Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

This cake is AMAZING. It is rich and moist. Decadent. If you have ever had a chocolate cake from Sam's Club or Costco, this is even better.

I adapted the recipe from this blog.

Ingredients:
2/3 C cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pan
3/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 C boiling water
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp of kosher salt
13 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 2/3 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 2/3 tsp vanilla
1 C sour cream
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
Ganache:
2/3 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 Tbs unsalted butter
1/3 C heavy cream
mini chocolate chips, if desired

Directions:
Have the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325. Thoroughly grease your bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder. In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder and chocolate. Add the boiling water and stir until the chips are melted and smooth.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt onto a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.

In your electric mixing bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat on medium speed for up to 5 minutes, until mixture lightens in color. You can stop the mixer periodically to scrape down the bowl. Add eggs one at a time and then add vanilla.

While your mixer is running on slow, alternately add the sifted flour mixture with the sour cream in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture and beat until entire mixture is brown and there are no white streaks. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into bundt pan. Spread batter so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 60-65 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs. Let cool on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Then carefully invert and de-pan. Let cool completely before adding ganache, at least 1 hour.

To make the ganache, heat heavy cream in a small saucepan. When it just comes to a boil, add the butter and chocolate chips. Whisk until smooth. Let it cool for about 1 minute until it starts to thicken. Pour ganache over top of cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle the top with mini chocolate chips while the ganache is still warm.

Shepherd's Pie

I made this casserole for some friends who came over for a game night last week. It is great when you want a casserole a bit different from the chicken and pasta ones.

Here is the original recipe. (And I borrowed their picture)

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1-2 C vegetables (I used fresh carrots and frozen peas), chopped

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of potatoes (I usually go for the max because I like lots of mashed potatoes on top)

8 Tbs of butter, divided

1/2 C beef broth

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Boil the potatoes to prepare them for mashing. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and begin sauteing the onions. As the onions cook, add the other vegetables according to cook time (I waited to add the peas until after the meat was browned).

Add ground beef and cook until brown. While it cooks, add salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic powder. You can drain the grease or add some flour for thickening into a gravy. When the meat is brown, add 1/2 C beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the potatoes.

Mash the potatoes with remaining 4 Tbs of butter. Season to taste.

Move meat and vegetables to a 13x9 baking dish. Spread potatoes on top. Use a fork to add texture to the potatoes if they are very smooth. This will form peaks that will brown nicely in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes begin to brown.

Creamy Crockpot Potato Soup

My friend told me about this indulgent soup. It is so creamy, I love it! A great comfort food for winter. The original recipe called for frozen hash-browns but I used fresh potatoes I shredded in my grater and it turned out lovely. I also added a few carrots we had in the fridge.

Original Recipe
Ingredients:
5 peeled, shredded potatoes (or you can use a 30oz bag of shredded hash-browns, frozen)
3 cups of chicken boullion
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 8oz package of cream cheese

Directions:
Mix everything but the cream cheese in the crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-6 hours. When you have about 1 hour left, add the cream cheese. Make sure you stir it thoroughly before serving. Top with green onions and cheddar cheese if desired.

S'more Bars

I have been seeing a lot of S'more recipes on Pinterest. I love those treats, pretty sure they are my favorite part of camping. So I finally made one of the recipes today on a play-date with my friend. This tasted remarkably like a s'more! So good and gooey. It really has all the elements a s'more needs!
Original Recipe

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized hershey's bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, cracker crumbs, baking power, and salt. Mix. Press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Spread a layer of marshmallow fluff evenly over it (it is okay if you don't use all 1 1/2 cups). Place the hershey's bars over the top so they cover the whole thing evenly. Press remaining graham dough over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Eat with a very large glass of milk!

Skillet Lasagna

My sister recommended this recipe to me. It is a lasagna you cook in a skillet. It was easy and tasty. I was worried it would be too tomato-ey but it tasted like a lasanga to me. And it doesn't call for any meat but I bet you could add some if you felt in the mood - however I didn't even miss it in this dish. So cheesy and delish.

Here is the original recipe. I modified it a bit to this:

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tsp basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces and cooked
2 tablespoons parsley (dried or fresh)

Directions:
Heat the oil and cook the onions until tender. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, sauce, basil, pepper and salt. Cook about 5 minutes, until thickened a bit. Stir in the cooked noodles. Spoon on ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Let cheese melt. Stir in parsley and serve. 

Crepes with Apple Filling

One of my roommates in college was from Dijon, France. She had a great crepe recipe that I have often used. I was in the mood for crepes but couldn't find her recipe so I just used this one from allrecipes. The crepes turned out really yummy and I also made an apple-cinnamon filling one of the reviewers talked about.

Ingredients:
1 C flour
2 eggs
1/2 C milk
1/2 C water
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter, melted

Filling:
1 Tbs butter
1 apple, chopped
pinch of cinnamon
1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:
Whisk together the eggs, milk, water, and melted butter. Stir in the flour and salt. Poor 1/4 cup of batter on a small frying pan over medium high heat. Tilt the pan so the batter evenly coats the bottom in the thin layer. Cook for about two minutes and then flip. Cook until desired brown-ness. Serve with apple filling. Makes about 8 crepes.
 Filling: Mix together all ingredients in a small frying pan. Cook until apple is soft.

I also enjoy eating my crepes with just a little lemon juice and powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Whitney's French Bread

This is my favorite French Bread recipe. No kneading required but it comes out fluffy and delicious. The multiple rising times make this bread take a lot of time but most of it is just wait time and doesn't require your attention. I used to skip the second two rises but the bread comes out much better if you let it rise all the times required. The egg white helps the loaf turn an appetizing shade of brown.
Half the recipe for one loaf.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs dry yeast
1/2 C warm water
2 C hot water
3 Tbs Sugar
1 Tbs salt
5 Tbs vegetable oil
6 C flour

1 egg white + 1 tsp water for top

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C warm water. Let stand 10 min (if you use instant yeast you can skip this step and just toss the yeast in with all the other ingredients).
Combine all ingredients (except egg white) and beat well. Allow the dough to rise until double (about 1 hr). Punch it down and then allow it to rise again (about 1 hr). Roll into 2 long french loaves and put on a baking sheet. Gash the tops diagonally with a knife and brush with egg white. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 16 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.


Ingredients for 1 loaf:
1 Tbs dry yeast
1 1/4C hot water
1 1/2 Tbs Sugar
1/2 Tbs salt
2 1/2 Tbs oil
3 C flour