Moist & Delicious Strawberry Cake

So I have fallen off the blogging wagon...again.  I can't believe that April was the last time I posted!  Obviously, life has been pretty crazy for us.  Luke is a full-fledged toddler now.  He is walking around everywhere and in to EVERYTHING! It is so fun watching him explore and learn new things every day.

A few days ago, we took him to his first fireworks show. We weren't sure how he would react to the loud noise, but he didn't seem to mind it at all.  He was absolutely mesmorized by the fireworks! Every time one would go off, he would "Ooo!" and "Ahh!" and squeel with delight. I think Jake and I spent more time watching him than the fireworks!

Speaking of fireworks, we had a wonderful 4th of July celebration with my family. We had BBQ, played games, and ate a DELICIOUS (if I do say so myself!) strawberry cake! I hadn't really planned on blogging about it (hence the lack of photos), but Jake said it was one of my best cakes to date, so I decided I had to share it.

Strawberry cake is one of my all time favorite desserts.  There is a restaurant near by that makes an amazing strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting that I have always wanted to replicate.  The cake has real strawberries in it and is super moist, and the frosting is sinfully rich.  It really is to die for!

I set out in search of a moist strawberry cake recipe and found several via Pinterest. I took bits and pieces of several different ones and came up with my own version. I did the same thing with the frosting and at the last minute decided to add some extra strawberries to make it a strawberry cream cheese frosting.  The results were everything I had hoped for! Everyone loved it, and I will definitely be making it again. 

For simplicity sake, I made this cake in a 9x13 pan.  Next time, though, I think I will do a layer cake...so much prettier.  Either way though, it is delicious!

Hope you enjoy!

Moist & Delicious Strawberry Cake

Sweetened Strawberries:

1 lb fresh strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt.

Remove stems from strawberries and slice thinly in to a medium bowl.  Add sugar and salt and stir well.  Cover and let set at least 30 minutes.

Strawberry Cake:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 small box strawberry gelatin
1 cup sweetened strawberries (see above) with syrup
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and gelatin.  Add strawberries, oil, milk, and eggs and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour into a greased 9x13" or 2 round 8" pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes (for a 9x13) or 20-25 minutes (for 2 8-in) or until toothpick almost comes out clean.

I recommend removing the cake from the oven and putting it straight into the freezer in order to stop with baking process immediately (see this post).  This step is optional, but I think it helps make the cake really moist! Leave it in the freezer for 30-45 minutes, or if you aren't frosting it until the next day, overnight.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sweetened strawberries (see above), drained
1/2 tsp vanilla
5-6 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add strawberries and vanilla; beat well.  Add powdered sugar a little at a time, beating after each addition.  After about 5 cups, you can start tasting it to see if you want more sweetness or not.  I think I ended up adding about 5 1/2 cups.  Beat until smooth, and spread on cooled cake.

Enjoy! :)

 

~Rachel

Sausage Cheese Biscuits

Last week, our Bible class at church had a breakfast potluck.  We're about to start a new study on marriage and parenting, and it was a great way to kick off the new study and get to know some of the new faces in class.  And of course, it didn't hurt that the food was A-MAZING! I rarely have the time (or energy!) to cook big breakfasts, so I forget how delicious they can be!

I made these Sausage Cheese Biscuits, and they were a hit. Several people commented on how good they were, so I thought I'd post the recipe.  Sorry no step-by-step photos, but they are super easy!

The great thing about this recipe (other than how delicious it is!) is that it only requires four ingredients: Bisquick, Sausage, Cheese Whiz and Milk.

I know, I know...Cheese Whiz?! I'm not gonna lie...the stuff kind of grosses me out.  But it makes these biscuits really moist and delicious.  I'm sure you've already figured out that this is not one of my healthier recipes.  If you're looking for healthy, check out these Salmon Patties or  this Quinoa Avocado Salad.  But if you're looking for a delicious breakfast (or anytime) splurge, read on.

I actually created this recipe by accident!  Last year during the holidays, I was asked to bring sausage balls to a get together. I dug out my grandmother's recipe, bought the ingredients, and went to work.  I combined the sausage, Bisquick, Cheese Whiz, and milk and began to stir.  Then I suddenly realized I had forgotten to preheat the oven.  I went over to check the oven temperature on my recipe card, and as I was glancing over the recipe, I noticed that beside "1 jar Cheese Whiz" there was a little note in parentheses that said "8 oz." Hmmm...I was pretty sure the jar I just put in was more than that.  I went to check, and sure enough, it was 15 ounces. 

Oops! The ingredients were already mixed together, so there was no way to take any of the Cheese Whiz out.  I couldn't double the recipe because I didn't have any more sausage.  And I really didn't want to go back to the store to get more.  So I decided to experiment a little.  I added some extra milk and Bisquick and hoped they would turn out okay.

I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out even better than the original!  They were moist, cheesy, and delicious.  Definitely more biscuit-y than your average sausage balls, but I really liked that.  Everyone kept going on and on about how good they were, so I guess it was a happy accident! 

I decided to rename them "Sausage Cheese Biscuits" to more accurately describe what they are, but feel free to call them whatever you want!

Sausage Cheese Biscuits

4 cups Bisquick
16 oz ground sausage
1 15 oz jar Cheese Whiz
3/4 cups milk

Pre-heat oven to 375.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well (you may have to use your hands!).  Roll into balls (mine were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Feel free to make them smaller or bigger depending on what you like, but remember they will expand quite a bit in the oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Serve warm or store in the refrigerator. If they are cold, I recommend warming in the microwave before serving.  These also freeze really well! 

Enjoy!

~Rachel

Quinoa Avocado Salad

If you get on Pinterest much or read many food blogs or magazines, you've probably noticed an abundance of quinoa recipes popping up over the last few years. I first tried quinoa several years ago when my family visited Cusco, Peru after one of our medical mission trips, and I loved it. At that time, it was very hard to find in the States, but in recent years it has really grown in popularity.  Now you can find it in almost any grocery store!

Quinoa has a unique flavor and texture, and it is so good for you! It's high in protein and fiber, and it's gluten free.  It makes a great side dish, salad ingredients, or you can even substitute it for meat in a soup or casserole.  What's not to love?!

Lately I've been pinning lots of quinoa salad recipes, and decided try my hand at creating my own. I actually used a quinoa/brown rice blend that I had, but I think any type of quinoa or quinoa blend would work well.  Make sure to read the package instructions, as some quinoa needs to be rinsed before cooking.  Mine was pre-rinsed, so I didn't have to worry about that.  To the quinoa, I added grape tomatoes, spinach, avocado, feta cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, and red onion.

Now a word about the onion...almost every quinoa salad recipe I saw called for some type of onion (red, green, or white).  I like the flavor onions give when they are cooked in a dish, but I am not a fan of raw onions.  Something about the strong taste and texture...ew!  When I use onions, I usually chop them with a food processor so finely that they are almost pureed.  I like to do several at once and freeze them in 1/2 cup portions that I can pull out whenever I need them. 

For this salad, I pulled out some frozen red onion and cooked it with the quinoa.  That way, I got a mild onion flavor without any big crunchy pieces. Perfect!

I wasn't really planning on posting this recipe, so I didn't take pictures of the whole process.  But the finished product was just so pretty and colorful, I decided to snap a few. Then we tasted it, and I knew I had to post it.  Feel free to add any other ingredients you like.  I think cucumber would be really good, and olives too if you like them.  I, however, deplore olives, so you will never find them in one of my recipes. :)  This summer, I might try it with fresh herbs.  I think basil and oregano would be delicious!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Quinoa Avocado Salad

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa or quinoa/brown rice blend
1 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped or pureed red onion
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup chopped spinach
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup feta cheese, plus more for topping

Combine quinoa, onion, and water in a medium saucepan.  Cook according to quinoa package instructions, and allow to completely cool.  Mix together quinoa, tomatoes, and spinach.  In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  Add to quinoa mixture and mix well.   Gently fold in avocado and feta cheese.  Sprinkle with additional feta if desired when serving. 

Enjoy!

~Rachel

Salmon Patties

Here in the Conley household, we love us some salmon!  Jake and I have always eaten a lot of salmon, and when we introduced it to Luke a few months ago, he loved it too.  I try to fix salmon at least once a week so we can all get our omega-3 fix. :)

Of course living in land-locked Tennesee makes serving good quality, yet affordable salmon a bit of a challenge.  We LOVE the fresh salmon at Publix (they have some in a bourbon marinade that is do die for!), but it's a little too pricey for us to buy every week.  I've found some frozen salmon at Sam's Club that isn't half bad, so we eat that quite a bit. But I'm always on the lookout for new and creative ways to work salmon into our weeknight dinners.

Several months ago, I came across this recipe on Pinterest for Goat Cheese and Spinach Salmon Burgers.  Goat cheese, spinach, and salmon happen to be three of my favorite foods, so I was intrigued. When I looked at the recipe, I was surprised to see that it called for canned salmon.  I don't know why, but I've always avoided canned salmon.  Something about the bones and the skin and the smell have always grossed me out.  However, I must admit that it is very affordable.  And these burgers looked super yummy, so I decided to give them a try.

I am so glad I did!  Jake and I were both amazed by how good they were.  I think we were both expecting something kind of mediocre-edible but not outstanding.  I mean, it was canned salmon after all.  But we were blown away!  These burgers were moist, flavorful, and absolutely delicious.  They have now become one of our favorite ways to eat salmon. 

I've tweaked the recipe a bit and made it a little easier (and less gross!) by using pouches of salmon instead of cans.  No bones, skin, or draining required and still very affordable. The first time we ate these, we ate them without buns because I didn't have any. 

Since then we have tried them both ways, but we actually prefer them bunless (is that a word??).  So we call them salmon patties instead of burgers.  It just doesn't seem right to call something a burger if you don't eat it with a bun, ya know? 

Here's the recipe with my adaptations:

You'll need fresh spinach, pouches of salmon (or cans), goat cheese (feta also works), bread crumbs, eggs, garlic powder, and onion powder.  And salt and olive oil.  Forgot to put those in the photo.  Oops!

Start by chopping your spinach.  I like to just throw it in a large bowl and use these awesome Pampered Chef Salad Choppers.  I use them all the time!  They're great for chopping chicken, veggies, pasta, and obviously salad.  Definitely recommend them!

If you don't have salad choppers, you can also just use a knife and cutting board.

Next add the salmon (drained with bones and skin removed if using canned), eggs, bread crumbs, lemon juice, and seasonings.

Now the original recipe calls for a chopped onion.  I am not a big fan of crunchy pieces of onion in things, so the first time I made this, I sauteed the onions on olive oil and that worked well.  The second time I was in a hurry and didn't have time to chop an onion, so I used onion powder.  Definitely a lot easier, and I think it still tasted great.  If you have the time and desire to chop an onion (something I always hate doing!), feel free.  Otherwise, I recommend the powder.

 
Stir all of these ingredients together well.  Feel free to use your hands.  You'll be getting them messy later anyway. :) 

Then add your goat or feta cheese and stir until just combined.

Now shape the mixture into patties.  This makes four large patties, but I like to separate out the last into two little ones for Luke. These freeze really well, so I usually freeze one of the extra big and little patties for us to have for lunch on another day.

Chill these in the fridge for 30 minutes.  I confess, I don't always have time to do this, but they do stick together better when you do.

When you're ready to cook them, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the patties about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

And there you have it!  An easy, healthy, and delicious week night meal.  We like to eat them with a salad and bread or sometimes roasted sweet potatoes.

Luke loves them and so do we!

Salmon Patties with Goat Cheese & Spinach

Adapted from Hummusapien

2 small pouches of salmon (or a 14.5 oz can)
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 cup chopped & sauteed onion)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz crumbled goat or feta cheese
Olive oil

Combine chopped spinach, salmon, egg, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir until well combined. Gently stir in cheese.

Shape into patties and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat about 1 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook patties about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Rachel

Luke's First Birthday!!

So I have definitely slacked with my blog lately.  The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind! Between traveling for the holidays, some yucky sickness (both Luke and me), Luke becoming very mobile, and the daily demands of work and life, I have had very little time or energy to blog. But I really want to get back into it! And what better way to start than with a recap of Luke's first birthday?!

Hard to believe he was ever this small!

It still feels surreal to say that Luke is one year old! Everyone says that once you have children, time starts to pass faster than you ever dreamed possible, and I finally understand that. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that I was bringing my sweet little bundle home from the hospital.

But at the same time, it's kind of hard to remember what life was like before him. :)

As the months started closing in on Luke's first birthday, I found myself going back and forth about what kind of party to have for him. Do I invite friends or just stick with family? Do I have it at home or some other venue? Do I keep it simple or go all out?

In the end, I opted for something that was somewhere in the middle. We kept it just family (which ended up being a pretty good crowd of 16 people!) and had the party at our house. I chose sock monkeys as a theme. I love the red/brown color scheme, and since one of our baby showers was sock monkey themed, I already had quite a few things I could use to decorate. I scoured Pinterest for ideas and then conspired with my extremely creative sister-in-law Sarah to recreate some of the things I found.

Sarah did an amazing job!! She not only replicated some of the ideas I found, but made them even cuter than the originals!  I seriously think she might be the most creative person I know.

 She even surprised me with this adorable chalkboard with all kinds of fun facts about Luke.

Isn't she awesome?!!

I ordered invitations from Etsy and had them printed at Staples. Very inexpensive and cute!

The party was starting at 11:30, so I decided to do an appetizer/finger food lunch. We had veggie bars, spinach artichoke dip, meatballs, fruit, and a cheese tray. Good, simple, and all things that I could make ahead!

I had originally planned to make either a cake or cupcakes, but then my sensible (and wise) mama talked me into letting her buy a cake at a local bakery. I am SO glad she did! Not only was it much less work, but it turned out great! I took them a picture of something I found on Pinterest and just like Sarah, they made it even better! And it was delicious!

They even threw in a little smash cake for Luke free of charge (more on that later!)

Sarah and her husband Lance arrived the night before the party and worked tirelessly to help us decorate, set up tables and chairs, fix food, and entertain Luke. We could not have done it without them! Everything came together perfectly and just in time.

 

I wasn't sure how Luke would handle so many people and all of the excitement and attention, but he did GREAT! His only meltdown occurred when we tried to get him to wear his birthday hat.

He was clearly not a fan.

After some socializing and picutres, we ate lunch and Luke opened some of his presents. Of course he was more interested in the bags and bows than the actual gifts, but he did pretty well.

 

Then it was time for cake!

Up until this point, Luke had never really had any kind of dessert (unless you count fruit or graham crackers as dessert, which I definitely do not), so we were all very curious to see what his reaction would be. At first, he wasn't quite sure what to make of something so big on his high chair tray or of the strange texture of the frosting. But once he got managed to get a little on his fingers and into his mouth, his eyes were opened to the wonderful world of refined sugar! Before we knew it he was shoveling it into his mouth!

We were so thankful to have so many of our loved ones come to celebrate Luke's first birthday! We had family from Arkansas, Texas, and all over middle Tennessee make the trip to be with us, and it meant to such!

 

He is such a loved little boy and we are very blessed to have him in our lives. Happy Birthday, Luke Ellis!