Chocolate Overoad!

My dear Mother made this for my birthday a few times. Let me telll you this cake is so rich. It's my "Chocolate to die for" cake.
Chocolate between Mother and Daughter is such a special thing.  (Ok  Mom never served cake with fruit.)
This is a chocolate sour cream cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Be sure the cream cheese comes to room temp. before using. Triing to beat cold from the frig cream cheese is quite difficult.

Cream cheese chocolate frosting


1/4 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted
dash of salt
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake   1 cup baking cocoa
1 cup boiling water
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Yummy Mummy Cupcakes

Halloween is coming! Halloween is coming! Of course it is a day or evening of dressing up and eating lots of treats with a goulish theme. We at work will of course has snack day and a costome contest.

So I found this cute recipe at Kraft.. I'll let you know how they turn out.


What You Need

1pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
14 OREO Cookies, coarsely chopped
1pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1cup milk
1/4cup powdered sugar
2cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
48 semi-sweet chocolate chips, for eyes

Make It

HEAT oven to 350°F.


PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; stir in cookies. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans 10 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

BEAT pudding mix, milk and sugar in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in COOL WHIP. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with basket-weave tip.

PIPE pudding mixture onto tops of cupcakes. Add chocolate chips for the eyes. Keep refrigerated.

Kraft Kitchens TipsMake AheadDecorated cupcakes can be stored in refrigerator up to 8 hours before serving. If You Don't Have a Piping BagFill a resealable plastic food storage bag with pudding mixture; seal bag. Cut corner off bottom of bag, then squeeze pudding mixture from bag onto cupcakes.

Cherry Pops

Follow up to apple dumplings: Well I didn't have any apples or mountain dew, but I did have cola and cherries, so I came up with this. So far test results are very favorable.


Ingredients

1 can cherries
5 oz cola
1 can crescent rolls
3 oz chocolate frosting, melted
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar
4 tbl milk
3 tbl brown sugar

Directions

Pour the cherries into a strainer over a bowl. Pour the cola over the cherries. Let drain. Pour the cherries into the cola syrup mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Open the can of rolls, sprinkle with a little of the powdered sugar. Brush one side of each with the chocolate. Add 3 or 4 cherries. Fold over, and pinch the seams together to close.

Place them into a greased cake pan. When they are all arranged, sprinkle the brown sugar and the rest of the cherries, and then pour ½ cup of the cola cherry syrup over them.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Make a light icing with powdered sugar and a little milk. Drizzle over the top.


Tip: Try putting the crescent roll dough in a dish over a bowl of ice to keep the dough really cold. As the dough warms it gets sticky and soft. Therefore making harder to work with.

Rosemary-Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper

1/2 Teaspoon rosemary
12 skinless chicken thighs
3 Cups cauliflower florets
3 Cups broccoli florets
2 small red bell peppers

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Cut red bell peppers into 6 pieces each (12 total).

2. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and rosemary. Add chicken pieces and vegetables. Toss until well coated.

3. Arrange chicken pieces on a jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet. Place vegetables in a single layer around the chicken.

4. Roast for 20 minutes, flip vegetables over with a spatula, and continue roasting another 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and browned.

5. Serve with pan juices.

From Atlins.com

Apple Dumplings.

Ah, Fall in the Midwest. Don't just love Fall? There is a nip in the air, and the leaves are all changing colors. The sky is a brilliant blue, and the smell of baking fills our homes.

 Makes me want to try my hand at apple dumplings. I got this recipe from a friend at the J.O.B.  She makes these when we have potlucks. 

Every time we have a pot luck, this dish is requested, wrong word, it is actually required.. Poor D. She is only allowed to bring Apple Dumplings and Beer Bread.  It has become the running joke. She has suggested she might bring something else, but people act so whiny.  One would think there would be a revolt if she didn't bring these. So she acquiesces and brings the faves.   In fact she gets requests for the apple dumplings even when we are not having a pot luck.  I bet this would also be good with a little vanilla ice cream.

 Ingredients

large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew ™

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.


2.Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.

3.Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.

4.Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown

Seven Layer Dip

Here is a wonderful game day treat.

16 ounces refried beans

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
1 cup guacamole
1 cup salsa
1 cup lettuce
1 cup Mexican blend cheese
4 ounces sliced olives
1 cup tomato

Directions:  Mix the taco seasoning into the beans. Layer in this order:  refried beans, then  sour cream,  guacamole, salsa, lettuce, mexican cheese, sliced olives and tomatoes.

Southwest Chicken

I love Mexican food, and I like chicken. So, here is another twist from Weight Watchers. The recipe looks really good, but I am going to add more veggies.  in the form of onions, garlic and bell peppers. With the additional veggies you could have 1 1/2 cups as a serving size.

1 lb. (4 cups) shredded rotisserie chicken breast meat, skin and bones removed
4 cups jarred salsa verde
2 cups frozen green beans, thawed and chopped
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
16 (6-inch) corn tortillas
8 oz shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1.Mix the chicken, 3 cups salsa verde, green beans and black beans in a large bowl.

2.Shred or thinly slice the tortillas into 1/2-inch wide strips. Sprinkle a third of these strips into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with half the chicken mixture, spreading it evenly over the baking dish. Sprinkle half the remaining tortilla strips evenly over the chicken, then smooth the rest of the chicken mixture over the top. Sprinkle with the rest of the tortilla strips evenly on top, then smooth the remaining 1 cup salsa verde over the casserole, and finally add the cheese, again evenly across the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil. The casserole can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days or frozen for up to 4 months.

3.Preheat the oven to 350°F.

4.Bake the casserole, covered, 20 minutes if refrigerated, 30 minutes if frozen. Uncover and continue baking until bubbling and browned, 30 more minutes if refrigerated, 40 more minutes (or a bit longer) if frozen. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then divide into 8 servings.


Serving size: 1 1/3 cups.

from weightwatchers.com Makes 8 servings
POINTS® value
4 per servingIngredients

Recipe for Lemon Pudding with Raspberries and Meringue Cigars from Epicurious.com

Meringue cigars:

4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted pistachios (preferably not roasted), finely chopped

Lemon pudding:
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup strained fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 pound raspberries, trimmed and halved, or quartered if large

Special equipment: 2 large baking sheets; parchment paper; a stand mixer or a powerful handheld electric mixer; a pastry bag fitted with a plain, round 1/2-inch tip (we used Wilton 1A)

For meringue cigars: Heat oven to 200°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a pencil to mark parchment with parallel lines 5 inches apart; these lines will be your guides when piping. Turn paper over.
Beat whites with salt in stand mixer at high speed (or in a large bowl with handheld mixer) until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, beating, and continue to beat at high speed until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks. Secure paper to baking sheets with dabs of meringue.
Spoon some meringue into pastry bag and pipe 5-inch-long cigars (3/4 to 1 inch wide) onto 1 baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Add more meringue to pastry bag and pipe more cigars in same manner on other baking sheet.
Sprinkle cigars generously with pistachios.
Bake cigars in oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp but still white, about 2 hours.
Turn off oven and cool meringue cigars in oven 1 hour, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Make lemon pudding while meringue cigars are baking: Set a large fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl.
Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until butter melts, curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, and first bubble appears on surface, 6 to 9 minutes.
Immediately force lemon curd through sieve into bowl and chill curd, its surface covered with a round of wax paper, until cold, at least 1 hour.
Beat cream and confectioners' sugar in another bowl with cleaned beaters until mixture just holds soft peaks. Fold one third of whipped cream into lemon curd to lighten, then fold in remaining cream. Divide among individual bowls and chill, covered, if not using right away.
Top with raspberries and serve with meringue cigars.



Cooks' notes:
•Meringue cigars can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in layers, separated by wax paper, in an airtight container.
•Curd can be chilled up to 1 week.



Photo by Gourmet Live
April 2012
by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez

Want to see how other cooks rated and reviewed this recipe? Go to http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Pudding-with-Strawberries-and-Meringue-Cigars-395394?mbid=ipapp

Stuffed Tomatoes

What you need

1/2 lbs turkey breast, shredded

1/3 cup KRAFT Light Mayo Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

¼ cup chopped almonds

2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion

2 Tbsp chopped bacon

 Grated peel and juice from 1/2 of a medium lemon

4 medium tomatoes

 PREMIUM Unsalted Tops Saltine Crackers

 parsley

Make it

MIX turkey, mayo, celery, onion, almonds, bacon, lemon peel and juice.

CUT each tomato into wedges, cutting down to within 1/2 inch of bottom. (Do not cut all the way through tomato.)

SPOON tuna mixture into tomatoes. sprinkle with parsley and Serve with crackers

Butterscotch Pudding

Well the curmudgeon broke a tooth this weekend. He needed something smooth this evening. So we made soup and pudding. I found a really good recipe for butterscotch. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/8 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. In a 1 quart saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium-low heat and stir in eggs and milk. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in vanilla and butter. Let cool briefly and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving. 

By: KITTYANN 

"This recipe is good as pudding or as pie filling!"