Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

My sister in law Brittany makes this occasionally and I love it! I definitely left out the sugar (oops!) and substituted the vegetable oil for applesauce and light sour cream instead of regular! It turned out great, and not as heavy as pound cakes normally are! It made me feel better about having more than one piece! :)


  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

  • 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix

  • 1/2 cup white sugar

  • 3/4 cup water

  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 4 eggs, beaten

  • 1 cup sour cream

  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

  • 1/8 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting (or make a glazing with powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk)

    1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
    2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, instant pudding and sugar. Add the water, oil, eggs, and sour cream, mix until well blended. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan.
    3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar before cutting and serving.
    Enjoy!
    Jen

    Monday, February 14, 2011

    Paula Deens Mac & Cheese

    Basically anything Paula Deen is delicious because of all the butter! I have tried a couple different mac & cheese recipes and so far this is the best one that I have made. Two reasons why I love it! 1. Its delish! 2. It requires a crock pot! Which you should know by now that I love!!!
    So by request from Ashley!!

    Paula Deen's Creamy Mac & Cheese




  • 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)




  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces




  • 2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese




  • 3 eggs, beaten




  • 1/2 cup sour cream




  • 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup




  • 1/2 teaspoon salt




  • 1 cup whole milk




  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard




  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper





  • Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

    You Will enjoy this!
    Jen

    Buttermilk Biscuit Waffles

    This is soooo delicious! Its definitely an easy and fun dinner for any night of the week! First, I want to thank my dear friend Shannon for watching Rachael Ray diligently every day, without her I wouldnt know about this wonderful recipe! :)

    Buttermilk Biscuit Waffles
    • 2 1/4 cups pre-measured buttermilk biscuit mix
    • 2/3 cup milk or buttermilk
    • 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
    • Salt and pepper
    Turn on your waffle iron.
    In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together the biscuit mix, buttermilk, cheese, and salt and pepper, to taste. Spray the waffle maker with nonstick cooking spray and distribute the mixture evenly in the waffle iron. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the biscuits are slightly brown. *Watch carefully, most waffle irons do not have a temperature contol so it will not take as long!

    We used a country gravy packet you find in the grocery store to top it with!

    Serve with bacon & eggs if desired!

    Enjoy!
    Jen

    Friday, February 11, 2011

    Pasta alla Marlboro Man


    This is my all time favorite spaghetti sauce. Thanks so much to Pioneer Woman for sharing. This makes enough for 6 servings.


    2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
    ½ whole Large Onion, Diced
    2 cloves Garlic, Minced
    2 pounds Ground Beef
    Salt To Taste
    Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
    1 teaspoon (generous) Ground Thyme
    2 cans (14 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
    ¼ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
    1-½ pound (to 2 Pounds) Rigatoni

    Heat olive oil in large skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook a couple of minutes, until starting to turn translucent. Add garlic and stir, cooking 1minute, making sure not to brown the garlic.

    Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of excess fat. Add salt, pepper, and ground thyme. Stir to combine. Dump in canned tomatoes with their juice. Stir, reduce heat to low, and cover pot. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Uncover the pot and cook an additional 30 minutes.

    Cook rigatoni according to package directions—don’t overcook! Drain and place individual portions into bowls.

    Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan into the sauce. Check and adjust seasonings. Ladle sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle with more Parmesan, and serve.

    Classic White Bread

    The other week I was reading this post on my sister in laws blog how she makes homeade bread every friday and has fresh bread and jam for dinner. Doesnt that sound DELISH!! So I had time to kill and decided to make some bread! Once again, I am grateful for my lovely assistant, Kitchenaid Mixer. She so kindly does all the kneading.. Isnt that sweet!
    I halfed this recipe and it turned out just fine, it was also gone by the next morning!! Next time I will make both loaves!!

    Betty Crockers Classic White Bread


    6 to 7 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour* or Better for Bread® bread flour
    3 tablespoons sugar
    1 tablespoon salt
    2 tablespoons shortening
    2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
    2 1/4 cups very warm water (120° to 130°F)
    2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, if desired

    6-7 cups all purpose flour
    3 tablespoons sugar
    1 tablespoon salt
    2 tablespoons shortening
    2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
    2 1/4 cups very warm water
    2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted if desired

    1. In large bowl, stir 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast until well mixed. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.
    2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
    3. Grease bottoms and sides of two 8x4-inch or 9x5-inch loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray.
    4. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into 18x9-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Pinch each end of roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
    5. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425°F.
    6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter; cool.
    6 to 7 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour* or Better for Bread® bread flour
    3 tablespoons sugar
    1 tablespoon salt
    2 tablespoons shortening
    2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
    2 1/4 cups very warm water (120° to 130°F)
    2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, if desired

    NOthing beats the smell of fresh bread in the oven!

    Enjoy!
    Jen

    Baked Spaghetti

    Well I guess we have been MIA! The cold weather just makes me want to go into hibernation until the temperature is bearable again! Cooking has been simple at my house... simple meaning ramen noodles and grilled cheese! Ooops!!
    I was feeling creative last night, it was delicious and simple, but not ramen noodle simple and way more delicious!!

    Baked Spaghetti


    I know you love my phone pics! :)

    1lb ground beef/turkey
    1 package spaghetti noodles
    2 cups mozzarella cheese
    1 jar spaghetti sauce
    Butter for noodles
    Herbs & Spices (I used Garlic Powder, Minced onion, onion salt, & oregano)

    Preheat oven to 350*
    Brown meat with herbs & spices. Add jar of sauce and let simmer. Simutaneously boil noodles. Once noodles are done, drain water and add butter. Let melt. Once butter is melted add the sauce to noodles, mix together. Add in 1 1/2 cups of cheese and mix thoroughly. Put mixture in 9 X 13 pan sprinkle rest of cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes!

    I am glad I was feeling creative last night and I cant wait for the left overs that are waiting for me at lunch time!

    Enjoy!
    Jen
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