Caramel Apple Cake

I made this delicious apple cake recently and although my family and I enjoyed it, if I made it again, I would make a couple of changes. First, there was too much caramel for the cake (see my dripping picture below.)  I LOVE caramel, but it was too much even for me. **Amendment: I just reread the recipe and missed the 20 caramels; we used the whole bag. Duh! No wonder there was too much caramel!**

Secondly, the cake gets soggy as it sits for a few days, so on the website they suggested reserving the caramel sauce on the side and using it when you slice/eat the cake. I had pulled a paper copy of this recipe from a magazine so I didn't have that wonderful tip. If so, the cake would have lasted longer and I could have been more judicious in my use of the caramel sauce.   With this tip in mind, we may give it one more try. The cake would also be a wonderful treat on it's own. It doesn't need a topping.

Moist Caramel Apple Cake

1pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla or French Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding (used Vanilla)
1cup water
4eggs
1/3cup oil
3Granny Smith apples (1 lb.), peeled, coarsely chopped (used Golden Delicious)
20KRAFT Caramels (used whole bag; yikes!)
3Tbsp. milk

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

BEAT first 5 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Stir in apples. Pour into greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan.

BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from side of pan; invert onto wire rack. Gently remove pan. Cool cake completely. Transfer to plate.

MICROWAVE caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until caramels are completely melted and sauce is smooth, stirring every 30 sec. Cool 10 min. or until slightly thickened. Drizzle over cake.


Kraft Kitchens Tips:

• Do not use cake mix with pudding in the mix.
• To avoid soggy cake, drizzle caramel sauce over cake just before serving.
• Serve topped with thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping or vanilla ice cream.

Servings: 16
Recipe Given By: Kraft

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Z - Baked Ziti

Simple Kid-friendly meatless dish. We love it!  With a salad and bread, it's makes a wonderful meal.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 oz.) ziti or small tube pasta
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 carton (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
½ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 jar (28 oz) meatless spaghetti sauce
2 C (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to pkg directions. Drain pasta; set aside. In a bowl, combine the egg, ricotta and ¼ C Parmesan cheese. Spread 1 C spaghetti sauce in a 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with a third of the pasta, half of the ricotta mixture, 2/3 C mozzarella cheese, 1 T. Parmesan cheese and 1 C sauce. Repeat layers of pasta, ricotta mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with 2 T. Parmesan cheese. Top with remaining pasta, sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 min or until heated through.

Serving: 12
Recipe Given By: Light & Tasty, Feb/Mar 2004

Y - Yam (Sweet Potato) Bake

Please, if you only try one of my recipes, let it be this one! 

I'm telling 'ya! Yum-O! 

I don't care for the brown sugar/marshmallow concoction that often happens to the poor yam/sweet potato.  I used to say I didn't like them until a friend baked this recipe. Now I LOVE them!

My son recently cooked this dish in a dutch oven on a campout and made a believer out of another non-yammy guy.  At Rhett's Eagle ceremony the guy got up and said if they made a badge for cooking the best sweet potatoes, Rhett would have earned that badge.

Need I say more? Please, give this one a try. It's so good!

Sweet Potato Bake

Ingredients:

2 large (or 4-5 small) sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 pint heavy whipping cream (or ½ & ½)
1 egg
¾ t. salt
¼ t. nutmeg
pinch pepper
real Parmesan cheese

Place cubed sweet potatoes in a 8” square pan. Mix the cream, egg, salt, nutmeg and pepper together. Pour over sweet potatoes to cover. Cover top with real grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 ½ hours.
(You may want to cover the top with foil for the first 30-45 minutes, but we like the crusty Parmesan top!)

Serving: 8-9
Recipe Given By: Sandra O’Grady

X - Xanthan Gum

Ah, did you think I wouldn't come up with something for X?

How many times have you watched Iron Chef or some other show on the Food Network and seen someone add xanthan gum (a thickening agent) to their food?  There have been some pretty strange guests on Iron Chef, but I usually enjoy learning about new ingredients and/or cooking styles so I've been known to stay up late watching one cooking show after another.  Been there?

Anyway...

Xanthan gum. No, I don't have a recipe that includes xanthan gum, but on the heels of pink slime, I got thinking about what xanthan gum really is and how often I am ingesting it.  Buyer beware and all.

Xanthan gum is derived from the same bacterium that cause broccoli and other leafy vegetables to rot and turn black. It's called "Xanthomonas campestris," (so science-y) and it produces a slimy substance that, when combined with corn sugar, becomes an extremely useful thickener, emulsifier and stabilizer for just about any processed food. Umm, yum!

Some typical foods you might purchase that include xanthan gum:

Fruit Juices

Xanthan gum acts as a stabilizer in beverages, particularly fruit juices.  Without xanthan gum all the fruit bits (pulp) would sink to the bottom. Xanthan gum helps them stay afloat.

Dairy Products

Ice creams often include xanthan gum as a stabilizer. It prevents the buildup of ice crystals and keeps the product smooth and creamy. It also gives American cheese slices their unique melting ability due to its stability under extreme heat. It remains stable, holding the oil and other ingredients together resulting in a smooth, uniform melt.

Salad Dressings

Xanthan gum holds unlike substances together. Such compounds are called emulsifiers, and they keep a bottle of salad dressing smooth and uniform. Without xanthan gum, the oil content in the dressing would slowly separate from the other ingredients. This is especially true in low-fat and nonfat dressings.

Condiments and Relishes

Manufacturers add xanthan gum to condiments and relishes, particularly cream-based varieties, as a thickening agent. It keeps the at-rest ingredients stay together and gives it excellent flow.  It also reduces water separation, which would otherwise result in a soggy burger bun.

Microwaveable Foods

Xanthan gum is extremely stable from a wide range of temperatures - both from the freezing point to the boiling point, which makes it an ideal stabilizer in microwaveable foods.

Gluten-free Products

Xanthan gum is used as a wheat gluten substitute to give a gluten-free product that "stickiness" that wheat bread contains.

Xanthan Gum used to only be available commercially, but now it's appearing on health food store shelves. Have you ever tried this thickening agent?

I don't know, but if it comes from the same substance that makes broccoli turn black, then I think I'd rather pass.  I wonder how many other mystery ingredients we're swallowing each day?  It makes me want to go on a whole foods diet!

W - Warm Winter Lemon Cake

This is a recipe to tuck away for a cold day; it might be rainy or snowy, but this warm winter lemon cake will hit the spot. It's one of my husband's favorites and he's not a big fan of cake!

Warm Winter Lemon Cake

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
2 C cold milk
1 ¼ C water
2 pkg. (4 serving size ea) Jell-O Lemon Instant pudding & Pie filling
1/3 C granulated sugar
2 T powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour into greased 13x9-in baking dish; set aside.

Pour milk and water into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and granulated sugar. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Pour over batter. Place baking dish on baking sheet to catch any sauce that might bubble over sides of dish as dessert bakes.

Bake 55 min to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 min. (Sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Spoon into serving dishes to serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Serving: 16
Recipe Given By: kraftfoods.com (click the link to see a yummy pic!)

V - Veggie-Filled Croissants

Best Adult Lunch Ever!

Veggie-Filled Croissants

Ingredients:

4 large croissants
1 ½ C shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)
1 small zucchini, chopped into bite-size (about ½ C)
1 small tomato, chopped into bite-size (about ½ C)
1 small onion, chopped (about ¼ C)
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, drained

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut along outside curve of each croissant to within 1 in of each end and ¼” of inside curve to form a pocket. Mix remaining ingredients; spoon into croissants. Heat on ungreased cookie sheet until cheese is melted, about 15 min.

Serving: 4 sandwiches (360 calories per sandwich)
Recipe Given By: Betty Crocker Cookbook, p. 325

U - Ugly Dip

I had to search the web for a "U" recipe so I haven't made this dip, but the reviews were quite positive. Seems easy...and ugly.

Ugly Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
1 (7 ounce) can Mexican-style corn, drained
1 green onion, chopped

Stir the cream cheese, mayonnaise, diced tomatoes, corn, and green onion together in a bowl. Serve immediately or chill.

Yields: 4 Cups
Recipe Given By: Allrecipes. com