Layers (two recipes)

Sorry, no pictures. I thought about it, but then these got gobbled up, so it didn't happen.

Layer Cake:

Very basic, but a fun spin on plain old cake.

Cake mix (plus whatever is needed to make said cake)
Chocolate pudding
Topping of choice

Make the cake and cool it completely. Frost the cake with pudding. Top with fruit, chopped up candy bars, nuts, cool whip, etc. Last time, we did yellow cake, chocolate pudding, and strawberries. Pat Horton is the one who introduced me to frosting a cake with pudding, and it is very good, and easy.

Layer Taco Dip:

sour cream
taco seasoning
onions
lettuce
tomato
olives
cheese
whatever other taco toppings you want
chips

Mix sour cream and taco seasoning. Finely chop onions and mix those in. Spread mixture on pizza pan, cookie sheet, or serving tray. Top with layers of other taco toppings. Serve with chips. I did serve this for dinner the other day, and put seasoned hamburger meat on the side.

Yeah, I know, I'm not that fancy. But, hey, these are good, easy, not too hot food.

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Bread, delicious bread!

I found this recipe & wanted to adapt it to try with my kitchen aid stand mixer. I also had some white flour I needed to use. AND I never make just one loaf of bread, so I wanted to double the recipe. This is what I came up with and it's officially a WINNER in this house. It was very tasty!Christina's Honey Half Wheat BreadINGREDIENTS:3 cups unbleached white flour4-5 cups whole wheat flour4

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Ethiopian Spicy Peas Powder Stew (Yeater Shiro Wot)

Spicy Peas Powder Stew (Yeater Shiro Wot) is a healthy dish for all served with Injera (Ethiopian flat bread). Low-fat sour cream as a side dish makes it delicious.

Ingredients:

½ cup spiced peas powder
1 ½ tablespoon chili pepper powder -Berbere (if spiced peas are not available
1 red onion (finely chopped)
4 or 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
3 cups or more water
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (Korerima)*
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup low-fat sour cream

Preparation:

1st Step: Sauté the onion with oil, adding gradually half cup of water (5 to 10 minutes);

2nd Step: If the peas are not spiced add the chili powder and stir for five minutes; Add one cup of water, leave it boil;

3rd Step: To the boiling sauce, sprinkle the peas powder by stirring continuously until smooth and add one cup of water; or mix the powder with cold water in a bowl and pour to the boiling water; mix it well; Stir continuously; If more water is required, add hot water and cook in a lower heat for at least 20-25 minutes;

4th Step: Add false cardamom and cook for 2 minutes;

5th Step: Add black pepper and salt to taste and cook until it simmers very well.

6th Step: Serve it cold or warm with Injera, pita bread or any bread. Sour cream as a side dish makes it more delicious.

P.S. If needed, you may add 2 tablespoons of purified butter (Nitir Kebe) instead of the oil.

* You will find these spices in Ethiopian or Indian shops/groceries.

For nutritional facts of this recipe please visit http://www.recipezaar.com/389121. For vitamin content please click on "Print Recipe" on aforementioned site.

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Rainbow Cake

Over the past few weeks, the food blogsphere has been buzzing about rainbow cakes. All because of this post. To tell you the truth, I hadn't heard of them until someone linked that blog entry on the LOK Household forum. The idea of a color cake certainly piqued my interest. With a combined birthday coming up in July, I thought I might give it a try. My problem was that the author (as well as

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Experimenting with menus

I am going to be trying a little experiment with my menu planning style. For this month (and into the next I guess) I am going to make a two week basic menu (and their will be repeats, trust me) and we'll just repeat for the second half of the month. I know, people have said to do things like this before, but I'm slow at catching on LOL!I loath making a menu every week, after doing the same

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Fifteen minutes or less....

I value healthy eating, but I also value my sanity :). As a mommy of five precious little bundles, managing the home and homeschooling, I am left with very little mental energy to really think about much else, like cooking! I have little unwritten rules to make my life easier, one of which is making dinner prep no more than 15 minutes long. Any longer and it's not a practical meal for me to

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