Chocolate Wonder Cake

I know it's Monday and it's supposed to be muffins, but I am 12 weeks pregnant and tired!!! I made this dessert for a church get together. It was yummy. It was fast. My kids mixed the pudding. And that was nice for me.=)

I adapted this from all chocolate wonder recipes that are lots of pudding and whipped cream. And I forgot to take a picture and it was gone before I could!

First layer:

1 cup flour

1 stick butter

Mix. mix. mix. Flatten into sprayed 9 by 13 pan. Cook for 12-20 min. at 350. It took me about 18.

Cool.

Second layer:

1 cup powdered sugar

8 ounce package cream cheese

8 ounce container cool whip

Mix. Mix. Mix. Put on top of 1st.

3rd layer:

Make 1 package vanilla pudding and 1 package chocolate pudding according to directions. I used 2 large boxes and used about half of each to layer. The rest I let me kids have. They did have to stir it after all.

4th layer:

Now you can get creative. I didn't because I didn't have time to go to the store. But here is what I thought of later:

crushed oreos

peanut butter cups

heath/toffee anything!

fudge striped cookies

caramel topping

hot fudge topping

peanuts

fruity topping

snickers, really any candy bar!

Enjoy! It is so yum. Perfect end to summer.

Fat Friday: Fresh Apple Cake

I have an urge to make something appley and I have some apples begging to be used and thought this might be a good option. Yes, there isn't any chocolate and that is an odd thing for me, but this looked moist and yummy and full of Autumn goodness! Found it at The Sisters Cafe: the mecca of super great recipes!

If you want a chance at winning some of this cake answer this:

What is your favorite apple dessert?

Mine is really my mom's apple pie. Homemade crust and all. Ice cream all melty. Savory, yummy, and extremely healthy ;)

Fresh Apple Cake

Submitted by Erin ~ The Sisters Cafe

4 cups peeled, diced apples

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

¾ cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together apples and sugar. Add dry ingredients and stir well. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into apple mixture, blending until thoroughly moistened. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Serve with warm Cream Sauce.

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Cream Sauce

1 cup sugar

½ cup evaporated milk

½ cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in saucepan; stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 3 minutes. Serve warm, and drizzle over piece of apple cake.

Thinking Thursday: 2 Roads

Who hasn't had to memorize this poem at some point in their education? If you haven't, you must do it now! Of course I didn't understand the point of memorizing "The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost when I was in 8th grade. I sure am glad I know it now, so that when I see beautiful places like this, it brings me back to that poem and makes me think of all kinds of wonderful imagery and of choices made or not made.

We had to pull this poem apart, line by line, and isn't that really the only way to read poetry? At least it is the only way I understand poetry! I just love the thought of taking the road less traveled, but find too, that the road traveled can also be a great thing. Must we really always be different, choose the harder road, go the path less traveled? I guess it depends on the person. I have had my experiences with both roads and can't say either were bad. Of course, the less traveled road will sure help you to learn and grow.

It's a hard call and we are all entitled to our own choices and "roads", but here's to hoping that we choose the right road no matter how hard or how easy it is. If it is right for me, it is right for me.

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost

Like Olive Garden Breadsticks

You heard right!! Like Olive Garden!! Truly, it is true. So true, in fact, that I fell asleep early that night and woke up to my husband saying he had 5 when I was asleep. So, if you want these to last, you better hide them.=)

Here is where I got the recipe. I made the homemade version, but there is also a quick version. And I cut the salt for the topping to half of what it called for. Get some marinara and off you go!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups very warm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

Garlic Butter topping:

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon table salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered. Mixture should be frothy.

While waiting, start preheating your oven to 200F degrees.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or medium-sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and melted butter to flour mixture.

Mix with dough hook attachment on stand mixer or stir with a wooden spoon
until fully combined.

Knead dough for a few minutes just until dough is smooth and elastic.

Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Pull off pieces of dough and roll out into strips.

The first few times I made this, I pulled off way too much dough for each breadstick. So pull off smaller size pieces than you would think you'd need.

Remember these are going to double in size!

Cover the dough with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray (so dough doesn't stick to it from the inside) and put in preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour. At this point, turn off the oven. It is warm enough now for the dough to continue to rise.

Once they have doubled in size, remove sheet from oven and
preheat oven up to 400F degrees.

Once it has reached temperature, take plastic wrap off of breadsticks and put in the oven.

While they are baking, make butter topping.

Microwave butter until melted and add garlic powder and salt, stir until combined.

After 6 or 7 minutes, brush the bread sticks with half the butter mixture. Then continue to bake for another 6-7 minutes. Immediately upon removal from the oven, brush the other half of the butter on the sticks.

Allow them to cool for a minute or two, and enjoy!

Chicken and Apple Sausage

There is this great little corner store by us called Fresh and Easy and it has the yummiest chicken and apple sausage we've had! We have tried a lot of different kinds, but this has the best flavor. There was a recipe on the back of the package that we tried and Blake took his liberties with it and did a great job! One of our favorite meals now!

Cut up 2 apples, we use gala mostly, but I am sure you could use any kind and it would still be good. You want to cut them into about 8 slices per apple. Cut up the sausage into bite sized pieces. Cut up an onion, we like red onions, but we've used yellow too. The onion needs to be in slices also. Sautee the apple and onion together in about 2 T butter until soft. By now your kitchen will be smelling like heaven! Autumn heaven! Add a few tablespoons brown sugar to your taste and a few drops of apple cider vinegar. Add the sausage and let cook until warm through. Make some of your favorite rice and enjoy!!

Muffin Monday: Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

'Tis the season for pumpkin, hooray!! Isn't pumpkin just the yummiest thing this time of year? Also, apples? Also, Halloween candy.....anyway, these are yummy and moist and mostly healthy. Worth the effort and they make 21. Perfect for after school snacks and quick breakfasts! Got the recipe here. PS. I am not an Oprah fan, but even she can get some stuff right.=)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter or cooking spray
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup canned mashed pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup apple juice or cider or orange juice
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 12 half-cup muffin cups with melted butter. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, applesauce, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the juice, beginning and ending with the dry mixture; mix until smooth. Fold in raisins.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup two-thirds full. Bake on the center oven rack until a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in the pans several minutes; turn muffins out onto a rack. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature. Repeat steps 1 through 3 with remaining batter.

Fat Friday: Oreo Cheesecake Truffles

Yessir, these bad boys are yummy and so easy!! And so yummy you will slap your grandma (as Paula Deen says) This recipe comes from my friend, Sari who is a dessert fanatic!

1 bag oreos ( i use chocolate double stuffed. I like chocolate, so sue me)

1 block cream cheese (you can use fat free, tastes the same)

Chocolate bark

Grind up oreos. Love that food processor! I had mine for years before I even knew the beauty of it! Mix in cream cheese. Roll into balls. Roll into melted chocolate bark. Eat. Share if you can.

Done and done!!

Who wants to win?! Tell me something really hard you had to do but still did it.

I had to put my 4 year old on the bus for the first time last week to go to preschool. I didn't HAVE to, but I chose to because he loves buses and because it is good for him. But man, these last 2 weeks have been tough having my kids off doing new things and just missing them. But isn't that part of life? Can you see why I need chocolate this week?!=)