Dump Cake

Remember when I told you, here, that my style was easy and leaned towards healthy?  Well, with today's post, you can forget all about that "healthy" bit.  Healthy is not how I would describe this dish.  Not in the least.  Easy though...easy is definitley in the description.

Here's what you need:

1/2 cake mix (I think yellow tastes the best with this)
1 can pie filling
1 stick of butter

Here's what you do.  Oh, and I should note, I have cut this recipe in half because that's plenty of dessert for us.  But, it's traditionally made in a 9x13 pan instead of a pie plate.

Okay, on with the show.

Preheat the oven to 350

Spray a pie plate with nonstick spray and dump the pie filling in.

Now take the cake mix, and dump half of it on top of the pie filling.  If you have a good eye, just guess where "half" is.  If you're a nerd like me, you can calculate that half of the cake mix is 258 grams and use your kitchen scale to get an exact measurement.  Save the other half for next time.

Now take that stick of butter (preferably right out of the fridge) and cut it into little pats (or is it "pads"?) and arrange them on top of the cake mix.

Then just pop it into the oven for 45-60 minutes.  When the filling is bubbling and the top looks golden, it's done.  Now would be a good time for me to insert a completed Dump Cake picture.  But, stop searching.  It won't be making an appearance today because as soon as it was done, we went over to our neighbors for game night and the dump cake went with us. No time for pictures.

Traditionally, when you do not half the recipe, a lot of people use one can of cherry pie filling and one can of crushed pineapple.  Maybe that sounds more appealing to you, but I will stick with my raspberry bliss.

Godiva Chocolate Martini

I didn't take that picture.  I'm not a photographer, that's my sister's job.  And someday, when I figure out how to make millions by keeping a blog, I will pay her to be my photographer.  In the meantime, I'm going to legally steal images that I find on the internet.

Why?  Because doesn't that look yummy?  It is.  Trust me!  Or, stop on by and I'll make you one.  They are delicious.  Smooth as chocolate milk and just as easy to consume.  Just ask my mom.  There is a funny story there and I'll happily tell you over a chocolate martini someday!

Here's the recipe:

1.5 shots Godiva chocolate liqueur

1.5 shots Creme de Cocoa

1/2 shot vodka

2.5 shots Half n' Half

Pour all the above into a shaker and shake it up.  Pour it into a glass, drink, and repeat.  But, remember to get up and walk around a bit inbetween each martini...right mom?

Peppered Steak

This is a recipe that Rob brought to the marriage.  We make it all the time.  Especially when our garden is spitting out all those peppers and tomatoes.  Also, because I was getting free stew meat from Target about 6 months ago and I have enough, in the freezer, to last us a lifetime.

Ingredients

1 lb stew meat
1/4 c worchestershire sauce
1/2 c beef broth
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 green pepper, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 tomato, sliced into pieces
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
salt, pepper

Brown the meat in a large skillet with the garlic, salt, and pepper.  Once the meat is browned, add the worchestershire and beef broth.  Once that reaches a boil, pour everything into a crockpot set on low.  I usually start this around 1pm and we eat at 6pm....do what works for you.

Right before dinner, transfer the goodness back into the skillet.  Add the pepper.  Bring to a boil  .  Mix the cornstarch and water and pour it, while stiring, into the meat mixture.  Continue this process until the sauce reaches your desired thickness.  Add the tomato last.  I don't like mushy tomatoes, so I add them just before serving making sure they have just enough time to heat through

We serve this over brown rice.  It's really great with some garlic bread too....but that's a luxury around here and only appears with this meal when I'm really on the ball.

Chipotle's Carnitas

A couple people have asked me for the recipe for the Carnitas we made for the Fiesta this past summer.  I posted it in the comments section there, but we have been making these pretty routinely around our house, so I thought I'd post the recipe here as well.

The Carnitas end up tasting very similar to Chipotle's carnitas, and if we ever figure out how to successfully duplicate their rice, you'll be the first to know.

Here's what you need:
•One 7lb pork butt, cut into 10 large chunks
•1 very large onion, quartered
•5 chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded & chopped, plus 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can
•1 tablespoon ground cumin
•1 tablespoon ground coriander
•1 tablespoon dried oregano
•1 tablespoon salt
•2 bay leaves
•2 to 3 quarts low sodium chicken broth
•2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Just so you know, it's almost impossible to find a 7 lb pork butt.  Also, it's embarrassing to yell the words "Pork Butt" to the local butcher across a crowded meat section.  Take it from me.

Okay, moving on.  You will most likely end up with a 5 pounder at most so just adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Rob usually makes this.  I spent 7 years in a food safety lab do far worse things to raw meat than just cutting it up, but still, if I can avoid it, I do.

Add the onions.

It's nice that you don't have to cut the onions much, just big chunks.  You know what my super power is?  Cutting onions....they don't bother me at all.

From here, you just add the rest of the ingredients right into the pot, except for the oil...save that for later.  A note on the chiles, they can be found in the authentic Mexican food section of your grocery store, not the "Ortega Taco Mix" Mexican section.  Take it from Rob.

A little 7.5 oz can will give you plenty of chiles.

Then just pour in enough chicken broth to cover everything up (I don't measure that part, but one super large can was enough for this one).  Stir it up, cover it, and bring it to a boil.  Once it's boiling, uncover it and let it simmer for 3 hours. 

After only a half hour, your house will smell delicious.

After 3 hours you'll be drooling, but take this moment to heat your oven up to 450.  Drizzle some olive oil (or vegetable oil) on a shallow pan.  Use a slotted spoon to take out the large meat chunks and place them on the pan.  With a fork, you can pull apart the meat into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Pop that baby in the oven for 20-30 minutes until it's nicely browned.  The picture above is pre-oven.  Just picture it slightly darker and you have post-oven.

We serve ours with a semi-tasty version of Chipotle's Lime Rice plus cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.  Whatever you happen to like.  Rob makes his into tacos or burritos.  I prefer the burrito bowl style.

Spooky Pumpkin Muffins

Just in case you need a really last minute treat to bring to a Halloween party....here you go!  Grab a box of your favorite muffin mix (I used pumpkin because it seemed seasonally appropriate).  Once the muffins are cooled, put some ready made cream cheese frosting into a ziploc baggie.  Snip off the corner and pipe on the ghosts.  I raided Ellie's candy to find some mini M&Ms for the eys, but chocolate chips would work just as well.

Happy Haunting!!!

Rice Meatballs

I made it last night.  It's easy, and it is one of the only meals that every single child eats.  And EATS!  This was a favorite of mine growing up (and still is) and it's not rare for Austin to match me meatball for meatball.

We always pair it with "smashed" potatoes and corn.  The recipe is a bit versatile too.  If you want to, substitute brown rice for the white rice.  Or, ground turkey instead of ground beef...whatever floats your boat.  Another reason I like this is becuase I can make it the night before or during naptime and just let it hang out in the fridge until "go time".

Rice Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 can water
1 egg
1 c rice  (if you use instant rice, I find 3/4 cup is plenty)
salt, pepper, garlic salt

Mix ground beef, egg, rice, and seasoning together (use your hands...gross but effective).  In a seperate bowl mix together tomato soup and water.  Form about 1.5 inch balls out of the meat mixture and plop them into the tomato soup mixture.  Bake at 350 for one hour, stirring half way through.

The next day, cut leftover meatballs in half, lay them on a hoagie bun, layer that with a bit of cheese (provolone, white american, etc.) throw them in the toaster oven to heat them up and for a whole new meal!

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Final Installment

I have narrowed it down to two cookie recipes.  Both delicious for their own reasons. 

Cookie Recipe #1

This is the tweaked version of the original recipe.

1c butter (softened)
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 c chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add room temperature eggs, one at a time until well mixed.  Add vanilla.  Mix all dry ingredients in a seperate bowl.  Make sure when you measure the flour, that you spoon it into the measuring cup instead of scooping with the measuring cup.  This packs in more flour and give an inaccurate amount.  Add dry ingredients slowing to butter/sugar mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Refrigerate the dough for 2+ hours.  Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.  Take the pan out, let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two before removing them to a cooling rack

Why I liked this cookie
It was chewy.  It also remained chewy for quite some time.  Days.  And, of course, it was very tasty.

Recipe #2 (Patrick, this is yours +vanilla)

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (12 Oz's) semisweet chocolate chips

Cream the sugars with the butter.  Add a room temperature egg, mix well.  Add the vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients in a seperate bowl and mix well before slowly adding them to the butter/sugar mixture.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on pan for a few minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Why I liked this cookie
For one, it looked prettier than #1 when it was done.  It had a very crispy "outer shell" but a soft center.  Not quite as chewy as #1.  However, these didn't seem to stay soft quite a long.  As I've said before, that's not usually a problem around here.

And those are my picks for chocolate chip cookies. 

Moving on.....