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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Chocolate Souffle Cake for Two

My husband wanted a Stove Wave pot after seeing it tested on television. I'm usually weary of those "As Seen on Television" products because they usually never work as promised. He first used it to make an omelet, and it came out perfectly! The booklet that came with it had a recipe for chocolate souffle cake that looked easy enough, so I decided to give it a try. I mixed together the ingredients, tossed a few chocolate chips on top, popped on the lid, and put it in the microwave. Two and a half minutes later, I had a chocolate cake—the perfect size for two, which fits this month's What's Baking theme: Small Servings. The cake tasted delicious! The texture was not perfect, and it could have been lighter, but it satisfied my chocolate cake craving. It would have been even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Chocolate Souffle Cake for Two
Source: StoveWave

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
3 tablespoons milk
1 and 1/4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons of a whisked egg
a dash of vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate chips

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients except chocolate chips until smooth.
Stir in chocolate chips, reserving a few for the top.
Pour mixture into an ungreased Stone Wave pot and top with reserved chocolate chips.
Put on the lid and cook in the microwave for 2:15 minutes. (I had to cook mine for 2:30 minutes.)
Enjoy with ice cream, fresh fruit, or whipped cream.


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Oatmeal Raisin Bars


I love to bake, but I don't love being stuck with a whole cake, a plate of cookies, or a dozen cupcakes because—like everyone else this time of year—I'm trying to eat healthier. I was looking for a healthy oatmeal bar recipe when I came across these bars. Let it be known, these are far from healthy. But they caught my eye, and I had to make them. The ingredient list wasn't too bad, and they didn't require me dragging out my mixer. These were quick and easy to whip up on a Sunday evening for snacks all week. While they were a little greasy from all the butter in the recipe, they were delicious and tasted like thick and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. I'm already dreaming up variations such as adding craisins and almonds.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Source: Martha Stewart 

1 and 1/2 sticks butter (melted)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used quick-cooking, and they came out fine.)
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (You can also line the bottom with parchment paper.)

Whisk together butter, brown and white sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add flour, oats, and raisins, and fold in until combined.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in pan.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Green Apple Slaw

My husband makes the best pulled pork. Actually he makes the best proteins from steaks to turkey sliders to BBQ chicken. What that man can do to a cut of meat can only be described as magical. Grilled, sauteed, braised, slow cooked—you name it, it's simply the best! This time we decided to make pulled pork tacos instead of BBQ pork sliders with the pulled pork. We usually top them with regular coleslaw, but we decided to put a twist on it and make green apple slaw. It had the perfect combination of sweet and tangy that made the tacos out of this world.




Green Apple Slaw

1/2 bag shredded coleslaw mix (or 1/2 head cabbage and 1 carrot)
1 green apple
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used the one with olive oil.)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste

If not using coleslaw mix, finely shred the cabbage and carrot and place in a large bowl.
Peel, core, and shred the apple and add it to the bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, dijon mustard, sugar, and vinegar.
Add salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste.
Mix in the cabbage, carrots, and apple.
Let set in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to meld flavors before serving.