Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll

I must say I am thrilled to be guest blogging for Blissful and Domestic. I have followed this blog for quite some time and it is one of my very favorites. I am Renee and I want to share with you a tasty pumpkin recipe. It’s one my mom made every fall and now the written recipe is nestled into my own recipe box, and I pull it out around this time every year.

(excuse the washing machine in the background)

Cream cheese pumpkin rolls. They are sure to get you in the Autumn spirit. They are tasty and very easy to make! Let’s get started. Here is what you will need:

3 eggs

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

¾ cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

And for the filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

I had most of these ingredients already on hand and you probably will too.

Preheat your oven to 375.

You will begin by mixing the eggs and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Mix until thick and then add the pumpkin and lemon juice. 

In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

Then, add to the egg mixture and mix well. 

Mix the batter until it looks like this...

Spread the batter onto a waxed lined or greased 10 by 15 inch pan. 

Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Then, remove from oven and let cool just for a few minutes. (The key to avoid cracking is to roll the cake while it is still pretty warm)

Sprinkle powdered sugar on a towel, and place the cake on the towel.

Roll the cake up in the towel and let cool for a while. Some people even put in the refrigerator. 

In the meantime, it’s time to make your cream cheese filling.

Combine cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and mix well. 

Spread filling over the cake and then roll tight again. Put in refrigerator.

As you can see, mine still cracked a little. (Of course, it doesn’t affect the taste!) But the key is to roll it as soon as possible after it comes out of the oven. This time I waited about five minutes. I shouldn’t have even waited that long. 

It was delicious!

Pair with a cup of hot coffee or a glass of cold milk. It’s the perfect autumn dessert or snack (or breakfast...or dinner...hehe.) 

Enjoy!

Thanks for letting me post, Danielle.

You can come visit me on my blog here. 
-Rene

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I love pumpkin, but this recipe takes the cake! (pun totally intended). Thanks so much for sharing Rene!

XO Danielle

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Chocolate Cake with Tomato Puree

Ok I know that right now you are thinking "Really Danielle? Tomatoes and chocolate? It just ain't right!". Well all I have to tell you is.."It is absolutely right and so freakin good". You know me, any chance I get to be sneaky in the kitchen... I do it. Seriously! If I can get extra veggies into my family and me, while we're eating chocolate, I have to do it. How could I not do it?

Well that is how this cake rolls. Its super moist, has veggies in it, and oh its semi-homemde, so anyone could make this bad boy. You love me a little bit more right now huh? I know..... you're welcome:) If Bettty Crocker were a real person, she'd be proud (I actually googled it. She's just a "cheery name" the heads of General Mills choose to entice us mamas to buy their mixes in the 40's. Who da thunk it?)

All you need is one box of Milk Chocolate Cake Mix*, tomato puree*, oil, and eggs. Blend these puppies together and you have the making for a delectable treat. You can share it or hog it to yourself. I totally vote for the later (although I did share it with my littles. I can't say no to those freckled faces). All you mama jamas can pull this off in under 40 minutes. Your family will be thinking how lucky they are to have a lady like you in the house, while you will chukle to yourself as they eat their veggies unknowingly. Haha! I love it!

Alright so get in that kitchen and whip up some sneaky goodness today.

Here is the recipe and you can find the link below to print it out :)

1 box Milk Chocolate Cake Mix (Super Moist)
1 1/4 cup of tomato puree
1/3 oil (I used coconut oil)
3 eggs

Blend all together in your mixer. Bake in a 9x13 pan for 30-35 minutes. I use a toothpick to test for doneness (I don't think this is a word, but I am rolling with it). If it comes out clean, you're golden. Wait for your cake to completely cool. Then you can top with my favorite chocolate frosting below. It is addicting. Just remember I warned you. :)

*I buy my cake mixes when they are $1 or less. I always try to go homemade, but having these in my food storage is great for days when the time just isn't there to whip something up completely from scratch.

*To make my tomato puree, I puree a bunch of raw tomatoes in my magic bullet (blender would work too). I then put them in freezer safe containers. I store mine in 2 cup portions. I just thaw before I plan to bake.

Chocolate Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 cups powdered sugar
2 squares (1 ounce each), unsweetened chocolate, melted*

Place softened butter in your mixing bowl. Beat butter for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until creamy. Stop and scrap bowl. Add corn syrup. Beat well again. Gradually add your powdered sugar, mixing until well blended. Slowly add your melted chocolate and beat well about 1 minute.

*To melt my chocolate I place about 2 cups of water into a small sauce pan. I then rest a small metal bowl on top of my pot. The water begins to boil and slowly melts the chocolate in the bowl. This is the double boiler method. You can check out this video HERE. Melting your chocolate this way, prevents your chocolate from seizing.

Print Recipe HERE

XO Danielle

Creamy Avocado Dip

 

I am hoping I am not the only mama out there who has a hard time getting their littles to eat their veggies. Generally my littles are awesome and rarely turn down a fruit or vegetable....well that is until avocados come into play. They definitely make some serious stink faces at these sweet fruits or are they veggies? Whatever they are...my kids have some serious disdain for them. I am always trying to think of ways to sneak avocados into their diet. It may be in a smoothie, a brownie, or in their sandwiches. Whatever I can do. One cup of avocado has 23% of the recommended daily value of folate. They are also high in vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, and glutathione, which are all great for your heart (source here). That being said, I definitely want to get my littles and my husband eating these gems.

This past week we had nachos for dinner. I had some avocados to use up, which I received last week from BB. We love to do our nachos with pico de gallo, homemade refried beans, and tortilla chips. This week I decided to add in a bit of creamy avocado dip. Guess what? It was a hit!..... somehow combining vanilla yogurt and avocados created a yummy dip that both my hubby and the red heads enjoyed. Who knew? So if you are looking for a new yummy dip, try this out. It is perfect for tacos, nachos, veggie sticks, chips, you name it! We have also used this as a spread on sandwiches. It is a healthy alternative to using mayo on a sandwich :)

Creamy Avocado Dip

1 avocado
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
juice of 1 lime
2 tbl taco seasoning

Blend together in food processor or blender. Chill in fridge and serve.

Make it today and enjoy lovelies!

 

XO Danielle

Sweet Potato Quick Bread

 

Saturday morning I found myself washing dishes, mentally planning what I would be baking that morning. I did a mental check list of what needed to be used in my fridge and pantry. I had just gotten my basket and knew I had a few things that needed to be used up before we dug into our new basket of fruit and veggies. I had quite a few sweet potatoes to use. Usually I do mashed sweet potatoes, but a mama can only make that so many times. I needed something new to help me use up those orange potatoes in my pantry. Then it dawned on me....Why not make sweet potato bread. I thought I was coming up with something pretty original, until I googled it and realized many other mamas had already had my great idea. I checked out a few of their recipes and then came up with the recipe below. It is a super moist bread, which was a crowd favorite in my home. In fact it only lasted about 2 days here. We all gobbled it up as soon as we could. Yep it is that good. So make some quick bread for your family tonight. Serve it for breakfast, a snack, or a yummy dessert. We were finding any excuse to have it.... I seriously need to make some more....yum:)


Sweet Potato Bread
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked sweet potato puree (I did mine in the pressurecooker)
½ cup white chocolate chips (optional)
1 tbl flax seed (optional)
1 tbl bran (optional)

Combine sugar and butter in a mixing bowl, beat until creamy. Add water, eggs and puree. Beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and beat. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350' for about 1 hour.

This recipe is included in this weeks meal plan.

XO Danielle