Deanna's Daughter

This is a version of our friend Fabi’s fabulous guacamole – Brock has his way of making it though and everyone always comments on how good it is.

Brock’s Guacamole

2 regular-sized ripe avocados – 1/2 of one chopped, 1 1/2 mashed

1/2 of a regular white onion, finely chopped and rinsed (using a sieve) with hot water and then squeezed of water

1 medium tomato, chopped and squeezed of excess juice

1/2 t. salt (to taste)

1 T. fresh lime juice (1 small lime) (to taste)

2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, check seasonings and enjoy however you’d like!

The girl’s vocabulary is regularly expanding but both Brock and I were still very surprised when I showed Marlow and Waverly a new book, they looked through it and Marlow exclaimed, ‘Wow, this is extraordinary!’.

I call these ‘cheater’ cakes because cake mixes are used.  The first 2 recipes are from Mom and she’s had them for years, the last one is from a tiny Philadelphia Cream Cheese cookbook from my bookshelf.  They’re all great, they can feed a crowd and they maintain their moistness for a couple of days if there’s any left over. (And you don’t need to tell anyone that you cheated).

Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 package (2-layer) chocolate cake mix

1 package (4-serving) chocolate or vanilla instant pudding

1/2 c. canola oil

4 eggs

1 c. (not hot) coffee or water

Beat all of the ingredients together (an electric mixer is easiest) and pour into a greased bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Allow the cake to sit in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a serving platter and when cooled, ice as desired or simply sprinkle with icing sugar.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Pour boiling water over 1/4 c. of poppy seeds, let sit for a few minutes and then drain.

1 (2-layer) lemon cake mix

1 c. boiling water

1 (4-serving) lemon instant pudding

1/2 c. oil

4 eggs

In an electric mixer, combine the cake mix and water then add the pudding and finally the eggs, mixing well after each addition.  Add the oil, mix, then the poppy seeds (it’s fine if all of the water didn’t get drained off) and then beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.  Pour the mixture into a greased bundt pan and bake for about 45 minutes.  Allow the cake to sit in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a serving platter.

Glaze

1 T. soft butter

1/3 c. icing sugar

2 T. lemon juice

Cream the butter and sugar and then rapidly whisk in the lemon juice – if it separates, it will still taste fine so don’t worry – then drizzle over the hot cake.

Double Chocolate Cake

1 package (8 oz/454 g) cream cheese, softened

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. (not hot) coffee or water

2 eggs

1 package (2-layer) chocolate cake mix

1 package (4-serving) chocolate or vanilla instant pudding

1 c. chocolate chips

Using an electric mixer, blend together the cream cheese, sour cream, coffee and eggs on medium speed until well mixed.  Add the cake mix and pudding and beat for a couple of minutes – the batter will be thick! – making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.  Fold in the chocolate chips and then scrape the batter into a greased bundt pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour and 5 minutes.  Allow the cake to sit in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a serving platter, then allow it to cool completely before sprinkling with icing sugar – this cake really doesn’t need icing.

All 4 of us were walking down a busy street and when we came to a curb with a mini frozen overflow lake, Brock had Wavey’s hand, and I had Marlow’s and we all had to carefully walk across the ice in order to cross the street.  We told the girls they did a great job of crossing the ice and Waverly announced, ‘I’m an EXPERT at walking carefully on ice – that means I’m good at it!’.  So cute.

If you tried the Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells and loved them, then you also need to make this.  Also by Giada De Laurentiis and in her book Everyday Pasta, these work the same way and freeze beautifully – no one will ever know you cheated with sauce from a jar.  1 recipe of filling = 36 shells.

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

1 (340 g) box jumbo pasta shells – about 40 shells

2 T. olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 t. salt (twice)

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper (twice)

1 can (398 mL) artichoke hearts, drained (5 to 8 count)

2 c. (500 g) ricotta cheese

3/4 c. grated Parmesan

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

2, 739 mL jars of marinara sauce

1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 350 and bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook the pasta shells for 4 to 5 minutes until just tender, drain and then while they’re still hot, set them out individually on your counter (it really sucks if they stick together!).

In a large skillet cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften then add the ground turkey, salt and pepper.

Cook until the turkey is no longer pink, stirring often to break it up as much as possible, then stir in the artichokes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and allow it to cool for a bit.

In a large bowl, combine the turkey mixture, ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.

Grease a large casserole (I used my lasagna pan), and pour in about 3/4’s of a jar of sauce to cover the bottom.  Carefully fill each shell with the turkey mixture and lay it on the sauce.  Because I doubled it, I put the ones that held together perfectly on a cookie sheet so that I could freeze them individually before putting them in dinner-sized freezer bags.

Fill the shells until your pan is full and you’re out of stuffing then pour the rest of the sauce over all and cover with the mozzarella.

Bake for about 30 minutes until everything is heated through.  This is great with a big Caesar salad!