Chocolate Cake

I will never, ever use a different recipe for chocolate cake again. I have seriously never had a cake like this. This is the BEST.....for all of you chocolate lovers.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

11 oz semi-sweet chocolate

2/3 cup butter

6 lg egs, seperated

2/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9" springform pan, line the bottom with buttered wax paper; dust with cocoa & shake out excess. Slowly melt chocolate & butter together in a heavy saucepan over low heat; COOL. Meanwhile seperate eggs into 2 large bowls. Beat yolks for about 1 minute; slowly add sugar & continue beating til thick & lemon colored. Beat whites until they just begin to peak. Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg yolks and blend thoroughly. Pour the chocolate & egg yolk mixture into egg whites & fold gently til completely blended. Pour batter into prepared pan & bake 40-45 minutes. Cool 1/2 hour before turning out onto serving plate. Frost with......

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup whipping cream

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

4 oz milk chocolate

Chop chocolate. Simmer cream and butter. Reduce heat; add both chocolates & stir until smooth. Let stand until cool, but still pourable, about 1 hour. Spoon glaze over cake. Refrigerate cake, but serve at room temp. Serve with spoonful of sweetened whipped cream.

To Decorate....cut a peice of wax paper that covers top of cake. In the center draw the outline of a leaf (use a real leaf). Cut it out-lay the paper over cold cake & shake a little powdered sugar over. Carefully remove wax paper. You can do this with hearts too!

Honey Nut Stir-Fry

We like this because it is different from regular stir-fry! I have done chicken instead of pork and I usually add more veggies (peas, broccoli, etc.)

1 pound pork steak or loin or boneless chicken breast

3/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup honey

3 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

2 Tbsp Vegetable oil, divided

2 large carrots sliced diagonally

2 stalks celery sliced diagonally

1/2 cup cashews

Hot cooked rice

Cut pork in thin strips, set aside. Combine O.J., honey, soy sauce, cornstarch, and ginger in small bowl, mix well. Heat 1 T. oil. in skillet over medium heat Add carrots and celery; stir fry about 3 minutes or until crispy tender-DO NOT overcook veggies. Remove vegetables; set aside. Pour remaining oil in skillet. Add pork, stir-fry about 3 minutes. Return vegetables to skillet; add honey mixture and nutes. Cook and stir until sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Serve over rice. Seves 4-6.

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

While I was home in Utah, I was able to catch a few episodes of food network....my favorite. This recipe was from Rachel Ray and we made them with steaks.....so good!

8 portabello mushroom caps (the huge ones)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing mushrooms
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained well
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg yolk
1 clove garlic, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg about 1/8 teaspoon
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat grill to medium-high and oven to 425 degrees F.

Using a damp towel, brush mushroom caps to clean. Using a pastry brush, coat the caps with extra-virgin olive oil and grill with lid down or roast about 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until tender but still firm at center.
Wring the spinach out in a clean kitchen towel. Separate the spinach with your fingers and combine with artichokes, ricotta cheese, egg yolk, grated garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, and nutmeg.
Remove mushroom caps from grill.
To portion-control the filling, divided the stuffing into 4 parts then just split each of those evenly between 2 caps. Sprinkle the caps with Parmigiano and cook 5 to 6 minutes more in the preheated oven to set filling and lightly brown tops. Serve Warm!

-Nicole

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Warning:This recipe makes alot!

Made this yummy tex-mex dish the other night...I absolutely LOVE this and so did my husband...it is especially perfect for chilly winter days!!

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs margarine or oil of choice

3 14 oz. chicken broth or bullion

1 can cream of chicken

1 can cream corn

2 t. cumin

3 Tbs cilantro

1 chopped onion

2 Tbs flour

4 cups half & half or milk

1 cup salsa

6 chicken breasts, cooked

1 pkg. taco seasoning

Tortilla chips

(Cheese, Avocado, Tomato, etc)

In a large pot, saute the garlic and onions in the margarine or oil for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir well one minute. Add broth and milk. Return to boil and then cool. Add cream of chicken, corn, salsa, chicken, cumin, seasoning, cilantro. Stir and heat for 15 minutes.

Serve by putting chips, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, etc in a bowl and serve soup over the top...(or put them all on top of the soup).

YUM!!!

Yummy Caramel Popcorn

2 cups brown sugar
1 cube butter
1 cup karo syrup
1 tsp baking soda

2 bags microwave popcorn (the more butter, the better)

Cook up the microwave popcorn first. Take all the kernels out.

Put first three ingredients in 2 qt. saucepan. Melt together and boil for 30 seconds (I start timing right when there starts to be bubbles, it doesn't seem like very long, but don't go over!)

Take off heat, stir in baking soda and pour over popcorn and mix. Enjoy! It is so yummy and addictive.

Thanks for starting this website nicole, I have already tried some recipes and plan to try lots more!

-Amanda Bailey

Chops and Beans

Emilee gave me this recipe this afternoon and I can't wait to try it. She said that a fresh green salad works wonderfully with it to complete the meal. This is one of Brad and Emilee's favorites. I can't wait to try it next week! P.s. I love that this is a crock pot meal.

Chops and Beans

2 - 1lb. cans pork and beans
1/2 C. ketchup

2 slices bacon, browned and crumbled

1/2 C. chopped onions, sauteed

1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce

1/2 C. firmly packed brown sugar

4-6 pork chops

2 tsp. prepared mustard

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 C. ketchup

one lemon

1. Combine beans, 1/2 C. ketchup, bacon, onions, worcestershire sauce and 1/4 C. brown sugar in slow cooker.2. Brown chops in skillet. In separate bowl, mix together 2 tsp. mustard, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar and 1/4 C. ketchup. Brush each chop with sauce, then carefully stack into slow cooker, placing a slice of lemon on each chop. Submerge in bean/bacon mixture.3. Cover. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

Buttermilk Pancakes

We love this pancake recipe. A friend of ours worked at Magelby's Fresh and gave it to us. The syrup becomes frothy when you add the soda and is the best when drizzled over fresh fruit. We like to use the syrup over french toast and waffles too.

Pancakes:
Prepare the NIGHT before:
6 eggs

1 T. Baking Soda

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 quart Buttermilk

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
Mix wet ingredients then stir in dry ingredients. Refrigderate. If thicker than desired in the morning, you may add a little more buttermilk.

Buttermilk Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp soda

Bring sugar, buttermilk and butter to a boil in saucepan. Turn off heat and add vanilla and soda. Serve immediately over pancakes. Best drizzled over fruit!