Cocoa Cola Cake!

This recipe for Cocoa Cola Cake tastes better than the one Cracker Barrel serves. Not kidding. I can't lie though, I didn't create this one, it's from my cookbook "Cake Mix Creations" by Taste of Home. Try it out, everyone who loves chocolate will LOVE this. Pecans can be replaced with chopped walnuts (I prefer walnuts in this cake.).



Cocoa Cola Cake

1 pkg white cake mix (18-1/4 oz)

1 cup regular coke

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Fudge frosting:

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup regular coke

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, cola, eggs, buttermilk, butter, cocoa, and vanilla; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fold in marshmallows. Pour into a greased 13x9x2 in. baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, for frosting, in a small saucepan, combine cocoa & butter. Cook over low heat until butter is melted. Stir in coke until blended. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in pecans. Spread over cake. Let stand for 20 minutes before cutting.

12-15 Servings.. depending on how big you like your slices. Great with a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy!

Before I forget!

I made a few things this week, but thanks to the little one, I haven't posted a new blog. :)

And I didn't take any pictures. But trust, all 3 of these came out AWESOME.

Fresh Basil Mayo

1 cup of GOOD mayo (NOT Miracle Whip!)

3 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Little bit of lemon juice, about a tsp.

Cracked Black Pepper

Dash of salt

Mix all of these ingredients together & use on your favorite sandwich! Unless of course your favorite sandwich is a PB&J. Use common sense. LOL. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Use the regular ingredients & directions for Bisquick pancakes but add:

1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin puree

2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 heaping tbsp of cinnamon

Mix well & cook as you would regular pancakes! That simple. I sprinkled 'em with powdered sugar before serving. :)

They are extra dense, so they will take longer to cook than regular pancakes.

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Soup

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

3 cups chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Your favorite vegetables (I used 2 cans of veggies)

Cracked Pepper

Garlic Salt

Place all ingredients in crockpot, stir, then cover & turn on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with fresh bread or cornbread muffins. (I poured mine over elbow noodles to make it more filling, but this isn't necessary.)

Enjoy!!

Happy Halloween!!!



Easy Chicken & Dumplings

I made this dish in my crockpot last week and couldn't take a picture of it, because after my husband & I had eaten a giant bowl each, we discovered that the veggies I used for the soup had been recalled. Lovely. And it was so good, too! That figures, huh?

Anyhow, here it goes:

(Just don't buy Great Value mixed veggies.. lol)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

Cracked black pepper, to taste

1 regular bag of mixed veggies (corn, green beans, carrots)

1 medium white onion, diced

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

Mix all of the ingredients together in your crockpot & cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. About 35-40 minutes before serving, mix up 2 & 3/4 cup bisquick with about 1 cup of water. You want the mix to look moist.

Drop by the spoonfuls on top of soup, then cover for 35-40 minutes.

I usually sprinkle black pepper & garlic salt on top of dumplings after I drop the spoonfuls in the crockpot.

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin cupcakes are an awesome addition to anyone's fall recipes. If you enjoy a nice slice of pumpkin bread, you'll love the flavor of these little gems. Pumpkin bread is incredibly moist & heavy, these cupcakes are incredibly moist & light. You can leave them be or top them with cream cheese icing. (I'd rather eat them plain, honestly.)

1 box (regular or reduced sugar) yellow cake mix

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (NOT pie filling, just pumpkin)

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

Yup. That's it! Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl & pour into greased cupcake  liners. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes.

Test with a toothpick to make sure the inside is cooked.

This is what your end product should look like:

Not sure how to rotate it, but you get the point!

Happy Harvest!

Easy & Tasty :)

Linzer Bars:

So here's a recipe that looks as though you put a lot of work into it, when in reality--it's so easy, my 8-year-old nephew could handle it. Maybe. ;)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 roll (16.5 oz size) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies

1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased 8-inch square pan, break up cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in small saucepan, mix preserves and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat just until boiling, stirring constantly.
• Remove crust from oven. Pour preserves mixture evenly over crust; spread to within 1/4 inch of edges. Sprinkle evenly with almonds.
• Return to oven; bake 10 minutes longer. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

If you'd like to see a picture of these cookies, click on this link:

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/linzer-bars/250d44ad-003b-4809-8635-45a78444d0da/

I made these about two years ago and loved how it impressed people with little effort on my behalf! I doubled the recipe; instead of using an 8 inch pan, use one that's about 13x9? Use your best judgement on pan size. :)

Beer Bread

Rule of Beer Bread:

The better the beer, the better the bread.

And never use a green bottled beer, like Heineken. The bread will turn out... not so great tasting.

The best beers to use for this recipe are Harp or Guiness... something rich & dark. However, I didn't have either of those, so I used Budweiser Golden Wheat and my bread still turned out mighty tasty. What might also turn out good this time of year, is the Pumpkin Spice Ale--that would make a yummy beer bread, I would think.

ANYHOW! Here's the recipe:

2 and 1/2 cups of Self-Rising Flour (NOT All-Purpose)

2 tbsp sugar

1 bottle of beer*

2 tbsp butter

*You will not use the entire bottle. See picture of bottle.

Mix self-rising flour and sugar, then slowly add beer until the mixture looks like this:

Moist, but not runny. You will not use the entire bottle of beer; there will be about this much beer left in the bottle:

Pour the mixture into a greased, standard size, loaf pan and split the butter into 3 even dollops & drop them on the top of the mixture. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Check it with a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out clean, it's done! If not, throw it back in the oven for a few minutes.

Then, ENJOY!

October 1st

Tonight I'll be watching my nephew Skylar for a few hours while my mom & stepdad go out to dinner for their anniversary. However! Tomorrow I will be making beer bread & most likely, Pumpkin Scones (They won the popular vote against Lemon-Almond Biscotti). I will still make the biscotti soon! I love lemon, I love biscotti, & I love easy recipes! So expect a new post & recipe tomorrow. :)