Chocolate Lover’s Cake

by penji1

I had to work until 1:30 this morning and I knew ahead of time that that was going to happen so I made a deal with my Sunday School class that if they would teach the lesson then I would provide the treats so 3 of them taught the class and I made this cake for them.  I am home now from church and the cake is gone so I’m guessing it was good.  🙂  Not sure where this recipe came from.

1 devil’s food cake mix

1 small box chocolate instant pudding

1 (12 oz) can lemon lime soda

1/3 cup oil

4 eggs

Heat oven to 350.  Combine cake mix, pudding mix, soda, oil and eggs.  Pour batter into greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Bake 30 – 35 minutes.  Frost with frosting of your choice.

(This time I had some leftover canned frosting (about1/3 of a container) in the fridge so I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and melted it until it was of drizzling consistency and then drizzled it over the cake and then I chopped up a 3 Musketeers bar and sprinkled that over the top because more sugar is always good for teenagers, right?)

Enter to win Sassy Sauces from recipelion.com!

by penji1

I subscribe to many recipe newsletters from various websites which is how I find a lot of the recipes that I try.  One of them is recipelion.com which sends out an e-newsletter full of recipes, tips and giveaways and right now they are giving away a Sassy Sauces Sampler Case (I want to win this, it sounds extra yummy!) which consists of the following:

“One lucky winner will receive a sampler case of Sassy Sauces containing 1 (10-ounce) jar each of Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce, Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce, and Milk Chocolate Caramel Sauce; 1 (4-ounce) jar of Milk Chocolate Caramel Sauce and Spicy Dark Chocolate Sauce; 1 (5-ounce) jar of Rum Caramel Sauce.”

Just go to:

http://www.recipelion.com/sweeps/Sassy-Sauces-Giveaway

to enter.  You can also sign up for the newsletter to get some great recipe ideas.   The contest ends July 11 so hurry and enter.

Let me know if you win!

Candy Bars

by penji1

I love these treats!  They are so easy, so yummy (butter and brown sugar!) and they are never the same twice since you get to choose the candy filling!  Pretty sure it is a Taste of Home recipe.

I am working on a movie right now called “Unicorn City” and we have been out in Alpine in the hot sun all week and the grip and electric guys have been taking such good care of me and making sure that I have shade over the monitor for me and the monitor and getting me Diet Coke on ice when they head into town; it has made the week so much better for me and I wanted to thank them . . . what better way than with food?!

Also, since I am working 6 days a week on this movie my posts might be a little sparse for the next few weeks but I’ll be back at it soon!

ENJOY!

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup chopped candy bar pieces such as Snickers, Butterfingers, etc

Preheat oven to 350.  Blend cake mix, brown sugar, butter and eggs on low for 2 minutes.  Fold in candy.  Pour batter into greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 – 25 minutes.

This is a great recipe to make after holidays like Easter, Halloween and Christmas when you can get candy for 50 – 75% off.

Today when I made it I used some Toblerone candy bar, some Dove dark chocolate candy bar, a Hershey bar and then some miniature candy bars like Nestle Crunch and Three Musketeers and some Hershey Bliss squares.   As you might be able to tell, I use more than a cup of candy in this recipe.

Lemon and Herb Salmon Packets

by penji1

Father’s Day dinner for Bob (which he had to cook himself!), recipe from Betty Crocker.

2 cups uncooked instant rice

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

1 cup matchstick cut carrots (left these out this time)

4 (4 – 6 oz) salmon fillets (I just bought a bag of frozen salmon fillets at Costco and used them for the first time in this recipe and they were really good)

1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

1 medium lemon, sliced

Heat coals or gas grill.  Spray 4 18 x 12″ sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil with cooking spray.  Mix rice and broth in bowl and let stand 5 minutes or until most of the broth is absorbed.  Stir in carrots.  Place fillet on center of each piece of foil.  Sprinkle with lemon pepper and salt and top with chives.  Arrange lemon slices over fillet.  Spoon rice mixture around each fillet.  Fold foil over so edges meet.  Seal edges, making tight 1/2″ fold then fold again.  Allow space on sides for circulation and expansion.  Cover and grill 4 – 6″ from low heat 11 – 14 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with fork.  Cut large X across top of packets and fold back foil.

BLT Pasta Salad

by penji1

Dinner for a hot summer day in a house full of people who love BLT sandwiches, recipe courtesy of The Food Network.

12 ounces corkscrew shaped pasta

1/2 cup milk

12 ounces bacon

3 tomatoes, cut into chunks (I used grape)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (left this out)

1 clove garlic, minced (or pressed with your garlic press like I do)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons chopped chives or scallion greens

5 heads Bibb lettuce, quartered or 5 cups chopped Romaine hearts (I used Romaine)

Cook pasta as label directs.  Drain and toss with milk.  Cook bacon until crisp.  Discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings.  Add tomatoes, thyme and garlic and toss until warmed through then add salt and pepper.  Crumble bacon, set aside 1/4 cup for garnish.  Toss bacon and tomatoes with pasta.  Mix mayo, sour cream and chives with pasta.  Add lettuce and toss to coat.  Garnish with bacon and more chives.

BYU Mint Brownies

by penji1

My sister in law Mary requested this recipe for her friend Barbara.  Barbara wants to make them for her son Garrett’s goodbye party (he’s coming up to BYU) so here it is, the official recipe which I got from the BYU Magazine one month and I was so excited to get it!  These are dangerous!  You’ve been warned!

brownies:

1 cup butter

1/2 cup cocoa

2 tablespoons honey

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

mint icing:

5 tablespoons butter, softened

dash of salt

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon mint extract

1 – 2 drops green food coloring

3 tablespoons milk

12 oz chocolate icing: (the recipe didn’t come with a specific chocolate icing so after some experimenting, the one that I’ve found comes closest to the original is the icing that goes on the Chocolate Sheet Cake which I’ll add here but you can also find it on my blog under “cakes”)

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa

6 tablespoons milk

4 cups powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350.  Melt butter and mix in cocoa.  Allow to cool.  Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.  Add nuts.  Pour batter into greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Bake 25 minutes.  Cool.

To prepare mint icing, beat butter, salt, corn syrup and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Add mint extract and food coloring and mix.  Add milk gradually until consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.  Spread mint icing over brownies.  Place brownies in freezer for a short time to stiffen mint icing.

To prepare chocolate icing, combine butter, cocoa and milk and heat to boiling.  Place sugar in bowl.  Pour cocoa mixture over sugar and blend well.  Let cool, stirring occasionally to keep skin from forming on top.  When cool, remove brownies from freezer and carefully top with chocolate icing.

Brickle Bundt Cake

by penji1

This is my last week at BYU Broadcasting and after that I’ll be going back to freelancing as a script supervisor for movies and television which I’ve decided is what I love to do!  So today is my last team meeting with my team and I wanted to make them a cake and this one sounded  good.  I’ll report back later with the taste test results.  This recipe comes from www.HersheysKitchens.com.

1 1/3 cups (8 oz package) toffee bits, divided (I just used Heath bars chopped up with my Food Chopper)

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1  Heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 12 cup fluted tube pan or 10″ tube pan (I chose to use my bundt pan).  Set aside 1/4 cup toffee bits for topping.  Combine remaining toffee bits, 1/4 cup sugar, walnuts and cinnamon.

2  Beat remaining 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, alternately with sour cream, beating until blended.  Beat 3 minutes.  Spoon 1/3 batter into pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 toffee mixture.  Spoon 1/2 remaining batter into pan.  Top with remaining toffee mixture.  Spoon remaining batter into pan.  Pour melted butter over batter.

3  Bake 45 – 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

4 Prepare glaze (see below) and drizzle over cake.  Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup toffee bits over top.

Powdered Sugar Glaze:  Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.  Add additional milk, 1 teapsoon at a time, until of drizzling consistency.

Caramel Chocolate Mini Bars

by penji1

This comes from the Pampered Chef cookbook, “Simply Sweet”, which I love!  So many tasty and fun recipes to try!  I highly recommend it!  These treats are for my friend Wendy’s son, Taylor, who is going on a mission to Chile (I seem to be making lots of treats for missionaries these days).

1 cup quick or old fashioned oats

1 cup flour

1 cup  packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick)  butter, melted

1 (14 oz) package caramel candies, unwrapped

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (I just used milk)

1 cup milk chocolate morsels

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in bowl and mix well.  Add butter and mix until crumbly.  Press crumb mixture onto bottom of ungreased Medium Sheet Pan (do not use stoneware).  (If you do not have a Medium Sheet Pan, you can use a 9 x 13″ pan.)  Bake 20 – 22 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove pan from oven to cooling rack.

2  Place caramels and cream in microwave safe bowl and microwave, uncovered, on high 1 – 3 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.  Pour over hot crust, carefully spreading to edges.  Let stand 10 minutes or until caramel is set then cut lengthwise into 8 rows.

3  Place chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl and microwave on high 1 1/2 – 3 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.  Spoon melted chocolate into resealable plastic bag.  Twist top of bag and cut corner off bag to make a very small opening.  Pipe a continual loop of chocolate down each row.  Let stand until chocolate is set then cut crosswise into 6 rows to make 48 mini bars.

Adobo Glazed Barbeque Chicken

by penji1

Got Bob a Pampered Chef Father’s Day gift, “The Great Grilling!  Seasoning and Recipe Collection” and then gave it to him early so we could try it out.  It has a barbeque cookbook, “Grill it Quick!” and 3 rubs, Smoky Barbeque, Jamaican Jerk and and Chipotle.  This is the recipe we chose to try first; it’s pretty spicy (for me but I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy!) but really good and easy too!

chicken:

2 tablespoons Smoky Barbeque Rub

2 teaspoons vegetable oil (we used olive)

2 garlic cloves, pressed

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (we used 4 breasts instead)

adobo glaze and garnish:

1 – 2 tablespoons seeded and finely chopped canned chipotle peppers (about 3 – 4 peppers)

1 tablespoon adobo sauce from chipotle peppers

1/2 cup honey

1 tablespoon Smoky Barbeque Rub

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 medium green onion with top, sliced (forgot to put this on top)

1  Preheat grill to medium high heat.  For chicken, combine rub, oil and garlic in bowl.  Add chicken and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.

2  For glaze, remove and discard seeds from peppers.  Finely chop peppers with Food Chopper.  Whisk peppers, adobo sauce, honey, rub and vinegar in small bowl.  Reserve half of the glaze for serving.

3  Grill chicken, covered, 4 minutes or until grill marks appear.  Turn and grill 4 – 6 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 180 degrees and juices run clear.  Brush both sides of chicken with glaze during last 2 minutes of cooking.

4  To serve, spoon reserved glaze over chicken and top with green onions.

Bob’s Grilled Veggies

by penji1

Here is how Bob grills veggies on the barbeque.  (I had him describe the whole process to me.)  They are yummy!!

You will need any desired combination of vegetables, this time we used red potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, red and green peppers, red onion

Preheat barbeque on low, about 350 degrees.  Lay down a large piece of heavy duty foil and put your barbeque basket or grill tray or whatever on top and spray with Pam or brush with olive oil.  Layer veggies on top, starting with red potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, red and green peppers, ending with red onion.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper or any other desired seasonings (can be sprinkled between layers as well).  Put grill basket directly on barbeque rack and let cook for 10 – 15 minutes, watching potatoes to make sure they don’t burn.  Then transfer all veggies to another large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, wrapping them up like a burrito.  Place burrito on top shelf of barbeque and cook for about 20 – 25 more minutes or until veggies are tender.