Valentine's Day sneak peak!

{for a special treat I will share the delicious delectables we consumed for our romantic day. Prepare yourself, words cannot accurately describe it... pictures come close, but you'll have to make it to fully appreciate it.}

*what a "love"ly table...


*the meal that awaits to be eaten

Death by Chocolate Cake

This is probably a recipe that is familiar to a lot of people but with a name like that, who can resist. I got this recipe from one of my nieces, but since we haven't talked any of the nieces into posting recipes, I guess I'll have to get credit for it. I had to bring a cake for the Blue and Gold banquet and decided to take this. As you can see, I heated my glaze a little too long which left quite a puddle. (the better to scoop up later) This would be a great for a college girl to take to an apartment of cute boys!

1 c. sour cream

4 eggs

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. oil

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix

1 small pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1-2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

1 container of chocolate frosting

Spray a Bundt pan with non-stick spray (I like the one with flour in it for this) and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together sour cream, eggs, water and oil until well blended. Add cake mix and pudding and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Invert on a plate to cool

Heat frosting in the microwave until pourable. (make sure you take off the tin foil first) Glaze your cake and get a cold glass of milk ready. With all that chocolate, you're going to need it.

BBQ Ranch Sandwiches

This recipe was presented by the director of the cooking classes I attend. My husband and son really liked this recipe. At least 3 times while we were eating, my husband said, "This is a keeper". This recipe could feed four but the men wanted a little more than their one sandwich, so they split the last one.

Servings: 4 sandwiches

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:

1 10-oz. (12-inch) Italian bread shell (thin crust Boboli)Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce

6 slices packaged ready-to-serve cooked bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
2 Tbsp. finely chopped sweet onion
1 Tbsp. bottled ranch salad dressing
1 medium tomato, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Place bread shell on baking sheet, bottom side up. Spray bread shell with nonstick cooking spray. With pizza cutter, cut bread in half. Sprinkle cheese over both halves of bread. Combine chicken and barbeque sauce. Top one bread half with chicken mixture and bacon slices.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cheese is melted and bacon is crisp. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl combine lettuce, onion,

and ranch salad dressing.

To serve, cut each half into quarters to make 8 wedges. Spoon lettuce mixture on top each wedge with chicken. Top with tomato slice. Invert remaining wedges over toppings.

Hint: I used chicken that I had cooked another day, so it came out of my fridge. When I cooked it in the oven, the chicken side had not warmed up as much as I would have liked, but the cheese was melted and getting toasty, so it had to come out. Next time I will put the chicken mixture in the microwave for a minute to "warm" it before putting it on the bread and baking it.

Beef Barley Noodle Soup

At least once a week I attend the free cooking classes that are offered at our local grocery store (Macey's). I have so many great recipes from there. Two of my favorite people to see are the director and assistant director. They teach a class every so often, and their recipes are always good. This soup was presented by the assistant director. It is easy, hearty and tasty. Great served with rolls or crusty bread.

Ingredients:

8-10 cups water
6-8 cubes beef boullion
2 lbs. browned ground beef
12 oz. pkg wide egg noodles
1/2 cup dried onion (or 1 med. chopped up onion)
1/2 box of 11 oz. box Quick Barley
2-3 cups frozen mixed veggies
garlic salt
pepper
Worcestershire Sauce to taste

Directions:

Put browned/drained ground beef in soup pot. Put all the rest of ingredients in there also. Bring to boil for 15-20 minutes. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve.

This is not very "soupy" by the time the noodles etc. cook. You could add more water if you prefer. This makes a lot of soup, so I will half it next time (which will still give us leftovers) You could add any veggies that you have. I used a bag that had carrots, green beans and peas.

Marshmallows

3 pkg. unflavored gelatin
1 c. ice cold water, divided
12 oz. sugar (approx. 1 - 1/2 c.)
1 c. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
nonstick spray

Place gelatin in bowl of a standing mixer with 1/2 c. of the water. Have whisk attachment ready. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 c. water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Uncover and use candy thermometer and continue cooking until mixture reaches 240 degrees (about 7-8 minutes). Immediately remove from heat.

On low speed, add to gelatin mixture, slowly pouring the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin. After you have added the syrup, increase to high speed. Continue to whip until mixture becomes very thick (about 12-15 minutes). Add the vanilla during the last minute.

In a small bowl combine powdered sugar and cornstarch (ps&c). Lightly spray a 13x9 metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan with the ps&c mixture. Set remainder aside for later use.

Pour mixture into pan using a lightly oiled spatula and spread evenly into pan. Dust the top lightly with some of the ps&c mixture. Let the marshmallows sit uncovered for at least 4 hours.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1 inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the ps&c mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining ps&c mixture. May be stored for up to 3 weeks in airtight container.

Optional: Cover marshmallows with melted dipping chocolate!


(Made and contributed by Ken)

Cranberry-Pecan-Corn Muffins

I'm addicted to muffins! A new muffin recipe can send me to the kitchen when nothing else can. :-) For Valentine's Day I tried this new muffin recipe from my Healthy Cooking magazine and we each gave it a thumbs up!

1 - 3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
3/4 c. flour
1 - 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 - 1/2 c. plain or vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/4 c. chopped pecans

Combine cornmeal, flour, soda and salt. In another bowl combine yogurt, egg, oil and honey. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in cranberries and pecans. Spoon into muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until done. Serve warm. Makes 12.

Pancake Squares

Where have these been all my life? One of the problems with pancakes, is that the cook has to wait until the end to eat.These pancakes are baked in a pan and everyone can eat at once. These were a big hit at our breakfast table the other day. I do have a couple of pancake recipes that I probably like better, but this is a great everyday recipe that can be put in the oven while you are preparing anything else you are going to serve with them.

Pancake Squares

3/4 c. milk

2 T. melted butter

1 large egg

1 T. sugar

1 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 8 x 8 baking pan. In a large bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg. Add sugar, then gradually beat the flour in. Carefully stir in the baking powder and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 min.

Options: double the recipe and pour in a 9 x 13 pan. This is actually what I had to do for 3 adults. We did not eat it all, but ate about 2/3 of it. This is all we were eating though.