::Cherry Chocolate Cake::

Whoa...that's right, I'm FINALLY posting something. I know, it's been forever...but, I'm sorry. I make no excuses. Any available time I had away from working & school was devoted to McKayla. It's how it goes. So, to start off...here's a super yummy recipe that way easy. I rarely make this cake (it's rich), but wanted to post it. Luckily, my mom is attending a party soon and is bringing a dessert...thanks to her.

She's planning to add fluffs of whipped cream and cherries to the top before the party. So, for now, it's looking a little plain...other than the precious flecks of red surrounding the outside.

Ingredients:

1 large can cherry pie filling (this makes the cake moist and cherry taste is pretty mild)

1 Devil's Food cake mix (using milk chocolate is fine)

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup sugar

flour & shortening

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Grease a spring-form pan with shortening & flour (non-stick spray just doesn't work as well). In a medium-sized bowl, mix the cherry pie filling, eggs, & dry cake mix together for 2 minutes. The cherry acts as the moisture in the cake, there's no need to add water, oil, or anything else. Pour the batter into the greased pan. Bake the cake for approx. 40 minutes. The standard toothpick trick works for doneness.

While you are waiting for the cake to bake, put the sugar, milk, & butter in a saucepan & bring it to a slight boil (only allow to bubble a little around the edges, any more and there will be disaster). Let it boil there for about a minute, just long enough for the sugar to fully dissolve. Take the saucepan off the heat & stir in chocolate chips until melted. Pour the frosting over the cake while it is still warm.

Alternatives:

- You can serve the cake immediately, however, the longer it sits the more moist it will get.

- If you like the extra chocolate, you can pour on the frosting, allow to set while making a second batch. Pour over the first layer.

- The cake can also be made in a 13x9 pan for 25 minutes at the same heat. You'll want to double the frosting recipe to get complete coverage.

- You can also use a floured bundt pan, baking 35-40 minutes at the same heat. Drizzle with chocolate frosting after removing cake from pan.

::Russian Mousse::

I was searching for something easy that wouldn't heat up the house too much. I needed something that could be adjusted to serve several people at a BBQ. I was browsing Facebook and my cute friend, Jessica had just mentioned she was making a mousse for her family's dessert that night and she was nice enough to share. I'm thinking of making it again to share with some co-workers. SO simply...here it goes...

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 pkg 4 serving size box instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 small container whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Topping of choice: berries, chocolate, etc.

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine milk and pudding. Whisk until thick (this shouldn't take long). Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, on high for 20 seconds, stir and continue melting at 15 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Trust me, I was in a rush last time and it ruins the texture to find chunks of chocolate periodically. When melted, add chocolate to the pudding mixture and whisk in. Fold in entire container of whipped topping until well combined. Cover and refrigerate 20-30 minutes. Serve. I like to divide the mousse into bowls and top with fresh berries. Last time, I wasn't able to find any raspberries (which is my favorite berry with this) so I substituted frozen. I thawed them in the bag and strained out the juice into a measuring cup. I boiled the juice into a syrup, cooled it and used it to make the mousse look fancy-shmancy. This recipe yields about 4-6 servings...if you let it. Super easy, not to mention, super inexpensive.

::Breakfast Pizza::

We tried this a few weeks ago, and I totally didn't even think to get a picture of it. I promise, it's not super pretty to look at, but we have it on the menu for the holiday weekend coming up, so I'll try to give you a look at it then...better, just make it.

Ingredients:

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb bulk pork sausage (I don't do breakfast sausage - I hate anything sweet on meat, so use what you like. We used mild)

1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese (we used a colby jack - again, do what you want here)

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Unroll crescent dough and place on a greased 12 inch pizza pan (I wasn't in the mood, so I used a 13 x 9 - less work when it comes to rolling out the dough); press seams together and press up sides of pan to form a crust. In a skillet, brown sausage over medium heat; drain and cool slightly. Sprinkle sausage, hash browns, and cheddar cheese over crust.

In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, and pepper together; pour over pizza. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (if you or your kiddos don't like Parmesan, you can use more of the same cheese that was used earlier). Bake at 375ºF for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand about 10 minutes before cutting.

Yields 6-8 servings.

Here are some tips...

- When I used my 13 x 9 pan I didn't really have to press the dough up the sides since there was no worry of spillage.

- Since I only had a little less than half a bag of shredded hashbrowns in the freezer, I added the whole bag and put in another egg.

- The first slice, I ate with Tapatío (my favorite hot sauce). The second, with the newest addition to the spice cabinet, Creole seasoning...fantastic. **Side Note: I'm ADDICTED to the Creole seasoning and use it on everything from fries to Alfredo sauce...yeah, it's THAT bad.

Boutique Help!

Hey fellow bloggers and followers...a lot of you probably don't know that other than baking I am totally addicted to ribbon. I have been starting to use them for making bows and other hair accessories. I'm thinking of starting to sell them online, but would like to get some help with giving this "shop" a name... Any suggestions would be getting farther than I have on my own. Thanks.

**More recipes to come over the next couple of days - I'm thinking easy and fun summer meals/snacks.**

::Lemon Cookies::

I came across this recipe on the Betty Croker website. I needed something quick and easy that wouldn't heat up my kitchen too much for a pot luck BBQ. These were perfect. Completely refreshing and not heavy at all. Even the kids went crazy for them. They were the first desert to disappear from the table!

::Ingredients::

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist lemon cake mix

1/3 cup shortening (I used Crisco Vegetable)

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1 container lemon frosting*

::Directions::

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In large bowl, beat cake mix, shortening, butter and egg on medium speed about 2 minutes or until blended.

2. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, dropped by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart. (You know I used a 1 Tbsp. cookie scoop.)

3. Bake 9-12 minutes or until lightly brown around edges. Cool 1 minute, remove from cookie sheet; cool completely. Frost with frosting. Store covered.

According to the website, you can also roll the dough out by separating the dough into 4 equal parts, roll each part 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface with cloth-covered rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes or until light brown around edges.

*I couldn't find Betty Crocker lemon frosting. So, I used a Pilsbury lemon frosting in a can. Here's the tip...I don't ever use the frosting straight from the container. I empty all of contents into a bowl and whip it with a hand mixer (or Kitchenaid for more than 2 cans) and beat it until I like the look. I do this especially before piping onto cupcakes for that "homemade" look.

::Strawberry Cream Cookies::

We tried making these for ourselves today and they are delicious. They'd be so pretty for a little girl's tea or just because really. I'm going to make a second batch for a work party. This first one was a trial and I couldn't stop eating them. They're SO much lighter tasting than you'd imagine. Such a great alternative to heavier cookies.

Above: if you're lazy like I can be...this is how they turn out if you just use a small cookie scoop and skip the rolling.

Below: rolling after using the cookie scoop to make them uniform in size.

::Ingredients::

1 cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

Seedless strawberry jam (any flavor you really like would probably be just fine)

::Directions::

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle (I used the underside of my 1/2 tsp measuring spoon), make a 1/2 inch deep indentation in the center of each ball; fill with about 1/4 tsp jam. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

They will still look white on the top, so lift up one or two with a spatula and when they are a light brown, they're done enough. They will stiffen up a little as they cool, so don't worry if they're still a little soft.

Yields about 5 dozen cookies.

Up Date

Alright, I promised that I would blog about the experience we had using the giant cupcake pan from Wilton. We tried it out as a birthday cake for my mom. I didn't have a lot of time, so I used a boxed cake mix. These looked like each well was filled sufficiently, but not so much. Next time we use it, we're making a lot of cupcakes too, so I'll just be borrowing some of the batter from those. Other than that, it turned out darling, except that my frosting skills leave MUCH to be desired. Good thing McKayla's birthday cake will be covered in marshmallow fondant. The problem with the wells not being filled enough - the top was over-hanging the bottom by quite a bit and looked funny. Other than that...because of the darker pan, the outside of the cake was done enough that crumb coating wouldn't even be required. I sprayed the pan with baking spray (non-stick spray with added flour) so there was no sticking at ALL, both sides slid right out.

I'm not sure this is a very informative post, but if you have any specific questions about what I did, just let me know.