Happy Birthday! Surprise! No Oven!

This week some important people were born in history.  Babe Ruth, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ronald Reagan, Norman Rockwell, Boris Yeltsen, Charles Lindbergh, and Lawrence Taylor to name a few. These people helped inspire a nation in their own way and shaped the lives of many.   Two other very important people were born this week as well, my mom, and my father- in- law. Are they as famous as the above mentioned folks?  Maybe not in a world wide sense,  but  they both  shaped  lives and are inspirations to those who are close to them. 

Two weeks ago I  began getting ready for the birthday week.  Menus were set with favorite meals, groceries were bought, cards and gifts were squirreled away.   Plans were laid, and in between snow storms, the families began getting ready  to celebrate.     I had it all figured out.  Family would start arriving on Fri evening, dinner with my in-laws on Sat night, complete with lemon cake.  Sun morning would bring breakfast, and then preparations for dinner and another lemon cake with my Mom. (Both of them enjoy lemony cakes and pies).   All set.

Imagine my surprise when I turned on the oven Thursday night to warm up some rolls for dinner...and nothing happened.  The oven was stone cold.  I checked pilot lights, fuses, propane levels, and connections.  Nothing fixed the situation. The top of the stove worked fine, but  NO OVEN!!!!  ARGHHGHGHG!!  Here  it was Friday morning, I was on my way to work, family coming in, dinner at my house, two cakes to make, and  no oven.  I headed off to work with my head in a whirl.  It hit me about half way through the day that my Crock pot would come in handy for dinner, no problem, veggies and potatos could be cooked on top of the stove or microwave, but what could I do about the cakes? 

I began thinking about all the tools and options that were possible.  My electric roaster.  Hmmmm.. It has a temperature gauge, it  can roast turkeys and hams and roasts of beef, so why can't it bake?  I thought about it all evening  and got it out and looked it all over.  I found baking sheets and a wire rack that would fit on the inside and made room on my counter.  Saturday morning came and I made a Dutch pancake which requires 30 min of baking.  I was either going to have a light and fluffy popover of a breakfast treat, or an eggy mess that the dogs would enjoy over their kibble.  I mixed up the pancake, poured it into the pan, and put it in the roaster.  The lid went on and I set the timer.  I knew that opening the lid ahead of time, would let the heat out, so I had to resist peeking for 30 anxious minutes.  When the timer went off, I lifted the lid carefully, and to my surprise I found the pancake almost done and puffing up beautifully.  I carefully put the lid back on and set the timer for an additional 5 min.  Overall, it took an extra 20 minutes to cook, but when it came out, the pancake was light and golden  and baked to perfection!  HOORAY! 



Dutch pancake with glare from the window



Time for cake.  Mixing all the ingredients for a warm lemon cake with lemon sauce was exciting.  This was new baking for me.  The cake went into the roaster in a 13x9x2 baking pan on a wire rack while the oven sat dormant (HAHAHA you can't ruin THIS birthday!).   Again, the cake took an additional 30 minutes to bake.  But bake it did, and came out golden and lemony.  The house smelled delicious and the beauty was that I was able to pack the roaster away, no cleaning involved.  Slow cooked ribs were simmering away, potatos were ready to be mashed, salad was tossed, and through the snow everyone arrived to wish my father in law many happy returns.

Mom celebrated the next day with nachos with homemade salsa and guacamole, and  warm lemon cake with lemon sauce.  No oven required! (Two for two!!! Thank you God!)

This opened up a whole new area.  In the summer time, how often does baking go on hold due to the heat of the oven?   It won't have to anymore.  The roaster can serve as a baking oven without adding extra heat to the house.   I would advise to either add 25 degrees to the cooking temp. or extend the cooking time 20 to 30 min.  Metal baking pans work best to conduct heat, and make sure you put the baking pan on a metal rack so that the pan heats evenly.

Happy Birthday Mom and Papa.  You deserve the very best. Here's to many more shared lemon cakes....

Mom in her favorite place



Papa and Rob


Warm Lemon Cake
1 box yellow cake mix (prepared according to box directions.)
Pour prepared cake batter into a 13x9x2 baking pan, sprayed with cooking spray

In a separate bowl mix:
2 boxes instant lemon pudding
2 cups milk
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Pour lemon pudding mixture over the top of the raw cake batter.
Sprinkle poppy seeds over the top of the batter/pudding

Bake 350 for 60 min or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Serve molton and warm

Mediterranean Beef Soup
1 med zucchini, chunked
1 large onion, large dice
1/2 cup fennel, diced
2 tsp ground cinnamon (1 stick)
1 lb stew beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp greek seasoning
cooking spray
3 cups cooked couscous or orzo pasta (drained)

Place first 6 ingredients into slow cooker that has been coated with cooking spray.  Add seasonings.  Place lid on and cook on high setting for 1 hour.  Reduce to low and cook for 7-9 hours.  Discard cinnamon stick.  Serve over cooked couscous or pasta.

Chicken Noodle Hot Dish
In med saucepan combine:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cans of milk
2 cans of canned chunk chicken, drained
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
 4 cups cooked egg noodles
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Combine soup mixture and noodles.  Heat on low for 10 min.  Add shredded parmeasan and serve hot.