Veggie Pizza

VEGGIE PIZZA

This is one of those foods I love but always thought must be super hard to make because noone ever makes it except for special occasions.   It's so NOT that difficult.  I don't think it's all that expensive.  I mean it's loaded with fresh veggies and that's somewhat expensive but it's fresh veggies...can you really put a price on your health?  And I HATE HATE HATE crunchy carrots - I only like carrots if they are mushy.  Fresh carrots get the big ole Eeeewwww factor...yet somehow on this I like um.  I'm very complex dont'cha know!  I've modified already so I'll give you my recipe.

Two 8oz crescent rolls
One 8oz pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup dill dip
1/3 cup mayo
3 cups toppings of your choice
1 cup (4oz) cheese of your choice

Bake unrolled crescent rolls.  Cool on rack.

Blend cream cheese, dill dip, and mayo.  Spread over cooled crust.  Sprinkle toppings then cheese.  Cut into squares and try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting!

My toppings of choice are broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (which I bought in a prepackaged bag all mixed up), and radish.  Cheese for me was swiss and chedder.

It's GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake

1 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cocoa powder

2 oz red food coloring

2 1/2 cup cake flour 

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In mixing bowl, cream together butter, eggs, and sugar.  Mix together cocoa powder and food coloring.  Add this to butter mix.  Alternately add cake flour and buttermilk.  (If you don't have cake flour put 2 Tbsp corn starch in 1 cup measuring cup and fill remainder of cup with all purpose flour; if you don't have buttermilk add a tsp or so of lemon juice to 1 cup liquid measuring cup and add milk to make 1 cup - let sit briefly).  Add vanilla.  Fold in baking soda and vinegar.  Pour into two well greased cake pans (or cupcake tins of your choosing).  Bake around 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.  Invert cakes from pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Two 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cup powdered sugar

1tsp vanilla

Saving a small amount for artistic flair.  Frost top of one cake.  Plop other cake on top and frost top and sides.  Take a small amount out and add 3-4 drops of red food coloring to make a nice pink shade.  Put this colored frosting in cake decorating tube and make cute little hearts or just let your artistic talent take you away and put blobs on.

Last time I didn't think I had quite enough frosting so I doubled the recipe and now I have too much.  Perhaps somewhere in between next time. But, alas I love red velvet cake and wonder about adding beets next time instead of food coloring.  Hmmmm, intrigued I guess I'll just have to make more red velvet cake...I mean I have frosting.  What's a girl to do?  If only there were someone to share it with....

Wine-Up

Time for a super simple yummy drink recipe

I go to a restaurant in Milwaukee with family members and love one of their drinks.  It's simply red sangria.  Well it's wine so I went to the store over the holidays and found fruity red sangria wine.  Awesome, right?  Yeah, not so much.  It was cheap wine and it was ok but it certainly wasn't the red sangria at the restaurant.  Come to find out their red sangria has all sorts of other ingredients that makes it so yummy good.  Hmmm, who knew?  So, now I still have this leftover bottle of red wine and I hate to throw money away but I really don't like it and I don't want to just hang onto it until it turns to vinegar (although I'm intrigued by that process....)  Went to a bar in town called Fat Jacks, was it called Fat Jacks???  Fat something or Jack something or something Fat or something Jack.  Anyhow the atmosphere was really nice but the drinks SUCKED!  I wanted a bloody mary.  It was the worst bloody mary in the history of bloody marys!  My aunt doesn't drink but decided she'd like a wine cooler.  Well they didn't have wine coolers so they made this drink for her and she hated it!  I took a sip and I really liked it and traded her the icky bloody mary for the icky wine cooler.  Now I can make my own!

Fruity red sangria cheap wine (chilled)
7up (chilled)

Chill both your wine and can of 7up.  Fill super big wine glass with can of 7up.  Fill remaining space in super big wine glass with fruity red sangria cheap wine.  Viola!  Drink up.  Jeepers this is good!

Banana Nut Cake

Banana Nut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

The easiest way to have this and have it be super yummy is to ask my mom to make it for you!  Yum!

Assuming you don't have that option:

2 1/3 cup flour

1 2/3 cup sugar

3-4 large very ripe bananas, mashed

2/3 cup butter (in sticks this equals about 11 Tbsp = 1 full stick plus 3 lines from the next stick)

2/3 cup walnuts or pecans

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9" round pans.  In large bowl beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low for 30 seconds.  Once well combined, beat on high for 3 minutes.  Pour into pans.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool about 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cooling rack.  Cool completely (about an hour).

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

In medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter.  Mix in vanilla.  Gradually stir in powdered sugar.  Add more sugar if you want it to be thicker...mine came out a little runny but set up nicely in the fridge.

Frost top of one cake.  Plop other cake on top of frosting and frost top and sides of whole contraption.  You may need to make another batch of frosting depending on how well you like your cream cheese frosting!  I recommend chilling for a beat to set frosting.  I found it was better on day two after an overnight in the fridge. 
But, Mom's was way better!