Picture Perfect Cooking

One of the recipe e-mail newsletters that I subscribe to is from Kraft Foods.  There are always easy, delicious recipes for main dishes and desserts, alike.  This is one of those recipes. 

I had bought a few Granny Smith apples at the grocery to bake something, I just didn’t know what at the time.  When I received this recipe, I knew I had to try it!  It is so easy and so good.  The only thing I changed from the original was the caramel sauce.  The original recipe called for melting caramel candies with milk.  I did not have any caramel candies, but I did have caramel ice cream topping so I used that instead.

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1 3.4oz pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 cup water

4 eggs

1/3 cup oil

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped

Caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a Bundt pan.  Here is a little side note:  I have read other people extolling the virtues of Baker’s Joy, which is a non-stick spray that includes flour for prepping pans.  I splurged a little at the grocery store and bought a can.  Love it!  It worked great for the Bundt pan and got in all of the nooks and crannies.

Beat first 5 ingredients on low speed until blended.  Beat on high for 2 minutes.  Stir in apples and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Loosen cake from sides of pan and invert on to a cake plate or wire rack.  Cool completely.

Just look at those apple pieces in there.  Yum!  That is the great thing about Granny Smith apples.  Even after baking for an hour, the pieces are still crunchy.

When you are ready to serve, place a slice of cake on a plate and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Today is ingredient spotlight day at Eat At Home Cooks and the light is shining on bananas this week!

One of my co-workers passed this recipe on to me last winter, and I made it several times.  Since the weather had gotten a little cooler last week, I decided that it was time to break out the soup recipes again and this was the first one on my list.  It is so easy to make and the flavor is great!  If you like your food milder, just substitute plain diced tomatoes for the tomatoes with green chilies and it will be just as good.

1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup celery, chopped

26.5 oz can plain spaghetti sauce

15 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup beef broth

1 cup water

10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies

16 oz bag mixed frozen vegetables

pinch of salt

black pepper to taste

I was a little short on time, so I just dumped everything in together.  For a little more depth of flavor, cook the onions, garlic powder and celery with your ground beef.  That will caramelize the onions and celery.

Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.  This soup is wonderful with cornbread muffins.

“Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset”

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Yesterday was ingredient spotlight day at Eat At Home Cooks and I completely forgot!  This week’s special ingredient is cream cheese.