A Birthday cake made just for...

ME!

Yup, today is my birthday. Nothing special. Just another day.
Now, don't get me wrong... it was a GREAT day. Exactly what I wanted.

And here's the cake I made for myself:

Chocolate Blackout Cake.
Recipe comes from CooksCountrytv.com -- well DANG! I'm glad I printed it off and saved it earlier! I just now found out you can't get recipes for free from them anymore! No fear, I'll post any that I have! lol.

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Ingredients:

Pudding-
1 1/4C sugar
1/4C cornstarch
1/2tsp. table salt
2 C half and half
1C whole milk
6oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2tsp. vanilla extract

Cake-
8TBS unsalted butter (1stick), plus extra for greasing pans
1 1/2C all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans
2tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2tsp. salt
3/4C Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1C brewed coffee (yes, I am LDS... I traded this ingredient for 1C Nestle Chocolate Milk -- yum!)
1C buttermilk
1C packed light brown sugar
1C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Instructions:
1. For the pudding: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, half and half, and milk in large saucepan. Set pan over medium heat. Add chocolate and whisk constantly until it melts and mixture begins to bubble, 2-4 minutes. Stir in vanilla and transfer to large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.

2. For the cake layers: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-in pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl.
3. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in coffee (milk chocolate), buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool layers in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool to room temp. at least 1 hour.
** after greasing/dusting pans, cut a piece of parchment/wax paper and place in bottom of pan and then grease and dust it also. Helps the bottom of your cake not stick!! **

5. To assemble the cake: Cut each cake in half horizontally. Crumble one cake layer into medium crumbs and set aside. Place one cake layer on serving platter or cardboard round. Spread 1 C pudding over cake layer and top with another layer. Repeat with 1 C pudding and last layer. Spread remaining pudding evenly over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over top and sides of cake, pressing lightly to adhere crumbs. Serve. Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.



Side Note:
For some reason, both times I've made this cake my pudding DID NOT set right. The first time, I had time I was able to fix it. But this last time I didn't have time to do so. I used 8 Snack Pak Chocolate Pudding cups instead - 2 cups for each layer, and 4 cups (probably could've used 5) for the top and sides. It tasted close to the same and worked out just as well! This is why I don't like to bake... unless it's from a box! lol.

A Classic: Spaghetti

When it's so easy to make a REALLY great sauce, why would you spend money buying a pre-made, packaged sauce with extra JUNK that's bad for you?! Sometimes, I'll start with a bottled sauce and add fresh veg and spices to it (and meat). But today (err... yesterday), I made it from scratch. Yum. Because it's my own concoction, I didn't really measure spices. Just taste it. If it's too spicy/salty, add some sugar and/or vinegar.


Ingredients:

1lb. ground hamburger
1 small onion, diced
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms
2 Cans Tomato Sauce
1 Can diced tomatoes
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Red Wine Vinegar
Red Chile Flakes
Salt and Pepper
*optional: diced Bell Pepper, minced fresh garlic (if you have time, which I didn't)

Whole Wheat pasta (I used Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Thin Spaghetti)

Instructions:

1. Boil large saucepan/stock pot half full of hot water with about 2TBS salt. Once boiling, add pasta and cook accordingly. Drain.

2. Brown hamburger in medium saucepan. Once almost browned, add onions and mushrooms. Sautee until hamburger is completely browned and add diced tomatoes and sauce. Throw in your spices until it tastes right.

Side note: this is the garlic bread I use. Walmart sells it in a 2 pack for just around $2 and it's super yummy and easy to make!

A Snack: Pepper Jelly!

I've really been trying to post a new recipe every day, but let's face it. I don't cook everyday. And I would {HOPE} you don't cook everyday either! A girl needs a day off once in a while! Usually we have two LO (left over) nights a week. Usually Tuesday/Thursday. But last night I was just too sore to stand up, so it turned into our first LO night of the week! Tonight I'm making Spaghetti and I'm uber excited. I'll post that tomorrow!

But for now... a snack food. And a delicious one at that. I've heard of Pepper Jelly before, but the idea came up again as I was bored this weekend and doing a little blog reading. I can't remember exactly whose blog it was that listed the recipe, but it was someone from our old ward. I wasn't sure how it was going to taste, but I figured it was worth a try.
So 13 Bell Peppers, about 20 Jalapenos, 2 jars of Honey, an entire bottle of Cider Vinegar and some sugar later... I have 14.5 pints of Pepper Jelly!!

So far I've only tasted it on Wheat Thins (well the cheap GV version) with cream cheese. Yum!!!
Please let me know if you come up with any other good uses for this! I have LOTS to use up now!!

Enjoy!

This makes 12 (4 oz) jars or 6 (8 oz) jars of jelly.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups finely chopped green bell pepper (about 4 large)
1/2 cup finely chopped jalapeño pepper (about 8 small)
1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
1 pkg (1.75 oz) Ball® No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin
2 cups sugar
1 cup honey
Jelly Jars with Lids and Bands

Instructions:

1. PREPARE canner and jars so they will be ready.

2. COMBINE green bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and vinegar in a large saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down over high heat, stirring constantly.

3. ADD sugar and honey. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.

4. LADLE hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4in. headspace. Wipe rim and center lid on jar. Screw band on until fingertip-tight.

5. PROCESS filled jars in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned.

Sunday Dinner AND Dessert: Herb-Roasted Citrus Chicken w/ Root Veggies AND Peaches 'n' Cream

It's Sunday, it's a special day. Which calls for a special meal! Tonight's menu includes a whole herb-roasted Chicken with roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and onions.
Plus, a yummy dessert of Peaches 'n' Cream. Enjoy!!

Herb-Roasted Citrus Chicken

The chicken recipe is a mixture of Ming Tsai's Cranberry-Glazed Chicken, Jamie Oliver's Herb-Roasted Chicken, and a little of my own ideas.

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (can also use 4 chicken breasts, cooking time will vary)
8 Cloves Garlic, minced (or pressed is my favorite) and separated
thumb-size piece of fresh Ginger, minced
Olive Oil
Juice of 1 lemon (keep rind to place inside cavity) and 2 limes
Fresh Parsley (I used 3-5 ice cubes - check under Herbs for info on that)
2 TBS Rosemary
1TBS Red Chile Flakes
2 Bay Leaves
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Yellow Onions, diced
2-3 Sweet Potatoes, diced
sm. bag of baby Carrots (or 2 Fennel/Anise bulbs, cored and sliced)

Instructions:

1. Combine all herbs and spices- except Bay Leaves, half the minced garlic, oil, lemon and lime juices into food processor/blender. Blend well. Pat chicken dry and carefully poor marinade mixture all over. Starting at the neck, lift up the skin to break it apart from the meat and gently stuff a little marinade inside. Pour remaining marinade inside cavity, and add lemon rinds. Allow to sit at least 4 hours, or over night.

2. Pre-heat oven to 500-550 and pre-heat roasting pan. Once heated, place chicken in pan, place bay leaves on top, and brown 15-20 minutes, turning pan around half-way through. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel/carrots, and onions. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once chicken is browned, reduce heat to 350 and cover with foil. Roast for 45-55 minutes.

3. Uncover and add the veggies to the pan. If you can, lift up the chicken a little so the veg can fall underneath. (Once again, I don't like my veg soggy, and I've found this it the best way to fully cook everything without OVER-cooking anything). Recover with foil and allow to cook another 50-60 minutes, depending on size of chicken (you're looking for a temp of 160-165). Take it out and place it on a cutting board and lightly tent with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving it. Spoon the veg into a bowl.

Enjoy!

Peaches 'n' Cream - Grandma Style

Three simple ingredients and 20-40 minutes is all it takes for this delicious recipe, brought to you by my own mom!

Ingredients:

Peaches (1-2 per person)
3TBS white Sugar (per serving)
Half and Half


Instructions:

1. If you prefer, you can place the peaches into a pot and barely boil them, then dunk them into cold water and peel them. Or you can skip this step and just cut them up.
2. Cover with sugar. Lots. Of. Sugar. Allow to sit at least 20 minutes, until a "syrup" forms.
3. Dowse them in half and half.

Just a side note: I. Love. Half and Half. Yum! This recipe also works with strawberries. When I make it with strawberries, I add about 1/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (remember I like texture!) to my bowl, and not as much sugar.

Enjoy! I know I just did!!

Special Piece of Equipment

Have you heard of the KidCo processor? You can get it from One Step Ahead and it's actually made to make fresh baby food. That's why I bought it. I tried making my own baby food, once. It did a great job, but my freezer didn't do it's job.
But I have found another use for this great (and pretty small) piece of equipment. I use it when I need to make a marinade. It's the perfect size for this kind of job and clean up is super easy!

You could use a blender or food processor, sure. But I don't own a real food processor and my blender doesn't work so well.

Beef and Veg Stir Fry

*This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that aired on ABC last Fall. If you didn't watch it, "Shame on you!" *

Ingredients:

1-Pkg. Egg Noodles (see below)
Flank Steak, thinly sliced
Vegetable oil
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1-2 fresh chiles (I use jalapenos, but am a huge wimp and 1 is enough for us!)
Peanut shoots or beansprouts (I used beansprouts the first time and we didn't like it... your choice)
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
1 Lg. red pepper, deseeded and either sliced or chunked (I used 1/3 Red, 1/3 Green/Yellow, and 1/3 Orange)
Can of water chestnuts
Handful of baby corn
Bunch of green onions, sliced. Separate whites from greens.
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped *optional

Instructions:
1. Prepare all veg and seasonings, keeping Garlic, Chiles, Ginger and the Whites of Green Onions separate (as this takes me the most amount of time and this meal cooks fairly quickly). Slice meat and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large wok or skillet until VERY hot. Add a splash of oil and stir fry the beef with garlic, ginger, chiles and onion whites until just cooked. With Flank Steak it doesn't have to be cooked to Well. It's actually better if it's a little pink! Add the shoots/sprouts (if using), a good splash of soy sauce and a little sesame oil and the lime juice for the last 30 seconds of cooking.
While the meat is cooking, cook the egg noodles according to their directions, drain and set aside.

3. Tip the contents of the wok into a large bowl, including all the lovely juices (Jamie Oliver's words, love them!). Put the wok/skillet back on the heat, add a little more oil and all the vegetables. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and toss well over the heat. (I usually can't fit the noodles, so I add them to the meat). Combine everything, including Cilantro/Onion Greens and enjoy Family Style.

When the ingredients are this fresh, you know it's gonna be good!!

NOTE: Feel free to mix and match the veggies in this meal. I always have fresh mushrooms (BIG FAV!) and I added Zucchini this last time and it was so good! Broccoli would also be a good addition. I personally prefer different colors and textures and I don't like my veg to be soggy.
I like to buy Bell Peppers when they're on sale and either chunk-cut or slice them up and divide different colors among freezer bags to be stored for a quick addition later.
And if you live in a small town like I do, where Flank Steak is VERY HARD to find, when you can find it, buy 3-4 packages and freeze them! It's the best meat for this and Carne Asada (recipe coming soon!)

Egg Noodles,
can be found at most Walmarts and probably most grocery stores.
Can also use spaghetti/linguine noodles.

Welcome!

Welcome to my food blog!
A few months ago, I set up an HCG Diet blog in which I would post recipes for said diet. After a few weeks on the diet, I started eating just steak and tomatoes and so I didn't feel the need to post any new recipes. Once off the diet, I started posting other recipes... not HCG-approved. Well, I received a few comments from concerned readers about that fact. So here I am... a new blog to post those yummy recipes that I've come to love. I hope you can too!!

I would sit here and post recipe upon recipe, but it's almost midnight and I need sleep or I will be grumpy tomorrow. So goodnight for now... thanks for visiting!