Vanilla Poppy Seed Cake

I made this recipe up yesterday when we all wanted something sweet to eat but there were no options in the fridge. I was craving a Cinnamon roll so I came up with this. It was so delicious that my family ate the entire cake! (I didn't have cream cheese so I used sour cream which is why my frosting looks thinner in this picture. It tasted great but I prefer cream cheese for a thicker frosting)

Vanilla Poppy Seed Cake

You can find this on the baking isle at walmart

• 1 box of white cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 can poppy seed filling
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest

Vanilla Frosting
(double the recipe for more frosting)

• 4 ounces butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Set oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Pour into a greased 11 X 13 pan and bake for 35 minutes. 

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Gently add powdered sugar. Add vanilla extract. Spread over cooled cake and enjoy!

Pina Colada Pancakes with Creamy Coconut Syrup

On my last trip to Thanksgiving Point I found a bottle of coconut syrup in the gift shop. It looked super tasty and I wanted to buy it but the line was way too long. I decided that I would just have to make up my own recipe and we would have it with the first batch of pancakes that I would make on my new griddle.

The other day I came up with the idea of Pina Colada pancakes and couldn't wait to make them. Because I used a buttermilk mix my focus is not the pancake batter but the toppings and the syrup.When we made them, they were so delicious we couldn't stop eating them and there were no left overs. We had them with fresh eggs from the neighbor's chickens.You have to give this a try! The coconut syrup is so good we used the left overs as an ice cream topping. It's sweet and very rich so you don't need to add any additional ingredients. Holy cow - it's so good over sorbet or chocolate ice cream - even Neapolitan. Mmmmm!

Pina Colada Pancakes

• 1 box of Krusty's Buttermilk Pancake Mix
• 1 Fresh Pineapple (peeled, cored and cubed) Do not used canned
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced
• 4 kiwi peeled and sliced
• 1 can of whipped cream
• (optional - shredded coconut)

Creamy Coconut Syrup 

• 1 can of cream of coconut
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Make the pancakes according to directions on box (you can replace water with pineapple juice and add some shredded coconut into the batter if you like). Set aside and keep warm.

For syrup, mix together cream of coconut, half and half and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate about a half hour to thicken.

Butter the pancakes while warm and top with pineapple, bananas and kiwi. Drizzle syrup over the top and add whipped cream. Enjoy! 

Cheese Pull-A-Part (From the Pie)

We have a restaurant here in Utah called The Pie Pizzeria. Located near two universities, it's a popular college hang out. As long as I can remember my favorite dish they serve is the cheese pull-a-part. It's gooey cheese stuffed breadsticks topped with Parmesan and herbs. It comes with ranch and marinara dipping sauce. My husband and I used to eat there all the time back in our college days, but it has been years since I have been there because we are not close to any of the locations.

I hate to say it but I used my bread maker to make the dough so if you have a bread maker just make the pizza or bread stick dough listed in your bread maker recipe book. Make enough dough to make two pizzas. You can also use your favorite recipe for pizza dough. (Avoid whole-wheat dough as this recipe is not meant to have that wheat flavor. It would be like making sour dough with wheat flour).

Cheese Pull-A-Part (From the Pie)

• Your favorite pizza dough (enough for 2 pizzas)
• 4-6 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (you could slice it if you like) 
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Set the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out your pizza dough on floured surface and place on a pizza pan. Cover with mozzarella cheese. Roll out second dough and place on top like a sandwich. Brush oil and melted butter over the top. Sprinkle, Parmesan, Romano, oregano and garlic over the top. Lightly score the dough with a pizza cutter into bread stick slices, however don't cut all the way or cheese will run out during baking. This makes it easy to just pull the bread sticks off with your fingers without tearing when it comes right out of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with homemade marinara and ranch. Enjoy!  

Homemade Tortillas

Tortillas can be used for so many things and they taste best homemade! Enchiladas, burritos, chimichangas, tacos, wraps, chips etc. I've been making homemade tortillas for the last ten years. These are so easy to make that my seven-year-old son can do it (as you can see). Once you try them homemade, you'll never want to buy them from the store again.

Tortillas

• 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp lard
• 1 1 /2 cups water

Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden (about 30 seconds); flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-flour-tortillas/