Easy Gingerbread Cookies

Posted Under: food

I got the hint that somebody wanted these over a week ago. It was on my desktop because I didn’t have the cookie cutters to make them look cute. Today I thought, hey, let me just go for it and make them without. Maybe it was the pudding, but they came out delicious. Sometimes we think that something easy can’t be good, but these were simple and probably would be fun to make with the kids too.

1. 3/4 cup butter, softened
2. 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3. 1 (3.9 ounce) package JELL-O Butterscotch Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling
4. 1 egg
5. 2 cups flour
6. 1 teaspoon baking soda
7. 1 tablespoon ground ginger
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Beat butter, sugar, dry pudding mix and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Combine remaining ingredients. Gradually add to pudding mixture, beating well after each addition; cover. Refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is firm..
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch-thickness. Cut into gingerbread shapes with 4-inch cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheets. Use a straw to make a hole near the top of each cookie to use for hanging.
3. Bake 10 to 12 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets. Cool on wire racks. Decorate as desired

Yield: 20 servings

Simple Sweet Potato Pie

Posted Under: food

This isn’t “MY” recipe. Mine is top secret, but this is a simple pie recipe nonetheless. I also don’t do nuts. Pie is pie, nut are for insane assylums *lol* I also don’t put eggs in my pie so I don’t know how this one will come out. Let me know if you dare to try it. Some people add a dash or two or three of bourbon to their recipes *wink*

A sweet potato pie recipe, made with butter and sweet potatoes, along with vanilla and cinnamon.
INGREDIENTS:

* 4 ounces butter, softened
* 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 2 prepared pie shells, unbaked

PREPARATION:
Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells. Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.
Makes 2 pies.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Yum!

Posted Under: food

It’s been a looooooong time since I’ve had one *rubbing my greedy hands together*

1. 6 ounces unsalted butter
2. 1 cup dark brown sugar
3. 1/2 fresh pineapple, cut crosswise, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5. 2 teaspoons baking powder
6. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1 large egg
9. 1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with unflavored cooking spray. Melt 1 stick of the butter and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Spread the butter-and-sugar mixture in the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Distribute the pineapple slices evenly over the mixture and set the pan aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, milk and the reserved melted butter. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined; the batter will be thick. Using a rubber spatula, scoop the batter into the cake pan, spreading it until it reaches the sides of the pan.
4. Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.
5. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Place a serving plate over the cake pan and invert. Slowly lift off the pan and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Starbucks Founder Licks/Likes Pinkberry

Posted Under: food

People are going nuts over this stuff. It looks like everything thing else I’ve ever had that calls itself frozen yogurt. I guess now with the extra 27 million dollars that venture capitalists had lying around you can expect to see one of these Pinkberry thingies in every city, in ever town and overseas too. Ah, well, so much for hype. I’m not impressed, but then again I don’t have to be.

Red-hot frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry has received a $27.5 million infusion of cash from Starbucks founder Howard Schultz’s venture capital firm, Fortune has learned.

The deal, which will be announced later today, confirms long-held speculation that Seattle-based Maveron - whose prior investments include eBay, drugstore.com, and Good Technology, now owned by Motorola - sees a bright future for Pinkberry, which was launched two years ago by a failed restaurateur and a former nightclub bouncer.

Schultz was not available to comment, but in a press release touting the deal he called Pinkberry founders Shelly Hwang and Young Lee “visionary entrepreneurs” and labeled their brand “a cultural phenomenon.”

The burgeoning chain now has 32 stores in New York and Los Angeles, and plans to grow by expanding its roster of company-owned stores and franchises. Hwang and Lee told Fortune earlier this year that they hope to have 50 locations by year-end. Stores in Las Vegas and London are also on tap.

Pinkberry’s tart-yet-sweet yogurt, topped with the customer’s choice of fresh berries, granola, or even Fruity Pebbles cereal, has won it a cult following that includes celebrities like Salma Hayek and Paris Hilton. (Mike Tyson once demanded his cookies and cream topping on the bottom, and the staff wisely complied.) It’s pricey - a large green tea with three toppings is nearly ten bucks - but Pinkberry’s largely female clientele doesn’t pinch pennies.

“I’ve seen people come in, order a small, eat it and then get right back in line for another,” says Daihwan Choi, who has exclusive development rights in New York City.

Some toppings are not even on the menu, which only adds to the allure, and the minimalist décor features $350 Philippe Starck chairs and $250 Le Klint lamps. (Lee even secured a 10% volume discount from trendy furniture shop Design Within Reach on the lamps.)

“They really developed a look that helped create a cult factor,” says Lesley Balla, editor of food blog Eater LA, who adds that top city chefs have worked frozen yogurt into their menus. “It’s Whole Foods meets Jamba Juice meets Sephora,” says branding consultant Nick Hahn.

But that winning formula has also spawned a slew of copycats, and Pinkberry will be hard pressed to clearly differentiate itself going forward. Of course, Schultz’s investment should certainly help in that regard. Starbucks (Charts, Fortune 500) is much more about the experience than the overpriced product, so Schultz will likely aim to foster a similar unique environment at Pinkberry.

This is the first outside investment in Pinkberry, which had previously been funded by its founders. Hwang and Lee will retain “significant equity” in Pinkberry and work with Maveron to create an employee stock option program, according to the announcement.

Banquet Pot Pies Recall: Product Linked to Salmonella

Posted Under: food

Yikes! Banquet Pot Pie Recall. Giant Con-Agra Warns Consumers About Turkey and Chicken Pot Pies

Note to self: Stop buying prepared food and cook dinner from scratch!

Today agricultural giant Con-Agra warned consumers to not eat Banquet brand frozen chicken or turkey pot pie products or generic store brand not-ready-to-eat pot pie products bearing the number “P-9″ printed on the side of the package. According to a statement on their website, ” ConAgra Foods was advised yesterday by health officials in several states that a number of consumers had been diagnosed with salmonella that they believe is statistically associated with the consumption of Banquet chicken and turkey pot pies.”

According to the CDC, Salmonellosis is an infection with a bacteria called Salmonella. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment.

This is the latest recall involving food items marketed by the powerhouse food outfit. This past February, an infamous salmonella-related recall involved peanut butter marketed under its Peter Pan brand name.