This latest round of winter weather dumped several inches of snow on our house in Asheville. It was the perfect opportunity to make hot chocolate, go sledding and play with dinosaurs in the snow. And, that's when my mom sent me this picture of a gorgeous pineapple upside down cake.

I love a classic cake, but I was snowed-in and I didn't have all the ingredients for a traditional pineapple upside down cake. What I did have was a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple and a 3 year old's attention span to make a dump cake (about 4.5 minutes). Luckily, that's all it took to make this moist, delicious cake... no icing needed!

Pineapple Sheet Cake

serves 15

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
nonstick cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, add flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine. Measure out the vegetable oil in a 1 cup measuring cup (or larger) and add 2 eggs and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Add oil mixture, crushed pineapple with juice, and nuts to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Pour cake mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

Rooooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

What kind of soup do you like when you are sick? Standard chicken noodle, the stuff from the can, a hearty beef stew? I like a little spicy, a little sweet, a little sour, a.k.a. anything thai, or thai-inspired. I started with ground turkey, but pork or chicken would work too. Add lots of garlic, ginger, lime and fish sauce, and you've got a tangy answer to the common cold.

Thai Meatball Soup

serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 large cloves garlic, grated
2 inches ginger, grated
1 lime, zest and juice
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more
1/2 teaspoon raw sugar, white sugar can be substituted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package rice noodles
32 oz. organic chicken stock
1 bundle mustard greens, washed and roughly chopped
cilantro and extra lime for garnish

Directions

Preheat vegetable oil in a wide soup pot over medium heat. In a medium sauce pot, begin heating water for your rice noodles (follow instructions on your package).

In a medium bowl, add ground turkey, egg, garlic, ginger, lime zest, panko bread crumbs, fish sauce, sugar, salt and coriander. Gently combine with your hands. Form small meatballs, about two teaspoons full of the mixture, and drop into the preheated pot. Cook meatballs until browned on all sides, approximately 10 minutes total. Add chicken stock, and bring to a gentle simmer. Add mustard greens and simmer for 15-20 minutes until greens have wilted. Meanwhile, cook rice noodles and set aside.

Check soup seasoning. If more salt is needed, add a few dashes of fish sauce. Add lime juice. To serve, add rice noodles to each bowl, ladle in soup, garnish with lime wedge and cilantro.