A Li'l Dab will Do Ya' Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is a little dab will do ya' gotta have a glass of milk chocolate cake! It is so rich and tasty. It makes an 11 X 15 inch cake, so make sure you have others to help eat it or a couple gallons of milk.

Cake Ingredients

2 C Flour
2 C Sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t Baking Soda
2 Sticks Butter
1 C Water
1/3 C Cocoa
3 Eggs
1/2 C Sour Cream
1 t Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 11 X 15 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Add water and cocoa. Bring to a boil stirring constantly over medium heat. Drizzle boiling cocoa mixture into dry ingredients mixing with mixer on low until combined. Turn mixer to medium and add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix until combined. Pour into pan and bake exactly 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

1 Stick Butter
1/3 C Cocoa
6 T Milk
1 lb. Confectioners Sugar
1 t Vanilla

Combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a 3 qt sauce pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and mix in confectioners sugar and vanilla. Stir until all sugar lumps are gone and frosting is smooth. Keep warm, stirring occasionally if finished before cake is done baking.

Pour frosting on cake while cake AND frosting are still hot.

Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting.

Sam's One Each Chili

Not one bowl each.......one of each

1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 lb 80% ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 T chili powder
1 t papricka
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t sugar

Brown ground beef, add onion and pepper and saute until soft. Add remaining ingredients and cook for, you guessed it......1 hour on medium.

Can be doubled, tripled, etc.....as long as you have a pot big enough.

Deer Tips Stroganof

Venison is a staple at our house. This is just one of the many ways I prepare it. It can be added to and adapted by adding vegetables or omitting the sour cream, using rice instead of noodles, putting the meat with sauce in a casserole and topping with potatoes. Hope you try and enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/2 Stick Butter
1 T Vegetable Oil
1-1 1/2 lb Deer meat cut into 1" cubes
1 C Fresh Button Mushrooms - sliced
1/2 C Sweet Onions - diced
1 t garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic smashed
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 C Worstishire Sauce
1 can Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 pkt McCcormick Brown Gravy
1 C water
1/4 C Sour Cream
1 12- 16 oz Package Wide Egg Noodles - cooked as directed on package while preparing the tips

Melt butter and oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add next 6 ingredients spreading them out so they brown some. Cook for 5 minutes or so stirring occasionally making sure to turn the meat cubes on different sides so all sides brown. Add Worstishire sauce and allow to cook for 5 minutes more (this reduces the worstishire and allows it to infuse the meat and mushrooms with it's flavor. Add undiluted soup, gravy packet and water. Mix in thoroughly. Cook on medium for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in sour cream. Heat through for about 5 minutes. Do not allow to boil once sour cream is added as it will break the sauce (make the solids of the sour cream curdle up). It won't change the flavor if it happens and is fine to eat, but it doesn't look pretty.

Chocolate Cake

Cake Ingredients

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

3 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

8 squares of  dark baking chocolate melted in 1 cup of water

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat ovan to 350F. Grease and flour or use non-stick spray 2 9" round pans.

Melt chocolate with 1 cup of water in double boiler on top of stove. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add cooled melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture. Add buttermilk last in a stream mixing well.  Pour into prepared pans. Bake 28-34 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling rack and allow to completely cool.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

1 Stick of Butter at room temperature

1/3 C Cocoa

3 1/2 C Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 t Vanilla

3-4 T Milk

Cream butter, powdered sugar cocoa and vanilla together. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting is of spreading consistency. Fill and frost 2 9" layers. 

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/4 C all- purpose flour
2 T + 1/2 t baking powder
2/3 C sugar
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 C whole milk
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 t vanilla

cinnamon and sugar for  sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 12 cup muffin pan with non-stick spray. Place cupcake liners and spray the inside of those as well.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl making sure to slightly beat the eggs.  Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients in. Hand mix with wooden spoon or a spatula just until batter comes together. There will be small lumps in the batter and this is okay. Gently fold in blueberries. Use an ice cream scoop or half cup measure to fill cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stay in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Mint Dark Chocolate Fudge

Dark Chocolate Layer:

1 7oz Jar Marshmallow Creme
1 1/2 C Sugar
2/3 C Evaporated Milk
1/4 C Butter
1/4 t Salt
2 C Semi Sweet Morsels
1 C Milk Chocolate Morsels
1 1/2 t Vanilla

Mint Layer:

3/4 C Butter
3 C Sugar
3/4 C Heavy Cream
2 C White Chocolate Morsels
1 7oz Jar Marshmallow Creme
1 T Mint Extract
7-8 Drops Green Food Color

Line a 13 X 9 baking pan with aluminum foil. Rub with butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Bottom layer:  In a 3 quart saucepan combine marshmallow creme, sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt. Bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil stirring constantly for EXACTLY 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels and vanilla and stir until completely smooth. Poor into pan. Allow to cool for 1 hour on counter or 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Top Layer: In a 3 quart saucepan combine marshmallow creme, sugar, heavy cream, and butter. Bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil stirring constantly for EXACTLY 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels, mint extract, and food color and stir until completely smooth. Poor on top of cooled chocolate layer. Allow to cool 2 hours in refrigerator before cutting.

Sour Cream Streusel Banana Bread

I like making banana bread in my Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan. Unfortunately, the amount of batter in most banana bread recipes is not enough to make it in my favorite pan and to double the recipe, is too much. So, I made my own. I love this recipe as it is one that can be converted to make apple streusel bread by omitting the bananas and substituting 1 1/2 cups diced apples.

Ingredients:

Streusel:

1/2 C flour
1/4 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1 t cinnamon

Batter:

2 Sticks of butter
1 1/2 C + 2 Tbs Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 C Sour Cream
1 1/2 C Ripe Bananas, sliced thin (about 4)
1 tsp Vanilla
4 C + 2 Tbs All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder


Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour or spray Bundt or tube pan. Blend together, with a fork or use a food processor, streusel ingredients until well combined and resembles small peas. Sprinkle 1/2 in the bottom of the Bundt pan. Set aside the other half. Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl, set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add sour cream, bananas, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Slowly add dry ingredients to banana mixture (I usually add 1 cup at a time and allow it to thoroughly mix in before adding the next cup). After the last of the dry ingredients are added, scrape down sides of the bowl, mix for about a minute to make sure batter is well combined. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the bundt pan, making sure streusel is covered and batter is relatively level in pan. Sprinkle second half of streusel on top of batter in pan. Top with remaining batter. Again, making sure streusel is covered and batter is relatively level. Pick pan up about 2-3 inches and drop on counter, repeat 2-3 times. This releases the air bubbles trapped in the streusel layer. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Ovens vary so I would start checking at the 1 hour mark. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto serving plate. Allow to sit with pan on it for about 5 minutes. Remove pan. Serve warm. You can add butter to your slice, but it is quite tasty as is.

Mousse Tracks

A very easy to make dessert for the chocolate lovers in us all. Easily converted to a lower fat/ lower calorie dessert by using Neufchatel Cheese instead of cream cheese, fat free cool whip, and fat free pudding.

Ingredients:

2 small boxes Chocolate Jello Instant Pudding (prepared as directed on box)
1 8 oz block Philidelphia Cream Cheese - room temperature
1/2 stick of butter - room temperature
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla
2 C sweetened whipped cream or 1 small tub of Cool Whip (depending on how adventurous you want to get)
12 Fudge Striped Cookies
3/4 C semi-sweet morsels
Garnish: sunflower seeds, mixed nuts, fudge striped cookies, yogurt covered raisins.

Put the cookies into a ziplock bag and crush to a  course crumble. Cream the cream cheese, butter, and sugar together until well blended. Mix in vanilla. Combine the prepared pudding with the cream cheese mixture. Fold in whipped cream until no white from the whipped cream is visible. Fold in crushed cookies and morsels. Be careful not to stir too much as the whipped cream will lose it's volume. Let sit in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours to firm up. Scoop into serving dishes and garnish with desired bits.