Cherry Cake Pudding

Having trouble finding something for dessert? Something for breakfast? Something for every meal or snack of everyday? Search no longer.

Cherry Cake Pudding. Aka, the answer to all of your problems.

I, indeed, have had it for dessert, breakfast, every meal, and every snack of the day. In fact, this just might be my favorite thing I've ever made.  Have you all met the pioneer woman? She's a genius, I tell you.  I found this recipe on her site (as I have about every other recipe I've ever made).  I'm slightly obsessed.  The woman knows her stuff and she definitely knows how to make an awesome cherry cake pudding.

Have you all heard of cherry cake pudding? I sure had not, and I was pleasantly surprised when this turned in to a warm, gooey cake with sweet cherry syrup drizzled on it.  Oh, in case you hadn't heard, before you drizzle the syrup on the cake to serve, you let the cake soak up about half of the syrup when it's fresh out of the oven.  Yeah. It's actually warm gooey cake that's soaked with sweet cherry syrup.  

Swoon.

While the cake is baking, you make the syrup.  This is a recipe of perfect timing.  It is a Pioneer Woman recipe, after all.

This is the strangest picture... It's actually cherry juice and sugar boiling.  The camera captured it at an odd moment.  

All in all, this recipe took an hour to make.  And less than that to consume entirely.  

Absolutely delicious.

Recipe found here!

Cherry Cake Pudding

For the Cake:

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup whole milk

1 15oz can cherries in syrup (not cherry pie filling)

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Syrup:

1 cup cherry juice (add water to make 1 cup, if necessary)

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 325°

-Butter a 9x9 inch baking dish

-Cream the sugar and butter

-Add the egg to the creamed sugar and butter and mix well

-Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt

-Alternatively add the flour mixture and milk to the butter/sugar mixture

-Add the cherries and nuts to the batter and mix gently

-Pour batter into the greased pan, smoothing out the surface

-Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is gold-brown and no longer jiggles

While cake is baking, make the syrup:

-Add cherry juice, sugar, and flour to a small saucepan

-Boil mixture for 8-10 minutes, until thickened

-Turn off heat and add the butter and vanilla extract

As soon as the cake is taken out of the oven, pour 1/3 of the syrup over the cake, spreading it out evenly.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.  To serve, drizzle syrup over the slices. You can also serve it with whipped cream or icecream! 

Black Bean Taquitos

Let me just start off by saying these turned out more like burritos than taquitos.  They were fairly large in size but weren't terribly heavy in taste (so they could definitely still pass as an appetizer). Because of the massive snow storm that hit KC a few weeks ago, I had to improvise and use what I had in my fridge.  Instead of using normal, taquito-size corn tortillas,  I had to use burrito-size whole wheat tortillas.  While just as delicious, I will be using corn tortillas next time. Ya know, to keep the tortilla: filling ratio in balance.  It was a little off kilter with my version.  And I'm all about equal ratios on this blog. 

This recipe was super easy to make.  The only issue I had was the dipping the tortilla in steamed water step. My tortillas were not having it.  I don't know if the same would happen with the corn tortillas but the whole wheat version does NOT like to be dipped in water and rolled up.  They hate it, actually, and will fiercely protest by falling apart before you even add the bean filling.  I went through my entire package of whole wheat tortillas just to make four taquitos.  So sad.  

The four tortillas that survived though turned out to be utterly delicious.  I definitely recommend trying this recipe.  Maybe stick with the original recipe though... corn tortillas are the way to go. 

Black Bean Taquitos (recipe adapted from here)

Ingredients:

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon sunflower oil (I used olive oil)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed if using from a can

6-8 corn tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas)

1/2 cup Colby Jack Cheese

Oil for brushing

*I omitted the jalapenos and cilantro from the original recipe (due to lack of ingredients) but feel free to add them!

(1 small jalapeno, de-seeded and finely diced, 1/4 cup cilantro)

Directions

-Pre-heat oven to 425˚ and bring a medium/large pot of water to a simmer.

-In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat.  

-Saute onion and pepper until onion becomes translucent.  

-Stir in garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes.  

-Add in black beans and cilantro, cooking until beans are heated through- two to three minutes more.

-Turn off pot of water.  Taking one tortilla at a time, dip in hot water for 3-4 seconds.  

-Place on a cutting board and scoop one spoonful of black bean filling and a hefty pinch of cheese on top.  Roll tight and place seam side down on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.  

-Repeat for each tortilla until all the filling is used.  

-Brush each tortilla with oil.

-Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tortilla is a light brown color. 

-Dip in salsa, guacamole, or sour cream!

Taco Soup

It's been a whole two weeks since I've blogged... oh how I've missed it so. Med school finals week likes to strip you of everything fun and good.  But, I'm back. Ready to tell you about an oh-so-fabulous recipe.  My dear friend, Megan, from school shared this with me, and it has definitely gotten me through quite a few nights of studying.  It can feed a family of 10, I'm sure, and it is super tasty and easy.

There is also a lot of room for variation in this recipe... I didn't have any hamburger meat the last time I made this so I used pork sausage instead.  Super tasty!

You'll need a slow cooker for this recipe. My slow cooker is my new best friend.  It's amazing and makes my apartment smell divine.  If you have any fabulous slow cooker recipes, please send them my way.  I'm looking for more!

This recipe is great for any night of the week or any time of the day.... trust me.  It's incredible and I do hope you make it soon!

p.s... thanks, Megan, for sharing such a great recipe!

Taco Soup

1 lb hamburger, browned
1 onion, diced
1 can kidney beans, with juice
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can Mexican Tomatoes (Rotel works)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 package dry taco mix
1 package dry ranch dressing mix

Add the meat and onions to a large saucepan over medium heat.  Brown the hamburger and onions together.  Add the hamburger and onions and the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low all day.  You can serve the soup with sour cream, cheese, green onions, or tortilla chips!

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

With the enormous mountain of snow headed towards Kansas City right now, I couldn't be happier that one of the few things in my fridge is this cake.  It stares at me every time I open the refrigerator.  I want it for breakfast. I want it for lunch. I want it for dinner. And I want it for every snack in between.  Hey, its got carrots, walnuts, and raisins in it! How bad could it be??

eh? hello? 

Okay, so this isn't exactly your New Year's resolution cake... it's pretty far from it actually.  But it's incredible, and I can whole-heartedly say that you would be missing out on a wonderful piece of life if you didn't try this cake.  (I'm not one for dramatic statements... obviously).

If you are in the KC area and would like to get trapped in an apartment with a girl, her dog, and a carrot cake, my door is open.  Probably not for long though... I think I can hear the snow coming and the path of destruction trailing it. 

(My cousin, Kristin, took this photo! Fabulous!)

You can find the recipe here! SmittenKitchen made cupcakes instead of the two-layered cake... an absolutely fantastic idea.  I opted for the two-layered cake as they are just too fun to make. Do try the cupcake idea though and let me know how it goes!

If you don't hear from me in a week, please come shovel me out of my apartment. 

And bring carrot cake!

Chicken and Dumplings

Sorry, my OCD is flaring up again.  I think I found a winner with this design though.  I feel comfortable in this.  This is pretty.  I love this.

The delicious things you see above are French macarons (yes, I spelled that right), and you can buy them at my new favorite store, Natasha's Mulberry & Mott.  It's beautiful and quaint.  I pretended like I was in Paris when I went there.  You should too.

By the way, you can thank my dear friend, Jane, for the new blog title.  She is oh-so-creative and witty. She happened to have started an oh-so-creative and witty blog chronicling her move to a new city. You should check it out.

(Side note: the url address for this blog changed... take note).

I'm getting awfully bossy with this post so far.  I apologize.

Let's talk about Chicken and Dumplings.

(Side note 2: I made this recipe instead of studying about cholesterol-lowering drugs like a good med student would have been doing.  Irony? yes.  I don't think my nutrition professor would be pleased about what's been happening on this blog lately).

Chicken and Dumplings, how I adore you.

This recipe, how I adore you even more.

This recipe was more time consuming than the average recipe on this blog but still equally, if not more, delicious.  With the possible "winter precipitation" headed towards KC on Monday, what could be more appetizing than chicken and dumplings? Better go get yourself some chicken.

Close up of raw chicken... yummm.

It says fat free! There, I won at something.

I would like to credit this photo to my mother.  She did a fantastic job. Kudos to you, mom. 

Delicious.  You can find the recipe here!

The dogs waiting for the left overs.  typical. 

Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret.

Not everyone knows this secret.

I only share this secret with the people I love.

It goes like this...

chocolate + banana = little piece of heaven on a plate.

Did you all know this?

A genius somewhere thought of this combination and I hope they are reaping all benefits of life right now.  I think chocolate + banana might just be the secret to life.  Could I be anymore dramatic? Can we please talk about the deliciousness that is about to ensue?

You're going to need some dark, sinister-looking bananas.

Bananas that only fruit flies (and my mother) will touch.

You're going to want to mash up those nanners and make the bread...

This recipe was actually just for a banana bread that was fancied up and baked in a bundt pan.  Seeing as how I can't leave well enough alone, I added the chocolate ganache to it.  I'm glad I did too, as this recipe turned out more like a cake rather than a bread.  So, banana cake with chocolate ganache it was.

Like I said earlier, I think I found the meaning of life with this cake.  If you would like some, you're probably just going to have to make your own.  My cake seems to be missing...

gulp.

You can find the banana bread recipe here!

Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Ganache:
(The easiest, most delightful thing on this planet. I'm sure of it.)

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Finely chop the chocolate and pour it into a bowl
Heat the cream till boiling
Pour the heated cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.
Pour the ganache over whatever you please... Just be sure to lick all remnants of the ganache off of your fingers before proceeding.  It's the right thing to do.

Creamy Garlic Tomato Soup

Remember when I had that quasi- snow day about a week ago? Well, I made this soup that day.  And it was fantastic. The end.

Okay it's not really the end, but there really isn't much to say about this soup. It is absolutely terrific and must be made immediately.  It's one of those feel-good soups that should be accompanied with a blanket, a fire, and snow outside. And maybe followed up with some hot cocoa.  Because that's what I did.  And it was fantastic. The end.

Recipe adapted from here!

4 cans tomato sauce (8 oz cans)

1 whole small white onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup milk

4 oz cream cheese cut into cubes

1 tsp dried basil*

Salt and Pepper to taste*

*I added these seasonings to give the recipe a little more complexity but the original recipe did not include them.  Add them to your own taste level!

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the sauce and onion.  Let simmer for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic.  Let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the milk and cream cheese, stirring well.  Mix with a whisk to break up and melt the cheese.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Keep soup over low heat until you're ready to eat!