Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I made this cake the other day for a gathering. It was so good and moist. It really was AMAZING. I loved the caramel topping. YUMMY!

Ingredients

Topping:
1 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 can (20 oz) of pineapple slices

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
6 Tbsp cake flour
6 Tbsp of ground almonds (from about 2 oz of whole almonds)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups of sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
4 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

Method

1 Start by making the caramel topping. Take brown sugar and butter and combine and melt in a saucepan on medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly, this should take several minutes. Pour mixture into a 10 inch diameter stick-free cake pan with 2 inch high sides. Arrange pineapple slices in a single layer ontop of the caramel mixture.

2 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Whisk the flours, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream in 2 additions each, beating well after each addition. Pour cake batter over caramel and pineapple in pan.

3 Bake cake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Mexican Pizza

In 9th grade I was in a speech class. We were all supposed to make our favorite dish in front of the class and explain how we made it. Natalie B. made this Mexican pizza bean dip. Oh it was so good. I was invited to a Football party and was asked to bring a side dish, I immediately remembered the Mexican pizza and called Natalie B.'s mom for the recipe. She told me that it was a very liberal recipe and that you can make it basically however you want. Here is what I suggest.

1 large can of refried beans
1 medium container of sour cream
about 1 tablespoon of Tabasco sauce
Taco Seasoning
avocados
green onions
olives
tomatoes
cheese

Spread the Refried beans onto a platter. Mix the sour cream and Tabasco sauce and taco seasoning together. spread on top of the refired beans. add the avacados, green onion, tomatoes, and cheese.

Taco Seasoning

I made the best tacos the other day with my own recipe. It is so nice to not have to buy the packet, and to be honest I think it tastes better! It is also nice to be able to customize the recipe to make it as spicy as you want. I forgot to take a picture so next time I make taco's I will add a picture.

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tsp salt (the actual recipe calls for sea salt but I have never bought it)
1 tsp black pepper

Mix all together and add to your ground beef.