7 of My Cool Recipes ...

Photo Credit: eerie deerie

Follow directions for a basic white bread recipe and then shape in the following way. Rip off five chunks of dough and roll each into balls that are a bit smaller than walnuts. Make one more ball that is larger than a walnut. Form the rest of the dough into a large ball; this will be the body. Attach the five smaller balls in the location of the feet and tail, then place the larger one where the head should be. You can add raisins for eyes and cut a smile into the dough with a knife.

Photo Credit: sean dreilinger

I use the basic banana bread recipe in the children’s cookbook I have, but substitute flax seed for the eggs. I don’t always have eggs on hand and use 1 T of flax in place of each egg. Place the tablespoon of flax in a skillet with one-fourth cup water and bring to a boil. Let this set for a few minutes and then add it to the recipe. The bread recipe I use combines ¾ C sugar with 3 large bananas, ¾ C vegetable oil, 2 eggs (2 T flax w/ ½ C water), 2 C flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp vanilla, ½ tsp baking powder, and ½ tsp salt all into one bowl. Sir until mixed, then put in a greased loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Photo Credit: ginparis2002

This is so simple and takes very few ingredients too. Take one package of cake mix, add 1/3 C oil, and 2 eggs. Stir all of this together, shape into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. You can add sprinkles to these before baking or frost them afterwards.

Photo Credit: ginnerobot

My family is all about cheese, so we rarely add any chicken or beef to these, but feel free to do so with yours! Take two 8 inch tortillas and sprinkle lots of shredded cheese on one, and then place the second tortilla on tip of the cheese. Put in the microwave for 1 minute. Have a skillet or tortilla pan hot on the stove to toast the quesadilla on when it comes out of the microwave. Even thought you can only toast one at a time, using the microwave to melt the cheese cuts a lot of time off of the amount it takes to get the cheese to melt in the skillet. I slice these into fourths with a pizza cutter and make a dip of salsa and cream cheese to go with them. Yum!

Photo Credit: A Lon MacLean

I love making this type of cakes for two reasons; it doesn’t require heating up the oven and there are tons of cake mixes to choose from! In one bowl, mix ¼ C oil, ½ C water, 1 egg, and ½ of the cake mix of your choice. If you’re looking for more of an exact measurement to this, 2 cups is about half the mix in a regular size package. Spray a 10 inch pie plate or an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray and microwave on high for 5 minutes. You might need to add a couple of minutes onto this time if the cake mix has pudding or something gooey added to it.

Photo Credit: EscapeYourDreams

I don’t care for mayonnaise-based coleslaw, so I was thrilled when a friend shared this recipe with me. Crunch up a package of Ramen noodles and pour into a bowl with ½ C salted sunflower seeds (not in the hull), ½ C sliced almonds, 1 bunch of green onions thinly sliced, and a package of coleslaw mix from the store. This comes with cabbage and carrots already cut up which saves a lot of time. Chill this until you are ready to serve it. Right before serving, mix ½ C oil, ¼ C sugar, 3 TBS red wine vinegar, and the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles. Pour this over the mix and eat right away. The longer it sets, the soggier it gets!

It seems like I do most of my experimenting with new ingredients when I'm making dinner, but I prefer baking over cooking a meal. It's probably my sweet tooth. I'd rather eat a batch of hot chocolate chip cookies than sit down to a bowl of fancy pasta with chunky sauce. I hope you enjoy this list of 7 of my cool recipes and try at lease a couple of them out on your own. Are you a baker or a chef? Do you tend to follow directions for a recipe to the T or do you find yourself making changes as you go?

Top Photo Credit: howtoeatacupcake.net