Blueberry Morning Cake

So incredibly easy, and VERY moist and tasty. I made this and ate about 1/3 of it before anyone else got any. So sad, but none the less, true.

Ingredients:
Blueberry muffin mix, enough to make 12 muffins (I got a sweet deal on the fiber one triple pack)
Water, oil, eggs, or whatever the directions call for to make the muffins
1 pint of fresh blueberries, or 2 cups of frozen berries, thawed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8 by 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Prepare muffin mix according to package directions. Add blueberries and pour mix into pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check to make sure cake is done by inserting toothpick or knife in center, and if it comes out clean it is done. In a saucepan melt butter, add milk and sugar and mix well. After cake has cooled, poke it several times with a fork. Pour glaze over cake and let it sit for a few minutes. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

We are celebrating a birthday today and so I made a cake. If we were still living in Elkhorn I would have gone to the Lakeland Bakery and purchased a marble cake with fudge icing in the middle and the 1/4 inch of butter cream frosting (one of my friends told me I was the cheapest person they knew, which I took as a compliment, because I prefer to make things, like a cake, at home rather than paying $20 for one. I would pay that for a cake from LB). My word, my mouth is watering just thinking about that. I so miss the LB!!!! But this cake is AWESOME!!! I served it with "Moose Tracks" ice cream, a fabulous invention.

Ingredients:
Yellow cake mix (look at the instructions on your cake mix. I changed what I added slightly)
Add amount of water and eggs that the instructions tell you to add.
Add 1/2 of the oil that is called for.
Add 1 cup of peanut butter (I used chunky, just cause I like that word. It reminds me of "Chunky Monkey" ice cream from Ben and Jerry.)

Reese's peanut butter cups - full size, not the mini candy (I needed at least 15 because I had helpers who all needed to try some.)

Preheat oven (I baked it at 350). Mix cake mix ingredients together, pluse PB. Unwrap RPC's and break them into pieces. Put half of batter in a greased 9 by 13 pan (or you could use a bundt pan). Top with broken RPC's, and try not to eat a ton of them. Very difficult for me. I love those 2 great tastes that taste great together. Top with the rest of the batter so that the RPC's are in the middle of the cake. Bake according to cake mix box (I think mine took 35 minutes). Send the kids off to play while you lick the bowl clean.

Frost when cake is cool. I have also included the recipe for my favorite frosting in the world. I use to make the full recipe just so I had left overs to snack on. I cut it in half this time and there was just enough for the cake and a couple of small tastes, just to make sure it was ok. My friend, Nicole, likes to use this on top of angel food cake, it is really good. I got this recipe ages ago, so I have no one to credit for it. Sorry.

Buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening (I never have shortening, so I use all butter. It is thicker, so you have to whip in a little bit of milk. If you use the shortening the frosting is fluffier.)
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used the full teaspoon even though I halved the recipe)
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring (I didn't have this on hand and it was still good)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
About 1/4 cup water (you could also use milk)
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
If you want it to be chocolate frosting mix 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cocoa into the powdered sugar before you mix it into the frosting. (If you are adding cocoa, the frosting will be thicker, use a little bit more milk to make it more spreadable) If it needs more cocoa, add more.

Cream butter and shortening. Add flour, vanilla, water or milk, and extracts (one time my kids were begging me so much for a taste, so I let them taste it at this point. They let me alone after that.) Add sugar (and cocoa) a bit at a time. Frost cooled cake and then hide left overs in the fridge for a treat for yourself later. If you are nice, share. I am not that nice some days.

Applesauce bars, but more like cake.

This has been a fun project to post these recipes and pictures. It has helped me to be more computer literate, I can actually download photos, a big step for me. Anyway, I made applesauce in my crock pot the other day and no one has eaten it. It was good, but kind of changed color. In an effort to use it and not waste it I looked up recipes for applesauce cake and found one for "Applesauce Bars" at http://www.about.com/ . They turned out well, very moist, more cakey. To make this recipe more healthy or healthier (yes, I did pass 3rd grade language arts) I would add less sugar and use whole wheat flour or oat flour (I just put oatmeal in the blender or "magic bullet" and grind it up like that). This would also be a great recipe to add pureed veggies (carrot, sweet potato, or butternut squash would work best). It was very good. I did not add nuts or raisins. I also used more applesauce. I think next time I make this I will make it in a 9 by 13 pan as cake. I sliced it up and put it in a 9 by 13 pan, so it is like a cake now. I enjoyed it as I laughed while watching "The Middle" (very funny episode. I remember wanting cool jeans, but they didn't cost $112. Not looking foward to teenage issues and being thought of as "so lame" and "clueless") and some of "Psych". Hope you like the bars/cake. My kids liked them and they will make a great snack today. I don't think there will be any left for Mike tomorrow for when he gets home. Oh well, I guess I will just have to make them again.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (next time I will use half whole wheat or oat flour and add some ground flax seed as well. I got a 17 pound bag at a grain sale about 3 years ago and still have some. I try to sprinkle it in everything I can so that it doesn't go to waste. Not sure why I bought that big bag. I think I was going to split it with someone and that just didn't happen)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar (I will use less next time)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used 1 1/2, I LOVE vanilla)
1 1/2 cups applesauce (I used 2 cups, which may be why it was so moist)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup raisins
(I think I may get fancy next time and add some lemon or orange zest, and maybe some lemon juice. It will give it a nice tangy flavor)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix first 4 ingredients in one bowl, set aside. In mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture, then applesauce, nuts and raisins. Pour mixture into greased 15 by 10 by 1 inch jelly roll pan. When I was spreading this in the pan it didn't look like it was going to cover the whole pan or bake well, but it worked very well. Bake 25 min (I had to bake mine for about 30). After they are cool you can ice these, sprinkle them with powdered sugar, top with cool whip, or just eat them a little bit at a time out of the pan which is how I started eating them.