Chocolate Sauce Topping

Courtesy of The Girl Who Ate Everything
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/06/chocolate-sauce-topping.html

This is the homemade chocolate sauce that we made to go with the eclair cake. It's delicious. You won't ever want store bought sauce again!

Chocolate Sauce Topping

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cocoa

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Stir cocoa and sugar together well. In a saucepan combine milk, butter, salt, and vanilla. Stir in dry mix. Heat, stirring until it reaches a boil and is thick. You want it to coat the back of a spoon. If you want it to be thicker, for a crepe filling for example, boil it a little longer. I boiled mine for two minutes whisking constantly. It will still be thin once you are done with this step. Don’t worry once you let it cool down a bit it will thicken. It will thicken a lot when chilled.

Makes around 1 cup of sauce.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Courtesy of The Girl Who Ate Everything
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/06/chocolate-eclair-cake.html

Difficulty Level: Easy

I made this cake for Bree's birthday yesterday. And, it was a huge hit! Everyone loved it - and it wasn't hard to make. Tastes just like an eclair. Hope you like it.

Chocolate Eclair Pie
by Debbie Mortensen

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 large box (5.1 ounces) vanilla instant pudding
3 cups milk
1 8 oz. container cool whip (just enough for a thin layer. I don’t use the whole container) or one batch of homemade whipped cream
chocolate syrup or homemade chocolate syrup

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9″X13″ glass baking pan.

Eclair Crust: In a medium saucepan, melt butter in water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding another egg. Spread mixture into pan, covering the bottom and sides evenly. *If the sides of your pan are too greased you won’t be able to get the mixture to stay up the sides so make sure to just lightly grease.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown (Mine only took 25 minutes.) You may want to check itoccasionally-you don’t want to overcook the crust, it will ruin the cake! Remove from oven and let cool (don’t touch or push bubbles down).

Filling: Whip cream cheese in a medium bowl. In separate bowl make vanilla pudding. Make sure pudding is thick before mixing in with cream cheese. Slowly add pudding to cream cheese, mixing until there are no lumps. Let cool in fridge.When the crust is completely cooled, pour filling in. Top with layer of cool whip however thick you want it and serve with chocolate syrup. *If you want to make this even better use homemade whipped cream.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

Courtesy of The Tasty Kitchen
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/holidays/stevene28099s-oven-baked-chimichangas/

Well, I seem to take a lot of vacations from Blogging. I do miss it. And, I miss cooking. I haven't had a ton of time lately because of color guard.
But, I have made this recipe a few times and my family loves it. I either use beef or chicken. We just make them last night and they were yummy. Enjoy!

Steve's Oven Baked Chimichangas

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound Ground Turkey ( Or Chicken)
• 1 package Taco Seasoning (1.25 Oz)
• 1-¼ cup Water
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 2 teaspoons Chopped Fresh Oregano
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• 1 can Fire-roasted Green Chiles (7 Oz.)
• ½ cups Diced Fresh Tomatoes
• 2 Chopped Green Onions
• ½ cups Low Fat Sour Cream
• ½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 6 Flour Tortillas (burrito Sized / Large)
• ½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (to Melt On Top)
• GARNISH: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cheese, Guacamole, Salsa, Sour Cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Saute poultry until cooked through and starting to brown. Add taco seasoning and stir. Add water and stir. Over med – low heat cook until liquid has reduced 2/3.

Add cumin, oregano, cilantro, chiles, tomatoes and green onions. Simmer until the rest of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.

Lay tortillas on wax paper and brush both sides with the melted butter. Spoon 1/6 th of filling into center of tortilla and fold like and envelope.

Put tortillas, seam-side down on a non-stick sheet pan. Spaced so they DO NOT touch. Bake 20 -25 minutes or until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven to melt. Serve with the garnishes.

Raspberry Crumb Pie

Courtesy of Gingerbread Bagels
http://gingerbreadbagels.com/2011/07/22/raspberry-crumb-pie/

My friend Tabitha brought me over some fresh raspberries from her yard today - so we decided to make jam... We'll, we thought pie sounded yummy, so we made this instead. It was SO GOOD! Definitely will be making this again. Enjoy.

Raspberry Crumb Pie

Crust
(makes two single pie crusts)
4 cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3/4 cup cold shortening, diced
1/2 cup cold water
1 large egg
1 large egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water (for the egg wash)

Filling
4 1/2 cups raspberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb Topping
2 1/2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and kosher salt. Put the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. It’s important that the ingredients for the pie crust are very cold. Dice the shortening and also place it in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Take the bowl out of the freezer and add in the shortening. Using a fork, cut the shortening into the flour. The mixture should resemble small peas. Mix together 1/2 cup very cold water (I put the water in the freezer) and 1 large cold egg. Add it to the bowl and mix the ingredients together with a fork.
Put the dough onto a floured counter and form it into a large circle. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and take off 3/4 of the dough. I always use a little more so it’s easier to roll out. You can reserve the extra dough you don’t use for another pie.
Flour the counter, rolling pin and the dough. Roll it out into a large circle. Then roll the dough onto your rolling pin. Roll the dough over the pie plate (a 9 inch pie plate) and press it into the insides of the pie plate.
Crimp the edges of the pie or if you can just take a fork and crimp the edges.
Place the pie in the refrigerator while you work on the filling. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and flour. Add in the sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined.
Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator and put the raspberries on the bottom of the crust. Pour the filling over the raspberries and spread it out.
Now make the crumb topping. Mix together the sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Pour the melted unsalted butter into the bowl and mix everything together.
Add in the flour and mix until the ingredients form a crumble topping.
Crumble the crumb topping over the pie.
Mix together 1 large egg and 1 Tablespoon of water and brush over the edge of the crust. You won’t use all of the egg wash.
Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10-15 minutes. (the pie is done when the filling is somewhat firm) Let the pie cool for at least 1 hour on a cooling rack before cutting into slices. The filling will set when the pie cools. Then enjoy!

Homemade Granola

Courtesy of Simple Organized Living
http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2010/08/04/homemade-granola/

We made this homemade granola this morning, and it was really good. Jack and Bree didn't like the raisins, so I think I'll use craisins next time I make it. We had it with yogurt this morning. It was a nice change from the normal breakfast food. Enjoy!

• INGREDIENTS 
• 4 1/2  c. uncooked oats
• 2 c. chopped nuts (I used one cup each of pecans and almonds)
• 2 c. dried fruit (I used one cup each of raisins and chopped apricots)
• 1/2. c. brown sugar
• 2 T. cinnamon
• 1 T. vanilla
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1  1/2 c. maple syrup (a 12 oz. jar)

• DIRECTIONS
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl
• Spread onto 2 large greased baking sheets (mine are 17 x 11 x 1)
• Bake at 325 F. for 45-50 minutes (stirring half way through)

Let it cool completely and store it in airtight containers.
It usually makes 2 1/2 quarts so we store the extras in our freezer. It should stay fresh for several months.

Original content from Simple Organized Living: http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2010/08/04/homemade-granola/#ixzz1x9PoCCdE
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

White Chicken Enchiladas

Courtesy of Joyful Momma's Kitchen
http://joyful-mommas-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/white-chicken-enchiladas.html

I made these a few nights ago and they were delicious. My family always loves trying new enchilada recipes. Hope you enjoy:

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

*These are seriously so so good*

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Lime Cilantro Rice (Cafe Rio Copycat)

Courtesy of Chef in Training
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/03/cafe-rios-lime-cilantro-rice/

I made this last night for a party at my house along with cafe rio chicken and dressing. I thought it turned out super yummy. And, the rice wasn't hard to make at all. I doubled the recipe. Made a lot!

CAFE RIO’S LIME CILANTRO RICE

2 Tb. Butter pepper to taste
1 ¼ cup rice (I used long grain)
juice and zest from 1 large or 2 small limes
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cumin

In a skillet melt butter with rice.Add liquid, and other ingredients.Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until rice is done.
Enjoy!

Scotcheroos

Courtesy of The Girl who Ate Everything
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2008/10/scotcheroos.html

Difficulty Level: Easy

Since it's mother's day today, I wanted to post this yummy recipe. Dusty and I made these last night for one of our good friends and they turned out delicious. Here you go:

Scotcheroos
1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup corn syrup

6 cups Rice Krispies

1 ( 6 oz. ) bag chocolate chips

1 ( 6 oz. ) bag butterscotch chips

In large saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Heat to dissolve sugar and bring to boil; remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Add Rice Krispies and mix until well blended. Press into buttered 9X13 inch pan. In small saucepan, melt together chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Spread combined mixture over top of Rice Krispies mixture. Cool. Cut into 36 bars. More like 16 bars if I am eating them.

Lemonade Layer Cake

Courtesy of Cooking Light
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemonade-layer-cake-10000000249959/

Yesterday was Jack's birthday. He turned 10 - I feel old! I made him this Lemonade Layer Cake, and he loved it. So, give it a try. Here  you go:

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
• Cooking spray
• Frosting:
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Chill 1 hour.
Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Courtesy of Cookin' Up North
http://cookinupnorth.blogspot.com/2011/07/cinnamon-roll-cake.html

Sabrina, Sam and I wanted to make a dessert a few weeks ago - but, it had to be something that didn't take more then an hour. Well, we made this and it was DELICIOUS! Cinnamon rolls usually take so long so this is an alternative to that. So yummy - give it a try.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Cheesy Enchilada Stack

Courtesy of Chef in Training
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/09/cheesy-enchilada-stack.html

I made these last night and everyone really liked them. We did make two stacks instead of one. Pretty simple recipe - and a different alternative to enchiladas. Hope you enjoy:

• 1 lb. Lean ground beef
• 2 (10 oz) can Red Enchilada Sauce (Our favorite is the Old El Paso brand)
• 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 (8 oz) bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 (16 oz) can refried beans (or you can make your own)
• 2 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies
• 1 bunch green onions

Cook the beef in a skillet over MED-HIGH heat until well browned. Drain off fat.

Stir 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in the skillet with the beef.  Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Place 1 tortilla onto the baking sheet.  Top with 1/3 of the beef mixture and 1/4 cup cheese.

Top with 1 tortilla, half the refried beans, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, 1 can drained green chilies, and 1/4 cup cheese.

Repeat the layers one more time.

Top with 1 tortilla, remaining beef mixture and 1/4 cup cheese.

Top with remaining tortilla.  Cover the stack with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400 F for 40 minutes or until the filling is hot.  Uncover the stack and top with remaining enchilada sauce, cheese and green onion.

Bake 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Cut the stack into 6 wedges.

Lasagna Soup

Courtesy of A Farmgirl's Dabbles
http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/

I made this soup tonight for dinner, and it was a hit. The kids loved it! That's always a plus in my book. And, it wasn't too difficult to make! Give it a try. A few things: I just used egg noodles instead of what it called for, I didn't use basil leaves - just added some dried basil, and I did add the noodles the last 5 minutes of cooking.

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Cafe Rio Chicken & Cilantro Ranch

I honestly don't know where I found this recipe, but I made it tonight and it was delicious. I'm using the leftover chicken to make enchiladas tomorrow. Enjoy!

Chicken
2 lbs. chicken breasts
1/2 small bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 packet ranch dressing mix, mixed with 1/2 cup water - I omitted the water
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Shred with fork and serve in salads, burritos, tacos... etc. Great for freezing.

Cilantro Ranch
1 packet ranch dressing mix (not buttermilk)
1 c. mayonaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice from 1 lime
1 jalapeno (if you want mild, remove the seeds)

Put all in a blender and mix. That's it!!