diet coke cupcakes

As I was catching up on some blogs today, I kept coming across this recipe. It’s actually not much of a recipe at all. You just use any cake mix and any Diet Coke. (No need for oil or eggs here) I backed these in my Pampered Chef mini-muffin pan.

Tonight I used Devil’s Food cake mix & Cherry Coke Zero. There are lots of flavor combinations out there. I think the lemon cake mix with Diet Sprite could be good too. Play around with it and let me know if you come up with a favorite combination.

Diet Coke Cupcakes

1 box of cake mix

1 12 oz can of Diet Coke



Empty one bag of cake mix into a bowl. Stir in one can of Diet Coke.



Bake per the directions on the cake mix box. Voila’.

 

Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach

I came across this next recipe on Real Simple.com when I was signing up for a subscription today. We had a bunch of spinach in the fridge but not the right sausage. Also, I’m trying to cut out salt wherever I can so I added some other spices to this. I switched up a few other things so I'll have to try the original recipe sometime. You can see the original recipe here & my adaptation is below.

Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach  

one 17.5-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 roll Jimmy Dean Light Sausage (I had to use what we had in the freezer)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 5-ounce bag baby spinach

1 Tbs Italian Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing



Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Meanwhile, heat the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, crumbling it with a spoon. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, spinach, Italian Seasoning, and pepper and cook, tossing frequently, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.

Add the drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid, and the Parmesan and toss. Divide among individual bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan.

minty doggie treats

Cancy and I are dog- sitting this weekend for some friends of ours. So this meant that Chile had someone to keep her occupied all weekend. I decided this morning to bust out the doggy cook book that I bought awhile ago and be a good dog-mommy. The book came with a doggie bone cookie cutter so the biscuits came out really cute. I have info on the cookbook on the “cookbook” page of the blog. Enjoy! Chile & Mia sure did.

Minty Doggie Treats (Howl about a Mint?)

1Tbs Vegetable Oil

1 C Water2

1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour (I only used 2 1/4 C & it worked fine for me)

1/2 C Oatmeal

2 Tbs Dried Mint (Or I used 1/3 C Fresh Mint, chopped)

1/3 C Parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine oil & water. Gradually add flour, oatmeal, mint, & parsley. (Here I only added 2 C of the flour & used the remaining 1/4 C to help roll it out)

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet & back at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. (I only went for 20 minutes and they were perfect) Let cool on a rack and make your puppy really happy.

quick crab & shrimp cakes

We are dogsitting this weekend so I spent the afternoon with the dogs at the park. After I got home, I really just wanted something quick & easy. So trying to stay away from the box mix for crab cakes staring me down from the pantry, i decided to use some canned shrimp & crab and make my own. So, here is my attempt at crab cakes with shrimp. We had some pre-made hush puppies that I baked to go with it as well as a package of steamed vegetables.

Quick Crab & Shrimp Cakes

1 6oz can of crab

1 4oz can of shrimp

2 green onions, chopped

2 Tbs parsley, chopped

1/4 C bread crumbs

Salt & pepper to taste

1 egg

1/4 C Light Mayo

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dill



Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix together crab, shrimp, green onions, parsley, salt & pepper. Blend together egg, mayo, hot sauce, lemon juice, & dill Form into patties and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly spray top of cakes with cooking spray. Bake @ 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.