orange you glad I made cake?!

Today's secret ingredient is... (drum roll)..Mandarin Oranges! I love these sweet, lil slices heaven. I like to add it to yogurt or just eat them plain. Yummerific! Here's how we added them to our menu for the evening:

*Lemon Pepper Baked Haddock

*Sweet Potato Fries

*Mandarin Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

*Mandarin Orange Mini Bundt Cakes

baked fish & sweet potato fries

1lb sweet potatoes- peeled and cut into fries (I made mine like steak fries)

olive oil

1/2 cup flour

1 egg-beaten

1 cup bread crumbs (seasoned with lemon pepper)

6 cod or haddock fillets

1 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking pans with nonstick baking sheets. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with sugar and toss until coated.Spread the fries on a pan and bake for 25min. Turn over and bake for another 15min.

While the fries are baking, get 3 shallow dishes. One for the flour, one for the beaten egg, and one for the bread crumbs. Dip the fish fillets in the flour to coat, then the egg, and finally the bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet.

The last 15min of cooking the fries put the fish in the oven. Turning once during cooking, until the fish is tender. 

mandarin spinach salad

1 lb baby spinach
mandarin oranges 

4 oz pecans

1/4 c dried cranberries

4oz crumbled goat cheese

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

2 tbsp honey mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

3/4 c olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

mandarin orange mini bundt cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 11oz can mandarin oranges (undrained)
4 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
vanilla cake icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease mini bundt pan with butter and dust with flour. With an electric mixer on low combine cake mix, eggs, and oil. Reserve about 15 orange slices for later, and add the rest of the mandarin oranges with juice and mix with a spoon. Pour batter into pan 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25min. Check with toothpick in center of cake, should come out clean. Turn cakes over on a cooling rack. Once they're cooled off, heat icing in microwave for a few seconds.. until its smooth enough to lightly pour on top of each cake and decorate with a mandarin orange or two! You can also garnish with a lil mint leaf. Pretty!!

This is one of my favorite cakes that my mom passed down to me. It's usually a summer treat because it's fruity & refreshing, served with a cool whip/crushed pineapple topping. But since it's not summer I like to eat it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Trust me, you want to try this one!

Happy Cooking!

Love, Lana