Baking Blaire

I dedicate this post to my roommate.

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As much as I pretend to one day be a baker... I don't bake, which is sad because I have a pinterest board dedicated to all the things I would like to make. I call it "Culinary School here I come". But I am not really a baker a good example of this I bought a cake mix box and it said 3 tablespoons of oil, I had to call my step-mom to ask what kind of oil they meant... I mean a baker doesn't have to ask they just know. 

Sometimes this is how I feel about cooking/baking...

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Any way the reason I am baking and the reason I dedicate this post to my roommate is because I have eggs in the house. If you know me, you know I HATE eggs, so I never buy them, but my roommate who has gone back home for 3 weeks left me eggs and told me I should use them... great what am I going to do with eggs,  I thought, then I thought "oooohhhh I can bake". So I went to my grocery store after work and grabbed a coffee cake mix box. (I guess a baker wouldn't grab a cake mix box.) But at the bottom of the normal recipe there was a recipe for "Cinnamon Apple Snack Cake" well I did my own twist to that 1 on accident but 3 on purpose.

pre-baking getting ingredients 

1 package of Pillsbury® Quick Bread Cinnamon Swirl

1/2 cup sour cream- accident 1 didn't see that this was an ingredient until I was mixing so I use 3 table spoons of oil that original recipe called for.

1/3 cup of water.

2 eggs

1 cup apple, peeled, chopped- twist I am not a big apple fan... I mean I didn't even like apple pie till  a few years ago so I used pears. (I love pears)

1/2 cup chopped nuts...twist- I still had pecans from my Pecan Pies so I used those. 

Twist- Also I really loved cinnamon so I used some scattered on top of the first layer. 

So here I go baking. I don't want to break any laws so I am not going to post all the instructions but they are on the box. 

1. Pour about 1/2 of cake batter ( about 1 1/4 cups) for me it was a little bit more.

2. Sprinkle the cup of the chopped pears. 

3.Sprinkle the chopped nut. Since I used pecans I didn't need to chop them pecans easily break apart, so don't waste time on the cutting board with them... it makes a bigger mess.

4. My Twist- Shake some Cinnamon on top of the pears and pecans.

5. Sprinkle 3/4 of the crumble on top of all this.

6. Pour rest of cake batter on top of all of this. Spread carefully to cover.

7. Sprinkle rest of crumble and pecans on top.

8. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes. I have a really small oven and it cooks quicker than recipes usually state so I cooked it for only 45 minutes. While this was baking I cleaned my dishes, and worked on this post. 

Fresh out of the oven

9. Cool completely in pan. So I sit and wait more... you have to really be dedicated to bake. 

Sorry I forgot to take picture of it before I cut into it... I got hungry. And I must say it was a good piece though they could have put more icing in the packet.

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Well that is all for my baking this time... since I still have a few more weeks before summer school maybe I will bake other things.

Side Note: have a good play list going as you are baking.

Finally made something on Pinterest

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I am not ashamed to admit it that I am a pinterest addict. But I am happy to say today I finally made something I found on pinterest.

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It is just mac and cheese but I have to start some place right. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups dried pasta
2 cups 2% or skim milk
1 cup loosely packed shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard

Directions: (with some of my own pictures)

Milk and noodle

In a small saucepan, add pasta and milk.  Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until pasta is soft, stirring frequently and ensuring milk does not boil. 

*I might of had the heat too high because it didn't take 20 minutes 

Adding the cheese

Turn heat off, add cheese & salt & and stir to combine.  Stir in the mustard a little at a time to taste. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, then stir again and serve. If not creamy enough, add milk a little at a time, and gently stir.

If you would like to bake it at this point, place in a baking dish and top with a generous sprinkling of cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until cheese has melted.

Final product

For more click here for her original post

* Now I just have to be a photographer.