Kim's Kake ~

A new family favorite, for sure - the other hugest chocolate lover in our household, 'sides me, is my son Dalton. If I turn my back too long, he makes the hugest dent in this cake...

Credit for the wonderful recipe goes to my friend Kim, who is an amazing cook and loves to experiment. I am treasuring the handwritten recipe on a torn piece of paper, too, lol. It may just have to be framed...

A warning for people I don't understand very well, those who like chocolate but not that much (ahem, Lee...teehee!), you should probably stay away from this one. SUPER chocolatey. Perfect. :)

Kim's Kake

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 box instant chocolate pudding mix

(Note from Sis - I add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder here)

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup vegetable oil (I use 2/3 cup)

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups (1 bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate chips, those are my favorites)

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or use cocoa powder) a Bundt pan. Stir together cake mix, pudding mix, cocoa powder (if used); add sour cream, vinegar, vegetable oil, eggs, and water; mix until smooth and well blended. Stir in chips and walnuts (if used). Bake for about 50 minutes, or until done. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then flip out onto rack and cool for an hour. Dust heavily with powdered sugar. Cut a big slice, pour a huge glass of cold milk, and enter mouthparadise.

another skillet one - Skillet Tamale Pie ~

Woot! It's been like, FOREVER since I've posted here!

I must apologize for losing the comments when I transferred this blog to this account. :( Please feel very free to comment on anything at all to catch me up!

The recipe I'm blogging today is one I 'stole' from Rachael Ray's cookbook (that I proudly own) "just in time!" I'm going to post it the way I made it, but here's a link to the version on her website (which, btw, is a tad different than the one in the book - I don't know which came first).

And, of course, I took pics. :)

Skillet Tamale Pie

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 quart chicken broth

2 cups 2% milk

1 pound ground beef

1 pound spicy pork sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 large red or green bell pepper, chopped

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

4 garlic cloves, pressed

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon (or a little less) ground cumin

pinch of ground cinnamon

fresh ground salt and pepper to taste

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups masa (the corn meal stuff for making tamales)

handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

In a large pan or wok, mix together the chicken broth and milk, and heat on medium high to a simmer. While this is heating, heat the olive oil in a large (14") cast iron skillet, on medium high. Add chopped veggies and cook until softened, stirring frequently. In a separate pan, cook ground beef and ground sausage until done; drain. Add meat to veggies in large skillet; add spices; stir well to combine; let it cook for a few minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and mix thoroughly; heat through.

In the meantime, when the liquid has begun to simmer, pour the masa in a smooth steady stream into the liquid, whisking as it pours in. Cook, stirring frequently, for approximately 10-15 minutes; add salt, pepper, and chopped cilantro and mix well.

Pour or spoon the masa mixture over the meat mixture in the skillet. Place in 500 degree broiler for about 5 minutes until masa is set. Sprinkle the cup of shredded cheese over the masa and heat for a couple minutes under broiler to brown the cheese.

Serve hot from the skillet; top with salsa, sour cream, olives, chopped green onions, guacamole, whatever you like. :)

And now for the photo documentary, LOL.

And...there wasn't any left!

skillet nachos ~

My friend Ruthie made these for the church Super Bowl party, and I was blessed enough to be in the kitchen when she walked in the back door with them. I was #2 in the skillet, and it's a dadgum good thing, because they were gone in about 5 minutes...

I've been wanting to make them at home ever since, and finally did it today for dinner. And took lots of photos, lol.

Make these soon, you'll really enjoy them, I think.

Ruthie's Skillet Nachos

You'll need some pinto beans; either cooked from dry yourself, or a couple of cans. I used a can of Ranch beans with jalapenos and a can of regular pinto beans. Don't drain, just pour both into a skillet, and season as desired. Mine has Spicy Tony Chachere's, Arizona Gunslinger hot sauce, and some minced garlic. Heat these on low heat, stirring occasionally, as you chop the veggies.

I forgot a picture of the veggies, LOL - but I chopped fresh tomato, onion, avocado, cilantro, and serrano peppers. After chopping those and setting them aside, cut up your meat and cook it in a separate pan with some spices or just salt and pepper. Cook it like you would fajita meat.

Now, for the homemade chips. Quarter small corn tortillas, and fry quickly in hot oil. Flip once while frying. Salt while hot. Keep a close eye, it only takes a minute or two for them to be done.

You kinda find yourself juggling a bit, LOL

Somewhere in the middle of all this, when the meat is almost done, take a potato masher and mash up the beans to a thick consistency. You still want them a little chunky. Stir and let them simmer on low to thicken them up a bit.

When the chips are done, and the meat is cooked, sprinkle the meat cubes on top of the beans.

Add the veggies in a nice layer.

Spread about a cup of sour cream over the top. I used low fat and it was great.

Sprinkle with grated cheese to cover.

Next, place in the oven and broil until the cheese is nicely browned.

Scatter a few chips (or a bed of lettuce) on your plate, and top with the hot nacho filling. Add some salsa, and go to town! lol

fresh...

I just had a craving for fresh today. Jack was grilling some steaks and that sounded good, but what to cook to go along with it, mac & cheese or rice or potatoes, those things just sounded 'heavy' to me. I wanted light and fresh. I've wanted it since Christmas break, I think.

So - while some penne pasta was bubbling, I threw together a quick stirfry of diced squash, sliced onion, a little garlic, diced Roma tomatoes, and a little can of sliced mushrooms. At the end of the cooking, I stirred in some cilantro, a dash of Worcestershire, and a sprinkle of Tony Chachere's and some additional salt. With some fresh grated Parmesan, it was...

It was just want I'd been wanting...fresh and light.

check this out, my friends...

I want to send you on a fun little journey to Australia, via a sweet little blog I visited - found it on a photography forum, of all places. LOL

Meet my friend, Doc-G, and his blog about food, restaurants, chefs, and his own recipes that just look to me as if they would melt in your mouth...

Click on his wonderful photo to go to his blog...and straight to this particular recipe, to boot! Then be sure to click on his header, to check out the rest of his writings, including fantastic photos of food. He's an excellent photographer, all around, as well as a good writer, and, I'm sure, fantastic cook.

Have fun, mate!

soup's on! ~

Yippee! I looooooove cooking and baking! And I love blogging! Perfect mix, right?

Well - not on Christmas Day, at 1:00 a.m. HAHA ~

But here is the makeup post for yesterday, because I was baking and missed the deadline of midnight or before, lol.

Tonight, I'm posting just the recipe for butternut squash soup, with a Sistwist...I'm not done baking completely and the cookies almost done in the oven are going to have to survive the taste test in the morning. But just a taste of what's to come: Lee's Fudge, Nikki's Coconut Macaroons, Wandering Chopstick's Mango Bread, and maybe these cookies - we'll have to see about those...

About the soup - butternut squash is something I've not eaten before - at least, not that I remember. It was a totally new experience for me, both the squash, which sort of reminded me of pumpkin or even sweet potato, and the soup made from the squash. BTW - I just took a simple basic recipe and put a whole different twist on it...

Sis's Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, or about 5 or 6 baby carrots, chopped

1 large stalk celery, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning (or cayenne pepper)

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

1 8-ounce cream cheese, cut into large cubes

Cut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Place cut side down on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour. Let cool; peel and cut meat into chunks. In a Dutch oven, melt butter; saute onion, carrot, and celery until soft. Add squash and broth and bring to simmer; let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add seasonings and stir. Next take an immersion blender and blend until smooth, or use a blender to puree in small batches. Add cream cheese and blend in last. Stir and serve, or let it cool and refrigerate. This soup is even better the 2nd day, reheated.

battle of the breads ~

I made 2 loaves of bread today, one in the oven, mixed by my faithful KitchenAid mixer, and one in the bread machine. I used the same ingredients in each. My purpose was to see if I could make a bread machine recipe in the old fashion way and which loaf was better.

Dang it - that means I had to taste a piece of each loaf. Sigh...it's a hard job, but somebody has to do it...lol.

Here's the recipe, straight from the Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook.


Honey Corn Bread

(for a 1 1/2 pound loaf)
1 egg plus enough water to equal 1 cup
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons dry milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons bread machine or quick active dry yeast

Measure carefully, placing all ingredients in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Select Basic/White cycle. Use Medium or Light crust color. Do not use delay cycles. Remove baked bread from pan and cool on wire rack.

12 slices


Here's a photodocumentary of part of it - I forgot about taking pics until right when I put the loaf in the oven. BTW - I let it rise for about an hour, and I warmed the stoneware loaf pan before I put the dough in; I baked it at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or was supposed to - see below.

The verdict: I think the oven baked loaf was denser, and more crispy. I suspect that I should have kneaded it longer in the machine; and I know that I left it in the oven for about 8 minutes or more longer than I should have. So the bread machine loaf was a little lighter and not as crispy. Both tasted good, and both had the pleasant texture from the corn meal.

So - I suppose that, if you like baking bread yourself, kneading and such, you can take bread machine recipes and use those - but for convenience, machine loaves are tasty as well. I call this one a tie.