Chocolatey Snack Cake

                                                                   

Oh yum, heavenly snacking cake for those times you just one a hunk of cake! 

Did I mention yummy chocolate frosting? Yes, there is yummy chocolate frosting too!

CAKE: 

1&1/2 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Sugar

3 Eggs,

1 TSP Vanilla

1 Cup Sour Milk

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Cocoa

1 TSP Salt

1 TSP Baking Soda

1 TSP Baking Powder

1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips ( I used Semi Sweet)

1 Cup Cocoa Pebbles Cereal! Yes I know right? YUM! 

Spray & flour a 9x13 pan Preheat oven to 350 Degrees!

Beat shortening until fluffy. Add sugar & beat again. Now add vanilla & eggs & beat again. Stir the flour, baking sods, baking powder, cocoa, & salt all together. Now add 1/3 of the dry to your beaten mixture & beat. Now beat in 1/3 of the sour milk, repeat with flour then milk until all is beaten into a nice fluffy batter. Now stir in the cereal & the mini chocolate chips.  Spoon into your prepared pan & bake 40 to 45 minutes until cake test done! Let cool & ice with the chocolate frosting!

CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

6 TBS soft butter

1 TSP Vanilla

3 Cups Confectioners Sugar

Milk enough to get a nice spreading consistency probably 4 TBS, give or take

1 Cup Milk Chocolate for melting.

Beat butter add sugar a DASH of salt & vanilla & some of the sugar, add enough milk to get a nice frosting. Add more sugar & or milk until you have frosting . Now melt chocolate & fold it into the frosting stirring nil it is all combined! Frost on your cooled cake! YUMMY!

S'more Cupcakes

                                                                       

                                                                     

Oh yeah, S'more Cupcake is one HECK of a great cupcake!
I made a dozen of these beauties!

CUPCAKE BATTER:

1/8 Cup Butter Softened

1/8 Cup Shortening

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 TSP Vanilla

2 Eggs

1&1/4 Cup Flour

1/4 Cup Cocoa

1/2 TSP Baking Soda

1/2 TSP Baking Powder

Dash of Salt

1, 7 Ounce Bag of Hershey's S'more Pieces, if you cannot find those, break up 1/2 cup of Golden Grahams, add 1/3 Cup Miniature Marshmallows & 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips.

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream, or Sour Cream, or Plain Yogurt, I used Heavy Cream

Beat butter & shortening together, add sugar & beat again. Add eggs & vanilla & beat again. Now stir all your dry ingredients together & mix well. First add 1/3 of your flour mixture to your creamed mixture, beat well. Now add 1/3 of your cream & beat, add another 3rd of your dry & follow with your cream, repeat until everything is incorporated & beaten well. Now stir in your S'more pieces! Line a 12 well cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Bake cupcakes 20 to 25 minutes. Let them cool slightly. Loosen edges with a sharp knife & remove from the pan to finish cooling. 

                                                                       

MARSHMALLOW TOPPING:

1 & 1/2 Cups Marshmallow Fluff

2 TBS Butter Softened

2 Cups Powdered Sugar or enough to get the spreading consistency you like.

Couple TBS Milk

2 TSP Vanilla

Dash of Salt

Beat Butter & Fluff together, add sugar & milk & vanilla. Beat well add more sugar or milk as desired. Once Cupcakes are cooled put about 1 HEAPING TBS in the center of each cupcake . Now I crushed 2 graham crackers into coarse crumbs & dipped the top f each cupcake into the crumbs. Then I melted 1 Cup melting chocolate & dolloped each cupcake with the chocolate! HEAVENLY GOODNESS!

                                                                                

 

Fresh Pear Pie!

                                                                         

Oh delicious pie, I love pie can you tell? This Pear Pie is a very old timey pie that most people do not know. Fresh juicy pears baked in a light sweet crust, once you try it you won't forget about Pear Pie!

CRUST:

2 Cups Flour

1/4 TSP Salt

2 TSP Sugar

1/3 Cup Cold Butter cut into small pieces

1/3 Cup Shortening

1/2 TSP Vanilla

4 to 5 TBS Cold Water

Stir all dry ingredients together. Now cut in the butter & shortening until you have very fine crumbs. Mix the vanilla into the cold water & now stir that into your flour mixture until it pulls together to make dough. Do not over mix, it will not be a flaky crust if you over work the dough. Divide dough 1/2 & roll out gently onto a floured surface 1/2 for the bottom crust. Once rolled out gently fold in 1/2 lay into your 9 inch pie pan unfold & place it so it cover the bottom & laps out over the edges. Roll out the 2nd 1/2 of dough & use for your to crust, I let mine lay out to rest & when I was ready I cut it into strips to make the lattice top. Now onto the pear filling.

PEAR FILLING:

8 Large Ripe but Firm Pears, mine were Bartlett but any pear will do.Peel core & slice into slices just like you would an apple, place into a large bowl with a tablespoon of lemon juice, Keep tossing as you add new slices to the pears do not turn brown. Once all the pears are prepared stir in all at once the following:

2 Heaping Tablespoons Flour

2/3 Cup Sugar

1 TSP Vanilla

1 Tsp Cinnamon ( other ideas would be Ginger, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cloves), but I love Cinnamon

Dash of Salt

Stir well then gently spoon into your pie shell.Cover with your top crust, Lattice Crust or Crumb Topping would be good too!

Once the crust is in place I spread 1 TBS melted butter over each lattice piece & over the crust edge. Then I sprinkled 2 TBS Sugar with 1/2 TSP Cinnamon stirred into the sugar, I gently sprinkled that over the butter & only onto the crust. Now bake at 350 Degrees in a preheated oven for 50 minutes or until pie is golden brown & bubbling. Cool to room temperature then slice & serve! SO GOOD!

CRUMBS if you want Crumbs:

3/4  Cup Flour

4 TBS Sugar

2 TBS Brown Sugar

Dash of Salt

1 TSP Cinnamon

1 heaping TBS Shortening

Stir all the dry together ten cut in shortening until you get crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs over the pie filling & bake like above!

GRINNERS, the Cookie that will make GRIN!

                                                                           

Large, chewy, crispy, & a mixture of goodies all in one SCRUMPTIOUS cookie! You will get 4 dozen cookies that I promise you, will have you grinning from the first bite until the very last crumb!

2 & 1/4 Cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

2 Sticks Butter Melted

3/4 Cup Sugar

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Bag 11.5 Ounces Nestle Toll House Morsels

3/4 Cup Chocolate Caramel Morsels

3/4 Cup Butterscotch Chips

3/4 Cup Peanut Butter Chips

Stir the flour, salt & baking soda together & set aside. In your mixing bowl beat the melted butter, & sugars all together until beaten well. Add the vanilla & eggs & beat again. Now slowly beat in your flour mixture a little at a time. Now just use a spoon & stir in the candies. Drop by tablespoons full onto a baking sheet 9 cookies per sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, check at 10 minutes, you want nicely browned cookies! These are so good! Warm from the oven or cool either way you will be GRINNING over GRINNERS!

My Moms' Goody Goulash

                                                                         

This was always one of my favorite meals as a child & is now one of my comfort foods. The plus is it is easy, fast & cheap to make. I mix up the type of ground meat to give it a different flare each time I make it. You can use many options for the add ins too! Kids & adults will love my Moms' Goody Goulash!

1&1/2 Pounds Ground Burger, or Ground Turkey, or Ground White Meat Chicken which is what I used in this, or Loose Sausage that could be Sweet Italian, Hot Italian or just Country Style Loose Sausage!

1 Onion Chopped

1 Rib of Celery Chopped & this adds great flavor & texture I highly recommend you do not leave it out of the recipe

Chopped Green Pepper is an Option I would use 1 whole pepper

1 Cup Chopped Mushrooms is an option

1/2 Box Elbow Macaroni cooked per package directions, I cook a whole box  use 1/2 for this recipe & 1/2 for Macaroni Salad or Pasta Salad.

32 Ounces of your Favorite Jar Sauce, I use Prego Chunky Garden Harvest Pasta Sauce

2 Cups Pizza Cheese Shredded or use you favorite cheese!

Brown the meat with the chopped vegetables, drain if needed. Now stir in the cooked elbow macaroni & the sauce. Cook & stir until hot & bubbling. Cover the top with the 2 cups of cheese & let it melt. Dish up! Serves 6 large servings!

Holy Cow Cake as per Genius Kitchen

This is my version with the Chocolate & Caramel Sauce Drizzles!

                                                                       

My daughter saw this cake from Genius Kitchen & requested for me to make it for her birthday! I was happy to oblige! Chocolate cake with caramel, cream cheese, whipped topping & Butterfingers, what is not to love! It was a huge success & I mean huge! The kid & I both dished up pieces this big but could only eat about 1/2 of it. This cake is so rich & filling you only need pieces about 1/2 of the size we took! But it was fun trying to eat all of it! You will love this cake!

1, 18 ounce Devils Food Cake mix, I could not find one this size so I used the 15 ounce cake mix & added 5 TBS flour + 1 TBS Cocoa to make up the difference as per the tip on Genius Kitchen except they said all flour but more chocolate never hurt & it didn't!

1&1/3 Cups Water

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Large Eggs

Mix according to package directions except use the above ingredients, Spray a 9x13 inch pan with baking spray. Pour in cake mix & bake in a preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven poke holes in the cake & pour over the cake the following while still warm!

14 Ounces of Sweetened Condenses Milk + 8 Ounces of Caramel Topping. I could only find a 12 Ounce jar & I used all of it, it was just fine!

Now chill the cake.

Once chilled at least 2 hours but overnight works, crush up Butterfingers candy bars enough to make about 2 cups. The original recipe calls for 1 cup crushed Butterfingers but more chocolate is better in my book! Helpful tip, refrigerate the Butterfingers if it is a hot day, that way they crush instead of smoosh! I froze mine that worked great except they were harder to crush, but they definitely crushed nicely! Now sprinkle 1/2 of the crushed Butterfingers over the top of the cake. Cover the top with the following,

8 Ounces of beaten softened cream cheese, & 1 teaspoon of vanilla once beaten beat  in to the mixture,  12 ounces of thawed frozen whipped topping  also known as Cool Whip! I had to buy the larger tub my grocer did not have the 12 ounce tubs, DARN! NOT! I just used the rest as I will tell you!

Now spread the leftover Cool Whip over the cream cheese mixture, Now sprinkle the rest of the crushed Butterfingers & refrigerate another 2 hours at least! 

                                                                      

This cake is suppose to serve 20 servings & I thought HA, sure it does, that is sarcasm folks! So Jen & I served up the nice big pieces you see in the first picture, HOLY COW, we could not finish or servings. This is a rich, dense, wet wonderful cake but after 2 bites you think WOW I think I am full. This takes "that sinking feeling" to a whole new level. PS: my caramel topping that I added to the mixture that you pour over the cake, the 4 extra tablespoons that I added to that step, I wish I had saved it & drizzled it over the top of the cake & some chocolate drizzle would have been extra goodness too. But on its' own this cake is a winner! 


                                                                            
                                                                           

Best & Easiest Crock-Pot Chili EVER!

                                                                           

THis is the easiest chili you will ever make & boy, is it delicious! This is a picture with ingredients just combined in the crock-pot. It will cook on low for a good 6 hours! Serve over rice, noodles, we love mashed potatoes with this ladled over or use it over baked potatoes & top with cheese & a dollop of sour cream! Wait until you see how easy it is & then once you taste this chili, it will become a family favorite!

1&1/2 Pound to 2 Pounds of Ground Beef or Turkey Burger

1 Large Onion Chopped

1, 24 Ounce Jar of Chili's Salsa or use your favorite.

1, 40 Ounce Can of Kidney Beans I use Light Red Beans,

Chili Powder To Taste
Parsley Chopped 2 TBS or use Cilantro if you like.

Anything else you like to add for heat, feel free, my palate is pretty tame so I go with mild heat.

Brown Burger, drain, put everything in the crock-pot & cook on low 6 hours! DIG IN! Makes 6 large servings