Cream Soup or Sauce Mix

One of my favorite cooking tricks for so many semi-homemade meals is the use of "cream of whatever" soup.  

I have found other recipes for making your own, but I love this one because it is a powdered, gluten-free version and can't be easier to use.  It is a great alternative when you need to whip up a fast, delicious and easy meal.  

How awesome would it be to make a quick alfredo sauce using this mix?  Love it!! 

Mix 1 1/4 cups water with 1/3 cup of the following mix to make the equivalent of one can of soup.  

This recipe is an excerpt from one of my favorite blogs, One Good Thing by Jillee.  It is one of those blogs that is a must read!

Ingredients

2 cups powdered non-fat dry milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup instant chicken bouillon (regular or low sodium)

2 Tbsp dried onion flakes

2 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Equal to 9 (10.5 oz) cans of cream soup.

Check out Jillee's blog for the entire article and more photos . . .

Recipe and photo source:  One Good Thing by Jillee

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is one of those desserts that brings back so many childhood memories and good times spent in the kitchen with my nana!  It was my job to get the glass oblong rectangle pan ready for the cake batter.  My favorite part of it . . . I would always eat most of the cherries and sneak a little bit of the cherry juice to the brown sugar bottom . . . by the way, my revelation as a child.  Of course nana made me feel as though preparing the cake pan was the most important part of making this cake. Bless her heart, she always made me feel so special!

Since we often had an over abundance of fruit from the trees in our yard, the concept of this cake was also used with pears or figs.  Another staple in our kitchen was guava paste, so my nana also made guava upside down cake.  All were fabulous!

Today is National Pineapple Upside Down Cake and I thought I would share my childhood memories and some recipes that I have gathered from cruising the internet.

The gorgeous photo comes from the website Personal Recipe . . . click on the link for their recipe.

Pillsbury.com has all types of variations!

More recipe variations on The Food Network website

For me, the easiest way to make this delicious cake is to use a cake mix . . . I always use a pudding cake mix unless there is another cake mix that is way cheaper since I am frugal that way.  

My method of preparing the cake pan is to melt 1 stick of butter in the pan first, then add 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar . . . my favorite trick is to add at least one spoonful of cherry juice to the mix.  Arrange pineapples and cherries to the cake pan, then add the batter.  Bake, following the directions on the cake mix.    Fast, easy and delicious!

Try using guava paste instead of pineapple of a different variation that is awesome!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month

It has always been my philosophy that you will never go hungry as long as you have a loaf of bread, butter and some cheese.  There have been times in my life when I was forced to put that philosophy in action.  I would always thank God that at least they are a tasty treat and actually fool the mind into thinking I was spoiling myself.  If I happened to be lucky enough to have a jar of dill pickles in the fridge, it was a feast!

With the variety of cheese and breads in the market, the combinations for a great grilled cheese sandwich are endless.

Cheese is one of my favorite things and I love to experiment with all types as the budget allows.  My favorite thing to do with a grilled cheese sandwich is mixing two different types of cheeses.  Try it sometime!

Tips For The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich from The Nibble

Use real butter. 

The flavor of fresh butter is important for a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich.

Butter the outer side of the bread, not the pan. The butter will be more evenly distributed, which ensures a properly golden, crisp sandwich.

Grate or shred the cheese; it will melt faster.

When using dense breads, slice them no more than 1/2-inch thick, so that the heat can penetrate and melt the cheese.

Press the sandwich with a spatula after it’s been flipped, to help the melted cheese spread evenly.

Use a nonstick pan instead of cast-iron. The sandwich is less likely to stick to the pan, which makes clean-up much easier.

Click here for an awesome variety of

grilled cheese sandwich recipes and ideas.