Devil's Food Bundt Cake

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

I've had a box of devil's food cake mix in my pantry for a while and each time I reach in there it just stares at me…saying "eat me, eat me"! Well I was organizing my pots and pan and I noticed my lonely bundt pan that I've only used once. The only changes I made to the recipe were b/c I was just working with the ingredients already in my home…I'm sure the recipe is fine as is too.

It was so moist & yummy! I think it was even better the 2nd day. I wrapped it in some foil and believe it or not it seemed even more moist than before, love it!

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) package devil's food cake mix

1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup hot water

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla 

3 eggs 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Combine all ingredients and pour in the pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired or better yet just serve it warmed with vanilla ice cream! 

Spinach & Feta Cheese Turkey Meatloaf w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Adapted from Eons

My friend Nikki is a great cook and she shares recipes with me from time to time. Sadly I lose them or forget about them most of the time, but this one I didn't! Good thing too b/c it's awesome! I was so afraid that I overcooked it b/c the thermometer read 183, but it was still great. It was moist and very flavorful! Next time I will add more sun dried tomatoes, but leave everything else as is…mmm!

Before the ketchup...

After the ketchup...

Wonderful turkey meatloaf! As you can see I didn't mix all the feta cheese that well lol

Served with a spinach salad tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. This was the first time trying out this particular kind and it was great. I really liked the fact that all the oil didn't sit on the top, it mixed much better than other kinds.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
2 large eggs
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I only had plain so I added some italian seasoning)
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
3 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup (4 oz) feta cheese, crumbled
3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, minced
5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Vegetable cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except ketchup. Spray a 9x5 meatloaf/bread pan with cooking spray. Add meat mixture and top with ketchup. Just enough to cover the top.

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until thermometer reaches 170 degrees; let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Crab Cake Burgers

Adapted from EatingWell

It's been a while since I've cooked something new and worthy of posting and I'm glad I finally did! These crab cakes didn't turn out like the picture on the EatingWell website and they didn't stick together as nicely as I would have hoped, but they sure did taste great! I was really surprised how much my husband and I enjoyed them…nice surprise.

Pre-shredded crab was a wonderful find! It made the cooking process much faster. 

I think whole wheat bread is sometimes hit or miss on wether it tastes good or not…well this was definitely a hit! So glad I bought it instead of regular burger buns.

And the final product!

Ingredients:  
1 pound crabmeat (I used shredded imitation crab)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 tbs minced chives
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 dashes hot sauce (Crystal is our fave)
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter

Directions:
Mix all but the last two ingredients in a large bowl. Form into 6 patties. (Make sure they are packed well or else they will fall apart)

Heat oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until the butter stops foaming. Cook the patties until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

To Make Burgers:
Buns (hamburger, rolls or sandwich buns)
Slices of red onion
Broccoli slaw
Creamy chipotle sauce (plain greek yogurt mixed with smoked chipotle sauce)

Yucatan Taco Stand Tequila Bar & Grill

It's been a while since I posted anything which means I haven't really been cooking lately, but I have an excuse! ;) My husband has been out of town a lot so that means that I didn't try out any new recipes lately, BUT it does mean that I've tried out new restaurants with friends!

One of the places I went to was the Yucatan Taco Stand in Frisco. They offer many different types of tequilas and have won awards for their margaritas.

Chips and salsa were just so so…chips were normal, nothing special. Salsa was lacking flavor and was very tomatoee.

I ordered The Original Tempura Fish Taco which they are known for and a side of black beans and latin fried rice. The fish had a great crispy coating that I loved and the taco was pretty good, but could have used more sauce. They had a large bottle of a red spicy sauce on each table that I added to the taco for flavor and oh my did it add flavor! Yum! The rice and beans were just basic, nothing special. 

My favorite part of the whole meal was my margarita! I ordered the basic frozen margarita and it did not disappoint. I can't stand it when margaritas have that fake lime flavor and this one definitely didn't taste fake. It tasted great and had just the right of alcohol in it. Many people say they're strong, but if I'm paying for an alcoholic drink, I don't want it to be weak so I thought it was perfect! So good I had to have another :) I can't wait to go back and try one of their other margs. They even have flights of tequila to try. 

Would you like some cheese with that WINE?!?!

If you haven't heard of Groupon by now then you must be living in a bubble! It as well as many other sites post deals in your local area for you to purchase. I receive daily emails from several different websites advertising restaurants, spas and many other places offering meals and services for a discount (usually half off).

My most recent purchase was for www.WineInsiders.com - I paid $25 to get $75 worth of wine! I was able to buy 5 bottles for this (plus just a little additional cost for shipping).

Each wine will receive it's own blog post as I try them all! Can't wait to get started :)

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Day 1 of using ingredients in my pantry! Today I used angel hair pasta and canned green beans. Canned vegetables are not my favorite, but they are nice to have around since they last a long time. When I buy a lot of fresh vegetables it seems like some always goes to waste b/c things come up and I won't be home to cook as often as I had intended.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
4-6oz angel hair pasta
6-8oz large deveined frozen shrimp (around 12 - 18)
2 garlic cloves, minced (or pre-chopped garlic in jar, about 1 tsp)
2 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Directions:
To thaw the shrimp you will need to let the shrimp sit in cool water. I usually have to dump the water out and refill it once. After thawed cut of the tails.

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. While pasta is cooking heat skillet to medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil and garlic. Once butter is melted add the shrimp and let cook for around 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Add the shrimp mixture to the pasta to combine and add red pepper, italian seasonings, salt & pepper to taste. Serve the shrimp pasta sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Green beans - I heated up the can of green beans (drained) in a pot with 1 tbs butter, salt and lemon pepper.

Easy meal that tastes great!

New York Cuisine

In May my husband and I took a trip to New York City! It was a lot of fun and we ate some delicious food.

First up PIZZA! This is from Lombardi's which is an incredibly popular pizza place there. We even walked 3.5 miles to get there and then waited for almost an hour to get a table. The ingredients were so fresh, from the slices of mozzarella cheese to the tomatoes and sausage...YUM! Downside is the wait and you have to order a full pizza, they don't sell it by the slice.

The 2nd pizza place we tried was called Artichoke. There was no wait (ignore the picture, we were with a food on foot group there was no line before us lol), the pizza was cheaper & I loved it! We got the Artichoke pizza of course and it has a creamy white sauce.

Then some crazy chinese food in Chinatown! Chickens & other meat was hanging in the windows and everything lol. To me the food looked like worms and kind of odd, but Chris loved it. Once I got over how it looked it did taste pretty good and there was enough food to feed an army! 

My favorite place of the trip was this small italian restaurant (Uva) and the food was amazing! Gnocchi Di Ricotta,  Pasta special stuffed w/Veal and Girella Al Cioccolato. I'm drooling just thinking about place...Mmm

Our last morning there we went to a small cute cafe with friendly service. We had the Works Egg Sandwich (eggs, prosciutto, tomato, greens and black truffle sauce). Piccolo Cafe

Okay I'm ready for another vacation!