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.
Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Chocolate Fudge Pie

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Today, another rainy beginning to this new normal of everyone working from home and kids being home schooled as well as parents trying to teach, and learn right along with them, while still trying to do what is necessary to bring in a pay check. These are difficult days, and challenging times when we all have to step up and change what we have been doing. What do we do to still serve when so many are confined to their homes? This week, when we began to hear about seniors being ask to self quarantine, I began to think of ways that I could help serve them.  What should be my part in stepping out of my comfort zone to share God’s love by meeting the needs of those who are seniors? As I was sharing these thoughts with Randy the other night, he watched me and listened to what I had to say. Then without a moments hesitation, the minute I ask him what he thought I should do, he smiled at me and said, “uh do you realize that in a couple of months you will be 70 and you are suppose to be one of those who are to self quarantine for awhile?” WHAT……but, wait a minute. That thought never crossed my mind that I am considered old. When did that happen? Quickly I responded to him, that because I eat garlic almost everyday and enough chocolate to ward off most bacterias, I should be able to hang a garlic bulb around my neck and get out there among the true old folks. Why I’m still young because I  still wear cute little blingy sandals and capris (even though these cute little capris might have elastic waistbands) and wear loop earrings that could easily be mistaken for “tapers”. And….I teach other people how to use their phones. So truly, I can’t be considered someone who needs to stay at home…? But because so many stores and restaurants are closed down, I haven been forced to spend more time at home than normal. It is allowing me time to work on another book, which will be called Tis So Sweet and is full of dessert recipes and stories of women who are willing to share how God has been faithful in difficult circumstances in their lives. Also, I have been baking a little more than normal, which means that instead of making a dessert each day, I’m now making two or three. It is fun to share food with others. Last night I made up a recipe that actually turned out really good. Was so easy and simple and I had everything on hand so no trip to the store was necessary. It was a baked chocolate fudge pie that we ate watching a really good movie on Netflix.  That is Randy’s job each night. To find us a good movie that is fun to watch and family friendly so that we can recommend to others without fear of it being full of foul language or sexual content. So far, he is batting a thousand. Two for two. Tues night we watched Faith, Hope and Love and last night we enjoyed a little french film called French Toast.  Darling movie. Here is the easy peasy recipe for a great chocolate fudge pie for you to up your immune system…at least that is what I tell myself when I am cutting a big piece and topping it with whipped cream.

1 bought chocolate oreo cookie crust

1 bar (4 oz) of semi sweet baking squres

1 stick (8 oz) unsalted butter

1 teas vanilla

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Melt the chocolate with the butter over low heat. When butter and chocolate are melted, remove from heat and stir in the can of milk. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, eggs, and flour together until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate and vanilla. Stir in the pecans and coconut and pour into the pie shell. The pie shell won’t hold all of this. With the left over mixture, I placed two chocolate chip cookies in the bottom of a small loaf pan and poured the rest of the mixture over them and baked them right along with the pie.  Bake in preheated 350 oven until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool and top with whipped cream.

Keep covered in fridge. Was even better the second night.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Artificial Light

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Isn’t it amazing how the Lord puts an idea in our hearts when we least expect it? This morning as I turned on a light that I  have turned on for the last 8 months each morning on my way to the kitchen, this thought immediately came to my mind….artificial light! Then walking into the kitchen, because that thought had clearly been given to me, I knew the Lord had put that little phrase in my mind, to then go and write this story.

When we were in Italy last summer, we began to look at places online. We knew where we wanted to live and so the search began. About once a week or more, I would go online to search out the possible places that would be available in July , back in Dallas, in our price range. Because we had friends who were living in the area where we wanted to be, they had told us that they would be on the look out for lease places which came up. One day, as I looked, the place where we are now living appeared on the search. Showing Randy the pictures of the place, it looked like something that we would love and we called our friend who not only had been looking here for us, but was also a realtor. Jack called us back and told us that he would contact the realtor and get the details. Well, from the pictures on line we saw that it was light and bright and had a great kitchen and a large living room. It was in our price range and we grabbed it. We were able to move right in when we moved back in July. The day we walked in to see it in person for the first time, we noticed that it wasn’t as light and bright as the pictures that we had seen on realtor.com. In fact, it was obvious that they had brought some professional lighting in to make the pictures look bright and sunny. In fact, the condo is in the corner of a building so it never gets direct sun in the living area, which causes the living room to be quite dark with only one corner window.  As we walked through the condo, I kept telling myself, ‘well, I can just use a lot of lamps and so the lack of windows won’t bother me.” The furniture arrived a few days later and we began to unpack. My son, Jamin, came over that same day and as he walked through, it was obvious that he didn’t like the place. That evening i texted him and told him I could tell he didn’t like it. He texted back to me, “mom, it’s not that I don’t like it, it is just that I know you and what a window person you are. You are not going to be happy in that dark house.” I assured him that I would just use all the little lamps that I have and always keep them on so it will be light. He told me that that was well and good, but I was still not going to like  not having windows and sun, like I had always been use to. Well, we had a two year lease that we had signed before seeing it in person and it was just going to have to be ok.

It is now 8 months down the road and I have to admit that it has been difficult to adjust to never seeing the sun out the living room window. The room is dark, in spite of the lamps. But it has also been a great reminder of so many times in my life that I have tried to substitute artificial sun for the real Son. When difficulties come, as they do, or circumstances arise that are beyond my control, what do I use for my strength, or my power? Am I looking to other things that try to grab my attention or stir my thoughts and affections off of the true “light”?  When days become monotonous or ordinary, what do I turn to? In these challenging days of trying to adjust to the new normal until this crisis passes us by, what is taking the Son’s place in our homes and lives?

As I look around this pretty dark room today, and with the rain, the 6 lamps that are turned on at this very moment, it is still very dark. But…..when my heart focuses on Him and I turn my thoughts to God, this room seems a little brighter to me. I take my focus off of me and turn it to Him and surrender my day and how I can reach out to others. Automatically, the room begins to lighten.

Isn’t it amazing how the true pure light of Christ can brighten up any corner of not just a room, but our hearts as well.  In this trying time, let’s keep our thoughts, our hearts and our minds on the true source of light…Jesus Christ. The dark days of confusion, fear and challenges will become a little brighter.

John 8:12 ” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Lord, may I quit trying to fill my life with artificial light ,the things of this world that vie for our attention but look to the true source of light, Jesus Christ.  May my mind and heart stay on You and my mind be filled with “whatsoever things are pure, of good report and true” that I will think of these things each moment. Use me to share Your love and gospel to those who are hurting and needing  You. In Jesus Name, Amen

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Uncategorized

Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken

Chocolate Castles6 Comments

Yesterday was a great day. In spite of all the craziness and fear around, some friends and I opted to meet in Peggy’s house for lunch and to play cards….what a wonderful afternoon. Cindy, one of the friends who joined us was caring for her 8 month old granddaughter and brought her along. We all took turns holding the baby while eating and playing cards. Brought back so many memories of doing that every day. Was such a sweet time together. Peggy, who is a wonderful cook and is always serves such great food passed us all a copy of this recipe. Because this is such a wearisome time, I thought it was the perfect day to share this as it is taken from the Wearychef. Peggy told us that it is such a great recipe and when I sent to some of our kids, Christi responded that this was already one of their favorite recipes and makes me quite often. So, if you are like me and had not heard of it…here it is.

Serves 8

3 lbs boneless chicken breasts (or thighs)

1 packet of au jus gravy mix

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 stick (8 tables) butter

6-8 peperoncini peppers

Add chicken breasts (or thighs) to the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle both packets of the seasonings on top of the chicken. Top with the stick of butter and the peppers.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.When it’s ready, take a couple of forks and shred the chicken.

Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes. For a low carb meal, serve over riced cauliflower.

 

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Cowboys, Pearls and Jerky

A repost from 2013 in case you need to read something other than about the “C” word today! Hope it brings a smile to your heart!

It is good to be home. Good to be able to have big hair, sunshine, no wind or humidity and not a Tex-Mex restaurant to be found, to tempt me every day and gain back every pound I had lost to go to Texas. It was good to come home before I had to buy a second seat just to fly home. From the time I landed in Texas, it was rainy and windy so my hair was flat and straight the entire time. Didn’t take an umbrella so my clothes were wet and wrinkled. If you are like me, you are always hoping that you will look good for the people you don’t get to see but a couple of times a year, so I was so excited about having lost a few pounds before getting there only to be disappointed that no one was noticing the weight I had lost, all they saw was that my hair looked, “just awful”…really, awful….so much so, that I only went to stores and restaurants that I knew I wouldn’t run into anyone I might know. It was embarrassing and I didn’t want them to think, “poor thing, she moved away to California and look what she has become, a left over hippie with straight flat hair and wrinkled clothes” After a week of having the worst hair, I bought a hair clip to pull it back, only to have it make my face look like I had gained about 30 pounds. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to come home and have fluffy hair that was still a little fluffier than my rear end and I didn’t have to wear a sign that said, “I don’t always look like this” around my neck. The sign got wet from the rain, and the word “don’t” disappeared. The sign now read, “I always look like this”. Coming home couldn’t get here fast enough.

Posted at 10:26 am by Chocolate Castles

Before coming back, I flew to Houston and stayed a couple of days with friends, Cathy and Cindy, (twin sisters, who I have known for 33 years) which treated me to some of the best food around Texas. We had Tex-Mex 3 times and seafood from Monument Inn. Isn’t it wonderful how you can see friends who you haven’t seen in a couple of years and the friendship just picks right up just like you had been together every week. Friendships that make you forget about flat, wet hair are the friendships that we treasure our entire lives.

Since it was Rodeo days in Texas, while I was driving from Houston to Corpus, I passed the group of cowboys in covered wagons pulled by horses. This is the annual Trail Ride that happens every year and ends up at the Rodeo. I had lived in Texas for 60 years and had never happened upon this sight. It was exciting to be driving down the highway and look over and see this huge group of people riding along on wagons or horses. It was really such a treat to be able to say I had seen them; had read the write up and saw pictures in Southern Living Magazine, but never in person. Made me want to pull into the next truck stop for smoked beef jerky and chew on that, driving down the highway: so that’s what I did….I just hope none of the old Northwood Women’s Club members were driving down that same highway. I can only imagine what they would have thought seeing me chewing on beef jerky,  waving and yelling “ye haw” out my window to the cowboys in their covered wagons, with flat, straight hair. My only saving grace was that hopefully, they would have seen that no matter the hair, the yelling and the beef jerky, I still had on  my earrings and pearls. To Texas Women’s groups, you can get away with a lot as long as you are wearing pearls and earrings, matching pearls and earrings, that is.

Tomorrow, will resume the chocolate recipes till the end of the month. Share a recipe and a smile….Trudy

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Friends & Funerals

Chocolate Castles3 Comments

You must be thinking by the title of this post that it will be a downer to read, but that is not my intention! Today sitting and honoring a dear lady that I truly did not know well but wanted to honor her life!

As I sat there and listened to the minister that did know her well, a sadness crept over me! Yes I realize that is normal for being at a funeral, but this was different. It was a sadness that made me want to change my outlook and my everyday living of how I see people! As we sat there and heard stories of Carols life and the person she truly was, why did I not know all this? The answer to that questions is truly very simple! I never took the time or trouble to find out! As it brought so many memories about my dad and how I never gave him a real chance to be involved in my life, it all came back that I have lived so many years with always just being drawn to folks that I felt were just like me. Loud, impulsive, excited about every adventure that comes, sometimes (and this is hard to admit) “surfacy”, always ready for fun and games, wanting to be involved in everything around! And those are my good qualities! Don’t think you are ready to hear about my bad ones! But looking back because Carol seemed quiet to me when I saw her at church, I figured that she would not enjoy a person like myself, because she appeared more serious that I am! Had I got to know her, I would have found that she was truly a lady who lived and loved adventure! She ran marathons, loved the beach, loved to travel and did so quite often! She was a nurse and loved children and worked in the children’s dept at church for years! She went up in a hot air balloon! But most of all, she was a sweet servant to her precious family and loved the Lord! kIn fact, it was her kindness and faithfulness that won her husband to the Lord, just by watching how she lived. Why is it that because others may seem different than us, we tend to think that we don’t need to take the time to really know them! We are content with passing by with a simple hi and how are you and always  gather to the friends who we have already connected! Maybe the quiet one in the corner is content to not have to be the center of attention, but is still quite entertaining, if given the opportunity.

This was our  morning devotion this morning and seems so reverent to what I am trying to say.

*taken from The Passion Code by O.S. Hawkins

“Only “one of them returned” Luke 17:15 in thanksgiving. This leper, like the others, had a family to get back to, a business to tend to, but something was more pressing. We are not told his name. He belongs to that vast throng who live their beautiful lives and preform their selfess deeds in often anonymous ways. We may not know his name, but he is shouting to us today. “get back to Jesus. Be grateful. Give thanks for all He has done for you.”

This scripture and devotion portrays the life that Carol lived. She lived in purpose. To serve, give thanks for God’s goodness and by her actions and life, shouted to so many lives, “get back to Jesus. Be grateful and give thanks for all He has done for you.”

Carol, It is my regret that I did not get to know you better. But will one day walk the streets of gold with you and will then thank you for living for Your King and Savior. I bet you have already heard Him tell you, “well done, good and faithful servant.”  

Desserts · Fruit · Pies · Uncategorized

Blueberry-Banana Creme Pie

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Why I don’t make this more often, I cannot tell you…wait a minute, yes I can. IF I made it very often, I would weight 50 lbs more than I do now. This is one of Randy’s favorite desserts. So because he has requested something different than cookies I have  been making all week, I decided to surprise him this evening with this. It is really simple to make and is such a crowd pleaser. If you like blueberries and bananas, you are going to love this.

1 package Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies

2 medium banans

1 can of blueberry pie filling

1 recipe of vanilla pudding (I make mine, but if you are in a hurry and don’t want to make your own, buy the small size of french vanilla instant pudding and make it according to the directions.

1/2 pint of whipping cream or Cool Whip (if you have followed my blog for any length of time, you will know that Cool Whip is WAY down on my list of toppings, but for calories sake or ease, I know that lots of folks use it. And when my dr tells me to either quit using real whipped cream and butter, or have heart surgery, I guess I will start using Cool Whip also)

Instructions

If you make your own pudding, do it first and set it aside while preparing the other steps.

This is recipe I use for the pudding

2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup plus 1 table flour

1/2 cup plus1 tables sugar

2 egg yolks

tiny pinch of salt

1 teas vanilla

1 tables butter

Combine all ingredients except vanilla and butter. Using a whisk, whisk the ingredients all together in a medium saucepan until all lumps are gone over medium heat. Continue using the whisk as you cook the pudding until pudding is thick. When it is thick, remove from the heat and add the vanilla and butter and stir until butter is melted. Set aside and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Line a dish with about 12 of the chessman cookies.  Pour the cooled pudding mix over them. Set this in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Remove from fridge and slice two banana over the pudding mix. Spoon the blueberry pie filling over the top of the bananas. Set in fridge for about an hour to finish cooling. Add the whipped cream that you have whipped with sugar or the Cool Whip Sprinkle about 4 or 5 of the Chessman cookies which you have crushed with a rollin pin in a bag over the top of the cream.

Set in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Cover leftovers or if you aren’t planning to serve it now, keep covered in the fridge until serving time.  Snack on the remaining Chessman cookies while you make dinner or keep for another day when you don’t have any of this dessert left and you are wanting a buttery cookie to go with coffee or tea.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

#Blessed

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

It has been a few days since I last posted. Life seems to have escalated in activity ever since Randy went back to work.  After admitting to him that I truly did miss our mornings together just sitting and having our coffee (well he has that while I have by Diet Dr Pepper) and just talking about everything under the sun, we decided to try to get up a little earlier to still have that time before he heads off to the jungle out there.

Everytime I begin to whine about having to get up early and make breakfast, pack him a lunch and still have to come up with something for dinner, Randy just looks at me and says two words, “dry cleaners”.  Yes, that’s right, dry cleaners. As many of you know, when people retire, there are just some things that you give up, unless you have won the lotto, or hit it big in the stock market. For us, dry cleaners, was one of those things that we gave up. We could have continued to use them, but after all, we were retired and because he wasn’t going to work, he had no use for starched shirts or suits. So we began buying short sleeved shirts for him to wear around the house. The only thing was, Randy is not a T-shirt kind of guy. In 25 years, I have never seen him in a t-shirt with any type of saying or logo. Casual to him is wearing penny loafers without the penny in them.  So for him to be home, he still wore polo style shirts or little Hawaiian shirts that had button down collars. So guess who bought an ironing board and iron 5 yrs ago? That’s right…little miss “I hate to Iron”. But he kept telling me these past few years, “you don’t really want to waste money on dry cleaners when you can use that money to buy a hot fudge sundae at BR, do you? Or my favorite, “just think, the money you save doing “our” (out of the 15 shirts I would iron, maybe 2 were mine) own laundry and ironing, you can go to Stein Mart or DSW and buy more shoes. Well, you don’t have to tell me twice. So iron I have been doing for 5 years.  With every shirt I ironed, I would just say to myself, “this one is for the new pair of shoes I want” or “this week, I’ll get a 3 scoop hot fudge sundae”.

In February when Randy went to work, I have to admit, I whined and complained about getting up early. I fussed when it was now up to me to carry up the groceries up to the second floor  all by myself. I cringed when it dawned on me that I now had to pack a lunch EVERY DAY….but after a week of him listening to me, as soon as I would open my mouth to grip, he just looked at me and says, “dry cleaners”. Plus, we are a two car family again. #Blessed

Last week, I drove my own personal little new car, thank you very much, to church where I sat with about 100 other women  listening to our sweet Women’s minister talk to the young moms (no, I don’t consider myself a young mom, just because I still carry my baby weight around, they actually allow me to be a mentor mom, which truly is a little scary if you think about that for a minute) about how everyone always post #blessed, under pictures of families smiling and boarding beautiful boats, or skiing down a snow laden slope in Vail, or holding a new born baby, Yes, we all do want a blessed life. And when our lives are going through seasons when they aren’t #blessed, we have a hard time admitting to others that we are going through difficult circumstances. As I sat there and thought about that, it dawned on me that she was right. We all want everyone to think we are doing just fine, while holding our pinkies out holding our cup of tea. But many are truly struggling with sickness, loss of jobs, loss of spouse or a medical diagnosis that we certainly didn’t want to hear. This week, we are hearing so many reports about the corona virus that is stirring up panic. Last night Randy and I listened on-line to a preacher talk about the fear that is spreading around the world right now. As we listened to him talk about this fear that is overtaking so many, it reminded me of scriptures that have been given to us in times like these.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Proverbs 3:25-26 “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.

Psalm 56:11 “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

It is so easy to get caught up in the fear that creeps in on us. We sit and listen to report after report and that is exactly what Satan wants us to do…after all, he is a deceiver, the author of lies and confusion.

In those times when you are tempted to allow fear to overwhelm you, remember to give that fear to the Lord and read this Psalm. It will remind you just whose you are and to Whom you belong. after all, to know this, you are truly #blessed.

Psa 91:4-7
“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night. Nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side. And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.

Have just finished putting away groceries and trying to catch my breath from hauling them upstairs. Of course, there was no toilet paper or hand sanitizer at the store, except a couple of single rolls which had been left on the shelf, so if we aren’t quarantined for over 2 days, I think we should be ok. I did, in fact, buy a lot  of Dr Pepper. Might not have toilet paper, but I have 2 months of Dr Pepper on hand #blessed!

If we do get stuck at home for a few days, I will be posting some recipes because I will be cooking ALOT! Can’t watch tv all day and I’m certainly not going to iron!

 

 

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Uncategorized

Baked Fried Chicken

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Face Book is such a great way to keep up with memories of what we have done on a specific day for the last few years. It is so great to see memories pop up with pictures of our kids or grandkids and how they looked 2, 5, or even 7 and 8 years ago, if we have taken pictures and posted them. One thing I truly enjoy is the recipes that folks have posted and I shared so I would have them on my page and then would not loose them. This recipe popped up yesterday on my memory page. After going back and reading it, I realized that I never made it but it sounds so good that next week, we will definitely be making it. *sorry I don’t know who to give the credit for this but whoever it was, thank you! It sounds like a winner that will go with a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and hot buttered rolls…….ending with maybe a coconut cream pie loaded with whipped cream. Now, that will be a memory meal!

Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 minutes.

Mix in a Gallon Size Ziplock or Large Bowl:

1/2 teas salt

1 Tables Season All

3/4 teas Pepper

1 cup flour

2 teas paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/2 stick (4 tables) unsalted butter into a few pieces and pace in a 9×13″ baking dis. Melt the butter in the preheated oven.

Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan. Highly spray the pan, if needed, to make sure that there are no dry spots.

Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl, until coated.

Place each tenderloin in the melted butter and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes and then turn chicken and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes or until chicken is done. ENJOY!

*ok, I can tell you right now, that I will add some garlic powder to the mix and also probably pour a little more butter over the chicken when I turn it before continuing to bake on the other side. After all, can you really have too much butter?

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Chile Rellenos

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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!
Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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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.