Author: Chocolate Castles

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.
Breads · Breakfast · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Meats

Four Turtle Doves…Cheesey Sausage Breakfast Bread

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IMG_1998

I know I am going backwards on the Twelve Days of Christmas, but I like the song better when it is counting down than up…much more fun to sing. So today, I am associating the Four Turtle Doves to this….It was cool enough to wear a Christmas tutleneck shirt while eating four chocolate Dove candies. I know, I know, ridiculous. Anyway, am posting the cheesy sausage biscuit bake that I took to church today. There was not a crumb left, and since our class isn’t Baptist, who is known for eating food, no matter what;(and since I am Southern Bapt, I can say that), the fact that there was not a crumb left let me know that the class liked it. Then several ladies ask if I was going to post the recipe. So here it is;
You know the moment that you take something out of the oven and you just know you have a winner, this was one of these recipes. Taken from Face Book, I was so anxious to make it because it sounded like a dish we would love. I modified it just a touch, well, maybe more than a touch.
1 16 oz can of flaky biscuits
1/2 can milk (I used whipping cream)
5 eggs
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1 small can of diced green chiles (opt)
1/2 lb of mild Jimmy Dean Sausage (or half a package of bacon, fried and crumbled)
1/2 teas garlic powder
1/2 teas black pepper
1 teas Lawry’s Seasoned salt
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion or green onions

Saute sausage in small skillet with onion. Drain and set aside.
Cut each biscuit into 4 parts. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whip the eggs with the cream (milk). Add the seasonings and cheese. Stir until well combined. Add the drained sausage-onion mixture and stir. When blended. add the cut biscuits. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes giving the biscuits time to absorb some of the egg mixture. Pour into a well greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake in 350 preheated over for about 45 min of until it tests done in the middle IMG_1998</a preheated 350 oven until golden and bubbly and knife is clean when inserted into middle. About 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Serve immediately.
Will taste delish after coming in from watching Rose Parade. Serve with fruit plate and hash browns!

Sa

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare

Five Golden Ring Recipe: Cherry Date Pecan Cake

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How did it get to be 5 days before Christmas? The days just go by so quickly before I make it halfway down my “to do” list of grand ideas to make this Christmas more special than ever. I haven’t even had time to sit by the fire and look through Christmas magazines yet this year to see all the great new recipes. Last night, I actually went to pick up our Christmas cards and addressed them and mailed them this morning.. I am so proud. The salon where I get my nails done had an open house today. They had trays of egg rolls, spring rolls,meat pies and cookies and invited all the customers to come by to say Merry Christmas. It was a very nice gesture and makes it feel like Christmas. Enjoying the festivities today made me want to do something nice for someone so I am going to really try to do something nice for someone these next 5 days. Someone who could never repay me and someone who would never expect it. .

The next 5 recipes are what I would call “golden” and have become very special through the years. They just make it feel like Christmas. This first one is Cherry Date Pecan Cake which I use to watch my mom make for years, before she passed it down to me. When I saw her buying dates and cherries, I knew it was Christmas baking time. Have just finished mixing this cake and is in the oven as we speak. Am using them as hostess gifts for several open houses we are invited to attend. My favorite way to eat them is with a big dollop of fresh whipped cream.

1st Golden Ring Recipe: Cherry Date Pecan Cake

1 lb chopped dates

1 lb candied cherries ( I live my whole, but you can chop them if you like)

3 cups chopped pecans

1 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated (works better at room temperature)

1 cup flour

2 rounded teas of baking powder

1 teas salt

2 teas vanilla

Cream sugar and egg yolks until creamy. Add vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt. to creamed mixture. With clean beaters, (no grease on them as egg whites do not whip up stiff if grease is on bowl or beaters) whip 4 egg whites until they are still, around 4-5 minutes. Add fruit  and pecans to batter with heavy spatula. This is hard to mix but keep folding until fruit is distributed into batter. Add beaten egg whites and fold in to mixture until it is all folded in. Pour into individual greased loaf pans or a greased bundt pan . Bake until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in middle of cake. Baking time depends on size of pan you use. The batter made 4 small loaf pans and 1 long loaf pan. When finished baking, cool and wrap as gifts. These little cakes keep for a long period of time in the fridge. So make them this weekend and eat on them all through Christmas.

Daily Thoughts

Retirement for Dummies

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We have just completed our first week of Frosty’s retirement. All our friends have been asking him the last couple of years when he was going to retire. His answer was always the same, “I don’t know if I will ever retire” Every time we are leaving Walmart and the little old man at the door tells us “have a good day”, my sweet hubby always says, “I could do that if I ever retire”.

This past week found us the first few days trying to decide if he really wanted to look for a new adventure or truly just retire. I told him that I knew what I wanted him to do. Guess I should have not spoken that idea out loud. Actually, at the first of the week, we were both saying, “this might be great” we can go anywhere, do anything and stay up as late as we wanted, not having to get up at the crack of dawn. That was Monday. By Tuesday, we realized that even when we didn’t have to get up early or go to bed at 10, we were so used to going to bed at 10 and getting up at 6:30 a.m,.that our bodies apparently hadn’t realized that we were now in our “retirement” season. We were still falling asleep on the couch by 9:30 and waking up each morning at 6:30.

As we relaxed that first night, pondering our new season of life, we had grand plans. We would cook together, go to grocery shop together and he agreed to watch Ellen with me at 4 in the afternoons. OK, I was getting excited about having a friend by my side all during the day. We could go get pedicures together, walk around the mall, lazily in the afternoons, all the while sipping a Starbucks. We would have time to do all the things we always said we never had the time. I had this all planned. Mondays he could fold clothes while I vacuumed the house. I would now have someone to help me change the sheets. How fun, is this going to be great or what?

Tuesday arrives. It was” what”. We made it a whole day before we began to set up some rules. But…I’m sure that we just have to get used to this. This was our week, at a glance:

Monday….excited about new adventure and made all our plans of what we would do together.  So fun.

Tuesday…we are still speaking, but the tone isn’t as sweet as it was yesterday; trying to remember why this was fun yesterday.

Wednesday…I’m watching Ellen by myself. He is in den watching a recorded football game from last week.

Thursday….we have yellow tape down the middle of the kitchen. He is not allowed on my half, except when he is doing his half of the dishes. Barely speaking.

Friday…just shoot me!

Maybe next week we will sign up for a class on How To Do Retirement. Our lists we made last week, of fun things to do,  were thrown out the car window today when I suggested that maybe tomorrow he might want to go to Walmart to see if they had an opening as a door greeter.

If we survive next week, I will update you on our progress or ask if anyone knows a good lawyer.

Casseroles · Holiday Fare · Meats · Starches

Bacon-Cheese Stuffed Shells

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From the Thanksgiving Issue of Taste of Home, this recipe “called” to me when I saw that most of the ingredients were different types of cheese. A great dish for company.

24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tables, puls 1/4 cup butter, divided

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened, divided

1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese, divided

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup crumbled cooked bacom

2 tables minced fresh parsley, divided

1 teas garlic powder or fresh minced garlic

1/2 teas ground nutmeg

1/2 teas black pepper

2 tables flour

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

2 cups shredded Romano cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in 1 table butter. until tender.

in large bowl, beat ricotta and 4 oz cream cheese until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup Asiago cheese, Parmesan cheese, bacon, 1 table parsley, garlic, pepper, nutmeg and mushroom mixture. Spoon into shells, and then place shells in a greased 13×9″ baking dish.

In a large saucepan, melt remaining butter. Stir in flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the cream, broth and milk. Heat until mixture begins to boil and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in Romano cheese and the remaining cream cheese, Asiago and parsley. Pour over shells. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until mixture bubbles.

P.S. You can always leave the bacon out or substitute 1 cup chopped cooked chicken.

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Christmas Around the LazyBoy

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night; which seems like it comes faster and faster. The nights that is. I remember some years ago, not that many, actually, when I used to think, “well, I will get all the chores done during the day that need doing plus all the shopping for presents and then tonight, I will just curl up in a blanket by the fire and address Christmas cards, all the while waiting for sugar cookies to finish baking so we can have a goodies to eat while wrapping presents from 9 to midnight, just enjoying the Christmas movies” Ah…the joys of Christmas. w

That is not happening. We are now to the age when it (and when I say “it”, that means absolutely anything that requires standing, concentrating or movement of any kind that makes us get out of our recliners) doesn’t get done by 6 p.m., it simply doesn’t get done till tomorrow. The sad thing is that my mind still thinks of the evenings like they use to be. Each day, I wake up and simply go through the day thinking that, “oh well, if I don’t get it done during the day, I still have tonight when I can just stay up until it gets done.” But I guess you already know that doesn’t really happen. Why can’t my mind catch up with my actual reality. Why can’t I just wake up in the mornings, accepting the fact  that I have a time space of between 8 a.m. (or 9, whenever I manage to finish my Dr Pepper and make my morning phone calls, to get dressed) to around 6 p.m. that I have the energy to do all that needs to be done. That way, I wouldn’t get discouraged, when, from 6 p.m. till the next morning, guilt creeps up on me that I simply didn’t have the stamina to stay up, watching Christmas movies or bake 20 dozen cookies or address 100 Christmas Cards. Frosty and I have come to think that it really isn’t us getting old. We think that somehow our Lazy Boy recliners have a magical power that sweeps over us the minute we lean back in them. We simply never get out of them until it is time to wake up and dress for bed.

Our goal this year is to “step away” from our Lazy Boys, at all cost. We are simply watching TV standing up. We eat our meals at the table, not from lap trays that we keep by our “magic” chairs. We have yellow tape across the chairs so that when we are tempted to just “sit for a minute” we figure that by the time we removed the yellow tape, we could have addressed another 5 Christmas Cards. So far it is working. We have our Christmas jammies washed and ready to begin wearing so that just in case the weather drops below 80 this week, we are ready for that picture perfect pre-Christmas evening. We will take a picture of us standing beside a pile of wrapping paper, a cup of Eggnog in one hand and a No-Doze pill in the other. Ah, it is going to be a great Christmas. Today, Frosty and I are headed to pick out new recliners for our Christmas presents to each other. Maybe the new ones won’t have the same awful magical powers that these worn out ones have had. We can only hope. If not, I’m going to get a lot of baking done today before 6 p.m. before the new ones are delivered, just in case.

Cookies · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare

Triple Ginger Cookies

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This was my first time to participate in the Food Bloggers Cookie Swap. I received 3 different types of cookies from 3 other bloggers. One of the cookies that were sent to me were these delicious Triple Ginger Cookies from, “loveandflour.com”   There were amazing, so I went to her blog to obtain her recipe. This was also my first time to use fresh ginger in a cookie recipe. These are now my favorite cookies and had so much fun making them today. Thanks Leandra for sharing these awesome cookies with the world! They have won my heart.

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour ( I used just all purpose since I didn’t have wheat)

1 tables ground ginger

1 teas baking soda

1/8 teas salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup molasses

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tables fresh ginger, finely grated

1 large egg, beaten

1 cup dried chopped apricots

1/2 cup crystalized ginger, finely chopped

1 cup turbinado sugar

In a large bowl, stir together flours, ground ginger, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat.

Remove from the heat once the butter is melted and stir in the molasses, brown sugar and fresh ginger. Allow to cool.

Add the beaten egg to the cooled molasses mixture and stir to combine.

Slowly stir this mixture into the dry flour mixture.

Fold in the apricots and crystalized ginger into the dough.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Once chilled, shape the dough into half-inch balls and roll in the turbinado sugar.

Place the cookie balls on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

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Texas Pecan Pie Bars

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Chocolate Castles's avatarChocolate Castles

This recipe needed reposting after taking them to a social last Wed evening. I watched as ladies would take a bite and hear their, “oh my gosh, who brought these?” They were the hit of the night. So different from regular pecan pie bars. A great dessert for any Christmas party, or for those nights when you are sitting by the Christmas tree, wrapping presents and want something delish!

This recipe is from a cookbook called The Pastry Queen, given to me by a dear friend that brought this cookbook back to me from the Hill country around Austin, Texas.
These have become a favorite anytime I take them anywhere. Very much like pecan pie, except the coconut and brown sugar adds such a chewy texture.
Crust
1 1/2 (12 tables) unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 teas salt
Preheat…

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Christmas Chatter

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Last night I texted (yes, I am one of those who prefers to text than use the telephone, although that does make me sound pretty cool and hip I guess) both of our daughters and told them that they needed to step it up a notch.

Yesterday,  I had a couple of friends over to help organize a party our class is having and over great (even if I say so myself) potato soup and garlic cheese biscuits, we talked about our adult children. One of the ladies there just “happened” to mention that her grandson had spent the night due to the fact that his parents, her daughter and son–in-law had gone to Ryan Secrest’s Christmas party. What? how could I compete with that? The only exciting thing I had to talk about was that one of our daughters and her husband were going to a church party where they would be taking a white elephant gift of under $5 and it had to begin with a “M” so they were taking live minnows. Our other daughter didn’t even have a story which included anything live, except her kids. Now, I love my grandkids as much as the other baby boomers, but really, how much can I brag about grandkids that their only line in the Christmas school pagent is, “I do, I do” and then proceeds to give his mom a thumbs up. Or our little granddaughter having her mom text me because she is worried that I forgot my toothbrush at their house in Florida and were my teeth getting brushed since I had left it there?

I just remembered, I have a friend who bragged that she was standing on the street corner last week and was waiting for the light to turn green so she could cross when she looked at the car right by her and realized that she was staring in the face of Jay Leno….and he even waved back when she smiled and waved at him. Maybe I could use that as my conversation subject until our kids give us a little more exciting material to use. Until then, I’m going to just have to get out my old pictures of The Fonz and me and Willy Nelson and me, Jack Ritter & me and last, Detective Green (from Law & Order) and the other guy who was his partner that I can’t remember his name and ME……why my, I think I will give Mrs. Mother of Ryan’s Christmas party invitee a call. I have a few things I can “happen” to mention….

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Christmas Countdown

Chocolate Castles2 Comments
Grumpy & Minnie
Grumpy & Minnie

2 weeks from today. Is it possible? It seems just like a couple of months ago that we were taking down the Christmas tree and trying to find a place to put all the new Christmas decorations that I just had to have.

After going to a ladies Christmas Celebration Monday night, we listened to the MC introduce our speaker, Debbie Sturt, from Women of Faith. She reminded us that the rush, the exhaustion and stress we usually feel at this time of year comes from so many responsibilities falling on our shoulders. Linda pointed out that it is the ladies in the family that get the kids dressed for the family Christmas picture, being sure that their outfits are all clean and ironed, all the while being sure that the smile that we insist they paint on their faces, happens in sync. It is the wives and moms that send out the Christmas cards, plan the menu, get the decorations out to adorn our homes. It is usually up to the ladies in the family to make sure that we don’t sit Uncle Joe by Cousin Bertha at the table. That the groceries are bought and cooked. The list goes on and on. We wonder why we are exhausted by December 25th? Let me count the ways.

In spite of the above mentioned chaos, the traditions that we hold so dear come to mean so much, at each passing year. I walked into our bedroom a few minutes ago and glanced over at Minnie Mouse and Grumpy which has hung on the bedposts of our bed for probably 15 years each Christmas. A feeling of coziness and nostalgia swept over me. I cannot imagine Christmas without these two silly dolls hanging on each of the sides of our bed. The Christmas clock that chimes a Christmas carol every hour and the Christmas pillows which my mom made so many years ago. The new things we purchase are nice, but the things that we have had for many years are the things that make our homes such a welcome and comfortable place to be during this time. To have a home where people felt “at home” and comfortable was always so important to me. This year, Randy (Frosty) and I (Noel) want to be sure that our eyes stay focused on what makes Christmas…Christmas and it is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope that as we purchase gifts for loved ones, that when we are buying the gifts, we will be lifting them up in prayer and asking God to bless them throughout the year. That while we are standing in long lines, waiting to be checked out, that our hearts will be thinking of the people around us and saying a quick prayer for them. We never know what circumstances people are going through, even though they might have a smile on their face. The peace that we all desire can come, despite the business and stress of the holidays. God is the key to that peace, His Word tells us that “God will keep us in perfect peace, if our mind is stedfast and trust in HIm” Isa 26:3

As we countdown to Christmas, may we look up to the One whose birth gave us the gifts that cannot be bought, grace, peace and eternal life…We just need to accept them, they are gifts from our Heavenly Father.

 

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Red Velvet Christmas Cheesecake

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Red Velvet Christmas Cheesecake

This cake is so picturesque that Southern Living made it their December Cover shot. What a grand dessert to serve your family and friends. Taken from SL, this combines red velvet cake with cheesecake. Theirs is a homemade version. To simplify and quicken the procedure, I am going to make my Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake, (substituting cream for water) and layer it with the cheesecake recipe that they give in their magazine.
1 Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake mix, baked according to directions on box, using 3 8″ cake pans.
Cheesecake layers:
5 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 (12 oz) package white chocolate morsels
2 (8″) round disposable aluminum foil cake pans
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Bake your red velvet cake according to directions on back of box, dividing the batter between 3 (8″) round cake pans, Set aside.
To prepare the cheesecake layers:
Line bottom and sides of the 2 disposable pans with foil, allowing 2-3″ to extend over sides; lightly grease foil.
Microwave white chocolate morsels in a microwave safe bowl according to directions on package; cool 10 minutes.
Beat cream cheese and melted white chocolate at medium speed with mixer until creamy.
Gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition.
Stir in the vanilla. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake in preheated 300 oven for 30-35 min or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecakes stay in oven, with door closed for 30 minutes. Remove from oven to wire racks; cool completely about 2 hours. Cover and chill 8 hours. Layer the cheesecakes and red velvet layers like you see in the picture.
Frost with the following:
2 (4 oz) white chocolate baking bars, chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter, softened
1 (32 oz) package of powdered sugar
Wisk together the chocolate and boiling water until chocolate melts. Cool 20 minutes.
Chill 30 minutes.
Beat 1 cup butter and chilled chocolate mixture at low speed 1 minute.
Increase mixer to high and mix 2-3 minutes.
Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until frosting is fluffy. Frost tops of red velvet and cheesecakes as you assemble the cake. Frost sides and top last. Decorate with Christmas sprinkles, white chocolate leaves.