Cake Batter Chocolate Bark

Bark is one of those pretty, easy things that I always seem to forget about.  But, once again, whilst stumbling, I came across this.

I instantly knew I had to make it.

So I did.

Just a few ingredients!

12 oz white chocolate
10 oz dark chocolate
3 T. yellow cake mix
Sprinkles.

Start off by melting the dark chocolate in a double boiler.  A double boiler is one of these kitchen tools that you don't necessarily need to buy.  If you have a glass bowl, or even a small pan that will fit in a larger pan, you're good to go.  Just make sure that the bottom of the small bowl, pan, or double boiler, doesn't touch the water in the bottom pan.

Once it has melted, pour it on a sheet that's been covered with parchment paper, and spread it.

Stick it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and wash out whatever you happen to be using to melt chocolate in.  Put your white chocolate in it and melt that.

Once it's melted, add the cake mix and mix it until it's smooth, and there aren't any lumps. 

Let it cook for about three minutes, until its nice and thick.  Then take the dark chocolate out of the freezer, and pour the white chocolate on top, and spread it out. 

Top it with sprinkles, your choice :)

Pop it back into the freezer for another 20 minutes, then break it up and enjoy!

Cheers!

Love,
Liz

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

I have a thing for bread.  It's one of my many weaknesses.  I want it.  I need it.  I love it. 

There.  I've said it.  I love bread.  So shoot me.  (Ok, please don't.  That would be very unpleasant.)

I love baking bread too.  Not just eating it.  This delightful little recipe I found while I was stumbling.  If you don't use Stumble Upon, I highly urge you to do so.  But enter at your own risk.  For it is addicting.  I frequently have to tell myself, Just one more, then TURN IT OFF!

But I digress.  Here's the original recipe, here.  Go check it out.

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
adapted by Liz :)
For the dough:

2 3/4 C. plus 2 T. all-purpose flour

1/4 C. sugar

2 1/4 t. (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 t. salt

4 T. unsalted butter

1/3 C. whole milk

1/4 C. water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 t. vanilla extract

For the Filling:

1 c  sugar

2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

4 T melted until browned

To start off, take 2 cups of flour, yeast, salt and 1/4 c. sugar and mix it together in a large bowl.  Set this aside.  Whisk eggs together, set aside.  Heat milk and 4 T. of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, just until the butter is melted.  Add water and vanilla, and set aside for a minute or two, to cool slightly.  You should be able to touch it without it being too hot. 

Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. 

Now, normally, I would have used my kitchen aid.  Cuz I can be lazy that way.  And, I just love my kitchen aid.  But I felt challenged to do this by hand.  So I used my little wooden spoon and my arm muscles and mixed it all up.

Ok, now, add the eggs, and mix.  It's going to seem very gloopy and sloppy, and its going to seem like its NEVER going to mix together.  Just keep going.

 Then add 3/4 C. of flour and keeeeeeeep mixing.  It'll all come together, I promise.  Stir it all for about two more minutes.  It's going to be sticky. 

This scared me, I won't lie.  When I make bread, I always do the no-no and add just a teeny bit more flour than I'm supposed to, because the thought of a sticky goopy mess is not a good one.  But, I left it in its stickiness.  I did.  Honest.

Then put it in a large, greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it sit in a warm draft free place for about an hour, or until doubled.  I recommend the microwave. 

I'm going to insert here...Sarah...those bowls we bought at TJs? This purple one is my favorite.  :D

During this time, while you're waiting, go ahead and grease your loaf pan, and lightly flour it.  Mix together the sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg and set it aside, and also, go ahead and brown your butter.  If you don't know how to do this, don't feel bad, I didn't either.  But here's some instructions for ya!

After the dough has doubled, you're going to knead in the remaining 2 T. of flour.  Then cover with a dish towel (clean, please) and let it rest for 5 minutes. 

Lightly flour your surface and grab your rolling pin.  Do not threaten your husband with it.  Oh, wait, you don't do that? Never mind then. 

Roll out the dough.  The original recipe calls for 12" by 20", but, for ease and simplicity, I just rolled it out to the size of my cutting board.  And I couldn't find a ruler. 

Spread on that browned butter.

Then top it with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Use it all.  All of it, I tell you!

Once it has been sugared and cinnamoned, slice it into 6 equal strips.  I used a pizza cutter, because it seemed like it would be easier.

Then take those six strips, and stack them, one on top of another.

Then, using a knife, cut those strips into 6 squares. 

Take these stacked squares and lay them in your greased and floured loaf pan.  My loaf pan is a little larger than normal, so I had to sort of stagger them so it wouldn't be all empty on the sides.

Cover with your clean dish towel again, and set it back in the microwave for 30-45 minutes, until almost doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place loaf pan on the middle rack and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Try not to pass out in your kitchen while this bakes.  It smells that good.

After about 30 minutes, go ahead and dig into that puppy!

Enjoy!

Love,

Liz

Chicken Parmigiana

I'm so excited about this, for several reasons. 

1.  I haven't cooked in a long time, and I've missed it.
2. It has wine in it.  And
3. ...it has wine in it.

Like I said, its been a while since I've actually cooked anything, and so its been a while since I've blogged anything.  My hubby was home for two weeks on R&R, which is why I've been scarce.  But I'm back, and have several things I'm planning on putting up in the next week or so. 

I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman.  If you haven't checked out her site, I highly recommend it. 

Ok.  So.  Chicken Parmigiana.  It's good.  Make it.  Hopefully with something other than Duck Tales playing in the background.

Not pictured: chicken breasts and flour mixture for dredging.  We all make mistakes.  What can I say. 

Here's what you'll need:
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 T. butter
2 T. sugar
1/2 C wine (I used Merlot)
2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Linguine, or pasta of your choice.

Take chicken breasts and pound them thin.  Dredge them in the flour, salt, and pepper. 

Set them aside.  Heat up the oil and butter in a nice big pan.  Adding butter to the oil will help the chicken brown up real pretty.  When the oil is nice and hot, add the chicken, and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Set them aside and drain out most of the oil.  Do NOT scrape the pan.  Leave the yummy bits on the bottom. 

Add onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes, then add...wine.  About 1/2 cup.  Cook it until its become reduced by half, and bubbly. 
Add two cans of crushed tomatoes.  I had planned on using three, but didn't need the third.  So pretend its not in the picture up there, k? Thanks. 

Stir it all up and let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  It smells so good, try not to drool in the sauce.  Your family will thank you.  (This would be a good time to start your water for your linguine noodles.  Don't be like me and forget.)

After a while, add some parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the sugar as well, to cut the acidity of the canned tomatoes.  Then taste it.  Cuz its good. 

Add your chicken carefully to the sauce.  Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese.  Then put a little more.  Then a little more.  Coat that baby with cheese!  Cover the pan for a few minutes, so your cheese can melt.  Then you might want to add a little more, if you're like me.  But you might not be.  You might be lucky that way. 

Sprinkle a little parsley on top of the chicken, then serve with linguine.  Spoon extra sauce on for good measure.  You'll want to, I promise.

Enjoy!

Love Liz

Seriously Good Salmon Dinner

Fair warning: I am still basking in the afterglow of this meal. It was seriously a fantastic, almost guilty pleasure kind of meal…I can’t even get over it. Also, I have a cold that’s totally kicking my booty. I’m not usually the type to let a cold get me down, but this one is making me all sorts of blah. So, if I’m not quite as witty or particularly awesome while writing this…as I usually am (I kid, I kid…sorta) that’s why.

With this dinner, I kind of went crazy and made a few sinful things that I probably wouldn’t have normally put all together, but man, I’m glad I did. For this one, we’ve got salmon, pasta, and a veggie…which doesn’t seem like much but to me, it seemed like a lot. Any of these could be their own main entrée as well.

The music: None…I had Food Network on in the background. That channel is like crack to me.
The drink: Gypsy Cold Care Tea

First we’ll start with the salmon. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 ½ - 2lbs salmon, skin removed

Olive oil

Pan searing flour

Salt and Pepper

1 pat of butter

Salt and pepper the salmon and dredge with pan searing flour.

Drizzle about two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and add salmon, topside down. Cook over high heat until golden brown. Carefully flip the salmon and turn the heat down to medium high. Let the pat of butter melt over the top, moving it around a little. (I have way too much butter in that picture, I ended up taking half of it out, just fyi). Flip the salmon once again for about 30 seconds then flip back and let it cook the rest of the way through.

And now, Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus. You’ll need:

1lb fresh asparagus, ends trimmed

2 - 3oz prosciutto

Pepper

Olive oil

(I have salt in the picture because I used it, but I wouldn’t use it again, the meat is salty enough)

Once you’ve trimmed the asparagus, spread them out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Toss the asparagus, making sure they’re coated. Cut the prosciutto into strips and wrap each stalk of asparagus. Stick them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.

And now, the pasta with no name:

¼ c. (maybe a little less) parmigiano reggiano cheese

1T unsalted butter

1 large clove of garlic (grated)

1T chopped parsley

3T heavy cream

Your pasta of choice

Salt and Pepper to taste

I completely forgot to take pictures of all this, but it’s pretty self explanatory.

Cook the pasta according to the package, drain, and add everything else. Yep, that’s pretty much it.

Put it all together and you have this delicious, om noms dinner. Enjoy!
Love,
Sarah

Mellow Me Out Chicken Cacciatore

Alright, I know, I know, I know…I’ve been a total fail blogger. Whereas Liz had an excuse, I didn’t. I just basically…stopped. But I’m starting back up so be afraid.. Be very afraid.

I started this one out the night I made my oh-so-delicious chicken cacciatore and then for some reason, stopped. I can’t remember why. So rather than re-write the entire thing, I’ll keep it just the way it was because I could not even begin to re-capture the depth of emotion I was feeling at the time.

----------

First off, I must assure you that no children were harmed in the making of this meal. And I say this because my younger son was soooooooooo naughty, I was ready to throw my chicken on the floor and just quit. You see, Jack is very cute but, his angle face only distracts you from his devil horns. I’m convinced that given the correct tools (and the right partner in crime), he could very well take over the world. No joke.

Let’s just say, I now have cream of tartar and rainbow sprinkles scattered about my house and my older son, Ethan, now has smushed strawberries embedded into his mattress. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little dude, but this child might just be the death of me.

But I digress. Luckily after this insanely crazy incident, I had a plate of beautiful chicken cacciatore to sit down to and enjoy. And when I say beautiful…I mean it. I actually sort of made up this recipe, having no idea what I was doing; so the fact that it turned out was a miracle.

The music: “Rolling in the Deep” by: Adele. If you haven’t heard that song, I highly recommend it.
The drink: Frigging coffee…again.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

Rice (however much you want to make, really)
1 - 28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1c. mushrooms, chopped
1T. chopped basil
1T. chopped parsley
2 cloves of grated garlic
1 ½ - 2lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Pan searing flour
Garlic infused oil
Salt and pepper

Cook rice according to package while doing all of this other junk.

Salt and pepper and dredge the chicken thighs with the pan searing flour. You could use regular flour if you’d like…I just had pan searing on hand.

Drizzle a couple of garlic infused olive oil into a pan (I made my own oil) and cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until the outside becomes a nice golden brown, transfer to a plate, and set aside. (insert the picture I forgot to take here)

While the chicken is cooking, slice, chop, sing to, play baseball (or whatever else you’d like to do with them) your veggies and herbs and stick ‘em in a bowl; letting them all hang out together for a little bit before transferring them to the pan you cooked the chicken in. Grate the garlic down into the veggies while they cook.

Before the veggies get too soft, add the chicken back in, letting it all cook the rest of the way for at least 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the can of tomatoes…I know, not so pretty yet, right? Just wait. Let this all simmer (lid on) for as long as you want really. If you let it simmer too long, the veggies can become mushy though…so just keep an eye on it.

Oh yeah…here we go….

Serve over rice aaaaand…. Ta Da!!! Chicken Cacciatore!!!  Enjoy!

Love,
Sarah

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Alright, I’m warning everyone right here, right now. Liz and I…are addicted to Cupcake Wars. And as a result, we are constantly texting each other about new cupcake ideas. Soooo….if you see a few hundred cupcake recipes in this blog, you now know why.

I’ve been thinking about making these particular cupcakes for about a week now and finally decided to give them a whirl. It took a lot of going back and forth and asking other people what they thought. I don’t usually bake so this is all new to me. I’m shocked that I even want to try.

But these cupcakes are by far the best one’s I’ve ever made. I really hope you all like them.

The music: A lil’ bit of Dave Matthews Band, thank you very much.
The drink: Some yummy blackberry wine. Yeah, I drank while making these. I was childless! Don’t judge me! Stop it, right now!!

I decided to try and find a different cupcake recipe considering mine keep coming out quite dense. So after some searching, I found this one:

2c. flour
½ t. salt
2 t. baking powder
½ c. butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
2 eggs
1c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract

Allow me to give credit where credit is due: Simple Vanilla Cupcakes
Follow the instructions, right down to the 20 minutes. This recipe says it makes 20-25 cupcakes. I got 12. Who knows?

Now, I added about 3 tablespoons of melted white chocolate to the batter on a whim. I’m not exactly sure if it made a difference, but hey, why not?

Cool on a wire rack, then dig out little holes in the center of the cupcake.

Filling:
1 pint of fresh raspberries
¼ c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 container of mascarpone cheese, softened

Wash raspberries and put them into a pot with sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, smushing the raspberries a little until they form a yummy raspberry liquid. Add the vanilla then remove from heat. In a separate bowl mix together the mascarpone and raspberry liquid. Stick it in the fridge until you’re ready to fill the cupcakes. (which I forgot to take a picture of)

Frosting:
½ c. butter
1-8oz. package of cream cheese; softened
2 ½ c. confectioners sugar
1t. vanilla extract
¾ c. melted white chocolate

In a mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla and mix. Slowly add the sugar, little bits at a time until it’s sweet enough for you.

Make your own double boiler by filling a pot about half way and set a bowl over it (the bowl should not touch the water). Turn on the heat, bringing the water to a boil. The steam from the water will melt the chocolate. Do this slowly otherwise the chocolate will burn. Once it’s melted, add to the frosting.

Put the filling into a pastry bag (if you’ve got one) and fill up the holes you made in the cupcakes. Then do them up with some frosting. Top with a little bit of sugar to make it sparkle and one raspberry.

Aren't they pretty?!?!

Love,

Sarah