Rollin’ Through the Weekend

Rain, rain, go away..come again some other day.

Honestly, for the past week the days have been dragging on with gloomy gray skies and a constant stream of rain that seems never-ending! I really hope Mother Nature will decide to be nice to Minnesota for once during the summer—fingers crossed!

I am enjoying my last week of summer vacation (I officially start work this coming Thursday), and I decided to come home to visit my parents for the weekend since I probably won’t make it up north again due to my future schedule. We had some grad parties to attend and I was asked to make a pasta salad for one of them. I am not a fan of boxed mixes, but in cases when you’re making big amounts, it just makes things easier.

I started with a the Classic Suddenly Pasta Salad mix.

Added in some pepperoni, spinach, and cherry tomatoes.

 

And it turned out like this—tasty!

The night we got home, we went to the local Pizza Ranch restaurant. I like it because during the day, you order off the menu, but come evening, it turns into an all-you-can-eat buffet. =)

I had a salad, some mashed potatoes, a slice of California Chicken Pizza (Chicken, Green Peppers, Tomato, Onion, Garlic Sauce), and a few slices of the Prairie pizza (Mushrooms, Onions, Black & Green Olives, Green Peppers). And I had to have a piece of their Ranch Cheesy Bread as well!

And of course, being home, I had to make one of my family’s favorite desserts—an Angel Food Cake Roll. Since strawberries are in season, I decided that sealed the deal—a Strawberry Cream Roll.

Strawberry Cream Roll

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix

5 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

1 cup (8 ounces) strawberry yogurt

1 package (1 ounce) instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix

3 drops red food coloring, optional

2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping

1 c sliced strawberries

Directions:

Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with waxed paper. Prepare cake according to package directions.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes.

Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up jelly-roll style in the towel, starting with a short side. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt, pudding mix and food coloring if desired. Fold in whipped topping.

Thinly slice strawberries.

Unroll cake; spread filling evenly over cake to within 1/2 in. of edges. Sprinkle strawberries evenly. Roll up. Cover and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before slicing. Garnish with sliced strawberries.

Have you ever made a cake roll??