Thursday, September 18, 2008

The best chocolate cake recipe ever!


Today is my husband's birthday and we're all set to celebrate! We've got cards and presents and cake, of course! This is one of the first times in a long time that I have made something other than chocolate cake for a birthday around here. But for this birthday, my husband thought a lemon cake with chocolate frosting sounded good! I found a lemon cake recipe on Food Network~ it's rated 5 stars, so I hope it turns out all right...I'll pass it on if we like it!
I thought though, that in light of our little fall cooking fest, I would give you another recipe. This one is for the best chocolate cake I have ever had! It uses the recipe off the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder can, and it is easy to follow and tastes out of this world! It's pretty much impossible to mess this one up...


Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 -1/2 tsp. baking powder
1- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-in. round baking pans.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed, 2 min. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into pans.
3. Bake 30-35 min. or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting. 10-12 servings.
CUPCAKES: Line 2-1/2-in. muffin cups with paper bake cups. Fill cups 2/3 cup full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 22 minutes. Cool; frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups.


I used this recipe for frosting on the cake I made today, because we all just like it so much! :)

If you want to join in on the Fall Cooking Fest I'm hosting here, just scroll down to the end of the next post, and sign up! This runs through next Tuesday, so there is still plenty of time!

Tomorrow I am really, REALLY hoping to take some time to finish a craft I started before school ended for summer break! I didn't get very far, and then it was such a crazy-busy summer! When I finish it, I'll show you the end result. :) It's Friday tomorrow, and then the weekend! (Yea!) Have a great night! :)








Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Fall Cooking Fest- September 16- 23


Hi all! I hope your week is off to a great start! With fall quickly approaching, I have started to think more about baking and cooking. Suddenly, spending time in the kitchen sounds more appealing. The only hindrance to this for me was...what to cook? If you're like me, you have recipes that you have had forever, that you have used over and over...and over! Sometimes all you need are some fresh new recipes to feel inspired! I thought it would be fun to throw a little blog party, with cooking and baking as a theme. What a better way to welcome fall than with a little nesting in the kitchen! All you have to do to be a part of this is make something~ a entree or a dessert, bread, muffins, whatever you like. After you make a post on your blog with your recipe(s), sign up by adding the link to your recipe post at the bottom of this post. Hopefully that won't confuse more than help you! :) If you have any questions, feel free to either email me or leave a comment!

I made a simple recipe of enchilada casserole. Whether it's fall-like, I don't know, but it is a meal my whole family likes~ that is priceless!



~Enchiladas~

1 pound ground beef or cubed chicken
1 1/2 cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can olives, sliced
1/3 cup diced onion
*1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp. dried garlic)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 dash paprika
12 corn tortillas, approximately
2-3 cups shredded cheese
1 cup shredded cheese (for topping)


Cook ground beef or chicken, then drain excess fat. Add 1 can tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, olives, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Simmer on low heat. While meat sauce is simmering, heat oil in frying pan. Dip each corn tortilla in oil, quickly on each side. (I like to remove the excess grease from the tortillas by using paper towels before moving on to the next step.) Spread 1/2 can of tomato sauce in bottom of 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over entire tortilla, then put about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat sauce on top. (The key is to put enough in, just not so much that the tortilla won't roll up nicely.) Once you have all the tortillas rolled in casserole dish, top with remaining meat sauce. Spread the last 1/2 can of tomato sauce over the entire casserole, then top with 1 cup shredded cheese. (This amount is just an approximate amount; I actually add about this before cooking, then some more before the last ten minutes or so.)

Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven set to 350 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes. If desired, serve with shredded lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.

* For garlic, I use the refrigerated minced garlic. You can buy this at Costco in a 48 oz. container, or a smaller jar at most grocery stores.

~Simple Salsa~

2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup cut cilantro
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic or dried garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix these together to make a simple but delicious salsa for your enchiladas.







Thursday, September 11, 2008

Cookies, anyone?


I love baking, no matter what the season. I will admit, though, that there is something about the fall that makes me go crazy baking and even enjoy cooking! :) I don't know about yours, but my all-time favorite thing to bake are cookies! I have a couple of such fantastic recipes, that I thought I should share them with you. :) I didn't even like peanut butter cookies until this recipe, so that's saying a lot!



Peanut Butter Cookies


1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugar

Oven 375 degrees

In a mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup of the flour, the sugars, egg, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough until easy to handle.
Shape dough into one inch balls. If desired, roll in additional sugar. Place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by crisscrossing with the tines of a fork.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Makes about 36.

Chocolate-Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies:
Prepare as above, except do not flatten with a fork before baking. Immediately after baking, press one milk chocolate kiss into each cookie.

Another fun variation:
*If you want peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, try adding 1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips, depending on taste, to the mix. However, do not flatten with fork before baking.


Not everyone likes peanut butter, though, and I found the best double chocolate recipe in a little Nestle Toll House recipe booklet I found at the check-out stand at the grocery store.



Double Chocolate Dream Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated 375 degree F. oven 8 to 10 minutes or until puffed. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

For Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies:

If you like the taste of peppermint, try adding 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract in substitution of vanilla, or even in addition to the 1 tsp. vanilla, and this makes a wonderful mint chocolate chip cookie.


(My only advice is use peppermint rather than mint extract. When I was first experimenting with this, I used mint extract, and a lot of it...oh, my goodness! It tasted just like my toothpaste. (Which is fine if you are brushing your teeth, but your "sweet tooth" won't care much for it.) Okay, cheesy pun, but I just couldn't help myself! :)


On a more serious note, I didn't want to close without saying something about today's date, September 11th. It doesn't feel right not to pause a moment and reflect on it, to say a prayer for all those who were, and still are, affected by the horrible tragedy of that day. To say a prayer of thankfulness for our safety and our freedom, and to remember.
*Edited to add: Oops! I forgot to say that the recipe for Peanut Butter cookies is from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

A little craft, an award...and an egg?

I was in the dollar store yesterday, looking for pumpkins ( I found one but can't decide if it's cute or ugly) and found these, too...




...Just a run of the mill glass candle holder and a glass vase type thing. Hum, I thought, thinking of you bloggers who glue candle holders and plates together to make cake stands. I thought I could try something new (for me) and glue these two together to make a pretty holder for a pillar candle. This sounded like such a good idea, I bought two of each piece. I used a glue I already had on hand, especially for glass and metal, to bond them together, and presto! A pretty candle holder...although my husband thought it was stemware, which kind of depressed me, but I decided not to let that deter me.




So I glued the other one together and put some green ribbon I found in the dollar ribbon section at Michael's around each "candle holder". Then I took a fall berry garland (also from Michael's) and cut enough length for each holder, simply wrapping it around each glass.




Now, all I had on hand tonight were these little tea light candles, but I am going to buy a couple short pillar candles to use in these. I'm definitely not Martha Stewart here, but I was pleased. And I've decided that they don't look like drinking glasses. Especially with the candles inside them. What do you think?



I also want to say thank you to Leslie at Our Family for handing me this award. How sweet is that?! I just love her blog, and always leave it with a smile on my face! :) I would like to pass this award on to a few other great bloggers: Kelli at My Lovely Vintage Cottage Life, Beth at Blossom Cottage, and Tricia Anne at Notes of Sincerity. All of these gals are fantastic and kind people, and visiting their blogs is such a special treat! :) I just hope you all know how very blessed I am by you! :) I didn't know how many sweet and talented people I'd meet just by having a blog, and that includes everyone I've "met"!


One last thing...



You are probably wondering why in the world I'm showing you this egg, huh? Well, it's not just any egg, you see. This morning, my friend's youngest daughter arrived at the bus stop with a "gift" for me, which was this egg. Their new chickens have just recently started laying eggs, and this is one of them. The last one I saw was much smaller, and now they are about the typical size.
I thanked my little friend for the egg, and her mother looked over at me and joked, "Naturally nested." (This is a joke because this is the brand name of the eggs I buy.)

I hope you are having a good week! We're half way through! :)













Sunday, September 7, 2008

A picture is worth a thousand words!

I hope it was a good weekend for you! I had an excellent weekend, and I am going to show and tell you why! :) One of the nice things about this weekend~ our girls played together so well! They were very busy and intent, playing "The Game", as they call it. They haul out all of their Playmobil toys and their dollhouses and essentially, play house! But you have to hear the funny part. In our dining area, there are four chairs. There are five of us that sit at the table, so we usually bring in our youngest daughter's desk chair in at dinnertime. The reason? Well, it's not because we don't have chairs. It's just that they are either waiting to be painted or painted but with no seats covered yet. It takes me forever to do anything in the summer, and so, we have no chairs. Here are a couple of them in our hallway, painted white but, well, lacking a necessary part to be of any use. This is something that would take an hour tops (to recover the seat forms). I know I'm lame but, this is the way it is right now...



Now this is the "scene" in the house our girls set up with their playmobil furniture.




My youngest, we'll call her Gracie, pointed this out to my husband and said, "Look, Daddy. I took the seat out of the chair, because the mom is going to paint it." Okay, there are times when my kids just crack me up, and this is one of them. To her, this is as much a part of "being a mom" as washing the dishes or getting them ready in the morning, things she watches me do all the time. (A funny side note is that since my husband cooks dinner more often than not, they think that is "the dad's job"! But really, it's just what has worked for us, not necessarily his job or my job!)



So, anyway, because the kids were all so happily occupied, we got so much done! We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and dining room, and we are so far from finished! We have added a few things to the list, so we expect into next year before we are done. We do pretty much everything ourselves, so it takes a long time! I'll show you pictures of what we have been up to soon...when it looks a little better. Why is it that it has to look so bad before it looks better?
I am also working on the living room, so this is going to be a busy year!




But today I had some fun and finished up a couple of things I've been working on. You know those frames that have the cut-outs for pictures so you can have kind of a collage of different pictures in the same frame? Well I saw these cute little fall stick-on embellishments and got an idea. I thought it would be fun to make a scrapbook type of collage and frame up it cute and display it through the fall. I can use it every fall, and prop it up on an end table until the season's over.





I liked this idea so much, I decided to make a Halloween one, too.





It was such an easy, fun little craft. I had some unused 11 x 14 sized frames, so I spray painted one black and one an apple green. Take some scrapbook paper, ribbon, decorative tape, and the fun seasonal embellishments, and I was good to go. It is fun to look at these and see the kids at all different ages. I am going to do a "page" for every holiday~ Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines, 4th of July, you name it! It will be a sweet little reminder of what is really important and it will be fun to look at! :) I can just pull out the previous page and slip the new season's one in. So what do you think? :)


Oh, and I don't want to forget to remind you to check out the Tip of the Day thing at the top left side of the page. I am going to give tips on cool things to use or do that either make life easier or just more fun! This week I am giving out different ways to use baking soda, in ways other than just cooking. I just love the stuff! You'd just never believe all the ways that this little item can improve your daily life! Honest! :) So, even if I don't have a new blog post, I will have a Tip of the Day every day of this week, so be sure to check back! :)

Have a good night and a wonderful Monday! :)


Friday, September 5, 2008

The third time is the charm!

Sometimes I really do wonder if my brain HAS been abducted by aliens. Or donated for scientific research without my consent...not that they would want it. No, really, I am joking about the aliens and scientific research, but why does it feel at times that I really have gone and lost every last brain cell?

Our children started school two days ago~ TWO DAYS ago, I tell you. And I did what every mother across America did. I got them up, fed them breakfast, helped them pick out what to wear, and brushed their hair. I even put adorable little clips in the girls' hair...But unlike other mothers who have their head on straight, I did NOT remember the camera until we were out at the bus stop. So, we have no "first day of school" pictures this year. No second day pictures either, even though this time I did bring the camera. (I DID, however, get a cute picture of my friend's daughter.) But my kids were already on the bus, and there is no way I would have been able to drag my pre-teen son off the bus to actually photograph him in public!

Wonder of wonders, though, today I not only remembered the camera (barely), I also managed to snap a few shots of the kiddos before they hopped on the bus. Ever seen the third day of school pictures before? Well, now you can say you have. Hopefully you'll bear with me here~ I feel compelled to show these to you, since they almost didn't happen at all! :)




You would never know it, but our son actually CAN smile, he just did not want me to take his picture...our oldest girl is the only one that will smile for the camera, without making faces, saluting, or sticking out her tongue. Is this normal, I wonder, or a result of poor mothering?




Here's a snapshot of the girls. Our son, we'll call him "Junior", was still in the bathroom, doing~ well, I don't really know what. But I do know he was running really late, and I'm glad the bus was too!




And the final question that begs to be asked is, what IS this my friend is holding at the bus stop?
Eek! It looks like those critters that sometimes pay us a visit when we stay at the cabin! My friend assured me he was from the pet store, and completely domesticated. Only, although I had to force myself to be polite and take a peek, even I have to admit, that baby rats look a little cute...just not cute enough that I want to look at him again. Sorry, VaLynn. I DO love you, it's just your pet I'm not sure about! :)

Okay, one final thing~ I promise that the next post will include something fun and decorative. The last few days have been about cleaning and organizing. I have just been gathering my barrings here, but I'm geared up for fall and ready to get to work! So stay tuned! :)


Monday, September 1, 2008

One last summer vacation!

This Labor Day weekend we spent time as a family in Central Washington. The first stop was the Enzian Inn, located in Leavenworth. (My husband and I stay here every year for our anniversary.) This time, though, we showed the kids what fun it is there!



Of course I have to show you a picture of the flowers outside on our deck! I just love the window boxes with the petunias!



The kids had a great time in the pool that night! They played a long time and still didn't want to come out, so eventually we had to bribe them with hot tea and cookies! :)



One of the best parts of staying at the Enzian is the breakfast they serve. Our kids ate a lot! (Must have been all that swimming the night before!)



Next we stayed at a cabin about a half an hour away from Leavenworth. My husband's parents own it, so we stay there a few times a year or so. The view from the deck is amazing~ just meadow, trees, mountains and sky. It is so peaceful there. I will admit, sometimes in the past, we have had unwelcome visitors, and this time we heard little critters on the cabin roof (and are pretty sure they were mice!) but thankfully they weren't inside! (EW! I do NOT like mice!)
I had big dreams of crafting/sewing away the weekend, but it was not to be. I came down with a cold, and ended up sleeping instead! But I actually still had fun with my family, too, and it ended up being a good weekend. I really can't complain~ I mean, how many times do moms get sick and get all the rest they need to get better? Not often! :)



And on a completely different subject, I received an award from Beth at Blossom Cottage.
I love reading her blog, and am really touched that she thought of me. (She also gave the award to Kelli at My Lovely Vintage Cottage Life, who also has an amazing blog!) Make sure to check out their blogs! :)

I want to pass this award onto Leslie at Our Family, and Jeni at At Home in Georgia.
These are two of my newest favorite blogs! I love their blogs because they are not only very talented and creative, but they are just so REAL! This really comes through whether they write about crafts or their family! :)

I hope that you're week is off to a good start! Our kids don't start school until tomorrow, and my husband is home today, so we have one last day of summer! I have SO much I want to do today, which includes a trip over to Michael's and some crafting...I hope. Although my kitchen floor badly needs to be washed... SO...should I scrub the floor or make a craft? You tell me! :)


Cabin Song

The wind is blowing
through the aspen trees.
Sparrows fly,
caught up
inside the breeze.

The hills,
blue beneath the sky;
The mountains
reaching high.

Sunset fades
into the hush of twilight.
One by one, the stars
light up the dark sky.

So many questions,
still unanswered.
Yet I am peaceful here,
resting underneath
this canopy of stars.


(By Me.)