Freezing Bell Peppers & Green Onions

I found red bell peppers for a steal at a local market and bought a bunch. I knew I wouldn't use them all before they went bad, so I decided to freeze them. Here's how I did it:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Slice or chop peppers into desired size; lay one layer on parchment paper.
3. Place in freezer for 45 minutes.
4. Transfer to freezer bags, remove air and seal bags, and place them in the freezer.

Here's how I froze green onions:
1. Rinse green onions and dry completely.
2. Line a baking sheet with a paper towel; chop green onions as usual and spread on baking sheet in a single layer.
3. Place baking sheet in freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer; put onions in plastic container(s)*, cover, and freeze.
*You can also use a freezer bag if you let out all the air before storing.

Roasted Nuts (and Toasted Sesame Seeds)

Roasted Nuts
1. Preheat oven to 400*.
2. Spread nuts evenly on a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper first).
3. Bake 5 minutes; shake.
4. Bake 3-5 more minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Let cool on baking sheet before serving or storing.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container.


Toasted Sesame Seeds
1. Preheat oven to 325*.
2. Spread seeds evenly on a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper first).
3. Bake about 20-25 minutes, shaking once or twice, until browned and fragrant.
4. Let cool on baking sheet before serving or storing.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Grad Cap Cupcakes

Grad Cap Cupcakes
Cupcakes
Frosting
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Dove Chocolate Squares
M&Ms (mini work best, I used regular)

1. Place frosting in a piping bag, or a piping bag.
2. Place Reese's cups face down on parchment paper. Dab a little bit of frosting on each cup; lay chocolate square on top.
3. Pipe two tassel lines of frosting coming from the middle of the "cap"; place M&M where the lines meet.
4. Let the grad caps chill in the freezer (or fridge) while you frost the cupcakes [this will cement the chocolate together and harden the tassels].
5. Top each cupcake with a grad cap and serve.

Please excuse the frosting job on this one. It was a long day...

Frosting a Layered Cake

How to Frost a Layered Cake
Line the sides of your serving plate with strips of wax paper. Place the first layer of cake (right side up) on the wax paper. Frost only the top of the cake.
Gently place the second layer on top of the first. Cover in frosting. (It doesn't matter if crumbs mix with the frosting and it looks an Oreo cake - we'll fix that.)
Refrigerate for about an hour. This will help to set up the first layer of frosting.
Cover cake with second layer of frosting. Slide wax paper strips out from underneath cake. Serve.

Not-So-Hard Boiled Eggs

Most people boil their eggs (hence the name) to get them "hard boiled", but that is the reason they get that gray layer between the yolk and the white. I recently learned a technique to cook eggs that will eliminate that gray layer.

Not-So-Hard Boiled Eggs
Eggs
1-2 t salt
4 qt cold water, divided

1. Put 2 quarts of water in a sauce pan. Add eggs and salt.
2. Place pan on stove and turn stove on medium heat.
3. Once the water starts to simmer, cover for 10 minutes.
4. Drain pan and place eggs in 2 quarts of ice water. This will shock the eggs and stop the internal cooking process.
5. Leave them in the ice water for about 5 minutes.

See? No gray ring!

Cake Technique

My husband was out of town on Father's Day, so I spent it at a potluck with a friend and her extended family. One of the desserts served was a spice cake. I commented on how good it was and asked the girl who made it (I don't even know her name) if she made it from scratch and she said "No, it's a box mix with Diet Coke." Diet Coke? What do you mean? She replaced the oil, eggs, and water with Diet Coke and it turned out great!

So here's the deal:
Substitute a can (or cup and a half) of diet soda for the wet ingredients for a cake mix (I'm not sure it works too well with butter recipes) and it turns out just as good as normal, without the added fat and cholesterol of oil and eggs. Use darker sodas (Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc.) for darker cakes like chocolate and lighter sodas (Sprite, Fresca, etc.) for lighter cakes like yellow.

I made this lemon cake with Sprite Zero.