Peach Poke Cake with White Chocolate Mousse

Kerri had this at her house when she hosted Sit n Chat. It was good. I literally couldn't stop eating it. Which probably means I shouldn't make it, but in the end will make it a bunch of times until I tire of it.

Peach Poke Cake with White Chocolate Mousse
Cake: 1 vanilla cake mix
1 c. mashed peaches and peach juice
1 c. fresh peaches, diced
3 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted
For the poking of the cake:
1 c. boiling water
1 small package peach jello
Dissolve the jello packet and the boiling water together and when the cake comes out of the oven poke all over with a fork. Pour the jello water all over the cake evenly and place in the fridge until ready to frost and until it is completely cooled.

Mousse:
4 T. boiling water
2 t. gelatin powder (1 packet Knox brand)
2 t. cold water
Dissolve the gelatin powder with the 2 t. cold water and let sit for 1 minute. In a bowl, microwave the 4 T. water for a couple minutes until water is very hot or boiling. After one minute, add the hot water into the gelatin mixture and stir. Let sit again for a few minutes until ready with the rest of the recipe.
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. white sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. white chocolate chips or almond bark, melted in a microwave safe bowl(you need to use a good quality chip--I used Guittard and it worked perfectly)

Whip together the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until medium peaks form. Add the melted chocolate and gelatin mixture and continue to beat until firm peaks form. Place mousse in the fridge until ready to frost the cake. When the cake is cool, spread the mousse over the cake. Top with fresh peaches and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. This cake is best served cold.

Blueberry Buckle

I got this from Twoshadesofpink blog. It caught my attention because it made me think of baby food. This is exactly the kind of cake that I LOVE.

Blueberry Buckle

2 1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. butter. softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk

Streusel Topping:

1/4 C. white sugar
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. butter

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the creamed mixture alternating with milk. Fold in blueberries. (Make sure they are washed, then completely dried. You don't want any extra moisture in your batter.) Pour into greased 9x9 baking dish. Combine sugars and flour for topping, then cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Fresh Fruit Spritzers

I got this from Martha Stewart.com. I think it sounds tasty.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• Fresh seasonal fruit, such as 8 cups cubed seedless watermelon, 6 cups cubed honeydew melon, 6 cups cubed cantaloupe, 6 cups cubed mango, or 4 1/4 cups raspberries
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of coarse salt
• Sparkling water, or club soda

Directions

1. Put sugar and 1 cup water into a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.

2. Puree fruit, syrup, lemon juice, and salt in a blender. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl. Refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes (up to 2 days).

3. To serve, fill 8 medium glasses with ice; pour 1/2 cup puree into each glass, and top off with sparkling water. Stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Magleby's Fresh French Toast

I love eating out for breakfast at Magelby's Fresh. My favorite is the french toast. Okay, I also love their breakfast burrito. Mmmmm. So I wanted to make the french toast. After testing it several times (it was a trial, but someone had to do it), I decided that the trick wasn't in the actual french toast but in the syrup and fruit & cream.

Also, since I am often alone for dinner, I LOVE making breakfast for dinner. If I didn't have kids, I'd just wait for Matt to come home and we could make something together. But no, it's breakfast for dinner. So here is what I did:

Made french toast. I usually do a mixture of 50% eggs to 50% milk. And then I cooked it.

Next I followed the below recipe for the syrup:

Buttermilk Syrup
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Bring first five ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and add Baking Soda. To avoid boil over I use a fairly deep, heavy pan.

Then I made homemade cream and fruit. I used powdered sugar in the cream because I ran out of regular sugar. And I used frozen fruit because my kids ate all the fresh stuff.

But it tasted the same. Of course, sometimes it isn't a matter of whether or not I can do it, but whether or not I want to cook that day.

This would be great for large parties.

**Note: This met with rave reviews. My french toast haters are now asking for it every day. And Matt loved it too. This was a MEGA hit at our house.

Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches

This is from Our Best Bites. Which I'm a huge fan of. This one interested me because I love pepperoncini's. It was good. Reminded me of Corned Beef Sandwiches.

Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches
Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Allrecipes

1/2+ tsp. kosher salt
1/2+ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive or cooking oil
3 lb. beef roast, trimmed of excess fat
4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 16-oz. jar sliced pepperoncinis, undrained
Crusty sandwich rolls (for sandwiches)
Sliced provolone cheese (for sandwiches)

Heat oil in a pot or high-sided skillet over high heat. While the oil is heating, combine the salt and pepper and rub it into the meat. Add more if necessary. When the oil is hot, sear the roast on all sides so the outsides of it is browned and a little crispy. Transfer the roast to a slow cooker and add the minced garlic and the entire jar of pepperoncinis. If possible, cook on high until the liquid comes to a boil and then turn it to low and cook until the roast shreds easily with a fork, for a total cooking time of about 6-8 hours. If not possible, cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the beef is fork tender.

For sandwiches, slice the rolls and spread lightly with mayonnaise and then top with the shredded beef. Add a slice of provolone cheese and then place under the broiler for 1-3 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Makes 12 large sandwiches.

Mexican Mess

The first time I heard of this dish, I was over at a friend house as a kid. I remember trying it and thinking it was tasty. I've been wanting to make this again, just to see if it was as good as I remembered. And I liked it. It tasted like a taco.

I don't love how this recipe is written. It has very generic details so I'm going to tell you what I actually ended up using.

Layer in a 9x13 pan (sprayed with Pam) the following:

1 lg. can refried beans (I used: 2 regular cans)

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger, browned and drained (I used: 1 lb. ground turkey)

1 (7-oz.) can diced green chilies (I bought 2 (4-oz.) cans. I used one can.)

3 cups shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack.)

1 bottle taco sauce (I bought a large bottle and used half of it.)

--Cook above ingredients for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Garnish with:

chopped green onions (I omitted)

chopped olives (I omitted)

tomatoes

guacamole

sour cream

I added: shredded lettuce

Eat with tortilla chips.

Garlic Rolls

I love bread. And I love pasta with garlic bread. Not the best for me, but oh is it tasty. My Achilles heal so to speak. I wanted some for dinner tonight but all I had was Rhodes bake and serve. So I improvised. Here is what I did.

Place 20 frozen rolls in a 9x 13 inch pan for 3 hours. To defrost and to let rise.

Place in oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

About halfway through the cooking time (after the 10 minutes) take
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of melted butter with
1 Tbsp. garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

And drizzle it one the rolls. Then put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

They were delicious. I used 1/2 cup of butter and the bottoms were pretty buttery. I may to less, but don't get me wrong, it tasted wonderful.