Pineapple-Carrot Dump Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz)
• 1 carrot cake box mix

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine softened butter, crushed pineapple, and cake mix until blended. 
3. Pour into a prepared baking dish.
4. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Hint:  This is a very moist cake and while it is good as cooked - I imagine it would also be tasty with a bit of cream cheese icing.  Traditional dump cake recipes do not call for the ingredients to be mixed together prior to baking...I chose this method instead so that I can make single serving cupcake for my crew.  Plus, I always worry about those dump cakes getting baked thoroughly.  Silly, right?  Maybe...but it sure tastes good!  Enjoy!!

Baked Hushpuppies (and Catfish)

Ingredients:

1 jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 cup skim milk

1/2 white onion, chopped

bacon bits, for topping

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

- In a mixing bowl, combine corn muffin mix, egg, and skim milk

- All mixture to rest for 5 minutes

- Dice 1/2 medium-large white onion

- Add diced onion to muffin mix, mix well

- Spoon batter into baking cups, no more than 1/2 full

- Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 lbs catfish fillets, prepped to cook

1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning or seasoned salt

1/2 stick butter or margarine

Directions:

- Melt butter in baking dish, in preheated (400 degrees F) oven

- Combine Cajun seasoning and black pepper in a shallow plate or dish

- Dredge catfish fillets in seasoning, both sides

- Place seasoned fillets in melted butter, in baking dish in 400 degree F oven

- Bake fillets for 10-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork

- Optional: Transfer baked fillets to a hot grill to brown prior to serving

Extra: Catfish is a favorite meal for my guys and making it in the oven at home allows us to save money and be as creative with our seasoning as we want to be. After the food was ready, the guys all reached for the loaf of sandwich bread in the kitchen. When I asked why, they explained they wanted to eat sandwiches. There are no leftovers tonight, but all tummies are full!

These recipes were shared over at Cups By Kim for the Sweet & Simple Sunday #5...just looking at those pictures is making me drool!!! Go be inspired by all the Sweet & Simple recipes!

Peach & Blackberry Crumble

Ingredients:

...fruit filling...

1 (16 oz) bag frozen sliced peaches
2 (5.6 oz) containers fresh blackberries, cleaned and dry
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 TBS cornstarch

....crumble topping...

1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 TBS butter, cut into small pieces

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a square baking dish with cooking spray.

* Combine peaches, blackberries, lemon peel, 1/3 cup brown sugar and cornstarch in a bowl and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish.

* Using a food processor, first combine AP flour, almonds, salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar using the pulse setting. Next add butter pieces and continue to pulse until the consistency of the mixed ingredients has become chunky.

* Top the fruit mixture in the baking dish with the crumble mixture from the food processor.

* Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.

* Let cool for a minimum of 10 minutes before serving.

* To score big, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Disclaimer: Apparently today is the day I couldn't read a recipe to save my life. 3 different times I messed this dish up and was sure it would be inedible. The dish was quite tasty, but I give you fair warning so you can learn from my mistakes....read the recipe, read it again, and then read it one more time. It can't hurt! Happy cooking!!

Sourdough Garlic Croutons

The sourdough bread I baked last Saturday needed to be used up.

Instead of letting it go to waste, I decided to use it to make croutons.



After for looking online for crouton recipes, we finally decided to kind of use bits and pieces of each recipe to make our own.

We started by preheating the oven to 300 degrees F.

So we sliced the remaining loaf of bread into 1-inch slices.

Next, we gathered the ingredients to finish the croutons:

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup butter (or margarine) melted
1/2 cup minced garlic
Italian seasoning mix*



Mmmmmmm, garlic!



In one small sauce pan we combined the olive oil and garlic and simmered for approximately 10 minutes.

Next we added the melted butter and mixed it until it was completely combined.

While I was mixing, Jon diced the slices of bread.

He did a really good job. Knowing my track record in the kitchen today I probably would have cut my fingers. Or something.




In a big mixing bowl, we tossed the bread cubes in the oil/butter/garlic mixture.

Then spread the drowned bread cubes were dumped onto the cooking stone. Once on the baking stone I sprinkled them with Italian seasoning mix. More or less according to your tastes. Ours were pretty strong.

After I cooked them for 5 minutes in the oven, I decided to switch them over to a wire rack over a metal baking sheet. That would allow the excess oil and butter to drain.

My advice - go straight to the wire rack over the metal baking sheet or baking stone.

I should have.



In the end, they cooked in the oven for 25 minutes at 300 degrees F.

Within 2 hours they were half gone.

I'm afraid to go see if there are any left now.

The boys are on fall break right now and no food is safe in our home.

At 10:30 this morning I caught the middle one making himself a cup of coffee.

At least now I know why I'm out of coffee...I'm really just glad it wasn't me that drank it all!!