Maple Pizzelles

Although I love maple syrup all year long, I especially enjoy maple syrup-related products in the Fall. I had been meaning to try this recipe for some time. These pizzelles are quite delicious. And the maple flavor is very subtle, so even if you are not a big fan of maple, you might still enjoy these pizzelles. 

Every year in October my nephew Rich and his wife Christen host a hayride and campfire through the Naperville Park District. I made these maple pizzelles for the hayride this year. Unfortunately, the hayride was rained out and rescheduled, but we still got together at Rich and Christen's home so I was able to share these maple pizzelles.

Maple Pizzelles

• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 3 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• powder sugar for dusting

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar.  Add the butter and maple syrup. Stir in the flour and baking powder. Add a spoonful of the dough onto a heated pizzelle iron. Close and allow to cook for about one minute. Remove each pizzelle with tongs and allow the pizzelles to cool on a flat surface. Dust each pizzelle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!  

Chocolate Dream Cake Torte

Making this cake is easy, but assembling it and keeping a slice upright can be a challenge. The cake is such a good treat, even if the slice falls apart. I think that this recipe came from a box of Dream Whip, a powdered whipped cream product. Although chocolate is the dominant flavor, the addition of instant coffee to the frosting gives the cake a bit more complexity in its flavor. 

When I made this cake, I made one change to the recipe and used whipped topping for the frosting layer between the cake layers. It created a nice contrast to the chocolate. This cake involves three layers of cake, which does make balancing the cake a bit harder. For the two bottom layers, I used a bread knife to remove part of the cake that had somewhat risen in the center to make a flat cake for the next layer.

Chocolate Dream Cake Torte 

• 1 package chocolate cake mix
• 1 envelope whipped topping mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup cold water

Combine cake mix, topping mix, eggs, and water in a large bowl. Blend until moistened. Beat at medium speed for four minutes. Pour into 3 greased and floured 8 inch round layer cake pans. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

Mocha Fluffy Frosting

• 1 envelope whipped topping mix
• 1 box instant chocolate pudding
• 2 tsp. instant coffee
• 1 1/2 cold milk
• optional frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine whipped topping mix, pudding, instant coffee, and milk in a mixing bowl. Beat slowly until blended. Gradually increase beating speed and beat until mixture forms soft peaks for four minutes.

Assemble the cake using the option whipped topping between the layers. Then, frost tops and sides.  Enjoy!

Pepper Steak

I found this among Grandma's recipes. Because I had plenty of tomatoes and bell peppers from my garden, I figured harvest time would be a great time to test out this recipe. I was glad to be able to use some home-grown vegetables, but don't let a lack of a garden stop you from trying out this recipe.

When I made this recipe, I added more onions than called for because I wanted to use up some of the onions that I had on hand. I also used beef bouillon cube dissolved in one cup of hot water instead of beef broth. The amount of vegetables can be modified to adjust this recipe to your taste.

Pepper Steak 

• 1 1/2 pounds round steak
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 cup beef broth
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 green peppers, cut to one-inch pieces
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 2 tomatoes, cut up
• 3 or 4 cups cooked rice

Trim and cut meat into strips. Brown in a small amount of oil. Push aside and brown onions. Stir in broth, soy sauce, garlic. Simmer until meat is tender. Add green pepper; simmer for five minutes. Blend cornstarch with cold water. Add to meat gradually. Add tomatoes and heat through. Pour over rice. Enjoy!