Monday, September 21, 2009

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Frosting *Lauren Perry*


My friend Erica (from NY) sent me this cake recipe and its delicious! I made up a frosting to go with it and I cannot begin to describe how yummy this cake is (and its the perfect treat for the Fall)!

Ingredients

1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 can of pumpkin
1/2 cup of milk
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3 TBS cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups of chocolate chips (I did 1 cup milk chocolate 3/4 cup of white chocolate)


Directions

Oven to 350- grease and dust bundt pan
mix wet ingredients in large bowl
mix dry ingredients in another bowl
Fold the wet and dry mixture together and then mix together with a mixer for a minute
Fold in chocolate chips
pour batter into prepared pan
bake cake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (use a toothpick to make sure middle is cooked)

Frosting

1 brick of cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 jar marshmellow cream
In a mixer, cream cream cheese
add marshmellow cream, brown sugar, cinnamon and powdered sugar
Refridgerate so its not as runny.


This frosting is very gooey and wonderful! It coats the bundt cake and has the perfect taste to balance out the pumpkin and chocolate. I put A TON of frosting on when I made it- but its just as good if you just drizzle a decent amount on the cake (you dont have to completely cover it). On a side note- everyone that tried my cake ended up scooping up extra frosting from the plate to put it on the cake because it is just so yummy :)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Cake in a cup *Lauren Perry*




This is THE EASIEST cake recipe on earth :) Its very yummy and it is perfect if you just want to watch a movie at night in your pj's with a bowl of ice cream! It takes 4 total minutes to make. The texture is VERY similar to a chocolate souffle- sort of spongy and very rich. I also added some white chocolate chips (because they don't melt and they add a nice little flavor and texture). You will also need a LARGE glass of milk!

4 TBS of Flour
4 TBS of Sugar
2 TBS of Cocoa Powder
1 egg
3 TBS Milk
3 TBS of Oil
1-3 TBS of chocolate chips (depending on how much you love chocolate!
1 TSP vanilla extract
a hot cocoa/coffee mug

mix all dry ingredients in a mug
add wet ingredients and mix well
add chocolate chips
microwave for 3 minutes
eat it in the mug or on a plate- serve white vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Stromboli *Lauren Perry*

The options are endless! This is very similar to a pizza or a calzone. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
1 loaf of frozen bread dough or frozen raw pizza dough
2 cups (1 pckg) of shredded cheese (preferably mozzarella)
basil, oregano, garlic salt, onion powder- just whatever seasonings you enjoy
pepperoni (or ham, Canadian bacon, salami--- you get the idea, whatever meats you want)
1 can of marinara (or alfredo or a melted garlic butter sauce)

Directions
Thaw dough in fridge for 24 hours
take dough out and let it sit on counter for 30 minutes to thaw
On cutting board with light flour (to prevent sticking) pull bread dough until it makes a 9 x 13 (ish) rectangular shape
Sprinkle with spices of your choice across the whole rectangle dough
Layer with meats and veggies of your choice with the 2 cups of shredded cheese
fold edges of dough and roll (or fold) it up like a log roll
Place on greased cookie sheet seem side down
Poke a few holes in top of Stromboli and sprinkle a little cheese on top
Bake 350' for 30 minutes

Slice and serve with warm marinara as a dipping sauce

***This recipe is great because you can do sooo many different options. You can do turkey meat and Swiss cheese, you could do chicken, garlic and mushrooms with an Alfredo dipping sauce- the options are literally endless! Its also super easy and is great with leftovers***

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Choco-Hoto-Pots *Lauren Perry*

Make 4 little molten lava type cakes, SUPER yummy and easy..... drink LOTS of milk!

Ingredients
Butter ramekins
3/4 cup of chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
3 TBS of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

Directions
preheat oven to 400'
set aside baking sheet and 4 buttered ramekins
microwave stick of butter and chocolate chips until melted- set aside to cool
in sep. bowl, combine eggs, sugar and flour- add cooled chocolate mixture and mix together by hand
fold in white chocolate chips
scoop into ramekins, bake about 20 minutes- ramekins and chocolate cake will be HOT- so let cool a few minutes. It should be cake like on the outside and runny chocolate in the middle

Monday, September 7, 2009

Funeral Potatoes *Lauren Perry*

Super easy and yummy, you all probably already have this recipe- but its always a good one for potlucks and bbq's!

Ingredients-

2 lbs of frozen shredded hashbrowns
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 pint of sour cream
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 chopped green onion
salt and pepper

Directions-

mix soup and sour cream in large bowl with salt and pepper
combine all ingredients into that bowl
add to 9 x 13 dish and bake 350' for 45 minutes

Best BBQ Ribs EVER *Lauren Perry*




(in the pic, you will see some grilled onions too- that is just leftover from cooking the ribs in the oven with the onions- my husband is an onion freak!)
BBQ sauce-

Ingredients
juice and some zest from 1 lime
juice and some zest from 1 lemon
juice and some zest from 1 orange
1/3 an onion chopped
1 tsp of bacon fat (optional)
1 tsp butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp of liquid smoke
2 TBS of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
2 TBS of Molasses
1/4 cup of bottled chili sauce
2 TBS honey Dijon mustard
Few shakes of garlic salt and pepper

** Melt butter and add chopped onion. Juice fruits, zest skins and add half of juiced fruit and rind to pot on med/low heat
** Add all other ingredients and set pot to simmer for atleast an hour. Let cool on stove and refridgerate for later (in pic you can see 1/2 rind from orange, lemon and lime- pull out before you refridgerate)

Ribs-

Ingredients
Baby Back Ribs
1 can of coke
1/2 an onion
garlic salt
pepper
1 cup of water
2 tbs of cooking oil

Put ribs in glass baking dish, cover in sliced onions, garlic salt, oil, pepper
Pour can of coke over ribs and add 1 cup of water
Bake @ 275 for a few hours (1 hr per pound of ribs- so 2 1/2 lbs of ribs cook for about 2 1/2 hours)

Put ribs on a platter and bbq WITHOUT the sauce on it. When the ribs have about 5 more minutes left on the bbq- add a thin layer of the bbq sauce and cook. Put back on platter- bring in and add more bbq sauce to the ribs :) That way you don't burn the flavor of the bbq sauce on the ribs.