Yellow Cake with Chocolate Pudding AND Frosting!

I made this cake today for my husband's birthday...only a sliver remains. :)

*Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap Friday*

You will need:

3 layers of yellow cake

I substituted all purpose flour for cake flour and it still came out delicious and moist. Be sure to cream the butter and sugar well before adding egg yolks ONE at a time. It is somewhat easy to fudge up this cake, but if you do it right, the results will be splendid. :)

Place layers of cake onto individual sheets of wax paper after you remove them from cake pan. This will ensure easy crack-free transitions. After your layers are cooled, add large blobs of cold pudding to the first layer.

Place second layer on top and repeat. When removing wax paper be sure to pull across and not up, as pulling up will result in missing chunks of cake! :)

Ta-da!

Now frost entire cake with whipped frosting and you're done! I know it ain't pretty, but is sure tasted great *so I heard*

~Chocolate pudding~

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in milk and place on medium heat. KEEP WHISKING, after mixture is smooth whisk faster, and faster! It will take some time, but it will thicken. You must whisk the entire time to prevent a skin from forming at the bottom of the pan. If you get bored, watch your arm flab jiggle while you whisk...I found this quite amusing. OR...you can also make this in the microwave! Place in freezer to cool.

~Chocolate frosting~

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

5-9 tablespoons heavy whipping cream OR milk

*use whipping cream if you prefer thick creamy frosting (like I do), use milk for stiffer frosting-similar to store bought*

Beat 1 cup sugar, cocoa, butter, and 2 tablespoons of your preferred dairy product until CREAMY. Alternate adding sugar and liquid until your desired consistency is achieved.

It should have peaks...like this:

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Doughnut Shop Style Apple Fritters

*Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap Friday*

This is my very own recipe, that I somehow managed to write down, so I truly hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. :)

*Apple Fritters*

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

5 tbsp melted butter or margarine

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs-beaten

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp flour

2-3 gala apples

Glaze

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter of margarine

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3-5 tbsp hot water

~To make glaze~

Place powdered sugar, melted margarine/butter, and vanilla in medium bowl.

Notice my lovely new whisk?

Whisk until smooth.

Slowly add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time, until your desired consistency is reached.

~To make fritters~

Preheat vegetable oil on medium heat. Make sure you do not fill the frying pan more than halfway. *I really wish I knew the exact temperature, but I do not have a probe.* You will know the oil is the right temperature when you place the dough in and it rises to the top.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, melted margarine, vanilla and evaporated milk, stir until fully incorporated.

Notice how extremely neat I am when adding dry ingredients!:)

After peeling and coring, cut apples into small chunks and place in separate bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour and toss again, making sure to coat all pieces.

Gently fold apples into mixture.

Drop by the large spoonful into hot oil.

Fry until golden brown on each side, turning once. I didn't time this so you'll just have to watch!

Drain off excess oil, then place into shallow baking dish and drizzle with glaze.

Set on cookie rack to cool, and to allow any excess glaze drip to off.

Enjoy!

If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment box, or you can e-mail me at spouseinthehouse(at)gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Things

*Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap Friday*

What is a cinnamon sugar swirl thing? Well, it tastes VERY similar to a churro, because I originally wanted to MAKE CHURROS! After I realized that I had no star frosting tips (because I had thrown them all out in a fit of rage after an unfortunate frosting incident, and forgotten about it!), I went ahead and decided to just pipe swirly things into the oil so it didn't look like long plain fried dough sticks.

Alright, now that we've gotten the useless details out of the way, here's the recipe. (Which my 7 year old says is "better than candy")

Vegetable oil *for frying*

1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar combined with 3/4 tsp cinnamon(or more if you really like cinnamon)

Preheat oil in large frying pan to 350 or just set on medium heat (Oil should reach no higher than halfway to the top of what ever vessel you have chosen)

Bring water and margarine to boil in medium saucepan

Combine flour, salt, 1 tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon in large mixing bowl

Pour boiling water/margarine into flour mixture and stir (or mix with dough hook) until it pulls away from the sides.

(If you would like to make original churros WITH A LARGE STAR TIP FROSTER you would instead reduce the water/margarine to low and add the flour mixture to the saucepan, stirring until it formed a firm ball)

Beat 3 eggs in separate bowl Then add slowly to dough

It should end up looking like this:

Place dough into a large piping bag (if you do not have a piping bag, snip the tip off of a Ziplock freezer bag and screw on frosting tip *you probably already knew that*)

Pipe directly into hot oil in swirly like motion

When one side has browned, approx 1-2 minutes, turn over, repeat

Place into/onto large plate or baking dish and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon sugar

Enjoy!

See more of my recipes here, here, here, and here!

Have questions? Contact me at spouseinthehouse@gmail.com

Marshmallow Memories

B: MOM!! J has something in his pants!
Me: J, come here honey, let me see what's in your pants.


J comes running, leaving a trail of miniature marshmallows behind him. Hmmm...either A)he is trying to mark a path because otherwise he will forget where he came from OR B)he's trying to see how many miniature marshmallows he can shove down his pants before B tells on him.

My motherly instincts tell me it's most likely scenario B.


Me: J, marshmallows do not belong in your pants. Marshmallows are for eating.
J: Shawy (sorry) Mommy



I empty his pants of soft sugary white confections and send him on his way. Thankful that I did so BEFORE the marshmallows melted into a thick, sticky sugar glue that I would've had to scrub off with a brillo pad.



Not long after I find marshmallows...

-In my bed, UNDER my sheets. Yes, he put marshmallows on my bed, then covered them with my sheet AND comforter.
-On the bathroom floor (They probably fell out of his pants)
-Shoved into the cockpit of a toy plane
-In my closet
-Under my bed
-And in the boys' bedroom and playroom


I suppose it really is all my fault, I made the mistake of leaving an open bag of miniature delights on the dining room table!


Usually, while I'm helping B with his assignments J plays quietly in the playroom until we are finished or he until he decides he wants to do "pwee-shcool". I suppose today, I should of noticed he was playing a little TOO QUIETLY.



What "sweet" memories I will have of my boys when they are grown and gone. :)

Just for fun, since we ARE talking about marshmallows:

Chewy Granola Bars

*Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap Friday*

I took this recipe and tweaked it a bit!

~Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars~

3 cups rolled oats*

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey

1/8 cup molasses*

3/4 cup coconut (sweetened and shredded)*
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 325 f and grease a 9"X13" pan.

Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips in large mixing bowl. (If using a Kitchen Aid mixer, use the dough hook attachment since it will do the least damage to the rice cereal.)

After everything is well incorporated and moistened stir in the chocolate chips.

PRESS mixture into pan with the back of greased spatula. (Very important step! If you do not press it in you will wind up with crumbly granola cereal!)

Bake at 325 for 18 to 22 minutes.

Let cool for about 20 minutes.

Lay sheet of wax paper over the top of pan and press down on mixture again.

Loosen sides, flip out onto wax paper covered surface.

Cool an additional 30 minutes, or until they are room temperature.

Cut into bars with pizza cutter or greased knife.

Enjoy!

Delicious Dinner Rolls

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap Friday

Last night I made fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Sounds good right? Well I thought it did, until I realized I had NO bread to serve with it! So I headed on over to recipezaar where I found this recipe for dinner rolls. It calls for super fine sugar, but I just used plain old granulated and they still came out perfect. I also decided to forgo the egg wash and toppings, opting instead to brush the tops with melted butter two minutes prior to removing them from the oven.

These rolls are absolutely delicious! I've tried about 10 different roll recipes and this one, is by far, the best I've made.

Patrick Sandwiches and Star Eggs

*Grocery Cart Challenge Friday Recipe Swap*

Before we started home school this was B's favorite sack lunch item:

Patrick Sandwiches

Who doesn't love Spongebob's BFF, Patrick? Now he's available in sandwich form!

Cut star shape into chopped ham (baked ham will not cut as clean) with medium sized star cookie cutter.

To save time push the cutter through the entire package of ham. Cutting out ham stars everyday is a bit of a hassle! =)

Spread whipped cream cheese on both sides of a snack sized bagel insert star and you're done! *To save money I buy the regular cream cheese and whip it at home.*

Once I went a little overboard and carved a mini Patrick face into the star. That day B came home and hadn't eaten his lunch. When I asked him why, he said he felt like Patrick was really alive because he had a face and he felt weird about eating him.

Now, what to do about the excess ham?

*Breakfast Stars*

Take star silhouette and place in/on pre-greased, preheated pan or griddle.

After sides begin to curl in crack egg directly over the center of star.

Flip, cook until preferred yolk consistency is achieved.....

and serve on toast or bun!

You have now used one piece of lunch meat for breakfast AND lunch, and at the same time, made your little one feel like a STAR!

Breakdown: All cents rounded up

Patrick Sandwich:

1. Ham star- $3.44 for pkg of 16 ham slices= 22 cents per slice, divided by two (ham star is approxiamately 1/2 slice)= 11 cents per star

2. Mini bagel- $2.46 for bag of 12 minis= 21 cents per bagel

3. Cream cheese- $1.27 for 8 ounces= 16 cents per ounce- After whipping, we use approx. 1/8 = 2 cents per serving

.11+.21+.02= $0.34 per sandwich

Breakfast Star Sandwich:

Star sillouhette-11 cents

Egg- $3.28 for 24 large eggs= 14 cents per egg

Bun- $1.14 for pkg of 8 buns= 15 cents per bun

.11+.14+.15= $0.40 per sandwich

Mom Friendly Pizza

Pizza dough with a 15 minute rise time!
Adapted from this recipe:
http://www.recipezaar.com/28008

1 pkg dry yeast~ I recommend Red Star Quick rise
1 cup warm drinking water~ yeast will not proof as well in tap water
1-2 tsp salt (depending on taste)
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tablespoon oil (I prefer olive)
Cornmeal or flour to prevent dough from sticking to pan

Preheat oven to 375
Place flour and salt in large mixing bowl
Add yeast to warm water and stir until dissolved
Add yeast, water, and oil to flour
Mix until fully incorporated
Cover bowl with kitchen towel and place atop preheating stove for 15 minutes
Sprinkle cornmeal or flour on pizza pan or cookie sheet
Lightly coat your hands with oil and place dough directly on pan (do not knead)
Gently pat and stretch dough to your desired shape and add your favorite toppings!
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes

We like to use canned Hunt's or Delmonte traditional spaghetti sauce in place of pizza sauce. It's VERY inexpensive and one can will give me enough sauce for 6-7 pizzas. We have also decided that we much prefer plain shredded mozzarella to any of the fancy "pizza" cheese mixes.

If you'd like more flavor you can add garlic powder or dried herbs to the dough.

Now you can make pizza in the same amount of time it takes a delivery man to get to your door!Yay!

Pancakes

Over the years I have tried several different pancake recipes in my quest for the perfect pancake. I remember my first attempt... I was 11 years old and determined to make the best pancakes EVER. Which is why I added eggs to a box mix that specifically stated "No eggs needed!". I thought since eggs weren't needed that would make them extra, and extra could only mean extra special pancakes! So I added a couple of eggs. Maybe it was just the eggs that made them turn out so rubber like, or maybe it was the excessive stirring of the batter, or maybe it was the fact that the pancake mix had been sitting in back of the pantry since we had moved in, I can never be totally certain of the exact cause. All I know is that not only did my pancakes feel like rubber, they tasted like it too. Add some slight overcooking on my part and I ended up with something that not even the dog would eat. Seriously, our dog tried to take a nibble, but then decided to just lick the syrup off and run away. I guess even dogs don't like the taste of burnt rubber.

Well.............last week I finally found it! A simply delicious recipe for pancakes that my kids just can't get enough of. =)

From recipezaar.com posted by Ellen Brody:

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

*Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more milk for thinner pancakes

Suggested additions:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Squeeze of lemon juice
A little orange zest
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Please don't add them all together =)

P.S. These freeze beautifully!