texas chocolate sheet cake

Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake:
Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.
Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup:
pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add: 2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

*i used a 9x13in baking pan & baked it @ 375 for 20-25min


While cake is baking:
make icing:
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add: 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add: 6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
pour the frosting over the warm cake

Enjoy!!!

p.s. you will seriously want to eat all of this cake- eat it WARM! it's sooooo good!!!

baked potato soup

INGREDIENTS
3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped (i use onion powder)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley - i left this out

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

this was soooo good! & don't over-salt- the bacon adds alot of salt itself!

Haddock, Corn & Herbed Butter Noodles

1lb Haddock
evvo
red pepper flakes
thyme
sage
sea salt
pepper
feta cheese

pre-heat oven to 375
rub the haddock with evvo- place on a broiling pan (covered with foil)
sprinkle the haddock with the spices (to taste)
bake for about 15 min- pull the fish out & sprinkle with feta- place the fish back in the oven for another 5 min (or until done)- broil for about 1 min to crisp & pull the fish.

no yolk noodles- broad (3/4lb)ish
thyme
sea salt
pepper
basil
red pepper flakes
butter

boil the noodles- drain- melt the butter (about 3/4 stick) into the pan & sprinkle in the seasonings to taste
toss & enjoy

canned corn

butter

sea salt- pepper

open the can- drain the corn- heat the corn/butter & season to taste.

yum!

another red velvet cake

my favorite co-worker/boss left us :(

it's the red velvet cake from the below recipe

yum!

Red Velvet Birthday Cake

my husband's work needed a december b-day cake- so i decided on red velvet because i love making it!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces red food coloring
2 tablespoons cocoa (heaping)
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°

1. Cream shortening, sugar and eggs.
2. Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa.
3. Add to creamed mixture.
4. Add buttermilk alternating with flour and salt.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Add soda to vinegar, and blend into the batter.


7. Pour into 3 or 4 greased and floured 8" cake pans. (or 1 13x9x2 in pan)
8. Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes.


YUMMY!!!

I used my basic frosting recipe (1/2 cup crisco & 1/2 cup butter mixed with powdered sugar, milk & vanilla) to frost this instead of the tradtional cream cheese or whipped cream frosting. i needed it to be birthday cake worthy & i think a stiffer frosting is better.

God Bless!

Lemon Jello-O Cake

this cake was seriously SO FREAKING GOOD!!! i needed something quick for the husband's birthday last night & this cake...well it took the cake! and i'm not usually a promoter of boxed cake mix, but it TOTALLY WORKS!!!

Lemon Jell-O Cake

Cake:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
3 oz. pkg. lemon jello
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs

Icing:
2 cups confectioner sugar
juice of 2 lemons & zest of 1

Preheat over to 350. Oil & flour a 9x13in cake pan.

Combine cake mix, jello, water, oil and eggs- beat until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan & bake for 30-35 minutes. Do not over bake.

Prick hot cake ALL OVER with a fork & then pour glaze over cake while it's still hot- spread it out with a spatula & let the cake cool.

Cut & Serve- Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Pie & Chocolate Chip Cookies & Cream Tart

i made a couple pie/tarts for Thanksgiving:


LIBBY'S® Famous Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
POUR into pie shell.
BAKE in preheated 425° oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.



Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cream Tart (from thenest.com)
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Filling:
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2/3 cup (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar 1
teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 10-inch springform pan.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look slightly curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Use your fingers to spread the dough evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake just until the top begins to turn golden but the center is still soft, about 17 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cookie from the pan, and cool the crust in the pan on a wire rack.

Make the filling. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over low heat until the cream is hot and the butter melts. The mixture should form tiny bubbles and measure about 175° F. on a thermometer; do not let the mixture boil, or it may form a skin on top. (If this does happen, use a spoon to carefully lift off the skin and discard it.) Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate chips, and let them sit in the hot cream mixture for about 30 seconds to soften, then whisk until all of the chocolate is melted and the filling is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Let the filling cool and thicken at room temperature for about 30 minutes, so it won’t run off the crust.
Leaving a 1-inch plain edge, spread the sauce over the crust. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm the filling.
Use a small sharp knife to loosen the sides of the crust from the pan and then remove the sides of the pan. Use a sharp knife to loosen the crust from the bottom of the pan and then a wide metal spatula to slide the tart onto a platter.
Make the topping. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until firm peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the chocolate filling, mounding it slightly in the center.
Serve, or cover carefully and refrigerate for as long as overnight. Serve cold.

Enjoy & God Bless!