German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake... yum!

I made this cake this morning so my husband could take it into work for the other officers to enjoy. I must say, it turned out really well. I highly recommend it!

The chocolate cake recipe is one I had made back in February: Best Chocolate Cake

The frosting recipe is as follows:

In a saucepan, combine:

1 Can Evaporated Milk (12 oz)
1 Stick Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Vanilla


Heat, stirring constantly until it becomes much thicker than it started... it will take 10-15 minutes. It will boil. Your arm will get tired. But! It's going to be worth it when you get to eat the cake.

Then, remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1 Cup Chopped Pecans (or Walnuts) and 1 1/3 Cups shredded sweet coconut flakes.

Let cool completely to room temperature before frosting your cake!

Enjoy :)

Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Cake

This cake is out of this world delicious! The pumpkin cake is very moist, and the buttercream isn't too sweet either! Just the right amount of creamy-ness and sweetness.

Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients for Cake:

15 oz. Can Pumpkin

1 C Vegetable Oil

4 Large Eggs

2 C Brown Sugar

2 C All Purpose Flour

2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

Ingredients for Snickerdoodle Buttercream:

1 Cup Milk

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup (Two Sticks) Butter, softened

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix together all of your ingredients for the cake in a large mixing bowl.

Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, then pour your cake batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees (or until done).

Make sure your cake cools before you frost it. While your cake is cooling is the perfect time to make your buttercream!

Stir together milk and flour until it mixes together completely. Then, pour it into a small sauce pan and heat until it boils. Take off heat and let cool. While milk/flour is cooling, cream your butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Then add in milk/flour.

Ice the cake and try not to eat too much - it's really that delicious!

Perfectly Pumpkin Fall Oatmeal

I LOVE fall! This morning I celebrated this love for fall (due to the chilly temperatures and some leftover pumpkin puree) with this deeeelicious oatmeal recipe that I made up :)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Water
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
3/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 1/3 Cup Oats
Candied Pecans
Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup, to taste

In a saucepan, combine the pumpkin, milk, water, salt, spice. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add oats and cook for about 10 minutes.

When serving, top with sugar and candied pecans.

MMMmmmm Fall in a bowl!

Cinnamon Raisin Upside Down Coffee Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/3 C Flour

2/3 C Brown Sugar

3 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

Dash Allspice (Optional)

1/2 C Milk

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Stick (1/4 C) Melted Butter

Topping Ingredients:

1/3 C Rolled Oats, chopped

1/3 C Brown Sugar

1/3 C Golden Raisins, chopped

1/2 Stick (1/4 C) Melted Butter

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Directions:

Start by mixing together the dry ingredients of your cake (flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice). Then, add in the wet ingredients.

Grease a 9in round cake pan.

Pour in cake mixture. Shake pan to make sure it is evenly spread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While oven is preheating, mix your crumble ingredients together.

(Don't forget to chop your oats and raisins!)

Spread crumble topping evenly over your coffee cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

Green Pepper, Pineapple, Chicken Skewers

Ok, the fun part about this recipe is that you could really thread a ton of different veggies on the skewer if you wanted! I chose green pepper and fresh pineapple because it sounded the most delicious with the spices I intended on putting on the chicken!

Sorry for the last few posts being so open-ended and non-specific, but these recipes really just depend on how many you want to make and what your personal tastes are! #sorrynotsorry

Ingredients:

Chicken tenderloins
Green Pepper
Fresh Pineapple
Crushed red pepper
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Brown Sugar
Garlic (powder OR fresh minced)

Cut your tenderloins into 3 - 4 pieces each.

Combine all the spices in whatever ratio you deem best and toss over raw chicken pieces until very even.

Soak skewers in water.

Thread pineapple pieces, green pepper pieces, and spiced tenderloins onto skewers.

Grill until chicken is cooked through.

BONUS:

Have a few grilled skewers with JUST pineapple.... Ohhh my word, yum!

Easy Pad Thai

So, sorry to break it to you, but I'm not going to be super specific in this recipe (gasp!).  But, I just love how I throw things together to resemble a favorite such as Pad Thai. This won't be the most authentic (double gasp!)... but it was delicious!

Ingredients (you get to decide how much of them for the most part!)

Rice noodles
Carrots
Bean Sprouts
Lime
Green Onion
Cilantro
Peanuts
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Sriracha Sauce
Rotisserie Chicken

Cook your rice noodles according to package directions.

In a small sauce pan, combine the juice of the lime, a few tsp sugar, a little bit of soy sauce, a couple tbsp of water, and a little sriracha hot sauce.  Heat until sugar disolves, then set aside for now.

Chop your carrots (or any other veggies you include... baby corn would be yummy in this)

In a wok, add your noodles, torn up chicken, carrots, and sauce (not the bean sprouts yet). Toss for a couple minutes until sauce has been soaked up by noodles.

Pour into a serving dish, add the bean sprouts, peanuts, green onion and cilantro.

Garnish with the wedges of the lime you used in the sauce.

Yum!

Summer Quiche

Ready for another yummy and easy one?!

Summer Veggie Quiche! Ok, so we all love home-grown veggies, right? Either you grow them yourself, or you stop at a farmers market or maybe get them from a friend whose "harvest" is a little too plentiful for them!

This quiche is practically guilt-free, so eat up :)

Ingredients:

4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Skim Milk
1 Zucchini
2 Tomatoes
1 Ear Corn
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese of choice
Half an onion, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop up your veggies, putting each one in a different bowl. (Corn should not be cooked first, neither should it be of the frozen variety! Fresh is key!)

Sautee zucchini for a few minutes in 1 tsp olive oil just to soften it.

Mix together your eggs and milk, then pour into a well-greased pie dish.

Layer half of your chopped tomatoes as well as all of your corn. (If you want onion, add it now) Add zucchini in a pretty arrangement on top. Then sprinkle your cheese. Top with freshly ground pepper.

Bake for 50-60 minutes (eggs must be cooked thoroughly!)

Enjoy while topped with remaining tomatoes or any other veggies your heart desires.

I like sour cream on top of mine... which isn't as guilt free so it's not in the picture, haha. Doesn't mean it didn't go in my stomach!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Umm... one word: YUM!  This is the kind of recipe that makes it feel like both a healthy day and a major splurge day at the same time. That's probably because there is bacon involved!

It's a super easy recipe that anyone that knows how to work a grill (or I suppose a grill pan) can make.

Ingredients:

Bacon (one piece for every 8 asparagus spears)
Asparagus
Olive Oil (1-2 Tbsp)
Pepper (Up to you!)

Chop your asparagus so it's only about 4 or 5 inches in length. Toss in 1 Tbsp olive oil and however much freshly ground black pepper you want.

Cut your bacon in half and wrap around 5 asparagus pieces.

Grill. (takes about 10 minutes / make sure the bacon is crisp)

Yup, that's it!

Quinoa and Veggies with Fresh Greek Herb Dressing

I've been wanting to try quinoa for quite some time now. And I finally made the plunge (in other words, finally brought myself to spend the $7 for the package at the grocery, lol). I even created my own recipe to go along with my little quinoa adventure... and wouldn't ya know it, it was fabulous! Probably because there is mint in the recipe and I'm a huge fan of fresh mint.

Take my warning here, people: DO NOT use dry herbs if you make this. You will regret it. This recipe really needs the fresh mint/parsley/green onions for the dressing! And on that note, make sure you use a real lemon too :) Just your PSA for today!

Enjoy! I know we did!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Water

1 Large Cucumber
1 1/4 C sliced Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

1 - 2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Green Onions

2 - 3 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Mint**
2 - 3 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley**
1 Lemon
1/4 C Olive Oil
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp White Sugar
**Must be fresh, not dried**

Instructions:

Rinse quinoa in a sieve. 

In a medium saucepan, combine your 1 cup of rinsed quinoa with the 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Once you reach a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

While your quinoa is cooking, slice your cucumbers and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

To make your dressing, finely chop your green onion, mint, and parsley. (There is a little lee-way in the recipe for these so you can incorporate your own personal taste for the herbs. However, I put in 1.5 Tbsp green onion and 2.5 Tbsp each of the mint and parsley.)

In a small mixing bowl, combine your chopped herbs with the juice of one lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Mix until well combined.

When Quinoa is done, find a nice serving dish and mix in the veggies and dressing.

Top with lemon zest!

This dish is delicious warm, room temperature, or cold.

Lavender Simple Syrup + Lavender Lemonade

I love summers, and not just because I'm a teacher and it's my recharge time. I love it because the sun is warm, the days are long, and the drinks are refreshing! This is no exception, and just might be my new go-to recipe.  Lavender lemonade is divine - combining the tartness of the lemon, sweetness of sugar, and fresh taste of the lavender.  We have lavender growing in our backyard, so it works out perfectly for me to make this all I want in the spring and summer time!

You might think that adding the lavender sounds weird... and that's ok, nobody's perfect!

Just kidding.

Mostly.

Lavender Simple Syrup

1 Cup Water
3/4 Cup Sugar
3+ Tablespoons dried (or fresh) Lavender flowers

Combine these in a nice saucepan over medium/high heat and stir constantly for about 10-15 minutes.  It should boil softly for a few minutes before you turn off the heat.

Strain out the flowers.

Pour contents into a jar you can seal tight.

Once the liquid cools, place your sealed jar in the fridge and use as desired. I'd probably only keep it about a week in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Lavender Lemonade

Ok, we're just going to make the easy version this time! 

Lemonade

Lavender Simple Syrup

Combine about 2 Tablespoons Simple Syrup with 1 Cup Lemonade in a tall glass filled with ice.  That's it! This recipe is best with a very tart store-bought lemonade (I used Simply Lemonade).  

Now, you could go all fancy pants and make your own lemonade - squeezing your own lemons and all... but I wasn't feeling so inspired (or so inclined to spend so much more money).

Shrimp and Cheesy Grits [and Feta Bacon Salad]

A few years ago, while on my honeymoon with my husband, we had the most delicious shrimp and grits at a little restaurant on the ocean.  This is not a copycat, just a similar southern favorite. Get ready to wear the stretchy pants after dinner because I promise that there will be lots of fat in this dish - delicious, delicious fatty foods. (Consume in moderation)

Ingredients:

1 Cups uncooked Grits
3 Cups Water
Salt/Pepper/Butter to taste
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar (optional)


16oz. Bacon
1/2 Vidalia Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 lb. Peeled/Deveined Shrimp


Start by chopping up a half of your vidalia onion and one green pepper. Set aside (believe me, if you don't do this now you'll end up calling for help from your husband because you didn't budget your time right... oh wait, that was me.)

Fry up a pound of bacon - I like it crispy, but cook it however you like it.

Start your grits while the bacon is frying.  Whatever brand grits you have should have instructions on it... but in case it doesn't: Boil 3C Water, Add 1C grits after it starts to boil. Cook stirring constantly for 10-15 minutes.  Add desired butter/salt/pepper (you can go all Paula Dean on these grits like we did, or just add a tiny bit of butter - your choice) ** When your grits are done, stir in 2 Cups cheddar cheese if you want cheesy grits **

Keep watching that bacon!

Once the bacon is cooked, chop it up!

In the bacon grease, cook the onion and pepper.

Once the onions/peppers are getting soft, add in your shrimp - cooking about 3-4 minutes a side for larger shrimp.

You're ready to serve: Cheese grits on bottom, a little chopped bacon next, peppers/onions, shrimp on top!

Keep reading if you would like to know how to make MY FAVORITE SALAD EVER!

Feta Bacon Salad

1 8-oz package Feta Cheese (I LOVE FETA... and would err on the side of lots)
Bacon, crumbled (However much or little you want, but do yourself a favor and use real bacon, bacon bits do NOT count)
1 package Spinach

Dressing:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tablespoons White Sugar

Mix salad ingredients and dressing ingredients separately.  You may or may not need all of the dressing.

Just mix it and enjoy! Seriously delicious!

Derek's rating: 9/10! Yay, and yum!

Mother's Day Part 2 - Ham//Cheddar//Mushroom Quiche

Ham, Cheddar, Mushroom Quiche

4 Eggs

1 1/2 Cup Milk

1 Cup Diced Ham

1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar

1 Cup Sliced Mushrooms

1 Box Jiffy Pie Crust

Quiche is SO easy to make, and quite delicious too.  And inexpensive! Triple threat, for sure!

Make your boxed pie crust and try your best (I struggled) to make it look pretty in your pie dish. Pre-bake according to directions.

Spread your Ham, Cheddar, and Mushrooms on the bottom, evenly.

Mix your milk and eggs.  Then, pour into pie dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes (or until set).

Enjoy!

Mother's Day Part 1 - Cinnamon Raisin Scones

Cinnamon Raisin Scones (heavy on raisins, light on cinnamon)

2 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Cinnamon to taste
1 Stick cold butter, cubed
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
1/2 Cup cold milk

Combine Dry ingredients.

Add butter with a pastry cutter (or in my case because I don't have one, a stiff whisk). You know you're done mixing in the butter when the dough is very crumb-y and the butter pieces are about the size of peas.

Add your raisins.

Add your milk and mix. Do not knead.

Place dough (in the shape of a disk) on a lightly floured cutting board.

Cut into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half again until you have 8 scones.

Bake at 450 Degrees and bake about 17 minutes.

Pulled Pork Tacos

Originally I was only going to have this as the recipe indicates - on a roll with cabbage slaw. After having it once this way (which was quite tasty) I noticed that the pork wasn't at all like a bbq flavor: just a nice pork.  Perfect for tacos!

The next night we had the leftover pork on corn tortillas with avocados, cilantro, lime, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Delicious.

Derek's rating: 10/10

Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

These are delicious and are totally worth the nasty mess that comes about whenever one makes bacon. YUM! 

Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Mushroms

2 Packages Whole Mushrooms (I think in total there were 30)

1 Package Cream Cheese

1/2 Lb Bacon, Cooked and Crumbled

3 or 4 Green onions, thinly sliced

Start cooking your bacon however you like it - I like mine nice and crispy! However, DON'T throw away your bacon grease just yet!

Pull out the stems from the mushrooms and place the mushrooms (cap on bottom) on a baking sheet.

Take those mushroom stems and chop them very finely. Saute them in the bacon grease! 

Mix together the cream cheese, green onions, bacon, and sauteed caps (drain the grease first).

Fill your mushrooms with this mixture.

Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.

Enjoy, and you're welcome.

Thai Iced Coffee

A brief history:
D and I had an amazing meal at this little Thai place on our honeymoon... and Thai Iced Tea and Thai Iced Coffee were on the menu.  Of course, I had to know what they both tasted like.  So we got both. Ummm... delicious! The Thai Iced Coffee is easier to make (and acquire the ingredients to).  So, that's the one I've been making.

Thai Iced Coffee

12 Cups [STRONG] Coffee
1 Really Small Can Sweetened Condensed Milk*
*(OR Heavy Cream and desired amount of sugar/sweetener)
1 or 2 Teaspoons Cardamon (I used 2)


Before brewing coffee, mix the Cardamon in with your coffee grounds.

Brew coffee.

Combine the hot coffee in a pitcher (that can handle the heat - I have an ancient tupperware one that works wonderfully) with the Sweetened Condensed Milk OR Cream/Sugar.

Let cool in the fridge.

If you're anything like me you'll want it before it gets ice cold.  Sooo... grab some ice and pour it over!

Enjoy.

Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream (and an amazing husband)

Unlike the other posts I've done, this will not include a recipe.  I'm just going to brag on my husband.  Over the last two days, he's made us homemade chocolate and homemade vanilla ice cream.  Both of which were made using the recipe(s) and equipment from Cuisinart. Yum!

Easy Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Easy Brown Sugar Pork Chops

I was at work today thinking, "Oh my goodness, I forgot to put something in the Crock Pot so we would have a nice meal tonight" I mostly felt guilty because I've felt a little under the weather and hadn't made a nice meal for Derek in a few days.  But then I knew exactly what I would try when I got home - Brown Sugar Pork Chops.  I combined a couple recipes, and added my own pinch of heat.  And it turned out fabulously! Derek approves, too.

2 Pork Chops
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1/2 Teaspoon Salt (Kosher)
1/2 Teaspoon Course Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Nice-sized pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Coat your pork chops with as much of the rub as you can. 

Heat your olive oil (medium/high) in a large skillet or grill pan.  Once hot, add your rub-covered pork chops.

Cook for about 5-minutes per side.

Serve with potatoes, however you like them best, and your favorite vegetable.

I went with mashed potatoes and green beans. Yum!

Derek's Rating: 9/10