Ingredients:

1 pkg White Cake Mix, plus ingredients to prepare

1 pkg Lemon Cake Mix

½ cup Sour Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Lemon, juiced

1 cup Whipping Cream

1 pkg Mascarpone Cheese

1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp Melted Real Butter

Directions:

Prepare the white cake according to the directions on the box, adding the sour cream and vanilla. Bake in a 10 inch round baking pan and cool the cake completely.

For the lemon cream filling, whip cream until stiff peaks form, then fold in the mascarpone, sifted powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest of half the lemon.  For the crumb topping, combine 3/4 cup of the lemon cake mix with the melted butter to make a crumb topping. To assemble the cake, cut the white cake in half to spread the lemon cream filling between the two layers of white cake. Frost the top of the cake with a thin layer of cream filling and sprinkle the crumb topping.

Helpful Tips:

 The secret is the mascarpone cheese.

A little lemon zest always makes things better :)

NUTRITION:

544 calories, 34 grams fat, 55 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein per serving.

This recipe has been all over FaceBook.  The prep reminds me of Hammie Sammie’s, which were such a big hit last year.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups diced onion
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles, drained
12 slices cheddar cheese, and 12 Hawaiian dinner rolls

Glaze:

1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds 

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.

Brown beef, salt, pepper, cumin, mustard powder and paprika.  Add garlic at last so it doesn’t burn.  Then stir in drained Rotel Tomatoes

Place half of buns in the prepared pans, add the beef, then the cheese slices and top with other half of bun.

For glaze, mix all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Pour over buns and bake for 25 minutes uncovered.

INGREDIENTS

6 apples, cored and thinly sliced

1 c. chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips, melted

1/2 c. caramel sauce, warmed1/2 c. chopped pretzels

DIRECTIONS

On a large plate, arrange apple slices on top of one another.

Drizzle over melted chocolate and caramel sauce.

Top with pretzels.

This is my friend, Krista’s favorite way to make chicken, it’s a must try.  Works with any kind of meat!  

Enjoy ~ Jan

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce - La Choy

6 Tbs. ketchup 

1 Tbs. minced garlic

Cracked Pepper

Put above ingredients in plastic bag with chicken breasts, marinate all day in fridge, or overnight, turning frequently, then cook on the grill.

How easy is this!!!!

Adapted from David Leite, The New York Times

INGREDIENTS:2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (about 3 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate disks or semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.  It is important to refrigerate for 36 hours before baking.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Heart be still, what’s not to love!

This recipe is from Sweet As a Cookie 

I’m reprinting it here, but be sure and check it out on her site as well.

This was absolutely delicious.  Okay, so my picture isn’t perfect, the patty-melt is in the front, the soup has been slurped up a bit.  But this is real life, not a photo shoot. :)

This was so simple, and it turned out perfect.  If you don’t have a Vitamix, I’m sure you could achieve same results in a regular blender and then heat on the stove.

2 cans of diced tomatoes (original recipe called for italian style with oregano, basil and garlic)  I didn’t have those, all I had was a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes, so that’s what I used, and added a bit of basil leaves and garlic powder.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese 

A dash of sweetener (I used 3 drops of EZ-Sweetz) or sugar, about 1-2 teaspoons to cut the acidity.

I put all of this in the Vitamix and set it to soup, in 6 minutes, I had hot wonderful tomato soup.  It keeps well, leftovers are great!

Since I used the Vitamix I didn’t soften the cream cheese to room temp, I just put it in cold, but if you’re blending in a regular blender I would soften cream cheese first...

I think I’ll try this same recipe with broccoli or cauliflower and add some cheddar cheese along with the cream cheese.  Who would have thought soup could be so easy...