My Go-To Chocolate Cake

Yum. Yum. Yum. That's all I have to say after making and eating this chocolate cake, courtesy of Allrecipes.com. I was in search of a moist, dense chocolate cake for my daughter's birthday party. This one did the trick. It paired really nicely with ice cream, and honestly, it tasted better a day after I put it together. My recommendation is to make it one day ahead of time and cover it really well. That allows all the flavors to settle.

So if you are looking for a delicious chocolate cake recipe that won't fail you...look no further! This is definitely my go-to chocolate cake recipe.

Extreme Chocolate Cake (Allrecipes)
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (my change from boiling water - it doesn't give it a coffee flavor, but enriches the chocolate flavor)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
2. Use the first set of ingredients to make the cake. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the hot coffee by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans. (Batter will be runny, make sure to fill pan no higher than 3/4 of the pan to allow for rising).
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.
4. To make the frosting, use the second set of ingredients. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the cocoa and confectioners' sugar alternately with the milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency.
5. Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally, cover the top of each layer with frosting, then stack them onto a serving plate. Frost the outside of the cake.

Chocolate Chip Cream Scones

I had never thought of using heavy cream to make scones until my friend Emily made these for us (thanks Emily!). I'm craving these about once a week, so I always have some cream in my fridge now days. It makes the scones so moist! How many times have you bit into a scone only to find it hard and dry? Maybe it's just me, but it seems to be the norm.

These are a simple breakfast treat that will impress guests...it certainly impressed me and my hubby!

Chocolate Chip Cream Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, a full tablespoon!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips (we prefer semi-sweet in this recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour in cream and chocolate chips. Mix all together and knead the dough about 10-12 times.
2. Spray a cookie sheet and pat dough out into a 10" circle, dough will be about 1 1/2 - 2" thick. Using a knife, cut dough like a pizza into triangles. Gently, and barely, separate each of the triangles with the knife. (There shouldn't be much space between each triangle, just a little so there's room for the scones to expand. If you leave too much space in between the scones, the scones will have crunchier sides. We prefer them to have soft sides, so just a little sliver of space will do.)
3. Bake for approximately 16-18 minutes. For the yummiest scone, serve them warm. (Though they are delicious cold as well). The tops of the scones should be a light golden color.

Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake

This ice cream cake became legendary at my old work. And that's not an exaggeration. It was so funny, I made it a few times, and it's a simple recipe...but I guess the end result is hard to forget. This is not my recipe, but it's taken from an elementary school cookbook that all the moms put together. I think what makes this cake is the homemade fudge. It's layered on top of a light sprinkle of peanuts, then the creamy vanilla ice cream, and a yummy oreo crust. The beauty of this dessert is, you can customize it however it suits your taste buds...instead of peanuts, try toffee bits, or instead of vanilla ice cream, try chocolate chip or cookie dough.

But I will give you the good ol' fashioned recipe...you do with it what you please!


Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake 
1 lb oreo cookies
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (I prefer the kind titled "homemade")
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk (one 13 or 14 oz. can)
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (semi-sweet is what you should use for this fudge)
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Crush up all the oreo cookies into fine crumbs by putting them through the food processor, or putting them all in a zip lock bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin. Dump cookie crumbs in a bowl, add the melted butter and mix together well.
2. In a 9x13" pan, press the oreo cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan creating the crust. Use the back of a spoon to press the crust down and smooth it out. Place in the freezer while you let the ice cream soften.
3. Allow the ice cream to soften a bit (sometimes, I scoop it all into a big bowl and mash it around until it is spreadable with a spatula, but I try to avoid letting it melt). Scoop the ice cream onto the cookie crust and with a spatula, gently spread it around to form a uniform layer of ice cream. 
4. Sprinkle peanuts on top of ice cream and place pan back in the freezer.
5. In a medium saucepan, combine powdered sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla. Bring to a boil, and boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly so the chocolate doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Once it's finished, the fudge should be dark and fairly thick as you take it off the heat. Pour the fudge into a bowl and allow to cool completely. (I usually allow to cool in the fridge for at least a few hours, but sometimes overnight).
6. When fudge is cooled, use a spatula to spread it over the ice cream cake. Depending on how long the fudge has been in the fridge, you might have to let it soften a bit before spreading over the cake (to do this, I usually just take the spatula and stir until it's softened). Place cake back in the freezer and serve when needed.

Chicken Pot Pie in Slow Cooker

Well, I sure have some catching up to do. There are many recipes in the que to post. Starting with this one. It's easy and delicious. This is not a traditional chicken pot pie, rather you spoon the chicken mixture over freshly baked biscuits. I've found this is a yummy way to serve veggies to my kids (slow cooker meals are great for babies and toddlers who need softer veggies!).

Chicken Pot Pie in Slow Cooker (adapted from Allrecipes.com)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (Healthy Request kind from Campbell's)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary, crushed (I used dry rosemary, but you can certainly use fresh)
4 chicken breasts, chopped into 1" cubes, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
1/2 cup potatoes, chopped into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients except for the frozen peas and frozen corn into the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high.
2. Add frozen peas and frozen corn, stir into chicken mixture, and cover again. Cook for another hour on high (total cooking time is 4 hours). 
3. Meanwhile, bake some biscuits in the oven. You can use biscuits from a can, or from scratch (I use a Betty Crocker biscuit recipe that I will eventually post on here).
4. Slice biscuits in half and spoon mixture over the top, serve and enjoy.

Double Chocolate Cookies

These are my hubby's second favorite cookie - the first being classic chocolate chip. These kind of taste like a brownie in cookie form, with creamy white chocolate chips in every bite. In my cookbook, "Yummy!" is written next to the recipe name. I think that's all you need to know. Definitely a good cookie to put into your rotation.


Double Chocolate Cookies (I OFTEN halve this recipe to make roughly 24 cookies)
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
8 oz. white chocolate chips (Ghiradelli are my favorite)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In mixing bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer or hand-held beater, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and continue to beat until well combined, about 1 minute.
4. A little at a time, pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix slowly until all is combined. The batter will be very stiff.
5. Fold in white chocolate chips with a spatula. Drop by the tablespoon onto greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes and move to cooling rack.

Easy Breakfast Egg Casserole

It's been a while since I've blogged. I went through a pretty tough experience, the toughest of my life, and it put blogging into perspective. The good news is, I'm feeling better. And I'm ready to blog again. Especially for my girls. I definitely want them to have this easy egg casserole recipe. It's perfect for when you have company over, and you don't want to spend the morning hovering over the frying pan making scrambled eggs. Just pop in the oven - and it's done. Boo-yah.

Easy Breakfast Egg Casserole
20-24 oz. of shredded hash browns, thawed
1 teaspooon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
12 eggs
1/2 lb. ham, diced (you can substitute cooked bacon or turkey for the ham)

Directions:

1. Butter a 9x13" glass baking dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread hash browns in the dish, sprinkle on the salt and pepper. 
3. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of cheese over the potatoes. Beat the eggs and milk; pour over the potatoes and cheese.
4. Top with diced ham and remaining cheese. 
5. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Best eaten the day you make it.

Sweet Asian Pork Chops

How many times have you eaten dry pork chops? I know my previous attempts have been less-than-yummy...until NOW! Thanks to a great America's Test Kitchen recipe, these are tender, moist and coated in the most delicious sweet Asian glaze. You can add a bit of heat if you want, too.

A couple tricks to remember when cooking these:

• Start cooking the chops in a cold pan - this prevents them from drying out
• Cut slices in the fat around the chop, about 2" apart - it'll prevent the pork from curling up

My hubby loves these, he even asked for them the other night. They are officially in our meal rotation.

Sweet & Spicy Pork Chops (slightly adapted from America's Test Kitchen)
1/3 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (make sure you have at least 1/8 cup of brown sugar for later as well)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce (for more heat, add up to 1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
3-4 bone-in rib or center cut pork chops, about 1"-1 1/2" thick
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk cider, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, mustard, hot sauce and cornstarch in medium bowl. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Cut slits through the fat of the chops, about 2" apart (this prevents them from curling when cooking).
2. Rub chops with oil, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle 1 side of each chop with sugar.
3. Place chops, sugared-side down, in large nonstick skillet. Place skillet over medium-low heat and cook until chops are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. 
4. Flip chops, add cider mixture, and cook, covered with a lid or with foil, until meat registers 145 degrees, or 8-10 minutes. Transfer chops to platter and tent with foil.
5. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until liquid is thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. During this time, taste the liquid and add 1/8 - 1/4 cup brown sugar if desired. (I like it sweet!)
6. Return chops to skillet and turn to coat in glaze. Transfer chops to platter and top with remaining glaze. Serve and enjoy!