Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

Have you ever had a dinner or shower or get-together of ANY kind where you're bringing the dessert and you're short on hands-on time  but need something that will impress? *Enter Chocolate Bundt Cake.

This recipe is a no-fail amazingly delicious and easy recipe. Best part -- everywhere I take it people rave at how pretty it is and delicious it tastes. Doesn't get much better than that! Trust me, this is one you don't want sitting on your counter for days (like it would ever last that long) becasue it truly stares you down until you eat every. last. crumb. and love it!  :)  

Comes from Taste of Home with my own little tweaks

And -- yes I actually DO know how to focus my camera :) Unfortunately I was hurrying and only took one picture of the whole cake so pretend like it's a beautiful crisp picture tempting you with a cake that you will love, instead of the blurry one above. 

Ingredients: 
 
1 package chocolate cake mix (regular size) 
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix 
3 tablespoons baking cocoa 
1-3/4 cups milk 
2 eggs 
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder (*more to taste)
3 Tbsp milk  
Confectioners' sugar

Directions: 

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, cocoa, milk and eggs. Beat on low for 30 seconds. Turn up the speed and beat on medium for another 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. **If you don't love rich rich rich chocolate leave out the chocolate chips. They are of course delicious but they are quite rich and the cake is still divine without them. (yes, I said sometimes less chocolate is still divine, don't crucify me)

Grease and flour a bundt cake pan (I believe the *correct* term would be a 10 in. fluted tube pan). Pour cake batter into pan and bake at 350º for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Always test close to the center since that will take the longest to cook! 

Cool the cake for ten minutes in the pan and then flip it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely. 

Mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder and 2 Tbsp milk briskly with a fork until your icing is well mixed but not runny. If needed add the third Tbsp milk and any more that you may need. A good rule of thumb is if it runs off the fork in a steady stream but is still slightly thick. This consistency is best for drizzling so it stays even. 

Drizzle with icing and dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. 

Yield: 12-15 servings.

OK.....first thing is first. THIS BLOG IS MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION!
Therefore -- half way through January, instead of quitting my resolution I will start -- welcome 2013!

Love board

My cousin is marrying the cutest girl in a few weeks and the theme of their shower was "To fill their home". NATURALLY i assumed that meant decor. Apparently I was wrong in that thought :) But, that was included so i didn't totally miss the mark. Anyway, I made their gifts and was so excited by how they turned out! I have a pile of palletts sitting on the side of my house begging to be turned into a picnic table for our back yard. So, I broke of a slat of one of those and got started.

First I cut my pallet into 2 pieces, the size I wanted the sign to be. I don't have a big table saw or anything so i just used a regular hand saw. It went really fast with minimal effort.  I didn't have any nails that fit this project so I grabbed the sturdy wood glue and glued my boards together.

Next I chalked out where I wanted to write. Chalk is nice because it washes off really easily and will always come off. 

I found extra white paint and a foam brush and painted the word LOVE onto my boards. Finally I brushed one layer of stain onto the final dried project, just to add some character. It totally finished the project and i was stoked!

I painted the O in Love a heart and later covered it with fabric rosettes.

 DONE! Easy peasy! :)

Apricot-Almond Crunch Pie

Prepare to have your world ROCKED!!! I'm not kidding, this was amazing! Maybe my new favorite pie. Actually, not maybe, definitely my new favorite pie. MMM! I think I need another one, STAT!

So here is how this pie came to be. A neighbor of mine had a bajillion apricots and i bought a bunch off of her for an amazing deal, thank you Heather! But, in 5 minutes I went from oh let's get some apricots to a 5 pound box sitting on my counter, all ripe and ready to be devoured. 

Que: Pinterest. I searched for every apricot recipe I could find so that I could use them up before they got soft and squishy and gross. To be honest, there were loads of ideas on pinterest but they all sounded OK, nothing life changing. And we needed life changing. Strike One.

Que: The never fail cook book. Better Homes and Gardens, Thank You. Who has that red and white checked cook book?  Do you LOVE IT!!??!!??!!?? I use it for everything and I love it for everything! So, the filling comes from that cookbook and the crust is my grandmas AMAZING pie crust, seriously the best crust ever. It's delicious and flaky and light and oh so fattening. Perfect combo right?

Let's do this...

 

 Slice up your apricots-- You choose, I left the skin on. Mostly a laziness factor.

 

Prepare your topping and set aside. 

 

  Prepare the filling and set aside.

 Prepare and roll out your dough. Lay in pie plate and crimp as desired. I did two (see picture above and below). Fill each pie with filling.

 I used the bowl of a spoon for this design. It's super easy.

 Cover pie with crumb topping. It will seem like there is WAY too much topping, trust me, use it all! Finally top with almonds.

Pre-cooked. Doesn't this look divine?

Bake and feast!

I liked it better cool, my husband thought it was best hot, with ice cream of course :)

*And just a note, something you may want to remember and plan on...I made 2 pies. One for our family and one for my neighbors who were moving. I sadly, (or happily?) admit that pie number 2 never made it to their house. 

Oh yeah, it's that good :)

{CRUST RECIPE} (Makes 2 crusts, you will only need one for this pie)

2 C flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 C butter-flavored shortening

3 Tbsp. water, chilled (add a few more drops if needed)

Mix flour and salt together. Measure shortening and set in bowl with flour. Set in refrigerator to chill. When chilled, mix together thoroughly with pastry cutter. Stir in water with fork, 1 Tbsp at a time, working dough gently and briefly. Divide into 2 halves, shaping each into a slightly flattened disk, Refrigerate one while you are rolling out the other. Roll out on lightly floured surface and place in pie plates. This recipe makes one two-crust pie or two one-crust pies. If for one-crust pies, prick with fork and bake at 450 degrees 10-12 minutes. 

*note: for ease of rolling out, use a cloth rolling pin cover and roll out on a pastry cloth. Always roll from the center outwards. 

{CRUMB TOPPING RECIPE}

Stir together 1/2 C all-purpose flour and 1/2 C packed brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in 3 Tbsp butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

{PIE RECIPE}

1 recipe Crumb Topping (above)  

3/4 C Sugar

1/3 C all-purpose flour

4 C sliced, pitted apricots ( I left the skin on, if you would prefer to peel them that works too)

2 Tbsp amaretto or 1/2 tsp. almond extract plus 2 Tbsp water

1/4 C slivered almonds

In a large mixing bowl combine sugar and flour. Add apricots and amaretto or almond extract/water. 

Transferr apricot mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. sprinkle Crumb Topping over the filling. Sprinkle with almonds. 

To prevent over-browning, cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Fried Rice

Alright ladies and gents, sometimes you need a side that is delicious but different! do you guys get into the same rut that I do? Steamed veggies or brown rice with EVERYTHING!? Sometimes I don't even think about it, I just grab the rice or veggies and throw them onto the plate with whatever is for dinner. This side is fun, easy, delicious and fast! Our favorite is to serve it with potstickers for a fast dinner on those nights when you are rushing!

*Nothing in this recipe is measured -- it's all estimated, sorry :)

Cook your rice as normal (this recipe uses 2 1/2 C white rice, cooked. brown works too but doesn't get quite as sticky). While rice cooks, cook approximately 2-3 slices bacon cut into small bite size pieces (refer to the picture above if you are unsure) in large frying pan (I use a 12" pan and make enough rice to fill it, it's totally up to you though). When bacon is almost done add 1/4 C green onions (one batch). Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add cooked rice and stir everything together. Mix one egg into rice mixture until all the rice is well coated. Add 1/4-1/2 C soy sauce and 1/4 C water. Stir and cover. If you would like additional veggies, ie frozen peas, add those now. Let sit on medium low heat 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.When liquid is gone and consistency is where you like it, season with pepper and serve hot.

*Note: It will look runny and then pasty after the liquid has been added. Give it time -- it will improve.

Let me know how it goes!!!

Tin-Foil Tilapia

This is one of my very favorite meals. It tastes so fresh and healthy, it's fast and relatively mess free, clean up is basically non-existant and did I mention it's delicious!?

Well, to start - pick your favorite cut of fish...or beef, chicken, pork etc. This recipe is specifically for fish but it can EASILY be adapted! Lay fish in the center of a large square of tin foil. These are going to be cooked inside so no need to double wrap the foil. If you do cook these on a fire, I would recommend double wrapping to avoid burning.

Sprinkly your favorite spices generously over the fish. Tonight I patted the fish dry, rubbed it with  kosher salt (about 1Tbsp/filet) and pepper (1tsp/filet) then sprinkled Paprika, Lemon Pepper and Cayenne Pepper for a hint of spicy.

Top fish with veggies of your choice. I was seriously wishing that my veggies from my garden were ready because fresh tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber and onion would be AMAZING in here...however, the night I made this they weren't ready so we settled for frozen veggies from Costco.

Top everything with about 1Tbsp. butter (optional but it does improve the flavor) and wrap them up tightly! before you seal the last side, add about 1 Tbsp water to your little package. It helps steam the veggies and keeps everything moist. MMM!

Bake for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven and enjoy. It is seriously that simple. Careful when you open them, that steam is toasty!!!

 

 VOILA! it's fresh, it's simple and clean up is easy-peasy!!!

Serve with some Parmesan black beans and garlic toast and you've got yourself a delicious dinner in no time flat!

Recipe:
2 Tilapia Filets
2 C vegetables of choice, diced or cut into bite sized pieces
2 T Kosher Salt, divided
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper, divided
Paprika, to taste
Lemon pepper, to taste
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp butter, divided
2 Tbsp water, divided
Tin Foil

Place all ingredients in a square of foil. Wrap tightly and bake for 20 minutes at 375. unwrap and indulge. 

Steak Burritos

I'm a carnivore. Any night of the week, ask me what I would choose if I could have anything for dinner it will almost ALWAYS be steak or some other red meat. What can I say, I love it!!!
So a few weeks ago, (or maybe it was just one week? It feels a lot longer than that) my cutest neighbor and friend just moved and we already miss them so much! The week they were moving we took dinner over and were trying to figure out a menu that their kids and the adults would love. From what she said, this was a hit! Yay!!! Mr. Chef and I LOVED it and kindof already want to make it again. But, as I said earlier, steak for dinner? Yes please!

The actual cooking time was so fast and simple, the prep of all the little sides that go with the meat took a little more time but still not very consuming. Here are the goods...

{Ingredients}
2 lb. Flank Steak
1 C Water
2 T Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (more or less to taste, i vote more but that's just me)
Kosher salt

Combine all ingredients, minus Kosher Salt and marinate steak overnight (or at least 6-8 hrs.), the longer the better!!!
When you are ready to cook the meat, take it out of the marinade and pat it dry. Sprinkle with Kosher Salt and grill it up!

Grill for 3-5 minutes on a VERY HOT grill (can you get your grill around 500 degrees? That's best but any high temp will do. The crust will just be thicker the hotter you go) to give it a bit of a crust, bring it in and finish cooking on a pan until no longer pink inside, about 5 more minutes on each side.

The crust on the outside is flavorful and delicious and the inside is tender and moist. MMM!!! enjoy on flour tortillas (the uncooked tortillas from Costco are our favorite but go with your favorite) with shredded cheese, lettuce, homemade Pico De Gallo, avocado, sour cream and anything else that you love! Goes great with a yummy salad or chips and salsa and some lemonade!

Enjoy!

(Pictures are on the computer that won't really work right now so they are coming soon!)