Easy Chocolate/Raspberry Cream Cake!

So you want EASY? 

 I'm all for easy and I think you may be too! My good friend Karen had a special Birthday this week and I invited a few gal pals for cake and coffee.  This was so easy to make and everyone thought I spend hours preparing it. NOT!  If you recall I had made a Banana Split cake a while back and it was so appreciated when I posted the blog so today I used the same concept and made another easy cake and impressive as well.  In my other cake I  used a box mix and made two layers..I used one for the Banana Split cake and I froze the other for later use..Today was the day for the other layer to make this scrumptious dessert.
Note:  You can make this cake in a square or rectangular pan and top with the below ingredients as well.  It will serve more people.

 
 Happy Baking from my kitchen
 to yours,

M.J.

10/30/15

1 layer chocolate cake (you can use a white or yellow cake if desired)Bake according to directions.
1 small package vanilla instant pudding
1 1/4 cups cold milk
3oz softened cream cheese
1 reg. size container cool whip(you can use fresh whipping cream if desired)
1 dark chocolate or milk chocolate candy bar(grated)
1 pt. fresh raspberries( rinse under cool water well)
Fresh Blueberries (optional)

In a large bowl whisk instant pudding and milk..After it starts to thicken add softened cream cheese and 1/2 container Cool Whip topping. Whisk until blended. Set aside

In a large serving dish or platter lay chocolate layer..Top with pudding mixture..Top pudding with cool whip and fresh raspberries..Grate chocolate candy bar over top..Dab a bit more cool whip in center and add a few raspberries..Garnish with chocolate pieces ..  Serves 6 generous portions. Enjoy!   You'll impress your guests with this one !

9/2/12
6/6/13

Summer's here and so are easy meals

Happy and a Blessed Sunday to all.

I attempted to post an idea I had today about food. What else right? Well somehow it was deleted so here goes again.

This coming week I am going to try very hard to do a low carb , low cost meal week. uggh but I know I can do it. I do love carbs and I will be using all types of beef (ground, stew, stir fry etc.), pork tenderloin (I have one) chops, chicken(both boneless and bone in) and plenty of veggies and herbs and spices as in tomatoes, spinach, lettuce(two varieties), onions, sweet and red, variegated peppers, carrots and others that I either have frozen or will pick up later at the market/grocery store during the week. I will use rice in moderation but no potatoes or pasta.

I am thinking this is a good week to try this since it's the beginning of summer and veggies and fruit should be plentiful. I will watch prices and buy in moderation but try to get a variety. We'll see how I do. Check back during the week to see the meals. I'm not making promises but I will be working hard to create something filling and tasty. Carbs are a big weakness for me because they fill me. I don't know about desserts yet but that too will be a work in progress.

What makes me do this. I want to spend a little less time in my kitchen (yes I said that) and get out to enjoy nature and maybe explore some new hobby. We'll see. Make sure you keep checking in I'm sure to post these meals most days as you can't keep me away from sharing good, healthy and yummy recipes.

Smiles and love always, 

Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Balls

This is a very versatile recipe. Whether you use chicken, turkey or beef it is a great meal.

Today I decided to make it with green peppers following my original recipe.

Add mushrooms if you like.  It's a really good one pot meal.  Enjoy!

Today's crockpot stuffed chicken with mozzarella and green peppers.  Reminds me of my chicken cacciatore.

after making the meatballs and cleaning and cutting the peppers I placed all on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and baked at 400 for about 10 minutes and then removed them and placed them directly into the crockpot that I had placed the sauce in.

Hello and Good Morning!  I have been posting a lot of dishes with sauce involved.  Call it a red sauce overload.  Italy did it to me so please know I will certainly get into some other dishes next week.  I had bought a lot of healthy ground turkey and chicken at the grocery store this week and some beef too so this week I have been ground meat recipe crazy.:)

We ate all of the turkey stew.  It was great for us since lunch gets to be a problem since we don't eat lunch meat and salads are great but they do take time when you want lots of veggies in them so a robust stew in the fall or winter works for us.  Stews heat up well and you can portion them for weight watching and package them to take with you for lunch work meals. 

Note: Today I am making Chicken meatballs with a small piece of fresh mozzarella in the center.  I am going to add green peppers to my red sauce.  The red sauce I'm making today I'm going to use some of my fresh basil  to start it and use diced and crushed tomatoes as well as some hot red pepper flakes.

Stews are so easy and once I get everything started on top of the stove it's into the crockpot for a meal that I don't have to stand over and watch so I can be on my way.  

Ingredients for chicken balls:
1 lb. ground chicken
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Italian cheese 
1 egg slightly beaten
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup chicken broth **(add more if needed) mixture should be soft and easy to form the balls.

Mix with hands or large spoon to combine

 

Place small piece of mozzarella in center of meat and top with more chicken mixture and roll into a ball.

I made large and small chicken balls and baked them at 400 degrees until slightly browned, approx. 10 minutes.

For sauce:

1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can diced tomatoes
several carrots or 2 green peppers, cut in medium size pieces
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper optional
olive oil and garlic and basil (if you have pesto without nuts use 1 T.)
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms (optional)

In a large pot place pesto or olive oil and garlic.  Add carrots and peppers and saute for a few minutes.  Add tomatoes, salt and red pepper. Add baked chicken balls. Cover slightly and cook mixture until carrots are tender.  Season accordingly if necessary.

Note:  I did the above and instead of simmering on top of stove I poured all into my crockpot and set it on low and let it cook for approximately 4 to 5 hours.  Perfecto!

5/27/16

Homemade fruit topping or sauce! This time it's Strawberry! And cherries!!

There is nothing like making your own fruit topping/sauce.  I guarantee you'll keep making it with this basic recipe and changing the fruit if you choose.  

You’ll see some additional photos where I used bing cherries in the recipe.  Hubby wanted some tonight over vanilla ice cream.  

Enjoy!

1 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup strawberries, blueberries or fruit of choice
1 T butter
1/2 tsp. lemon juice (optional)
1 to 2 drops food coloring (optional)

1. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup fresh fruit, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the butter, and pour over  French toast, pancakes or even ice cream.  optional:  Add 1 to 2 drops red food coloring for more color if the strawberries are not super red. That's an option.
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3. From my kitchen to yours,
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   6/3/13
   9/24/13 
   

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7. 4/11/14

Cubed Steak, red onion, red and yellow pepper for dinner!

When you want quick, tasty and easy and are in the mood for beef , cube steak is a great answer.

According to Wikipedia


Cube steak is a cut of beef, usually top round or top sirloin, tenderized by fierce pounding with a meat tenderizer, or use of an electric tenderizer. The name refers to the shape of the indentations left by that process (called "cubing").^[1] This is the most common cut of meat used for chicken fried steak.

Cube steak(round steak) that has been tenderized so it not only is tender it also cooks quickly and tastes delicious.  It looks different when you see it packaged because of it being pounded by a metal mallet which make indentations or marks on it.  They are usually packaged several in a package in your meat section of the grocery store.  If you don't see them ask.

Today I decided to cut my cube steak in strips and make a simple but delicious combo of steak, red onions and red and yellow peppers to have with some Risotto I was making.

While the risotto was simmering. In a large skillet with some olive oil over medium heat I added my onions and peppers and started to cook them slowly.  Once I saw they had cooked some I added my strips of cube steak and allowed to cook on medium until there wasn't any red color in the steak.  Added salt and pepper while it cooked and served it along side the risotto.  Yum!

11/3/14