Easy Chocolate Cake

I admit, I am a cake mix snob. Didn't grow up with 'em, still don't use 'em. I think they taste weird. So when a birthday or some occasion rolls around that calls for a cake, this is the one recipe I always use. So simple and easy, turns out perfect every time- it makes me wonder why people even use a cake mix??

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of pan with shortening. Lightly flour.
*Jan's trick I learned from her - get a huge wad of saran wrap, grab a glob of shortening and smear it all over the pan. Keeps your hands clean!

Beat all ingredients in mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping the sides constantly. (Let's be honest, its not that easy to do, but that's what the recipe says.)

Beat on high for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pans.

Baking times:
9x13 - 40 to 45 mins
round pans - 30-35 mins
Done when toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack, remove cakes from pans to wire rack (I don't when I do a 9x13), cool for an hour. Frost!

I don't like to use dark non-stick pans when I bake, they mess everything up, so I stick with the shiny silver pans for my cakes.

Lemon Teriyaki Chicken

I have had this recipe forever! It's so easy and super yummy and healthy. I found it in a Simple and Delicious magazine a long time ago.

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness; coat with flour. In a large skillet, cook chicken in butter over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
• Add the teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic and sugar to the skillet; stir to loosen browned bits. Return chicken to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4 servings.

*I've made it with the thick teriyaki sauce and the regular kind (like soy sauce) and we like it either way.

Hot Cinnamon Milk Milk Mix

I have had this on my "to make" list for quite a while. I finally did it today and Kyle and I both really liked it!! It was so so good. I got the recipe from craftahlolics anonymous.

*Hot Cinnamon Milk mix (to fill a quart jar)
2 cups powdered milk
1 cup powdered French Vanilla creamer
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon

Simply mix together and fill your jar (or mine is in a tuppeware). (I was going to do cute jars for neighbor gifts, but didn't)

To Enjoy... mix 1/3 cup with hot water. OR for a creamier version, mix 1/3 cup mix with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup milk. YUM!

Maple Bran Muffins

These seriously are so yummy - you would never know that they are very healthy for you!

Makes 12 muffins (From September Family Circle)

1 2/3 cups buttermilk
2 cups bran cereal (All-Bran)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 TBS canola oil (I used vegetable, what's the difference?)
3/4 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350. Lightly coat muffin tin with non-stick spray. (I just used muffin liners.)

In a large bowl, combine bran cereal with buttermilk. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until cereal is softened.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Stir in eggs, brown sugar, syrup, and oil into cereal/buttermilk mixture. Add flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Add raisins. Spoon batter into muffin pan, almost full.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool muffin tin on wire rack for 5 minutes. Drizzle with icing. For mini muffins, I baked for 15 minutes.

Maple Icing
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp maple extract
1-2 tsps milk
Combine and add enough milk to make icing easy to drizzle.

Carter and Braden love muffins and usually I just make them the packaged mix from the store. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. They were a hit! Next time, I will half it. I made the full recipe and got 24 mini muffins and 6 large muffins. And since they are very filling, I had a lot left over. I also made the icing a little thicker so it was more like frosting instead of a runny glaze. We all loved them!

Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

These are from the Idea Room.



Cinnamon Roll Pancakes:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour1

teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon honey



Cinnamon swirl:

2 tablespoons melted butter (Instead of butter we used a little milk to thin it out)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon flour



1. Mix all the ingredients together to make the pancakes and set aside. Preheat your pan or skillet and lightly grease it.

2. Make the Cinnamon Swirl mixture and place it into a a small bottle with a squirt nozzle (the name is escaping me...I used one)or a small baggie with a snip in the corner.

3. Spread your batter into small pancakes on the griddle. Immediately add the cinnamon swirls. 4. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles form on the topside of the pancake and do not fill back in with batter.

5. Flip over the pancakes with a turner and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute.Buttermilk



Buttermilk Syrup

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sugar1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda1.



In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, and buttermilk. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. Take off heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Stir, and the mixture will become thick and bubbly.

Waffled French Toast

I have been meaning to post this the past two days but didn't want to without a picture... so much for that. I make them and want to eat them before I have time to take a picture. Maybe tomorrow :)
And theres not really a recipe.
Just make french toast like you usually do... Egg, milk, cinnamon, dip bread - BUT in stead of putting in on a griddle or in a pan, put it in your waffle maker!!! Oh my it is SOO good! It cooks both sides evenly so the egg doesn't seep into the one side - giving you a soggy middle. They also have a little more of a crisp, which I love. You must try it! :)

White Chocolate Pomegranite Cookies

Mmmm, I knew I had to try these when I saw them on 2peas, and boy am I glad I did. I made these beauties tonight and Kyle and I both loved them! The white chocolate goes so well with the pomegranite when it pops in your mouth. Ahh. Its like a little surprise. These are a must try, especially since pomegranites aren't around for too long!!

Pomegranate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup white chocolate chunks

1 cup pomegranate arils

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Stir in the oats and white chocolate chunks. Make dough balls-about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie. Tuck about 6-8 pomegranate arils in each cookie dough ball. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies

*Note-you can gently stir in the pomegranate arils, but I didn’t want the cookies to turn pink at all. If you don’t have white chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips will work as well. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Thank you, Our Best Bites, for this wonderful cookie!




Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening (I just used regular shortening cause I didn't have any butter flavored)
1/2 c. real butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
optional: 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (I didn't have this, but I did have pure mint extract which is super strong so I put like a drop in and it was the perfect amount to give it just a hint of mint.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (Didn't have either so just omitted)
48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers are set but still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

* I halved the recipe, but I wish I would have made the whole thing! These are so good! YUM!

Copy Cat Cheese Fondue

I listened carefully while at Melting Pot to what they put in their Cheese Fondue, then re-created it at home. SOO good. We love it. Its really good with Rosemary Artisan bread OR homemade bread with a little butter and rosemary then toasted in the oven. Some people like Apples in it (not me). Veggies would be good, crackers, even chips. Use your imagination.

I don't have exact measurments, since this was a Kaeli creation but I'll do my best to estimate.

Cheese Fondue

Using a double boiler - put water in the bottom of course.

In the top pan add (remember these are approximations I NEVER MEASURE when I make this...

1/8- 1/4 cup water

1 tsp chicken boullion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

a pinch of powdered spicy mustard

cheddar cheese... enough to make a smooth cheesy consistancy, but not too thick. Maybe like 3/4 cup or so, use your best judgement

flour 1/2 Tbs or so- this makes it so the cheese isn't stringy and hard to eat. It took me forever to figure this out!!! But I did it and am very proud haha

Salt and Fresh ground pepper

Stir until mixture resembles cheese fondue.

Taste it and add whatever you think it needs :)

We just eat it out of the pan so it stays warm. Nothing fancy but so good.

*TIP* When done, poor the water from the bottom into the top and let it soak. This will make clean up SOO much easier. If this isn't done the cheese is super hard to get off. Trust me.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I haven't tried this, but I am totally going to make it during Christmas time! I had to post it so I didn't loose the recipe. Sounds so good to me - I love cheese balls to begin with, but add powdered sugar, chocolate chips and pretzels... Too good to resist, I'm a sucker for sweets.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball (courtesy of Framed Cooks)
Yield: 8-12 servingsPrep time: 15 minutes
Refrigerate: 2 hours

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
¾ cup miniature chocolate morsels
¾ cup finely chopped pecans (or other nut if desired) , divided
Graham crackers, butter cookies or pretzels

1. In a bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, butter, brown sugar and vanilla, beating with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and ½ cup of pecans. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. (I was in a hurry and found 1 hour in the freezer was just as good.)
2. Once chilled, shape mixture into a ball and roll in remaining ¼ cup pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.3. Serve with graham crackers, butter cookies or pretzels.

Chocolate Krinkle Cookies

These are my absolute favorite cookie, hands down, in the entire world. Seriously.
They make me happy. Soft and chewy and chocolaty,
rolled in powdered sugar.......MMM!
They do take some time and effort, but
it is so worth it!!

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/3 cups sugar
4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa

In a separate bowl combine:
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I never put them in)

Add to wet ingredients alternately with 2/3 cup of milk. Dough will be sticky. Sometimes I stick it in the fridge for an hour. And depending on the weather, you might need to add another 1/4 cup of flour.

Roll into balls, drop into powdered sugar, roll around. Place on greased cookie sheet (or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper). Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins.

~Do not over bake these! They will turn out crunchy instead of soft and chewy. I find 12 minutes is about perfect, if I make them a little bigger, then 13 minutes is about right.

~ Using two small spoons is the best way, instead of using a cookie scooper. Or you could use your hands and get really messy!

~ I almost always half the recipe because it makes a TON of cookies.

* I saw these on another cooking blog and she added peppermint to it. YUM!

Wingers Chicken Sandwhich

I know, this is way to easy to even be considered a recipe, but it's so good and so fast I had to post. We had absolutely NO food in the house this weekend (I didn't want to leave the house in the snow storm to go shopping) so I had to get a little creative when it came to something to eat. And although this really isn't that creative or that original, I have never thought of doing it before so maybe you haven't either :)

-Cut chicken breast into small/thin strips
-Mix flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper (no measurements, just tossed it in) in a bowl and coat chicken
-Fry them (make sure to get them really crispy!)
-Remove from pan, set onto paper towell to remove excess grease
-Put chicken in a bowl, drizzle with wingers amazin' sauce (the real thing, OR copy cat recipe soon to be posted) and toss to coat
-Put a little mayo on a hamburger bun, a few slices of chicken, lettuce, and salt and pepper.

Seriously, this little number is so good. The best part - the longest step is thawing the chicken! :)

Pumpkin Bread

This recipe is from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook". Its really good and SUPER easy, which makes it even better. I like it in a loaf as well as mini muffins (for some reason the muffins seem to get eaten a lot faster around here... easy access maybe?).
Today as it was snowing and blowing I got bored cooped up in my house, so what better to do than bake to make your house smell good and feel cozy than the smell of pumpkin? :)

Pumpkin Bread

*Ingredients
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I kinda like semi sweet with this)
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional.. I don't add these)

*Directions
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add pumpkin, mix, and set aside. In another bowl sift dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Beat until blended. Add chocolate chips and pecans, if desired. Grease one loaf pan or four mini loaves (or mini muffin tin). Pour batter into pans. For one loaf bake at 350 for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. For mini loaves bake at 350 for about 35-40 min. Makes one loaf or four mini loaves. (
(Its been a long time since I made them into mini muffins so I don't remember how long they bake or how many it makes. So bake them on 350 for 10-15 min then check them. Use your judgment to tell when they are done then make a note- like I should have done!! )

Mom's Slush

I absolutely love this and it is a must for our family at Christmas time!

1 6 oz package of Strawberry Jello
6 cups sugar
1 large can pineapple juice

Dissolve jello in 1 cup boiling water. Add 6 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water. Boil 7 minutes. Add 7 cups of water and large can of pineapple juice. Stir well and make sure all is dissolved. Cool and then freeze.

To serve, remove slush from freezer and let it slightly thaw. Mix with Sprite, 7-up, or Ginger Ale.

(I think I made this when everyone came up at Thanksgiving time.)

My Favorite Slow Cooker!

GE 6 Quart Digital Slow Cooker

Yes, I am devoting a post to my slow cooker. I love it! When we got married, 8 years ago, I received 2, a big one and a small one. I didn't like the smaller one because the stoneware wasn't removable, which made it a pain to clean. I didn't like the big one because it would get so hot on the outside, I was always getting burned. Then I saw this baby at Wal-Mart and I just had to have it! Lucky for me, my mom gave it to me for Christmas and I use at least 3 times a week, if not more.

Reasons I love this one:
~The outside does not get hot! It does get a bit warm, but will not burn you! A must with little kids who climb up on the counter and have to explore everything.
~Retractable cord. Love it! Makes storing it that much easier.
~Super light-weight!
~Locking Lid. Perfect for transporting meals.
~The insert it non-stick. Need I say more?
~It automatically sets to "Warm" when the time is up.
~Cooks everything perfectly. (My smaller one is HOT, so even on Low, I have to check it frequently so the food doesn't burn.)
~It's HUGE. Which is perfect for cooking large roasts or turkey breasts. I can lay about 4 chicken breasts on the bottom so I just put in frozen ones, instead of thawing them and they cook perfectly.

I ended up getting rid of both my older slow cookers when I received this one. I did buy a 3 quart one for smaller recipes, but its not anything close to how wonderful this one is.