How to Make Sponge Cake from ANY Cake Mix!

April 13, 2015January 13, 2017 - Mama 18 Comments

You actually CAN make a sponge cake from any cake mix-- just like the light airy sponge cakes that you get at bakeries! This is the moistest, most air- and lightness- filled cake that you've ever seen... and it's from a mix! You'll show your friends you're a baking pro when you serve this delicate cake at your next dinner party! It's the best dessert recipe!

You know what I love? That perfect, light, airy sponge that you can get from so many bakeries. You know what I hate? Trying to duplicate that at home– it never seems light enough, airy enough, sponge-y enough. But those times are behind us, my friend… because you can take your standard boxed cake mix and create a delicious, moist, light, sponge cake at home. That’s right, I’m going to show you how to make sponge cake from cake mix, and it doesn’t really take any longer than just baking it by package directions. I’m serious.

Tropical Mango Coconut Cookie Bars

April 9, 2015January 13, 2017 - Mama 4 Comments

Do you love mango? What about coconut? These cookie bars are so easy, and so addictive, that you'll have trouble sharing them! With a cookie crust and a creamy, fruity topping, your friends will never believe these are semi-homemade! They're party perfect for spring and summer! | spring recipe | summer recipe | easy dessert recipe |

I love mangos. Seriously, whenever I see one that looks perfectly ripe at the grocery store, I just have to buy it. There is just something about that smell, that flavor, and that incredible texture when you slice open a mango. It just tastes like spring and summer to me! So when I saw Pillsbury release Tropical Mango cookie mix and frosting mix, I definitely had to put my own semi-homemade twist on it.

Salted Pepperoni Chocolate Bark

March 11, 2015January 13, 2017 - Mama 8 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PepItUp #CollectiveBias I’m not exactly sure who started this whole sweet and savory chocolate covered meat trend. I’ll be honest– I was even skeptical the first time I tried chocolate covered bacon. After that, it seemed people moved on to chocolate covered beef jerky, and now, well, I’ve found the next logical incarnation of the trend. A new season means it’s time to ditch the old chocolate covered meat we’ve come to know and love and try something new… and that something new? It’s Hormel pepperoni. Read more

Easy Ways to Show Appreciation for Those You Love

March 3, 2015March 3, 2015 - Mama 1 Comment

Family is priceless. At the end of the day, they’re the people you sit down with at the table and share your day with. But so often, we can take our family for granted. We have a lot of time to spend with one another, to the point that sometimes, we just forget to show our family how much we love and appreciate them. But really, there are some very easy ways to show appreciation to those you love.

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

January 12, 2015January 13, 2017 - Mama 2 Comments

I love a good, hearty meal in the winter, and when it’s cold outside, only one thing hits the spot… chicken and dumplings. And you’d think it’s difficult, but it’s really not. Grab a pot and start a slow, simmering broth and by dinner time, you’ll have a delicious, hearty dinner, the perfect comfort food on a cold day.

Mississippi Mud Cheesy Potatoes

November 10, 2014January 13, 2017 - Mama 57 Comments

Note: This is a republication of a post that I shared in March. With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I thought a few of you might want to see it again. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bacon? Check. Cheese? Check. Tons of flavor? Absolutely. See, these are the easiest potatoes I think I’ve ever made, and they’re a hit with everyone. I mean, who doesn’t love cheesy potatoes with bacon?

One of the many recipes that came from the family recipe box, this handwritten recipe with an unknown source simply stated “They’re named for the famous river because they’re LONG on taste and MIGHTY good!” Well, they didn’t disappoint, anyway! Cheesy potatoes get a big punch with this recipe because of the added bacon, the creaminess, and the green onions.

Start with some ingredients you may already have– 8 to 10 cups of potatoes, diced, 1 cup of Mayonnaise (the real deal, not salad dressing), about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, a 16 ounce block of cheddar, diced (or the equivalent in shredded cheddar), 1/2 a cup of green onions, chopped, and a package of bacon. You can add half a cup of olives if you’d like to, but why ruin perfectly good potatoes? (Unless you’re an olive fan, in which case, you probably don’t see that as ruining them).

Start by slicing your bacon into pieces. Don’t look at me with that shocked face that I get every time someone sees me do this… you can TOTALLY bacon your bits instead of bitting your bacon. This method gets a lot less grease on your hands because there’s no tearing it up post-fry… if you do the cutting first, your bacon will be in perfect bite sized bits when you’re done. I promise. Just trust me– cutting bacon is NOT bacon blasphemy, no matter what anyone tells you.

Put that in a pan and cook it, trying not to eat too much bacon as the smell fills the air. Seriously, bacon is so hard to resist. That’s why there is bacon everything. While the bacon cooks, start peeling and dicing your potatoes, dicing your cheese, and chopping your green onions.

Delicious! Finish getting your other ingredients chopped and ready.

In a 9×13 pan or a 3 quart casserole dish, mix the green onions, cheese, bacon, and potatoes. If you’re adding olives, now is the time to do that, too.

Toss the ingredients with mayonnaise, coating well. Bake for an hour and a half, or until the potatoes are tender, in a 325 degree oven.

Enjoy that bubbly, bacon-y, cheesy potato side dish. You could even add in some hamburger meat or chicken and make it a main dish, if you wanted to.

Mississippi Mud Cheesy Potatoes

2014-11-28 22:15:41

Serves 10

These 5 ingredient potatoes came from an old family recipe box with the note that they were named after the Mississippi River for being "long on taste and mighty good." It's so easy, it may just become a holiday staple!

Write a review

Save Recipe

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

1 hr 30 min

Total Time

1 hr 45 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

1 hr 30 min

Total Time

1 hr 45 min

Ingredients

8-10 Cups potatoes, diced finely
16 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded
1 Cup mayonnaise (real)
1 package bacon, cooked and torn into large bits
1/2 Cup green onions, chopped

Instructions

In a 9x13 pan or 3 quart casserole dish, mix potatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onions.
Stir in mayonnaise.
Bake at 325 for an hour and a half or until potatoes are tender. Top with additional cheese if desired.

Mama Plus One https://www.mamaplusone.com/

If you’re making this for Thanksgiving and want to know a great way to use up turkey after the holiday, try this delicious Chicken Potato Pot Pie recipe, perfect for those picky eaters who don’t like green stuff in their pot pie! And don’t forget to finish your Thanksgiving meal with Better than Pumpkin Pie Dessert!

If you love the combo of cheese and potatoes, you will want to check out the cheesy potatoes in this Hearty Cheeseburger Soup!

Did you originally see this post on Pinterest with this image? Trust us, it’s still the same recipe! DigitalEraMom.com is now MamaPlusOne.com, and has a whole new look. As we update our whole new look, we’re working hard to update our photos, also. Don’t forget to take time to poke around our site and see what else is new– we think you’ll like what you see!

The following links are affiliate links from Amazon. By clicking, I would be making a little revenue from your purchase at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

DIY String Art

October 17, 2014October 17, 2014 - Mama 2 Comments

I was walking through Target the other day, and, as much as I love the fact that there’s a million things inside I just have to have, there’s definitely a limit. You see, not long ago, I was looking for some new wall art. I came across some adorable animal string art at Target, and I was totally smitten! Then I saw the price tag. $24.99. Really? To me, I was looking at $25 for some nails, a bit of string, and some wood. I had to try it myself at home!

Campfire Favorites: Beef and Veggie Hobo Packs

July 7, 2014January 21, 2017 - Mama 4 Comments

Not too long ago, a rule was made that my brother had to pitch in with dinner sometimes. Now, my brother is a pretty good cook, but like all of us, he likes easy, and a lot of times, he sticks to the tried-and-true. So much so that we quickly realized that any nights where it was Jeffrey’s turn to cook, we either got waffles, or we got hobo packs. I started watching him making the hobo packs (as we affectionately call them, but apparently foil packet meal or foil packet dinner also works), and realized why he loved making them so much. They were easy. They were delicious. And most of all, they were versatile. With a family full of picky people, versatile is important.

Enchilada-Style Ham and Cheese

June 30, 2014January 21, 2017 - Mama 4 Comments

Everyone loves comfort food, right? From dumplings to chicken and noodle soup, comfort foods keep us happy and make us feel… well, comforted. One of my favorite comfort foods growing up was grilled cheese with tomato soup for dipping. Who doesn’t love rich, hearty tomato soup with a hot, gooey, melty grilled cheese sandwich?

I remember the first time that it occurred to me in my first apartment that, while making a grilled cheese on my George Foreman, I could add ham to make it better. Obviously, that’s nothing new. Hot ham and cheese sandwiches are pretty standard, but it blew my mind at the time.

The other day, I picked up a can of tomato soup at the store and realized I could combine a few of my favorite things for something unique, and that’s how this recipe sort of came about… it’s the best of comfort foods with a special twist.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

April 18, 2014January 21, 2017 - Mama 2 Comments

It seems like every family has it’s staple foods that are a must-have at every big family gathering, like Thanksgiving and Easter. For my family, that was always Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I’m not entirely sure why we call it a salad, because it doesn’t have any of the traditional characteristics of a salad, but we always called it a salad, and it never, ever found it’s place at the dessert table, despite it being oddly dessert-like. No, Strawberry Pretzel Salad’s place was on the main buffet of food, alongside potatoes and deviled eggs and ham.

Over the past few years, I’ve seen similar recipes float by. Some with pineapple, most with more or less cream cheese or Cool Whip, some with powdered sugar instead of granulated, but it seemed that I had no chance at finding THE Strawberry Pretzel Salad I grew up eating. However, after hours of searching through old church cookbooks, I finally found the Strawberry Pretzel Salad that I knew and loved. And now, I’m sharing it with you.

The ingredients are quite simple: Strawberry Jello, Strawberries, Pretzels, and a few others. I’ve found that Philadelphia cream cheese works better than store brands, but that’s a personal preference and you can use what you have on hand. It’s just my preferred brand. When buying the Strawberry Jell-O, make sure you’re buying the 8-serving large box, rather than the small box.

You’re going to start by making the pretzel crust. For those of you who love sweet and salty, this crust is made for you. Start with 3/4 Cup melted butter or margarine, and stir in 3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar. Then, crush enough pretzels to make 2 cups (it took me 3-4 cups of whole pretzels to get 2 cups of crushed pretzels) and spread them into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Pour the butter mixture over the crust, making sure the pretzels are coated and packed into the pan.

Just like this!

Bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Be sure to let it cool completely before moving on to the filling.

For the filling, you’ll take your package of Philadelphia (8 ounces) and a cup of sugar and cream them together until they’re well combined and a bit fluffy. You can use a beater if you’d like, but a fork will work just fine.

Add in an entire tub of Cool Whip and combine that very well, also.

Spread it over the cooled crust and refrigerate as you prepare the topping.

For step 3, start by boiling 2 cups of water. It will look like… uh… boiling water. In a separate bowl, go ahead and open the package of Strawberry Jell-O.

When your water boils, stir it into the Strawberry Jell-O until the gelatin is dissolved.

Add in 20 ounces of thawed frozen berries. I personally love the pre-sliced Dole strawberries, but they come in a 14 ounce package. You’ll use about 1 1/2 packages, so you’ll have half a package leftover for smoothies later. After adding the berries in, you’re going to stir and wait until the Jell-O mixture is cooled, but not fully set.

Carefully pour it over the cream cheese layer, then refrigerate for several hours until the Jell-O layer is firmly set.

This dessert is just perfect, especially for Easter, because it tastes light and fresh, not too heavy, and has a great sweet-salty consistency, and a bit of crunch from the pretzels. It’s a great choice. But if you serve it, don’t forget, it’s a salad, not a dessert, which means if you over-indulge on the desserts this Easter, well… at least you ate your salad, right?

What’s your must-have food for Easter? Let me know in the comments below!