One Bowl Chocolate Cake

This rich, moist cake was a hit at my son's birthday, and it only takes a few minutes to prepare the batter.  I frosted it with "Creamy Chocolate Frosting." It has a dense, rich consistency since it has a minimal amount of flour. My mouth may or may not be watering right now as I think about it. I will tell you that this cake didn't last long.

My baby ate every last crumb.  No wasting any of this good stuff!

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 30 min

Ready In: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.

2.  In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer.  Stir in the boiling water last.  Batter will be thin.  Pour evenly into the prepared pans.  

3.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick.  To reduce dome shaped top, press down on top of cake with a dish towel to flatten.  This allows for more even stacking for the two layers, without the top one cracking.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  

*Recipe from allrecipes.com:  "One Bowl Chocolate Cake III"

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

This is my favorite home-made frosting.  It's smooth, creamy, and not too dark.  It will frost, but not fill, an 8 or 9 inch double layer cake.  I like to double it and put the remaining amount on graham crackers as an added bonus.  So to chocolate lovers everywhere: You've gotta' try this one!

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons butter
5 Tablespoons evaporated milk (or regular milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1.  In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
2.  In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in the sugar mixture alternately with milk.  Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.  If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

*Recipe from allrecipes.com.

Yams with Nutmeg Struesel

I love yams, and I've tried them prepared a lot of ways, but this is by far the most delicious.  It's always a hit. Sorry, there's no picture because it was consumed too quickly.

Ingredients:

3 pounds yams, untrimmed

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 stick butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

Juice of one lemon

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp grated lemon zest

3 Tbsp. water

Directions:

1. Boil yams whole in salted water until tender when pierced, about 40 minutes. Drain and let cool. 

2. Mix together flour, sugar, salt and melted butter to make large crumbs. 

3. Peel and slice cooled, cooked yams in 1/2 inch slices. Layer in a buttered baking dish. 

4. Bring to a boil the remaining ingredients and pour over the yam slices.  Sprinkle with the streusel crumbs and bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes, until browned and bubbly.  

Black Bean 'n' Pumpkin Chili with Turkey

This is the perfect autumn meal, especially after Thanksgiving when you have leftover turkey to use. It is quick, healthy, and delicious! There is very little if any pumpkin taste, but the pumpkin makes it rich and smooth. We found the recipe online at Taste of Home and decided to try it to use up some of our mounds of leftover turkey and we are so glad we did. It is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups chicken broth (reviews online said that the recipe turned out more soupy, so I just did a little more than 2 cups of broth and it was great)
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cubed avocado and thinly sliced green onions, optional

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook and stir until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker; stir in the next 10 ingredients. Cook, covered, on low 4-5 hours. If desired, top with avocado and green onions. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Nutritional Facts

1 cup equals 192 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 658 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 16 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.

Homemade Pineapple Ice Cream

I've been taking a hiatus from this blog since we got our mission call to Japan.  With only two months to prepare, I felt this was something I could let go for awhile.  BUT, then I came across this recipe and had to post it.  A week ago, a cute family (both of the parents served missions in Japan) had us over for family home evening.  It was so fun.  For treats, they served this delicious pineapple ice cream.  We may or may not have made it five times since then.  We are hooked, so I just had to share it with you.  It's easy and so yummy.  They served it (as shown) with extra pineapple juice poured over the top.

Homemade Pineapple Ice Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk
3 cups pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups sugar (the original called for 3 cups, but this is plenty sweet enough)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all together and pour in your ice cream freezer.  Yummy!

White Chicken Tortilla Soup

So. I love Mexican style soups...taco soup, enchilada soup etc. I love that they are easy. I love that my kids love them. And I love that they are tasty.

I have new favorite Mexican-style soup. This one! Some good friends of ours, the Bowmans, have a fall celebration party every year and it is so fun to get together at this beautiful time of year and enjoy each others' company. This year we all brought a soup to share and it was fun to try lots of different soups. Brielle, my 9 year old, ate 3 bowls of this one and kept telling me how good it was so I asked our friend Emily for her recipe. She kindly shared and we made it tonight. It was done in less than 30 minutes (thank heavens, because my kids were "starving" when we got home from violin lessons) and we loved it. I hope you enjoy it too!

4-5 chicken breasts (Since I was in a hurry, I used the chicken we canned because it was already cooked. :) )
2 tbsp butter
5 green onions- just the white parts finely diced
3 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper
8 cups water.
8 tsp chicken base.
3-4 cans white beans ( I did great northern)
One bag of frozen corn
1/2 jar mild-medium salsa blended up
2 cans diced chilies (4 oz cans)
1 cup whipping cream
6 corn tortillas cut into 1 inch squares. The more tortillas you add the thicker the soup. So you can for sure add more if you'd like.

Emily does everything in the giant stock pot. It keeps the chicken more moist.
Brown the chicken in the butter and add the onions. Cook til soft. Add cumin, salt and pepper. Mix and cook a bit more to get seasonings to coat chicken. Add everything else while heating it through on med heat. Bring to a boil and let stand for a bit before serving.

Emily brought cheese, sour cream and chips to serve with it. I didn't need any of that. It was delicious without. My kids loved the cheese and chips with it...of course. :)

This makes a lot. At least 2 meals for my family of 6 and will be good for Brielle's lunch for 2 or 3 days as well. Yay! I love leftovers that double for school lunch as well!

What's For Dinner?- October

My husband and I are getting ready to leave to serve a mission for our church.  We have a lot of beef in the freezer from when we purchased a 1/2 beef, so this month's menu features a lot of beef recipes!
Tandori Chicken- bought all the stuff for this, but didn't get it made yet.  So we'll start the month with this delicious dish.

Skillet Beef Stew over noodles

 

Swedish Meatballs over Mashed Potatoes
Stuffed Hot Dogs Glazed Carrots  Caramel Brownies

Beef and Broccoli over rice

Nectar of the Gods/ Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Carne a Pizzaiola

Crockpot Beef and Gravy over Mashed Potatoes 

Chicken Roll ups

Wendy's Copycat Chili / Corn Muffins

Chuck Roast with Potatoes and Carrots/ Dill Pickles

Roast Beef Sandwich Spread Sandwiches

Halloween Soup/ Whole Wheat Bread-  Love this delicious whole wheat bread recipe!

New Recipes to Try:
One Pot Pasta
Desserts:
Blueberry Turnovers 

Banana Bread Bars