ANGEL FOOD PINEAPPLE CAKE

Honest, it is that easy, no fat, very low calories, and tastes great.

Ingredients:
1 can of crushed pineapple in its own juice
1 box of 1 step angel food cake mix (1 step kind)

Directions:
Mix these ingredients together and bake in 9 x 13 cake pan at 325 degrees for about 25 to 30 min.

Diet Pop Cake

This is great if you want to be on your diet and have your cake too! And be able to eat it!!

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix (any kind/flavor)
1 can of diet pop (any kind-Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven and prepare your baking pan according to the mix directions.

2. Dump the dry cake mix into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use a fork to remove most of the lumps from the mix.

3. Add the 12 oz. diet soda to the cake mix. Pour it slowly to avoid having the fizz overflow from the bowl. Mix together thoroughly with a whisk or wooden spoon.

4. Add no additional ingredients even though the cake mix directions will call for more. Fold the cake mixture into your baking pan and place the pan in the oven. Bake the cake according to the package directions.

Chocolate-Covered OREO Cookie Cake

I made this for a Rainbow function and it is to die for!

Ingredients
1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix
4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
12 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. Prepare cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert cakes onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.

3. Microwave chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min.

4. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies. Stack cake layers on plate, spreading cream cheese mixture between layers. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

This is a love of my family!

Ingredients
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

2. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

3. Layer chicken, basil and cheese in 3-qt. casserole or 13x9-inch baking dish.

4. Top with stuffing. Bake 30 min. or until chicken is done.

Chinese Almond Cookies

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup sliced almonds
* 1 egg white
* 1/2 teaspoon water


DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork. Sprinkle with almonds.

2. In a small bowl, beat egg white and water. Brush over cookies. Bake at 325 degrees F for 14-16 minutes or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

For a more almond flavor double the amount of almond!

Oatmeal Banana Raisin Coconut Cookies

INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/4 cups margarine
* 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 3 cups rolled oats
* 2 ripe bananas, sliced
* 1 1/2 cups raisins
* 1 cup flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Stir in the oats, bananas, raisins and coconut, one at a time using a wooden spoon. Drop by rounded spoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: 4 dozen cookies

Ginger and Spice Cookies

INGREDIENTS

* 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
* 1 1/4 cups white sugar
* 1 cup unsalted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in molasses and eggs. Stir in vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Gradually stir into the butter mixture. Lightly cover a piece of wax paper with sugar. Drop tablespoon-sized pieces of dough onto paper and coat with sugar.

3. Bake 14 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.


Yield 5 dozen cookies

Vanilla Syrup for Coffee

You can also use almond extract, hazelnut, or any other flavor. Easy and inexpensive, compared to coffee-shop prices! Makes a nice holiday or hostess gift.

Ingredients
* 2 1/2 cups water
* 2 cups white sugar
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions
1. Combine the sugars and water in a saucepan.
2. Boil for at least 10 minutes.
3. Let cool. When solution has cooled, add the extract and stir well. Store in an airtight bottle or container.

Almond Biscotti

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon anise or vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Dash salt
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 2 teaspoons milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in anise or vanilla.
4. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Stir in almonds.
5. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease foil.
6. Divide dough in half; spread into two 12-in. x 3-in. rectangles on foil.
7. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
9. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees F.
10. Lift rectangles with foil onto wire rack; cool for 15 minutes.
11. Place on a cutting board; slice diagonally 1/2 in. thick.
12. Place slices with cut side down on ungreased baking sheet.
13. Bake for 10 minutes.
14. Turn cookies over; bake 10 minutes more.
15. Turn oven off, leaving cookies in oven with door ajar to cool.
16. Store in airtight container.

Cranberry Spice Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/4 cup skim milk
3 large eggs
1/2 pound butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cup craisins
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup coarsely broken pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Add milk, eggs and melted butter, stir to combine. Add craisins, both sugars and pecans, mixing until combined. Do not beat. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners and spoon batter to top of liners. Bake on middle rack of oven 20-25 minutes or until toothpicks tests clean.

"Instant" Pancake Mix

Recipe from the TV show "Good Eats" with Alton Brown

I saw the episode on TV when they showed how to make pancake mix and well I will never buy boxed mix again!

Ingredients
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (check expiration date first)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to mix.
Use the mix within 3 months.

"INSTANT" PANCAKES:
2 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups "Instant" Pancake Mix, recipe above
1 stick butter, for greasing the pan
2 cups fresh fruit such as blueberries, if desired

Directions
1. Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F. Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter.
3. Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don't try to work all the lumps out.
4. Check to see that the griddle is hot by placing a few drops of water onto to the griddle. The griddle is ready if the water dances across the surface.
5. Lightly butter the griddle. Wipe off thoroughly with a paper towel. (No butter should be visible.)
6. Gently ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and sprinkle on fruit if desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the griddle-side of the cake is golden, gently flip the pancakes. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.
7. Serve immediately or remove to a towel-lined baking sheet and cover with a towel. Hold in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.

Yield: 12 pancakes

German Chocolate Cake

Cake Ingredients:
1 (4-oz.) package of Baker's Sweetened Chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
4 eggs whites
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Cake Directions

1. Take one package of Baker's sweetened chocolate and mix it with 1/2 cup of boiling water. You are done mixing the chocolate once it is all dissolved (as seen in the lower left picture). Let this cool before adding it to the mixture in step four. You will want to go ahead and preheat the oven to 350F so it will be ready when you need it.

2. Mix 1 cup of butter with 2 cups of sugar until they are fluffy and rich. This should not take but a few minutes.

3. Slowly add in your egg yolks while beating the mixture. Once no more streaks or spots of yellow remain they have been mixed in well enough.

4. Add Chocolate liquid and 1 teaspoon vanilla after the egg yolk is completely mixed in to the batter.

5. It is important to sift the flour in order to remove all the lumps. This is the time when you add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour. You may want to do step nine now so that you don't have your cake batter sitting out of the oven too long.

6. Add the milk and flour to the mixture at the same time, but alternating between the two (milk, flour, milk, flour...) Don't stop mixing as you do this. Once you are done beating in the milk and flour, make sure that it is smooth.

7. If you have never beaten egg whites before; it can be tricky, so pay close attention.
Take your four egg whites and beat them at a high speed. When you lift the beater out of the bowl it should have a peak, or pointed tip at the end of it. This means they are done being whipped. They should look exactly like the ones in the lower left picture of this step. This process should take about 5 minutes.
You will want to move quickly on to the next step to keep the egg white fluffy.
Make sure that there is no egg yolk mixed into your egg whites.

8. Now fold in your egg whites SLOWLY. DO NOT STIR OR BEAT THEM IN!! This would ruin the cake!

9. Use a knife, or a pen to mark a sheet of wax paper around the exterior of the pan. Then cut on the line you just drew. Coat the inside of the pan with shortening. Then put flour on the inside and shake it till the sides and bottom are covered with flour. Then put the cut wax paper in the bottom of the pan.
Do this for each of the three cake pans.

10. Pour equal amounts of batter into each 8 inch cake pan.

11. Put the cakes in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Do not open the oven until the cake has been in for the required time, if you do it will fall in the middle. Stick a tooth pick in your cake after baking. If it comes out clean your cake is done, if it comes out gooey then it needs another five to ten minutes.

12. Once your cake layers have cooled for 15 minutes you will need to remove them from their cake pans. Using a knife, or a spatula like the one seen in the picture to the left, cut the cake away from the sides of the cake pan. Then flip it over on a cooling rack and remove the wax paper from the bottom.


Frosting Ingredients
For this frosting recipe you will need:
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup Baker's Angel Flake Coconut
1 cup chopped pecans (roasted)

Frosting Directions
1. Mix the following ingredients on a stove set on medium heat for 12 minutes:
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

2. Once you are done stirring in the above ingredients add the coconut and roasted pecans. Once it is mixed in it should look like the picture to the left.

3. Cool the frosting until it is firm and easy to spread.

4. To frost the cake, divide the frosting into three separate, but equal parts. If you made a double batch make sure you divide your frosting in half before doing this. Then pour one of the thirds onto the first layer, or as much as needed to frost the top so that the top is completely covered.

5. To add other layers carefully slide them onto the last frosted one.

6. Repeat with next two layers.

7. Unlike some cakes this one does not need instructions on how to frost the sides. All I can say is just slap it on and make it stick. It does not need to be perfectly smooth. Refrigerate the cake for some time after frosting to keep the frosting from sliding off. After this, you shouldn't have to refrigerate it.

Honey Wheat Bread

When we make this I tend to double the recipe and make 4 loaves at a time. Because of the lack of preservatives I keep the loaves we are using in the refrigerated and freeze the unused loaves.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (.25 ounce) package rapid rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup melted shortening
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.
2. Combine milk, 1/4 cup water, shortening, honey, salt and wheat flour in food processor or bowl. Mix in yeast mixture, and let rest 15 minutes. Add white flour, and process until dough forms a ball. Knead dough by processing an additional 80 seconds in food processor, or mix and knead by hand 10 minutes. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide dough in half. Roll out each half, and pound out the bubbles. Form into loaves, and place in buttered 9x5 inch bread pans. Butter the tops of the dough, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area until doubled; second rise should take about 30 minutes.
4. Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tops are dark golden brown. Butter crusts while warm. Slice when cool.

OATMEAL PANCAKES

These are wonderful and yield a ton!!

2 c. quick oats
1/2 t. baking soda
2 1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1/3 c. salad oil
2 eggs, beaten
Combine oats, soda. buttermilk. Let stand 5 min. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, & sugar. Combine oat mixture, oil, & eggs. Add dry ingredients & stir till blended. Cook on lightly greased griddle or skillet.

Yield 14-16 Pancakes.

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

We have made this up in advance and then covered and freeze. If you do this pull it from the freezer let it thaw and then bake.

1 lb ground beef or turkey cooked, seasoned, drained
1 2lb bags tater tots
1 cans cream of mushroom
1 cans evaporated milk
1 cans cream of chicken

Brown meat & place in 9" X 13" casserole dish.
Cover with tater tots.

Mix soup & milk together.

Pour over top. Bake at 350 for 1 Hour.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

This can be made ahead and even frozen to be cooked later. Great if you want to build a freeze full of ready to go dinners.

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot of salted water, boil noodles until al dente. Drain well.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (usually it is at the proper consistency by the time it begins to boil). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in tuna, peas, and noodles. Spread evenly in prepared dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes

Servings: 6