Dinosaur Birthday Cake!

We celebrated our little girls 3rd birthday this past April, yes I realize that it's been almost two months since then, but my procrastination has been in high gear.....or is it low gear? Anyways about the cake.  For her birthday party she wanted a dinosaur party complete with a dinosaur cake. Well the cake came out great, but the icing.......well I obviously am clueless when it comes to that. The great part was that Sammie jumped up and wanted to decorate her cake, which after I failed miserably I figured what the the heck! Well here it is, the dinosaur cake decorated by the birthday girl herself. I think she did a fantastic job and she had a blast doing it, which completely overshadows my lack of frosting skill.

Chocolate Cake (with beets)
Recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious

Batter
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, or trans fat-free soft tub margarine spread
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup beet puree (I used canned beets and pureed in a food processor)
1/2 cup low-fat (1%) butter milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablesp0on pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar with the oil or margarine until creamy. Add the whole egg and egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate, beet puree, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until smooth.
4.pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool 5 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese with the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla until smooth. Slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread the frosting over the top and between the layers of the cooled cake.
6. Refrigerate in in airtight container for up to 4 days.
Makes one cake.

Life Altering Peanut Butter Muffins

Very rarely do I have a recipe that forces me to really think about what ingredients go into a dish or how a dish is prepared, but this recipe has done both, for the simple reason my little girl is allergic to peanuts and this is the recipe that help lead to her diagnosis. You see Sammie's Uncle is allergic to nuts, so we held off trying peanut butter with her until she was communicating well enough to tell us something was wrong. Upon trying these she got a rash and a persistent cough, which was quickly followed by a dose of Benadryl and a call to the doctor. We had a doctor visit and a blood draw that day, she did excellent through it all. When the results came back, she tested positive for being allergic to peanuts only, but the doctor suggested avoiding all nuts and any thing else that states it "may contain peanuts" to try and avoid the possibility of cross contamination. We have gone through our cabinets and cleared out all the items that either contain nuts or may contain nuts, it's surprising what things were discarded. We have begun looking for alternatives in preparing some of our favorite foods, like no bake cookies and Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, so be on the look out for some reviews on alternative foods and recipes.

(In light of my daughters reaction no picture was taken, as the muffins were quickly quarantined and removed from the house.)

Recipe from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup carrot or cauliflower puree
1/2 cup banana puree
1 large egg white
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the brown sugar with the peanut butter, the vegetable and banana purees, and the egg white, using a wooden spoon.
3. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl or zipper-lock bag and stir or shake to mix. Add to the bowl with the peanut butter mixture and stir just to combine (the batter will be a little lumpy-do not over mix). Add the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar and stir once or twice.
4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 1 month.

Chocolate Cake (with beets)

After the unexpected set back with the Carrot Cake I was know back to searching for a fun new cake. My wife had set one parameter, it had to include a veggie. Thankfully I just received a free copy of Deceptively Delicious from an old friend and coworker. I knew the book contained a recipe that was worth a try and met my wife's request.

On the day I decided to make them I ran into one little hold up, I didn't purchase any butter milk. My wife in all her wisdom hopped on the computer and searched for a substitute. What she found called to use 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and enough low fat milk to make one cup when added to the vinegar, mix together and wait a few minutes. I reluctantly followed their directions and used the substitute. The final product was delicious, so this little substitute is going into my bag of tricks for sure! When it came time to serve up the cake I quietly informed a few guests that it had beets, I don't know of any allergies to beets but it's possible. After a few people had tried some I then informed everyone, a few noticed a different ingredient and thought they were cherries, but overall they loved the cake.

Ingredients
Batter
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, or trans fat-free soft tub margarine spread
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup beet puree (I used canned beets and pureed in a food processor)
1/2 cup low-fat (1%) butter milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablesp0on pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar with the oil or margarine until creamy. Add the whole egg and egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate, beet puree, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until smooth.
4.pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool 5 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese with the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla until smooth. Slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread the frosting over the top and between the layers of the cooled cake.
6. Refrigerate in in airtight container for up to 4 days.
Makes one cake.

French Toast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and nothings better then a meal that will fill you up and stick with you, and french toast has always done that for me. I got this recipe from Deceptively Delicious, as I have only made french toast on a very few occasions with results I was less then happy with. We decided to have breakfast for dinner to mix it up a little, needless to say it was enjoyed by all.

4 large eggs
2tbsp banana or pineapple or sweet potato or carrot or butternut squash puree or canned pumpkin (Make sure its on the watery side so it mixes well with the eggs)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 slices whole-wheat bread
Nonstick cooking spray
2 tsp trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
Pure maple syrup, confectioner's sugar, or fresh fruit, for serving
Flaxseed meal (optional)

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, puree, and cinnamon. Add the bread slices and turn them in the mixture to soak for 30 seconds to 1 minute (any longer and the bread will get soggy).

2. Coat a nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the margarine. When the margarine sizzles, add the soaked bread slices (sprinkle with flaxseed if you like) and cook until golden brown on the outside, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve warm with syrup, confectioners' sugar, or fruit.

Mozzarella Sticks

Well this recipe did not go well at all for me. First I didn't read the directions properly, which is like a major beginners mistake. Secondly, the recipe just didn't seem to work when I followed the directions to the letter. The mozzarella sticks came out soggy and cold in the center, I didn't even try offering them to anyone. I may revisit the recipe some day, but I will have to rethink my approach.

1 cup whole0wheat breadcrumbs
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/2 cup cauliflower puree
1 tbsp cornstarch
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

1.In a bowl, toss the breadcrumbs with the flaxseed meal and sesame seeds.
2.In a seconds large bowl, stir together the mozzarella, cauliflower puree, and cornstarch until well combined. Shape into eight 2x1/2 inch logs. Gently roll each log in the breadcrumbs, then wrap in aluminum foil or waxed paper and freeze for 20 minutes.
3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil. Arrange the mozzarella sticks in the pan in a single layer, being careful no to crowd them. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until the crumb coating begins to brown. Sprinkle with salt and serve with ketchup.