Not too chocolatey chocolate cake

I started out the evening with a grand plan to make the never fail fudge cake......then I couldn't find the recipe anywhere (the one I had found was for the never fail fudge frosting, and while I can eat just frosting not everyone feels the same).

I did have the frosting made though, so I decided to perk up a boxed cake mix. The result was a delectable not so sweet chocolate cake. Plus, using a boxed cake mix makes things SUPER easy.

Ladies Night Cake

1 box German Chocolate cake
1 packet Starbucks via (instant coffee)
3 Eggs
1 1/4 c. Water
1/3 c. Oil (to make lowfat substitute with applesauce or yogurt)

Mix all ingredients together and bake according to box directions ( I used two 9 inch pans)
Let cool.

Never Fail Fudge Frosting (this is actually the consistency of icing)
1/2 c. Butter
1 c. Sugar
1/3 c. Cream
bring ingredients to a low rolling boil. Lower heat to a simmer
add in:
1 tsp. of Vanilla
1/2 c. chocolate chips (I actually used 60% cocoa baking chocolate because I prefer dark choc.)
stir together until chocolate melts

*Powdered Sugar optional as topping instead of icing

Spread thin layer of the icing on the bottom layer of cake. Place top layer on cake. Dust top of cake with powdered sugar. Drizzle chocolate frosting over the powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Salad, Yummy Yummy

Ah it is that time again, fresh fruit and summer salads. Nothing says a great summer night like a crisp, refreshing, sweet summer salad. I didn't used to be the biggest fan of fruit, always more of a veggie girl. Though, as my taste buds have developed I find that fruit salad is just a fantastic way to quench my sweet tooth and cool down a hot summer night. I also had recently happened across a spearamint plant that smelled heavenly and just had to be added in. That little plant reminded me of my Aunt Karen's farm growing up, they had acres and acres of mint fields. The whole place just smelled like it was floating on a mint cloud----mmmmmmm! For this recipe you are really free to use whatever fruit you have on hand, or just whatever you like best. I have developed a few food allergies recently so it limits some of my choices. I will put down what I actually included into mine and then suggest a few things to try as well that I thought would be a delicious addition. ENJOY!!
1/2 small watermelon cubed
3 navel oranges, peeled and sectioned
2 cups seedless grapes, any variety--I used red seedless
1 1/2 cups blueberries
3 fresh mint leaves, chopped
(this was all I had on hand the day I made my salad)
Great additions would be Strawberries, Pear, Banana, Raspberries, Blackberries, Peaches, Cantaloupe

For the dressing
5 Tbs Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed * the bottle works fine as well though
2 Tbs honey stir together until well combined and coat the fruit,

let stand in fridge for 20-30 min to let the flavors marry together

Black Bean/Canellini Hummus

If you are like me and not sure that you love chick peas then you will dig the creamier texture of this black bean & canellini bean hummus.

I borrowed and tweaked a recipe from Melissa D'Arabian (of Food Networks 10 dollar dinners).
I made this to share with Miss J on our little picnic the other day

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15oz can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic ( or appx 2 Tbs minced garlic from jar)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper ( to taste)

combine all ingredients in food processor ( would also work in a blender just add in beans slowly)
she served this up with Lettuce, I went with tortilla chips, this would also be fabulous as a spread for a Southwestern style wrap or with pita chips.

A Midsummer Night's Salad

Memorial Day is tomorrow and I decided to bring a salad to our family BBQ. Fresh veggies have been sounding fantastic so I hit the store. This salad is the result of a hungry woman craving veggies with a creative mind....Keep in mind that I am making this for a large group of people. By the time I finished I was able to fill an 8qt bowl. :)


1 red bell pepper diced (into bite sized pieces)
1 orange bell pepper diced
1 cucumber peeled and diced
2 tomatoes diced 3 green onions thinly sliced
2 1/2 c. frozen green peas (thawed)
1 6 oz can of olives sliced
2 pkg frozen cheese tortellini cooked according to package directions,
2 pkg Italian dressing mix ( I mixed Zesty Italian and Cheese & Garlic)
Parmesan cheese (as topping if desired)

1. Wash and slice/dice all vegetables and put into large bowl while cooking tortellini. 2. Drain tortellini (DO NOT RINSE) and coat with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking allow to cool)
3. prepare Italian dressing according to package directions in a separate bowl
4. Toss tortellini in with vegetables and coat with dressing.

Mix thoroughly. You can either serve this immediately or refrigerate overnight and allow the flavors to marry. NUMMY!! You can add any other veggies that you really like. I think that broccoli would be a wonderful addition (simply blanch, cut and add). Asparagus would also add a lot of flavor.

Another birthday banana treat

It would seem that May & June are popular birthday months for my co-workers. Tonight I am making banana bread for a friend. Yes, yes banana bread woohoo so basic....but I do "spice" it up a little :) It all starts with my good friend Betty Crocker
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter softened
2 large eggs ( room temp)
1 1/2 c mashed very ripe bananas ( 3 medium) -- I had 4 so I used 4 ;)
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1c. chopped nuts ( if desired...I left them out this time usually I add pecans)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice ---I usually add a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg but I decided this time to go with the pumpkin pie spice.

Move oven rack to middle of oven, preheat to 350- (1) 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan or (2) 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 mix sugar and butter until fluffy. add eggs until well blended. Stir in bananas, butter milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add flour slowly mixing until incorporated, add soda, salt and spice, stir in nuts (if adding) Bake 1hr 15 min if 1 large loaf. 1 hour if 2 small loaves. cool ten min in pans on wire rack. Then remove from pan and let cool completely. Wrap tightly and store at room temp up to 4 days. Refrigerate up to 10 days.
***Sidenote, the smell of banana bread is so wonderful. My son sleeping down the hall makes me think " I hope that one of his fond childhood memories is how wonderful the house smelled when his mom was cooking/baking things"

Just a quick little dinner ditty

I had a girlfriend over for dinner last night and it was a last minute switch from our previously decided Friday date. I didn't have time to defrost the roast to make french dip so I had to think quickly.

I decided on a classic in my household growing up. I think it is simply named potato and sausage dinner and I'm quite happy with that title. I made it a little lower in fat and added a few extras, but overall it's the same tasty dish.

Enjoy

3 medium size red potatoes - thinly sliced
1 package Kielbasa sausage (I used hillshire farms turkey kielbasa sausage)
3 white mushrooms - thinly sliced
1 clove minced garlic (or more depending upon your feelings on garlic)
1/4 cup minced onion ( or dried chopped onion - a few shakes of the jar)

heat up a skillet and pour 1-2 tbs olive oil in the bottom. Put in potatoes. Cook until potatoes are almost completely done. About halfway through add the onions and garlic. When your potatoes are nearly finished add the kielbasa and the mushrooms. Cook until kielbasa is heated through and starting to brown. Serve immediately. (although it is quite tasty cold as well :)

Sorry no pictures this time....we ate it before I could blog about it ha ha ha.

Keeping the Peanut Butter love rollin....

I watch a LOT of Food Network television as you may notice throughout reading this blog.

This next recipe that I made for the first time today comes from one of my all time favorites, Giada De Laurentiis. She is beautiful and seems very down to earth and her recipes are delicious!

Today's adventure was Peanut Butter Oatmeal Squares (I have no idea if this is what she named them but this is what I'm calling mine)

1/2 c. unsalted butter (melted)

1 egg white

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. chunky peanut butter

1/4 c. honey

2 c. oats (old fashioned or quick cooking )

1/4 c. toasted slivered almonds (I used sliced)

1/3 c. mini chocolate chips

I added 1/4 c. dried cranberries

mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips and stir until well mixed. After butter has cooled slightly pour the chocolate chips into the mixture. (you don't want to melt the chocolate chips)

Spray 9 x 13 baking pan with non stick oil then line with parchment paper. (you can skip the paper if you don't have it but it makes clean up and removal so much easier) Spread mixture into pan.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until edges golden. Let rest an hour then cut.

**Okay so I am impatient and really wanted to cut it right away....you actually do have to let it rest or you might as well just spoon the mix into a bowl and eat it with a spoon (which isn't a half bad idea...this would also be amazing over ice cream :)