Sunday, May 31, 2009

menu plan june 1

life has been a wreck during soccer season. but that's all behind me now. jake has his final game on thursday and we'll be done until the cache cup in july.

wait... i lied. he has tryouts on tuesday and wednesday. so..this week might be a little hairy.

menu planning really does make the week easier. i've sorely missed it over the past few weeks.

monday:
frozen battered fish filets
rice
fresh pineapple

tuesday:
leftover meat chili

wednesday:
pork tacos with fresh pico de gallo

thursday:
cereal

friday:
kids' choice (SCHOOL IS DONE!!)

saturday:
whatever meat is on sale to grill
creamed corn (i'll post a recipe)
twice baked potatoes

sunday:
pork roast
green beans

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

jam on

in the past three weeks, i've made 20 pints of freezer jam. ten pints of strawberry and ten pints of raspberry. that raspberry jam is precious and i shall guard it with my life. the strawberry is just ok and i will make my kids use that first. :)

i made scones with frozen roll dough on sunday so i'd have a vehicle to get the jam into my mouth. i think it's ungainly to stand in front of the fridge and eat it with a spoon.

do you make jam? has anyone ever made peach freezer jam?

Sunday, May 10, 2009

microwave cake

so i've been doing weight watchers for two weeks now. the first week i lost 4.5 pounds. the second week was really hard and i lost 1 pound.

it only makes sense, then, that today i'd post a recipe for a cake you make in the microwave, right??

one problem: you need some special equipment to make this cake: the pampered chef rice cooker.

you can also make this cake in the microwave if you have a fluted stoneware pan - also pampered chef. (see notes later...). i've never tried with any other pans. either i'm not that brave or i'm not that stupid. you will need to cook the cake for 13-15 mins in the stoneware.

here's what you need:

1 pkg any flavor cake mix
1 can any kind of frosting (not whipped)

right in the rice cooker, mix the cake mix according to package directions. this means you'll need eggs, water and oil. the amount depends on the cake mix you are using. when the cake is mixed, glop (word of the day) 1/2 of the can of frosting right on top of the cake batter. put the lid on the rice cooker and cook for 9 minutes in your microwave.

let the cake rest for about 2 minutes. remove the lid carefully and invert a plate on the top of the rice cooker. take a deep breath and flip the rice cooker over, dumping the finished cake out on top of the plate. the frosting will bubble out over the top of the cake. you can add more frosting if you want.

if you use the fluted stoneware pan, you can use the entire can of frosting... :) bonus!

the best part about this cake is it's easy - and you can go crazy with the flavor combinations. lemon cake is really good with lemon frosting. chocolate cake is good with cherry frosting. if you have a favorite flavor combo, let me know! i'd love to try it out!!

p.s. i love the pampered chef rice cooker. i've made chicken noodle soup in it, oatmeal, cornbread and mashed potatoes, too. and rice. but isn't that obvious??