The BEST Chocolate Cake, Ever.

Okay, so I'm not a huge cake fan.  But this cake really can't be beat.  (Don't pay too much attention to the picture - something went a little wrong with the frosting.  I think it was slightly over cooked - not that it hindered the taste at all - it just made the cake look a little like I dropped it on the floor or something.  Also I didn't let the cake cool at all before I put the frosting on since it had cooked too long already - and I should have let it cool about 10 minutes or so.  I did it that way the next time, and it turned out a ton better, but of course I forgot to take a new picture.)

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER.

(from recipe found at http://www.abountifulkitchen.com/)

1 c butter/margarine melted

4 Tbls cocoa, unsweetened

1 c water

2 c flour

2 c sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c buttermilk 

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. (This can also be done in a Texas Sheet cake pan - but the frosting sure seems to make a huge mess - and I prefer the 9x13)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa and whisk until smooth. Add water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and sift the flour into the saucepan with the butter mixture. Add the sugar, soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour batter into prepared 9x13 pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes.

While cake is baking, prepare frosting.  (Actually I would start the frosting just before you pull the cake from the oven.  That way it has a little time to cool before you poor the frosting over.  Just don't let it cool down too much.)

Frosting:

1/2 c butter/margarine, melted

4 Tbls cocoa

6 Tbls buttermilk

4 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 c chopped pecans, optional

After making cake batter, rinse saucepan. Melt butter, cocoa and buttermilk in pan. Bring to boil. Add sugar and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Pour over warm cake. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if you want

Creamy Parmesan Spaghetti Sauce

This is my updated/changed/revamped version of the Spaghetti Sauce that I remember my Dad making (I'm sure Mom did too, but for some reason I only remember Dad making it.)  Anyway, I made a few changes and my boys (all three of them) beg for this sauce.  And as you can see in the picture - we put it over more then just Spaghetti.

1 lb Ground Beef

1 can (15 oz) Beef Broth

3 cups Tomato Sauce

1 pack Spaghetti Sauce Mix (I like Western Family)

1 cup Cream

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Pepper

Onion Salt

Garlic Salt

Brown the Ground Beef.  Once it's nice and brown, pour in the Beef Broth and deglaze the pan.  Add the Tomato Sauce and Sauce Mix, and stir until the Mix is dissolved.  Add the Cream and the Parmesan Cheese and bring to a simmer.  Add Seasoning to taste.  Pour over desired Pasta and enjoy.

Beef Burgundy

Really easy to make, and really yummy. I love stroganoff type recipes and this one is yummy.

The original recipe called for red wine, which I've used in the recipe and I don't like the taste that it gives it. I just use beef broth instead. Really fast, only takes 5-10 minutes to throw together. We eat it over egg noodles and the boys (who have become picky eaters) devoured it!

Easy Beef Burgundy

1 1/2 lbs. beef round steak or beef stew meat cut into 1 inch pieces.

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 cup red wine

1 small onion chopped

1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms

1 package (1 oz) dry onion soup mix

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

Combine all ingredients in crock-pot, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4.

Chicken Enchiladas

I believe this recipe is actually Heather's, but it's a regular at our house. The ranch dressing might sound a little funny, but it makes a huge difference in the final flavor.


1 lb. Chicken
Seasoning salt
Dill weed
Onion salt
Ranch dressing
Tortillas
1 can Enchilada sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can milk

Cube and season chicken to taste with seasoning salt, dill weed and onion salt and cook in small amount of olive oil.  Warm tortillas in microwave to make them softer and less likely to break, then spread a small amount of ranch dressing on the tortilla. Fill tortilla with cheese, chicken and olives.  Combine Enchilada sauce, cream of mushroom soup and milk in saucepan and heat.  Pour over top of enchiladas.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
I sometimes add beans, rice or whatever strikes my fancy while I'm cooking.
They may be really fattening, but what comfort food isn't?

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

We're all about copy cat recipes living here in Moab where we can't just jaunt down the street for some Cheddar Bay Biscuits from the nearest Red Lobster.  This recipe is very easy and very tasty.  An especially yummy addition to any winter time soup.

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Heat oven to 450, combine bisquick, milk, and cheese.  Stir together and spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.
In a small saucepan combine butter, garlic powder and Old Bay seasoning.  Heat until butter is melted.  Brush or spoon over hot biscuits. 

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

One of my favorite foods at Olive Garden is the Chicken Gnocchi soup.  I LOVE it!  And we don't have one here in Moab :( so I have to try and make my own.  This isn't quite it, but it's pretty good, and it's just so pretty . . 


melt 1/3 cup butter in a soup or stock pot
saute 2 cloves minced garlic
         1/2 onion, chopped
         1 stick of celery, chopped
Add  1/3 cup flour
         2 cans chicken broth or 3 cups chicken stock from scratch
         1/2 tablespoon chicken base or 2 chicken boullion cubes
         2 cups half and half
         1 shredded carrot
         1/2 teaspoon thyme
         1/2 cup chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
         A couple of handfull of diced chicken, however much you like 
Mix and cook until soup thickens, stirring occasionally.   Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired.   
Add 1/2 pound Gnocchi last and cook another 3-4 minutes.  Just long enough for the Gnocchi to cook throughout.  I also added a couple of dashes of Red Wine Vinegar, but that's optional.


         

Chicken Broccoli

2 10 oz. packages frozen broccoli spears or two 8 ounce packages frozen cut asparagus
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups light cream or milk
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
10 ounces cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, cook vegetables according to package directions; drain.  Arrange in a 12x71/2x2 inch baking dish.  For sauce, in a saucepan melt butter; stir in flour, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Add cream or milk and broth all at once.  Cook and stir till bubbly; continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes more.  Add Swiss cheese; stir till melted. 
Pour half of the sauce over the broccoli.  Top with chicken.  Pour remaining sauce over all.  Sprinkle Parmesan atop.  Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes or till heated through.  Broil 3 or 4 inches from heat 1 to 2 minutes or till golden.  Serves 6

White Chicken Chili

No picture cause it was so yummy I ate it before I could take a shot!

This is one of our go to meals. It's fast and easy to throw together and it makes a ton.
I dump it all in my crockpot and cook it on high for 4 hours or on low for 8, but it just needs to be heated through, so you could just do it on the stove.
We eat it like taco soup and throw in some chips, avocados and cheese just before eating.

1 lb chicken (cooked & cubed)
1 medium onion, chopped (cooked with chicken)
1 (16oz) can chicken broth
1 (16oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 cup water or more, depending on consistency
1 can (11oz) mexi-corn
2 (16oz) cans Great Northern Beans
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients and heat through
Just before serving add 1/2 cup whipping cream or evaporated milk and 1 cup sour cream.

Slight changes that I like to make. I sometimes rip apart a rotisserie chicken for the chicken, and I use milk instead of whipping cream at the end.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

chicken breasts cut into large cubes {I usually do three breasts if they're small and two if they're pretty big}
1 egg, beaten
cornstarch
oil
sauce {recipe follows}

1. Dip the cubed chicken into the egg, then roll them in the cornstarch.
2. In a small amount of oil, fry the chicken until just browned.
3. Place the chicken in a shallow baking pan, pour the sauce over it, then bake it uncovered at 325° F (160° C) for one hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.

Sauce
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons catsup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken.

Eat over rice.

{The recipe says to bake for one hour, but I don't think I've ever baked it that long. Half an hour maybe. I just pull out big chunk of chicken and make sure it's no longer pink in the middle. Definitely doesn't take an hour. Also, I've never tried it, but I think you could probably just keep it in the frying pan, turn the heat down, add the sauce and cover for a little while. Probably would yield the same results and a would be a little bit faster. Just something I've thought of doing before.}

Yummy and easy!

Shredded Beef Nachos!

We did this for Superbowl Sunday, figuring that Nachos seemed like a perfect choice for dinner on such a day.  But I had also just bought a bunch of beef, and I got the 'Chip Pack' extra from Bountiful Baskets the day before.  They turned out even better then I thought they would, and I thought they would turn out amazing.  The beef I was afraid would be dry and tastless - but it was so juicy and full of flavor.  Yummy!!!

Shredded Beef  (adapted from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com)

2 to 3 lb Beef Roast

1/4 c. Water
1 Can Beef Broth
3 Tbls. Red Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 Tbls. Chili Powder
1 Tbls. Ground Cumin

Put the roast and the water into a saucepan over medium-high heat, cover.  Cook until water is gone and then brown beef on all sides.  Add the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for another 2 hours.  Take out of pan and shred, and then add about 1/2 to 3/4 of the juices, that were left in the pan. Then make sure to taste it, because it's wonderful.

Nachos

Chips

Shredded Beef

Cheese (We used a combination of Medium Cheddar and Colby Jack)
Olives (if you like them, we only put them on half)
Refried Beans
Salsa

Two of us in our family don't like refried beans, or salsa, and the other two don't like olives, so we do a half and half nacho.  Layer the Refried beans on the bottom, then chips (in the picture I'm using the freshly fried Chips that I got from Bountiful Baskets, they came in yellow, green, and black, and were really good.)  Then Olives, Beef, Salsa, (or whatever you like) and finish with the cheese.  Bake in the oven until Cheese melts.  

Heather Anni

Bolognese Sauce

I went looking for a better-than-canned Bolognese sauce, and found a little something online. I've changed it up a bit, but the real secret here is the ham. I would never have thought to add ham, but it adds such a rich flavor to the whole thing. I just use leftovers from a Sunday brown-sugar-&-mustard ham, chopped into little bits. Yumm-o.

Bolognese Sauce

1 cup diced ham
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 - 2 tsp oregano
1 - 2 tsp basil
salt
1/2 - 1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 - 1 cup shredded celery
1 cup chicken broth
mushrooms
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes

Saute ham, onion and garlic in olive oil. Set aside.
In the same skillet, brown ground beef.
Add spices to taste. Add carrots and celery and allow vegetables to get soft.
Add broth, mushrooms, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and the ham mixture back in. Allow to simmer for an hour or more. I make mine early and put it in the crock pot for the rest of the day. It's better the longer it sits.

Enjoy over pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

Kari