A Cook's Quest

Hooray!  It is Secret Recipe Club time again.  This is such a fun group to be a part of.  My blogging has slowed down significantly over the last year, but I wouldn't miss one of these reveals! This month I was assigned to Cooking Whims by Megan.  She not only shares recipes, but fun food finds, and her life experiences.  I really enjoyed getting to know her and her family through her blog.  She says, "I am no chef, but I do love to cook and bake and photograph everything under the sun."  She likes to try new recipes and document them on the blog. When it came time to choose a recipe, I struggled to make just one for my post.  I pondered these  Homemade Oatmeal Granola Bars  because I have struggled to find a granola bar that I really, truly loved.  I also considered  Rosemary Roasted Chicken  and  Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Burgers .  But, I finally settled on these  Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream ...

It is time for another round of Secret Recipe Club recipes.  I love doing this every month, because it introduces me to blogs that I wouldn't otherwise see.  This month I was lucky enough to be assigned to Fantastical Sharing of Recipes written by Sarah.  What I love about this blog is that Sarah has a similar take on food as me.  She tries to cook at home and not from packaged meals, but she also cooks what her family loves.  Not everything is the healthiest but she is always trying new recipes and sharing them with her family. As I started going through her recipes, I found many that I wanted to make.  Her one pot spaghetti looks awesome, and has been pinned for future reference.  I almost went for the cheddar baked potato soup , but the weather here is just too warm for that.  So, finally, I settled on this chocolate chip coffee cake .  I love coffee cakes, and Sarah says "adores," it and it is super easy to make.  I didn'...

I have been searching for years to find a sugar cookie that I love.  The problem is that everyone has their own preferences when it comes to cookies: crispy, soft, chewy, gooey, etc., which makes it hard to find the "perfect" recipe.  Your perfect is probably not the same as my perfect. When it comes to most cookies, I like them soft, but not so soft that they are underdone in the middle.  I have been using a recipe for years that had amazing flavor and stayed soft through the baking process; however, the high volume of eggs made the cookies very puffy and they didn't keep their shape very well.  I was ok with puffy cookies because they were just for me and my family, but once in a while I wanted a cookie that would hold the cutter shape better. This cookie does that! Thanks to the lovely world of Pinterest , I have finally found a cookie that meets my requirements.  This recipe comes from the blog Make Bake Celebrate and it is soft and still looks lik...

Every year, after the massive amounts of food at Thanksgiving dinner, we head over to my sister-in-law's house for dessert.  It has become a tradition for all of the extended family, and everyone enjoys the time together.  I try to make a new dish each year to share.  Last year it was this Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake that took two days to make, but was insanely good and worth every second of effort.  This year I needed something easy and quick to make, but with the same decadence as last year's contribution.  After a short visit to my  Pinterest  page, I found a chocolate cake that I had pinned a while back.  It looked rich and moist, but best of all the recipe was easy.  Perfect to bake the morning of Thanksgiving. Now, I'm not a huge fan of mixes, but when a cake looks this good I am willing to make compromises.  I am so glad that I did.  The recipe called for two cups of sour cream which contributed ...

You know those recipes that are similar to another recipe that you love?  This recipe is one of those recipes.  It is like a pineapple upside down cake, which is one of my all time favorite cakes,  in flavor and technique, but instead of pineapple the fruit layer is fresh fall pears.  YUM! The original recipe calls for canned pears, but during this time of year in my area we have an abundance of fresh pears.  I went with the fresh pears because of price and flavor.  I was not disappointed.  This cake has rich, gooey, caramelly, flavors from the brown sugar and butter combined with  sweet pears and a moist yellow cake.  The whole thing just screams Fall, well you have to listen carefully to hear the screaming, but I promise it does.  ENJOY! Caramel Pear Upside Down Cake  Recipe Source: Modified slightly from  Moonspice  Ingredients: ½ cup Dark Brown Sugar ¼ cup Unsalted Butter 2-3 Ripe pears, pe...

This month's recipe for the Secret Recipe Club comes from the blog Loving Life  written by Kirstin.  What I enjoyed about reading through this blog is the personal aspect Kirstin brings to all of her posts.  Not only are there recipes, but also daily life details of one family from the Pacific Northwest.  I love learning about those who write the blogs and getting to know about their life and what is important to them. I have shared on my blog a time or two that my husband's favorite dessert flavors are chocolate and peanut butter, in fact I have a chocolate and peanut butter category on my blog just so I can quickly find a recipe whenever he has a craving.  When I found this peanut butter pound cake at Loving Life I knew it was the recipe that I would be making for this month's reveal. As pound cakes go this one fits the bill.  It is dense, but moist, and very full of flavor.  Alone it reminds me of a peanut butter cookie in cake form, ...

When your in-laws give you three cases of apples it means it is time to make delicious desserts!  Apples are my all time favorite fruit to bake with and it won't be difficult to use them all up.  My father-in-law made a request for a batch of apple butter, my husband asked for dried apples to pack during hunting season, and I wanted to try some new recipes. The first recipe I tried was this delicious French apple cake.  It it dense with chunks of apples and rich with an almost custard flavored cake, but light and delicate too.  I would put the cake to apple ratio at about 50/50.  This cake was gobbled up quickly by my family.  I thought it was best at room temperature with a sprinkling of powdered sugar; however, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it served warm with fresh whipped cream! I only made one change to this recipe--the original calls for 3 tablespoons of rum; however, I didn't have any so I left it out of this recipe. ...

Yes, it is time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal.  I can't believe how little I have been cooking or trying new recipes.  I am happy to report that school was released a few weeks ago, so my days of not cooking much are gone, at least for the summer.  I will be preparing many more new recipes for my family and everyone that reads my blog starting with the June Secret Recipe Club. For those that aren't familiar with it, the Secret Recipe Club, is a once a month opportunity to secretly try a new recipe from another blogger's site and write about it.  Everyone does a reveal on the same day at the same time.  During my last term of school it was the only time I tried new recipes because it was all I had time for. This month I am assigned to Shockingly Delicious .  Oh. My. Goodness.  This drool worthy blog is written by Dorothy Reinhold who is newspaper editor, writer, mom, food lover, and volunteer.  Just reading her blog made me hungry,...

My kids thought I was nuts when I told them we were having cake for breakfast.  There is something about eating cake for breakfast that makes the meal feel special.  Similar to a muffin batter, this cake is spread into a cake pan, topped with sugar, and then baked to delightful yumminess.  It isn't too sweet and has a wonderful lemon aroma that fills your mouth and blends perfectly with the blueberries dotted throughout pair it up with breakfast sausage or bacon for an  easy and tasty breakfast. The original cake called for 2 cups of berries, but I thought that was too much for such a small pan and cut it down to 1 cup instead.  Please feel free to add as many as you like though, there is nothing wrong with a lot of berries! ENJOY! Lemon-Blueberry Breakfast Cake Recipe Source: Modified Slightly from Alexandra's Kitchen Serves 6-8 ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature zest from 1 large lemon 7/8 cup sugar (3/4 cup+2 tablespoons) plus addition...

This cake, THIS CAKE, is unlike any other cake I have ever made.  It is a cake, within a cake, that has surprises throughout...good surprises like caramel, peanut butter cups, and peanuts...oh yes, it crazy rich, but soooo delicious! Usually I am all for easy, fast, economical, or all of the above.  This cake is not any of those things; however, for the holidays I am willing to splurge for a dessert that makes the entire family drool in anticipation.  I served this for a dessert party that my sister-in-law hosted after Thanksgiving and it was a hit for everyone who tried it.  At one point three of us were standing around what was left eating bites with our forks and visiting. I found this recipe by complete accident when I stumbled upon the blog Sprinkle Bakes .  If you have not seen this blog, go there right now and check out the many, many, many, tasty and beautiful recipes.  I made a few changes to the original recipe but nothing that changed ...

  It is Secret Recipe Club time again!  This month I was assigned the blog, Savannah's Savory Bites .  It is a fun blog full of recipes that are tasty, easy on the budget, and easy to prepare.  Yes, it is right up my alley!  Because this Secret Recipe Club posting is during the holiday season, I decided to make a  Pumpkin Pound Cake .  We love pumpkin year round in this house so I always have a can of it in the pantry ready for a delicious treat. This recipe is exactly what holiday desserts should be in my opinion.  Warm and delicious full of sweet spices and moist from the canned pumpkin.  We topped ours with fresh whipped cream, oh yes it was a delicious dessert, but it also makes a great breakfast treat too!  Enjoy! Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe Source: Savannah's Savory Bites 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ginger ...

Oh what can be better than a BBQ with great friends and family for the 4th of July?  Not much in book!  This year I decided to make stained glass jello for the 4th of July.  SO MUCH FUN!  My kiddos loved the look and it was really easy.  Also don't forget to try out some of the other recipes below that I found while I was looking through other sites! I'm linking this post, go check out all the other cool recipes! Stained Glass Jello Recipe Source: I have no idea, this stuff is all over the Internet! 4 small boxes (3 oz. each) of Jell-O or store brand "gelatin dessert" in different colors. (I used two boxes of raspberry and two boxes of blue berry flavor) 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff) For each flavor, dissolve one box of jello in one cup of boiling water. Pour into a container and chill until firm.  Don't do anything with the sweetened condensed milk and unflavored g...