Punch Bowl Cake

Punchbowl Cake

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix - made according to directions on the box, baked and cooled.
2 small pkg. Instant Chocolate Pudding - made up one at a time as directed on box. Keep separated
1 lg container of Cool Whip
6 Skore or Heath Bars (or 1/2 bag of Heath Bits)

Crumble 1/2 of the cooled cake into a punch bowl (or other large bowl). Mix up one pudding as directed and spread over the cake (I like to let the pudding set first so the cake doesn't get soggy, but some people like it soaked into the cake. To each his own I guess). Spread over the cake. Spread 1/2 of the cool whip on top. Crush 3 candy bars (in a zip lock bag with something hard used to crush them) and sprinkle over the cool whip. Repeat all layers. Refrigerate.

*This wasn't listed on the original recipe, but I used a vegetable peeler to make some yummy chocolate curls to make it look pretty on top of the last layer, in part because I could find Heath bits with chocolate. Weird. Anyway, try it out. This is such a good recipe!

Pretzel Salad

Here you go Linds!

Ingredients:
Crust:
-2 c. Pretzels, crushed
-3/4 c. melted butter
-3 T. sugar
Filling:
-8 oz cream cheese, softened
-1 c. sugar
-8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
Topping:
-2 packages of 3 oz strawberry Jell-O
-2 c. boiling water
-2 packages 10 oz frozen strawberries, thawed and sliced

Preparation Instructions:
1. Crust: Mix crushed pretzels with butter and sugar. Spread in a 9x13 pan (Linds, 9x9 would probably work fine, it'll just be a bit thicker). Bake for 10 min. at 350 degrees. Let cool completely and refrigerate for 1 hr.
2. Filling: Mix cream cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip with hand mixer. Spread evenly on pretzel crust-- all the way to the edges. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Pour Jell-O into boiling water. Stir 'til dissolved, let cool just a little. Combine strawberries and Jell-O, then pour over cream cheese mix and crust. Refrigerate for a few hours or until Jell-O sets.

ENJOY!

Pumpkin Roll!!!

Okay ladies, no more slacking. Time to get this blog up and running again. Let's share our food! I'll kick it off with a yummy pumpkin roll, that will add a flattering roll to your middle if you eat too much :). (See pictures of me for proof). I got this recipe from verybestbaking.com, it's the Libby's Pumpkin Roll official recipe and it's so yummy. I used to be really intimidated by pumpkin rolls (because of how they looked) before I had ever tried making one. But they are actually very easy, and fast too.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup (Libby's) 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
more Powdered sugar for towel and decoration

Directions:
For Cake: Preheat oven to 375. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, bakign soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl unitl thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 min.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Cooking tip: Be sure to grease the pan and wax paper well. Also, be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up hte cake so it will not stick. That is the trick to this whole thing, not letting it stick anywhere, and not over-cooking it.
Also, it's easier to cut this with floss to serve, just as you would cut cinnamon rolls out to bake them.

Potato-Turnip Gratin, by Steph

Talk about delicious! Martha is not messing around here, with the calories. Heavy cream galore, and it was so worth it.

My first time using a turnip. In the grocery store, I felt foolish asking the produce lady which one was a turnip. She said, "Oh, that's fine. You're probably just confusing them with the rutabagas." Inwardly I thought, "No, because I have never seen a rutabaga in my life." But out loud I said, "Yeah, they do look a lot alike." After her help, I left the store with my first turnip.

I did infuse the fresh sage in the cream, which I think made a big difference in the taste. We all loved this dinner and I will for sure make it again. Some day. If I ever get through the rest of the Martha recipes.

Tomorrow for dinner: Pot Roast and Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Icing.

Wiener Schnitzel by Linds

This was so fun to make! I did not use veal becuse I just don't like the thought of it, or the price of it. So I bought pork instead, since it had been a long time since we've eaten pork.

(Note to self: along with freshly ground pepper, I need to buy a meat mallet so Kenny doesn't have to use an ice cream scoop to pound away at our meat)

I liked the method of it, and would like to try it to make breaded chicken as well. The only problem is I didn't use my awesome skillet that tells me the temperture and keeps it there for me. So I was just working on the stove, so I had no idea how hot the oil was. I think it was too hot to begin with, and it totally scorched the bread crumbs, so I turned it down some. But I must have not been able to get it right because every piece was still a little pink. It was freaking me out so I didn't eat very much of it cuz I didn't want to get sick. Kenny LOVED the meal and ate the other 3 pieces :). I always feel better about life when Kenny likes my meals haha.

We squoze some lemons on top of it and it was really yummy. We served it with rice and the leeks vinaigrette for quite a lovely meal (minus the pink pork). Any tips on that, Steph?

Leeks Vinaigrette by Linds

My 2nd experience with leeks, and I still just don't like them that much. It was fun to make, but I really don't think I would buy them just for us to eat on a regular basis. They smell good, though, I guess just like green onions. But it was pretty fun to make. Kenny liked them, so that was worth it.
Poaching them--I didn't use nearly enough water (it said 5 quarts) but I thought that was not really necessary.

The finished product. We ate them as a side with the Wiener Schnitzel, which I will post about next.

Note to self: get some freshly ground pepper. Martha calls for it in probably every single recipe, and I still have never owned any.

The Perfect Pizza

So last night I made THE perfect pizza, if I do say so myself. It was whole wheat (freshly ground), thin crust, with lots of veggies. Here's the recipe for the thin crust because that's the way to go.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees!

1 envelope (or 1 Tablespoon) dry yeast

1/4 tsp. sugr

3/4 c. lukewarm water

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix the water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for a few min. to activate yeast.

Combine flour and salt. Add in yeast mixture. (You can do this in a bowl with a spoon.) Sprinkle a little flour on your counter and put your dough on it. Knead it by hand for 2-3 minutes. Roll it out by hand onto a greased 12 inch circular pan, or a greased 9 by 13 in. cookie sheet if that's all you have (like me). Add sauce and toppings. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Last night I used half a can of tomato sauce. Then I threw on the cheese. Then came the red, yellow, and orange peppers, diced green chiles, grape tomatoes (quartered), basil, oregano, and yummy smoked chicken and turkey sausage that added just the right touch. It was DELICIOUS!

Potato and Turnip Gratin--by Linds

Before baking--I used a little too much cream

YUM! I loved this recipe, but what I loved even more than the taste, was how easy it was! I could hardly believe it was coming out of a Martha book. I will totally do this one again. I left out the turnips, and used just potatoes. I also didn't do the "infusing the liquid" with fresh herbs either. I just used dried chives cuz that's all I had. This meal was such a good excuse to break our stupid pre-cruise diet! Hooray for bad carbs and heavy cream haha. Heated up some ham to go with it and it was yummmmmy!

RECIPE: (serves 6)

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional), plus more for baking dish)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (plus more if needed)

3 sprigs robust herbs such as thyme or sage

2 pounds total potatoes (preferrably russets) and turnips, peele dand thinly sliced

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Infuse liquid: Heat oven to 375 adn butter a 2 1/2 quart oval gratin dish or 9 x 13 in. baking dish. Bring cream and thyme to just under a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and discard solids.

Assemble: Arrange the vegetable slices in an overlapping fashion in the baking dish, alternating them and seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Dot with butter, if using. pour cream over top (it should almost cover the vegetables; add up to 1/2 cup more if necessary) and cover tightly with parchment-lined foil.

Bake: Bake until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes, then remove foil and bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 15 minutes more. Serve at once.

Sorry this is such a bad picture. Kenny wasn't home so I tried to use the timer and...anyway. The meal was great. Notice I'm wearing my Ya-ya sisterhood apron? THANKS MOM! I love it. I will be posting a lot in the next couple weeks trying to play catch-up.