Pepperoni and Parmesan Pasta Salad

I decided to make this pasta salad for my contribution to Mother's Day lunch.

It was so quick to throw together and the little bit I tried last night was awesome. I couldn't find the dressing that she mentions in this recipe, so I just used a bottle of Zesty Italian and it seems to work just fine. Although I would love to find that dressing, it sounds awesome.

Pepperoni and Parmesan Pasta Salad

From: Lemons and Love

INGREDIENTS

16 ounces of pasta, cooked to your preference

1 16 ounce bottle dressing

3/4 quarters of a bag of pepperoni, cut up

4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Combine drained pasta, 3/4 of the dressing, pepperoni and Parmesan. Mix thoroughly.

Chill for 2 hours, or overnight.

Mix in the last of your dressing before serving.

Strawberry Cake

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I'm having lunch with my parents and grandma to celebrate Mother's Day. I'm providing the sweet to end the meal and a side. This cake was requested by my mom after she saw Paula Deen make it on her show last weekend.

This was one of the easiest cakes I have ever made (probably cause of the cake mix). I love playing around with cake mixes (red velvet cookie, anyone?) and adding the strawberries to this is such a neat idea (plus it meant I got to use my mini Cuisinart). This cake smelled awesome while it was cooking and I adore the bright pink color.

I ended up just using a whipped vanilla frosting from a can so that it could sit out and everyone could eat it without worrying about the ingredients in butter cream. I still love these whipped frostings, this one reminded me

of marshmallow fluff.

I cannot wait to eat this cake (2 more hours!), I'm hopeful it will be amazing.

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake

From: Paula Deen

Ingredients:

1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix 
1 (3-ounce) box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin 
1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed 
4 large eggs 
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
1/4 cup water 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease pan (I used 9x13 but you could use 2 9 inch round pans).

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pan(s), and bake for 20 minutes (mine was about 27 minutes), or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s) if desured, and cool completely on wire racks. Frost.

You can decorate the top with strawberries, I used red sugar crystals.

Ingredients:

Cute Monkey Cupcakes

Saturday was the first birthday of Max, my bff's little boy and my unofficial nephew. I adore this kid (and his mom) so I was more than willing to help when asked. The idea for these came from my friend looking up "monkey cupcakes" (Max's nickname is monkey and that was the party theme) on photobucket and then piecing together the ideas she liked.

These were so incredibly easy to make. We used cake mixes because they are easy, fast, and kids love them. We also used frosting in a can, she bought whipped chocolate frosting and it was so incredibly easy to use. The nose/mouth of the monkey is a Vanilla Wafer with just a tiny little bit of one side cute off. The ears are 100 Calorie Nutter Butters cut in half and the eyes are upside down M&MS. Then you just use icing to make your eyes, nose and mouth (eyes and nose are black, mouth is red).

The only problem we had with these is that the ears got a little soggy. The one she saw used regular Nutter Butters for the ears, and we determined that these probably don't get soggy because they are much thicker than the 100 calorie version and have the filling. So I'd recommend either using the original NB cookie or putting the 100 cal version on closer to serving (we made these the day before). 

These were a huge hit. Everyone kept asking where she got them and couldn't believe we made them. Max seemed to think they looked neat but was way too excited about his own personal smash cake to pay too much attention. Happy birthday Max!

TWD: Chocolate Bread Pudding

I am in love with this recipe. It was so easy to throw together and tastes so good. I love the creamy texture of bread pudding and this one is perfect.

I ended up halving this recipe and just making an 8 inch pan. I think I could have added a little more chocolate but otherwise this had an awesome chocolate flavor.
I will definitely be making this recipe again, it's so good!

Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle picked this weeks recipe. Check out her blog and all the TWD members to see how they handled this awesome recipe.

Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 410 and 411.

Product Rave: Soy Dream Ice Cream

So I've never raved about a product on here before but I decided I had to with this. About 2 years ago it became apparent that I can't eat ice cream or drink milk (thankfully I can still eat cheese and things that are baked or cooked with milk in them, strange right?). But luckily I haven't missed ice cream too much, I considered it a blessing for my diet (always look on the bright side of life you know).

But then Dairy Queen started running commercials for their new chocolate truffle blizzards... well, I used to love Blizzards (Doug and I would go get them a lot on weekends when we were dating and just eat them and talk about our weeks), and I love chocolate ice cream, and I adore chocolate truffles. The first time I saw the commercial I looked at Doug and said "wow, that's the first time I've missed ice cream." Sad, right?

So yesterday we were at the grocery store and Doug decided to get some ice cream. I'm standing there and decide to look at the Popsicles (my replacement for the creamy awesomeness of ice cream) when I happen to look up and see a shelf of Soy Dream ice cream products. I stood there for a moment in shock. I know there are brands of soy and lactose free ice cream products, but I've never been able to find them here.

Doug came over and told me I should try it, but I was nervous. I've tried soy milk and wasn't a huge fan so I was a little worried about buying it and then not liking it. But the ice cream on the labels just looked so good! So I decided to get some, but then the tough question was what kind? Ice cream sandwich or traditional ice cream? Hmm, decisions decisions. Then I saw this:

And my decision was made for me.

I tried this last night and it is so good. Rich, creamy, chocolaty, with nice sized chunks of brownies. It tastes just like regular ice cream. Even Doug tried a bite and said it was good. I definitely recommend this to anyone else who can't eat regular ice cream (or just chooses not to eat dairy products). I really think you won't be disappointed. Just wanted to share.

TWD: Banana Cream Pie

I have to admit, when I first saw this recipe I was both excited and nervous. I was excited because I love banana cream pie, well anything banana, and I've never made one. But I was nervous because I've never made any type of cream pie before and was worried about the custard turning out.
I was amazed when the custard actually turned out really well. I thought for a brief minute that I had messed it up when my custard started to start to clump up, but I kept whisking like crazy and it turned out really good. I used a graham cracker crust for this instead of the regular pie crust and bought whipped cream instead of trying to make it. I knew I'd be flustered by the custard and didn't want to get overwhelmed. I will definitely try making my own whipped cream soon though.
This recipe was picked by Amy of Sing for Your Supper, check out her blog for the recipe. And check out all the TWD bakers to see how they tackled this recipe.
Banana Cream Pie from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 342 and 343.

Graham Cracker Crust

This recipe will come in to play tomorrow when the new Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is posted but I figured I'd go ahead and post it now. I love graham cracker crusts, they make everything better in my opinion. So when I offered Doug the choice of graham cracker crust or traditional pie crust the other day I was really happy when he picked graham cracker.

It's very simple to make your own graham cracker crust, you just need to make sure it ends up the right consistency.

Graham Cracker Crust

Based off Southern Food Recipe

1 Packet of Graham Crackers (1 bag from a regular size box)

1/4 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

Melted the butter. Smash the graham crackers up into small pieces and crumbs, dump into bowl. Add sugar and mix. Add in butter and combine until the crumbs are damp. Press into 9" pie plate, including up the sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool before filling.