Mississippi Mud Cake

I haven't tried this yet but I will very soon. It looks delicious and who could go wrong with chocolate and marshmallows?



Ingredients

Cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into big chunks
½ cup cocoa
4 eggs, beaten well
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mississippi Mud Frosting:
One 16-ounce box (about 3 2/3 cups) confectioners’ sugar
½ cup cocoa
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
½ cup milk or evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups mini-marshmallows, or 3 cups marshmallows, quartered


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Directions:
To make the cake, heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13-by-9-inch pan. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and the cocoa and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the butter is melted and the mixture is well blended, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, salt, and pecans, and beat with a wooden spoon or spatula or with a mixer at low speed until the batter is well combined and smooth, and the flour has disappeared.

Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at the 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched gently in the center and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Prepare the frosting while the cake bakes; so that you will be ready to poor it over the hot cake. In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the cocoa, and stir to mix them well. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla, and use a large spoon or mixer at low speed to beat everything together well. Set aside until the cake is done.

Remove the cake from the oven, scatter the marshmallows over the top, and return the cake to the hot oven form about 3 minutes, to soften the marshmallows.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack or a folded kitchen towel. Pour the frosting all over the marshmallow-dotted cake, and cool to room temperature. Cut into small squares and serve.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Since I'm from Idaho I thought I'd better represent that good ol' potato! This is one of my favorite ways to fix this wonderful tuber. I don't make it often enough which is seriously a shame because my kids loved it and they ate it all up, Yum:)

The recipe is very simple: Bake the potatoes. Slice them in half. Let them cool a bit. Scoop out the insides and then mash with a good amount of sour cream, a little milk, add some seasonings (I like garlic salt, pepper, chives are good too). Whip it all up and scoop it back into the potato skins. Bake for about 20 min. Cover with shredded cheddar and bake for another couple minutes.

Ahhh Comfort Food!

I absolutely love "Comfort Food". And one of my favs is bread pudding. I made a simple "bread & butter" dish and it was yummy! The lemon sauce is a must for you to have the ultimate comforting bread pudding experience.

Bread & Butter Pudding

6 slices white bread
2 T butter
1/4 c raisins
2 eggs
2 c milk
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t vanilla
Dash salt

Cut the crusts from the bread and butter each slice on one side. (I never bother cutting the crusts off) Place 3 slices, butter side up, in bottom of 1- to 1 1/2-quart buttered casserole. Sprinkle with raisins. Repeat with second 3 slices of bread. Beat eggs slightly and add milk, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt. Pour over bread in casserole. Sprinkle top with extra nutmeg, if desired. (I also sprinkle cinnamon) Let stand 1/2 hour. Bake in 350 deg. oven for 30 min. or until custard is firm. Serve with Quick Lemon Sauce.

Quick Lemon Sauce
1 c powdered sugar
2 T lemon juice
Dash salt

Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add a little water if necessary to make sauce of thin consistency.

from Lion House Cookbook

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

I love the internet! I was in the mood for some cajun flavored chicken and pasta so I just typed in "Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta" and about 2,000 recipes popped up and I selected the first one and it looked good and it was delicious!

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
N'awlin's style of chicken with an up-dated Alfredo sauce.
by Lorac
25 min | 10 min prep | SERVES 2
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
4 ounces linguine, cooked al dente (I used tri-color rotini)
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (My fav is Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning)
2 tablespoons butter
1 thinly sliced green onion
1-2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I subbed 1/2 a can of diced petite tomatoes)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.
In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and heat through. (I also added some fresh sliced mushrooms)
Pour over hot linguine and toss,with Parmesan cheese.

© 2007 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

Cheesecake!!!

I LOVE Cheesecake. Cannot get enough of it (okay, that's not true, I eat about 1/2 a slice at a sitting because it's usually so rich. So I can get enough at one time but I can eat it daily until it's gone:). I needed to make something for the infamous Parma Scout Auction so I decided that cheesecake would be ideal because it should be a very sought after item. And boy was I right. It got the highest bid of all the baked goods (Mia's ladybugs were next in line because they were the cutest little cakes in the county). The only sad thing is that I forgot to take a pic of the cheesecake I made for the auction. And since I gave it away and I was really in the mood for some good cheesecake, I made an even better one for me and the family. And I did take a pic of that one. So here is the recipe for Turtle Pecan Cheesecake. I hope you can make it and enjoy it as much as we did and will continue to for the next few days. (The one I made for the auction was a knock-off of Applebee's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake.)

TURTLE PECAN CHEESECAKE
Printed from COOKS.COM

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CRUST:

4 c. graham cracker crumbs
12 tbsp. melted butter

(I used an Oreo crumb crust instead of graham crackers because what's better than an Oreo crust?)

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter; press mixture onto bottom and sides of buttered 10 inch springform pan (2 inches deep). Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

FILLING:

1 (14 oz.) bag light (vanilla) caramels
1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 c. chopped pecans, toasted
4 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. semi sweet chocolate morsels, melted

In heavy 1 1/2 quart saucepan, melt caramels with evaporated milk over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. (If desired, dip a few pecan halves into caramel mixture and set aside to use later as garnish.) Pour caramel mixture over cooled crust; top with chopped toasted pecans.
Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing on medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Blend in melted chocolate. Pour mixture over pecans and caramel in crust, starting at outer edge.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 1 hour and 20 to 25 minutes, or until edges begin to crack. Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan and loosen cheesecake with spatula.


CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate morsels
3 tbsp. evaporated milk (see note)
Whipped cream (optional for garnish)
Pecan halves dipped in caramel (optional for garnish)

Melt chocolate morsels (in top of double boiler or on medium power in microwave oven). Add evaporated milk (or 2 percent milk and butter). Stir until mixture is smooth.
Spread chocolate topping over chilled cheesecake. Garnish with dollops of whipped cream and pecan halves dipped in caramel, if desired. Keep refrigerated.

Makes 1 (6 pound) cheesecake: 16 to 20 servings. Cut it small or you'll be throwing away everyone's leftovers.

Side note: I always put a pan of water in the oven when I bake a cheesecake to prevent cracks. It works most of the time.

Adapted from www.cooks.com

Mia's Ladybugs

We have a Scout Auction that the Young Women are helping with and Mia is donating these adorable cupcakes she made. We had a fun time making them and she thinks everyone will want these and they will fetch a very high bid. I hope so:)

THE Banana Bread

You know that perfect banana bread? The recipe that you search for, trying dozens, trying to find that ONE that reminds you of the banana bread your mom or grandma made? Or maybe the recipe that tastes like it came from your favorite bakery? Well, I found it! And of no surprise, it's from Martha Stewart. Hope it tastes as good to you as it did to me!


Banana Bread

The batter for this easy-to-bake banana bread is enriched with the addition of sour cream.

Makes 1 loaf.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour, my fav)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 3)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

from www.msliving.com