheese and powdered sugar. Pour over unbaked cake. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. This cake is sometimes called earthquake because it falls in center when baked.

Super Bowl Snacks Across America

1. Maine - Deviled Lobster Puffs
2. New Hampshire - Maple Pecan Twists
3. Vermont - Lime Cooler Mini Ice Cream Pies
4. New York - Crescent Pizza Pockets
5. Massachusetts - Baked clam dip
6. Rhode Island - Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
7. Connecticut - Crescent Burger Bake
8. New Jersey - Italian Seasoned Super Sub
9. Pennsylvania - Philly Cheesesteak Dip
10. Delaware - Crescent Crab Puffs
11. Maryland - Blue Crab Filled Crescents
12. Ohio - Hot And Spicy Chorizo Chili
13. West Virginia - Ramp Pesto Turkey Sqaures
14. Virginia - Ham and Cheese Crescents
15. North Carolina - BBQ Pork Sandwiches
16. Michigan - Easy Chicken Pasties
17. Indiana - Halftime Caramel Popcorn Balls
18. Kentucky - Oven Fried Ranch Chicken
19. Tennessee - Bacon And Tomato Crescent Pizza
20. South Carolina - Maple Cream Wafers
21. Georgia Peach - Peach Chutney Pinwheels
22. Florida - Glazed Orange Crescents
23. Alabama - Corn Bread Sticks
24. Mississippi - Ultimate Frozen Mud Pie
25. Louisiana - Creole Crawfish & Cheese Tart
26. Arkansas - PB&J Cookie Stuffed Pies
27. Missouri - Ravioli Bites
28. Illinois - Chicago Style Crescent Dogs
29. Wisconsin - Sausage & Cheese Crescents
30. Iowa - Grilled Hoagie Sandwiches
31. Minnesota - Crescent Dog on a Stick
32. North Dakota - Knoephla Dumpling Soup
33. South Dakota - Chislic
34. Nebraska - Crescent Corn Dogs
35. Kansas - Spicy BBQ Triangles
36. Oklahoma - Fried Okra
37. Texas - Steak Tacos with Avocado Salsa
38. New Mexico - Crescent-Chile Rellenos
39. Colorado - Denver Eggs Frittata
40. Wyoming - Buffalo Sloppy Joes
41. Montana - Oyster Stew
42. Idaho - Perfect Potato Pockets
43. Utah - Rainbow Jelly Shooter
44. Arizona - Indian Fry Bread
45. California - Grape Pie
46. Nevada - Pizza Biscuit Wreath
47. Oregon - Chocolate Hazelnut Turnovers
48. Washington - Bacon Apple Cheddar Rolls
49. Alaska - Island Style Crab Cake Sliders
50. Hawaii - Mini Aloha Puff Pizzette

I was a tiny bit disappointed this didn't come with hot links to each recipe but then one can google the name of the dish with ""+recipe and get them quickly. I was glad to get it though!

I hope you enjoy them! It was fun even to just read them!