Tonight I made a “Coke Roast” for dinner. It’s super easy;
- Plop your roast into a heavy ceramic or pottery dutch oven with lid (this can also be done in the crock pot).
- Top with a can of your favorite condensed soup, tonight I used Campbell’s Beefy Mushroom soup
- Add a 1/2 can of Coca-Cola.
- Put the lid on and put it in the oven. I had about a 5lb. beef roast tonight and let it slowly cook in the oven at 350º for about 4 hours.
- For the last 30 minutes or so, cranked the oven temp up to 400º and add chopped veggies (potatoes and carrots for us). I took it out of the oven just as hubby and daughter got home and we had a splendid dinner!
Wondering what else you can do with those cans of coke?
One of my favorites:
Diet Soda Cake!
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Take a regular sized cake mix from the box (like Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, or Betty Crocker), dump it into a bowl.
- Add your favorite diet soda.
- Bake according to box directions.
Some of my favorite flavor combination’s are:
- Diet Coke with Chocolate Cake mix;
- Spice or Carrot Cake with Ginger Ale;
- White or Yellow Cake can be mixed with flavored sodas for some unexpected fun (grape, orange, root beer, cream soda, etc.);
- Orange soda can also be mixed with Chocolate cake for an Orange/Chocolate flavor.
This is so much fun and so cheap and easy that you can just play with different flavor combos. Have fun with it!
Well, I got these recipes from the February 2009 issue of “All You” Magazine…
Cola Baked Beans
Prep: 15 min.
Bake: 1 hr.
Serves: 8
Cost per serving: $1.15
6 slices thick-cut bacon
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans (1 can drained and rinsed, 1 can undrained)
2 15-oz. cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
3/4 cup cola
1 15-oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained
2 tsp. dry mustard
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large ovenproof skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp and golden. Drain bacon on paper towels. When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. bacon fat from skillet.
2. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook, stirring, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add cannellini and kidney beans, brown sugar, molasses, cola, tomatoes, dry mustard and crumbled bacon and stir to combine.
3. Cover skillet, transfer to oven and bake until mixture is bubbly and juices have thickened slightly, about 1 hour. Serve hot.
PER SERVING: 322 Cal., 6g Fat (2g Sat.), 11mg Chol., 10g Fiber, 15g Pro., 53g Carb., 954mg Sod.
Chocolate Cola Cake with Cola Frosting
Use sweet soda to add sparkle to main dishes, sides and desserts
Prep: 10 min.
Bake: 45 min.
Serves: 16
Cost per serving: 36 cents
CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup cola soda
FROSTING:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp. cola soda
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
2. In a pan, combine butter, cocoa and cola; cook over low heat, stirring, until butter has melted. Stir into flour mixture, then whisk in egg mixture.
3. Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
4. Make frosting: Cook butter, cocoa and cola over medium-low heat, stirring, until butter has melted and ingredients are well mixed. Place confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Pour cola mixture over sugar and whisk well. Stir in vanilla.
5. Poke holes all over top of hot cake with a fork or toothpick. Pour warm frosting over cake. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack.
PER SERVING: 329 Cal., 13g Fat (8g Sat.), 58mg Chol., 1g Fiber, 3g Pro., 52g Carb., 95mg Sod.
Sneak in some cola bubbles
Shh! Don’t reveal your secret ingredient. No one will be able to guess where that extra bit of rich flavor comes in.
Use cola as a glaze. Score a 5- to 6-lb. ham in a crisscross pattern, then rub with brown sugar. Pour cola over to create a simple, sweet glaze, and season with pepper. Bake ham at 450°F for 3 hours, basting occasionally.
Bake with cola. Instead of soaking chopped dates in hot water for your favorite date-nut bread, soak them in cola for added flavor. Bring cola to a boil, add dates and let stand until softened. Continue with recipe as directed.
Try cola on poultry. Mix ketchup and cola; pour over chicken. Bake until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens.
Cola Marinated Flank Steak
Prep: 10 min
Chill: 2 hour
Cook: 12 min
Serves 8
Cost per serving: $2.11
2lb beef flank steak
1cup bottled teriyaki sauce
1 cup cola
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp hot sauce
salt and pepper
1 – with a sharp knife, lightly score both sides of steak in a crisscross pattern. Place steak in a large ziplock bag.
2- In a medium bowl, combine teriyaki sauce, cola, onion, garlic, vinegar, oil, and hot sauce, whisking well to combine. Reserve 1/2 cup of marinade. Pour remaining marinade over steak in ziplock bag, seal bag and turn over a few times to thoroughly coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
3- Preheat broiler and place a rack 3 inches from heat source. Let steak and marinade sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Remove steak from bag; discard excess marinade. Season steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Place steak on a broiler pan and broil for 6 minutes. Turn steak, brush with reserved marinade and broil for 6 minutes longer (for medium rare).
4- Remove steak to a cutting board, tent with foil to keep warm and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve steak into thin slices and serve.
