Died and Went to Heaven Chocolate Cake

Wow! This cake is truly unbelievable! I cheated and used store-bought chocolate frosting, spread on while still warm so it would melt all over. The batter of the cake is VERY runny, and I thought for sure it would not turn out. But wow, that runny dough baked into something moist, rich and perfect. I did not use the dutch process cocoa, just regular unsweetened cocoa powder, and I baked the cake in a regular 9 x 13 cake pan instead of a bundt pan. I can't wait to have an excuse to bake this cake again! Then again--does chocolate cake need a reason???

Died-and-Went-to-Heaven Chocolate Cake

Source: www.eatingwell.com

16 Servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 1/4 hours

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose white flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot strong black coffee

Icing

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons buttermilk, or low-fat milk

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 12-cup Bundt pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Dust the pan with flour, invert and shake out the excess.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Whisk in hot coffee until completely incorporated. (The batter will be quite thin.)
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes; remove from the pan and let cool completely.
4. To make icing: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough of the buttermilk or milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Set the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the icing over the top.

Nutrition

Per serving : 222 Calories; 5 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 27 mg Cholesterol; 44 g Carbohydrates; 3 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 340 mg Sodium; 142 mg Potassium

3 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 3 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Fake Frosty

I found this ingenious little recipe from a few different sources, and I modified it to my own taste. It has the consistency of a frosty! My youngest son can't get ENOUGH of this...he has had 'ice cream' daily since I first tried making it. I use my Magic Bullet, but I think a food processor (still on my want list) would do a better job. I can't get over how much the texture and taste reminds me of soft-serve chocolate ice cream--and every day when Noah asks for his ice cream, I really don't mind him having it. :)

Fake Frosty
1 banana, frozen, cut into slices
1 t. milk
1 t. cocoa powder
1 squirt of honey

Put everything in the Magic Bullet and blend until smooth. Sometimes I microwave the banana for just 10 or 15 seconds before making recipe, so it's not hard as a rock.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

I have made these at least 3 times in 2 weeks. My youngest son adores them. I like using pretzel rods (4 will make 1/2 c. once broken up) so that there are big chunks of visible pretzel. The combo of salty and sweet is awesome--though I like it without salt sprinkled on top, too. Either way, this is a great cookie recipe!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies
Michelle (MMmom)

Makes 24 cookies

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces
Pretzel Salt or Sea Salt

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and pretzels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Roasted Carrot Coins

There are so many tasty and simple recipes at weelicious.com. Here is one for roast carrots that we all enjoyed!

Roasted Carrot Coins (Serves 4)

4 Medium Carrots, peeled and cut into coins, about 2 cups
1/4 Tsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Place all of the ingredients on a baking sheet and toss to combine.
3. Roast for 30 minutes.
4. Serve.

source: www.weelicious.com

Herb Mincer

Another sweet gadget I found on clearance the same day I found my garlic chopper. I never really saw the need for something like this until I started using more fresh herbs. Chopping them up with a knife can be very difficult and messy. This tool really makes short order of getting a pile of nicely chopped herbs for any recipe! It's really easy to clean, too. I see lots of fresh herbs in my near future!

Garlic Chopper

Found this cute little gadget on clearance at Target, and garlic chopping will never be the same!

Seriously, chopping or mincing garlic by hand is, for me, just a tedious, sticky mess. And as much as I do love my garlic press, it mashes the garlic a bit too much for many recipes. I will never be without a little garlic chopper like this again--it cuts the garlic up into the perfect size mince, and cleans with just a nice rinse under hot water. I've used it dozens of times since I bought it a few weeks ago. One of my new favorite 'kitchen toys'...and it was on clearance! Score!

Tip: If you get one of these, you'll need to scrape out your garlic with a butter knife, then tap out whatever is left with the side of the butter knife. Very easy!

Sausage, Leek, Carrot and Butter Bean Stew

This was unique and tasty. Everyone in the family approved of and liked it. I was skeptical of using the wine, because it called for a lot, but after cooking down, the flavor was wonderful. I will be making it again!

Sausage, Leek, Carrot and Butter Bean Stew

Ingredients

Sausages (I usually use 4-5 chicken apple sausages)--could use a multitude of types,

even 'faux' vegetarian sausages

Olive Oil for frying

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 medium leeks

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 c. white wine

1 c. chicken stock (2 c. if you want more of a soup rather than thick stew)

1 can (14 oz) butter beans (*see note)

salt and freshly ground pepper

parsley, roughly chopped, for garnishing

1. Brown the sausages in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and leek to the sausage pan and cook until softened.

3. Add the carrots, wine, chicken stock and butter beans, then simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Remove the sausages from the pan, place on chopping board, and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Return to pan.

5. Simmer slowly until sausages are fully cooked and flavors are melded, about 15 to 20 minutes.

*note: dried beans can be used. Take 7 oz of dried lima beans and let them soak in plenty of cold water overnight (12 hours). Drain, rinse, then boil for 30 minutes, until soft but not mushy.

Thyme-Braised Brussels Sprouts

I am very lucky--everyone in the family (well, except the littlest guy) LOVES brussels sprouts. Most of the time I just get a frozen bag of sprouts and boil them like the package tells me to. Sometimes, though, I get fancier and use fresh brussels sprouts. This recipe turned out so tasty! I'm looking forward to getting brussels sprouts in the CSA, so it will be nice to have a few tasty recipes on hand (coming soon...roasted brussels sprouts--you won't believe how awesome they are!). This recipe for braised sprouts is one I will definitely use again.

• Thyme-Braised Brussels Sprouts
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, sliced (*you can substitute onions)
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or “no-chicken” broth (I used veggie stock)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 
  

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and Brussels sprouts and cook, stirring often, until the shallots are starting to brown and the Brussels sprouts are browned in spots, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in broth, thyme, salt and pepper; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the Brussels sprouts are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Per serving: 88 calories; 4 g fat ( 1 g sat , 3 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 11 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 311 mg sodium; 480 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (130% daily value), Vitamin A (22% dv), Folate (20% dv).

Source: www.EatingWell.com