Chocolate Castles

Author Archives: Chocolate Castles
- Chile Rellenos
  
  Posted at 10:29 am by Chocolate Castles
  
  Feb 17th
  Ingredients
  - 6 fresh Anaheim chile peppers
  - 1 (8 ounce) package queso asadero (white Mexican cheese), cut into 3/4-inch thick strips
  - 2 eggs, separated
  - 1teaspoon baking powder
  - 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  - 1 cup vegetable shortening for frying
  - 1 cup sharpe cheddar cheese
  Directions
  
  Taken from Allrecipes
  1. Preheat the oven’s broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place peppers onto the prepared baking sheet, and cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 10 minutes. Turn the peppers often to blacken all sides. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 15 minutes.
  2. Rinse cooled peppers under cold water to peel off the skins, and cut a slit along the long side of each pepper to remove the seeds and core. Rinse the peppers inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the peppers with strips of the cheese.
  3. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the baking powder. In a second metal bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Place flour into a shallow bowl.
  4. Heat the vegetable shortening in a skillet over medium heat. Roll each stuffed pepper in flour, tap off excess flour, and dip the peppers into the egg mixture to coat both sides. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot shortening. Fry peppers until lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes per side.
  5. Spray a 9×13” baking dish with Pam. Pour about 1 cup of the green enchilada sauce in bottom of dish. Place fried green chiles in pan over sauce. Pour about 1 more cup of the sauce over the top of green chiles (dont saturate with sauce. Might not need entire cup over top). Sprinkle the 1 cup of the sharp cheddar cheese over the top and place in preheated 400 degree over for about 8-10 min or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling! Serve with pinto beans and salsa with homemade flour and corn Chips!
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  Posted in Uncategorized
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
  
  Posted at 2:06 pm by Chocolate Castles
  
  Feb 14th
  HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!!! What a great way to say I Love You by dropping off some wonderful homemade cupcakes to friends or family.
  
  A dear friend had requested either red velvet or carrot cake cupcakes when she found out that I was baking her something. Because I had a whole bag of carrots in the fridge, I thought to myself, “self, should you make a kale-carrot smoothie or carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting?” and guess what won out? Because I had not made a homemade carrot cake in a long time, I began to go through some old cookbooks and decided to try this recipe which was in an old cookbook I have had since the 70’s. They were passed down to me by my aunt Gladys. The actual print date of the cookbook is 1961. I (I know you are never suppose to begin a sentence with “I” but because it is Valentines, please be kind to forgive me) have to tell you that besides the recipe that I have made before with a can of crushed pineapple in the carrot cake, this one is the best one I have found. It is super moist and light and the flavor is wonderful. Of course, all the cream cheese frosting certainly didn’t hurt the flavor either. So grab a bag of carrots from the grocery store and get the food processor out. These are just delicious and will be a perfect ending to our night at home tonight. Yes, that’s right, Mr. Cupid and I will be at home tonight. We have a dinner planned of Olive Tapenade, Bruchetta with Garlic Bread, Salami and cheese wraps. We plan to celebrate tomorrow night but because my Valentine is now working, I have the feeling he will be so thankful to stay home tonight and then celebrate tomorrow night. Besides, I have to find out what happens in the next episode of A Place to Call Home …..
  
  Ingredients
  
  1 1/2 cup oil
  
  2 cups sugar
  
  4 eggs, well beaten
  
  1 teas vanilla
  
  2 cups flour
  
  2 teas cinnamon
  
  1 heaping teas pumpkin pie spice
  
  2 teas baking soda
  
  2 teas baking powder
  
  1 cup crushed pecans or walnuts (I didn’t put them in the cake, but sprinkled them over the frosting this time
  
  3 cups grated carrots
  
  Directions
  
  Mix oil and sugar; beat well. Add beaten eggs. Sift all dry ingredients 2 -3 times. If you add the nuts to the batter, add them to the flour mixture. Mix dry ingredients with the sugar mixture. Add carrots 1 cup at a time and mix in well after each addition. Either bake as cupcakes or layer cakes or one 9×13″ cake. Bake until cake feels firm to the touch but still looks shiny on top. Cool and Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting*
  
  *Frosting
  
  1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  
  1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  
  4 cups powdered sugar
  
  1 teas vanilla
  
  Mix all ingredients together until no lumps remain in mixture. I added a little pineapple juice to the frosting and blended it in to give it extra flavor. Sprinkled the crushed pecans over the top.
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  Posted in Cakes, Daily Thoughts, Desserts, Uncategorized | Tagged cupcakes, Carrot Cakes, Cream Cheese Frosting, Carrot Cupcakes, Valentines Day Cupcakes
- Zipppity Do Da Pasta Salad
  
  Posted at 2:39 pm by Chocolate Castles
  
  Feb 13th
  Since I am in a most supercalifragilistic kind of mood today, I have that old song, “Zippity Do Da” going over and over in my mind today. Just coming home from Phoenix where I went to visit our daughter and family for a few days. Then last night returning home to Randy taking me out for Mexican food, how can I not be in a great mood?
  
  This morning, I was to meet a new friend for coffee at 9. Because it was my first morning back in town, I began to think, “why did I accept this invite, when I wish I had made it for another day and could just stay home and bake.” But after meeting with her, well, all I can say is that I met a kindred spirit and it just made my day. Felt like I could have sat and talked to her for hours. Isn’t it always like that? When we least expect it, God puts someone in our lives that seems like such a gift. Was so thankful I kept the appointment. We began to share some of the things in our lives that have led up this point and it was apparent that we have so much in common. AND…….we both love white bakery cake!
  
  But back to the pasta salad. As I sat there and began to tell her about the blog, I remembered that I had never posted the pasta salad that many have requested the recipe. So here it is….trust me on this one. It is just so simple, yet it is so so different from most pasta salads and everyone who tried it loved it. So get those salad forks ready and get ready to put this recipe on your “favorite recipe lists for bridal luncheons, Mother’s Day luncheons, and any Spring or Summer day you want something wonderful to eat besides chicken salad.”
  
  Ingredients
  
  1 bag or box of bow tie pasta
  
  1/2 purple onion finely diced
  
  one small jar of chopped pimentos, drained
  
  1 cup finely grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese, (or a combo of both which is what I did)
  
  1 8 or 12 oz jar of olive tapenade. (One jar I bought was 8 oz and another was 12 oz, but because I was making salad for 25, I used 3 jars and 3 boxes of pasta)
  
  1 bottle of Kraft Roasted Red Pepper dressing
  
  *opt if you want to add some cut up pepperoni or dry salami, it goes well with this recipe also, just add the amount you desire to the pasta once you have added rest of ingredients.
  
  Directions
  
  Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain and cool.
  
  Add all ingredients except the dressing and stir. Add salt and pepper to your liking.
  
  Depending on what brand of olive tapenade you use, will depend on how much of the dressing you will need. If the brand you use has quite a bit of the olive oil in it, you might want to drain some of the olive oil off so that you would need more of the roasted bell pepper dressing.
  
  After you have added the ingredients you want in the pasta, add enough of the dressing to make it moist. Keep covered in fridge. Right before serving, you might want to add a little more dressing if it has soaked in too much into the pasta. Sprinkle some extra grated cheese on top and serve.
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  Posted in Daily Thoughts, Salads, Starches, Uncategorized | Tagged Italian Dishes, Olive Tapenade, Pasta, Pasta Dishes, Pasta Salads, Salads, Summer Salads
- First Day of School All Over Again
  
  Posted at 1:34 pm by Chocolate Castles
  
  Feb 3rd
  It has happened, Randy has gone back to work. Today was his first day and it was very hard to see him walk away from the car. I felt like I was 30 again, dropping off my first baby at school. Yes, I cried. After all, we have been together pretty much 24/7 for 5 years now and it was like, “oh my goodness” who will I talk to? Who will run to the store for me when I am cooking and realize that I’m out of sugar? Who will help me carry up groceries to our home? Who will vacuum? Who will sit on rainy cold days and watch A Place to Call Home with me?
  
  As you can tell, it is still all about me. When he received the letter on Thursday that he was to come to work today, we had tears of joy and just stared at it. What? Is this really happening? Will people think that I nagged him so much that he just couldn’t take it anymore? Will he be so tired at night that he won’t want to talk to me? As I sit and write this, I realized that it really is all about me. Let me start with some thoughts about him, so I won’t completely sound spoiled rotten.
  
  First of all, he was excited as a monkey finding a bowl of bananas. He kept telling me, “you are going to miss me tomorrow”, which I would reply, “oh goodness no, I’m free now to go to lunch with friends and shop and go get my nails done.” All the things that I would feel guilty for doing when he was at home. He has never ever complained about anything I wanted to go do or anytime I was gone, it was just my silly guilty feelings of knowing that he was at home while I was out having lunch or spending money.
  
  Young folks think that is silly Im sure, but we were just raised in a different generation that we didn’t live such separate lives from our spouses as many do today. When we were first married, I remember telling Randy that I would just never think of spending more than $50 without telling him first. He did the same of me. We didn’t think anything about it. We didn’t have girls nights out or go on vacation with friends. Times were different.
  
  But today, as I was loading the dishwasher and folding clothes and cooking, it was kinda nice to have my kitchen back to myself…..WHAT AM I SAYING?????? IT WAS GREAT, DOUBLE GREAT , TRIPLE GREAT ,TO HAVE MY KITCHEN BACK TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!! I actually removed the yellow tape from down the middle of the kitchen that he knew not to cross when I was baking. Today I didn’t have to “redo” stacking the dishes in the dishwasher. With him not here to sit and talk to, I have done 3 loads of laundry, already made a huge dent in dinner prep and dusted. Talked on phone and changed the sheets on both beds. Why is that? Why do we get more done when the hubbies are not here? I don’t have the answer. If you do, please write and tell me.
  
  Our conversation over the last few days has been about how it took us 2 years for both of us to accept his retirement. Then the 3rd year, we threw away the divorce attorneys number that we had been keeping beside the phone. We began to speak to each other again, well other than, “GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN and GO FIND SOMETHING TO DO and “no, I don’t want to go to Home Depot with you”. We kinda got in the groove of a new routine of him being home and both of us moving and settling in Arizona. After that 4th year, we both knew that we wanted to settle back in Texas and we had a common goal…….selling our house there and traveling for 6 months before settling down back in Dallas. When you travel, it is so easy to be together all day, every day, so we really got in the hang of him being home and “helping” me around the house. We have been back in Dallas now since July and Randy has been asking the Lord to give him more of a purpose, other than finding the best deal on vacuum cleaner bags. Thanks to Randy’s brother mentioning Randy’s name to the company he works for, Randy received a phone call last week offering him this job. So we have been out trying to find another car for him to drive to work since we have been a one car couple for these last 5 years. Because, as Mr. Retirement had pointed out, “why do we need two cars when we will be doing EVERYTHING together?” Our search began last week with Randy telling me that he just wanted a car to drive back and forth to work in. So we had a budget we were going to stick to. After 2 or 3 days and looking at some of the cars that he had found, we (well, me) started to think that maybe if we bought a little cuter car than what he was looking at, wouldn’t it be fun for me to have this little cute car to run around town in while our old car could sit in the parking lot at his work. After all, why should he have the new cute car just sitting there in a parking lot, when I could look so spiffy running around meeting friends for lunch in the new car that I have already named (even though we haven’t bought one yet) .
  
  We did find a car that both of us like. Hopefully by the time Mr. Goes To the Market 3 Times Before He Decides Which Loaf Of Bread To Buy, the car we like will still be there. For two days I have been pointing out the positives of why we should get this particular car. For one thing, it is so cute. Secondly, we can both get in and out of it without the need or a fork lift. Thirdly, it is white so it would go with my hair, no matter if I have it colored blonde or red AND it goes beautifully with his silver hair…wait….after thinking about it, he would look much better driving our old red car as silver goes so much better with red than white………so because I’m such a giving person, I will LET him drive the old red car to work and I’ll drive the white car. Because that’s what loving wives do…we give and give and give…..just like I’m going to let him take me out Friday night to celebrate his first week of work. Doesn’t it make you wonder why he wanted to work and be gone all day away from such a loving wife that makes our marriage all about him? Maybe this week, he will find out just how blessed he is to have such a loving wife when he opens up the Visa bill the end of Feb to see that I missed him so much I had to go shopping and have lunches with friends so I wouldn’t miss him so much….bless his heart…!!!!!
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  Posted in Daily Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged Family Humor, House Work, Humor, Husbands Who Retire, Purpose, Retirement
- Valentine Table Decor
  
  Posted at 5:09 pm by Chocolate Castles
  
  Jan 29th
  February is such a great month. With all the pink and red in store windows, it just warms up the cold month when you see all the beautifully decorated windows with hearts in every color and size.
  
  A very practical and cute way to decorate your table or February is to use some pictures of your family or friends and place them in the middle of the table. Use all size and shapes of frames. Sprinkle some of the cute confetti that you can buy anywhere around the frames.
  
  Use the sleeves of Hershey Bars for Napkin ring holders. Then use the Hershey Bars as frosting for a pan of brownies. As soon as you take a pan of brownies out of the oven, just break up the Hershey bar into the squares and lay them on the brownies. Let sit for about 5 minutes and spread over entire top. Let sit until the melted candy hardens.
  
  If you have little ones, tape a little Valentine to their bed or bedroom door each night after they go to bed and when they wake up they will have a nice little surprise each morning.
  
  One night around Valentines let the family have a chocolate dinner.
  
  Bake canned biscuits and make a chocolate gravy *Recipe found below
  
  Serve with some strawberries and hot chocolate. Or cut up lots of different fruits and have some melted chocolate for the kids to use as a dip for the fruit.
  
  Have a cute little writing pad in the shape of a heart at the table for each family member with a new pink or red pen. Let each one draw a family member’s name. Each day at one of the meals, ask them to write a reason they love that person who is sitting at the table and then collect all the written notes and then on Valentines night, each person can read what was written to them. Start Feb 1st with that project!
  
  February will be here next week, begin now to think of ways to show others how much they mean to you. It will bless your heart!
  
  Chocolate Gravy *taken from All Recipes
  
  1/4 cup cocoa
  
  •
  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
  •
  3/4 cup white sugar
  
  •
  2 cups milk
  
  •
  1 tablespoon butter,
  
  2 teas vanilla
  
  Whisk the cocoa, flour, and sugar together in a bowl until there are no lumps. Pour the milk into the mixture and whisk until well incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until its consistency is similar to gravy, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir the butter and vanilla into the mixture until the butter is melted. Serve immediately.
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  Posted in Daily Thoughts, Decorations & Party Ideas, Uncategorized | Tagged Family Memories, Valentines Day
- Marriage Memories
  
  Posted at 10:44 am by Chocolate Castles
  
  Jan 2nd
  January 2nd, 2020. Where did 2019 go? In fact, where has the last 25 years gone? Years ago, I remember hearing old people say, “oh my goodness, the older I get, the faster time flies.” Now, I’m one of those old people and indeed it is so true. Each week just seems to go faster and faster.
  
  Randy and I were driving home yesterday from doing errands and we passed an Old Chicago Pizza place. As we drove by it, a memory flashed in my mind from 24 years ago, to a night either right after we married or shortly before we married. He had picked me up after work and said, “I want to take you to one of my favorite places for pizza.” Well, you don’t have to ask me twice. So off we went, and me, always loving a sense of adventure, didn’t even ask where we were going. I love surprises and knew that if it were one of his favorite places, then it surely would be one of mine as well. When we drove up to Old Chicago Pizza on Beltline in Dallas, I looked at him and the look of love was all over his face. You could tell he was excited to take me to a new place that he loved and I was so excited to be going to someplace new. So as we sit there, he begins to tell me why this is his favorite pizza. I sat there with stars in my eyes, hanging on every word, knowing that this would become a new favorite of mine as well. The pizza is delivered to our table and we both pick up a slice of pizza. He is in heaven as he begins to ask me how I like it, I respond, “oh my goodness, this is the best pizza I have every had. I’m so glad you brought me here and I totally understand why you love it so much. It is just delicious.”
  
  We continued the wonderful evening knowing that this was another reason that we were soul mates. We both loved pizza, hated salmon, green peas and sushi….fast forward 24 years…
  
  After driving by OCP yesterday, that memory came back to me and I began to laugh. When Randy ask me why I was laughing, I had to admit that all those years ago, when he took me to OCP, I was so in love with him that I went along with his “love of OCP” I really hadn’t liked it at all because I”m a thin crust pizza girl and that was deep dish which i really do not like at all. But, because it was important to him that I like it and he wanted to please me, I had lied and told him what he wanted to hear. Isn’t that what girls in love do so many times.
  
  Because I started to think of how I would handle that situation now was what made me laugh. If we had walked into OCP like we did those 24 years ago, would I just sit there, let him order what he wanted and then eat it like it was the best pizza ever? The answer to that question was what made me laugh. I can just see the scenario now….”dear, what do you think of the pizza, isn’t it wonderful” Randy would ask. “Do you really expect me to eat this? You know I only like thin crust pizza and yet you bring me to a pizza place that only serves thick crust pizza? Why didn’t you tell me where we were going and I would have reminded you that I don’t like thick crust pizza. See, you never listen or pay attention to me when I talk to you. If you had you would have remembered that I don’t like thick crust pizza.” Hum……..what a difference 24 years makes!
  
  As we rode in the car after passing OCP and laughed at the difference between then and now, it reminded us both that maybe 2020 might be a good year to work on some of our attitudes with each other. Do we love each other still? Absolutely, even more each day. But those little differences creep in to our lives and we don’t accept those differences or opinions as well as we use to. We sometimes get so caught up in our own likes and dislikes that we expect the other to change to who and what we feel they should become. A couple of years ago my word for the year was kindness.
  (I wrote a post about that if you would care to go back and read it on the blog. Just put in One Word in the search bar)
  Maybe this new year I need to make that word one of my goals. We all have times which we find it hard to be kind to those who are closest to us. But, remembering that night so long ago and how good it made me feel to keep my opinion to myself and how good it made him feel to know he had pleased me by taking me to one of his favorite pizza joints, gives me a new desire to choose kindness more days in this new year.
  
  As long as he doesn’t try to take me to one of his new found food love places, Sushi and Salmon R Us, it will be a little easier to be kind….
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  Posted in Daily Thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged Humor, Kindess, Marriage, Memories, Old Chicago Pizza, One Word
- Fried Okra Salad
  
  Posted at 3:55 pm by Chocolate Castles
  
  Jan 1st
  Happiest of New Years! As we sit and wait for the traditional black eyed peas to finish cooking to take to friends for dinner, it dawned on me that I had not posted this new recipe. This morning I realized that for the first time in probably 10 years, I had forgot to buy black eyed peas. How could we begin 2020 without them? Everyone knows that if you don’t have a helping of them Jan 1st, your hopes of ever winning any lotto, well, just forget it. Also, “they” say that if you don’t have the peas, you will probably catch every flu that there is no vaccine for, and you will gain weight just looking at cake and DSW will never have the shoe you want in your size. So just to be sure you are covered for all these things, have a helping of the little gems. Why take chances?
  
  Well, this morning when we realized that we didn’t have a black eyed pea in the house, Randy stopped at the grocery store across the street and I ran in to see if I could find either frozen peas or dried (just can’t do the canned ones, well, let me rephrase that, that would be my last choice if all other possibilities were exhausted) BE peas. Walking up to the frozen food aisle, there was a lady standing looking at the frozen veggies and she saw me looking and moved her cart out of the way, apologizing for being in the way. When I assured her she was certainly not in my way, as I was just looking for BEP, she stated that she was just trying to get some new ideas of foods to make. It was in that instant that I began an internal struggle. Do I just ignore her and assume she was just making a statement, or should I tell her that I have a cooking blog and hand her a card with the blog info on it. It took me about 30 seconds before I finally said, “do you like fried okra?” When she said yes I do, I handed her a card and told her that I would be posting this recipe later today for Fried Okra Salad. That lead to her reading my business card and she said, “oh I’m a believer also, what church to you go to?” And then she noticed my name and as we began to talk, she told me that she was in the title business, just like Randy. In fact she knew several people which we knew. It was just so great to visit. It always amazes me how God orchestrates these sweet little blessings that happen when we are just running into a store to pick up something.
  January 2020….the beginning of a new decade. We have so much to be thankful for in this past decade. May we continue to always give thanks and always look for opportunities to share joy and kindness with others, all the while giving thanks for all the joy and kindness we have received from others. Here is the recipe which was given to me from a precious friend, Dena. Can’t wait to have it with a pot of cabbage and onions, potato casserole and ham….a perfect southern meal.
  
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  1/4 cup sugar
  1/4 cup white vinegar
  1 1/2 pounds frozen breaded okra, thawed and fried according to directions
  2 large tomatoes, chopped
  1 bunch green onions, diced
  1/2 green bell pepper, diced
  6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  
  IN a small saucepan, cook oil, sugar and vinegar over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Set aside
  
  In a large bowl, combine fried cooked okra and remaining 4 ingredients. Pour vinegar mixture over okra, tossing just to coat. Serve immediately.
  
  *Taken from Paula Deen Magazine
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  Posted in Daily Thoughts, Holiday Fare, Salads, Uncategorized, Vegetables | Tagged Blessings, Breaded Okra, Fried Okra, Okla, Paula Deen Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Southern Style Foods, Veggie Salads
- New Nets, New Season
  
  Posted at 7:38 am by Chocolate Castles
  
  Dec 31st
  Let Go of the Nets
  
  Happy New Years to each and every one who has taken time to explore and read chocolate castles this past year. As our lives go through different seasons, so does our passions, our desires, likes and dislikes. New adventures, new challenges and new goals beckon to us as we enter a new decade!
  I remember a pastor talking about the new year. If we are to enter a new year of accomplishing things which we might have failed to accomplish this past year (or years), one thing we need to do is to just “let it go”. To surrender it to God, allowing Him to come along beside us and to ask Him for strength, power and depend upon Him to see us through whatever our task before us.
  
  The scripture the pastor used today was from Matt 4:18 “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, also called Peter and Andrew, fishing with a net for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come be my disciples and I will show you how to fish for people.” And they left their nets at once and went with Him.”
  
  The two fishermen were called away from everything they knew and loved. They walked away from traditions of being fishermen which probably had been passed down from many generations. They left what was known to them to step into the unknown. Because they loved their occupation, Jesus didn’t ask them to give up the occupation, He just ask them to change what they fished for. People!
  It gave me so much to think about. What have I been willing to give up to walk, by faith, into an unknown situation? They left their families and their comfort zones to go with Jesus.
  As Randy and I prepare dinner tonight to serve to friends we have known for years, I cannot help but think back about different New Years’ Eves and all the memories which have been popping up on my FaceBook page of years of different memories.
  There have been NY Eves spent with friends we have known for years,in Texas, as we had dinner and then prayed in the New Year at midnight, years of spending NYE with other friends in Chicago or Florida, years when we had a lot of our kids back home and we played games and ate until we were about to bust. There were a few years that we awoke about 3 am to watch the floats begin to line up in front of our house in Pasadena for the Rose Parade. Last year we spent back in California ringing in the new year with new friends in California in prayer, after enjoying great food and games.
  
  We have had years which we had to “leave our nets” to walk by faith into new surroundings and circumstances. Never, has our Lord ever left us. He has always walked with us, no matter how hard, leaving some of the “nets”. He continues to bless us and provide for us, every step of the way. As the pastor talked about a painting, which showed a room which was dark, except for the steps which were lit by an open door where the light shone down upon them from the top of the stairs, may God’s love and light shine down upon each of you this coming year.
  Do not be afraid to lay down your nets for God’s best for you.
  
  He ended the message by telling us that,
  1. We have to let go of where we thought we would end up and move forward into something new.
  2. The fear of letting go keeps us from having the best of what God has for us.
  
  Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.”
  
  May 2020 be a year and the beginning of a new decade when we finish stronger than we began! Happy New Years and God Bless you as you “let go of any net that keeps you from His best that He has for you.”
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  Posted in Uncategorized
- Giving Gingerbread Biscotti
  
  Posted at 3:32 pm by Chocolate Castles
  
  Dec 26th
  Merry Christmas to all of you out there in Blogville! What a busy time of year for everyone and I truly cannot believe that Christmas was yesterday. As we woke up this morning, it saddened me that each day now will become a little less bright, as far as Christmas lights go. Each day, more folks will begin taking down the tree and the outside lights. January arrives and along with it, more cold weather. BUT….that thought excites me because it means the possibility of some snow or icy days when the roads are closed and we have a reason to stay home and watch movies, without guilt. It is on those days that things like gingerbread just sound so good. If you are like me, you have probably began to collect some of the Santas or Snowmen that adorn your home to put away until next Christmas. Honestly it felt good to get in the kitchen this morning and begin to bring down the Christmas dishes to pack away and clean up before putting out the dishes that we use for Jan and February. (Yes I do have dishes that are simply for Jan and February) What can I say except that I love kitchen dishes). Getting back to my subject of Giving Gingerbread, as I was baking this morning between ridding the kitchen of Santas, I started to think about something. Why do we feel that just because Christmas is over, we don’t need to bake goodies to give away? Wouldn’t it be so wonderful to hear the doorbell ring as I am packing away Christmas; and there at the door is a friend handing me some gingerbread biscotti to enjoy as I sit and rest after a day of packing away all the Christmas decor? So I began to bake this amazing new recipe that I found last night. It is scrumptious and makes enough to give to someone that might come to your mind. It was so simple to make and the flavor is just so wonderful. AND…since Starbucks did away with their gingerbread flavored drinks this year, I have been missing gingerbread everything. So this is my answer to my gingerbread craving. Seriously, it is some of the best biscotti I have had. You are probably going too remind me that I say that about every biscotti I make, but this one is really my favorite (at least until I am craving chocolate and cherry flavored biscotti which will probably happen around Valentines Day).
  
  *Taken from She Wears Many Hats
  
  2 1/2 cups flour
  1 teas baking soda
  1 teas salt
  1 1/2 teas cinnamon (I used 2 teas)
  1 1/2 teas ginger
  1 heaping teas of pumpkin pie spice (I use this in place of the following:
  3/4 teas ground allspice, 1/2 teas cloves, 1/4 teas black pepper)
  6 tables softened butter, unsalted
  1 cup (packed) light brown sugar,
  2 large eggs, room temp
  2 teas vanilla
  2 tables unsulfured molasses
  1 cup finely choppe peans or walnuts
  1 cup dried sweetened cranberries, or her recipe called for dried apricots, which I would have used had they been in my pantry, but I had cranberries today, so I used them.
  1/2 table powdered sugar (I omitted this and used granulated sugar)
  
  Mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices together in a bowl. In another mixing bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, molasses and beat until mixture is mixed completely. Add butter mixture with flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in nuts, cranberries and vanilla chips if desired.
  
  Shape into two football shaped logs on parchment paper on baking sheet. Sprinkle either the powdered sugar or granulated sugar over the top of each log. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to 300 degrees. Cool biscotti for 5 minutes before Slicing diagonally and then place each piece back on a baking sheet and bake biscotti for about 9 minutes in 300 oven. Turn the oven off.
  ***(The following instructions are my own, as I have now been successful doing all the biscotti this way instead of baking according to all other instructions.)
  Remove from oven and turn each piece over and then place biscotti back in oven which has been turned off. As the oven cools, the biscotti will “dry” and become crispy. After about 30 min, remove from the oven and cool completely. Keep in airtight container and think about who you can share some. IT might be the beginning of a brand new friendship or bless someone who was just needing a little extra kindness.
  
  Am including a picture of what the biscotti log should look like before baking.
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  Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Daily Thoughts, Desserts, Holiday Fare, Uncategorized | Tagged Biscottie, Breads, Coffee & Tea Breads, Coffee Biscotti, Gingerbread, Gingerbread Biscotti, Holiday Breads, Italian Biscotti
- Chicken Mushroom Lasagna
  
  Posted at 11:31 am by Chocolate Castles
  
  Dec 11th
  Yesterday I was blessed to have so sweet long time friends for lunch. “They” say to never make a new recipe when you are having company BUT….it seems like it is those times when I want to try something new and different. When looking for a recipe to make i came across this one and it sounded delicious plus it could be made the day before, so it sounded like we had a winner! The only change that I made was this! I bought a jar of Alfredo sauce to pour over the bottom of the casserole (my favorite Paula Deen dish) dish, as I wanted to be sure that I would have plenty of the homemade Béchamel sauce to pour over the top! It was a winner indeed. Loved the flavor and the beauty of the dish! Served it with a spinach salad filled with mandarin oranges, almonds, strawberries and raspberry dressing and Sister Schubert garlic butter rolls (I just melted a stick of butter and garlic and poured over the top before baking the rolls! INGREDIENTS
  
  6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  
  1 pound baby bella mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
  
  1 small onion, diced
  
  2 to 3 large cloves garlic, minced
  
  1/2 cup dry white wine
  
  3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (equivalent of 1 rotisserie chicken)
  
  1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
  4 cups warmed milk, preferably whole milk
  
  1 cup chicken stock
  
  2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
  
  1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder, plus more to taste
  
  1 teaspoon dry sherry or marsala (optional)
  
  Freshly ground black pepper
  
  1 cup grated Parmesan, divided
  
  16 lasagna noodles (from a 1 pound box)
  
  2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  
  2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
  
  INSTRUCTIONS
  
  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large, rectangular casserole dish or lasagna pan. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
  
  In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they start sweating liquid, about 4 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking, stirring often, until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil; continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated out. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a separate bowl along with the shredded chicken.
  
  To make the bechamel (white sauce), add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to the pot and melt over medium heat. Stir in the flour until thick paste forms; continue cooking to remove the “raw” taste, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk and chicken stock and cook, whisking often until the mixture is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the salt, mustard powder, sherry, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, followed by 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.
  
  While the bechamel is thickening, prepare the noodles. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and arrange on a lightly greased sheet pan to prevent sticking.
  
  Fold the chicken and mushroom mixture into the bechamel. Taste and adjust seasoning. (Be liberal with salt and pepper.) In a separate bowl, combine mozzarella, Gruyere, remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spread 1 cup of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange 4 noodles on top of the chicken, overlapping if necessary. Spread about 1 cup of chicken mixture over the noodles followed by 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the remaining cheese on top.
  
  Bake, uncovered, until the lasagna is hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
  INGREDIENTS
  
  6 tablespoons
  
  unsalted butter, divided
  
  1 pound
  
  baby bella mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
  
  1
  
  small onion, diced
  
  2 to 3
  
  large cloves garlic, minced
  
  1/2 cup
  
  dry white wine
  
  3 cups
  
  cooked and shredded chicken (equivalent of 1 rotisserie chicken)
  
  1/2 cup
  
  plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
  4 cups
  
  warmed milk, preferably whole milk
  
  1 cup
  
  chicken stock
  
  2 teaspoons
  
  kosher salt, plus more to taste
  
  1/4 teaspoon
  
  dry mustard powder, plus more to taste
  
  1 teaspoon
  
  dry sherry or marsala (optional)
  
  Freshly ground black pepper
  
  1 cup
  
  grated Parmesan, divided
  
  16
  
  lasagna noodles (from a 1 pound box)
  
  2 cups
  
  shredded mozzarella cheese
  
  2 cups
  
  grated Gruyere cheese
  
  INSTRUCTIONS
  
  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large, rectangular casserole dish or lasagna pan. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
  
  In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they start sweating liquid, about 4 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking, stirring often, until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil; continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated out. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a separate bowl along with the shredded chicken.
  
  To make the bechamel (white sauce), add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to the pot and melt over medium heat. Stir in the flour until thick paste forms; continue cooking to remove the “raw” taste, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk and chicken stock and cook, whisking often until the mixture is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the salt, mustard powder, sherry, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, followed by 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.
  
  While the bechamel is thickening, prepare the noodles. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and arrange on a lightly greased sheet pan to prevent sticking.
  
  Fold the chicken and mushroom mixture into the bechamel. Taste and adjust seasoning. (Be liberal with salt and pepper.) In a separate bowl, combine mozzarella, Gruyere, remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spread 1 cup of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange 4 noodles on top of the chicken, overlapping if necessary. Spread about 1 cup of chicken mixture over the noodles followed by 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the remaining cheese on top.
  
  Bake, uncovered, until the lasagna is hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
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  Welcome to Chocolate Castles, a blog about food, family and stories that hopefully will bring a smile to your heart. Thanks for reading chocolate castles and may the recipes and stories help bring your family and friends a little closer around the table! Remember that Princess On The Porch is still available on Amazon! Makes a great gift for anyone who enjoys being in the kitchen and needs a little laughter in their lives.
  
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