Rocky Road Crock Pot Cake

Original Recipe found at: http://blessthisfood.blogspot.com/2010/11/rocky-road-crock-pot-cake.html

Ingredients:

1 (18.25-oz.) package chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9-oz.) package vanilla 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 pecans (optional - I didn't put them in)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup chocolate morsels (I used milk chocolate)
Vanilla ice cream (optional)


Directions:

1. Beat cake mix, next 5 ingredients, and 1 1/4 cups milk at medium speed with an electric mixer (used my Kitchen Aid) 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Pour batter into a lightly greased 4-qt. slow cooker.
2. Mix in the cook and serve pudding mix with the remaining 2 cups milk in a heavy nonaluminum saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or just until bubbles appear (do not boil); remove from heat.
3. Slowly pour hot milk and pudding mixture over cake batter in crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 hours.
4. (optional if using pecans) Meanwhile, heat pecans in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant.
5. Turn off slow cooker. Sprinkle cake with pecans, marshmallows, and chocolate morsels. Let stand 15 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly melted.


Hot Mama's Notes:
I incorporated the Bless This Food blogger's recipe updates into the original recipe.  I made the recipe as listed above.  It was good.  Very gooey.  :)  I think next time I will try using vanilla pudding mixes for both the instant and cook and serve pudding types.  Still, I bet it is good no matter what type of pudding you use.  I used milk chocolate chips instead of the semisweet listed in the original recipe because I prefer milk chocolate.  I also used devil's food cake mix.  And my miniature marshmallows were the rainbow kind, so that was a nice touch of color.  :)


The top picture is the picture I took of my crock pot cake.  The second picture is taken from the link listed above. 


I made this cake on the same day as the General Tso's chicken.  I was feeling ambitious!

General Tso's Chicken

I tried this the other day because it sounded good, fast & I even had all the ingredients - bonus!!

Here is the original web page where I found the recipe (thanks to Pinterest):
http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=92581

The recipe below and above picture have been copied from the link above.

Ingredients

	3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
	1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
	2 Tbsp sugar
	2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
	1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
	1/2 tsp ground ginger
	2 tsp peanut oil
	2 medium uncooked scallion(s), chopped
	2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried chili pepper, minced
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), cut into 2-inch pieces
	2 cup(s) cooked white rice, kept hot Instructions In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Add chicken; sauté until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add reserved sauce to pan and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Yields about 1 cup chicken with sauce and 1/2 cup rice per serving. Hot Mama's Notes: I doubled this recipe because my thawed chicken package was 2 lbs.   We liked this chicken very much on the day it was cooked - fresh and delicious, very tasty.  I was thinking to make it again soon.  However, as leftovers go, this dish is only so/so.  On the next day, despite microwaving, the sauce was very gelatinous.  It was improved with microwaving, for certain, but still very gloppy.  I suppose this could have been improved if I had microwaved the chicken and sauce separately from the rice, but I did not do this.  I put down the rice, then the chicken and sauce, and microwaved it all together, thus making it impossible to restir the chicken and sauce.  Still, it is a tasty dish, and I will have to give it another go!

Red Velvet Crepes

Original location of recipe: http://duhlicious.com/2011/03/red-velvet-crepes/

Recipe and photo from above link.

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2  cups butter milk
- 1 1/4 cup whole or lowfat milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon red food color gel
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
+ 2 tablespoons cooking oil (for pan)

*Update: Because the buttermilk lends to the acidity of this batter, do not substitute the baking soda for extra baking powder. If you add more baking powder, and omit the baking soda, you’ll end up with a heavy and dense crepe. In order to activate the baking soda, it requires an acidic substance, which the buttermilk provides.  Double-acting baking powder (likely, this is what you have in your kitchen) is activated by heat and an acidic element, and in this case, baking soda does the trick.  Enough with the chemistry lesson– just don’t make substitutes if you want light and fluffy crepes; the recipe is balanced to account for ingredient properties.

Red Velvet Crepes - Directions

1. In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, milk, egg, sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract and food coloring. Whisk until combined.

3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are combined. The batter will be a little runny (think soup). If you find that the batter is too thick and pancake like, add more milk (regular). Make sure the batter is clear of lumps.

4. With a pastry brush, brush the surface of large (non-stick) skillet with cooking oil. Heat it over medium heat. Test skillet after a couple of minutes by drizzling a few few drops of water onto the cooking surface. If the drops sizzle and evaporate, the surface is hot enough.

5. Turn the heat down to medium. For each crepe, spoon or ladle about  1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the skillet. Holding onto the handle of the pan, remove it from the heat and swirl the pan so the batter coats the bottom of the pan. You want to make the coating as thin as possible. If you have holes in the crepe, go ahead and add more batter to the pan to cover them. Return to heat.

6. As the batter cooks, it will dry and lose its shine (~ 2 minutes). Once this happens, use a non-metal spatula and carefully flip the crepe over. Finish cooking the crepe on the other side (~ 45 seconds).

7. Gently slide the cooked crepe onto an ovenproof plate, and keep the finished crepes warm in an oven set at 195 degrees.

Mascarpone Cream Filling - Ingredients
- 500 mL heavy cream
- 300 gr mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 orange (optional, but adds nice tang)
+ 1/2 cup raspberry jam (optional, for filling crepes)

Chocolate Ganache  Topping - Ingredients
- 75 gr bittersweet chocolate
- 75 mL heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar

Mascarpone Filling - Directions
1. Using a mixer, mix mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla until soft and fluffy.  Set aside.
2. Whip cream and remaining sugar to a stiff peak. Carefully fold into the mascarpone cheese until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Ganche Sauce - Directions
1. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small sauce pan, heat cream and sugar to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, and pour over chocolate. Carefully mix until homogenous, and set aside until ready to use. If the ganache sets, re-melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Hot Mama's Notes:
I only made the crepe part, as that was all I was interested in at the time, plus it was all I had time for that morning.  I liked the crepes, but not as much as the regular crepes we make.  So, while the flavor was good on these crepes, the amount of work (cooking on both sides of the crepe, requiring a flip) is not rewarded.  Also, the texture was off despite the flavor being good.  There were lots of bubbles, so the crepes were filled with mini holes instead of the usual robust, stretchy goodness that I am used to.  Plus, the red color is due only to food color, so I could go ahead and add red food color to the normal recipe.  One day, I will give these another try with the whole 9 yards and make the mascarpone and chocolate ganache.  Usually, we put strawberries & nutella in our crepes, and they are marvelous.  I saw no need to go through further trouble by making something different.  Sweetened sour cream and berries is also a great filling option for crepes.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

Original Website: http://www.soveryblessed.com/2012/01/cheesy-quinoa-bites.html

Both the recipe and the picture below are from the above website.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites
Makes ~28 bites

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 2 stalks green onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Mix together quinoa, carrot, egg, green onion, garlic, cilantro, cheese, flour, salt and pepper.
3.  Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (1 heaping Tbs each).  
4.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.


Hot Mama's Notes:
These were easy enough to make.  They were delicious eaten hot fresh from the oven.  The next day, after refrigeration and reheating, not so much.  Okay, but not delicious.  Just something to think about!  Also, I had to use dried cilantro, as I didn't have any fresh.  I'm not certain I would make these again.  They are good, but not great.

Christmas Bark

Click here for a website with this recipe.
Below is an excerpt from the above website.

The Christmas Bark Recipe

• 1 sleeve of saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper, folding the edges up so the sides are covered as well. Lay the saltines in a single layer on the parchment paper.
3. Melt butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Adjust temperature as necessary. Pour butter-brown sugar mixture over the saltine crackers. Spread the mixture evenly, working quickly as it will begin to cool. Put jelly roll pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from oven and immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Wait a few minutes for the chips to soften from the heat. When the chips are soft enough, spread them evenly over the entire layer of sugar covered crackers. Immediately sprinkle chopped pecans on top. Press the pecans slightly with a spoon so they are firmly in the chocolate and will be less likely to fall off when the bark cools.
5. Put the pan into the refrigerator and refrigerate for one hour. When the bark has finished cooling, remove the pan from refrigerator. Using your hands or a pizza cutter, break or cut the bark into pieces.
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If layering the bark, place sheets of waxed paper between the layers to prevent sticking.

Hot Mama: I love this recipe.  We have made it on several occasions and it gets an A+.  It's like crack.  It's so addictive and delicious that it is hard to stop eating!!  I first ate this candy/cookie/toffee at a potluck, and I had to ask my friend for the recipe.  Her recipe is identical to the one above.  She said she found it originally in People Magazine.  I can believe it.  This dessert is just that tasty, and super easy, as well.  Much easier to make than toffee (no candy thermometer required!).  The picture is of the uncut product.  It is taken with my phone, so it's not super great.  I don't wait to eat it, we eat it nice and warm while it is ooey-gooey goodness.  YUM!

"Red Lobster" Cheddar Biscuits

Click here to go to the original website for this recipe.
Below is an excerpt from the above website.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

by LettucePray

Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl (I used my hands). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

Need to use up some zucchini? Grate a small zucchini, about 3/4 cup. Strain the grated zucchini in a cheesecloth or some paper towels to get rid of the excess moisture. Add the grated zucchini to the biscuit batter when you add the cheese and milk.

Hot Mama says: These biscuits turned out well.  I would give them a B+.  They weren't fantastic, but they were very good.  And, as praise, I think we will make them again.  :)  I don't think they are as good as the Red Lobster cheesy bread, but they probably have less calories! :D

Individual Turkey Meatloaf

Click here for the original URL for this recipe

Below is an excerpt from the above URL.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1 whole egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal or bread crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tsp vegetable oil 
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small frying pan over medium high heat, gently simmer the diced onion and garlic using the vegetable oil. Cook until onions are translucent, soft, and tender for about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, milk, and oatmeal. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the cooled onion and garlic to the mixing bowl. Combine the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce.

4. Divide this ground healthy turkey meatloaf into 8 or 10 muffin sections in a lightly oiled muffin pan.

5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F to 375F degrees for around 40 minutes. Be sure to use a meat thermometer to check the temperature before removing from oven.

The changes I made to this recipe:
* I used A1 sauce as a substitute since I didn't have any Worcestershire at the time.
* I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
* I used dry oatmeal, not bread crumbs.
* I used seasoned salt instead of regular salt.


Also, I don't know what kind of muffin pan they used, but I used a regular 12-count muffin pan, so my individual meat loafs were really more like oversized meat balls.  This recipe made 17 meat balls.  Still, they came out very well, I think.  Tasty.  Most importantly in the review of this recipe... I would make it again!  :)  High praise from me.  I like to *try* lots of recipes, but not always do I want to try them more than once.  :)  And the husband likes them, which is very important.  Even my eldest son liked them, which is always a plus.

Fun in the Kitchen with Pinterest

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately, and one of the things that I like to pin the most is fun new recipes.  Today's dining experience was made up of two new recipes, and one old one.

Welcome!

This is a blog dedicated to my adventures in cooking.  As a stay-at-home Mom to three boys, I don't always get a lot of cooking done, but I do try.  :)  And I do love to cook & bake.  This blog will serve as a repository for recipes that I have collected over time, and ones that are not necessarily posted somewhere on the internet. I will always attempt to give credit where it is due, so if you see your recipe on my blog, and I didn't know it was yours, let me know and I will fix the reference.  Again, this blog serves as a convenient way for me to keep track of recipes I have tried, and how I liked them. :)  Happy Cooking!  -Hot Mama