Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July 2017

Father God I ask that you protect Americans everywhere as they travel and go about their holiday business. Let us remember that this is a Christian nation, under your Lordship Father. Amen. 

Pineapple Mug Cake

Enjoy pineapple mug cake in or out of the mug! 

The texture of this mug cake isn't nearly as dense as most of the made-from-scratch mug cake recipes that I have tried. I feel like this is a great way to make small servings of cake.
Yield: about 2 - 12 ounce servings, or about 4 - 6 ounce servings

1. Two 12 oz. mugs
2. Crack a large egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork until the yolk and egg white are blended fairly well. 

   

                                               One large egg makes about 3 Tbsp. of beaten egg.

Measure the following ingredients into each mug:

• 6 Tbsp pineapple cake mix
• 3 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp melted butter, or melted shortening. Canola oil may be used too. 
• about 1 1/2 Tbsp. beaten egg
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

  

  Ready to stir.

Directions

• Stir ingredients in each mug together for about a minute, or until smooth and well blended.

  

  Smooth and well blended. Ready to microwave.
• Place mugs into microwave  and cook for 3 minutes. Cooking time is for a 900 - 1000 watt microwave. 
• The cake will rise to the top of the mug.

  

  Immediately after microwaving 3 minutes.
• Remove the mugs from the microwave and allow to cool 2-3 minutes.

  

  After cooling 2-3 minutes, the mug cake can be turned out of the mug. 
• At this point, you can turn the cake out onto a plate, or you can leave the cake in the mug.

  

  The mug cake slips out of the stoneware mug easily. The mug wasn't oiled or greased.
  Top with a topping of your choice and enjoy!

Cake Mix Mug Cake - A Five Minute Mug Cake

I decided to Google the phrase, cake mix mug cake.
Yep, a few of you have tried this idea out too, BUT I don't think anyone else has had such excellent results as I have.

Why? Because I actually use ideas from more than one mug cake recipe. Yep, I did what I do best...take inspiration from more than one recipe and combine them into a new recipe.
Storing Cake Mix for Mug Cake Use

• Measure out 6 Tbsp. of cake mix into an individual, zip top sandwich bag. Repeat.
  
• Roll the bags tightly and zip the tops closed. 
• Place the rolled bags of cake mix back into the cake mix box to store for use at a later time. 

A 15.25 ounce package of cake mix will make about 7 mug cakes.
A 16.50 ounce package of cake mix will make about 8 mug cakes.

I hope you will try my cake mix hack - Cake Mix Mug Cake.

Recipe for a Five Minute Mug Cake

Yield: about 1 - 12 ounce serving, or about 2 - 6 ounce servings

Directions:

• Crack a large egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork until the yolk and egg white are blended fairly well. 
  
  One large egg will yield about 3 Tbsp. of beaten egg, just enough for 2 mug cakes!
• Set aside.

Measure the following ingredients into a 12 ounce mug:

• 6 Tbsp cake mix, any flavor
• 3 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp melted butter, oil, or melted shortening 
• about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the beaten egg 
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

• Stir ingredients in the mug together for about a minute, or until smooth and well blended.
• Place mug into microwave  and cook for 3 minutes. Cooking time is for a 900 - 1000 watt microwave. 
• The cake will rise to the top of the mug.
• Remove the mug from the microwave and allow to cool 2-3 minutes.
• At this point, you can turn the cake out onto a plate and slice it into two portions, or you can leave it in the mug for a 12 ounce serving. 
  
• Top with the topping of your choice and enjoy!

Sallee's Six: July Pie Crust Designs

Use this technique with star cookie cutters for a 4th of July pie.

Pretty pies feed your eyes.
Just looking at pictures of gorgeous pie crust designs makes me want to get my rolling pin and bake a pie or two.

Listed below are five sources for pie recipes and pretty pie crust designs that I like.
Not a pie lover? Look at number 6.

1. MarthaStewart.com has 12 piecrust designs to share with you.                           Click Here
2. Sally over at Sally's Baking Addiction not only has an American Flag piecrust, but the pie has a blue fruit filling and a red fruit filling.                                                           Click Here
3. How about a Blueberry Peach Pie with a gorgeous crust?                                   Click Here
4. Food Network has some great new designs for apple and pumpkin pies.          Click Here
5. Ashton over at Something Swanky has a great recipe for a 4th of July Berry Pie that uses two purchased pie crusts. The top crust has cut out stars and the pastry star cutouts are layered on the crust.                                                                                                        Click Here
6. Not a pie lover, but you love crust? Bridget of Bake at 350 will show you 4 new ways to use pie crust.                                                                                                                   Click Here

Here is my never fail pie crust recipe     Click Here for the recipe

SalleeB's Pizza Casserole

Looks like pizza, but it has a pasta crust!

Bill is not a fan of casseroles. 
However, this casserole won him over because the bottom layer is a tender, angel hair pasta "crust" topped with pizza toppings. A perfect bite contains an even amount of the pizza toppings and the angel hair pasta.
Wow, what a way to make your mouth happy!
Customize this recipe to make your favorite pizza in a casserole! 



Simply substitute a pound of your favorite meat, or a combination of meats. The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients   
This recipe can be downsized from a 13" x 9" pan to a 9" round or square pan.  Simply use half of each listed ingredient.

• 8 oz. angel hair pasta, broken into thirds and cooked
• 1 pound ground chuck or sirloin
• 3-4 oz. pepperoni slices
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 1 -  24 oz. can spaghetti/pasta sauce
• 6.5 oz. can mushrooms, drained or  6 oz. of fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup

Directions

• Grease your casserole pan. Set aside.
• Break 8 oz. of angel hair pasta into thirds. Place in salted, boiling water. Turn heat down to simmer and cook pasta for five minutes. 
• Pour half of the pasta sauce into the greased casserole pan.
  
• Drain the pasta and place it in the casserole pan.
• Spread the pasta into a layer.
• Layer the remaining sauce over the pasta.
  

• Place the ground chuck and onion in a skillet. If using fresh sliced mushrooms, add them now.
• Begin to brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• When the beef is about half way done, sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper over the meat and onions. Using a spatula, work the seasoning into the meat and onions.
• When the beef is almost done, add the drained mushroom slices to the skillet. 
• Stir briefly with the spatula until the mixture is well blended. 
• Drain excess grease from the skillet.
• Layer the meat mixture over the sauce in the casserole dish.

  

  Pepperoni can be mixed into the meat mixture, or placed on top of the cheese layer.
  I prefer having in on top of  the cheese layer as shown in the first picture.

• Put cheeses on top of meat mixture
  
• Top the cheese with pepperoni slices as shown in the first picture. 
• Cover with foil.
• Large Batch: Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes; Small Batch: Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes
• Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

Your pizza casserole is ready to serve!