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Caramel Filled Molten Chocolate Cakes

Caramel Filled Molten Chocolate Cakes

I love Molten Chocolate Cakes.  The way you dig in and get a gooey chocolate center, so delicious!  I also love salted caramels.  I was going to make these Molten cakes for our Bible study one night and thought I would mix it up and put a caramel in the middle.  Am I ever glad I did, these are so good!  They're easy to make too~ try them tonight!  (I did complicate my recipe a bit by making my own salted caramels, but you could simplify it by using store-bought caramels)

You will need:
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tablespoons margarine
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon flour
6 caramels (I used my recipe!)

1.  Melt chopped chocolate and butter in a small bowl.  Set aside to cool.

2.  In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Beat with a mixer until it becomes fluffy and triples in volume.  It took me about 5 minutes.

3.  Carefully stir in flour.

4.  Fold in chocolate mixture just until combined.

5.  Divide batter evenly between 6 greased ramekins.

6.  Place a caramel in the center of each ramekin and make sure it's covered with chocolate.

7.  Bake at 400 for 9-11 minutes.  I found that 11 minutes was a little too long as the cakes got baked almost completely through and there wasn't much "molten" part.  You'll want to serve these immediately so the caramel doesn't harden. 

Chocolate Brioche Monkey Bread

Chocolate Brioche Monkey Bread

When I saw this on Peabody's blog, I knew I had to make it.  I did, and it was every bit as fabulous as I thought it would be.  Give it a try~it's a bit of work, but certainly worth it!

2 cups brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate brioche (recipe follows)

1.  Lightly grease a Bundt pan with vegetable oil. Set aside.
2.  Place brown sugar in a small bowl. 
3.  Place melted butter in a nearby bowl.
4.  Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and gently deflate it. 
5.  Pull off 1" pieces of dough and roll it into a ball in the palms of your hands. 
6.  Dunk each ball in butter, and then transfer it to the brown sugar to be thoroughly coated. 
7.  Place all coated dough balls into prepared Bundt pan.
8.  When all the dough balls have been coated and placed in the pan, cover the pan with plastic wrap and let bread rise for an hour, until almost doubled in size.
9.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Bread will spring back when lightly pressed.
10.  Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a serving platter. 
Serve immediately, as the bread is best when eaten warm.


Chocolate Brioche (makes 2lbs of dough)
For the Chocolate Butter:
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder


1.  Melt the chocolate using a double boiler. Once it is melted,  set it aside and keep at room temperature.
2.  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth.
3.  Add cocoa powder and chocolate beat until well incorporated. Set aside.


For the Sponge:
2 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
¾ cup lukewarm coffee
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar


1.  Combine yeast and water in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whisk until the yeast is dissolved. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
2.  Add remaining ingredients, forming a thin batter. 
3.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes until bubbles form.


For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ tsp. salt
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips


1. Sift the flour and salt into the sponge.
2. Add egg yolks, and mix with paddle attachment on low speed for 2 minutes, until yolks are absorbed.
3.  Increase to medium speed; knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and satiny.
4.  On medium low speed, add chocolate butter one tbsp. at a time.
5.  Switch to dough hook; knead until very well developed, smooth and shiny. 
6.  Add chocolate chips, mix on low until incorporated.
7.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours until double. Punch down and rise again until double, about 45 to 60 minutes (or refrigerator for 4hours or overnight).


Brioche recipe adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard

Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Southwest Chicken Salad

Southwest Chicken Salad


I love McDonald's Southwest Chicken Salad.  One of my co-workers offered to grab lunch for me the other day, she was headed to McD's and I knew what I wanted!  Plus it's only 420 calories, including the dressing!  One night I asked Mike if he would mind a huge salad for dinner, he was okay with it, and I was thrilled to be able to create my own version of my favorite salad.  Neither of us care for beans, so we omitted those, but otherwise I think this is almost exactly like McD's...I know I loved it!

(You'll notice that I didn't put amounts for the salad ingredients, you can use what you need for your family)

You will need:
Salad:

Chicken tenders (I used 1.5 per person)

Honey

Dijon Mustard
Lettuce (I used bagged, but you can use a fresh head too!)
Carrots
Corn
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Crushed Doritos

Dressing: (This makes about 1 cup of dressing, enough for at least 4 bowls of salad)
1/2 cup fat free ranch dressing
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

1.  Cook chicken tenders in a frying pan.  About halfway through cooking, spread a mixture of honey and mustard on each side.  Remove from heat.  Dice when cooled.

2.  In the same pan, cook corn until it is somewhat blackened.

3.  Prepare carrots by cutting them into "curls" with a vegetable peeler.

4.  Layer lettuce, carrots, corn, chicken and cheese.  Top with crushed Doritos.

5.  Pour dressing over salad.

Mini Pizzas

Mini Pizzas (2/5/11)

I had spent the entire day in the kitchen preparing food for the Superbowl party and I really didn't feel like making dinner.  I asked Mike what he wanted and he said he didn't really care.  I stood in front of the fridge, door open, just staring and waiting for inspiration to strike, and it did!

You will need:
1 package buttermilk biscuits
1 cup pizza sauce
10 pieces pepperoni
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Bacon bits

1.  Flatten each biscuit slightly and place in the bottom of a greased muffin tin.

2.  Spoon pizza sauce over each biscuit.

3.  Top with bacon bits, cheese, and pepperoni (as well as any other toppings you like on your pizza!)

4.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Yum!

Cinna Spread Bread

Cinna Spread Bread (1/30/11)

Have you seen this deliciousness before?  It's what Mike affectionately calls "Cinna Spread".  As far as we know, it's only available in Canada (the other side of the container is actually in French!), so we stock up when we go there.  We usually have it on toast, it gets all melty and oh so delicious!  Lucky for you, it's possible to make a close replica at home!  On the way home from church the other day, Mike randomly asked, can't you make a bread or something with the cinna spread in it?  That got the wheels turning, and this is what was created!

As I was making it, I realized that I was pretty much making a cinnamon roll, just in a bread form!  Mike was thrilled with this recipe, so that makes it a hit in our household!

You will need:

2 packages (4-1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2-1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F), divided
1/2 cup nonfat powdered milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt

7-8 cups flour

1/2 cup Cinna-Spread (recipe below)

1.  In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast into 1/2 cup warm water.  Add 1 Tablespoon sugar, and let it sit until the yeast grows.

2.  Add powdered milk, oil, sugar, brown sugar, salt and 3 cups flour.  Mix until smooth.

3.  Add in remaining flour until a soft dough is formed.

4.  Knead dough until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes.

5.  Place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel.  Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.  (I like to turn my dryer on low heat for about 5 minutes and then place my bowl of dough in the dryer to rise.  It yields a high rise and can lessen the rising time!)

6.  Punch dough down and divide in half.

7.  Roll each half of dough into a long rectangle, about 8 inches wide and 1/2 an inch thick (length will depend on how thin you roll your dough).

8.  Spread cinnamon spread over dough.

9.  Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the short side.  Pinch seam to seal.

10. Place seam side down in greased loaf pan.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

11.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, until golden brown. 

12.  Brush tops of bread with butter after removing from oven.

Cinna-spread Recipe

You will need:

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine ingredients until smooth. Add more sugar or cinnamon if the taste is not strong enough for you.

Here is what the store-bought cinnamon spread looks like, yours will probably have a softer consistency, but the taste will be similar!!!

Chicken, Apple, and Rice Salad

Chicken, Apple, and Rice Salad (1/31/11)

I wanted something light, healthy, and easy for dinner the other night.  I saw a picture of something that looked like this in a magazine I was flipping though at work.  I got lucky--I don't always get paid to read magazines, but someone needed my computer and there was nothing else for me to do!  The picture stayed in my head all day and when I got home, I knew what I would be making for dinner!

You will need:

2 cups brown rice, cooked

2 chicken breasts

3 Tablespoons honey

1 apple (I used a Golden Delicious apple)

1.  Cook chicken breasts in a frying pan.

2.  When chicken is about half cooked, pour honey over each breast.  This will result in a very deep red/brown color, go ahead and let the chicken get some good color!

3.  While chicken is cooking, core and dice apple.

4.  In a bowl, combine rice, chicken, and apple.  This can be served warm or room temperature, as a main dish or a side!

Beer Bread

Beer Bread (1/23/11)



"I cling to my imperfection, as the very essence of my being." ~Anatole France (Jacques Anatole François Thibault), The Garden of Epicurus, 1894

This recipe is not one that will create the perfect loaf of bread. With beer bread, its perfection is in its imperfection. It's a delicious bread, its nutty and somewhat sweet flavor is the perfect addition to a meal, or even a snack (or meal) on its own!

Beer bread is super simple, only 6 ingredients! It takes about 5 minutes to put together and you can be enjoying it in less than an hour! If you've ever purchased a mix to make beer bread, save yourself the money, and make this one instead!
You will need:

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) can beer
3 tablespoons margarine, melted

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Add beer and mix until combined.

3. Place dough in a greased bread pan.

4. Pour melted margarine over dough.

5. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, until golden brown.

Beef Stew

Beef Stew (1/23/11)

This is definitely a filling meal! Perfect for a snowy winter day. We had some friends over for dinner and I knew this was the perfect meal. I served this with thick slices of Beer Bread and it went over so well! No-one knew I used 2 cans of beer to make this meal--ha ha! I had the left over stew for lunch the next day and it was just as good, if not better than the day I made it. It had thickened up a lot and was even more of a stew than a soup like the day before.

Note: I took the pictures before I thickened up the stew, but when I served it, it was thicker than it appears!

I saw a post on Tidy Mom a few weeks ago about her Soup-a-Palooza.  It sounded like fun but I didn't know what to enter.  I knew this stew had gone over really well, so I figured it would be the perfect addition to her party!  After all, who can resist an invitation like this?  "Come join Soup-a-Palooza with TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers”

You will need:
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 pounds Stew Meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can Beer, 12 Ounce
4 cups beef stock (you can also use 4 cups water and 4 beef bouillon cubes)
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Sugar
4 whole Carrots, diced in 1/2 inch pieces
6 whole New Potatoes, diced
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add meat to pan and brown.
3. Add onion and garlic to pan and cook until onions are tender.
4. Pour in beer, water, beef stock, tomato paste, salt, and sugar.
5. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours. The liquid will cook down, if it gets too thick, add up to 2 cups water to thin it out.
6. Add carrots and potatoes. Cook for 30 more minutes.
Adapted from: Pioneer Woman

Mess-less S'mores

Oh, these are just so good!  They would make the perfect treat for Valentine's Day!

I love to make homemade marshmallows, I don't know if I'll ever use store-bought again.  Homemade marshmallows are so fluffy, sticky, vanilla-infused, and delicious!  Another thing I love is s'mores.  They just scream campfire, summer, warmth...  All things I really miss during a cold (and long) Michigan winter. 

I just received a package of vanilla beans in the mail and I knew I had to make marshmallows again!  I wanted to do something different though.  I thought about just dipping them in chocolate, but then I thought, why not s'mores?  This is what I came up with.  I brought them to my small group and they went over real well.  I know I'll be making these time and time again!

You know, I really don't think the name I chose for this snack really describes how incredible these are. If you have any name suggestions, please feel free to share them!

You will need:

1 pan of homemade marshmallows (click here for my recipe)
1 package graham crackers
1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
1/4 block of parafin wax (or baking wax),  could be optional, but I like the way it helps the chocolate dry and the shine it gives the chocolate

1.  Break graham crackers into 4 pieces.

2.  Using crackers as a guide, cut marshmallows into pieces the same length and width of the crackers.  (I found that I could get the length of 3 crackers from the short side of the marshmallows, and about 8 crackers wide.  I hope that makes sense!)

3.  Melt wax in a microwave safe bowl.  It took about 3-1/2 minutes for my wax to melt completely.

4.  Stir chocolate chips into wax.  They should begin to melt, but you can put the chocolate chips in the microwave in 20 second increments until the chips are melted and smooth.

5.  Assemble the s'mores by placing a marshmallow on top of a graham cracker and then topping with another graham cracker. 

6.  Dip the s'more into the melted chocolate and coat completely.  Remove s'more with a fork and place on waxed paper.

Oh so good!  I just couldn't resist!!!