Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite treats, but they take a little more time than I am willing to invest on a regular basis.  I first tried a version of this when I was staying with a friend in Arizona and I thought it was wonderful!  I have made it a few times since then for different events, slightly adapting it each time.  I love that it has normal ingredients that I always have on hand.  The first time I made it, I thought it was way too sweet and had a little too much butter (and I love butter).  I have cut down the sugar and butter a bit and think it is just about perfect.  The cinnamon shines through and it is still plenty sweet.  Every time I make this, it is always well received.

Cake:
3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:
14 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Adapted from Your Home Based Mom.

Banana Cake

This is the best banana cake.  It is moist without being too dense.  I have tried several recipes for banana cake and while they are usually good, they aren't anything to write home about.  The first time I made this cake, my friend Kelsey requested that I use this her family's recipe for this banana cake for her birthday.  It is a Howell family classic, with good reason!  The Howells are great cooks, so it was no surprise that this cake was fantastic! I have made it several times since.  The recipe has been slightly adapted (I can't help myself), but no matter how I make it, where ever I bring it, it is a hit!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and grease a 9x13 cake pan.

2. With and electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture.  Mix until partially combined.  There should still be a few dry streaks.

4.  Add lemon juice while mashing bananas and once mashed, add with butter milk to the batter.  Mix until just combined.

5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.  Sounds crazy to bake it at such a low temperature, but it works.  You will know it is done, when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Soften cream cheese and butter.  Beat together until fluffy.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar.  Beat until well combined.  Spread on top of cooled cake.

Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

My husband and I are in the midst of moving so posting is a bit spotty right now.  Luckily, we've found an apartment so I have time to post a recipe I've been meaning to post for a while now.  Jen loves these lettuce wraps and has been asking me to post them.  Today is the day!

For some of you, Sriracha sauce, hoisin sauce and rice vinegar may not be kitchen staples, but trust me they make a lot of Asian food taste more delicious.  If you decide to buy them, I recommend getting them at an Asian market.  They tend to be much cheaper there than at your every day grocery store.  And keep in mind they last a long time and you don't need much in your recipes, so it's a great investment.  Plus, once you try this peanut sauce, you'll know you need these ingredients on hand.  This peanut sauce is that good.  And don't try to make it without the Sriracha.  Believe me, I've tried it.  It was highly disappointing.

Lettuce Wraps
Serves: 6 people

2 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. salt
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs. fresh ginger, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 - 8 oz. can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. cabbage, minced
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce
3 tbs. cilantro, chopped
1 head green leaf, Boston Bibb or iceberg lettuce, washed and separated into individual leaves
(You can use any of these.  Boston Bibb is my favorite since it's soft enough to fold without breaking.  It is also the most expensive.  Iceberg is fairly traditional, but it breaks too easily for my taste.  Green leaf was a happy, cheaper compromise for me.)

Brown turkey with salt.  Add garlic, ginger and cabbage when the meat has stopped producing so much liquid.  Cook until the meat is no longer pink.

Add green onions and water chestnuts.  Mix all together and cook for a minute.

Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce.  Stir until combined and cook for about 3 minutes for it all to incorporate.

Mix cilantro in when ready to serve.

Eat on a lettuce leaf with peanut sauce drizzled on.


Peanut Sauce

1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs. fresh ginger, minced
6 tbs. water (or chicken broth)
5 tbs. hoisin sauce
1/2 c. peanut butter (I do creamy, but crunchy could be good too.)
1 tbs. Sriracha sauce
1 tbs. brown sugar
1 tbs. lime juice

Saute garlic and ginger in olive oil until fragrant.

Add in water, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, Sriracha, brown sugar and lime juice.  Cook until everything is combined and smooth.

Add more water if the sauce is too thick.  It should be smooth and thick, but still able to drizzle.

Peanut sauce adapted from kolpona.com 

Homemade Chunky Applesauce

A few weeks ago I ended up with a large bag of apples.  I made apple cake, apple pancakes, and ate several apples.  I still had about eight apples left, but they weren't tasting quite as fresh.  What to do?  Make applesauce!  Homemade applesauce is so good!  I love it when it is hot and drizzling it with a little cream and sprinkling a little sugar on top.  It is also good just on its own.

Ingredients:

8 apples (I used fuji, honey crisp, and ambrosia apples)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup water

1. Peel, core, and dice the apples.  Place in a pot with a lid and lemon juice and water.  Cook over medium low heat stirring every few minutes.  As they cook they will start to get soft and break down.  I generally try to help this process along by smashing some of the apple chunks against the side of the pot with the spoon.

2. Serve, enjoy, or freeze!

Variations:  If you would like cinnamon, feel free to add it.  Not a fan of chunky applesauce?  Run it through the blender.  If it is too thick, add more water.

Tortellini with Red and White Sauce

I'm not an avid Trader Joe's shopper.  But every now and then I go there and pick up some of their divine yogurt, produce and tortellini.  They have the best price for tortellini that I've seen.  It's a fun treat for us that we only have every once in a while.  I found this easy recipe on Simply So Good and adjusted it so there was less cream, no wine and a few more seasonings.  It is quick, easy and delicious.  It's a great throw together meal that tastes like it was way more work than it actually is.  I love meals like that.  

Tortellini with Red and White Sauce

White Sauce
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups half and half
Salt and pepper to taste

Red Sauce
1tbs. olive oil
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tbs. butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1 package tortellini


In a small saucepan, heat chicken broth until it is simmering.  Let it simmer until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup.  Mix in cream and add salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm on the stove, stirring once in a while to keep a skin from forming on top.

In another saucepan heat olive oil and then add the canned tomatoes.  Once that whole mixture is warm add the garlic, oregano, basil and butter.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until everything is ready.  I've let mine simmer for up to 45 minutes with no problems.  I actually like mine better the longer it simmers, but the goal with this meal, is generally a fast meal!

Cook the tortellini according to the package.

Add drained tortellini to cream sauce and simmer on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with the red sauce spooned on top.  It is also divine with fresh basil, parmesan cheese and sautéed zucchini.

Note: The cream sauce is rather thin.  If you'd like it thicker, whisk a few teaspoons of cornstarch into the half and half and then gradually whisk that mixture into the chicken broth.  

Adapted from Simply So Good