I hadn’t had chocolate cake in so long – I really had a craving for it so here it!

Mexican Chocolate Cake

1 (8 oz) package semisweet chocolate baking squares – melted
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong cold coffee
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Microwave the chocolate squares to melt in a microwave proof bowl – about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.  While this is melting beat the butter at medium speed until soft and light.  Gradually add in the sugar, add the eggs – beat until soft and lemon color.  Stir in the chocolate and vanilla until well mixed.

Combine the dry ingredients and mix with the wet – adding the liquids gradually.  Stir in the chips and nuts.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour then check to see if it is done, if needed bake longer.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto cake plate.  When cool frost as desired. (well be like a brownie texture to this cake)

EDITED:  I was disappointed with this cake after trying it – it was kind of dry if you make it you might want to try more buttermilk – maybe 1/2 cup coffee, 1 cup milk?  also make sure to check to see if it is done after about 45 minutes – the time might have been wrong for it -

I will pay for this I am sure – I will need to work out longer for the rest of the week – if you want to cut calories you could leave off the frosting   lol  I should put some of it in the freezer to eat at a later date – otherwise I know us it will be gone by Friday.

Yesterday was a very busy quilty day for me.  I worked on all three projects – scraps, Star Crazy and Joseph’s Coat.

Taking breaks from cutting scraps I was making Ginger Cookies – time for a coffee break!

I really didn’t feel like typing in the recipe so I took a photo of it!  Instead of giant cookies mine were about 3 inches instead of 4 and the recipe made 40 cookies instead.  I’m not sure if this is the same ginger cookie recipe I put on here last year or not, but this one is good too!

I finished the last section of quilting to do and gave the quilt another couple of cranks down and now the end really and truly is in sight!!

I got started quilting on the left end of the quilt last night and will try to do more today in between scrap cutting, fitness, and laundry – and I have to remember to run to Wal-Mart to pick up prescriptions  – can’t forget that.

I’m not going to post a photo every day of the scrap cutting – you will be sick of it and saying oh no is this all she is going to put on here!  I will update on that a couple times a week I’m sure.

Now I guess I better get busy today so I can fit everything in!

I am always on the look out for little cooking appliances for the motorhome.  As some of you might recall we have a small motorhome with a tiny kitchen – no oven – just a 2 burner stovetop and a microwave!  I do like fresh bake goods though from time to time while we are traveling and when I saw this small Ultimate Brownie Maker I thought I would give it a try.  It was on a clearance rack at Belk’s for only $8.00 out of the original $23.99 or whatever it was.  Not a bad price for something so little – would it work or not?

I tried a brownie recipe in it last week and they turned out – I forgot to think about blogging about it and no photos of the brownies – sorry – they tasted good and they were done in 8 minutes – it takes about 2 minutes for the unit to heat up.

Today I thought I would try out a cornbread muffin mix – I like fresh cornbread and that goes good with beef stew or soup when camping.  It makes 8 at a time – I had already made 8 and had some batter left over so I got 6 more out of it.  I lifted the lid briefly to take a photo as it was about half way done. Raising nicely.  These are small – 4 bites for me and one is finished!  So I think I ate 3 or 4 of them

Does not brown on the top but as you can see the bottom browns up nicely.  The inside was baked just right.  You have to be careful to not over bake – I baked these 6 minutes then you raise the lid and let it bake one more minute.  The brownies I baked 8 minutes and raise the lid and they were done a little too much and a couple burn spots on the tops.

This is the packet I used – the batter was a little thin so I added a half of a cup of white flour to the mix.  I wasn’t sure if thin would work out well as the brownie mix is thicker.  I want to see what all can I make in this little thing.   I will be experimenting with it a little bit.  Then write down what I did and stick it with the little cookbook that came with it before I put it in the camper.

I now know that brownies work out good and so does cornbread.  The next thing to experiment with is fruit turnovers.  I’m thinking a frozen pie crust – thawed out, cut in 4 pieces, a can of apple pie filling – each piece of crust make in into a ball, then roll out thin in a circle – I have no rolling pin in the camper but a food can will work out well.  Put a couple tablespoons of fruit filling in the center, fold over, crimp the edges and place one or two (depending on how big they turn out) on the cooker, sprinkle a little sugar over the top and let it cook about the same amount of time as the cornbread – 7 minutes! and maybe they will turn out good – just an idea right now – I’ll let you know if it works out

I made some of these yesterday and we loved them.  I normally buy a can of baked beans when I want them but for a change I made them from scratch.  I might have to do that in the future – we love these.  I will have to cut the recipe in half next time though – as most of the time it is just the two of us.  These were even better the second day (today for lunch) as the flavor has soaked in more.

My lunch – leftover coleslaw, baked beans and a turkey sandwich on dark bread –  pumpernickel.

2 cups navy beans
1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup catsup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small can chopped green chilies

Soak beans overnight in cold water.  Simmer the beans in the same water until tender.  Approximately 1 to 2 hours.  Drain and reserve liquid (I did this the day before I used them as I intended to make in the crock pot and not the oven as suggested in the recipe – the recipe I then changed in a few items to make it my own – more molasses and catsup and the green chilies

Cut the bacon into little pieces and fry with the onion until the bacon is cooked.  I did not drain off the bacon grease as it soaked into the onion pretty well and was tasty.  Add all ingredients except the beans and cook to a boil and then remove from heat.  In a large bowl or pot add the beans and stir until well mixed.  Pour into your crock pot.  I cooked on high until it was bubbling and boiling  about 4 hours and then turned down to low to simmer for the rest of the day.

I enjoyed the beans warm but actually liked them even better today cold.  I will have them for a couple days and I have a feeling we will enjoy them each day.  next time I might need to cut the recipe in half.

Yum – doesn’t that sound good!!  While I had a couple days to chill out before I head back to NW Arkansas Friday after lunch to be with my mom again for a couple days I have been relaxing.  What better way than to make some homemade goodies and stuff my face!

I was looking at the Pioneer Woman’s blog and from there went to the Tasty Kitchen and found the recipe for Buttery Soft Glazed Raisin Pretzels – I have some dried Cherries in the house so I used those instead – so glad I did they were wonderful.  Follow the link on the name of the recipe and I’m not going to type it in!  All I changed was dried cherries instead of raisins.

The recipe only makes 8 but they are good size – brush the tops with melted butter and then drizzle on some frosting while they are hot.  Better than fat greasy doughnuts – these are baked in the oven – no added fat to the recipe, just flour, yeast, a dab of sugar and salt and water.  I haven’t a clue on the calories with the butter and frosting on the top – but yummy!

I know mine kind of lost the pretzel shape – I’ll try harder next time

I am scheduling this post for Thursday – I will be in Little Rock for the day.  I have my six month check up which is routine for the medications I take to keep the muscle disease under control – no problems – just routine — all that blood work you know.  And it is our older daughters 39 birthday – Melanie works in North Little Rock and couldn’t get the day off we will see her for a late lunch/early supper she can meet us at 4 in the afternoon.  It is supposed to be a great day weather wise – up to 78 degrees in the city.

Doubtful I will get any sewing done today – I will post from my mom’s at some point over the weekend.  I always bring the computer with me and I have wireless connection from my phone. My way of relaxing.

I haven’t posted a recipe in a little bit so thought it was time – also I needed to take breaks from quilting today so thought it a good break time to do so.

This morning I got a crock pot full of the ingredients for the white bean chili and I have it cooking.

I am actually rather new to white bean chili.  When we visited our daughter in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving she made it from leftover turkey one day.  I have no idea why I never made it before.  Since then I have made it several times.

This is a Paula Dean recipe.  Everything is in the pot and I’m plugging it in to cook for the day.

White Bean Chili

1 pound dried navy beans
5 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3/4 cup diced onion ( I used one large)
1 1/2 cups chopped green chilies (fresh or canned)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast – finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper (I found 2 teaspoons way too much for us and used 1)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (don’t have so I left it out)
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves – chopped

sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese

Rinse and soak beans overnight.  Drain in the morning and rinse.

Put all of the ingredients in the crock pot and simmer all day.  I use high heat for about half of the day or until it is about boiling and then turn it to low and let it go the rest of the day.  You should do it how you know your crockpot cooks.   This could be done over the stove top as well and just stir now and then and simmer until the beans are soft.

To serve put in individual serving bowls and garnish with sour cream and cheese if you desire.  Have some bread too if you like

Plenty for leftovers for lunch a couple of days:

Which brings me to the next recipe!  I love homemade bread and thought to make some corn bread but then decided to adapt a recipe I have for yeast cornbread.  I had some sour dough left in the refrigerator that I wanted to get rid of – here is what I came up with.

Sour Dough Mixed Grain Bread
1 package dry yeast
1 1/4 cups of warm water
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup dry powdered milk
3 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 to 3 cups flour

My additions:
2 cups of sour dough
1 egg
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 more cup of flour to knead in

In a large bowl place the yeast and 1/4 cup warm water let sit for about 5 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients – saving the flour for last reserve 1 cup of the total amount of flour to knead in on the board.

Mix to form a dough, then put on a floured space and knead in flour to make a nice dough that isn’t too sticky.

Put in a greased bowl and let double in size (in a warm area).  Punch down, shape into two loaves and place in greased pans.  Let the loaves raise again in a warm area about 30 to 45 minutes.

Pre-heat oven at 375 and bake loaves for about 35 to 40 minutes.  Makes 2 loaves

Enjoy!

Only one thing left for me to bake and that is my coffee cake that I always have for Christmas morning.  I made the dough yesterday – it sits in the refrigerator for a day and then I bake it in the evening.  Here is a link to it from several years ago.  It is called Potica, there are a lot of recipes for it.

If you do a search they are all going to be different.  I believe it originates in the Scandinavian countries.  I found my recipe for it over 35 years ago and have made no changes to it and grateful that it has turned out every year.  My daughters love it so much that they make it also for their families if they are not here for the holidays.  EDITED:  Not from the Scandinavian countries – more from central Europe – here is a link

If you are like me you have finished your shopping ages ago and can sit back and relax – do a little cooking and preparation and be ready for family.   Today other than getting some food ready for this evening – finger foods – I need to give the house a little cleaning and I’m relaxing.  I have some more of the melons cut out for Joseph’s Coat ready to put on the design floor so I can pin some pieces together.  I want to have some hand work for off and on the next couple days for in between visits.  I will also get some more quilting done on the Star Crazy quilt.  We do not have a lot of family around for Christmas so it is a quite holiday.  Our daughter that lives in North Little Rock and her husband will be with us for part of the evening.  Then they will go visit with his mom down the road from us and be back in the late morning for some visiting and late lunch then back to his mom and home they go from there.  Melanie is in retail and needs to be back for the bright and early day after Christmas sales.

I hope you all have a great holiday and get everything from Santa that you wish for

I don’t make a lot of cookies anymore for the holidays – I used to make dozens and dozens and probably 12 different kinds at that.  I started to bake cookies back when I was about 10 years old!!  My mother was not into baking, she made bread and an occasional cake, but cookies was not something she enjoyed making a lot.  As soon as my sister Vicki and I were old enough we took over the kitchen at Christmas time for making cookies – shortly after when the two brothers that were directly under us in age were old enough they started to make them too – we were stair-step ages about a year and a half between all of us (12 total, one set of twins).

When I married and had children of my own I continued making cookies and candy for Christmas time – forgetting that we only had a family of 4 compared to the family of 14 that I grew up with!!  I made way too many cookies, they would be in the freezer for weeks afterwards until we ate them all up.

Before the recipe though here is a photo of my grandchildren after they made a snowman in Wisconsin (where they live) this morning.  Just enough snow to get the front yard cleaned up!

One of the favorite recipes that my girls always liked and they both make them now that they have families of their own are called “Golden Thumbprints”  we all love them.  I am not a Martha Stewart type of baker, my cookies are not equal sizes the jam in them is not the same amount – you can tell they are homemade!

The recipe (I have no idea where I ever got this recipe, I have had it for years)

Golden Thumbprints

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 egg, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream together the first four ingredients.  Save the egg white for later use in recipe. Stir in the flour and salt. Refrigerate for an hour or two.  Roll the dough into little 1 inch balls (or close to).  slightly beaten the egg white and roll each ball in it and then and roll in the chopped nuts.  Bake for 5 minutes, take out of the oven and quickly indent each center with your thumb, fill center with a small spoonful of jam of your choice – I usual use raspberry.   Bake again for 8 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

This recipe doesn’t make many – I usually double the recipe and I got 3 dozen cookies.

Ready to get started on the second baking sheet of cookies, as you can see you do get sloppy after awhile, I get chopped nuts in my egg whites, but that is ok – it all turns out right in the end!

Fill with jam and put back in the oven to bake.

Another tray ready for the oven.

We have each sampled these already of course – now I am putting the remainder away for when our daughter and her husband get here on Christmas Eve.

How about a good apple recipe from Karen’s Kitchen – well actually it is from Betty Crocker but don’t we all wish we could come up with such good recipes!

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix

1/2 cup firm butter or margarine

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. Place cookie mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
4. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 24 bars (if you want them tiny- we like them big )

This is cut and pasted from the Betty Crocker site.  I substituted my chunky applesauce – a pint for the pie filling – it worked out great – delicious!!

Done with my pumpkins!  Done with my apples – now I can get back to quilting and piecing.  I got 3 more quarts of pumpkin from the second one plus about one more cup that I will use in some pumpkin pancakes or bread this weekend.

Not a bad amount from 2 decorative pumpkins – they did double duty – decorated my porch for awhile and now enjoyed by us in bread, cupcakes, pies, just to name a few of the delicious items I will be baking this winter.  6 quarts in all.  I will be tired of pumpkin by summer!  So glad to be done with fall canning and freezing.  I don’t do this every year – just if I feel like it.

This is the old food mill I use – does anyone have a recommendation for a better one and one that is easier to use – wow did my arm get tired out cranking this one through two large pumpkins.  It is hard to hold it steady over a bowl.   I don’t mind spending a bit for one that will be easier to use than this – I just haven’t really searched for one.

Other than my battle with the pumpkin Mike was having his battle over replacing a ceiling fan in the dining area.  The fan didn’t work well and never circulated air well and then the other day the light quit working as well.  It was time to replace it.

The mess on the floor.

Half way done.

The new fan with 4 lights!  Much better light and I can tell that the fan will give off a lot more air next summer.