Much delayed but much to share

Alright...let me start by apologizing for the gap in my posts. Obviously I am not a seasoned blogger as of yet.  While the main reason for the delay is forgetfulness, I must also say that I was struggling to locate an ingredient for one of the recipes that I desired to critique.  I mentioned in my last post that I was going to be making taco cupcakes.  Well...didn't happen.  The recipe calls for wonton wrappers and says that they are often in the produce section.  It would seem that my available grocers do not carry said wonton wrappers.  It's either that or I am just missing them...repeatedly...even with employee assistance.  This saddens me on many levels, but primarily because the recipe combines two of my most favorite things (tacos and cupcakes) and I am desperate to try it. Ah, well...some other time.  Instead, I have attempted three other pins that I hope you will enjoy. :)


1) Angel Food Dump Cake
               Ingredients: 1 can of apple pie filling, 1 box of angel food cake mix, sugar,
                                        and cinnamon

It is basically your standard dump cake, but it has a lighter texture.  This is both good and bad.  Good because it is super yummy. Bad because you want to eat so much more of it. You simply mix the dry cake mix with the can of pie filling and pour it into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar (to taste) and bake 350 (325 if using a glass pan) for 20-30 min.  One of the things it says is to be careful not to over bake.  It is done when the top is browned but the cake is not completely set.  This can be tricky to determine.  I have had one perfect outcome...one epic fail...and one that was so-so (yes I have made it that many times...it's good!).  I like to have apple in every bite, so I tried adding additional apples (without the syrup of the pie filling), but that made it too wet.  The next time I just cut my apples up and that helped them spread evenly throughout the pan.  All in all a very tasty, super easy, fun dessert!

2) Potato Pouches
           Ingredients: 10-12 small red potatoes, 1 packet of ranch dressing mix, 6 slices of cooked
                                  bacon, salt, pepper, butter, 3 sheets of heavy-duty foil

This.was.awesome.  You slice up the potatoes (thin slices).  I put the salt and pepper (to taste) on all of the potatoes at once and mixed them up well so that the seasonings were distributed evenly.  Spray each piece of foil with cooking spray.  Place an equal amount of potatoes on each piece of foil.  Sprinkle the ranch dressing mix equally over all the potatoes (you could mix this in when you do the salt and pepper if you'd like...but I liked it better just on the top of the potatoes).  Crumble up your bacon and sprinkle it evenly among the three servings of potatoes.  The recipe then calls for you to place 1 tablespoon of butter on the top of each serving. The first time I made this I totally forgot to add the butter here...and they turned out just fine.  We just added butter at the table if we wanted it. The next time I made it I did as the recipe instructed...still wonderful.

                                               (completed pouch minus the butter on top)

After all your ingredients are on the foil, fold it up so that it makes a little pouch...completely "sealed."  The original recipe calls for them to then cook on the grill for 20-30 min. I also have done this in the oven for roughly the same amount of time...I believe I set the temp to 375.  Both options work.  These potatoes were a HUGE hit...and rightly so!

3)  Sharpie art on mugs
               Supplies:  sharpie markers and white ceramic coffee mugs

This activity was both incredibly fun...and completely frustrating.  I decided to be a fun aunt and purchased mugs for my nieces and nephews to decorate.  I came armed with loads of markers and plenty of mugs for all.  We had a blast decorating them. After they are decorated, they are to baked in an oven at 350 for 25 min. This is to make the marker permanently affixed to the mugs and keep it from coming off when you wash it.  We used lots of bright colors and metallics along with standard black sharpie.  Nowhere in any of the pins for this activity did it say that colored sharpies would not work well.  We baked them, let them cool, and when I went to wash them before we drank out of them the colored sharpie on my niece's mug wiped right off.  Boo.  It did not wipe off of my mug as easily as it did hers, but it does come off somewhat if you rub it with your fingers.  This is a tragedy. All is not completely lost, however.  The black and metallic markers help up beautifully.  So, lesson learned...don't use colored sharpies...or don't ever use the mug.  In either case, I would definitely not put your decorated mug in the dishwasher.

                           (one side of my amazing mug...with the color holding up pretty well)

There you have it.  A much delayed but lengthy post. Enjoy!