The making of a Snoopy Cake (and matching cookies)

There was zero cake wasted in the making of this Snoopy. I could have done a bit more carving to 'round' out the shoulders, feet, etc.

 Today's Instant Pot Experiments...

Tried out my new egg mold - ($5 from Aldi) Turned out yummy!

4eggs 1/4c cottage cheese adding (bacon, cheddar, s&p) for 7 - 11HI 5NPR 

Can stack up two and make twice as many - keep in the fridge for a quick breakfast

Also, tried a cinnamon roll hack - spray a 7" pan Unroll cinnamon rolls and wrap to make 1 large roll

cover with foil 20HI 10NPR Tastes like nothing but the middle of the cinnamon rolls

 Air Fryer Coffee Cake

This recipe is from forktospoon.com

I accidentally started adding ingredients to my bowl without opening the post so I ended up making 1 1/2 of these...oops!

Cake-1/2c melted butter 3/4c sugar 1t vanilla 1 egg 2c flour 

  2t baking powder 3/4c milk

Topping-1/4c melted butter 2/3c sugar 1/4c flour 2t cinnamon

Spray pan - 325 25 minutes - check w/toothpick

I can fit an 8x8 pan in my air fryer

If you can only fit a 6" pan, I'd probably cut this recipe in half

or cook it in two batches so it's not so thick the center won't cook

 College for Kids 2021

Wilton Sugar Cookie

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

2 tsp. baking powder

3 c. flour

This recipe is best mixed in a KitchenAid mixer – a hand mixer is not strong enough

This recipe makes about 3 dozen 3” cookies

Increase or change the flavoring to your taste

The dough does not need to be refrigerated before using

If you are making large or intricate cookies, you may find it easier to refrigerate the dough for an hour

You may need/want to add extra flour

Bake 350 for 10-11 min 375 8-9 minutes

Rotate trays halfway through baking

Glace Frosting

Can be made ahead and refrigerated but should be at room temperature before using*

2 lb. powdered sugar

½ c. water + extra if needed

¼ c. corn syrup  

1 tsp. clear extract of choice

I use clear butter flavoring

Make your frosting a bit thicker until you get more comfortable working with it

This frosting dries hard to the touch and soft to the bite

It takes a full 24 hours to get completely dry

Small Batch Royal Icing

2 Tbsp. Meringue powder

¼ c. water

Mix well

Add 2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. clear flavoring

Mix on low for 7 minutes

Royal icing can be refrigerated but it tends to separate, so it needs to be mixed well prior to using

Keep a pin handy if using very small tips in case they get clogged, or better yet, use tipless bags

Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 chopped onion + garlic to taste sautéed in 2-3 Tbsp. butter

1 8oz. (less fat) block cream cheese - softened

1 can artichoke hearts - cut into small pieces (much easier to do with kitchen shears)

add in 1 box frozen spinach - defrost and squeeze all the water out first

couple dashes hot sauce + crushed pepper flakes to taste

1 cup shredded cheese (Swiss/gruyere mix from Aldi + mozzarella) 

plus 1/4 to 1/2 c. grated parmesan (I forgot this and didn't notice it missing)

Most recipes call for sour cream or mayo, I added approx. 1/2 c. greek yogurt instead, I didn't measure. One critic said it was missing sweetness, maybe from the mayo?

Measure 4 oz. into individual ramekins, add more cheese on top, cover with foil. Recipe yielded 8.

IP 8HI, QPR, remove foil, then Air Fry 8-10 min. at 360 to toast the top. 

Be sure to have the cheese on top for the IP, this way it won't fly around in the air fryer.

Stenciling cookies....why?

 Not stenciled - both colors done with an airbrush. It is necessary to do the one color with an airbrush so that the stencil is able to lay flat.

Stenciled - the yellow is still airbrushed, but the black here is stenciled with royal icing, so much prettier!

Here the two lighter colors are airbrushed and the navy is done with royal icing.

Lasagna

Gather all your ingredients together (all will be cold or at room temp for easy handling)-

1box lasagna noodles - cooked until not quite done, then cover in cold water so they stop cooking and can be easily handled - a 16oz. box has 20 noodles

10cups (at least) homemade meat sauce - make several days earlier and have spaghetti that nite :)

  Tone's (from Sam's) makes for a nice sauce - we like to add an equal amount of spice & sugar substitute

1 block 8oz. softened cream cheese mixed with 2 eggs (this is in lieu of ricotta or cottage cheese)

  this makes a nice creamy lasagna and you won't notice it like you would ricotta or cottage cheese

Italian sausage browned - 2 links, approx. 1/2 lb.

2 lb. (or more) shredded mozzarella

 

Spread a light layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and then start making layers.

Each layer consists of - 4 noodles, meat sauce, Italian sausage, 1/3 cream cheese mix, mozzarella cheese

A 'regular' pan holds 3 layers topped off with a final layer of noodles covered w/a bit of sauce&cheese

A 'deep' pan will hold 4 layers. 

At this point, bake to an internal temp off 165, cover with foil if the cheese is getting too brown. Let sit for a few minutes to make it easier to serve a pretty slice.

You could also put in fridge or freezer to bake later. If baking cold or frozen, add extra time and start the baking with the pan covered with foil. Remove after an hour.

Some people swear by ricotta or cottage cheese...IMO these stick out taste wise, while the cream cheese just makes a lovely creamy texture. I did read a post recently where the ricotta was mixed with sour cream to make it a bit creamier, sounded interesting.

This makes enough lasagna to feed 10-12. If you don't want to have too much leftover, make a couple smaller pans and cut noodles to fit. Cook both and freeze the extra in serving-size portions, or just freeze the extra pan. If you're going to the trouble to make one lasagna, it's not much harder to make an extra to throw in the freezer.