Zesty 11 year old helps with cake for the 70 year olds!

Our church was having a special luncheon for our over 70 crowd and Andy was helping serve but also needed to bring a dessert. Luckily, he's married to someone who loves to bake. Now what would old people like for dessert? I have this recipe for death by chocolate cupcakes, but that seemed not something they'd go for, what about lemon cake? My old people always liked Lemon Fluff cake, but I couldn't find a good enough knock off recipe for that. Lemon Bundt would work! Why is the girl who is allergic to lemon always making lemon baked goods? Fantastic question, I do enjoy lemon even though I can't have it. Anyway... I got Nicholas up from his doom scrolling on YouTube to help me with the zest and the juice, he's fantastic at this! Great helper. Then got the cake in the oven! Andy went to go help setup for the event and I told him let them know I had a bundt in the oven, not to be confused with a bun in the oven... see what I did there? No more buns in our oven... whoa! This cake came out of the pan perfectly, the frosting was an absolute dream but was filled with lemon zest so I didn't even taste test. Andy said everyone had some at his table and enjoyed it, he did too! So, Lemon Bundt Cake for the win, for 47-year-olds and 70+ year olds!

Lemon Bundt Cake
Cake
1 cup salted butter soft
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese softened
¼ cup salted butter soft
3 Tbsp lemon zest
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice or more if needed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one.
Sift together dry ingredients. Add alternately with buttermilk; mixing well. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice.
Spread into a well greased and floured 12 cup Bundt cake pan or tube pan.
Bake at 325° for about 1 hour or till a toothpick comes out clean. (Don't over bake or the cake will be dry.)
Let sit in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully dump out onto a cooling rack. Cool cake completely and frost with lemon cream cheese frosting.
Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter till smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients, adding enough milk or cream to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake.

When Chocolate Chip Cookies are needed STAT!

The boys group Andy leads is doing their baking badge and the needed an easy cookie recipe that didn't require a whole lot of equipment. Last week they made cupcakes, next week cookies. The last time I let the boys use my mixer they started peeling my decals off of it... yes, my mixer is pimped out - are you surprised? you shouldn't be... it's been like that for almost 20 years. Anyway... something easier, but something quick. I found a no chill brown butter recipe which I converted into just a melted butter, modified ingredient amounts, then of course we needed a test. So, Friday after work I whipped up a batch of these cookies, they were gone by Sunday. So, you could say they were enjoyed, quickly.
So, if you need a quick batch of yummy soft cookies that get put together really quickly and even 5th and 6th grade boys can do it? These are great.

No Chill Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large cold egg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Melt butter in microwave Add brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla and whisk to blend. Add whole egg and whisk until incorporated. Then whisk in baking soda and salt.
Add the flour and fold it in until mostly combined, then fold in chocolate chunks.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Use two spoons to scoop 14 pieces and roll into smooth balls. Place them onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart. Flatten slightly and bake for 9-11 minutes until golden around the edges and still slightly gooey in the center (they will set as they cool). Let cookies cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet.

AI doesn't know how to cook or bake...

Another day another AI recipe. How did I get stung twice in one week? I usually get my recipes from very reputable people but this one just looked so good - guess why? AI... ugh. Once I realized the photo was made up and the directions made absolutely no sense, I started figuring it out on my own. First off, strawberry pie filling from a can? Hard pass, even if you can find it, that does not make a fresh and wonderful dessert. Gross. I have seen tubs of glaze in the produce section of some stores, just not any that I frequent. I found a recipe for glaze (it's listed below) it's easy and works great, also uses fresh strawberries. Here's another tip - be smart about your cream mixture... I mixed up my cream cheese, tossed in my pudding mix, THEN added milk and ended up with chunk wetness all over the place, don't be me. Mix your pudding ahead, then slowly add it - avoid the chunk shower. Ugh.
On to assembly - the photo I had was not at all what the instructions said, so I forged my own way. Originally it said to layer it in an 8 x 8 baking dish. So, an entire angel food cake cut into cubes, a vat of cream, and strawberry pie filling, tucked nicely in an 8 x 8 pan? Are you insane? Come on AI, do better. I used a giant glass dish that I never use and it worked perfectly, you could see the layers and it worked great. This ended up being a wonderful dessert, which a LOT of edits. This was great for a warm spring night - fresh flavors that everyone enjoyed.
Just remember, if a recipe looks weird and doesn't seem to add up, use your common sense and make the changes and don't trust random crap you see on the internet.

Heaven on Earth Cake
16-ounce box angel food cake mix
21-ounce can strawberry pie filling (or make Strawberry Glaze and fold in 1 pound of sliced strawberries)
8-ounce block cream cheese
3.4-ounce box vanilla instant pudding mix
1.5 cups milk
8-ounce container Cool Whip whipped topping

Prepare the angel food cake as directed on the package. Cut into 1-inch cubes.
Make Glaze and cool, add in strawberries
Mix together pudding mix and milk, set aside.
Beat block of cream cheese, slowly add pudding mixture, fold in cool whip.
In a large clear glass bowl, make three layers starting with angel food cake cubes, cream mixture, then strawberry mixture. Layer them until ending with strawberries on top.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours until set.

Strawberry glaze recipe
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 (3-ounce) package strawberry Jello

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and water. Turn on the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture tods a boil. Cook and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes, or until thickened.
Remove the pan from heat. Add in the strawberry gelatin. Whisk until completely dissolved.
Chill the glaze in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, or until just slightly cooled. Don’t let it chill too long or it will start to set. We’re just refrigerating it briefly to let it shed heat.
Use the glaze immediately while it’s still spoonable and pourable. Or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Worrying that AI may have got me...

I was worried I got AI-ed with this recipe… When I prepped the ingredients the weekend before I hadn’t read the instructions. Well, they were colorful to say the least… Very colorful. As I was pouring all that liquid into the veggies I realized maybe I should have cooked the orzo in that liquid, I did end up using maybe a half cup of cream, mostly because my container was frozen and that’s all I could get thawed in the time I was making this. Also, I pulled out some of the liquid and added some cornstarch to thicken things up a bit. So, this ended up being served like soup instead of a pasta. It tasted great, but it was not what I thought. Andy liked it, so did the kids! I think next time I’d probably toss the uncooked past into the pot and let it suck up all that liquid. In the end I think someone tossed this recipe into AI to make it sound great… it didn’t, it sounded dumb. No one talks like that. I updated the language to be less…. dumb. I’m sure I’ll get nailed by an AI recipe at some point, I try to use reputable sites, but every once in a while something just looks so good – too good.
Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Orzo Recipe
2 cups cooked orzo pasta
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 cup frozen peas
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Directions and Instructions
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and cook until it’s browned and cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Once done, remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside.
In the same pot, add diced onion, minced garlic, diced carrots, and diced celery. Sauté vegetables until they soften and become fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.
Pour in the chicken broth, heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, and dried thyme. Stir well and bring this mixture to a gentle simmer.
Now, bring back the cooked orzo, the frozen peas, and the sautéed chicken to the pot. Stir everything until well combined.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese, allowing it to melt.
Before serving, garnish your pot pie orzo with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Pam's my girl! If she has flour...

If you are looking for all chocolate and nothing but the chocolate - this bundt cake is for you. Two mixes - a chocolate cake and a brownie mix make this one really simple, but also very heavy! I made this cake for a church dinner. Bundt cakes are great for feeding a crowd, easy to serve and eat. The frosting is an easy ganache, you could use canned frosting too if you wanted to go even easier.
Use one big bowl to mix up the cake batter and use Pam with Flour to very well coat the bundt pan. I use Pam with flour when I bake for my pans, the baked goods always come out easier than just regular Pam/spray. Pam's my girl! Ok that's weird. But legit... worthwhile... just don't use it for and gluten free baking! That would be dumb. But make this cake! Share with lots of people! They'll love it.

Chocolate Brownie Bundt Cake
For the cake
1 15.25 oz. chocolate cake mix
1 18.3 oz. brownie mix
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup oil
1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the ganache
1 cup heavy cream
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan.
In a large bowl, beat both mixes, eggs, oil and water until mostly smooth. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before inverted the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it just begins to boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let stand for a few minutes, then whisk until ganache is smooth and shiny.
Pour ganache over cake and serve.