Giada's Cake Challenge Results

Well I got my cake challenge completed just under the wire last night. Finished frosting it at about 11:15pm. It is admittedly not my best effort in the kitchen but not too shabby considering the amount of entertaining our family has done in the last couple of weeks. I was kind of caked out after two recent birthdays at our house so it took me a while to gear up for this challenge. I chose to bake a carrot cake because it is wholesome, but also a little spicy. Just like me!

I used Williams Sonoma's recipe and while it wasn't bad, I will probably try a different one next time. I was not a fan of the frosting, which proved to be a little too cream cheesy for me, even after adding about half a box of powdered sugar to try and even it out a bit. I don't know, maybe the cake would have been better if I had plumped the raisins and toasted the walnuts per the recipe directions, but seriously, who has time to plump raisins? I am usually lucky if I get a shower everyday, so consider a cake with any kind of raisins a success. I did zest an orange for this so it felt fancy enough at that point. It turned out edible and thus went to work with my husband today so we don't eat the whole thing!

Looking forward to see what the June challenges have in store for us, cooking friends! Until then...

Sue Chef's May Results

I didn't realize how hard the cake challenge would be It's kind of silly, when you think about it (I know it was my challenge, so sorry). But, throughout the month, I kept coming back to the same cake to make.......A Pineapple Upside Down cake. I like how you are basically taking a plain white cake and dressing it up. Like a jeans and a white shirt girl with a fun piece of jewelry or crazy accessory. The ordinary girl who likes to get a little wild once in a while. A little bit sweetness on top of mellow cake. Can you see the parallel?

Well, if you've never tried Pineapple Upside Down cake, you've got to do this one. It's so deliciously yummy. Seriously..... bake it. Super easy too!

All you need are:

1 box of white cake

1.5 cups of brown sugar

1 stick of butter

1 can of pineapple rings

cherries

And, a Cast Iron pan. Not sure why, but this is very important.

Melt the butter in the pan, then sprinkle the 1.5 cups of brown sugar over the melted butter. Put the pineapple rings around the bottom of the pan, and stick a cherry in the center of each. Prepare the white cake mix according to the box, but substitute some of the pineapple juice for the water. Yum. Then, pour the cake over the melted gooeyness. Bake according to the box instructions. (it took mine about an extra 10 minutes).

When done, let sit in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. And voila! Perfectly sweet, perfectly ordinary. You'll eat three slices yourself on the first night. I promise.

Now, to tackle the $15 challenge, I decided to do Inside Out Cheeseburgers, Corn on the Cob and Baked Beans. $5 for the meat. $2 for the cheese, 1 egg, $1 for the corn, $2 for the Baked Beans.

To make the burgers, you'll need to shape out 6 very thin patties (or use a basic hamburger press like I did). In between two patties, put your toppings. Usually I use Monterrey Jack cheese with Jalapenos, but today, I just used cheddar (sharing with Owen, you know). You can also jazz it up with whatever other toppings you'd like to include, like onions, bacon, etc.

Then, press the other patty on top of the bottom one and the toppings, and pinch the edges to make one large burger. See below.

I also made corn on the cob. I shuck the corn, salt and pepper, spread some butter and pour about a tablespoon of white wine on top, then wrap in aluminum foil. Throw on the grill for about 20 minutes, and turn frequently to avoid burning.

Here's the result on the burgers. Sometimes some of the yummy cheese escapes. Mmmmm.

And, plated up.....a perfect Memorial Day holiday meal. Followed by three slices of Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Enjoy.

My Hollaback to Olive's $15 Challenge: by Giada BeKiddingme

Stuffed Green Peppers
Feeds: 4 Hungry Adults!

Ingredients:
2 lb ground beef (or turkey if you want to be healthier) $5.99
4 green peppers $4.00
white rice $1.00
2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes $2.00
garlic powder, salt, pepper (staple items)
tomato paste $0.50
1 loaf italian bread $1.00

Total cost with 2% NC food tax = $14.77

This did not include my staple items, which most households keep on hand.

My parents have been visiting and my mom suggested this meal for dinner the other night. I immediately took her up on it since it was one of my faves as a kid and I knew it would meet the criteria of feeding a family of 4 for under $15. Whether or not some would consider it a "healthy" meal is subjective however and I had forgotten that part of the challenge. So let's just say you can swap out the ground beef for turkey and use brown rice if you prefer more whole grains in your diet. But I do think there are worse things you can put in stuffed peppers, so compared to all the eating out we've done with family in town, this qualified as a healthy change for us!

Not only is this meal cheap to make but it is super easy. Here are step by step instructions with pictures:

Step 1: Chop tops off peppers and remove seeds. Then add peppers to a pot of boiling water to blanch. You will want to start cooking your rice at this point so it is ready when you need it, and add the ground beef/turkey to a hot pan to brown as well.

Step 2: When peppers have fully changed color in the water, pull them out and place them in a 9x9 baking dish.


Meanwhile, add the stewed tomatoes to the ground beef/turkey, along with a few generous tosses of garlic powder, salt and pepper.


Step 3: Add rice to beef mixture. No picture for this one!

Step 4: Stuff the peppers with the beef/tomato/rice mixture.


Step 5: Slather some tomato paste on top of each pepper and put in the oven at 350 to bake for 20 minutes.

Voila! Peppers are done and ready to serve. We had ours with some fresh italian bread and butter. Not too shabby for 4 adult sized dinners, and I just ate some of the leftover stuffing for lunch too. Challenge success!