Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

I am telling you this is SO good, So easy, and Medicine for the SOUL! You will thank me for this find. I needed it, I had one of those days. One of those days where nothing else would do except CHOCOLATE. I searched and I found this, Oozing Chocolate Lava Cake recipe.

Here it is:

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes (it took me longer)

6 Ounces Semisweet Baking Chocolate

6 Ounces butter, diced. (it said room temp but mine came right out of the fridge and it worked fine)

3 eggs

1/2 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Flour

Butter for ramekins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Butter Ramekins

2. Melt chocolate in double broiler. When melted, take off flame and

3. Stir in diced butter until it melts

4. In another bowl ( I used my Kitchen Aide) beat eggs and sugar until it starts to whiten

5. Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour ( i used a whisk) .

6. Cook for 10 minutes (see note)

7. Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve.

Enjoy! So good you'll cry! As the OP said, "MOM this is 23 thumbs up!"

**note. 10 minutes was not long enough for my oven so the first time I let it go until the tops were visibly set like 20 minutes and the hubs loved it like this - more fudge like. The next time I let it go until the tops were just barely set buy still jiggly like 15 minutes - Super oozy gooey chocolate and the Girls loved it like this. I LOVED it all**

Amy's Twist (you know because I can't follow a recipe): Add a tablespoon of PEANUT BUTTER to the center before cooking. Just plop it in and cover it a bit with the chocolate mixture and voila:

Pure heaven. Not the best picture but I had to run and snap it before it (the cake) was gone.

Mock Fried Ice Cream

I am sure your thinking, Ice Cream? Are you kidding? Lady - did you not know that it is flippin freezing out side? I do know. As a matter of fact it is -8 here right now as I type. Brrrrrrrrr.

But I can't help what people want when they want it. See I usually post requested recipes - it is just as easy as emailing them. So it is my cousins birthday today and she wants my Mock Fried Ice Cream and she wants my Fettucine but today I am just posting this magically delicious dessert and perhaps later I will add a picture after we make it.

Ok so here it is:

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

1 cup butter - melted

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans (optional if you like nuts)

1/2 cup coconut (optional as well)

6 cups Special K Cereal

2 tsp. Vanilla

Hot fudge and Caramel for garnish

Put ice cream out to soften. Blend last 6 ingredients together. Pour 1/2 of the mixture in bottom of a 9x13 inch cake pan. Spread softened ice cream on top of mixture, then add rest of topping. Put in freezer for one hour or until time to serve. Slice and serve topped with Hot Fudge or Caramel or both if it tickles your fancy.

So yummy and really easy. It is also a great dessert to make when you are having mexican food.

Enjoy

So today is Round Robin at Keeping Up With the Schultz Family. Check out what others are sharing today. Fun Fun. Or just go say hi to Amy.

Potato Soup in the Crockpot

8 potatoes peeled and chopped

1 med. white onion chopped

2 carrots, chopped small

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 can (2 C.) chicken broth

2 TBL. dried parsley

1 1/2 tsp.salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 C. milk

1/2 C. Flour

green onions, chopped
bacon, fried and chopped
grated cheddar cheese

**Put all ingredients down to pepper into crock pot. Add water to within 1 inch of the top of the crock pot. Cook on high for 8 hrs. 1 hour before serving, put milk into container w/lid. Put flour in milk, and shake. Stir in milk/flour mixture into soup. Serve soup topped with green onions, bacon, and cheese as desired.

This is a very easy soup (I'm all about the easy). It is VERY good and my kids love it. Then of course my kids fight over who gets the last piece of broccoli, and eat artichokes. However, this is a good soup for kids because there's nothing "weird" in it, everything is chopped and diced small, and it's creamy. Also, you can serve it in a bread bowl like chowder and they think that's really cool.

Crockpot Beef Stew

I apologize now for this recipe. You see, like many of my recipes they are in my head and not from a book. So, there are no "exact" measurements. When you read my recipes think of the Pirates of the Caribbean....they're not rules, more like guidelines. So here goes...

Ingredients

1-2 lbs stew meat

small bag baby carrots (I chop once in half to make easier bites for the little ones)

1 small onion (I use white), chopped

4 med-large potatoes, cubed

2-3 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 gloves garlic, chopped (I use fresh, but you can stuff in jar)

2-4 C. beef broth

salt and pepper


*** Okay all I am going to give you my secret. Actually it's not a secret. My mother is Hispanic and she would laugh (and agree) and so would my Grandma when I say that any person of Mexican heritage knows that the meat always tastes better when it has been browned in bacon fat before going into any soup or stew. It's not exactly low fat, but hey "The fat is what gives it the flavor" words spoken verbatim by my Grandma. Anyway, I try not to use A LOT of bacon fat in my cooking, but I can't help myself (it's the Mexican in me). So, here's what I do.....

I buy the stew meat already cubed. I season it with salt and pepper. Warm a skillet with only 1-2 TBL of bacon fat on med-high because you want to brown the meat, not cook it. The juices in the meat will come out however once those steam off is when you'll get the good browning. Don't stir and fuss with the meat so much let it get a good brown coat on all sides. Chop onion and garlic while meat is browning. When meat is about halfway done browning, throw garlic and onion in pan. Stir around until everything has nice brown color. Turn off heat, sprinkle about 1 TBL flour on top of meat, stir. Meanwhile, sometimes it can take a while for the juices to steam off and that's when I get everything else (potatoes, carrots, and celery) chopped and cubed and into crock pot. Then I pour meat into crock pot, give it a good mix and pour in beef broth. A mistake many people make with the crock pot is putting in too much liquid. This is a stew and should be thick, so I only start with 2 C. of beef broth. I cook on low. If you are gone all day, don't worry the stew won't dry out, just add more broth if needed when you get home. If you're home, check it about midway through to see if it needs more liquid. My family likes it really thick so I wait until the end to add more liquid. The vegetables seem to soak in more of the juices and flavors this way.

Well, I think that is it. I hope I didn't forget anything. This is a great meal for these cold days. I serve it with biscuits and green salad. AND, no I'm not Betty Crocker. Pillsbury has really good ready to make frozen biscuits (my family prefers Southern Style) that you just pop in the oven. Honestly, I do make homemade biscuits from time to time (about as often as a Bigfoot sighting, but anyway) and I can't make them any better than these ready-made babies. So, I say why mess up the kitchen?


Lady Di

Super Easy French Dips

This is so easy and so so yummy. I love it because it works great when we have company. You can do it for lunch or dinner. I usually have all this stuff in the cupboard and the freezer ready to go for those nights I just want something easy and fast.

1 package French Rolls

1 bottle Johnny's French Dip Sauce

Roast Beef from your local Deli

1 onion

Fresh Sliced Mushrooms

package Swiss Cheese

Make the Au Jus according to package add Roast Beef until the meat is hot. Saute Mushrooms and onion in a bit of olive oil (i add a little sugar as well) until brown and delicious. Pile meat, onions and mushrooms on hot broiled rolls. Top with slice of cheese and voila. Pure yumminess. The OP loves this - minus the onions and mushrooms of course! Be sure to serve with the au jus!

Whip up some coleslaw or tater tots or both and voila - you've got a meal.

Enjoy!

Ladies...Start Your Ovens

Well, Summer is turning into Fall (my favorite time of year). Time for brisk, blustery days, warm sweaters, crunchy,crackling leaves under your feet, and the smell of yummy comfort food being cooked or baked. Oh my, I feel my thighs and butt getting bigger already. Did I just go up one pant size? Oh well, I love comfort food. While it cooks, it fills the house with it's luscious aroma and the oven warms the kitchen. It's wonderful to be nice and cozy inside your home while something delicious is baking in the oven.

This is a side dish recipe I got from my sister-in-law, who got it from a friend while she lived in Fort Benning, Ga. It is very good. In addition, it is pretty simple and you don't need exact measurements. It all depends on how much cheese and bacon you like on your potatoes. Yes, I know, I just said cheese, bacon, and potatoes in the same sentence so you know you are liking this recipe already (I haven't even mentioned the ranch dressing yet). Oh yeah, they are TOTALLY low fat. If you believe that last sentence I have what my husband in another life George Strait would say "ocean front property in Arizona".

I don't know what the official name for this recipe is so I am going to call them

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Ingredients

2lbs potatoes (you can use any kind, but red work the best)

1 ranch packet

1 C. mayo

1 C. milk

1 bag real bacon crumbles or you can cook your own bacon

4-6 C. Colby-Jack Cheese shredded

**Cube potatoes and boil until fork can pierce but potatoes are still firm. While potatoes are boiling mix ranch packet, mayo, and milk. Drain potatoes and put back into pot. Pour half ranch dressing onto potatoes, half of the bacon crumbles, half the cheese, mix well. Spray Pam in a 13X9 inch pan, then put potato mixture in pan. Pour remaining ranch dressing, cheese, and bacon on top of potatoes. Place into a 375 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes until bubbly.

Enjoy!

LadyDi

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 pound ground beef, lean

1 pound Sweet Basil Italian Sausage, casings removed and crumbled

2 cups grated carrot

1 medium onion, finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp. Parsley

1 Tbsp. dried Oregano

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Olive Oil

salt & pepper

Garlic powder

2 28 ounce cans concentrated crushed tomatoes

1 23 ounce can tomato sauce

Cook hamburger with some garlic powder. Drain and set aside . Cook Italian sausage until almost done and add grated carrot. Cook the rest of the way. Transfer both meats to crock pot. In saucepan, saute onion in a little olive oil. Add garlic, parsley, oregano, salt & pepper until onions are soft. Transfer to crock pot. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and brown sugar and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

***This feeds a lot of people or gives lots of left over sauce to freeze. For picky eaters or young children I put some sauce in a food processor and puree. To make it a little thicker (if you like thick sauce) puree half and add back to sauce.