1 2 3 cake

Where i found this: http://thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/11/aunt-bettys-1-2-3-cake.html

I've made other cake things using angel food cake that were really simple because angel food cake is like this magical mix lol. You already only need to add water to make a delicious cake, so things like this mug cake makes sense.

All you need is a box of angel food cake and another type of cake mix, i chose to use spice cake because i don't get to have it often, and a little bit of water. In a container that you can put an air tight lid on, mix the two dry cake mixes together. Then after that you just take a mug you want to make the cake in and put 3 TBS of the mix in and stir in 2 TBS of water. Once mixed, put in the microwave for 1 minute.

The mug i used seemed to be a little too big as the cake turned a little dense/over cooked with that amount. I doubled the amount and cooked it for 1 minute still and it turned out a lot better. It's spongy like the angel food cake since it's basically what you are making with another cake mix as a flavoring.

In the end, it works. And is nice for when you want cake but you don't want to make a whole cake that ends up going to waste. That's usually what happens at my house, i want to make cake but then no one wants to eat any. I've only made this the one time, so i still have basically all my mix left. Once that some how gets all ate, or i decide to just dump it, i will try another flavor, maybe a chocolate cake one.

Zucchini "Noodles"

Didn't really follow a recipe for this. I did see this online and just followed what i remembered.

Used my julienne slicer to make the "noddles" and then just put it in a steamer bag and steamed it. then just added a little of pasta sauce to give it a little more flavor.

I found this to actually be really good. i did actually get a bit of a feeling of eating noodles. Of course didn't actually taste like noodles, but was a good substitute. My mom really likes zucchini and i've come to realize that i like it too. She usually just would slice and steam them. So i'll have to try this sometime with her able to try it. She doesn't like red sauce, but she'd probably be fine eating it sauce-less.

I also just love the picture i snapped of this :)

Bacon Egg Cups

Followed this recipe: http://www.fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com/2011/04/bacon-egg-cups/

For the love of bacon and all that is yummy!!
I've seen the pictures for this for some time and finally decided to make it because we had bacon left over. I didn't have enough to make to the full recipe, i had 11 half slices of bacon and 3 eggs. There was enough for making 4 cups and i had 3 half slices of bacon left.

It was actually really good. Sure it's just eggs and bacon(and cheese), but cooking it in the oven just seems to give it a completely yummier taste. I maybe could of cooked it for a tiny bit longer, it wasn't raw, but some of the bacon seemed like it could of been cooked more to be crispier. The eggs were fluffy. I will make these again when i have more bacon and eggs again. Maybe not even the full 12 but making the 4 again or just 2 of them. I pretty much was full after 2 of these(and the extra slices of bacon i cooked lol).

Didn't hear from my brother on what he thought of it, but my mom liked it.

Spaghetti Inside Garlic Bread

Doesn't that just look so yummy?!?!?!

This was inspired by this picture: http://pinterest.com/pin/464152305316350079/
There was no recipe attached to the picture, so i just figured out something out to do myself and this is what came of it.

Since there was no recipe attached, i wasn't sure on what bread they used, could of been home made. I probably could of found something to make, but i ended up just going with pizza crust for the bread. I saw something else that was a similar idea to this, just different filling, and they used croissants for the breading(the kind from the tubes). The pizza crust worked out fine for a bread, was fairly easy to use since i used the tube kind so i didn't have to roll it out, just had to unroll it lol.

Since there's not a recipe with the picture, i'll write a small step by step that i did for this, i will have 3 pictures to post afterwards.

I had my oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
1. Place foil over baking sheet. (makes for easier clean up)
2. Spray the foil with cooking spray. (just in case it tried to stick)
3. Open and unroll the pizza crust.
4. Brush melted butter along the middle section, where the spaghetti will go. Then sprinkle with garlic salt. (garlic bread sprinkle should work too, i did this to help give it more garlic bread flavor)
5. Place the spaghetti along the center and top with your choice of cheese. (check out picture link provided above for example, or picture of mine below)
6. cut the extra sides of the dough into strips. (i might of mind mine a little too thin, but just meant more than if they were thicker)
7. fold over each strip over the spaghetti, trying to make sure as much of the spaghetti is covered. (larger strips mean less folds)
8. Once all folded, brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt. (or whatever garlic you used)
9. Put it in the oven

Now i ended up cooking mine for 14 minutes. That's what the tube said to cook thick crust pizza. After i took mine out, i should of cooked it for less. Then after eating it, parts were still just slightly doughy, wasn't too bad, i think was mostly just a few parts that the cheese was at. So i suggest either lower temp for longer or if you don't care about the possible doughy, then just cook it for a little less than 14 minutes, making sure you check to make sure it's not getting over cooked.

I plan on making this again, to try and find the best way of making it, temp and time, pizza crust or croissants, all that type of stuff. I will keep updating on what i do for it.

Here's the pictures i said i was going to post.

 This shows how the spaghetti should be placed and example of how to fold it over

 how it looked before cooking

and this is why i found out 14 minutes was too long. the edges were getting burnt. the middle bottom was still alright. It was almost over cooked but wasn't burnt.

I think last thing would mostly be the taste. What i made was good. I've had a lot of garlic(mostly garlic salt) while growing up, so i have a harder time tasting garlic than the rest of my family, so i felt there wasn't enough garlic taste, but my mom was just fine with how much was there. I also used day old spaghetti because that was at my mom's request because she prefers day old spaghetti because the noddles get to soak up the sauce some. For the cheese, i used cheddar cheese.
Taste really all matters on how you prepare it. It will taste different with different ways the spaghetti gets made, depending on what breading you use, what cheese you use, how much garlic and all that. Just will need to experiment with what you want :)

My brother isn't a spaghetti fan so he never tried this, but he suggested that he would if i made it with Alfredo,  so that will be another variation i will try and make in the future.


I hope this post is helpful. It's kinda annoying to find something on pinterest that you want to make and not find a recipe or step by step type thing. That was partly why i wanted to write more than just the taste on here :)

Nature's Harvest Dry Roasted Edamame, with Sea Salt

I enjoy edamame, so when i saw this, i thought i'd try it. I've mostly just had the kind that steams in the pod and then you pop them out of the pods. So this was something new to try.

On the package, can't really be seen in the picture, it says: "0g trans fat & a cholesterol free food" "excellent source of fiber & protein" and "good source of iron"
I found this page with the nutrition facts since i didn't take a picture: http://www.fooducate.com/app#page=product&id=9C324C02-0F87-11E1-8977-1231380C180E
As you can see, just 1/4 cup of these, you get 5g of fiber and 11g of protein.
I think if you compare a cups worth of this to a cups worth of peanuts, these turn out to be better. Aside from the sodium and carbs. if you go based on weight watcher's point plus system, the edamames are 15 points for a cup(4 points for a 1/4 cup serving) and the peanuts are 24 points for a cups worth. I'd say points wise, these are good for a replacement. I do feel it has a nutty taste/feel to it when you eat these. Whether just eating these or putting them on a salad, not sure yet what else you could put them on lol. i don't know how well they'd cook in things.

Edamames are also good for you. i found this page to explain why: http://www.livestrong.com/article/409591-the-health-benefits-of-edamame/

I am finding myself having a hard time not popping these into my mouth as i'm writing this lol. Though they are salty, i don't think it's like how peanuts are to where you feel like your mouth is drying out from eating a handful. The texture is different from peanuts, i feel it's more of a crumble like texture once you start to chew them.

For those who are dieting, i say this might be worth you trying out to see if you like it. I'm not sure how much i'll keep this on hand since i don't seem to stick to a good diet. But i would buy this again in general.

Lastly, i wanted to share a picture of what a serving size looks like

Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese

In other posts i've mentioned a greek yogurt cream cheese that i've used. This is the product i have been talking about.

With my hopes for actually dieting, healthier alternatives, such as the greek yogurts, tend to catch my eye. I love cream cheese. The idea of it being made with greek yogurt did give me a bit of a "uhhhh i'm not sure on this" type feeling. But i was pleasantly surprised on the taste. It's not exactly like normal cream cheese, but has a good taste to it. I've only tried the whipped version so far, i got the brick version for when i get a recipe that needs cream cheese. Even the texture is a cream cheese one still. I really could just eat a spoonful. Which i seem to be trying to do while writing this.

When searching the name of this product, i found their website http://www.franklinfoods.com/greek-cream-cheese

That should be able to give better info on the actual product. As it says on the site, it can be bought at walmart, which is where i found it. I think it would be fun to do a taste test of regular cream cheese with this one to see what real taste difference there is, maybe i will some day. For now, this is the cream cheese i will be using unless i want flavored ones, though i'm sure i could figure out how to just flavor this on my own.

Here's the nutrition facts for the whipped one. (found on the website i provided)

8oz. Whipped Tub

Serving Size - 2 Tbsp (22g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 45 Calories from Fat 20

% Daily Value

Total Fat             2.5g      4%

Saturated Fat    1.5g      8%

Trans Fat              0g

Cholesterol      10mg    4%

Sodium             65mg    3%

Total Carb         2g         1%

Fiber                   0g

Sugars               2g

Protein               3g 

Based on that, if you go to figure out the weight watches points plus for it, it's only 1 point for 2 tbs!!!! that's a lot better than other ones. I was checking out the points on other creams cheeses that are listed on the weight watcher's website. There are other 0-2 point ones that are for like the fat free and even regular, but those were for just 1 tbs. For point wise, i think this one might actually be one of the better ones, without that "healthy" taste. 

I do think the taste will differ for each person, but i like it and do recommend people try it.

Genesis Today Skinny Coffee Vanilla Latte

I think what caught my attention to try this was seeing the word "skinny". I like trying all sort of new things(even if it scares me lol) and i like seeing what healthy items actually taste good. It being a coffee drink also caught my attention. I sometimes get a little picky on coffee drinks because i don't like it too strong.

Looking at the package, just look at all that stuff that makes it look so healthy. "50% fewer calories", "skinny", "supports: energy, Healthy weight" "green coffee beverage".
Here's a page about green coffee if you aren't sure on what it is. [Link]

For taste, i find that this taste very close to this drink

Probably not exactly, but it's been awhile since i've had a java monster. But i always liked Mean Bean the best, so since it tastes close to that, i really like this skinny coffee drink. There was another flavor that i'll have to try.

here's the section of the container that gives info on it. sorry if a little hard to read in the picture.


I plan on buying more of these for my coffee for the summer. It's refreshing and does seem to give me a perk, unlike normal coffee, so will be good for hot mornings.

Apple Pie Dip & Cinnamon-Sugar Tortilla Chips

For the last few days i've been wanting to make something sweet. Couldn't think of anything i could make. It wasn't until i realized that i had tortillas that i figured out i could make this. this is the recipe i tried to follow http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/2011/09/apple-pie-party-dip-cinnamon-sugar-tortilla-chips/

Apple dip:
The apples were a lot easier to make than i thought it would be. These are the apples i used, was the only ones we had.

They actually worked really well for this. Eating wise, i find them a little hard to just bite into, but made for good texture in the dip.
Only thing i did different for the dip was that we don't have cornstarch. I did some reading before making and it pretty much said i could use flour in replace. So i did 3 teaspoons of flour instead. Well i guess i didn't use FRESH lemon juice either, but had the lemon juice from those lemon shaped containers. Still ended up tasting like apple pie filling. Now that i know it's not that hard to make, maybe i'll make a pie sometime lol. I did find the cutting the apples into pieces to be annoying, but that was partly because the apples i used were so small. I think i used about 4 of these apples to get 2 cups worth...maybe 3, don't remember.

The chips:
I've tried making chips before, haven't really found yet a perfect way of making them. For this batch, realizing now that i read it wrong lol. Just noticed that the Celsius is before the Fahrenheit  i'm use to seeing it the other way around so i just didn't read close enough. Anyways, i tried to cook it at 210 Fahrenheit and 5 minutes was not enough lol. i had them in for like maybe half an hour before i finally bumped up the temp to 300 and then it was just another 10 or so minutes, maybe 15...i really don't remember, this was a late night make and i'm going off little sleep while writing this. Anyways, i finally got them done and they turned out decent enough. Realizing that the temp was wrong from the start, i don't feel too bad about what i thought was the problem. Might of still added too much butter and topping...but i wanted to make sure i could taste it lol. So i didn't follow the measurements for the sugar and cinnamon, i also didn't mix them together for sprinkling, so they aren't very evenly spread.
They still came out good. crispy enough to use in the dip.

Over all taste:
everything was good together...didn't exactly fill that sweet taste i was looking for, but was still good. I like apple pie, so even if i just made the dip without the chips would of been good lol.

Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese with Garlic Bread

Originally i was trying to figure out something to make that was sweet, but found a picture i had pinned on pinterest of a mac and tomato soup. I figured it would be simple enough to make that i didn't check if i had the stuff for the actual recipe so i just did it myself.

First i cooked the mac, then i added the tomato soup to the noodles after draining them and returning them to the pot. Instead of using a full can of milk, i only used about half's worth. Did that to help keep it a little thicker and to give more of a tomato taste to it. I also added some shredded cheddar cheese to it(saved a little to add to the top for the picture). There was a tiny bit of oregano added to try and give a little extra flavor to it. The garlic bread is just buttermilk bread with butter and garlic salt then toasted/grilled(whatever it's called lol) in a pan on the stove.

Taste wise, it was really good. Will make again when i want tomato soup but not so much just soup. It's simple to make too.


On a slightly different topic....i really like this picture i took for it lol. i'm trying to work on taking better pictures with my canon t2i, so i got this when just snapping a few pictures.

Portabella Mushroom Pizza "Bites"

This was one of those things i've seen on Pinterest and finally decided to try. Didn't follow exactly what it said, measurements and such though. Here's the link to the recipe i used for the basic info on making these, Portabella Pizza Bites

First off i'll start with that i call these "bites" because i didn't use the mini sized ones, they were more like just mini pizzas.

I've never had portabella mushrooms before, or at least not that i remember/know. Wasn't sure on how big of a taste difference they'd have. It tasted just like a normal cooked mushroom taste, so that was good. Trying new foods always give me that kind of feeling "will it be gross?" I get that feeling on some things i know i like that i just haven't had for some time lol.

Back to the "bites". Like i said at the start, i didn't follow the recipe completely. I still used marinara and i did use mozzarella cheese, but just regular though so i didn't use the egg mix. Also used regular pepperoni instead of the turkey. Some had olives and some didn't. I made 5 of them all together.

I completely forgot to take pictures from the very start, so i remember when i was half way done with putting the sauce on. so here's the pictures of that and just before melting the cheese. Also instead of the oven, cooked them in the BBQ, it was too hot to turn the oven on.

Taste wise, best i can really say it tasted like was if you had a pizza with pepperoni and a LOT of mushrooms and only ate the toppings. It tasted like a pizza without the crust, just with a lot of mushroom taste to it. I like mushrooms so that wasn't a problem. My parents both tried it said it was good. I'll probably try this again at some point, maybe follow the recipe exact to try that or try different versions like use a white sauce instead.

If you like pizza and mushrooms, i'd recommend this for you. And if you follow the recipe and making it the healthier version then makes a good snack for a dieter (next time when i follow the exact recipe i will post about it again with the weight watchers point plus).

I did look up the nutrition  of the mushrooms and was a bit surprised that it has 5 grams of protein for a cups for. Points wise for weight watchers, white mushrooms and the portabella mushrooms are both 0 points, but nice to learn that the portabella has better protein and fiber.

Summary
Pros:
- tasted like pizza
- nice for a snack or little meal
Cons:
- some of the mushrooms were still really juicy and made it a bit messy to eat with hands
- i love mushrooms, but if you are craving the crust of pizza more than the over all pizza taste, then this won't satisfy the pizza craving all that much.

As long as i'm not too lazy, i will make this again. Like i said, i'll try different ways for fun to see how to work and to try the real recipe. It's not hard to make, i'm just lazy at times lol.