Sugar and almond crusted poppyseed pound cake!

Okay so I have this completely weird obsessions with almond extract! Don't ask me why but I love it! Ever since I was a kid I loved anything flavored with it. So naturally I <3 almond cookies, almond poppyseed muffins and breads really just about whatever you can come up with to add it to.
Now in addition to that admission my ex mother in law used to make this killer rum poppyseed cake with a sugar crust. This thing was so good. Even my ex husband who doesn't like sweets totally loved it! I decided to combined these favorite things of mine and as a result we have...dun dun dun Sugar and almond crusted poppyseed pound cake!

The reason for the 3 whole eggs and 4 yolks was I found it added an extra rich creamy texture to the cake.

So here is the recipe I used
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Grease bundt pan with butter then sugar the inside dump out excess sugar. Take almond slivers and put them in the bottom of pan.

Okay now w are going to start the cake batter first mix together sugar, butter, almond extract, and all eggs and yolks. I don't have a mixer so I just mixed together by hand for a few minutes until nice and smooth.

Next in separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. I alternated mixing dry mix and milk until everything is combined and smooth. Mix in poppy seeds until they are well mixed into batter. Pour into buttered and sugared bundt pan. Cook 1 hour and 15 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool 10 minutes and then flip on to plate you plan to use. At this time you can drizzle glaze onto cake if you desire.

Ingredients
Cake
I small package of almond slivers
2 3/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c softened butter
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
4 egg yolks
3 c flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Optional glaze recipe I found on sassyfamily8.blogspot.com/2012/04/almond-poppyseed-pound-cake.html

Almond glaze
4 tablespoons butter softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 c powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons cream or sugar

Combined all glaze ingredients until smooth and drippy.

Healthy, yummy kids lunches!

Okay fellow savages I am sure we all have the same struggle finding healthy, quick lunches our children will also enjoy. Or maybe that's just me. Mine can def be a struggle at the table. But I have been trying new combinations to find some healthy delectable meal choices so today I made...

Turkey and baby spinach sandwiches on mixed grain bread
Fresh cut pineapple with blackberries
And lastly a tomato and cucumber salad with feta and a balsamic vin

The kids not only enjoyed lunch but I enjoyed knowing they were nourishing their bodies!

Sweet potato cakes

Okay so I was a little nervous about these not sure if I would like them to much but I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. My hand got pretty tired with grating all the sweet potatoes but I survived.

What you will need

2 sweet potatoes
2 green onions finely chopped

1/2 cup egg whites Approximately 4 eggs worth

1 cup Parmesan

1 tsp Cajun/creole seasoning
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper


Dipping sauce
Reserves sweet potato juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp Cajun/creole seasoning
1 teaspoon lime juice
Rosemary sprinkled on top as garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray

Peal sweet potatoes 

Shred sweet potatoes using grater.  Squeeze out all the juice from the sweet potatoes reserve for the dipping sauce.  I had about a quarter of a cup or so.

finely chop 2 green onions I know I only have 1 pictured but use 2 trust me.

Add green onion, egg whites, parmesan cheese, cajun seasoning, rosemary, garlic powder and black pepper.

Mix mixture well.  Form into small very thin patties and place on cookie sheet.  Cook approximately 30 min flipping half way.  They will get crispy.

Take reserved sweet potato juice mix in sour cream, cajun seasoning, and lime juice.  Sprinkle with rosemary and enjoy!

The Pescetarian Pantry: Homemade Gnocchi Made Simple!

The Pescetarian Pantry: Homemade Gnocchi Made Simple!: Hi Foodies! So, guys this week I have gone a little crazy and tried something completely new!  Well, new for me anyway and this excit...

Lemon garlic artichokes

So these were so amazing!

I had 2 artichokes I clipped the leafs as you can see below in the pictures. Next I took a clove of garlic and sliced it into strips. I took these pieces of garlic and jammed them under each artichoke leaf. It took about half a bulb of garlic I was very liberal with its use. Next I took a lemon and squeezed it into all the artichoke leaves. I did this over the pan I will be boiling the artichokes in so not to waste the lemon juice.

I cut up a stick of butter and put it into the pot with the lemon peels and artichokes I filled the pan with water until the artichokes were covered. I then sprinkled with salt and pepper. I boiled them for 45 min or so until one of the inner leaves pulls out easily.

I melted butter in a dipping saucer and mixed with the juice from half a lemon. These were so delicious even the kids loved them!

Snacks for the kiddos

Banana Peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches 

So I attempted to make these a few minutes ago and not sure how succsessful they turned out.  Although they were very delicious they looked a little sloppy.  The marshmallow fluff caused the banana slice to keep sliding off :(  I think that if you want to make these toothpicks would come in handy to keep them together until they start to freeze.  I of course had no toothpicks so I was SOL.  

These are pretty easy to make basically slice a banana into half inch pieces put peabut butter on one slice and marshmallow fluff on another slice put them together like a sandwich and freeze them.  I would insert the toothpick to hold them together until they start to freeze but other then that quick and easy and very tasty.

Pretzel turtles!

Sweet salty and simply delicious 

Okay so I know these are super easy but I love them and happened to be craving them today so I figured why not go ahead and blog it. Simple pretzel pieces I used the little square ones, a package of Rolo's and pecan halves.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

So I placed the pretzel pieces on a nonstick cookie sheet I have heard you should line it with parchment paper but I didn't have any so I just cowboyed it and placed them right on the cookie sheet. After that I unwrapped a bunch of rolo pieces centering them on the pretzel pieces.

I placed them in the oven for 3 min. The Rolo's get all shiny but hold there shape. You don't want to leave them in to long because they will make a melty mess. I know because it happened to me the first time I made them.

Remove from oven and quickly but gently sit the pecan halves and the rolo. I don't push them down until I have the pecans on the entire batch which helps with them not oozing all over the place. Then I very gentle lightly push down. Some may already have settled down from the weight of the pecan.

Then just let them cool. I have been sticking the cookie sheet right into the freezer. It only takes a few minutes about 10-15 and they are all ready to eat!

Pretzel pieces, pecan halves, and Rolo's!

Pretzel pieces on non-stick cookie sheet Rolo's centered on top

Cook at 350 about 3 min they get all shiny but hold shape.  Please ignore my dirty oven.

Gently place pecan on Rolo it should settle down from the weight of the pecan.

Finished product! Yummy

About moi!

Hey fellow food savages! I am really excited to be starting my first ever blog! We shall see how it goes, hopefully well... Crossing my fingers ;)  I guess I should tell you about myself, well I am 26 and a stay at home mom of 3.  I absolutely love to cook and do crafty things.  I have been addicted to Pinterest ever since a friend got me started with it.  I spend hours drooling over pins of decadent chocolate creations and savory dinner dishes.  I plan out what I am going to try and make tweaks to improve these recipes.  My partner is pescetarian and very health conscious so trying to figure out meat free dishes can be challenging for me sometimes.  I love the added flavor meat can bring to a dish but *sigh* I am trying to find ways to add flavor without the meat.  My favorite thing to make is usually wonderful desserts due to my insanely out of control sweet tooth though so be prepared for some awesome sweet treats.  I plan for this blog to follow me as I cook for my family, and try new recipes.   I also plan to have a kids corner section with kid friendly meals and activities.  Hopefully you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it.  Xoxo your fellow savage