My Life, My Children

This sounds like a great quick dessert. Given my love of chocolate, I can see this filling a craving. The recipe landed in my inbox the other day thanks to Thrifty Fun. I can’t wait to try it out. Having two daughters, I can see this being a fun recipe to share with them and get them involved. They are young and don’t have a lot of patients so something quick and tasty is just right for them. I can also see the opportunity to alter this recipe and add flavors to enhance and change the results. But for starts, I will follow the recipe verbatim. Once tried, I will post my results.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients

*    4 Tbsp. flour
*    4 Tbsp. sugar
*    2 Tbsp. cocoa
*    1 egg
*    3 Tbsp. milk
*    3 Tbsp. oil
*    2-3 Tbsp. milk chocolate chips (optional)
*    A small splash of vanilla extract
*    1 large coffee mug

Directions

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil. Mix again well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! This makes a generous serving for two. If you’re a chocoholic, watch out! With this recipe you are only five minutes away from a deliciously, decadent dessert!

Note: I sprayed the mug with a little Baker’s Joy to insure its coming out more easily. I also think I’ll add chopped nuts next time. My grandson and I made one tonight and it was scrumptious with some vanilla ice cream on the side.

Source: This recipe was given to me by a dear friend who has raised five children. I’m sure she has to be very creative with her cooking!

By Sandy from Elon, NC

My daughters and I just made the easiest fudge recipe. It tastes great too.

Ingredients:
3 cups of chocolate chips
1 14 oz can of sweet condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
Chopped nuts - optional

Heat the first two ingredients over a medium burner until completely mixed together. Remove from heat and add the next two ingredients. Pour into a square lined baking pan and chill in the refrigerator until firm. Then remove and cut into small pieces. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

We opted to leave out the nuts. We also mixed whatever left over chips I had in the house. Ours was a concoction of chocolate, milk chocolate, caramel and butterscotch.

This baked dish is a family favorite. We use it for any pitch in dinner since it is easy to make and feeds a lot. Family members often request it.

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen hash browns or shredded potatoes (not patties)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8oz sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup shredded cheese (I use more)

In a bowl, mix the potatoes, soup, sour cream and cheese together. Place this into a prepared baking dish. Pour the melted butter over the top. I add more cheese to the top of the dish before baking. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. Serve hot.

This recipe reheats well. You can add bacon bits to the potatoes is desired.

My new favorite meal is so easy to make, thanks to a friend who told me about it when we were discussing pork chops and how to cook them. I had taken to frying them when she suggested baking them in barbeque sauce.

Ingredients:
4 pork chops with bone in
Favorite BBQ sauce about a cup
4 potatoes

Using a baking dish, place the pork chops into the dish and cover them with BBQ sauce. Cover the dish with tin foil so the sauce doesn’t burn. Place the dish with your potatoes into the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes and dinner is ready! It couldn’t be easier and you don’t have to do anything but make a salad or vegetable.

I have used this chicken recipe for the middle of the week and also for a fancy dinner. It works for both situations.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
4 slices of swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
Bread crumbs (Pepperidge farm stuffing)

In a greased baking dish, place the four chicken breasts. Lay the cheese on top of the chicken. Pour the cream of chicken soup over the cheese. Top with breadcrumbs, I tend to use stuffing instead. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour.

Serve over rice.

If you choose to bake the layer of rice on the bottom, add enough water or chicken broth to cook the rice.

Have you ever made quiche? Maybe you like to eat it but have never made it. Actually, it is very easy to make. It freezes well and tastes like it took much more effort than it does to make it. The recipe that follows can be altered easily to your likes or leftovers.

Ingredients:
Pie shell (I use frozen) 9″
1 cup cheese (I use a Mexican mix shredded but any kind will work)
1 cup meat (I use cut up lunch meat, turkey. But again, you can use any kind)
2 eggs
1 cup cream (whipping cream or half and half are fine)

Prick the pastry shell and fill with a few balls of tin foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, the remove the foil and bake for 5 additional minutes.

Layer the meat and then the cheese into the shell.

In a separate bowl, wisk the eggs and cream together and then cover the meat and cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes.

Oh this recipe is great for holiday cookie exchanges, for gift giving and just plan eating! It is so easy. And a bit of a surprise comes from the ingredients (saltine crackers).

CHOCOLATE TOFFEE CRACKER COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
40    Saltine crackers
1 c    Brown sugar
1/2 c    Finely chopped walnuts
2    Sticks of butter or margarine
12 oz    Chocolate chips
Pam non-stick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS
1. preheat oven to 400*
2. Line baking sheets with foil and spray with Pam
3. Arrange crackers on sheets, one layer thick.
4. in sauce pan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
5. pour mixture over crackers and bake in oven for 5 minutes.
6. remove and sprinkle choc chips over top. Return to oven for 2 minutes to melt chocolate.
7. using a spoon or fork, spread the choc.
Sprinkle with nuts.
8. place in fridge to cool. When cool,
break into pieces.

Really easy bar recipe for holiday cookie exchanges. Cut them into small pieces because they are chewy and rich.

RICE CRISPY TREATS – PEANUT BUTTER

INGREDIENTS
1 c    Peanut butter
1/2 c    Corn syrup
4 tbsp.    Sugar
3 c    Rice Krispies

6 oz.    Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS
1. In medium saucepan, combine peanut butter, corn syrup and sugar; cook over low heat until peanut butter is melted.
2. Stir off heat, add in rice krispies, mix until all are coated.
3. Press into a foil lined or well greased 8×8x2 pan.
4. Melt chocolate chips and spread over rice krispies and cool.
5. Cut into squares.

You can mix choc chips with butterscotch
chips for a richer taste.

This is a great holiday cookie recipe. They are very simple to make but taste and look like much more effort. They would make a great hostess gift or thank you gift for anyone you may want to remember this holiday season.

FRENCH LACE COOKIES
These elegant cookies are crispy and delicious. You can dress them up by drizzling melted chocolate over them. They are also low in fat. Makes 4 dozen.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c
Light corn syrup
1/2 c
Shortening
2/3 c
Packed brown sugar
1 c
All purpose flour
1 c
Chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS
1. preheat oven 350*, Cover cookie sheet with parchment
2. In a medium sauce pan heat corn syrup, shortening and brown sugar over medium heat Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
3. In a small bowl toss together the nuts and flour. Add this to the saucepan and remove from heat.
4. Keep batter warm by placing it over a double
boiler. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the
cookie sheet. Cookies should be 3″ apart
Bake for 5 minutes until the center of the cookie is set. Let the cookies set before removing from the baking sheets.

Now that the weather is turning colder, I must say I crave baked breads more. Dinner rolls, crescent rolls, toast pretty much anything in the bread category. It’s comfort food. I know too much can cause weight gain and I need to watch it. A few ways to alter the can version of crescent rolls are:

Cinnamon
Open the package and unroll the rolls. Laying them flat on a pan, sprinkle them with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before rolling them into their crescent shape and bake as usual.

Herb
Using the same technique as the cinnamon rolls above, replace the cinnamon sugar with an herb mixture for a hearty flavor.

Baked Sandwich
I use canned rolls for the starts of baked sandwiches. These are easy clean out the refrigerator food. Lay the rolls flat on a baking sheet and add your favorite lunchmeat and cheese. You can roll them up or bake them flat; either way, they are great warm sandwiches.

Other ideas can be found at: http://www.pillsbury.com