Not Quite a Cake, Yet Not Quite Pudding

Hello Sweets,

Well tomorrow is the day I get my keys!!!  I am doing as much packing as possible tonight so I feel as though it's not such a daunting task, but the mandatory naps aren't helping.  I just woke up from one and am feeling quite groggy, so I figured I write a post to help wake my brain up before I do anything else.  As much as I am looking forward to moving, the stress of the final days is getting to me lol.  I just hate the packing part lol.  Oh well, it has to be done right?  On the plus side, I found this super soft and super awesome bath mat.  Do statements like that mean that I've become old?  I am finding that new household objects are super fun for me, lol yea I am old.

So today we are delving right into chocolate!  Are you a "chocoholic"?  If so then you've picked the perfect day to stop by my little blog :)  I'm not a chocoholic, but if it's the right dessert I will be all over it.  This dessert is the quintessential chocolate craving quencher, if you really want chocolate and can't wait to get it, then this is the recipe for you.  Let's get to the good stuff, so I can get back to packing *yawn*

Gooey Chocolate Pudding Cake

Ingredients

(cake)

3/4C flour

1/2C sugar

1/2C unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2tsp baking powder

2/3C milk

1tsp vanilla

2Tbs vegetable oil

(topping)

2/3C packed brown sugar

1/4C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4C cocoa

1 1/4C hot water

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  In a 2qt casserole dish, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder.

 

2)  Add milk, oil, and vanilla.  Stir until well mixed.

 

3)  In a small bowl combine brown sugar, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.

 

4)  Sprinkle over cake batter.  DO NOT STIR.

 

5)  Pour hot water over top.  Again, do not stir.

 

6)  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top looks cooked.  Serve warm.

yummy!

chocolaty gooey goodness

  

This dessert is so hard to explain, as it's not quite pudding but it's not quite cake either.  What it is, is a warm, gooey, chocolaty plate of heaven.  I love chocolate lava cakes, but this will do in its place any day!  The fun part is when you serve a piece, because under the cake section is the gooey puddingness (totally just made up my own word lol).  This is something that will definitely be made again, as it was such a great hit.  Nathan sure did love it :)

Now it's time to get back to the fun stuff; packing lol.  Maybe beforehand I will bake up a treat, lol probably shouldn't, but I wanna lol.  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Something I Just Couldn't Resist

Hello Sweets,

I have been having an awful day :(  It started out with me waking up with a migraine, which is exactly how I went to sleep last night.  Which means I didn't get much sleep, and that means my appetite was diminished.  I've only had a peanut butter and jam sandwich and some dehydrated cherries, which are soooo tasty lol.  So I've been relaxing all day long, and then I did a little creating so I wouldn't feel completely useless.

Well I did it, lol I made more pudding today!  I just couldn't help myself, I just really wanted some vanilla to go with the chocolate ;)  I can't imagine why people don't just make it from scratch, yes it takes a little longer but it smells so much better lol.  Although after making two batches of pudding I do need to go pick up some milk lol or I won't be able to enjoy my cereal.

Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients

3/4C sugar

4Tbs cornstarch

1/8tsp salt

3 1/2C milk (or you can use 1C cream)

3 egg yolks

1Tbs butter

1Tbs vanilla

 

Directions:

1)  Combine sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan.

 

2)  Whisk in milk and egg yolks, cooking over medium high heat, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes or until thickened.

 

3)  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter.  Whisk until butter is melted.

 

4)  Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.  Cover with plastic wrap for storage.  To prevent a skin or film from forming be sure to place plastic wrap against the pudding, not just over the top of the bowl.  Serve warm or cold.

 

I chose to add cinnamon and nutmeg for additional flavor

Another flavorful pudding that is hard to beat, my mind is spinning with all the different recipes that call for pudding because this will be my first choice every time it's available.  Unlike the fake boxed stuff there is a slight egg smell to it, if that's something that would put you off add a splash more vanilla with cinnamon and nutmeg.  I cannot wait for my nephew to try his little batches I made for him, nothing is better than a smile on his cute little face :)

Tomorrow I am back over at my grandparents, so it will be a dinner post instead of sweet ;)  In the meantime I will be doing some more sketching in preparation for the birthday party, I'm getting really excited to be officially putting my passion out there, but I know I still have a lot to learn ;)  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

The Proof Is In The Pudding

Hello Sweets,

I hope y'all had a wonderful day. Mine was a little hectic, but since I got everything out of the way, I can spend the night relaxing and brainstorming :)  I wasn't having such a good day yesterday, feeling extremely awful and sore which makes sleep a trying task.  I was finally able to fall asleep (early this morning) but I made sure to set my alarm, well guess what I slept through?  You guessed it, my alarm :/  You know the feeling when you sleep through an alarm, rushing around and forgetting things.  That's how my day started, not a good way to start lol, but once I got the mundane stuff out of the way I decided to do something for me :)

When y'all think about your childhood what do you remember?  I think of baking with my grandma, cooking with my mom, building things with my grandpa, and all sorts of other fun memories.  Then my thoughts go immediately to all my favorite childhood foods like ice cream and freshly baked cookies, and then random things that not all kids may like such as shrimp.  I've loved seafood since I was a little kid, especially shrimp and in any form too!  I am leading you down the wrong path right now lol, because today's post is not about shrimp at all :p  We are not even going to be in the savory ballpark today, instead we are going back to the sweet memories of childhood.

Grandma's Chocolate Pudding (via Grandma's Kitchen)

Ingredients

2/3C sugar

1/4C unsweetened cocoa powder

3Tbs cornstarch

2C milk

1 large egg

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1Tbs butter

 

Directions:

1)  Combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, whisk in milk.

 

2)  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until mixture boils.  Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.

 

3)  Beat egg in a small bowl.  Whisk about 1/2C of hot chocolate mixture into egg.

 

4)  Whisk egg mixture back in to the milk mixture in the saucepan.  Cook over medium heat for two minutes, stirring mixture constantly.

 

5)  Remove pudding from heat; stir in vanilla and butter.  Pour into 4 individual serving dishes.  Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

 

 I will never eat pre made pudding again!!  This is so good it's unreal :D  It's deep, rich, chocolatey flavor is perfectly sinful.  It's so good that I want to make vanilla pudding tomorrow and make a layered delight.  I don't think there is one thing in this world that wouldn't taste better made from scratch, and I am going to try everything in my path!  I even managed to set aside a little container for my little monkey to enjoy too!  If I manage to make a vanilla pudding before they pick up the chocolate he'll have two more reasons why his auntie Jemmy is the best ;)

This was yet another first for little ol' me, and again I went at it with gusto and succeeded!  If there is ever something you want to try and make don't let the unknown stop you, whether it works out or not it's the road there that teaches us the lesson :)   Now I am going to see what is needed for vanilla pudding and do some more sketching for the upcoming job ;)  Sketching is not my forte by any means, but since the subject is Star Wars, I have Nathan to tell me where to make adjustments.  Until next time....


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxoxo

Chocolate, Chocolate, and More Chocolate.........Did I MentionChocolate???

Hello Sweets,

Well if you haven't guessed by the title of the post, we are talking about CHOCOLATE!!!!  And lots of it too :)  Tonight I bring you the anniversary dessert that got me a wide eyed smile from my handsome love, and I wanted to also share our amazing date.

Since Nathan is preparing to finish up all his commercial pilot requirements, he's been flying, like a lot.  Which means early mornings...like before dawn early lol, only because by 9-9:30am the temperature is already in the mid to high 90F.  However, the views you get are worth every yawn and every bag under your eye lol. They're also some of the prettiest colors.  I've always been a lover of nature, and I am very fond of any natural beauty, but these views........well check them out for yourself :)

 

 2 years together, but only feels like minutes have gone by

 

 Taxiing over to the strip and the colors start to form :)

 

 

 absolutely breath taking

 

 I need a better camera, because if I can take this with my phone imagine the possibilities

 

my personal pilot, so handsome when he concentrates

 

 

Love this profile shot <3  

 

There is nothing better in the world then sharing a view as beautiful with the one you love.  To be honest, after the first breath taking ride, I've had no problem dragging my butt out of bed ;)  I've missed one flight thus far, and I felt guilty that I did lol, I know crazy right?

So you can see how amazing the gift that he gave me was, so naturally I was very excited that I got the same excitement from him with the dessert :p  Yesterday we made the base for our dessert, the chocolatey goodness of Oreos!!  Well today we are going to fill that puppy up with.....you guessed it chocolate!!  I wasn't sure what to look for or what to expect with a chocolate pie but that wasn't going to stop me ;)  Then I came across a recipe that embodied both chocolate and a Texan favorite, pecans! 

Triple Layer Mud Pie

Ingredients

3sqrs Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, melted

1/4C sweetened condensed milk

1 Oreo Pie Crust (6oz)
1/2C pecans, chopped
2pkgs (3.9oz) Jell-O instant chocolate pudding
2C cold 2% milk
1 tub Cool Whip, thawed

Directions:

1)  Mix the melted chocolate with the condensed milk.

 

 2)  Pour into the pie crust and sprinkle with the pecans.

 

3)  Beat pudding mixes with the cold milk with a whisk for 2 minutes; spooning 1 1/2C onto the pecans

*I would recommend piping the pudding mixture on, as it is quite thick and frustrated me lol*

 

 

4)  Stir half of the Cool Whip into the remaining pudding.  Spread over the pudding layer.

 

5)  Top with remaining Cool Whip and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.

 

2 years of nothing but LOVE!!

 

Not the prettiest, but heck it's damn tasty!

In addition this delicious dessert, Nathan made his Signature Steaks (mmmmmm) and we paired it with my amazing Twice Baked Potatoes and the super yummy Corn on the Cob (which Nathan and I have updated since then and will share soon!).  I also made a fresh loaf of Whole Wheat Honey Bread, almost identical to the bread from the Cheesecake Factory :)  Paired with a lovely glass of red wine

 

Sorry about the half eaten dinner, but it smelt so good I dove right in lol

As you can see the little puppy Bear was mooching, but I was in a particularly good mood (love and all) so she got some steak.......and fillet.

That's a few snap shots into our loving day of celebration, I hope you enjoyed it as much as Nathan and I did :)  Until next time...........................................



Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxoxo