Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients

• 1 box Lemon Cake mix with pudding in the mix
• 1 pkg. Lemon instant pudding mix (4-serving size)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/8 cup poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Grease 2 loaf pans and instead of flouring, use sugar.
2. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Note: I like to add 1 teaspoon lemon oil for an extra lemon “kick”.
3. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350° F.
4. Test with toothpick for doneness.

My notes:

The recipe above is taken directly from Southern Plate and is another easy "Quick Bread" recipe.  I follow the recipe (shocker, I know) except that I didn't have any lemon oil on hand.  So, I squeezed 1/2 a lemon into mine and just stirred it in.  If you need to whip something up in a hurry to take somewhere or because company's comin', then this one is great!

Brownie Covered Oreos

1 Brownie mix

1 package Oreos

White chocolate, melted for drizzle, or Wilton White frosting pen works great

White nonpareils Sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Leave in mixing bowl. Dip Oreos in brownie batter then place in bottom of cupcake tins that have been generously sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until brownies are cooked through (doesn’t take long). As soon as you remove, take a plastic knife and run along edges, (this is VERY important so you get the cookie out with brownies not stuck to pan

2. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove drizzle with melted white chocolate or the Wilton White icing pen and sprinkle with nonpareils.

Makes entire package of Oreos

My notes:

Above is the recipe as I found it at Picky Palate.  But the pictures are my own.  I made these for an annual NYE party and I was thankful we were having friends over since there were THIRTY of these little guys.  They were very easy and an instant hit.  I feel like I over-baked mine slightly and I will definitely take them out a couple of minutes sooner next time.  Obviously I skipped the white chocolate drizzle but no one complained.  I'm gonna do this again and I'm also gonna try it with Chips Ahoy too!!!

Oatmeal Fruit Bars

1 package yellow cake mix
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup softened butter
1 egg
2 cans Solo Cake & Pastry Filling

Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease a 13" x 9" x 2" pan.  Combine dry cake mix and oats.  Add butter and egg and stir until crumbly.

Put 1/2 of mixture in pan.  Press down lightly.  Spread filling over mixture in pan.  Top with remaining mixture.  Press down lightly.

Bake for 22-26 minutes.

Cool before cutting into squares.


My notes:

I got this recipe from the label of a can of Solo Raspberry Cake & Pastry Filling.  I bought it at Kroger a while back just because it looked good and it said it had recipes inside the label.  It was a really easy recipe and I would think you could get very similar results with just a jar of your favorite preserves or lemon curd or some sort of cream cheese filling...oh my, my mind is racing.  Nonetheless, there were several different flavors that sounded pretty darn good.

In my oven, I had to bake it for 27 minutes.

Banana Nut Bread/Cake

You can call it bread or cake.  I call it bread when it's baked in a loaf pan and cake when it's baked in a bundt pan.  Whatever makes you happy though.  Either way, this is one REALLY EASY and VERY DELICIOUS way to use up some over-ripe bananas and have a nice treat on the table in no time.  ONLY FIVE INGREDIENTS!  That is enough to get my attention right there.  I have made this one several times before and, to me, it is as good as, or better than, most "from scratch" banana breads I have eaten.  Hope you enjoy!  If you make it, leave me a comment.  I'd love to know what you think.

Ingredients

1 box cake mix with butter

3 eggs

1 stick of butter, melted

4 mashed bananas

1/2 cup nuts

Directions

Mix well and bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour or until golden brown.

My notes:

Yes, that is all of the directions that were included with the recipe.

That is a "butter recipe" cake mix.  Oh, and do not substitute margarine for the butter.  It gives it a very artificial taste.  Your bananas do not have to be over-ripe.  When I made this today, I used 2 that were over-ripe and 2 that were just fine for eatin'.  I peel mine and toss them in a mixing bowl then get out my handy-dandy potato masher and don't stop til it's banana soup.  I bake mine in a bundt pan just because that's my preference.  It only takes 45 minutes when in a bundt pan and unless you have a really big loaf pan, I think I would divide this between 2 loaf pans.

Cream Cake

I tasted a version of this cake over the recent holiday weekend and I was IN LOVE!  Got the recipe from my great aunt.  This is quite possibly one of the best cakes I have ever eaten.  Pictured is the strawberry version and there is also a pineapple/orange version which is equally as delightful.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CAKE

Duncan Hines butter cake mix

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

3 cups frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
16 oz unsweeted whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1/3-1/2 cup sugar

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

8 oz. whipped topping

Combine all thawed berries and sugar in large bowl and mash with potato masher until whole berries are crushed and sugar is dissolved.

Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and 1 cup 2 cups of strawberry mixture.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.  Divide between 3 round cake pans (well greased).  Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes.

Let cake cool before frosting.

FROSTING

Combine remaining 2 1/2-3 cups of strawberry mixture with instant pudding.  Stir well then fold in whipped topping.  Frost between layers and top and outside.  Keep refrigerated.

PINEAPPLE/ORANGE CREAM CAKE

In cake batter, substitute a 15oz can of mandarin oranges with juice instead of strawberries.

In frosting, substitute a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple with juice instead of strawberries.

My notes:

The recipe said "Duncan Hines" on the cake mix, but you and I both know any brand of butter cake mix will work.  However, I have not tried other brands.  When I made this I just happened to have a DH mix on hand.

The frozen strawberries are sold in 24 oz containers.  I let them thaw, then measured out a cup for the cake batter.  I also mashed my strawberries with a potato masher to get rid of the larger chunks.  I suppose they could be pureed, but then you would lose all of the chunks and that wouldn't be my personal preference.

The batter is pretty thin and runny and you will have a small amount of batter in each pan.  But that's good because each layer bakes up pretty thin and, as a result, is able to soak up more of that wonderful frosting!

I am not a fan of vanilla flavored instant pudding.  So, I substitute cheesecake flavored pudding in most recipes.  To me, it has a richer, less artificial, taste.  Did that in this recipe and it worked beautifully.

When frosting the cake, make sure and use a liberal amount of frosting between the layers.  You will want it there and you will have plenty to do it.

This cake is great right after you frost it, but it is even better after it sits for a couple of days.  The cake absorbs alot of moisture from the frosting and it just seems to get better and better.

I have already written this one in the family cookbook and will make sure I keep all of the ingredients on hand.  It's SO easy to whip up and quite impressive.  Everyone who has tasted it has swooned!  Well, not really, but you get the point.  (o:

More notes:
I made both versions of this cake and noticed that the pineapple/orange version was much more moist.  I examined the P/O recipe and noticed there was almost twice as much fruit and juice in the batter and 1/2 cup more fruit/juice in the frosting.  So, I tweaked the strawberry recipe and made the changes in red in the recipe above.  The extra berries and having to sweeten them made for an extra 3 minutes of work, but it was SO worth it!

Also, this time I used a Betty Crocker mix and it was equally as successful as the DH.  Just thought you'd wanna know. (o:

Lemon Bars

Yes, brace yourself, I use mixes. And this is one I highly recommend. When I make it, I usually add the zest of one lemon to the crust before pressing it into the pan. And I add 1 or 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to the lemon mixture. This mix is one that I try to keep on hand at all times. Usually I don't make it unless I am taking it somewhere because my husband is allergic to citric acid and stays FAR away from citrus desserts. The kids aren't huge fans of tart things. BUT, I LOVE anything lemon flavored, so it's best that I don't make this one unless I'm taking it AWAY from my house. Otherwise, I will eat all of it...by myself!