10/23/13

Apple Upside-Down Cake in a Fry Pan

After reading the post on the Ozeri SS Earth Pan, here is a perfect fall recipe for you to try in your new pan.  (BTW these pans make great Christmas Gifts and you can get yours at Amazon.)

This recipe is taken from  Noteatingoutinny.com.

IMG_6964

Apple Upside-Down Cake (in a fry pan)(makes one 8-inch, short cake)
1 large apple, peeled, cored and sliced to thin wedges
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
for the cake batter3/4 cup all-purpose or cake flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Cream the butter, vanilla and softened sugar. Beat in the egg until mixture is fluffy and lighter in color. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, alternating with splashes of the milk, until all is incorporated and well-mixed.
Preheat oven to 375F. Toss the peeled and sliced apples in the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Melt the 4 Tb of not softened butter in an 8-inch fry pan. Once it begins to foam, place down the apples in a fan formation (or just place down however you wish). Don’t stir, and let cook on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour the cake batter over the apple mixture, evenly pouring around the edges rather than the center all at once (so as not to disturb the fan pattern). Transfer pan to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove with hot mitts. Place a large serving plate upside-down on top of the fry pan and flip. The cake should come out onto the plate upside-down.
One plump apple is just what you’ll need for the bottom of this cake. Once peeled and sliced, I tossed my apples in sugar and cinnamon raw first. Almost half a stick of butter went down in a roughly 8-inch pan, and when it began to foam, the slices were arranged in a fan.
IMG_7123apples are arranged in a fan
You’re probably wondering what type of pan to use for this now. Definitely oven-safe to at least 400 degrees is key. You could even use a cast-iron pan, popular back in the day for baking cornbread in. But if you have a non-Teflon, PFOA-free fry pan that’s at least one inch deep, the cake will slide right out of it like a frittata in grease.
The process is kind of like making a frittata: cook the apple slices in hot butter, until they’re sizzling with juices and apple pie smells. Then pour the cake batter over them, and don’t touch again. Transfer this all to the oven immediately, to bake through with convection heat. Once a toothpick comes out clean from the center, cake’s done.
No one even knew it was baked in a fry pan.



10/18/13

Pumpkin Bars Recipe

I just made these delicious Pumpkin Bars for a group of people this week.  They were gone in no time flat.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Ingredients:
Mix together the following:
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Add and blend well to dry ingredients:
1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. pumpkin puree (not pie mix)
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


Then add and mix:
2 1/2 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. milk chocolate chips
3/4 c. butterscotch chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch dish.  Pour batter/dough into dish and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Cool completely, then slice using a plastic knife so it won't gum up or stick.


10/7/13

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

This is a great fall flavored cheesecake.  Don't wait, make it today!  Enjoy year round not just Halloween or Thanksgiving. (Olive Garden was serving this during the month of August.)
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
9 whole graham crackers (about 4 oz.), crumbled
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

OR The Easy Way ~ Just buy a 9" Graham Cracker Crust
Filling:
4 8 oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
DIRECTIONS
1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Wrap a double layer of heavy-duty foil around the outside of a 10-inch springform pan. (Can use a glass or metal pan that isn't springform, but results are slightly different, especially when it comes to removing the cheesecake.)
2. To prepare the crust, combine graham crackers, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl or food processor. Blend until graham crackers are very finely ground (if you don’t have a food processor you can crush them yourself with a rolling pin). Drizzle butter over. Pulsing, blend until crumbs begin to stick together (or mix by hand with a spatula). Press crumbs onto bottom (not sides) of springform pan. Bake in preheated oven until crust is slightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.
3.To prepare the filling, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add pumpkin and remaining 7 ingredients. Beat just until blended. Pour filling into prepared crust. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Add enough water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.
4. Bake cheesecake for 90 minutes, or until slightly puffed and softly set and top is golden. (At this point I turned off the oven and left the door cracked open to gradually cool the cake. After a little while I transferred it to the counter to cool completely.) Transfer springform pan to rack and cool. Cover and refrigerate cake overnight.
5. Using a knife, cut around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Release pan sides. Cut cheesecake into wedges and serve drizzled with caramel sauce and a dollop of real whipped cream.
6. For perfect whipped cream, use a bowl that’s large enough to allow the cream to double in volume. Refrigerate the bowl and beaters for at least half an hour, or place them in the freezer for 15 minutes, and make sure the cream is very cold. Use the freshest whipping cream available, and add sugar, vanilla, or any other ingredients near the end of whipping; adding them too soon in the process will decrease the amount of volume you achieve.
Makes 1 10-inch cheesecake.

10/3/13

All Natural Green Smoothie


Details:  "Health from the Inside Out" is Immortal Herb's motto.  Total Nutrition is a delicious, easy prep supplement that contains a diverse blend of premium quality super food ingredients sourced from across the globe.  Nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, essential Amino acids, and minerals in a dense enough solutions to provide the average American an entire day's worth of nutrients in just one tablespoon.  Gluten free, GMO free, 100% organic, Vegan and no added sugars.  Made in the USA.

Disclaimer:  I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review: When I got this product review, it was one of my best choices for a healthy pre-made powdered smoothie drink.  But it gave me a HUGE surprise.  When I opened the package, it was 1. green (what the?), and 2. it smelled like alfalfa (horse feed?).   So immediately I decided I needed to make this up with some fruit and juice so I could actually swallow it.  So I mixed fruit juice, and frozen fresh fruit: bananas, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, with the full package of Total Nutrition, which is one serving, and drank it for breakfast.  It was interesting.  The strong fruit really helped against the barley, which makes the alfalfa smell and taste in this powder.  But for the next few hours I was burping up the taste, which made me a little sick.  However, whenever I wasn't burping up that taste, I felt great, I was energized, my mind was clear.




Pros: you feel great, are energized, clear mind

Cons: smells and tastes like alfalfa, barley, you may burp up the taste

My Rating: Thumbs up for the health benefits, thumbs down for the whole alfalfa business

Men's Halloween Shirt


Details: Foul Mouth Shirts offers just what their name says: foul mouthed, funny, sexy, crude humored, obseen shirts for men and women, especially for Halloween.  Their content is not G, PG, or PG-13 rating.  They offer biker shirts, zombie shirts, Halloween shirts, regular day "party" shirts or "weekend" shirts.  Their full line of product includes: hoodies, tanks, fitted shirts, loose shirts, men's shirts and women's shirts.

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Review: This was a big oops review.  All the other Halloween and graphic shirt companies allowed me as the reviewer to choose the shirt I wanted to review.  But this one did not, unfortunately I didn't realize this until after I'd been accepted and couldn't back out of the review.  So this is going to be an unusual product review, however, I have good to say as well.  I personally feel like this company's target audience is and should be collage aged people, as their product graphics fit that typical age group's behavior.  Here are 3 clean shirts that I personally like: Hello Sticker, Clever Disguise, Biker Tee.

First off, neither I nor my husband like this shirt, when I applied I had already gone to their website, and found the shirt I wanted my husband to wear.  But not getting to choose, we're stuck with a shirt we won't wear, until I use my fun creativity and fix it.  With that being said, here is what I do like about this product: the material is a very soft comfortable sturdy cotton shirt.  The ink is a high quality ink that will last a while without chipping, cracking and tearing off with usage and washing.  My shirt was shipped out a whole week earlier than the planned time, which was very nice of Foulmouthshirts, to do.  Kudos in my book for customer service.

Pros: quality material, quality ink for graphics, good customer service, fast shipping, does offer clean shirts, not just the "dirty"

Cons: none that I didn't create for myself

My Rating: Thumbs up for quality and customer service, thumbs down for not being able to really support and recommend their products.


Halloween Food for Kids

 Jello Worms: click here for the recipe
 Ghost of a Lunch (or snack time too): honey wheat bread, strawberries, ghost peep, pretzels, carrot sticks
 Ghouls and Gunk for Lunch: Kiwi, gummy worms, Banana, hot dog and bread, string cheese, and ketchup.
 Mummy Pizza: mini bagel halves, with sauce, cheese, olives
 Jack-o-Lantern Sandwich: open faced meat and cheese
 Teeth: apple slices, peanut butter (creamy) mini marshmellows
Broom Sticks: pretzel sticks and string cheese

10/2/13

Cool & Fast Teeth Whitening System

Details:  Luster Premium White is a treatment plan designed to whiten and brighten your teeth at home in 12 treatments.  You can do up to 3 treatments a day.  They system contains a liquid mouth rinse to prepare your teeth for the whitening gel.  Rinse for 10 seconds, apply gel and let sit on teeth for 10 minutes.  In 4 days you're showing off that great white smile.


Review:  My husband has had his teeth stained from gel fluoride.  He's tried several DIY treatments as well as dental treatments to remove the stains from his teeth.  Nothing worked.  He got to where he didn't smile a lot.  I like his smile and we needed to get it back.

Bzzagent gave me an opportunity to try Luster Premium White tooth whitening system for free.  It really worked fast.  My husband did between 1 and 2 treatments a day, and within 10 days or less (he got more than the 12 treatments that the box claimed it contained) he had a brighter smile.  Now it's not perfect, but he's begging me to go buy another box so he can continue to whiten his teeth.  I've seen this at Walgreens and it is fairly reasonably priced at under $10 a box.

The biggest thing I liked about it when I tried it, is that there was no tooth sensitivity that normally comes from a DIY at home whitening treatment.  For once, here is a product that really does what it says it will do.  We're sold.

Here are the beginning, middle and end pictures during the treatment.




Pros:  Luster Premium White really works.  No teeth sensitivity.  Great Price.  Works fast.  Love it.

Cons:  It ran out before we were ready.

My Rating:  Thumbs UP!!!

10/1/13

Protein Snacks that Provide Real Energy

Details:  Hormel Rev Wraps are a great substitute for a protein bar.  With over 15 g. of Protein per wrap, thats pretty decent.  They have real meat and real cheese and real energy.  They come in 8 delicious flavors.
  • Ham & Cheese
  • Pepperoni Pizza
  • Peppered Turkey
  • Meat Lovers Pizza
  • Italian Style Ham
  • Hot Pepper Ham
  • Italian Style
  • Spicy Italian Style




Review:  These are a fairly tasty snack to give kids, teens and adults.  They're just flat bread (or a big tortilla) meat and cheese.  By themselves they are OK, but personally I found they were better when we added cream cheese and spinach.  Other ingredients like tomatoes, onions and olives would have been delicious too.  Heat them up or eat them as is.  If you don't heat them up, they're kind of on the dry side, but still fairly tasty.

I personally wouldn't buy these without coupons, as they run around $2 per single serving.  I could make several when you break down the cost of ingredients.  I just wouldn't have the big oblong looking tortilla.

For someone who likes pre-made snacks for kids, these are great.  Going to soccer practice or games?  Be sure to give your kid one of these before and he'll do just fine.

Pros:  Lots of flavors to chose from, fairly tasty as is.

Cons: A little dry, I liked mine better with added ingredients.  A bit too pricey for me.  Would rather make my own.

My Rating:  Thumbs down for cost and a bit dry. However, I know this will work well for a lot of families out there.

Disclaimer:  I received coupons from Bzzagent to facilitate this review.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review.