Sour Cream Pound Cake with Strawberry Whipped Cream

 Ah! This cake is one of the best pound cakes I have made in a while and I have made quite a few. The strawberry whipped cream is light, fluffy and quite tasty. Strawberry lovers will enjoy this dessert.

Ingredients

1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1/2 c coconut oil
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. (**I start with a cold oven and bake for 1 hr 30 minutes to get a crunchier crust.)
Cream butter, oil, and sugar together; add sour cream.
Sift flour, salt, and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, one at a time, beating after each.
Add vanilla, lemon and orange extract.

Pour into a greased and floured tube cake pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes
Let cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a butter knife gently along the outer rim of the cake to ensure it has separated from the pan, then flip over onto cooling rack. Let cool completely.
Top with your favorite topping or not!

Cooking again!

I have been away for quite some time, but I think I am ready to start blogging again. I have been cooking, but it hasn't been anything extraordinary. Today I am going to bake a pound cake and make a strawberry whipped cream topping to serve with it. I was inspired to make this after a visit to Costco last weekend and one of the many taste samples they had was a slice pf pound cake with a strawberry whipped cream topping. The girls and my DH love strawberries, but I am not so crazy about them and this is a way to compromise. I am going to use this strawberry whipped cream recipe I found at the Cupcake Project website. I will post the results later.

Homemade English Muffins

I am a fan of Foodnetwork and the Cooking Channel. So when I saw someone at a restaurant making English Muffins, I knew I had to find a recipe to make them at home. I am a firm believer that I can make just about anything I see on these two channels and I often find inspiration and ideas to try out in my kitchen. This morning it was English Muffins. My husband, Michael, loves these versatile muffins and I know he will love having homemade muffins so much more than store bought.

I found several recipes on Allrecipes.com, but decided on this one English Muffins by LindaPinda. However, I did not roll out the dough and cut out rounds. I did what I saw the restaurant do, I divided the dough out into equal portions and rolled the dough into a ball shape. I used a cast-iron griddle to cook them on. At first I thought it would be difficult to make these, but it wasn't nearly as hard. I never knew that they were cooked on top of the stove either, but I guess I never really thought about it.

The English Muffins turned out better than I expected for my first try. They are lighter than I figured they would be too. They taste fresher and better than store bought. They can be used in so many ways and can be stored for use later. Why don't you give them a try.

Shrimp and Avocado Quesadillas with Mango Salsa

I made these this week, but failed to take pictures. They were so delicious. Here's how I made them.

12-14 Large shrimp (21-30 count size)
1 large ripe (not overly) avocado, sliced
1/2 cup Chopped cilantro
Shredded cheese, you decide how much you want on each quesadilla
8-10 flour tortillas

Cook the shrimp in a tablespoon of olive oil with garlic amd teaspoon of chili powder. Don't over cook shrimp. Let shrimp cool a bit, then butterfly them.

On a heated flat pan. I think I used a med-low heat setting and a flat cast iron skillet. Lay a tortilla on the heated pan. On one side of the tortilla layer cheese, 3 butterflied shrimp, cilantro, avocado. You can top with more cheese. Cover with the other half of the tortilla and then flip to make sure both sides are cooked. I like mine to have some nice light to medium brown spots on the tortilla. Continue until all are done.

Mango Salsa Recipe
1 ripe Mango, peeled and diced.
1/2 cup of diced pineapple (you can use 3/4 cup if you like more pineapple)
2 tablespoons diced sweet onion or purple onion
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon lemon pepper & sea salt (optional)
1 tablespoon pineapple juice to help mix in seasoning
Season with chili powder, cayene and sea salt to your particular taste.

This recipe can be adjusted to your taste. Some people add red bellpepper, so play around with it to make it your own.

Enjoy!

Shepherds Pie

Shepherds Pie
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

I made this a few months ago, but never got around to posting the pictures. I can still smell the aroma and taste the savory flavors of this dish. I even made the mashed potatoes myself, nothing instant about this dish. I will have to make it again, because it is a great dish for these cold winter days.

Blackened Chicken & Spinach Salad

Blackened Chicken & Spinach Salad
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

Sometimes you just need to have a good salad. I cooked up some blackened chicken breast and sliced it over some fresh spinach along with some mushrooms and mandarine oranges. I also had some sliced purple onion and cucumbers on the side for anyone who wanted to add them. I used Asian Ginger salad dressing on mine and my husband use Honey Catalina. This a great meal for any night of the week.

Better Beef Stroganoff

Better Beef Stroganoff
Originally uploaded by Ajidivine

I haven't been experimenting a whole lot with new recipes in the past few months. The other day I received my last issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine and in it I found a recipe for Better Beef Stroganoff. I read the article and decided that it was worth trying. Most Stroganoff recipes call for a lot of sour cream, but this one only had 1/2 cup of sour cream. I had everything, but the dried mustard ( I used yellow mustard instead). I am not a big fan of stroganoff, but this is a version that I will cook again. My husband now has another dish that he will only eat if I make it homemade, no more boxed versions.