For weeks and weeks I would wonder when fall would ever get here.
Then I stepped out in my backyard and almost soiled myself in excitement.
Almost 
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August 2010
We should call this post “how to get all of your friends to propose to you cake” because this classic dump cake will certainly do just that. At first I was a little wary of the power of dump cake (and the name?!), but after going camping this weekend and making this sans pineapple for all of our friends…well, let’s just say it could get ugly if you have to share.
When I was growing up all of my friends wanted pink Barbie cakes, My Little Pony cakes, and princess cakes for their birthdays. I wanted dump cake. My parents couldn’t believe it! A kid’s birthday cake for less than $5?! It’s simple, and you only need 4 (MAYBE 5) ingredients.
CLASSIC SOUTHERN DUMP CAKE
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
First things first I had to line up some of the ingredients for their mug shot:
Now guys, don’t get nervous here; this really IS that simple! Preheat the oven to 350.
Hey, I can do that!
In a bowl (or in the 9×13 dish) mix together the pineapple (don’t drain) and the cherry pie filling.
There must be some kind of trick here…
Next combine the yellow cake mix with the softened stick of butter til crumbly. This would be the time to add the chopped nuts if you use them.
Yep, definitely a trick involved…
Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the pie filling/pineapple mixture. Bake for 45-55 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Hold the phone…that’s it?!
I remember going to town on the leftover dump cake in the mornings…just one more spoonful to even it out, you know? And then all of a sudden it would all be gone! Oops… Mom, I swear it was Salah…!
I promise, this will help win you friends, reconcile with enemies, and meet your dream man (or woman). But none of that matters since you probably won’t want to share anyway.
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***Make sure you head over to Faces of Beauty for today’s amazing post from Megan!***
I don’t know about you guys, but my husband ADORES French toast. Almost to a fault. Almost.
Every time we go out to eat for breakfast he orders it. Every time I ask him what he wants me to make him for breakfast, he says French toast. Sometimes he pleads for it.
You could say he’s a connoisseur of French toast.
So it’s no surprise that he was pleading asking for me to make French toast for him with all of the leftover bread from our camping weekend. Luckily he married a sweet woman who wants to make him happy!
The great thing about French toast is that, like a great pair of jeans, it’s one of those recipes that is easy to dress up or dress down. You can make super fancy Brioche French toast with apples and cranberries in a homemade syrup. Or you can do what I did and use simple sandwich bread and store-bought syrup. Because either way it’s going to rock your face.
BROWN SUGAR FRENCH TOAST
- 4 whole eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- bread (again, this one is subjective…give yourself a break and use the bread you have on hand)
First things first you have to make the custard. Break the eggs into a bowl and add the milk. Whisk like a crazy person until it’s completely blended and you don’t see any of the egg whites in the mixture anymore.
Add the remaining ingredients, except the bread, and whisk until the brown sugar is dissolved into the egg/milk mixture. You want to make sure all that goodness gets all up in that bread’s business. And yes I just said that
Now, this is where I’m going to say that a cast iron skillet is really the best thing in the world to use for cooking the French toast. I heard this but never believed it. Nate harped on me about it; I wouldn’t budge. But y’all, I am here to tell you that cast iron is a revelation and you should jump on this bandwagon! You’ll thank me later. Anyway, melt about 1/2 Tbsp of butter in the skillet over very very very low heat.
Once it’s good and melted, dunk your bread slices into the custard. If the bread is thicker you might want to let it sit for a second, but ours was really thin, so a quick dunk is good. Cook each slice for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
I did 2 slices then cut them in half so it felt like I was eating more. Sometimes a little trickery is required when all you want to do is eat a loaf of custard-soaked bread and pour syrup…
…alllllllll over…
…every single slice!
In other news, I believe that last week I went through 2 lbs of butter. Ooops.
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Faces of Beauty is really taking off, and it’s ALL thanks to YOU GUYS! I cry tears of joy at every submission and the amazing stories everyone is sharing. If you haven’t submitted yet, please find out how here. Also, be sure to check out Cherise’s post today!
Friday night and yesterday morning/afternoon we went camping for our church‘s marriage retreat, something I was completely stoked about. In the midst of the killer campfire fajitas, keeping an eye out for the notorious roaming bear (!!!), and waking up in the middle of the night to air up the air mattress (again), I had a chance to really sit back and relax with my hubby and 16 of our closest friends.
There were campfires built, tents that were set up, amazing food that was cooked, and tons of laughter.
We all told stories of funny nicknames, first kisses, and craziest places that we’ve made love. And yes I just said ‘made love’ on the blog…it’s marriage people!
But something that made me really sit back and thing about our marriage and what Nate means to me is when we all decided to go around the campfire and talk about what animal our spouse would be and why.
As everyone took their turn I was hearing things like mountain lions, golden retrievers, bears, and other manly animals for the guys. While I could see Nate being represented by all of those animals, I just couldn’t pinpoint exactly which characteristic in an animal I would choose to represent him with. Among other things he’s extremely entrepreneurial, driven, hard-working, protective, and loving. Then it hit me!
“If I could pick any animal for one of Nate’s best characteristics, I would say he’s a duck.”
Enter the roars of laughter and evil eye from my husband. He said, “You better have a good reason for that one sweetie, I can feel the nickname ‘ducky’ coming…”
“Let me finish! When we were growing up, we had a female duck that lived in our neighborhood. I never EVER saw her fly, and she had a highly damaged right wing. The thing is there was always a mallard with her too, always walking with her, laying with her, eating with her. It didn’t matter what the weather was like, he was always there by her side. Nate is the one who knows how ugly my heart can be. He has seen what a selfish, messed up person I am. He has seen me crippled by the lies of disordered eating and the portrayal of women in the media. And yet he’s always been there with me and for me through every storm of life. Nate would be a duck because he’s loyal and loving and has always been there for me.”
Turning to Nate I said, “I love you baby.”
As everyone ooed and ahhhed, Nate squeezed me close to him, kissed me on the head, and said, “Thank you sweetie. I love you too!” Now it was his turn.
“This better be good with all the crap he gave me about calling him a duck!” I thought, staring up at the studly man who is my husband.
“Ummmmmmm…I guess if Heather could be any animal she would be a cute little puppy dog.”
Crickets.
“Why?!” I asked.
“Ummmmmmm, because you like them and think they’re cute and stuff….ummmmmm, I don’t know…” In shock we just proceeded to the next couple while this time I gave HIM the evil eye and he squirmed a little bit. And then we kissed and made up.
Because sometimes in marriage you’ll have the answers, and other times he will. And that’s 100% fine with me.
But now I don’t care if all of the guys at church call him “Ducky” from now on.
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You guys, the response to Faces of Beauty so far has been OVERWHELMING! I’m so amazed at y’alls stories and beautiful pictures, but even more so your hearts in wanting to help inspire others has rocked me to my core. Be sure to check out Gillian’s post today!
I think it should be obvious from yesterday’s post that I really do love butter. I can’t believe that I spent all of those years hiding from it! Let’s make up for lost time, shall we?
Now, let’s talk bechamel. It’s one of the 4 grandes sauces and is used in French cooking specifically, but has variations all over the world. Something I really like to use it in is lasagna rather than ricotta sometimes. It’s this amazing, velvety, creamy, thick concoction that’s spiced with nutmeg and will probably make your eyes roll back in your head. Probably.
The best recipe I’ve found is actually Mario Batali’s traditional bechamel. Sometimes you just can’t update a classic, and I’m not going to challenge and Iron Chef!
- 5 Tbsp butter
- 4 Tbsp flour
- 4 cups milk
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
First things first, you have to melt the butter. I recommend doing this over extremely low heat because if you burn the bechamel…well, let’s just say don’t!
While the butter is melting, boil some pasta. I did a 1/2 pound of penne, but you could really use any kind you like. The important thing is to only cook it for 2/3 of the time the box recommends. You’ll be tossing it in the sauce and then baking, and no one likes mushy pasta. Drain and set aside when it’s ALMOST al dente and you’ll be good to go!
Once the butter is melted add the flour. You’ll want to have a whisk nearby to start stirring! I have yet to meet anyone who really likes burned stuff, and like I said: don’t burn the bechamel!
Oh Lord help me. Is it wrong to want to jump into a pool of perfectly cooked roux?
So yes…stir, stir, stir your little heart out. But make sure you take a break to measure out your milk. You’re going to need it after about 5-6 minutes of cooking the roux!
Might as well get your nutmeg handy as well! Nutmeg is a super strong flavor, but I have come to adore it in bechamel and savory dishes. It’s life-changing.
Once the roux starts to darken, pour in the milk and whisk it until thoroughly combined. You’ll be getting a steam facial while you do this…don’t get scared, that’s totally supposed to happen. Nothing wrong in combining self care and cooking, right?!
This is when you can finally take a little break with the stirring. You’ll still need to do it every minute or so, but you gotta leave it alone and let it thicken up! At first you’ll start seeing bubbles around the edges like the photo above, but very soon you’ll see the bubbles in the middle and the mixture will very clearly be thickening up!
It’s like magic, right?
Just wait til you taste it.
The bechamel is ready to go when you can stick a spoon in there and it coats the back of it. You can still cook it down even further if need be, but this is the right thickness for the bake that we’re making today!
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the salt and the nutmeg. Oh the nutmeg!
Fold in the 2 lbs frozen broccoli and the pasta (measurements for both are at the bottom of this post):
Then dump it all into a pan and sprinkle with cheese (parmesan’s the best in my opinion, although I actually used mozzarella last night) and top with fresh cracked pepper. Cover the pan with foil. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes until the cheese on top is bubbly and brown.
What comes out of the oven at that point is the most magical, drool-worthy pasta/veggie bake you could imagine.
We served it with a simple chicken breast (cooked in salt, pepper, and 1 tsp olive oil). When you have something truly amazing like this you only need a simple chicken side dish to go along with it
BROCCOLI PENNE BECHAMEL BAKE
- 1/2 pound penne pasta
- 2 lbs frozen or fresh broccoli florets
- Mario Batali’s Bechamel Sauce
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese
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Be sure to visit Faces of Beauty and submit your own! Find the instructions here.
Happy Friday everyone!
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Tiramisu literally means “pick me up.”
But rather than pick me up I really want to lay on a bed made of the stuff.
I don’t even know what that means, but it must be something good.
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Thank you all so much for the overwhelmingly amazing response to Faces of Beauty! Keep those submissions coming!
Let’s talk about butter now, OK? There was a time, seemingly oh so long ago, that butter scared the heck out of me. Pure fat? No thank you!
Thank goodness I’ve come around since then. So much so that I am now going to present y’all with a recipe that requires almost a pound of butter.
Hey, I never PROMISED healthy recipes all the time, but I did promise good food The other day I was inspired by a recipe that I read online (and I soooooo wish I could remember where it was) that had a pretzel crust. Now, for a salt-lovin’ girl, I actually hate pretzels.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
However, the pretzel crust sounded SO amazing that I decided to go for it! It’s one of the easiest crusts in the world, and with the unique saltiness it’s sure to make a great combination with any number of baked goodies you could pair it with.
PRETZEL CRUST
- 2 1/3 cups pretzels, crumbled
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
First, preheat the oven to 400. I melted the butter first just so the glass wouldn’t be so hot and I wouldn’t burn myself when I poured it. Safety first kids!
Measure out your 5 Tbsp of sugar:
And then move on to the pretzels.
I really wish that I loved pretzels and could just eat dozens of them a day. Well, maybe not dozens, but it’s a rare occasion that I really crave regular ol’ pretzels. I just poured a big bowl, then emptied it into a large baggie and smashed with a rolling pin. I always wonder what Nate would do if I chased him around the house with a rolling pin.
Let’s get serious, there wouldn’t be a chase…just him watching me and thinking something to the effect of, “Wow, I married a really special girl!”
Special in the not good way.
So klassy.
I digress. The rest is easy: once the pretzels are smashed just dump the sugar and pretzel crumbs into a bowl:
Pour the butter in, and stir! Combine well so that everything is evenly distributed.
Press into a 9 x 13 pan (I sprayed mine with nonstick first), and bake at 400 for 6-7 minutes. When it comes out it won’t be completely solid, so make sure you keep the pan even!
I might or might not have sprinkled some chocolate chips on top too. You know, just a little extra lovin’.
Now it’s time for the brownie mixture. For brownies I really like the Nestle Chewy Cocoa Brownie recipe that’s on the back of their containers (I have to make a few changes since I bake at high altitude):
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) melted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 3/4 cups cocoa powder
So chewy and delicious! First things first (again) are melt the butter;
Get your sugar, and then mix the two together:
Add your eggs, vanilla, and water:
Cocoa powder, obviously.
And whir it all up with the flour. Try not to over-mix, but rather just mix until combined!
What I love about this recipe is the addition of dried cherries. They are my heart. And they add a great tartness – I mean I love butter and all but other flavors are good too!
Fold the cherries (about 3/4 cup) into the brownie batter, then spoon carefully on top of the chocolate chips and crust. Spread evenly with a spatula.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until brownies are set and a knife comes out clean. Let them cool completely before serving. Oh heck, who am I kidding? Just dig in with a fork while they’re warm!
I love that this is not your typical brownie recipe. The salty, buttery goodness from the crust is what hits your tongue first, which is followed by the chewy, melty, chocolate-y love from the chocolate chips and brownie. Then you get a roundhouse kick to the face with the tart cherries and wash it all down with a glass of milk. What more could you ask for?!
Happy Thursday everyone! We’re almost there!
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Good morning everyone! Today’s the day I’ve been teasing y’all about for a while now This post could get a little wordy, but please read all the way through since this is something that is very near and dear to my heart.
If you’ve been reading Heather’s Dish for a while now, or even if you’ve just stopped by to check out the “About Me” section, you have probably read about the fact that I struggled with body image issues and disordered eating for 14 years of my very short life. I could go into detail here on how horrible it was physically, emotionally, relationally, etc; however, the hardest part of it all to swallow now is the realization that for 14 years I had no idea that I was beautiful exactly how I am. It’s not for lack of people telling me though. I have the most incredible family a girl could ask for, and my husband tells me every day that I’m gorgeous. The thing is that internally I was unable to see the beauty in myself and constantly compared myself to others.
As Nate and I continue to embark on the photography journey, we hear almost constantly the phrase, “Oh, you can just PhotoShop that out, right?” And I’ll be honest…when it comes down to it, PhotoShop is not a bad thing. When people pay for photographs they want to see the best possible version of themselves, and that’s OK. What makes me sad about it though is when I see videos like the one below from Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty and see the behind-the-scenes of what goes into making models and celebrities look the way they do:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U&fs=1&hl=en_US]
Again, I’m not harping on PhotoShop or even the people who utilize it. The thing that kills me about this is the fact that young girls and women of all shapes and sizes will see photos that are touched up like this all over the world and believe that they are not beautiful because they don’t look like that. Research has shown that up to 90% of women are unhappy with the way that they look. These women and girls will go through their lives not ever truly believing that they are incredibly beautiful just as they are.
What I want to do is start a CELEBRATION of our natural beauty. What if we took things like wrinkles, smile lines, gray hair, blond eyelashes, crooked teeth, crooked noses, shorter necks, etc. and saw the beauty and the LIFE in them?
I have started FacesofBeauty.org as a place to post pictures of real women (and men!) and the beauty within them. It’s very simple actually: every post will feature one beautiful person (that’s YOU!) with a headshot that follows the following guidelines:
- must be wearing minimal to no make-up (no colored eyeshadows, lipsticks, etc)
- cannot have any editing of any kind;
- must be at least 1200 pixels on the long side of the photo.
Each photo should be accompanied with a 500-word or less description of what you think is beautiful about you and why, the story of your journey to self-love, and/or what defines beauty to you. Email the photo and paragraph to me at heathersdish [at] gmail [dot] com. Also, if you’d like to be linked to your blog just include the URL for it as well.
My prayer is that everyone who reads this today will join this celebration and spread the word to their friends and families. That you would email me your photo and paragraph, then copy this link and email it out in mass quantities and that the world would be moved by our transparency and celebration of the beauty that we all have! This is my formal request…bring on the emails!
I understand that I’m asking everyone who comes across this blog to participate, and that by participating you are taking a chance. You’re putting yourself out there. You’re exposing yourself. You’re making yourself known. But what you’re also doing is encouraging others to truly look inside themselves and see that they are beautiful as well. It is my belief that life is too short for anyone to take another 14 years to learn to love themselves, so let’s celebrate it now!
Do you believe that you are truly beautiful?
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I love bikes. Really I do.
But no one loves bikes more than the people in Boulder.
Really. NO ONE.
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