Chocolate Rosette Cake

This is a fan favorite with my friends and family.  They ask for it for birthdays, family dinners, holidays...no reason at all.  And what's not to love?  Creamy, smooth chocolate frosting, loaded with flavor and oh so decadent...hooked yet?

Chocolate Rosette Cake.  Yeah.  I went there.

The best part, is once you get the rosette part down, you can transfer the idea to any other cake like this carrot cake that I made for Thanksgiving last year!

Carrot Cake in Rosettes

Sometimes, you find something that's perfect the way it is and you don't need to make changes to it!   It's that simple Hershey's recipe that I blogged about not too long ago!  It's their "Perfectly Chocolate Cake", and I agree wholeheartedly with the title!

I doubled the recipe, and baked it per directions in two 10" round cake pans (mix one batch of batter, pour into one pan, mix second batch of batter, pour into second pan).  I used the Wilton cake pans that you can find at any bigger brand craft store.  Spray them liberally with baking spray with flour and measure the batter equally into each pan.  Lift the pan a few times and tap it on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.  I baked it at 350 F for about 27 minutes, then removed from the oven and cooled for 10 minutes in the pan.  I then inverted them onto a cooling rack where they sat, covered in a kitchen towel to cool completely.

I made a mess of the frosting recipe when I made this the first time! Instead of the 1/3 cup of milk it called for, I put in 2/3 cups and couldn't remove it because I'd already started mixing it!  Argh!  I needed to recover it and quickly!  I didn't have anymore Hershey's baking cocoa on hand, so I did what every smart cook does.  I added more powdered sugar.  Then I got it too thick!

The light bulb over my head literally went off when I added a little bit of cream cheese frosting.  It would work to thin the frosting out, just not too much!

Chocolate Rosette Cake-so moist, so delicious.  One piece is not enough!

Frosting recipe:  follow directions on the site, add 3 cups of powdered sugar, 2/3 cups of milk   (instead of the 1/3 called for) and  3/4 cup cream cheese frosting (I'm sure canned frosting would work just as well, as it only mellows out the flavor a little but makes the frosting completely workable for decorating).  OR, if you prefer, use the frosting recipe included on the can but double it.  This cake is quite beautiful without the rosettes, as well!

Now, I'd normally tell you how to decorate it, that's not my forte.  I'm going to link you to a video that shows you how so that it's clear and concise.  This video is as close to what my rosettes looked like as I can get. There are some better ones out there than mine, go for it and make it look as pretty as you can. Like I said, this is only my third time decorating a cake like this, but it's been a big hit so far!

Chocolate Rosette Cake

Note:  I have yet to try and lower the fat or sugar content in this cake.  One piece is almost too much as it's so rich in flavor.  However, when I get to that moment in time, I'll update and let you know how it went.

Cake and frosting recipe adapted from www.hersheys.com, "perfectly chocolate cake".

Peanut Butter Pie

I'm having a Homer Simpson moment where I can imagine this luscious, thick, creamy, delectable peanut butter pie and find that drool is dripping off my chin.
Okay, I retract the last part.  Eeewww.  This pie, though.  Mmmm!

Peanut Butter Pie

This is one of the simplest pies you can make. It gets rave reviews every single time I make it and people ask for it for their birthdays in place of cake!  That's pretty good, right?

The key to the pie is to have your ingredients at room temperature as it'll make them easier to work with.  For this you'll need:

Large bowl
Chocolate graham cracker pie crust
16 oz. whipped topping, divided
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. block cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
Peanut butter cups (this one is in your control!), chopped
Chocolate syrup/fudge sauce

In a large bowl, mix softened cream cheese with peanut butter with an electric mixer.  Add powdered sugar, 8 oz. whipped topping and vanilla.  Mix until thick and creamy.  (optional:  chop 6-8 small peanut butter cups into chunks and mix)  Spread mixture in pie crust.  Top with remaining 8 oz. whipped topping.  Using the chocolate syrup, drizzle over top the whipped topping and toss on a few more peanut butter cup pieces.  OR, you can follow my idea below and use hot fudge sauce, heated just enough to make it thin-draw concentric circles on pie.  Once you have them from center to outer edge, use a toothpick to drag from the center outwards creating a web effect.  If you play with this idea, you can come up with lots of patterns!

Check out this one made with a traditional graham cracker crust!

The best part of this:  you can use lower fat, lower sugar ingredients but be fair warned that they don't always come out as creamy as the higher fat/sugar products.  I've substituted light whipped topping in this and it worked great.  I've used sugar free syrup and a low sugar peanut butter.  They all tasted great.  Try it and tell me what you think!

Salsa-Not the Dance

I love salsa!  I can it almost every year because come winter, tomatoes are a little expensive and I don't like to pay for them or like the taste of an out of season tomato.  Picky, picky.  I know!  But, it's so worth it and this recipe will knock your socks off!

Get all of your ingredients together in one place. 

For this recipe, you'll need:

6-8 Roma tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cans tomatoes with green chiles, original, mild or hot
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh preferred)
*2-3 tablespoons lime juice (fresh preferred)
2 jalapenos sliced, seeded, de-veined and minced (you can substitute any pepper)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder

*if you really love the sharp contrast of the lime against the other flavors, you can increase it!

I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant.  I loved the work, the product even more.  It might've created a Kitchen Gadget Monster in me.  That's for another blog.  I do still have a few tools left that I really love and while I'm not paid by anyone to tout their products, if they're great, I'm gonna give them a shout out!

I love, love, love the Pampered Chef Food Chopper.  I've had mine about ten years and used it for nearly everything you can imagine.  From the picture above, you can see that I really prefer my salsa as pico, but hubby prefers it minced, hence the chopper.  It's so easy to use.  Simply cut your veggies into strips or chunks, place the chopper on top and plunge away.  The blades rotate and chop creating either a rough chop or a fine mince.  The cost is nominal in comparison to the use you'll get out of it.  It's great for chopping nuts, too!

Nom. Nom. Nom.  Enough said.

So, to start, have a cutting board handy along with all of your ingredients and tools.  The musts for this are a really sharp knife, can opener (another Pampered Chef favorite), and a deep bowl.

I begin by clipping the ends from my cilantro and soaking it in a bowl of cold water to clean out any sand in the leaves.  Nobody wants that kind of crunch in their salsa!  I then start peeling my garlic and onion.  For the garlic, after breaking the head apart and getting the cloves I need, I place them in a small jar with a lid and shake them.  This removes the peels and all I have to do is chop the ends off before dicing.

The onion is another matter.  Since I'm using only half of an onion, I slice it so that the root is still intact on both pieces.  Supposedly, this is going to keep it from spraying juice everywhere (i.e. in my eyes!).  Just pull the outer skin and any damaged skin under it off and discard.  I do a rough chop, place part of that under the food chopper and proceed to mince away.

Once the cilantro has soaked and been rinsed several times, I repeat the process with it and place it in the bowl with the onions and garlic.  This is where the fun comes in.  I really want to draw the flavor out of these, so I sprinkle my salt, garlic powder and onion powder on top of them along with the lemon and lime juice.  Give it a little stir before adding the canned tomatoes with green chiles.
Now, take care of your peppers.  I used jalapenos in this one, but have been known to use Serrano or habanero peppers in their place or alongside.  It just depends on how much heat you can handle.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Next you'll want to rinse your tomatoes and dice them with the knife.  If they're really firm the food chopper will do a great job, but if not, you'll just end up with a mess on your cutting board.  Place them in the bowl with the other ingredients and stir, mixing well.  Allow to sit for 1/2 an hour or so before serving to allow flavors to marry.

Roughly chopped.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I could eat this for breakfast!

My favorite thing to eat salsa on is a burrito topped in a homemade chili sauce, melted cheese and a few lime tortillas.  I place it on my enchiladas, tacos, sandwiches, omelets, you name it!  I've even been known to put it in the blender and drink it!  

Refrigerate any leftovers (uh, yeah, like that's gonna happen).  I've also taken small amounts (1/2 cup or less) and pour into ice cube trays.  Freeze, place in a zip bag once frozen and take out when you need a little oomph added to your soup recipes!  This is a great addition to taco soup!

NOTE:  No fat, low calorie, high in flavor food that's great for you!

Sunshine Cake

Have you ever had something so wonderful, so light, so delightful that it felt like you had a mouthful of sunshine?  I have!  I've made variations of this cake before with different names, but after making this and having a friend tell me it was like a mouthful of sunshine, I decided that I was going to share it under that name!  Clever, eh?

This lovely creation is so simple to make! Trust me!  All you need are:

1 box lemon cake mix, plus ingredients called for in directions
1 box instant lemon pudding mix
4 Tbs. lemon juice
4 Tbs. corn starch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tub whipped cream topping, thawed
2 cans crushed or chunked pineapples with juice

So, the key to making any dish is to gather all of your ingredients into one place. Unlike me who always forgets at least one.  Put everything you need, ingredients, measuring utensils, bowls, cooking spray (see, I forgot to mention that above!) on the counter, preheat your oven to 350°F or whatever your cake mix calls for and get ready to make an uber tasty cake!

Spray 9x13x2 baking pan with baking spray.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil (or your substitutes), mix well-you can do this by hand-it's great exercise, but if you have an issue, use your mixer. I love a fluffy mix so I use a whisk and go to town on it!

Pour into prepared pan and take the time your mix calls for and add 4 minutes to the baking time.

While this is baking, in a small,but deep and wide pan (or skillet), pour two cans of pineapples (chunked or crushed) with juice, granulated sugar and with heat on medium high, bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil, turn it down to medium heat.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and lemon juice together, noticing that I used equal amounts.  Juice should be room temperature or cold so that it'll mix with the cornstarch.

While stirring the bubbling pineapples, add this mixture and keep stirring.  In 2-3 minutes you'll notice the color of your mix turn from a milky white to an opaque cream and it'll thicken considerably.  Cook for a total of five minutes while stirring and remove from heat.  Place in a heat safe bowl and refrigerate.

When cake is done, remove from oven and cool completely.

Frost with whipped topping and spoon cooled pineapple mixture over top.

Your taste buds will love you forever.

The corners are my favorites.

Here's the kicker.  You can make the low-fat version of this cake by using simple substitutions in the cake mix like applesauce for oil, liquid eggs (lite) for the eggs, sugar free pudding mix and light topping!  You can find great hacks here!! If you do a lighter version, let me know your thoughts!  I find that the cake is usually denser if I use applesauce in place of oil, but other than that, it's still just as tasty!

OMG Cheesecake Cookies

I'm not an advocate for our acronym-ladened social language, but for these, I couldn't resist!  I had an event that I had to go to and wanted to make something kind of dressed up, but irresistible and I found the perfect recipe!  The recipe I found was for a cheesecake flavored chocolate dipped cookie.  Yummy!  I love cheesecake and know just how easy it is to change the flavors of it, so I set out to make this delicious concoction!

"Orange Cream OMG Cheesecake Cookies"

Here's my adaptation of the recipe:

8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Beat cream cheese and butter together. Add sugar to the butter mixture and cream until mixture is smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

"Coconut-Chocolate-Almond OMG Cheesecake Cookies"

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, to sift it. Gradually add the flour to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. (You can also put a little flour on your hands and shape these cookies, if you want a uniformed look).  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.


OPTION ONE: Add 1/2 tsp. almond and 1/2 tsp. coconut flavorings to the batter.  Bake as directed.  Melt 1/3 bag milk chocolate, 1/3 bag semi-sweet and 1/3 bag 70% cacao chocolate chips plus 2 Tbs. vegetable shortening in a double boiler.  Once melted, dip 1/3-1/2 of the cookie in the chocolate and place on wax paper surface.  Sprinkle with slivered almonds and sweetened, shredded coconut.  Allow to dry completely.

OPTION TWO:  Add 1 tsp. orange flavoring plus 1/4 tsp. lemon oil (I found mine in the candy section at AC Moore) and a little orange food coloring (I used about 1/4 tsp) to the batter and bake as directed. Instead of dipping these, I drizzled the chocolate over them.  

All night long during the event, I kept hearing, "Oh My Gosh, these are the best cookies ever!"-hence the name!  Use your imagination on these cookies.  If it tastes good with chocolate, use it!  I have in mind to do some raspberry flavored ones with all dark chocolate.  Mmmm!

Minute Steaks Dinner-A Story

Minute steaks, Brussel sprouts with onions and bacon, creamed potatoes and homemade biscuits, yes please.

Minute Steak, Brussel Sprouts with bacon and onion, Creamed Potatoes and  Homemade Biscuits

Dinner isn't always a work of art.  Sometimes, I'm in a hurry and just need to get things done and dinner on the table.  Sometimes, I forget to plan ahead. Sometimes, I have to defrost things from the freezer in the microwave (grrr) but most of the time they turn out just fine! 

Add 2-3 Tbs. vegetable/canola oil to pan, toss in steamed sprouts, pre-cooked bacon and onions.  Toss and heat.  

Let me start by saying that I love Brussel sprouts!  Love them!  I didn't always!  I think I could find any excuse in the world not to eat them, why they didn't taste good, how they made my tummy hurt...seriously.  My poor mother!

This dinner is a quick fix!  Like 30 minutes flat.  I had to thaw some ground chuck because I forgot to set it out, but while it was thawing, I put a bag of frozen Brussel sprouts into a pan of water and brought them to a boil.  As soon as they boiled, I turned them off, and put a lid on them.  I wanted them bright green but not mushy or waterlogged.  However, in my rush to make sure things were cooked to perfection, I added one too many irons to my fire!

While this was going on, I baked a pan of bacon (line your baking sheets with aluminum foil, lay bacon out flat, put in a cold oven, turn on 400 for 15-18 minutes) and sautéed some onions in a saucepan with a little veggie oil.  If you're in a bigger hurry than I was, just use real bacon bits!

A few too many irons in the fire yielded this tasty mess.  Creamed Potatoes.  

I also had a nice pan of russet potatoes on to boil in some lovely, low-sodium chicken broth.  Oh, the kitchen smelled so good.  While I was multi-tasking, I put together a pan of biscuits (homemade) and baked them off while the bacon was finishing.  I used a 10” and 6” iron skillet, coated well with baking spray to prevent sticking.  I have this trick that I use when I'm in a hurry or don't want to take all the decorations off the kitchen table.  I take a baking sheet, line it with foil and use it to roll out my biscuit dough.  Before you toss the foil, use it for your steaks!  I sprinkled some salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder on the sheet, tossed it around a bit and coated my steaks in an egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, whisked) then placed it on the flour and coated it well.  I heated about 3 tablespoons of canola oil in a heavy bottomed skillet and tossed in the “steaks”.  They literally don't take more than 2 minutes on each side; even less if you want them less than well done. 

1 lb. lean chuck, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon water, mixed with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Get in there with your hands, shape meat mixture into four equal sized patties, toss into  all-purpose flour.

Coat both sides of the patty.

In a preheated skillet, add 3 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil, place patties down and allow to cook 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness.  Flip once.  Serve after having rested for a few minutes.

Now, can you guess what happened?  It all got done at the same time!  I was yelling for hubby to come and take the biscuits and bacon out of the oven while I was rushing to drain the Brussels sprouts and potatoes and to prevent the steaks from burning!  Wow, what a scenario!  I think it was probably quite funny and I’m glad I don't have any close neighbors!  So, meal saved.  While the steaks were resting, I took the sautéed onion, added 1 slice of bacon, chopped to it and tossed in the drained Brussels sprouts.  I gave it a good toss to coat the sprouts with the oil and yummy flavors and heated it just allowed it to permeate.

While doing this, I had meant to make mashed potatoes but I mashed the potatoes, added a little butter, salt and pepper, a little starchy broth that they'd cooked in and some sour cream, stirred it, gave it a good taste and set it on the stove to keep warm.  In my rush, I forgot that I’d already put in the sour cream so I gave it another good dollop of sour cream and a dash of heavy cream and I got runny potatoes!  Yuck!  A little quick thinking and voila! creamed potatoes.  Do you really need the recipe?  Just add too much liquid to your potatoes.  They were really, really tasty and really, really heavy!  A little goes a long way!

So, dinner was saved, done in less than a half an hour and I made a promise to myself to not rush another meal!

NOTE:  Leftovers have a way of either being really good the second time around or really terrible.  This meal gets better the second time!  All the flavors have time to marry and oh my, they're wonderful!  Freeze?  You can freeze the meat after it's cooked, but I'd forgo the sprouts and potatoes.  Not tasty after being frozen and consistency is mushy!

Taco Soup

There's nothing quite like a bowl of hot soup to warm you when you're cold.  A bowl of hot, savory, oh so yummy taco soup will do that and then some!  I promise!  Flavors so rich and creamy...well, just give it a try.  Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

It's so easy that you'll find yourself making it on weeknights as well as weekends!  Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. lean ground beef (optional, may replace with ground turkey, chicken or pork, equal amounts)
1 pack taco seasoning (I normally use mild but have been known to spice it up a bit!)
1 pack ranch dressing mix
2 cans black beans
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 can corn
1 can tomatoes with green chilies (mild or hot, your choice)
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
14 oz. beef broth
2 quarts tomato juice

Options:
Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, shredded
Sour Cream
Avocado
Tortilla chips

In a heavy bottomed pot, brown beef with onion, until done.  Drain as much extra fat off as possible.  Add remaining veggies, broth and juice as well as spice packets.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil and cook 25-30 minutes, stirring often to keep from sticking.  Serve over a bowl of tortilla chips with a dollop of sour cream, a slice of avocado and lots of cheese.

I served mine with cheesy garlic toast and a side salad.

NOTE:  This freezes well!  If you make too much (not an issue at my house!) or just want to make it ahead, here's your chance.  I'd label it with a three month freezer life!

Gingered Garlic Chicken

This lovely gem is a blast from the past.  I'd had a bad day, cleaned out the fridge and freezer, left two whole fryers in the sink, they thawed. :(  then I locked myself out of the house (yeah, it was one of those kinds of days!) so I had to cook them!  I placed one in a slow cooker with only salt and pepper to season and let it cook away.  Turned out to be pretty tasty!  The second one, well, I got all fancy on it!  

Here's what you'll need:

Whole fryer, thawed
1 large clove of garlic (I use elephant garlic)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 piece candied ginger, chopped
2 Tbs. Sriracha chili sauce
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. Hoisin sauce
2 cups ginger ale
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste

In a slow cooker, place whole fryer.  Baste it with a mixture of fish sauce, Hoisin, soy, Sriracha and ginger ale, pouring the remaining sauce over top of the chicken.  Add garlic, onion, ginger and bay leaf.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours or until browned and cooked through.

I allowed mine to cool considerably before taking it off of the bone.  

PAIRS WELL WITH:  

• Green beans with almonds & mashed potatoes
• on a lovely bed of salad greens
• in a stir-fry
• on a nice challah bun
• with roasted fall veggies

Aloha Stir-fry

This lovely concoction can become a family favorite in a heartbeat!  I'm working on lowering the sugar and fat levels in it but still keeping the taste!  Give it a try and tell me how much you enjoy it!

This is my "healthy" version of a stir-fry in that the rice isn't actually fried.  It's cooked and tossed with the fried stuff!  

For this recipe, you'll need:

3 cups brown rice, cooked

2 cups diced ham

1 cup pineapple chunks

1/2 c sautéed onions

1/4 c green bell pepper, minced & sautéed

1 tsp fish sauce or soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup sautéed mushrooms

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons butter

Dice onion, green bell pepper and mushrooms.  Saute in two tablespoons of butter. Add garlic powder, brown sugar and fish sauce (or soy if this isn't available).  

Isn't this a beautiful ham?  Well, I guess if ham could be beautiful!  

To get started, cut this big beauty into chunks.  Toss it in with the veggies and heat thoroughly...it's pre-cooked!  

While all of this is going on, cook your rice.  I sent hubby after the rice because I thought I had it in the pantry but found only white rice.  He bought the quick cook kind which I'd never used but I think I like it!  It called for three cups of rice to 2 3/4 cups of liquid.  I used all of the juice from the pineapples plus water to cook the rice in.  Bring liquid to a boil, toss in rice, stir.  Cook for five minutes, turn off heat and place a lid on it; allow it to sit for five minutes, fluff. That easy!

Once your veggies, fruit and ham mixture are well heated, remove rice and toss together.  Serve immediately.  

I had my brother-in-law over for dinner last night and he called this a smash hit.  As if!  :)  

NOTE:  So easy to make less! Just cut your ingredients by your desired amount.  Cook times are still the same!

Mom's Mississippi Mud Cake

My mom used to make the most delicious Mississippi Mud Cake when I was a little girl and we'd always have it at Sunday after church dinners!  I have very fond memories of this cake, of licking the beaters (mom turned off the mixer first!) and of how everyone always wanted a piece of this cake!  It's super rich, a little goes a long, long way.

Mississippi Mud Cake.  Hello chocolate-y goodness.  

It's still one of my faves although I don't make it often and I hardly ever remember to get a pic of it! (Update:  I got a pic!  Yeah!)  I'll remedy that when I make it for my next church gathering!   

Here are the ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
½ cup Hershey’s baking cocoa
4 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups pecans or walnuts, chopped, divided in half
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt
1 bag of miniature marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a small saucepan mix butter and cocoa, heat until butter is melted.  In a mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly.  Add sugar, flour, vanilla, salt and cocoa mixture.  Mix well.  Add ½ pecans.  Pour into a well-greased 9x13 pan and bake for 35 minutes.    

Five to ten minutes before the cake is done, make the frosting.  For it, you’ll need:

½ cup milk (I use whole, but 1% or 2% will do)
1/3 cup Hershey’s baking cocoa
½ stick butter
16 oz. powdered sugar

Mix milk, cocoa and butter together in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring well.  Remove from heat, mix in powdered sugar. Whisk to blend well.

Once the cake is done, pour marshmallows over the top, sprinkle with remaining pecans.  Immediately pour the frosting over top of this.

If you can wait, allow this to cool, then enjoy! Many thanks to my precious Mom who had to dig out this recipe since she hasn't made it in a while!  

Caramel Apple Delight Cake

I have these friends whom I claim as my children.  I love to cook for them.  They love it when I cook for them!  It's a win-win, see?  I've made this cake a couple of times and each time it gets better and better!  Is that even possible?

Caramel apple cake with vanilla ice cream, yes please.

Look at this beauty!  Fall has come and gone and apples are still plentiful!  Bring back a bit of that warmer weather and the beautiful foliage and indulge in a bite or two of this little masterpiece!

Caramel apple cake

This cake is so easy that I'm almost afraid to share it.  It starts with a boxed mix  or your favorite yellow cake mix recipe and couldn't be easier to make!

Simple ingredients...minus the few I always forget when taking pics!

Preheat your oven to 350 F, and get ready for a walk down Delicious Lane!

1 Butter Gold cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup apple cider
7 Tbs. butter, melted and divided
3 eggs
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon (I prefer the Pampered Chef brand)
1/2-3/4 jar of caramel ice cream topping
4 small to medium apples, peeled, cored, sliced
2 Tbs. butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped

Using a 10" spring-form pan, spray it liberally with baking spray and line it with parchment paper. You'll thank me later.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, apple cider, melted butter and eggs. Beat on medium high for about 4 minutes, until fully mixed.  Transfer to the coated spring-form pan.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and butter (2 Tbs) until crumbly and drop in chunks across the cake batter.

Next, arrange apple slices over top, in a circular motion (if you prefer, it really doesn't matter).  Shake cinnamon powder over the apples and drizzle at least half of the jar of caramel ice cream topping over the top.  Last but not least, sprinkle unsalted peanuts over the caramel topping.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the top of the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool (if you can wait that long), remove sides of  the spring-form pan and serve.  

Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream or...do you see where this is going?   

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

It's tart and smokey, fragrant and enticing, so for a taste that can't be beat, put this concoction on your ham as a glaze, over cream cheese, or brie (or any soft cheese) as shown below, on pork chops- you'll come up with any excuse to eat it once you try it!

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce over Cream Cheese

This is my take on a condiment sauce called Raspberry Habanero Sauce  (Pampered Chef) which is to die for but much, much easier on the wallet!

I've served this several times at get togethers and always find that it's simple yet tasteful and elegant and this recipe did it for me.  You'll need:

12 oz. jar of seedless raspberry jam (*I used Smucker's, but Dickinson's would work just as well!)
2 Tbs. chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (**Goya or Clemente Jacques are both great!)
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. granulated sugar

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan, turn heat on medium low, stir until jam and sugar have melted and ingredients are well combined. Remove from heat, drizzle over room temperature cream cheese, brie or any other soft cheese that you prefer.  Serve with your favorite snack cracker or chip (blue corn tortillas are my fave!)!

Brand Choices:
*for the jam, I picked up Smucker's because it was close to me but I really like Dickinson's, as well.  Both can be found in most local groceries and Dickinson's can be found at Cracker Barrel restaurants, as well.

**for your chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, there are many, many, many brands available, depending on your geographic location.  My local grocery had several brands, as well as the ones mentioned above.  I've tried both of these brands and recommend either one.

OPTIONS:  This sauce is so versatile and easy to change if your taste runs a little more toward the spicy or sweet side.  To increase the spiciness, just add more peppers and sauce, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired flavor.  For more sweet, add more sugar or more jam.  Your choice.  If you taste is more for the tartness of this dish, up the balsamic vinegar, adding a small amount at a time. You can also mimic this sauce with any jam of your choice.  I've now tried blackberry, cherry, peach (this one is delish!!!)-try them all!  If you want a pepper with a little kick, substitute jalapeno, habanero or a pepper of your choice.

I'm getting requests for this quite often now, so it's sure to be a hit at your next get together!

Spicy Pasta Alfredo with Veggies

Do you remember in the bit about me how I said to use moderation?  Here's a prime example.  However, if you add lots more veggies, it's easier to do!

Spicy Pasta Alfredo with Veggies

This dish is soooo easy that it'll become a weekly favorite at your house like it has at mine!  For the dish you'll need:

1 lb. pasta, uncooked (I used macaroni, but I really like penne or rigatoni)
4 oz. can mushroom slices, drained
12 oz. grilled/roasted chicken breast, diced
16 oz. Ragu cheesy garlic sauce (their version of alfredo)
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
2 oz. mini pepperoni
2 cups baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

Cook pasta per directions-being sure to salt the water to add flavor to your pasta, reserve one cup of starchy water from pasta once cooked and drain. In a large sauce pan, spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray, heat on medium and saute zucchini for 2-3 minutes.  Next, add tomatoes.

The idea here is to cook the veggies that take the longest, first and add the ones that don't take very long as we go.  Again, saute for just a couple of minutes.  The tomatoes should just be warm, not ready to burst.  Next, add the mushrooms.

Doesn't this look yummy?  Now we're at the point where the mushrooms are already cooked and just need to heat up.  This doesn't take very long, maybe a minute or two.  Just stir the vegetables so that the heat is evenly distributed.   Here comes the good part:  baby spinach!

Because you just want the spinach to wilt a little, you can literally put it in the pan, stir it around and it's done.  Like 20 seconds!  Now, pour the veggie mixture onto the pasta.  Into the skillet will go another shot of non-stick cooking spray, the chicken, pepperoni and red pepper flakes. I use just a couple of good shakes on the red pepper flakes.  It lightly warms the tongue without feeling like you're on fire.

Since the chicken and pepperoni are both cooked, they only need to heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add minced garlic at this point.  Just give them a good stir to keep from sticking.  Next, add the pasta sauce.  Once you've dumped the jar onto the meat, pour the cup of reserved liquid into the jar, cap it and shake vigorously.  Pour over mixture.

Here's the best part!  It's almost done!  Just give this a good stir, cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce is heated thoroughly and pour over pasta, veggie mixture.

Once the sauce is on, return mixture to heat and incorporate by gently stirring. You don't want the veggies to break down, but just enough that the sauce covers everything.

Salt and pepper to taste.  You may find it doesn't need much since there's seasoning on the chicken, pepperoni and in the sauce.  I literally used a dash of black pepper in mine, no salt needed.

I served mine with garlic knots (mmm, my favorite!).  It's a big hit in my family and you'll soon see why!  Give it go and see what happens at your house!

NOTES:

• In place of or in addition to the zucchini, I've used eggplant, squash, okra, really any summer veggie is great!  Just don't add too much as it makes the dish mushy!  You can also substitute your favorite green in place of the baby spinach!  
• You can easily halve or quarter it if you're cooking for less.  It does keep well in the fridge (about 3 days is all it's made it at our house) but don't try and freeze it.  The results are not pretty!
• You can make it vegetarian!  Just leave out the meat!  You might prepare some tofu to add to it!  
• It's also easy to use different meats!  I've substituted chicken breast (prepared), turkey breast, tuna...so easy to do!