Chocolate Strawberry Celebration Cake

When I get my Taste of Home magazines in the mail every month, I get so excited.  I love them.  I remember when they had a cake contest in one of their issues.  I saw this cake, and I got all excited.  I love chocolate.  I love strawberries.  I love little swirly chocolate garnishes.  Okay... maybe not so much with the swirly things, but still... doesn't this cake look awesome?  It tastes as good as it looks.  It's moist, chocolatey, and it has some fruit.  :)  Bonus!

Chocolate Strawberry Celebration Cake:
source: Taste of Home 2011 Annual Recipes

1 pkg chocolate cake mix
3.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 c sour cream
3/4 c water
1/4 canola oil
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate

frosting:
2 c butter, softened
4 c powdered sugar
3/4 c cocoa
1/2 c milk

garnishes:
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
strawberries

ganache:
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 c heavy cream

Preheat the 350.  Prepare two 9-inch round pans by coating them with butter and dusting with flour.

Combine the first seven ingredients in a mixer.

Beat on low speed for 30 seconds.  Beat an additional two minutes on medium speed.  Look at that swirly goodness in that mixer!

Pour into the prepared pans.  Bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

 Remove the pans from the oven and cool on the counter for 10 minutes in the pan.  Run a butter knife around the outside of the pan to loosen the cake from the side of the pan.  After the ten minutes, invert them onto cooling racks.

 For the frosting, combine the softened butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa.  Mix it until it's blended.  Add the milk and mix to combine.

Place the bottom layer on the serving plate.  Frost the top of that one.  Place the second cake layer on top.  Frost the top and sides of the cake.  If any one has any tips on frosting a cake to make it look smooth, I'm all ears.  I cannot decorate cakes or make them look nice.  At least they taste good!

 To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate into a bowl.  Put the 1/2 c cream in small saucepan.  Heat just to a boil.

 Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate.

 Stir it until it's smooth.

 Pour all of that on top of the cake.  Use a spatula to spread it over the whole top of the cake.  You want some of it to drip over the edges of the cake and go down the sides.

 drippage...

 Wash the strawberries and cut off the stem.  Place them, cut side down on the cake.

 I didn't take pictures of how to make the chocolate swirlies, but it's really easy.  Place 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips in a ziplock bag.   Melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it becomes smooth when you squeeze it in the bag.

Cut off a tiny bit of the bottom corner.  Now you have a faux pastry bag.  Place a piece of wax paper on a plate.  Squeeze the chocolate out of the bag and make designs.  Just swirl it, write letters, make outlines of George Washington... whatever you'd like.  No matter what you do, it will stay once it refrigerated.  Once you have about 10-15 of them, place the plate in the fridge.  Let them cool until they have hardened- about five minutes.  Carefully pull the off the wax paper and place them on the cake in between the strawberries.

There you are!  A delicious and beautiful chocolate cake to devour on any day of the week- no celebration required.

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

My mom was raised in Shelley, Idaho, and her school mascot was a potato.  Yes, I'm serious.  It just made me laugh at loud thinking that there was a giant potato running around at their football games.  I think I would be a little irked at the end of football games because I would be craving some sort of delicious potato side dish after watching that potato dance the Crazy Chicken throughout the whole game.  This dish here would definitely be one that I would crave.  Potatoes are an amazing vegetable, and there are so many delicious things to do with them.   You can never, ever go wrong with potatoes drenched in cream, cheese, and cream cheese!  Shoot!  That's the best of all worlds, in my opinion.  

Note: There is nothing low-fat about this recipe.  However, you are getting a vegetable with all the extra fattening additions.  :)

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes:

source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond

1/2 stick butter

5 medium russet potatoes (sorry Shelley Mascot!  You are all ours now!)

1 c half and half

1 c heavy cream

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 t salt

pepper, to taste

2 T minced Rosemary leaves (2 t dried)

3 green onions, chopped

1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 T minced chives

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spread some softened butter into a 9x13 pan.  

                                       

Slice the mascot, I mean the potatoes, very thin.  Luckily, my awesome dad got me a meat slicer for Christmas a couple years ago for Christmas, and it slices potatoes like butta'.  Seriously though, for them to be cooked properly, they should be sliced very thin.

Mix half of the 1/2 and 1/2 and half of the cream, and pour it over the sliced potatoes.  That's a lot of halves to take in for one sentence.

 Next, melt 1/4 c of butter in a skillet and add the chopped onion and garlic.  Cook over medium-high heat for about four minutes.

 Add the brick of softened cream cheese, and lower the heat to medium.  Cook and stir it until the cream cheese is melted.

 Add the other half of the 1/2 and 1/2 and cream.  Stir it in.  I actually switched to a whisk to better incorporate it.

 Add the rosemary and chopped green onion.  Stir it to combine.

 Add half of the shredded Parmesan cheese and stir again until the cheese is melted.

 Plop the potatoes into your buttered dish.  Pour the cream, cheese, cream cheese mixture over the top.  mmm... Sprinkle with the remaining shredded Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 90 minutes.  Trust me here... Those potatoes take forever to cook.  You can check it after 60 minutes, but I'm willing to bet that they'll need a little extra time.  Keep checking them until the potatoes are tender.  When they're done, sprinkle with chopped chives.

Serve to hungry, happy people.  If they aren't happy, they will be after tasting these.  In fact, I put them on the table, turned around to get my camera, and by the time I went to take a picture, half of them were already gone.  Good riddance, russet.

Smashed potatoes

When I blog at night, my husband most likely is watching some kind of Home Improvement show, and with that in the background, my creative juices can't flow while they're talking about mortises, grout, and shelving units.  Thank my lucky stars for Pandora!  Music makes me me happy.  :)  

Now for this recipe- it's nothing fancy.  It's a good change of pace if you want to do a potato side dish and tire of mashed potatoes and baked potatoes.  Although, as far deep into my soul as I may search, I cannot find a good reason for being tired of mashed potatoes.  I think Heavenly Father sits on his throne and eats a giant bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy every morning for breakfast.  

These are easy and fun to make.  An added bonus- you get to knock out every ounce of stress and frustration when you get to pound these down.  Who needs yoga when there are smashed potatoes to be made.

Smashed potatoes:
5 red potatoes (or how many you want)
melted butter
parsley
salt and pepper
Parmesan Cheese

Boil the red potatoes whole for 30 minutes or until a knife can be inserted easily.  Remove the potatoes and place them on a baking sheet. Using a potatoes masher, smash them down.  Their circumference should be twice as big as they originally were.

You can see the before and after shot here.  

Brush the tops of them with melted butter.  Sprinkle on some parsley and Parmesan cheese.  You can add any other herbs you'd like.  Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  I also put mine under the boiler for a few minutes to give them an extra bit of crisp.  Serve with dollops (I love that word) of sour cream, minced chives, and if you're feeling extra crazy, some chopped bacon.

Sorry for so few pictures...  You can experiment with the toppings here.  The possibilities are endless.

Breakfast Burritos

What is it about breakfast burritos that is so satisfying? I love those darn things! When I was a student teacher, there was a boy in the class that brought me one once a week from his parent's hole-in-the-wall taco shop. He wasn't the brightest student, but somehow he got straight A's when I was in charge of report cards. ;) Ever since he brought me those, I have loved them ever since. I think it's my sub conscience jumping for joy because I have found yet another way to weasel Mexican food into another meal.

This is one of the better breakfast burrito recipes I have found. Of course, it's from the Pioneer Woman. She is incredible. I want to hang out with her for a month and follow her every footstep in the kitchen to learn how to work magic in the kitchen like she does. I made this for my family on a Saturday morning, and they just scarfed them up. It was the perfect combination of everything that is breakfast.

And see that bacon in the foreground? I tossed it in 1 T of maple syrup and 1/4 c brown sugar and roasted it for 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven. That stuff was magical! Next time I make it, I'll do a picture-by-picture post. It's some tasty bacon!

Focus! Focus! Breakfast burritos...

Breakfast Burritos:

source: The Pioneer Woman Cookbook - a must have for anyone.

1/2 lb breakfast sausage

1 1/2 c cooked hash browns

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

5 eggs

1/2 t seasoned salt

black pepper to taste

2 T half and half

1 T fresh chives

1 c grated Monterey Jack cheese (I was out, so I used cheddar)

6 large burrito-sized tortillas

salsa (you can use jarred salsa, but I had some of this on hand, and it went beautifully with it)

Brown the breakfast sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. Reduce heat to low. Add the cooked hash browns.

Add the diced red pepper. Your kitchen should already be smelling delicious. Cook for five minutes.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the half and half, salt, and pepper. Stir it lightly to break the eggs. Add the chives (I used green onions)...
and the cheese. Stir it to combine.
Pour the mixture over the sausage-potato-red pepper mixture.
Turn up the heat to medium-low. Gently stir the mixture. I would stir mine to mix it up, let it sit for a minute, and mix it again. Continue with this process until the eggs are cooked.
Here is what it will look like when the eggs are completely set.
Place your 6 tortillas in a dampened paper towel and microwave them for 30 seconds. This will softened them so they don't break apart when you try to roll them. Also, I only had soft taco sized tortillas, but those ginormous burrito tortillas would be awesome.

Put a couple large spoonfuls on the mixture in the middle of the burrito. Fold over the sides.
Roll them. And you're done! The one picture below was for my daughter, so it was a little mini breakfast burrito. Mine was much heftier. :)
Now that you have experienced this awesome breakfast burrito from the Pioneer Woman, you can watch this catchy song on YouTube and get it stuck in your head. When you make these and try them, you can sing, "This is the best burrito I've ever eaten!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgvPHQWBBbs

The song is called "best burrito" by Parry Gripp, the singer from Nerf Herder (high five for you if you remember that band!). I'm telling you- This post is not complete until you watch this video. If you don't find this song humorous, we are on a totally different humor wavelength... which happens to me often. :)

Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

Now, I know that these cute little heart-shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup would have been good to do on Valentine's Day, which is when I did them for my kids, but this is a fantastic way to spread some love on a non-Valentine's Day ...day :)

Your favorite pancakes (I suggest these) please, for the love of every cute child do NOT use Bisquick pancakes.

1/4 c sugar

1 T cornstarch

1/2 c cold water

2 c fresh strawberries, chopped

Add the sugar and cornstarch to a saucepan. Add the water and chopped strawberries. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher or a wooden spoon, so they aren't so chunky. Bring the water to a boil and cook the mixture until it thickens. Once it is to a thickness you like, you can turn the heat down until you're ready to use the syrup.

Once your pancakes are cooked, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make the heart-shaped pancakes. Aren't they cute?
Pour some strawberry syrup over them and top with whipped cream. Serve to some happy people.
As I was making this strawberry syrup, I was thinking it would be mighty tasty to use strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries for the syrup. Oh, snap. When berries are in season, I'm on it. Enjoy your pancakes. :)

Tortilla Soup

I don't recall ever eating Tortilla Soup. I've heard of it, I've seen recipes for it, and I decided that I must try this. I gave it a shot, and it was really good! I don't have any other recipes to compare this one to, so this is the best you'll get from me now. I do have one and only one complaint... the soggy tortillas on the bottom of the bowl. I like soggy bread-type stuff as much as I like five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact. *shudder* Next time I make it, I'll skip the layer of tortilla chips on the bottom and add some more to the top so it's not like eating tortilla chips that have the texture of a folded wet paper towel.

Honestly though- other than that, the soup was great, and I'll make it again. :)

Tortilla Soup:

source: America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

1 T vegetable oil

1 onion, minced

1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and diced

1 T chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 c chicken both

1 lb cooked, shredded chicken breasts

2 T fresh lime juice

crushed tortilla chips

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 ripe avocados, cut into 1/4 inch chunks

1/2 c cilantro, chopped

tortilla strips, optional

sour cream, optional

green onions, optional

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onion, jalapeno, chili powder, and garlic. Saute it until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Turn off the heat, and add the lime juice.

In your bowl, place some tortilla chips- if you want to do it the way that book suggests. Me? This step shall henceforth be pushed aside in honor of crunchy tortilla strips atop the flavorful broth.

Add a layer of shredded chicken.
Add some diced avocado and tomato. Yes, those pathetic, light orange chunks are supposed to be tomatoes. They are the only ones I had on hand, and they were no bueno! Next time, I'm going to take the ten minute drive to go to the store to get some decent tomatoes.
Add some broth, a dollop of sour cream, chopped cilantro, and tortilla strips.
This way, by the end of the soup, the tortilla strips are still mostly crunchy, whereas they don't stand a chance for crunch from the get-go when you plop a bunch at the bottom of the bowl.

Three cheers for non-soggy tortilla chips!

Steak Au Poivre

Okay... As if a mushroom cream sauce (not to be confused with Cream of Mushroom soup) isn't enough goodness to slather on a filet, I found this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's website. Praise all that is creamy and delicious! This sauce atop the best steak you'll eat makes one delicious meal. When you take a bite of this a few things might happen:

1. You will express your undying love to whoever made it for you (unless you're a vegetarian).
2. You will recall your fondest childhood memory and get lost in it for about twenty minutes.
3. You will feel as though you are prancing around on clouds, sliding down rainbows, and frolicing through a field of daises with a flock, herd, band, pride, or gander of unicorns.

Yes, my friends, it is that tasty. Even the mere mention of this post to my husband makes him say, "I love you." A filet mignon is, by far, my favorite steak. This sauce is out of this world. If you need a Valentine's Day recipe to impress someone dear to your heart, this is the ticket. Now, if you're dating some guy for fun and have no intention of commital, don't make this. That guy will magically whisk a wedding ring out of his pocket for you.

Enough of that chit-chat... I'm unveiling what has previously been unveiled several times on other blogs...

Steak Au Poivre:
source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

2 beef filets
2 T butter
salt and pepper
2 T dijon mustard
1/4 c white cooking wine
1/2 c cream
1 T freshly ground peppercorns

Preheat the oven to 500. While you're at it, disconnect your smoke detector because if you have one, it will go off.

Generously sprinkle the salt and pepper on both sides of the steak.

Put the butter into an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot and the butter is melted, add the steaks. Cook them on each side for 1-2 minutes or until browned on both sides.

Place the skillet and steaks into the really, really hot oven for 3-5 minutes. Please remember that if a filet is overcooked, it is not nearly as good (in my opinion). It's going to be pink in the middle. If you like yours more on the well-done side, I will shed a tear for you, but also cook it a few more minutes in the oven.

Once the steaks are done, remove them to a plate.

Return the skillet to the stovetop over low heat. Add the dijon mustard and white wine. Whisk to combine.

Add the cream.

Add the pepper.

Let the mixture bubble for 45 seconds and remove it from the heat. You should be drooling about now.

If not.. this picture should.

Pour the cream sauce over the steak. mmmmmmmm....

I served these steaks with the two onion, two cheese twice baked potatoes (see "side dish" label), steamed vegetables, and bread.

During meals like this, I wish that my stomach was twice as big. But then again, my thighs would be twice as big. I take that back.

Go make some steak!