Tasteful Tuesday

Drew's birthday was Sunday and he really wanted a Percy Jackson birthday cake. Percy Jackson is a book series that has a lot of Greek mythology in it and it is huge among the kids Drew's age. I searched all over online looking for a cute cake and couldn't find anything that I liked so I had to come up with something on my own. There is a recipe at the end of this post but it is mostly about this cute birthday cake idea. I know it doesn't really go along with my new low calorie recipes but I have to say, I wasn't even tempted to eat any cake. The rice krispies, on the other hand.... (they are what I used under the fondant). Here is Drew with his cake. We took it to the park for a get together so I didn't get a picture with the candles in.

Here is the Medusa head the girls and I made. Didn't it turn out cute? Ainslee and Kaitlyn did most of it.

In the top picture with Drew in it, I had added the "minitaur horn"...not sure if I liked it on there or not, but he wanted it so I threw it on.

To go with the cake I wanted to make some wave cupcakes but I ended up running out of time and decided to just top the cupcakes with whipped cream. For the cake, I made a jello poke cake, which is one of my favorite cakes to make that takes minimal prep. and tastes really good...not to mention the yummy surprise inside. I also made the cupcakes that way. The recipe is down below. Read through my notes to find out the new buttercream recipe I used.

Jello Poke Cake

1 box cake mix*

1 (4oz) package jello

Cool Whip

Bake cake according to directions. While hot, poke holes in cake and prepare jello according to directions. Spoon jello over cake and then refrigerate until jello is set. Top with cool whip and enjoy!

My Notes:

*any flavor of cake mix is good but you can try these combos: spice cake with orange jello, white cake with any flavor, chocolate cake with cherry or black cherry jello, lemon cake and lemon jello. Whipped cream is the best topping but if you are like me and want to actually decorate the cake, whipped cream doesn't work really well. I found a fun twist on a buttercream frosting that tasted good with the cake but still allowed me to use a cake decorating tip. Use 1/2 cup butter, softened; 4-6 cups powdered sugar; 4-6 tablespoons prepared jello (before it has set up...I poured most of the jello over my cake and cupcakes and then used the small amount that was left to put into the frosting). Beat the butter until fluffy and slowly add in the powdered sugar, alternating with the jello. Continue adding sugar and jello until you reach desired consistency.

Recipe source: Kraft foods

Tasteful Tuesday

Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Cake

Some of you might remember me posting a picture of this cake a while back. I said I would get the recipe posted but I have had a lot of others to get on here. So, finally, here are the recipes I used to make this yummy cake. I am kind of crazy in that I am really trying to rid our diets of processed foods...mind you processed, not unhealthy. It is apparent that we still eat a lot of junk! Anyway, I have been trying to find recipes to replace boxed meals, etc. Here is my favorite chocolate cake recipe with a raspberry mousse filling to go with it. In a few weeks, I'll get around to sharing the recipe I just found for a homemade cake mix that you can pop in the freezer to pull out when you need to make a cake. It turned out great! On to the chocolate!

Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Add boiling water, slowly. Batter will be very thin. Pour into greased pans and bake at 350 for 35-40 min. for a 9x13 or 30-35 for 9 in rounds.

Raspberry Mousse

1 (10 oz) package frozen raspberries, thawed

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon cold water

2 tablespoons boiling water

1 cup cold whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Drain raspberries and push through seive to remove seeds. Discard the seeds. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand 1 minute. Then add the boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved and mixture is clear. In mixing bowl, combine whipping cream, sugar and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form. Pour in the gelatin and beat until stiff. Stir in the raspberries and refrigerate 20 minutes. Pour into chocolate cups, eat on graham crackers or use to fill the center of a layer cake.

Tasteful Tuesday

Today I have three great things for you. I am sharing a great fall recipe that comes from my mom. It is another dessert and will probably be the last one for a while since my great sister has another great challenge going on at her fitness blog. I am also announcing the winner of the Truffle contest. So....on to the winner. The winning flavors are Raspberry and Oreo. And the winner, drawn from a hat by my son Bronson, is Alesha Walker! Congratulations!! Be expecting a package from me in the next couple weeks. I am also opening up my recipe blog which for now only has yummy desserts (sorry, the pictures are coming!) but will eventually house all my recipes that have been tested and eaten up by my hubby and 5 kiddos. I will still do tasteful tuesday here and the recipes will be featured at both places. Hope you can enjoy some of our favorite recipes!
So, on to today's recipe: Pumpkin Cake....sorry there is no picture, we are in the middle of switching to a new computer and not everything is hooked up and working to get the pictures on). I am not much of a pumpkin pie fan but could eat the entire pan of pumpkin cake without even thinking about it. Serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and it is fantabulous!

Pumpkin Cake

1 large can pumpkin

1 large can evaporated milk

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 box yellow cake mix (butter recipe is best)

1 cube butter, melted

In mixing bowl, combine first six ingredients. Pour into lightly greased 9X13 pan. Combine yellow cake mix and melted butter. Crumble over the top of the pumpkin mixture and bake at 350 for 50-60 min. Remove from oven when it does not jiggle and is golden brown on top. Serve with Cool-whip or vanilla ice cream

**if you want to make it even quicker, you can purchase the large can of pumpkin pie filling and leave out the spices and sugar. Just add the milk and eggs. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.

Tasteful Tuesday

I usually have the hardest time deciding which recipes to share. My camera is now full of food pictures instead of cute kids! Anyway, today I decided to share two recipes. The first is another one from my mother in law which I have changed a little bit. It is my favorite chili recipe. Since the weather here is starting to cool off, it makes for a great, quick and easy dinner. I usually serve it in a bowl, more like soup (and I especially like the lettuce in it) while my mother in law usually serves it on a plate more like nachos or taco salad. Do whatever suits your fancy. The second recipe is one I would never have thought to put together. My husband and I were able to sneak away for a date on Sat. We tried a restaraunt new to us and while the entrees were just okay, the appetizers and dessert were fantastic. The chocolate pineapple upside down cake was what we tried. Very yum! I still need to work on the recipe that is here to make it just like the one at the restaraunt but this was still very tastey and would be great if you are looking for something different to serve to company. It looks really nice on a plate. Hope you enjoy!

Chiliquiles

1 onion, chopped

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can creamed corn

Brown beef with onion and drain. Add in rest of ingredients and heat through. Serve with corn chips, cheese, sour cream and shredded lettuce.

Chocolate Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 (20 oz) can pineapple slices

1 package dark chocolate fudge cake mix**

1 box instant vanilla pudding**

1 cup pineapple juice, from canned pineapple with little bit of water added**

1/2 cup oil**

4 eggs**

Seedless Raspberry jam

Butterscotch Sauce (from ice cream topping section)

Preheat oven to 325. Melt butter in 9X13 pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter. Place pineapple slices in pan. Put a small spoonful of jam in center of pineapple slices. Combine cake mix, pudding, juice, oil and eggs in large mixing bowl. Blend on low 30 seconds and onmeduim for 2 minutes. Pour batter over pineapple and bake 40-50 min. Cool 5 min and turn onto serving platter, pineapple side up. To serve, warm butterscotch and small amount of jam (in seperate bowls) and drizzle over plate. Put a piece of cake in center and spoon more butterscotch on top. Top with dab of whipped cream.

**I have found that I like this recipe sooo much better with the following from scratch chocolate cake. If you want to make the cake from scratch replace the astricked items with the following recipe and follow the rest of the directions.

Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup boiling water (for this cake use the pineapple juice plus enough water to make 1 cup and bring to a boil)

Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Add in boiling water, slowly. Batter will be very thin. Pour over pineapple and sugar. Bake at 350 for 35-45 min.