Kudos to Kiki!

I have been busy with finals and with my hubby traveling a lot for work I have had no desire to cook anything lately . . . although as a stress reliever I did crank out a few batches of strawberry freezer jam . . . but I have to give Kudos to my little sister Kiki for her darling cake decorating skills! My niece turned 1 last week and we celebrated with a lady bug themed birthday party! I think the cake and cupcakes turned out darling! You have mad skills K! Way to go! And happy birthday to you today! Are you really 23? Getting up there babe!

Strawberry Ice Cream Chocolate Cake Roll

This cake roll is awesome! It is also awesome to give away to some great people! The cake is super spongy, moist and delish and this ice cream recipe is the best! I could eat it all before it even freezes it is sooooo good! Plus this looks like a light spring dessert (well, before covering it in chocolate sauce . . .) All that I can say is that I am sold on ice cream cake rolls now!Chocolate Cake Roll

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa or HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Ice Cream(any flavor)slightly softened
Powdered sugar(optional)

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan with vegetable cooking spray. Line with wax paper; spray again.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder. Beat eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla in small bowl until pale in color, about 5 minutes. Fold in cocoa mixture; spread batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Invert cake onto clean towel; remove wax paper. Roll up cake with powder sugar sprinkled towel from short side. Cool completely on wire rack.

4. Unroll cake; spread with ice cream. Reroll cake without towel; press seam-side down. Cover; freeze until firm. Sprinkle top lightly with powdered sugar, if desired. Cover; freeze leftover cake roll. 8 servings.

Asian Kebabs, Toasted Coconut Rice and Mango Cucumber Salad

An amazing family in my ward is getting ready to welcome a new arrival to their clan on Monday, so I was excited to roll up my sleeves and spend a little time in the kitchen making dinner for them! It was a treat for our family too since I tried out a few new dishes which my hubby agreed will now grace our favorites list! The sauce for the kebabs is the kicker here! It is soooo good! I made the kebabs yesterday with pork and today with chicken (they were that good and I made enough sauce to accommodate both meals). Try these kebabs! You will NOT regret it!
Asian Pork Kebabs
Recipe by: Robin Miller

Apricot Mayo
1 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup Apricot Preserves
1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Ginger

1. Whisk all of the apricot mayo ingredients together and set aside 1/3 cup of mayo to baste skewers with.

Kebabs
1 1/4 lb Pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch cubes (or chicken)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2 inch pieces
Metal or Wooden Skewers
Salt
Pepper

1. Alternate pork pieces and red pepper pieces on the skewers. Season with salt and pepper and then brush with reserved apricot mayo mixture. Place the skewers on a hot grill pan or in a 350 degree oven. Turn repeatedly cooking for 7-10 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with the reserved apricot mayonnaise mixture.

Toasted Coconut Rice (2 ways)
I am a major fan of basmati and jasmine rice so I made regular (not instant) rice for my coconut rice, but Robin's recipe calls for instant rice . . . so use whatever you have on hand.

Robin's Recipe:
1/4 cup Shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup Instant Rice
1 14 oz can unsweetened light coconut milk

Toast the coconut in a dry medium pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Add the rice and coconut milk. Increase the heat to medium high, bring to a simmer, cover, and let simmer fro 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Em's Coconut Rice:
1 1/3 cup Jasmine Rice (Or regular white rice)
1 can Regular coconut Milk (or lite)
1/2 cup Sweetened Coconut
pinch of salt

1. Pour the coconut milk into a measuring pitcher, add enough water to the pitcher to total 2 1/2 cups of liquid. Set aside.
2.Toast the coconut in a medium pan over medium heat until lightly browned, set aside 2 tbsp of the toasted coconut.
3. Add the coconut milk/water mixture, rice and pinch of salt to the toasted coconut in the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low-medium low, simmering mixture for 20-25 minutes, until rice is cooked and tender. Remove from heat, garnish with reserved toasted coconut and enjoy!

(You may need more water depending on what type of coconut milk you use, lite milk is more watery whereas regular may need more water.)

I am obsessed with mango's lately! They are just so good and are great to add to so many things . . . hence they have made another appearance at my table! This salad is very refreshing and is a nice and light addition to any meal! I love it!
Cucumber Mango Salad
Recipe by: Emily

1 Mango, peeled and diced
1 Cucumber, stripe peeled, slice in half length wise and then thinly sliced
1/2 Tbsp Finely sliced red onion
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Vinegar
1-2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Chopped Parsley
1/3 tsp Chives
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, parsley, salt, pepper, and chives. Pour dressing over the diced mango, red onion, and sliced cucumbers, mix well and serve chilled. Enjoy!

"Guerken Salat" Cucumber Salad

I think too many people dismiss cucumbers before even giving them a chance (I can see some of my fam rolling their eyes now . . .). I have to admit that I have not always been a cucumber fan . . . but now I am a total cucumber addict! I eat them plain, on sam's, in salads, as a snack, for breakfast on toast, I have even had them in soup and they delish! All you need is a good cucumber . . . I love the English ones or smaller cucumber's that don't have big tough seeds. The best cucumber I have ever had came from my Uncle Don's garden (gotta love home grown goods!). They were smaller and just crisp and refreshing. So as a salute to cucumbers and in turn a salute to Germany and Austria, where I came to eat MANY and grew to love them, here is a cucumber salad that is delish! I served it with Schnitzel to offset the heaviness. So good! I LOVE schnitzel too and it is now so easy for me to make . . . try it . . . you will LOVE it! Here are some other German FAVORITES!!!
Cucumber Salad
Recipe by: Emily

1 cucumber, stripe peeled and sliced very thin
1 Tbsp Red Onion, sliced in very thin small strips
1 Tbsp Sour Cream
2 Tbsp Vinegar, Apple cider or regular White Vinegar
1-2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Chives (I used dried)
1/4 tsp Dry Dill weed
1 Tbsp fresh Parsley
Pinch of Salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper

1. To make the dressing mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the herbs, salt and pepper. Last, stir in the sour cream until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
2. Add the cucumbers and red onion to the dressing and coat evenly. Refrigerate or serve immediately. (The longer it sits the stronger the flavor and the more liquid will come out of the cucumbers, so if you are going to refrigerate it you may want to add more cucumber.)