Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

My mom emailed me this recipe a couple months ago and I put it in my file of new things to try. I was completely intrigued by a crock pot cake. And this one had so many yummy things in it, mainly lots of chocolate! I am a crock pot fan, so I knew this was my kind of cake.

I am so glad I tried it! It was so good. It had a really fudgey (is that a word?) texture, which I love. It was warm, gooey and soft. I wasn't sure how much it would make because the batter didn't seem like much when I put it in the crock pot. But it cooked up to the very top! This cake will feed quite a crowd - and make them happy!

Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

1 package German chocolate cake mix
1 3.9-oz. package chocolate instant pudding mix
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups milk, divided
1 3.4-oz. package chocolate cook-and-serve pudding mix
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Beat the cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, sour cream, butter, vanilla and 1 1/4 cups of milk for about 2 minutes until mixed well. Spray the crock pot with Pam and pour the batter in.

Heat remaining 2 cups milk in a heavy non-aluminum saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 3-5 minutes or just until bubbles appear (do not boil); remove from heat.

Sprinkle cook-and serve pudding mix over batter. Slowly pour the hot milk over pudding so that it stays on top of the batter. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 1/2 hours.

Turn off your beautiful green crock pot and sprinkle the cake with walnuts, marshmallows, and chocolate morsels. Put the cover back on and let it stand 15 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly melted. Spoon the cake into dessert dishes, and serve with ice cream.

The cake may look like it is not completely done, but it if the top is set, then it is done. And it is great!

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

We had a birthday party for someone in our house last week. She turned 5 and loves everything pink! I know it wont last for too much longer (even though I never stop liking pink), so we had a fun pink party. I had printed this recipe out a long time ago to try & thought it would work perfectly. Especially since you can get fresh strawberries right now! These cupcakes use a pound of pureed strawberries - so yummy.

We loved them and they were a big hit at the party! I used one of my very favorite buttercream frostings - it is so good and holds shape forever.

Strawberry & Cream Cupcakes

from Our Best Bites blog

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cake flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, softened

2 1/4 c. sugar

3 large eggs

1 egg white

1 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb. strawberries, pureed

A few drops of red food coloring

Buttercream Frosting

from Allrecipes

• 
  
• 2 cups shortening
• 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating after every addition.

Reduce speed to low. Combine buttermilk and vanilla together and set aside. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture; end with the dry ingredients. Fold in strawberries. If desired, add a few drops of red food coloring until a pretty pink color is reached. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything has been mixed in. Divide batter among muffin cups (about 30), filling them almost all the way to the top.

Bake cupcakes until a knife inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tins.

For the frosting, cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar, and continue creaming until well blended. Add salt, vanilla, and 6 ounces whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add additional 2 ounces whipping cream if necessary. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

I piped the frosting out with a pastry bag and then sprinkled with pink sprinkles!

Guacamole Salsa

I went to a church dinner a couple weeks ago and they made shredded pork with an amazing guacamole salsa over it. I loved it! I was so excited when later in the night they had a class teaching us how to make the same salsa!

It is really easy to make and is healthy also. It is made with all fresh vegetables & herbs ( and a pinch of salt.) It can be made thicker like real guacamole or thinner to make it like a salad dressing - and everywhere in-between. I use it to spread on my turkey sandwiches and it has a bunch of flavor without adding any fat. I keep thinking of all the other ways I can eat this - besides with a spoon!

Guacamole Salsa

1 lb. tomatillos (or more if you want it thinner)

1 jalapeno pepper (or more if you like it spicy)

1/3 bunch cilantro

1 thick slice of onion

1 garlic clove

1 avocado

1 tsp. salt

Peel and wash the tomatillos - they are usually found over by the cilantro & peppers, and have a husk on them. Cut them into quarters and put in the blender. Follow with the jalapeno, cilantro, onion, garlic, avocado & salt. Be sure to put the tomatillos in the bottom of the blender and not the avocado so it doesn't stick to the blade. You might have to help it start by shaking or using a mixer at first. But, once it gets going the juice from the tomatillos will help move the other ingredients around.

That is it! I was told it lasts for about a week in the fridge. I did notice that it thickens up in the fridge, so if you want it thinner grab a couple more tomatillos to mix in again. Super easy and so good!!

Orange Oven French Toast

This is what I woke up to on Mother's day. Yes, my hubby is awesome. He is a great cook and specializes in breakfast food. For some reason he can flip a pancake way better than me! He did such a good job with this breakfast, especially since we had to be to church at 8:30 in the morning!

This meal is made the night before and then put in the fridge until baking, so those busy mornings are made a little easier. I love it because you get a pan full of french toast all at once so the family can actually eat together! They are so good and have a light orange flavor.

Orange Oven French Toast

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. grated orange peel

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

16 slices toast (we like french bread)

2 oranges, sliced

In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey and 2 tsp. cinnamon, mix well. Pour the mixture evenly into 2 ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pans (cookie sheets).

In a medium bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add the milk, orange juice, sugar, orange peel, salt and cinnamon. Mix all the ingredients well. Dip the bread into the egg mixture and place into the baking pans. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the toast for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with some orange slices!

7-up Biscuit

I got this recipe from Steph at an awesome site called Plain Chicken. It is a really fun site with lots of great chicken, grilling and other yummy recipes. You should check out all the ways Steph can make grilled cheese - I was completely impressed!

When I saw this recipe on her blog, I couldn't get it off my mind! Seriously, I thought about it for a couple of days and kept wanting to make it for every meal. I finally got to make them and WOW, they are great!! They only have three ingredients and they are soft, fluffy, buttery and the perfect texture. My whole family devoured them quickly. I think I want to make them tonight!

7 -Up Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup 7-up

1/4 cup melted butter

Cut the sour cream into the Bisquick and then add the 7-up. The dough will be really sticky and soft, just sprinkle with a little bisquick mix to make it into biscuits. Melt the butter in a 9 inch square pan (I doubled mine in a 9x13!). Place the biscuits in the pan and bake at 450 degrees until just golden.

Kookies

I needed to make a treat for cub scouts today, but wanted to do something quick. So, I went to my cookbooks and found a great new cookie recipe. It is from a church cookbook, which I love because it is a compilation of everyone's favorite recipes. They usually turn out well when they are all favorites!

This cookie is actually called Kookie and is really yummy. Double chocolate, with chocolate chips and walnuts - it was almost like a brownie. It made about 5 dozen cookies and took me about 5 minutes to whip up! The kids love them!

Kookies

1 box dark chocolate cake mix

1 box devils food cake mix

1 cup flour

4 eggs

1/3 cup water

1 cup oil

2 cups (16 oz) chocolate chips

1 cup nuts ( I used walnuts)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Make dough into little balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes - DO NOT OVERBAKE! It really makes a difference when the cookies are still soft, promise. That is it! Try not to eat to many.

Taco Rice

My mom made up this recipe when I was in high school & it was a big hit in our house. Now, it is a big hit in mine. There aren't that many recipes where I get a big smile from each member of the family - some are a little picky. But, when I make this dinner I ALWAYS hear "Thanks, mom!" They get to top it with whatever they like and everyone is happy.

And the best part is how easy and fast it is to make! You can make it quickly on the busy nights and enjoy a great meal. My mom always made it with ground beef and white rice, but since we are trying to eat a little better I tried it a little different last time. I made it with ground turkey and brown rice & couldn't tell any difference!! The kids had no clue.

Taco Rice

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

2 cups (approximately) cooked white or brown rice

1 packet or 1/4 cup taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

Taco toppings -

chopped tomatoes

cilantro

cheese

onions

avocado

shredded lettuce

salsa

tobasco sauce

Tortilla or corn chips

Brown the meat in a skillet and drain the juices. Add the taco seasoning and water, mix and then simmer for a couple minutes. Add the tomato sauce and rice and then mix well. Heat all the way through.

Serve on plate and top with all of your favorite taco toppings. My husband and I needed a little bit more kick to ours last time (but the kids didn't), so we sprinkled it with a little Tobasco sauce and it was great! We love to eat ours with a handful of chips for a little crunch.

Oreo Balls

Every time I see the title of this recipe it makes me giggle and think of the old Saturday Night Live skit with Alec Baldwin. Remember Pete Schweaty?

These goodies have been making their way around on the blogs for a while now and I assumed no one would want me to post this recipe. But, after making them a couple months ago, a couple of my friends keep asking for me to post the directions. They are so easy! And they are so addicting. I think I eat at least 10 every time I make them!

You can make them with a little variety too. Try a different type of cookie - if you look closely at the bottom picture, you can see a little red in the middle from when I tried these with the Christmas peppermint Oreos!

Oreo Balls

1 box Oreo cookies

1, 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened

white chocolate bark

Start by smashing the oreos into crumbs. Put them into a medium size mixing bowl and combine with the cream cheese. You will have to take off your rings for this one, it gets a little messy. Combine well and then form into 1 inch balls. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place the balls onto the cookie sheet. Freeze them for a couple of hours until they are frozen solid. Dip them into the melted white chocolate bark (I got mine cheap at Wal-mart) and then place them back on the wax paper to harden.

If you don't have any chocolate to dip or don't have the time - you can save some of oreo crumbs and dip the balls into the crumbs before the freezing step. Or, just eat them straight out of the freezer. Any way you eat it will be great. Promise.

Texas Sheet Cake

I made this cake years ago from a recipe I got out of a church cookbook my mom gave me. I forgot about it and then recently found it again while going back through all my old cookbooks. I can't believe I forgot about this. This is honestly the best cake ever.

It was so good that my husband would not let me share ANY of it with anyone - and it made a huge pan! He polished it all off (with a little help) in about two days and then looked at the pan and said " I am so sad that cake is gone." No joke. It really is that good.

It is super moist, just dense enough and the frosting is amazing. It tastes like chocolate donut frosting - I am pretty sure that is what hooked my husband. I loved it with the pecans. I loved all of it. I am going to make it again & again & never forget to make it again!

Texas Sheet Cake

from the Tokyo 1st ward church cookbook, submitted by Kimberlee Snow Winzeler

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter

4 Tbs. cocoa

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup buttermilk *

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 sticks butter

4 Tbs. cocoa

6 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

* If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, you can put 1 tsp. vinegar in your measuring cup and fill the rest of the 1/2 cup with milk. Let it sit for a couple minutes & that is a great substitute!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the cocoa. Add the water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and mix into the flour mixture.

In another bowl mix the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Add it to the rest of the batter and mix. Pour into a sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. It will look like this...

To make the frosting, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the cocoa. Mix it well and then remove from the heat. Add the milk, vanilla, powdered sugar & pecans and stir together well. Pour over the warm cake, spread and then eat the best cake ever!!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

I love my crock pot. It saves me on days when I don't have time to think about dinner, which seems to be a lot lately. I have been trying to find ways to adapt some of my favorite recipes into crock pot dishes so we can still have a good meal on busy days. I have had this recipe for a while and it is one of my husband's favorites. It was our anniversary on Sunday and since we were in church from 1-4:00, I thought this would be a good one to prepare for him. It is super easy and tastes so good!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. cubed beef stew meat

2 cans condensed golden mushroom soup

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup beef broth or water

1 pack onion soup mix

fresh mushrooms - optional, but so yummy!

4 ounces cream cheese

"scoop" of sour cream

Wide egg noodles

These are the two items you might not have right in your pantry. They are both necessary for this recipe and substitutions will not taste the same. I had a little bit of a hard time finding the Golden Mushroom soup, but eventually found it at Raleys grocery store (here in Nor Cal.)

Combine the beef, Golden mushroom soup, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, water and onion soup mix in your crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Add some sauteed mushrooms about a 1/2 hour before time is up. And then mix in the cream cheese and sour cream just before serving. Serve over some wide egg noodles and enjoy!