Potatoes O'Brian (haha, I know that's not how you spell it)

You know when you go to the store and you are like "Oh my word, a ten pound bag of potatoes for $0.99!! I gotta have em."? Well that happens to me a lot and before I know it, I have a ten pound bag of soft potatoes that should really be thrown out. So if you are in need of something to use potatoes for, try this.

When I made these, I made enough for twenty people because I was going to a breakfast potluck so my numbers are going to be much larger. I'll let you do the math for your appropriate serving sizes.

Ingredients:

9 potatoes cubed

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

oil/butter

1 pound of bacon

2 large bell peppers diced

1 medium onion diced

parsley

In a good sized skillet (non-stick works the best for frying potatoes) heat oil or butter, whichever you prefer. Depending on how many potatoes you are cooking the amount of lipids will vary. If it looks like your potatoes are getting dry add more. Add potatoes to pan when the oil is hot, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Cook potatoes until soft and they start to brown. If you are cooking large quantities of potatoes, you can add a little amount of water to the pan and cover to steam the potatoes. It helps them cook faster. After the potatoes are cooked remove them from pan.

Now with the bacon, there are a few options. You can fry the bacon in a skillet and then use the bacon grease to cook the potatoes, or you can bake the bacon in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 min. Oven-baked bacon will be crispier and you can do this while cooking the potatoes; pan fried bacon is fattier and you can use the grease. Once again your choice. After the bacon is cooked, crumble into the potatoes.

If you want to have a quick breakfast, these two steps can be done the night before. I just put them in a baking pan and stored in the oven over night. When you are ready to resume in the morning, just turn the oven on the 350 and heat up the potatoes. Last cook diced onions in pan until they start to soften and then add the bell peppers (I use red). Cook until pepper are soft and onion starts to caramelize. Add potato/bacon mixture to the onions/peppers and heat thoroughly. Finish by adding dried parsley for that nice green touch.

Banana-Chocolate Cake...or is it Chocolate-Banana Cake?

As promised here is my cake. I would have posted this sooner, but the day that I had planned on making it my stomach decided that it wasn't going to cooperate with food, and so I instead spent the day on the bathroom floor. Not a fun place I assure you. Here is what to do.

First off you must be aware that when you put fruit into cake batter things change. Mostly you add less liquids because the fruit has water in it, second baking time usually increases and it is better to cook the cake at a lower temperature than recommended (about 15 degrees or so), third your toothpick will never come out clean, and fourth the edges of the cake are usually golden brown by the time the inside is done. If you understand these concepts you are ready to start.

Ingredients:

1box cake mix

3 eggs

1/4 cup of oil

water* (see instructions for more detail)

1 3.40z box of Banana Cream instant pudding

2 bananas

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:

Banana Cream Pudding

2 bananas

Chocolate chips

Out of laziness, I got a vanilla (or white) cake box mix. I like Betty Crocker, usually because they are on sale more often than not. First, beat the eggs until fluffy. Add the cake mix, about 3/4 box of instant pudding and oil and mix until well blended. Cut up two bananas and mix into batter. You will want to use an electric beater to mash up the banana pieces. Mix until there are no large pieces in the batter. Now we add the water. I ended up using about 3/4 cup, but it is best to add the water in smaller amounts until the batter is normal consistency for a cake. Remember the cardinal rule of baking: you can always add more water, but never can you add more dry ingredients. Mix in chocolate chips and spread batter into greased and floured pan.

As a general rule, I will always check on a cake about 5-10 min before I expect it to be done. If the box says 30-35 min, I will check at 25. You can always add more time. You should know that the cake is done because the middle is no longer wobbly and the top and sides are golden. When you cook a cake with fruit in it, it looks like you over cooked it, but not the case. The fruit keeps the inside moist and soft. Remove and cool.

For the frosting I simply took the left over pudding mixture, added milk and let it set into pudding. Add milk until you get a consistency that you like. Cut up two more bananas and place over the top. Finally melt about a 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and put into a plastic sandwich bag that has a corner cut off. Squeeze chocolate onto cake.

Don't be afraid to make this cake you own. If I were to make it again, I would get a larger box of pudding and use more in the cake and then have more to use for frosting. I baked mine at 350 which I feel was too hot so I would also lower the temp. Happy Baking!!