One Bowl Chocolate Cake

I wanted to make something chocolatey yesterday, but I didn't want to spend much time on it, 

and it had to be good. I found this recipe in a stack of several hundred (I have a serious problem with having to tear out every recipe that I come across in any given magazine because I know I'll need it some day), and since it is made in one bowl, I knew I needed to give it a try. I'm glad I did. 

It turned out really delicious. Dense but not dry with a great deep chocolate flavor.

When I came in from my walk the next morning, (my first of hopefully many, but that's 

a whole other issue), I found my daughter Chelsea and my grand baby Kasidee sitting at the table eating cake for breakfast. She evidently had spied it in the fridge and 

had to have some. She emphatically declared how delicious it was even after it had hung 

out in the fridge, sloppily covered (my 15 year old son covered it last night) all night long. 

That tells me this recipe is definitely a keeper.

I frosted it with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. I use this recipe a lot. The cream cheese in it helps cut the sweetness so you don't get that sugar overload you get a lot of times with frosted cakes. 

ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE

3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting pans
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 cup warm water
3 tbsp safflower oil, I used regular vegetable
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat over to 350*. Butter two 8 inch round cake pans; dust with cocoa. Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low speed until just combined. Raise speed to medium, and add eggs, buttermilk, water, oil and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Batter will be pretty thin.

Divide batter between pans. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. It only took 30 minutes in my oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. turn out from pans. Transfer, face up, to wire racks. Let cool completely. Frost with your favorite frosting.

Not in the mood....

Wow, its Valentines Day and I fill like I should be more...I don't know, into it, but I'm not. After all, I am in love and all.

Ok, looking at that helps. I think I'll go kiss my hubby and bake something chocolately.

Be back later.

Delicious Easy Lasagna

I think Lasagna is one of the ultimate comfort foods. We've had the most snow this Wednesday that this area (Benton, Ar) has seen in a while. Here we got about 7 inches with the Northwest part of the state seeing 15-18 inches in some places. Personally, I love it. I'm originally from Wyoming, moving to this area about 15 years ago, and I miss the snow terribly.

I have used this recipe for years. It's probably my favorite for several reasons, one being its really really good, and another being its really easy to make. Win - Win

See the gooey cheese coming up through the noodles...love it.

Start by browning your meat with some salt and pepper.

Then add your onion, garlic and spices.

Pour in your tomatoes, paste and water.

and.........Waa-Laa!!!!!  Rich and delicious tomato sauce.

You might spy a couple of mushrooms in there because I had a half jar in the fridge that

I added. You could actually add alot of mushrooms if you wanted to,

or some black olives for that matter. Go crazy.

Mix your cottage and ricotta cheeses with the salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.

Grate the other two cheese and mix together.

Add salt and a little olive oil to your boiling water to cook your noodles in.

Drain your noodles. Oh, I'm sure you probably notice the shells in there. When I checked to make sure I had lasagna noodles to make this, I didn't notice that the box had been opened, so I had to supplement with something else. I had probably a dozen shells from a previous recipe so I tossed them in. I just cut them somewhat in half and layered them in there. Once it was cooked you couldn't tell the difference.

Layer it all starting and ending with meat sauce.

Cook until it blends into scrumptious deliciousness.

Serve with garlic french bread.

I just buttered thick slices of bread and sprinkled with garlic salt then broiled them

under the broiler for a few minutes. Simple!

Delicious Easy-Peasy Lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles

1 ½ - 2 lbs ground chuck

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 6oz can of water

1 tsp sugar

CHEESE MIXTURE:

1 16oz container cottage cheese, small curd

1 15oz container ricotta cheese

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

¼ tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Brown hamburger in olive oil, adding salt and pepper. Before it’s completely brown add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until meat is browned and onions are tender. Add crushed tomatoes, paste, water and sugar. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Taste to make sure it is well seasoned, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

Combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning; set aside. Grate mozzarella and Monterey and combine.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once it’s boiling, salt well and add a spash or two of olive oil so the noodles don't stick together, then cook noodles according to package instructions. Make sure you cook them just until el dente because you’ll be cooking them again in the oven.

To assemble; lightly spray a 9x13 baking pan and cover bottom with a small amount of meat sauce. Lay noodles side by side to cover bottom of pan (3 noodles should do it); top with a layer of cottage/ricotta cheese and a layer of shredded cheese. Cover with a layer of meat sauce and repeat layering with noodles, cheese and meat mixture, ending with the meat sauce. I like to do 4 or 5 layers so you would need to cook 12-15 noodles.

Bake at 375* covered for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese for the last 10 minutes of cook time if desired.

I love that you stopped by and appreciate all comments.

Chicken Breasts in Gravy over Cheese Tortellini

This dish turned out really good. 

Seriously good and it was really easy to make, with very few ingredients.

In my mind I was thinking of the breasts in some kind of cheesy sauce, 

but then decided to do just a simple cream sauce and serve it over some frozen 

5 cheese tortellini's that I needed to use up. 

It was a good choice and took very little time to make.

Chicken Breasts and Gravy over Cheese Tortellini

6 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups tortellini, cooked according to package directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; salt and pepper the chicken breasts and brown on both sides. Remove to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet saute onion and garlic until softened. Whisk in butter and flour and cook 2-3 minutes. Add broth and milk whisking until well mixed. Add nutmeg; then add back in chicken and any juices accumulated on the plate. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 7-12 minutes depending on size of breasts. The sauce will thicken as it cooks. Taste for salt and pepper. Add in 2 tbsp of the parsley saving the rest to garnish individual plates.

Serve over cooked cheese tortellini or pasta of your choice.

Spicy Sausage, Squash and White Bean Soup

 I found this recipe in one of my favorite recipe books called "The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great" by Pam Anderson.

 It has tons of great meal ideas and "lighter version" recipes of many dishes, 
including desserts. All of them I've tried have been great.

Goes perfect with a couple of these Mini Pumpkin Muffins with Orange Glaze.

SPICY SAUSAGE, SQUASH and WHITE BEAN SOUP

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp dried sage

½ tsp Italian seasoning

12 oz  turkey sausage, fully cooked, sliced into bite size rounds

1 quart chicken broth

1 can petite diced tomatoes

8 oz butternut or other winter squash, peeled, seeded, medium dice (about 1 ½ cups)

8 oz broccoli rabe, chopped, about 6 cups (broccoli or kale is good too)

2 cans white beans, drained

Saute onion, pepper flakes, sage and Italian seasoning in olive oil until golden brown. Add sausage and garlic; cook 3-4 minutes more. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat; cover and let stand to allow flavors to blend, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings if needed.