Apple Cake, Roasted Potatoes and Fried Fish

Apple cake is moist and delicious!  So, as you can see, I am a messy cook-- no secret there. 

The Apple Cake turns out beautifully though; it's okay, be messy.

I topped it with a dusting of powdered sugar.

It's sweet without the extra sugar, but since it was for company and all, I went the extra mile.  :)

Apple Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (3 cups total)
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray then set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add applesauce then beat to combine. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined before adding the next egg. Add vanilla then beat to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Remove 2 Tablespoons of flour mixture then toss with cubed apples. Add remaining dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing until just combined before adding the next batch, then fold in apples.
4. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Check cake at 20 minutes – if top is turning too brown, place a sheet of non-stick sprayed tin foil on top. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then run a knife along the inner rim and invert cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. Garnish cooled cake with powdered sugar if desired.

Speaking of company, Phillip, came over for a fish fry supper and brought the kiddies some fishing gear! 

I really appreciate his generosity.

Normally, I do not keep fish or eat them.  However, I fried up some fresh, through the ice, crappie and some of the walleye from the Green Bay trip.

 

Everyone really enjoyed the fish!  

Lloyd, Mom and my friend Frank, joined us for supper too.  Lloyd asked me to bake some of the walleye, so I did.

The baked fish was a big hit as well!  The baked walleye was wrapped in foil with butter and lemon.

Sophie had hopes that someone would drop a morsel.

The amazing part is, I am not a fish eater and neither is my family-- generally.  This time, everyone enjoyed the fish though!

 

Roasted potatoes was the side I made, they had a bit of a delicious kick to em.  :)

Fried Fish and Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

Fresh Fish
Whole Milk
Jiffy Cornbread Mix and Original Shore Lunch
Peanut Oil

Potatoes
Olive Oil
Parsley
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic Powder


Soak fish fillets in milk.  Heat peanut oil to 375 degrees. Dredge fillets in combined mixes.  Fry until golden brown.  Place on paper towel to drain excess oil.

Wash and dice potatoes.  Toss in oil and seasonings.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

2015 Valparaiso Derby

My, my, how time is flying by!  This past Saturday, Friends of Fishing hosted an ice fishing derby at Loomis Lake, in Valparaiso.  

The derby started at 6AM, with a 5AM registration time, which means, us helpers had to arrive extra early.  Some competitors arrived wild-eyed and ready to fish!!! :)

Outside on the lake was Shantyville:

Everyone was busy trying to reel in a prize fish.

The ice was glossy and slippery from the nice mild weather melting the protective layer of snow off.

 After the morning registration rush, I took walk to see how my kiddos were doing getting set-up.

I brought out the shanty from the truck.

While I was setting it up, Ben, was reeling in fish!  :)

I really, really, wanted to fish, but there was so much to do!

 
  Troy and Sierra were on the way, so I attempted to set up a deer blind.

It was rather tricky.

 
With a little help from friends, we got it done!

  
 Frank and Philip did there best to accommodate the kids and find fish.

 

The fish just didn't want to cooperate.  

   
 Jean put in a request for coffee.

As I made my way back to the registration building, I admired the biggest fish caught that morning; a walleye over 25inches long!

 Folk's were into fishing and being social; it made for some nice comeraderie.
 

Life is good, with scenes like this:

Kim and Sierra arrived and I walked them back to the shanty.  It was their very first time on the ice!

While I was gone, Jean reeled in a fish.

Back at the registration building, Charlotte and Wayne prepared lunch.

Before I knew it, the time was getting close for the awards.

We begin packing things up.

Folk's made there way back to the registration building.

Frank and the girls had a good time fishing.

Folk's gathered around in anticipation for PRIZE TIME!

We could have probably squeezed another 100 or so folk's in there!

 Happy Winners!

Manny was really collecting the winnings, as his catches won multiple places!

Fishing derbies have become one of my favorite events.

It's nice to see everyone is gathered around after trying there best on the the lake.

And to see, what all that lake has produced in a few short hours.

More than that though, the feeling of knowing I'm not alone in my insane love for fishing is somehow reassuring and encouraging.

 Friends of Fishing has done an outstanding job on bringing folk's together for these derbies.

I hope Laporte has a good turn out at the Helping Heroes Derby next Saturday.

I'm even more stoked about it now, since enjoying the fun at the Valpo derby!

Derby Days!!!!  Yay!

A big thanks goes out to all who made this derby Rock'n Roll!

:)