Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 3 strips bacon
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp dried chives
• Salt and pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups baking potatoes, cubed (peeling optional)
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• Chives for garnish (fresh or dried)

Instructions

1. In a large pot, sauté bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel; pat off as much grease as you can. When cool enough to handle, crumble bacon. Leave the bacon drippings in the pot.
2. Sauté the onion in the drippings for a few minutes then sauté the garlic for another minute. Add flour, chives, salt, and pepper; mix well.
3. Gradually add the broth and scrape up the brown bits (keep them – they add flavor). Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes (broth should thicken).
4. Add potatoes. Cover and boil for 15-20 minutes. Stir every few minutes because the potatoes may stick to the bottom. When potatoes are done, add milk or cream; heat but do not boil. Stir in crumbled bacon then garnish with chives on top.

Broccoli Cheese Soup in Bread Bowls

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP IN BREAD BOWLS

Round sour dough bread loaves, halved

1/2 pound Broccoli, fresh

1/4 cup Onion, chopped

1/4 cup Margarine

1/2 cup Flour

3 cups Water

4 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon granules

2 cups Milk

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Steam broccoli in small amount of salted water for 10 minutes or until crisp-tender; coarsely chop. In large saucepan, sauté onion in margarine until tender but not brown. Blend in flour. Add water, chicken bouillon, milk, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook and stir until mixture slightly thickens. Add chopped broccoli. Bring to boiling and stir in shredded cheese until melted. Serve soup in individual hollowed out bread loaf halves. Leftover soup freezes well.

Banana Pudding Cake

Banana Pudding Cake

Cake:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs + 2 egg whites
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
One 1.34oz box instant, sugar-free banana pudding mix
1 cup milk

Filling: Whisk together the following ingredients and refrigerate until ready to assemble cake.

One 1.34oz box instant, sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1 cup Cool Whip (or whipped cream)
To brush on layers: Mix together the following:

1 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp skim milk
2-3 medium ripe bananas
3-4 cups Cool Whip for frosting

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prep three 8″ round pans by lining the bottom only with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in eggs and egg whites, one at a time. Beat in vanilla until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and pudding mix. Add into wet ingredients in three separate additions, mixing until just combined. Don’t over mix!
Stir in milk until combined. Divide batter and pour into pans. Bake 22-25 minutes or until cake is golden and begins to pull away from sides of pans.
Allow cake to cool 15 minutes in pan. Loosen and remove from pan. Allow to cool another 1-2 hours on a wire rack.

Step 2: Begin layering

Level each cake. Place first layer on cake plate. Brush with a little milk mixture.

Line banana slices on top of cake. Spread 1/3-1/2 of the filling mix on top of bananas.

Place next cake layer on top of filling. Repeat with milk mix, filling, and final layer.

Step 3: Frost

Frost with Cool Whip and decorate as you wish. I crushed some mini Nilla wafers and spread on top. Then used the wafers along the sides.

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Banana Pecan Cake with Caramel Icing

Banana Pecan Cake with Caramel Icing

Ingredients

1 cup toasted pecan pieces

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°.

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
Stir in banana mixture and ( toasted pecan pieces if using ) Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more as necessary
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
Directions

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add brown sugar and 1/3 cup cream. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in confectioners' sugar a little at a time until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream at a time until consistency is right.

Banana Cake

Banana Cake

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 cup or 2 sticks)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• about 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup Chobani banana Greek yogurt

For the caramel sauce:

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• pinch sea salt, to taste

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Center a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350. Butter or spray a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add in the sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute in between each addition. Reduce your mixer speed to low, and add in the banana. Finally, mix in half of your dry ingredients, then all of the yogurt, and then the remainder of the flour mixture. Scrape into your prepared pan and tap lightly on the counter top to smooth out the batter.
4. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Check your cake after 30 minutes. Mine was starting to get a little brown on top, so I tented in loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
5. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Allow cake to cool to room temperature, then drizzle with salted caramel sauce, if desired.

For the caramel sauce:

6. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat sugar over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until sugar melts completely and all of the chunks have dissolved. Stop stirring, and continue to cook until the sugar turns a deep brown and starts to smoke – about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and wait 30 seconds.
7. Whisk in butter until melted. Next, SLOWLY add in the heavy cream – the mixture will bubble up violently, so make sure you’re using a larger pot than you think you need. Sprinkle in salt and stir to combine. Transfer to a jar and cool completely before refrigerating.

Applesauce Cake

Applesauce Cake

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cranberries

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and side of 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with shortening; lightly flour. Toss 1 tablespoon flour and the cranberries to coat; set aside. In large bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups flour, the pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.

In large bowl, beat granulated sugar and butter with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth and blended. Reduce mixer speed to medium. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with applesauce until smooth. Stir in cranberry-flour mixture and walnuts. Pour into pan.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cake.

Makes 16 servings

Substitution
Use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice for the pumpkin pie spice.

Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake

Chocolate-Orange Truffle Cake

Ingredients

1          box chocolate fudge cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

1

tablespoon grated orange peel

1

container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

1/3

cup whipping cream

1/2

cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch rounds--except add orange peel to batter.
• 2 Fill layers and frost side and top of cake with frosting. In 1-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium heat until hot (do not boil); remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Let stand 5 minutes.
• 3 Carefully pour chocolate mixture onto top center of cake; spread to edge, allowing some to drizzle down side. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate is set. Store covered in refrigerator.