R2 D2 Cake

This is a six layer cake with a cereal treat dome and arms; four chocolate layers and two white layers. It is a birthday present from me to my son's Godson who is in kindergarten. I think he is going to love his birthday cake!

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

A beautiful fairy came to bake in Nonna's Kitchen today! She made three wonderful gingerbread men who cannot run away.

Spaghetti in Nonna's Kitchen

A picture or two can tell the whole story.................





The moral to this picture essay is that Miss A. likes Nonna's spaghetti!

Pumpkin Cookies

A not too sweet cookie that happens to be my daughter's favorite!

Cream together:
1 cup shortening (I use butter)
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg

Add:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c sugar

Drop by rounded teaspoon. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Drizzle with icing made of 10x sugar and milk.

Knitting and Cookies

Thursday evening is knitting night at my house and I'm sometimes pressed for time in preparing for the circle. Today was such a day so I made one of my favorite, quick cookies using cake mix as the base. They are so delicious; I already ate two and my guests aren't due to arrive for some time yet!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix (I use super moist with pudding)
1 egg
1/4 cup butter soften
1/3 cup of water
1 heaping cup of chocolate chips

Mix first 4 ingredients together with mixer. Batter will be dough-like. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon teaspoon mounds onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Delicious!

Baked Ziti for a Crowd

This is the first time I've made this much baked ziti at one time; hoping for the compliments from guests today!

6 pounds of ziti
5 pounds of ricotta cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
6 eggs
salt/pepper and basil
Pot of homemade spaghetti sauce

Very Quick Strognaoff

Last night I was in a hurry to make dinner. I had thawed a pound of extra lean ground beef thinking I'd make meat sauce, but forgot about that plan as the day progressed. So, I went online and found a recipe for "In A Hurry Beef Stroganoff" which used ground beef rather than beef cubes or strips of beef. Well, let me tell you it was a hit. I don't have a picture to share, which is just as well because it did not look as appetizing as it truly was. I am sharing the recipe, however, and I recommend you give it a try.

In A Hurry Beef Stroganoff
found at: www.cdkitchen.com

1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup water
1 can cream of celery soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
hot cooked noodles


Directions:

In a large skillet brown the ground beef; drain well. Stir in water, cream of celery soup, and onion soups mix. Heat until boiling; stirring often. Reduce heat. Combine sour cream and flour until blended. Stir in to meat mixture until just heated through. Serve over noodles.


**** You really could not taste the cream of celery soup, so I'm thinking cream of mushroom would work just as well.