Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Hot Cinnamon Milk Mix

Just made this tonight and it got rave reviews. Even from my husband who is a chocoholic. After a quick taste, he chose this instead of a fancy holiday hot chocolate mix we splurged on.




Hot Cinnamon Milk Mix (to fill a quart jar)
2 cups powdered milk
1 cup powdered French Vanilla creamer (found by coffee aisle, like coffemate with vanilla)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon


Simply mix together and fill your jar! To enjoy, mix 1/3 cup of mix with hot water. If you want it a little creamier, you can mix 1/3 cup of the mix with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk.


Recipe to fill a pint jar
1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup powdered French Vanilla Creamer
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

This would be a fun neighbor gift. Cut a fabric circle and tie it on the jar. Put a tag with directions on it and you are good to go.

My son, who is home from college, said I could mix up a bag for him to take back. Isn't that thoughtful of him.

Spicy Pretzels


Spicy Pretzels

1 Cup veg. oil
1 pk dry ranch dressing
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 20 oz sized bag round pretzels

Mix all ingredients except pretzels.
Place pretzels in large roasting pan.
Pour mixture over pretzels and stir (very well till coated)
bake uncovered at 200 degrees for 1 hour stirring every 20 minutes.
Store in air tight container.

This would be good as a treat for your neighbors in a cute bag with a tie and tag. Or something yummy as you snack your way through the holidays.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cookie Cook-off - Pretzel Turtles

If you don't want to whole story... just skip to the end for the recipe.

My family is weird. We have a weird sense of humor, we do weird things (ask one of us about the game "endurance" we invented to amuse ourselves and keep the kids busy)...and we have weird kids. Well, some of the others have weird kids.

Periodically, in all our weirdness, we get together for family vacations. Inevidatibly, we have a cook off of some sorts. We did a hot cocoa off, a salmon off, and today we highlight the cookie off. Technically it was cookie, bar type or finger dessert.

I only have the recipe for mine and the popcorn chex mix, but will try and get the others to post theirs in the near future. So keep checking back.

I will be honest, I don't remember who made everything, but I will take a guess. This recipe is actually on the blog HERE. It is the popcorn chex mix and is very good. Everytime I make this I take home an empty bowl and many requests for the recipe. I want to think that Wendi made it for the contest.



Next was this yummy bar made by Steff. Don't have the recipe here yet, but I will bother her until she posts. It has oatmeal and was carmely (is that a word?)



Okay, either this one was Wendi's or Mom's. You can see a lovely carmel layer in the middle.



And I want to think that this was Gayle's. I could be wrong. Just know that this was also made with lots of love.



This year, I decided to go easy. I went with the pretzel rolo cookie thing-a-ma-bob.


There are no rules during the sampling and voting portion of the contest. So I thought I would try something to sway the votes in my favor.




Then things got ugly and someone replaced my note with this....



And the sampling begins. Each person gets ONE vote!



The votes are counted...

And I won! Mostly because all the kids thought it would be funny to vote for mine since it only took about 10 minutes to make, as apposed to those who spent quite a bit a of time and energy on theirs. After, we had some Rock Band time, followed by sledding.





Besides the poor marine animals hurt in the making of my desert... everyone had a pretty good time.

Here is the recipe for my Pretzel Turtles (aka) thing-a-ma-bobs.

Pretzel Turtles


20 pretzels
20 rolos
20 pecan halves

Prehead oven to 300 degrees

Arrange pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 4 minutes. While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel. Cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Cranberry Chicken

I think everyone has this recipe. If you don't, then you can thank me later for letting you "in" the loop. I made this for approximately 40 ladies at a Christmas dinner. It is pretty full proof and very tastey.



Cranberry Chicken

1 (16 oz) can whole cranberry sauce
1 (8 oz) bottle French dressing
1 envelope onion soup mix
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cranberry sauce, dressing, and soup mix. Place chicken breasts in a greased 3 quart casserole dish or a 9 x 13 baking dish. pour mixture over chicken and bake uncovered 45 - 60 minutes. Serves 8.

Apple Pie Filling - canned

I think I missed apple season, but since I was posting the cobbler topping, thought this should be included. Love this recipe from 2 friends, Alice and Kathy. You can this in quart size jars, then pull out and dump in your pan, add my favorite cobbler topping and you have a yummy warm dessert without much preparation. It is especially good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.



Apple Pie Filling

4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Mix together all ingredients and add 10 cups of water. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Slice tart apples and pack into 6 quart jars. Pour liquid over apples in jars using a knife to release bubbles. Leave 1" of head space. Wipe jar lips clean and process in a water bath (canner) for 20 minutes.

Remove from water and place on a towel to absorb extra water. Wait for ping of seal. Leave out overnight then put away.

I have also used peaches with success.

All time best - Cobbler Topping

This recipe is from my mother in law. It is the best cobbler topping E V E R. And I am not just saying that in fear that my mother in law will some day read this, I am sharing this because I like you!

You can put this on any kind of fruit cobbler you want, and know it will come out a success. I also just added a recipe to can your own apple pie filling. Just pour the apple pie filling in a pan, put cobbler topping on top and cook. A quick yummy, warm, Fall treat. Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cobbler Topping

1 cup pancake mix
1 cup sugar
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 beaten egg
1 cube melted butter

Combine pancake mix, sugar, cinnamon and beaten egg. Crumble over top of fruit or cobbler filling. Pour melted butter on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until brown.

I will make a berry cobbler for dessert tomorrow and post pictures, just to get your mouth watering.

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Yep, another soup. It is cold and rainy here. I have 4 loaves of bread in the oven and this soup on the stove. Very creamy and hearty.

I used my bottled chicken instead of cooking some chicken breasts.



Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on red potatoes, if using them)
1 cup milk (1% is my milk of choice)
4 tablespoons flour
1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese
2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Saute, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. In a liquid measuring cup, vigorously whisk the flour and milk together until smooth. Whisk the mixture into the soup, stirring quickly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken slightly. Stir often to ensure the soup doesn’t burn. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it is very soft/melty. I usually place the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and microwave it for one minute at 30% power. I like it really, really soft so it doesn’t leave lumps in the soup. Add the cream cheese to the soup in small tablespoon-size pieces. Let the pieces sit in the soup and warm through then whisk or stir the soup until the cream cheese melts and mixes in well. Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Yummy Dip!!!

Tuscan Corn Salsa

Without fail, this has got to be one of the most requested recipes I make. Did I actually create it? No. I got this recipe from a wonderful friend and neighbor. However, she moved to Boise and in doing so gave up all rights and privileges to this amazing concoction. So, for all intents and purposes let's call this Wendi's Magnificent Tuscan Corn Salsa. Enough said, let's get to the good stuff. ( Sorry about the picture - I forgot until half way through our Halloween party. I guess it's better than nothing.)

3 tomatoes - seeded and diced
3 avocados - diced
1/2 bunch green onion - chopped
1 - 15 0z. can white corn - drained
1 - 15 oz. can black-eyed peas - drained
(these can be found by the canned beans, you may have to look hard to find them.)
1 pkg. Good Seasons zesty italian dry mix

Combine first 5 ingredients in bowl. Mix gently. Mix italian dressing according to directions
on package. Pour over ingredients in bowl and mix. Chill until ready to use.
Serve with Wheat Thins and/or tortilla chips.


White Chocolate Popcorn

No picture due to the fact I got a little lax watching my white chocolate and had a problem with it seizing. I do it in the microwave in a glass bowl, microwaving for 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Then as it starts to melt, I drop it down to 15 seconds, stirring in between until it is melted (it doesn't take to long). But I kept doing 30 seconds until it resembled a crumbly mess. So don't do what I did. Either watch it careful OR use a double boiler. And remember to check all utensils and bowl for moisture, because that will also cause the chocolate to seize.

I did attempt to mix it in to my popcorn anyway, and the flavor was definitely there. I am not a huge white chocolate fan, but my daughter loved it. I think next time I would try it with chocolate and maybe even drizzle a little white chocolate over the top before putting into the fridge.

Everyone who tried this recipe on a board I frequent gave it rave reviews and said that everyone cleans them out quickly when the take it places.

Krispie White Chocolate Popcorn

A bag of movie theatre style microwave popcorn popped
1 bag white chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 cups of rice krispies
1/2-1cup cup chopped pecans

Pour popcorn in bowl and check for unpopped kernals. Don't want anyone breaking their teeth. Now melt one bag white chocolate chips until smooth and creamy, add the 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Pour some of the white chocolate over the popcorn. Then layer in some rice krispies and pecans and stir. Pour more white chocolate over mixture, then the rest of the rice krispies and pecans and stir. Pour rest of chocolate over mixture. Do this quickly so the white chocolate mixture doesn't harden.

The purpose of layering is to keep the rice krispies and pecans from falling to the bottom. If you layer the ingredients, they are better incorporated and are more thoroughly coated.

Spread mixture on cookie sheet covered with wax paper and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so (too long in the fridge makes the popcorn chewy!!!)
Keeps 2-3 days in a sealed container.

One thing that makes this so yummy is the rice krispies. There is a the lovely flavor of the white chocolate (peanut butter is so slight you really don't notice it), the buttery popcorn and the crunch of the rice krispies. Great textures and a tastey treat.

This would be a yummy neighbor gift for Christmas. Just put in a cute food bag or container with a fun note and deliver.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Pressed Sugar Cookies

Here is a different take on the sugar cookie. I like them because you get the sugar cookie taste without having to roll them out, making a mess of your whole kitchen. Plus these are very tastey.

I use to press them down with a glass dipped in sugar, and then I got a cookie stamp similar to the sunshine on the left, but my cookie stamp no longer resembles a sunshine since it was disfigured in a brawl with the disposal.



You have probably seen these stamps, but didn't realize how cool they were and how much you needed one. Now you have an excuse to go buy one... or you can just be the unexciting mom, and use the bottom of a glass. By the way, those are the same kind of moms that drop you off at school with their hair pulled up in a clip and in their bathrobe. Oh wait, I do that all the time.

This orginated from my friend Jeri. We love this recipe and these cookies always get gobbled up. I also like that if you want to get fancy, you can use colored sugar (just put sugar in a jar with a few drops of food color and shake). So color them to match the holidays or event. On to the recipe!!!



Sugar Cookies

1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. margarine
1 c. oil
2 eggs
4 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream margarine and sugars until smooth. Add vanilla, oil and eggs. Mix again until blended. Combine dry ingredients and slowy add to creamed mixture. When combine, take about a teaspoonful and roll into a ball. Roll in sugar and put on cookie sheet. When cookie sheet is full, go back with your cookie stamp (or boring glass), dip in sugar and press each cookie down.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

These cookies are soft (thus all the 2 kinds of sugar and the margarine and oil). Give them a try and let me know how they turned out!

Mexican Chicken Chowder


Not sure where this originated, but I got it from my Mom. So, speak up if this is yours.


As we head into cold weather season, I think warm fires and soups. This one is a winner with everyone in my family. It has a very creamy texture, which comes from the cream and cheese with a hint of spice from the chilies, cumin and hot sauce. Very rich and delicious.


Mexican Chicken Chowder


1 1/2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bit size pieces (or I use my canned chicken)
1/2 cup chopped, onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
2 cubes chicken boullion
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups half and half cream
2 cups shredded Monterery Jack cheese
1 (14.75 oz) can cream style corn
1 (4 oz) can green chilies, diced
1 dash hot pepper sauce (optional)
1 tomato, chopped
fresh cilantro (garnish)
sour cream

In dutch oven (or pot) brown chicken in butter adding the onion and garlic part way through. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and onion begins to turn transluscent. Dissolve boullion in hot water and pour in pan. Season with cumin, cover and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Add half and half cream, cheese, corn, chilies and hot pepper sauce. Cook, stirring frequently until cheese is melted and it is all mixed together well. Stir in tomato and serve in a bowl with cilantro garnish. Can add some sour cream, tortiall chips and avocado on top.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Canning Chicken

My sister emailed me a great deal on fresh, hormone free chicken for 1.48 a lb. They are only doing delivery to Washington, Oregon and Idaho right now.

Here is the link...

Zaycon Foods

My mom, some friends and I got together last spring and canned chicken for the first time. It went amazingly well. I was always a little nervous about using a pressure cooker, but after reading the directions and doing it once, found it pretty easy.

I had thought that I posted the canning chicken directions on this website and then realized I posted it on my Mark and Lorri blog. So here is a link if you are interested in buying a 40 lb box of chicken and are not sure what to do with it.

Mark and Lorri Blog on canning chicken

I also just want to add.. it is great on a busy day, being able to grab a bottle of chicken I canned myself (so I know what is in it) and make a casserole, soup, enchiladas and so on, in half the time. I highly recommend you giving this a try if you haven't. Here is a picture of the finished product. We did pork with a sauce and chicken with just a little salt.



Any questions... please feel free to comment and I will check back and answer what I can.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Buttlermilk Syrup - YUM!

Oh my goodness! What a wondeful way to start out the day. I was actually looking for a German Pancake recipe and stumbled upon the syrup. I know my sisters have talked about how good buttlermilk syrup can be, but have never made/tried it myself. Can I just say... it was delicious. All my kids and my husband couldn't say enough good things about it. You want to just take a spoon and eat it out of the pan. But considering it has 1 cube of butter, how could it not be wonderful.



Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter (or 1 cube)
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a saucepan (us one bigger than you think because the syrup will foam up from the baking soda), combine the first five syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes (I stirred mine periodically so it wouln't burn). Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and pour over anything you would regular syrup... pancakes, waffles, german pancakes etc.

Like I mentioned, the syrup foams, so use a bigger pan that you think. I didn't have buttermilk so I poured about 1 tablespoon of vinegar in 1 cup or regular milk and let it sit for a few minutes. Then used 3/4 of a cup of that. As the syrup boils (on low temp) it will start to turn a lovely carmel brown and when it cools slightly, will thicken up.

I served mine with German Pancakes aka Puff Pancakes. So I thought I would include that recipe too.

German Pancakes
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put butter in 9 X 13 pan and place in oven just until butter melts. Mean while, place eggs, flour, milk and salt in blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour batter in 9 X 13 pan with melted butter. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve with buttermilk syrup, powder sugar or regular syrup.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Crockpot Tortilla Soup

Fall has arrived! What goes better with Fall than warm soup. So I am sharing this easy, yummy soup that you can cook in your crockpot all day, that will make your house smell good.



Crockpot Tortilla Soup

1.5 lbs chicken breast cooked/shredded (I put them in with the rest of the soup ingredients whole and frozen, let them cook and shred at the end of the cooking day... much easier.
1 15 oz. can tomatoes
1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 4 oz. can green chiles, chopped
1 clove garlic, mined
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1 10 oz. package frozen corn
fresh bunch of cilantro
vegetable oil
corn tortillas
shredded cheese
fresh avacado

Throw all items except cliantro, vegetable oil, corn tortillas, shredded cheese and avacado in crockpot and cook all day. After cooking, shred chicken breasts if place in whole.

Preheat ove to 400 degrees, brush tortillas with vegetable oil, cut into strips and spread on baking sheet, crisp in ove until golden and crunchy.

Serve soup with crisp tortilla strips, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded cheese and fresh cubed avacado. We also make cheese quesadillas to go along the side with salsa/sour cream.

Notes from recipe owner: This recipe is very easy and good. I often double the recipe and place the other half in the freezer to eat at a later meal. My children also don't like chucnks so I puree the green chilies and tomatoes in the blender and add that to the soup and use onion flakes instead.

Gingersnap Cookies and Pumpkin Dip




We are headed into the holidays, which usually means parties, and taking treats to share. We scour through our recipe boxes and the internet looking for something "new", but good. Since we will be sharing with our friends. If you like pumpkin flavor, then this is a winner. Plus it makes a very pretty presentation and is also something different.

I put the pumpkin dip in a pretty dish on a platter and surround it with the gingersnaps. Make your gingersnaps smaller so you don't have to worry about people double dipping. If you are in a hurry, Costoc sells a big tub of gingersnap cookies which are yummy, and a decent price. You can also buy those wafer thing gingersnap cookies at Safeway. They can be slightly expensive though.

Pumpkin Cream Chees Dip

4 cups powder sugar
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 30 oz. can pumpkin pie filling mix
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger

Beat Sugar with cream cheese and then add everything else and whip until fluffy and combined. Pour into a bowl.

Mom's Ginger Snaps (from allrecipes.com)

1 c packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat ove to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/4" balls. Roll each ball in white sugar before placing 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Cool on wire racks.

We cut the pumpkin dip recipe in half. It makes a quit a bit. I think I would also cut out 1 cup of powder sugar and then add that back in at the end until it was the desired sweetness.
We made our ginger snaps smaller and cooked them a little less time because of the size. I wanted a one dipper size to prevent people from double dipping (which would happen with a larger cookie). Hope you enjoy.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Molly's Rolls

We all love The Lion House Rolls. Who doesn't love a light fluffy, buttery roll hot out of the oven. The one thing we don't love, is the time it takes to make them. In my search of a quicker, but just as yummy dinner roll, I found this one. Give it a try and tell me what you think. Molly's Dinner Rolls (and no, I don't know who Molly is, just got this off another blog)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 package yeast(2 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1/2 T salt
  • 1 egg
  • flour

Directions: In mixer combine yeast, sugar, and warm water; let grow until bubbly(about 5 minutes). Add milk and mix. Mix in oil and egg. Slowly add 2 cups flour, mix and then add salt. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time until it comes away from side of bowl. Let rise in mixing bowl for about 30 minutes. Form rolls as desired and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise and additional 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (Rotate pans after 7 minutes.) Brush hot rolls with melted butter.

I used bread flour, don't know if that made any difference, but they turned out wonderful. In shaphing them I just divided my dough into 2, rolled one half into a circle, brushed with butter, then using my pizza cutter, cut pizza shaped slices. I rolled from the bigger outside edge to the smaller end making a crescent shaped roll.

The blog's I got these off of wasThe Sister's Dish and Real Mom Kitchen.

Bacon Maple Cupcakes

I know, it sounds weird. We have been watching cupcake wars on The Food Networ, and my 15 year old daughter had to try them. You know what, we actually liked them.

You have to be prepared, and know that you are biting into a bacon maple cupcake or it might throw you, and you will not like them. But if you are open to new ideas and flavors, give it a try. I would definitely make them again.


Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 tablespoons of butter room temperature
  • 1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings (left in the fridge to become solid)
  • 1 egg
  • 5 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 1/4 cup of self rising flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
  • tiny tiny pinch of kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup of milk
  • 1/4 cup of minced bacon cooked and drained


Maple Syrup Frosting

  • 4 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 1 cup of powdered sugar
  • turbinado sugar (optional but recommended) - this is a raw sugar, found mine at Safeway
  • coarse grain sea salt (optional but recommended) - definitely worth adding

Directions

  • Cook some bacon in a fry pan (about 6 thick strips). Reserve the drippings and place in the fridge to solidify. Mince 1/4 a cup of the bacon. Save the rest for garnish on top of cupcakes.
  • Beat the crud out of the butter and solidified bacon fat 'till light and creamy. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and beat well until combined.
  • Add the egg and beat until incorporated.
  • Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and powder together.
  • Add some of the flour and mix, then some of the milk, then continue to alternate the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in the bacon. Taste and add more maple syrup, flour, or milk if needed for desired taste. Keep in mind the maple frosting is very sweet, and to add in very small increments for alterations as maple syrup in large amounts can break a cake batter.
  • Scoop into cupcake papers and bake at 350 F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


I likes that these weren't real sweet. We sprinkles the turbinado sugar on top with the sea salt, then sprinkles reserved bacon cut into bits on top of the frosting. They didn't last that long in our house. Which is saying a lot, since we don't eat a ton of sweets. Even my husband was asking if there were any left. Be brave and give it a try. Or else get out the same old same old cake mix and make your boooorrrrriiiinnngggg regular cupcakes.



Monday, March 8, 2010

Molten Lava Chocolate Cakes

Someone posted this recipe on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen and we LOVE it! We first had something like this on our cruise many years ago and we have been looking for a good copycat recipe ever since. This one is so good and really easy. When you cut into the cake, the gooey chocolate middle oozes out. Yum! Give it a try! You will not regret it.
Molten Chocolate Cake Prep Time 15 Minutes Cook Time 13 Minutes Servings 4 Difficulty Easy Ingredients 4 pieces (squares) Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate ½ cups Butter 1 cup Powdered Sugar 2 whole Eggs 2 whole Egg Yolks 6 Tablespoons Flour 2 cups Real Whipping Cream (seriously It's So Much Better!!!) 2 Tablespoons Sugar Preparation Instructions Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet. Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. whisk until chocolate is also melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour. Divide between cups. Bake 13-14 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand 1 minute. Combine sugar and heavy cream and whip until stiff. Invert cakes on dishes and top with whipped cream. We skipped the whip cream and ate these with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. I would highly recommend it this way!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I was quickly trying to find something to make for dinner the other night, when I ran across this. I wasn't 100% convinced it would be good, but thought that we like pasta and we like enchiladas, so let's give it a go. It was easier than rolling and make enchiladas and tasted really good. Got compliments from my husband, but my 7 year old thought it might be a tad on the spicey side. We just put a little more sour cream on hers. I think if you were concerned, you could cut out 1 of the cans of green enchilada sauce and substitute with cream of chicken soup. This recipe made enough for dinner and then I put the rest in a covered dish to heat again in a couple of days. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Chicken Enchilada Pasta Serves 6-8 *Plan Ahead: the recipe calls for cooked chicken so use leftovers or plan enough time to cook the chicken beforehand. 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 medium onion, diced 1 red pepper, diced 4-ounce can diced green chilies 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 2 (10-oz) cans green chili enchilada sauce (I used mild) 2/3 cup red enchilada sauce (I used mild) 1 can large black olives, cut in half 1 cup sour cream 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar) 16-20 oz. penne pasta (Depending on how "saucy" you want the pasta) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, until the cheese is melted (but don't boil!). Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions or crushed tortilla chips. BTW, I got this from My Kitchen Cafe. Hope it was okay that I used her picture