Cinnamon Swirl Cake

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (no need to sift the flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

 2 packs of Vanilla sugar or 1-tablespoon vanilla extract

Inside of 1 vanilla bean
1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cups milk
Vegetable oil
1 stick butter (not margarine), softened
3 large eggs

 For the swirls: About 4 Tbsp. sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Measure 1 1/4 cups of milk in a measuring cup and add just enough vegetable oil, to bring the amount of fluid to 1 1/3 cups. Add milk/oil mixture to dry ingredients and beat with a mixer for about 3 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for another 2-3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Generously grease a bundt pan and then dust with flour.  Scoop about 1/3 of the dough into the pan. Sprinkle a thin layer of your cinnamon/sugar mixture on top, then add another third of your batter. Sprinkle yet another thin layer of cinnamon sugar and add the rest of your batter. (you can also divide it into 4th for an extra layer of cinnamon if you like, I found 3 to be enough though).

Bake for 45 minutes, then loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil to prevent the top from getting to dark. Bake for another 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Make sure to let the cake cool completely before trying to remove from the pan.

Frost if desired, but I find it sweet enough as it is. We like to eat it just like that with some whipped cream on top. Yummmmmmmm!!!

Healthyfied Chocolate Cake

**sorry, I was too lazy to get out my camera so I took a pic with my cell phone***




The original recipe to this is a pretty typical recipe for a German Chocolate Cake (and by that I mean a chocolate cake as we bake them in Germany). They are a lot more dense than the chocolate cake you get here.

I took the original recipe, cut the sugar by 50 grams and added Flax seed. My husband and I and even my picky kids all really enjoyed the results.

This cake is not very sweet so if you want it sweet, use 200 grams of sugar instead of the 150 that I used.


- 3 eggs
- 200g soft butter (about 1 1/2 sticks)
- 150g sugar (use 200 for sweater results)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 bottle of rum extract
- 400g flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- about 1/4 cup flax seeds (grind them in a coffee grinder)
- about 1 cup of melted dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips )
- approximately 1 cup of mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 340 degrees.

Mix the flour, flax seeds and baking powder.
In a separate bowl beat butter, eggs and sugar until nice and smooth.

Slowly add milk and flour-mix as well as vanilla and rum extract. Now add in the melted chocolate as well as the chocolate chips if you use them.

Fill the batter into a well greased loaf pan or gugelhupf pan (or use the silicone version like I did... the cake comes out so easy!!!)

Bake for approximately 60 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean.

Let it cool. You can eat as is or you can glaze or drizzle it with chocolate or sift some powdered sugar on it. I decided to grate some white chocolate on top for decoration.

Enjoy, healthyfied and good!

Chicken Piccata

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Chicken Piccata is such a simple, yet flavorful dish.

The most important component in here is definitely the lemon so if you are not a fan, then this dish is likely not for you.

I really did not follow any recipe here, I just threw the ingredients together and created my own. So this may or may not be a recipe that exists already.

This recipe serves 4 people that have a good appetite or 5-6 people that eat like birds:

- 4 pieces of chicken breast

- 2 lemons (wash them well)

- about 2 Tablespoon of capers (adjust to taste)

- flour to dust the chicken with

- seasonings to taste. I use: lemon pepper, garlic, salt,

- about 2 tablespoons of butter

- about 1 cup of white wine

- chicken broth as needed


Season the chicken and then pound it to about 1 inch thickness. Cut the pieces in half so they are not too huge. Coat each chicken cutlet with flour on both sides.

(Start a pot with pasta of your choice, I used whole wheat spaghetti .. cook according to package instructions)

Melt about 1 teaspoon of butter in a frying pan and add the chicken. Cook on both sides until just cooked, be careful not to overcook. Take the chicken out and set aside.

Add the rest of the butter to the pan and scrape the pan as the butter melts so the scrapings from the chicken mix into the butter. Add the white wine and capers. Let it all cook for a couple of minutes. Now squeeze in the juice of 1 1/2 lemons ... slice the other half lemon and set aside.

Add some chicken broth to create more sauce and flavor. Season to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes.

Put the chicken back in, together with the reserved lemon slice and reheat from both sides for about a minute.

Arrange two cutlets on each plate with a slice of lemon on top.


Put the pasta into the pan and mix well with the sauce. Arrange in plate


That's it .... simple, yet so good!

German Apple Cake

My boys went apple picking with daycare ... they had an awesome day and came home with a bunch of apples .. more than a bunch .. let's just say I slipped an "Holy Sh*t" when I saw all the apples.
So now what do I do with them. I love my apple streusel but I need to make something different every now and then. So I decided to try a traditional German apple cake recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (about 4 to 5 apples)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Confectioners' sugar, optional

Directions

• Combine the first three ingredients; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Combine oil and orange juice and add alternately with dry ingredients to egg mixture. Beat until smooth; add vanilla and beat well.
• Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Arrange half the apples over the batter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle half over the apples. Top with remaining batter, apples and cinnamon/sugar.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour before removing from pan. Cool, apple side up, on a wire rack. Sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar if desired. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Enjoy.... soooo yummy!





















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One cake down and if I look at the apples probably only about 20 more to go...

Pasta in Pink Salmon Cream Sauce

I used to make this dish a lot and for some reason hadnt made it in a while.

After making it tonight I remembered why I used to make it so often ;) It's really good and easy.

- 4 pieces of frozen salmon

- lemon pepper (for salmon)

For the sauce:

- garlic powder

- pepper, salt

- pepperflakes

- basil

- terragon

- about 5 tablespoon tomatoe paste (I use the tubes to not waste a can)

- about 2 tablespoon pesto

- a little squirt worshestershire sauce (or however the heck you spell that)

- about 1 1/2 cup white wine

- about 1 cup cream

- Pasta of choice

Season the Salmon with lots of lemon pepper and bake it at 400 degrees until it flakes off a fork (about 20 minutes), pull it apart and put it all in a pot

Add the wine to it and bring to a quick boil, then turn down to medium heat and add the cream as well as all the seasonings for the sauce. (Season to taste. Add or take away as you like).

Boil pasta according to package directions and serve with the Salmon sauce. Easy and yummy!

Egg Free Chicken Cordon Bleu

Having a child with a severe egg allergy forces me to find alternatives for many recipes that call for egg (but then again half the time he refuses to eat it anyway..)

- chicken breast

- ham for each breast (the amount depends on the type of ham you have or your personal taste)

- 1 slice of cheese per breast (I used pepper jack for added flavor)

- panco breadcrumbs

- a few tablespoon of sour cream mixed with a little milk

- balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic powder, basil and terragon (to marinade the chicken)

- 2 cans of diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperflakes, terragon and 5 tablespoon sugar for the marinara sauce

Marinade the meat in the marinade listed above for at least 2 hours.

Slice the meat in the middle, creating a pocket.

Fill it with ham and cheese (my chicken was very thin so I put only a little ham and cheese inside and put the rest on top

Dip the chicken in the cream then in the breadcrumbs

Set the chicken on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle more breadcrumbs on it until the whole piece of chicken is covered.

Do this with all the chicken you have.

Bake on 395 for about 35 minutes (cooking time might vary depending on thickness of chicken.. mine was thin)

Mix all the ingredients for the marinara sauce and blend them well (I use one of those handy stick mixers)

About 10 minutes before end of cooking time put some marinara sauce on top of each breast and if you like also a few sprinkles of grated cheese (optional)

Finish baking.

I served this with spaghetti and used the leftover marinara sauce for the pasta.

Bon appetit!

Meat Pie

Another one of those dishes that I made up. I liked it but I think next time I will add some sour cream or something to make it a bit smoother.










- 1 roll of refridgerated pie crust
- 1 lbs (or however much is in your pack) ground beef
- a few handful of broccoli florets
- a few baby carrots, about 8-10 (or 1-2 regular carrots)
- seasoning to taste
- a couple of tablespoon of tomatoe paste, more couldnt hurt
- a squirt of blue cheese dressing
- 5 slices of pre cooked bacon, chooped
- about 1 cup of prepared mashed potatoes (boxed)


Fry meat in a pot, chop carrots and broccoli into tiny pieces, add to the meat. Season the meat (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, terragon, paprika..) add the bacon to it, the tomatoe paste and the dressing.
Prepare the mashed potatoes in a seperate little pot and add to the meat mixture to help bind it.
Line a small baking dish with the pie crust, fill it with the meat mixture and fold the crust that's overlapping over the meat. Slice the top and bake according to pie crust directions until the crust is golden brown.

I served it with curry ketchup and corn on the cob. Turned out to be a tasty weeknight meal. My husband got seconds and thirds ;)