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.
Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Questions & Answers

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Today is one of those days which a person always prays that will never come.  My BFF, Cora and her family are mourning the loss of her 20 year old grandson, Jared Frame. The funeral is this afternoon and even though we know that Jared is in Heaven, his loss here is being felt in so many families. Last week, so many of us questioned why God would allow such a tragedy to people who have served so faithfully their Lord and Savior. When so many hundreds of people had been praying and asking the Lord not to take Jared ‘s life, why did God not answer those prayers? He did, but just not in the way we hoped.

This morning, waking up early and reading Streams in the Desert, this was the devotion of the day, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, who passing  through the valley of weeping, make it a well.” Psa 84-5-6

It went on to say,

“Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and merry. We must go down into “depths” if we would experience this more precious of God’s Gifts–comfort, and thus be prepared to be co-workers together with Him.

When night-needful night–gathers over the garden of our souls, when the leaves close up and the flowers no longer hold any sunlight within their folded petals, there shall never be wanting, even in the thickest darkness, drops of heavily dew, dew which falls only when the sun has gone.

I have been through the valley of weeping.

The valley of sorrow and pain;

But the God of all comfort was with me, At hand to uphold and sustain.

As the earth needs the clouds and sunshine, Our souls need both sorrow and joy;

So He places us oft in the furnace, the dross from the gold to destroy.

When he leads through some valley of trouble, His omnipotent hand we trace.

For the trials and sorrows He sends us, Are part of HIs lessons in grace.

Oft we shrink from the purging and pruning, Forgetting the Husbandman knows that the deeper the cutting and paring; The richer the cluster that grows.

As we travel thro’ life’s shadow’d valley, Fresh springs of His love ever rise;

And we learn that our sorrows and losses, Are blessings just sent in disguise.

So we’ll follow wherever He leadeth. Let the path be dreary or bright;

For we’ve proved that our God can give comfort; Our God can give songs in the night.”

Todays posting is taken from Springs in the Desert Devotion book.

As we celebrate Jared’s wonderful faithful too-short lived life,  this afternoon, we have to trust that God has a wonderful purpose and plan that even though we do not understand, and maybe will not this side of Heaven, our prayers are that God is glorified. Jared’s parents have said that they want to “serve their Lord well”! Becky and Darren, you are shining examples of living that request very well. May God be glorified today through the tears and the pain.

 

 

appetizers · Vegetables

Zucchini A La Meatless

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I know, that is a corny name, but just couldn’t help myself today. This past weekend we had two different sets of friends from California over for dinner as they were passing through town. It was not only imagegreat to see them, but it allowed me to cook for more than two, which just thrilled my soul. On Facebook last week, there was a recipe for stuffed zucchini, which looked and sounded so good, I had to try it. Am so glad I did. It was delicious! I do have to admit that the first night I made it, I followed the recipe pretty much to a T, and felt that it could use a little more seasoning, so the second night I made it, I added more and it was really good. So here it is:

4 zucchini, washed, dried and cut in half, vertically. With a small spoon, scoop out the middle of the pulp, being sure to leave the skin in tact. I also left the each end intact, so as to create like a boat, so the stuffing wouldn’t fall out either end.

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 tea each s of the following: Italian seasoning, seasoned pepper, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and onion powder

1 ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into 1″ size squares (or you can sometimes find the fresh mozzarella already in little balls)

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

6 teaspoons of Italian flavored breadcrumbs

Chopped fresh basil

When zucchini is washed and wiped dry, scoop out the seeds with enough of the pulp to give you room to stuff each piece. Combine the seasonings with the olive oil. Using a pastry brush, brush the seasoned olive oil in all of the insides of the zucchini. Use a teaspoon to sprinkle about 1/2 to 1 teas of the breadcrumbs into the zucchini boat. Then cutting 16 cherry tomatoes in half, place 4 halves in each boat, leaving room between them to place a piece of mozzarella in them (this will be done after the first baking, not now)k Sprinkle some of the parmesan cheese over the tomatoes.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 25-30 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and place now the mozzarella pieces (or balls) in-between the tomato halves.

Cut fresh basil and sprinkle over the top. Place in oven and broil for 2-4 minutes until cheese is melted and is beginning to brown.

Uncategorized

Chicken-Biscuit Cobbler

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Does this sound like a comfort food or what? It has crumbled bacon in the biscuits which will add to the wonderful Southern Flavor or this dish. Taken from Southern Living, 2014

3 tables butter

1 cup sliced carrots

1 medium onion, chopped

2 (8 oz) packages fresh mushrooms, quartered

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup flour

3 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup whipping cream

1 tables white wine vinegar

3 tables sliced chives

3 table shopped parsley

2 teas chopped rosemary

2 teas chopped thyme leaves

8 cups shredded cooked chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Package of Bisquick Cheddar-Garlic biscuit mix (the kind that you just mix with water)

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon, (about 5 slices)

Preheat oven to 400. Melt 3 table butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add carrots and onion, and sauce 5 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms; sauce 5 more minutes. Stir in garlic and add wine; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup flour and cook, stirring constantly 3 minutes. Slowly add broth, stirring constantly; bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in cream and next 5 ingredients. Stir in chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and remove from heat.

Next, make the garlic-cheddar biscuits according to directions, and add the chopped, cooked bacon into the mixture before dropping the biscuits onto the chicken mixture. When the biscuits are mixed, return the chicken mixture to stove top to heat until bubbly and hot. Spoon the chicken mixture into a greased 3 qt baking dish. Drop biscuit dough by level 1/4 cupfuls, 1/2″ apart onto the chicken mixture.

Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes, or until biscuits are done and golden brown.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Fittin-In

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We have been in Arizona since the end of April and in our house since May 11th. We knew from the get-go(I have been dying to use that term since I heard it a few days ago), that there would be several things that we would need to change about us that would help us “fit in” here. As we began to visit some of the churches to see where we would begin making us feel at home, we quickly realized that Randy would need to get rid of his suits that he wore to church in Dallas. In fact, there were a couple of times where we would walk into a church (First Baptist Dallas being one of them) and they mistook Randy for the visiting preacher. It was then and there that I told him he needed to get rid of his Pentecostal hair cut and cut back on the hair gel. But when we got here, he noticed that really all he had to have was nice Hawaiian shirts, a pair of nice tan shorts and some open toed sandals. So off to the Goodwill went the suits, pretty much knowing that all he would have to keep was one for him to be buried in. Those were his words, not mine.  But after the conversation this morning on the way home from shopping, that might be sooner than he expected. Another difference was that after trying to continue to style my Dallas big hair and big earrings, I have given up. Gone is the big hair, replaced by short spiky golden locks, which took the place of the red. The sun was fading the red so much that I was looking like Carrot Top. I was told by my daughter that wearing big earrings, just screamed “look at me, I am really old and dress very old fashioned”. So gone are the big hoops and in came the small dainty little pearls. I think I look like I’m 80 and look like June Cleaver now.

Also, we discovered, just like in Texas, to get to really know folks, you had to have a pet, preferably a dog to walk so the neighbors would talk to you. The cuter the dog, the friendlier the neighbors. So Oliver became our “business card” that we would use to get people’s attention.  To take this pet thing a step further, we have noticed that LOTS of people out here, love their bumper stickers which let you know they are animal people. There are stickers which have the number of stick people on their windshield as the number in their family plus Rover at the end of the line, letting you know they have a dog.

Then there are  bumper stickers which tell you how many cats people have, or announce that they are cat people with a line drawn through the word, “dog”.  Some say, Red Rover, Red Rover, Let Any Dog Come Over to My House! Or this one we saw last week, Dogs Welcome, People Keep Out!

On our way home today from shopping, Randy declared that maybe we needed to come up with our own bumper sticker, as we weren’t meeting people as quickly as we would like. (This is why he might be needing that burial suit sooner than later). After all, it is just to hot to go walking with Oliver and with Randy still being the One Armed Bandit (hallelujah we see the shoulder surgeon tomorrow), we have not been able to participate in many of the activities which would allow us to meet our new neighbors. As we drove, we began to talk about different suggestions which might be cute to have on our back car bumper which would let people know that we were now “pet lovers” We debated on several, such as: Love Us, Love our Pet, or We Love Our Pet & Our Grandkids, In that Order, but Randy finally decided that he knew what it would be…

“You Can Have My Wife, But Touch the Dog and You Die”!

It will be interesting to see who gets Oliver in the divorce settlement! Am having his one suit cleaned, as you never know when he might need it!

Beef · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Uncategorized

Enchiladas…Kiko’s Style

Chocolate Castles16 Comments

Corpus Christi is where I spent the first 45 years of my life. Back in the early 80’s some friends of ours, Sam & Yvonne Satterfield, introduced us to a Mexican restaurant called, Kikos. We ate there from that point on at least once a week after that. Every trip back to Corpus to see my parents, that was my first stop. Their enchiladas were just so good, with this rich brown-tomato sauce that wasn’t like the typical enchilada sauce that every Mexican restaurant or recipe seems to be. For years, I have tried to copy their great sauce, but to no avail. Every time Randy would be with me he would say, “I think it has cream of mushroom soup in it.” to which I would reply, “of course it doesn’t have cream of mushroom soup, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Well, after 20 years of him saying that and me responding in the same old way, I began to think, “what if he is right and I could have been eating great enchiladas the past 20 years other than when we just go to Corpus.” So last night, I experimented and oh my gosh, we had Kiko enchiladas. I’m not saying that they truly use Cream of Mushroom but I am saying that the sauce I made last night with it tasted the same as theirs. So if you are like us and think that no place else makes enchiladas like Kikos, give this a try. I think you will be pleasantly pleased.

8 white corn tortillas

1  1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 -3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)

1 small can tomato sauce (small size can)

1 -2 cups water (depending on how thick you like your enchilada sauce) ( I used a little over 1 can).

1 packet of taco or enchilada seasoning

1 lb of hamburger meat

3 tablespoons oil

Lawrys Seasoning Salt

Garlic powder as desired

Grease a baking dish that will hold 8 enchiladas. Set aside.

In a skillet, brown the meat with  about 1 cup chopped onion until meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic and stir until well blended in meat. Add the cup of water ,  1/2 packet of Lawry’s taco or enchilada seasoning, can of mushroom soup and small can of tomato sauce and cook over low heat for about 5 min until it makes a  gravy. If it is not thin enough to your liking, add a little more water, maybe up to 1/2 cup. Set aside. *If this is not spicy enough for you, add more of the Lawry’s Taco seasoning packet. (I like the flavor of the taco seasoning more than the enchilada seasoning)

In a small skillet,  melt about 1 tables butter and saute  the rest of the chopped onion until it is clear. Sprinkle about 1/2 teas Lawrys Seasoning Salt, 1/2 teas garlic powder and a little pepper. Place this onion mixture in a small bowl. In same skillet, add the 3 tables oil. Heat until it is sizzling around the edges. Place corn tortillas, one at a time, in the hot oil about 3-5 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels until you have done all 8 tortillas. When cool to the touch, begin by place about 1 teas cooked onion in the middle of each tortilla. Spoon about 1 tables of the shredded cheddar cheese over the onion and roll up. Place in the greased baking dish. When you have completed all 8, pour the meat mixture over the enchiladas and top with more cheddar cheese, to your liking. Bake ate 350 preheated oven for about 25 minutes, uncovered.

 

Holiday Fare · Meats · Uncategorized

Baked Ham

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A friend of mine just wrote and ask me if I made ham with cloves and pineapple. My response was that I had never made it that way. It brought back so many great memories of sitting around our table having ham, cooked with brown sugar, pineapple and coke with golden raisins. When I searched my blog for the recipe I discovered that I had never posted our favorite way to have ham. My  ex Father-in-law, Elwood always made this for almost every holiday and was happy to give us his recipe. He was a great cook and made the best fried shrimp you could find. The secret to this sauce is that you cook it for a couple of hours before pouring it over the ham to then bake in the oven. If the ham is over 4 lbs, you will want to double the ingredients. It  might not take all of the sauce, depending on the size ham, but you can freeze the rest and use it at a later time.

1/2 box  (15 oz size) golden raisins

1 12 oz coke (regular, not diet)

1 regular size can (not the short 4 oz, sorry but I don’t have one on hand to check the size but it is just like the regular size can) of crushed pineapple

1 cup of water

3/4 cup light brown sugar.

Combine all of the above ingredients and cook over a low heat for a couple of hours. When sauce has thickened, pour over the ham. Cover the ham and cook according to the directions for the size ham you are preparing.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Weekend Warriors

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imageThis past weekend, I intended to cook all weekend but found myself being tied to a dog leash. Our daughter and son-in-law had us puppy sit from Fri afternoon to Sunday afternoon so they could take the kids to a resort. So while they were lounging around the pool, I was taking their dog out EVERY HOUR and trying to keep Myah (AKA Jezebel) and Oliver, who is our sweet precious little Morkie from killing each other. They are the same age, about 3 months. So we spent (when I say we, I mean ME) the entire time taking toys away from one dog to give to the other. Honestly, they were worse than two year olds. They didn’t want a toy unless the other one got it. I would give them bones and they only wanted the one that the other had. They ate each others food, they slept in each others beds. When they weren’t fighting over food, water or toys, they tore at each other with such determination that I feared that one of them would end up at the Vets after loosing an ear.  Randy kept telling me that they were just playing but because I’m an only child, I couldn’t imagine that biting and growling were just “playing”.  I felt like I had kept 4 grandkids for a week, by the time Sunday afternoon arrived. When I wasn’t breaking up doggie fights, I kept telling myself that as soon as things settled down I was going to bake. That never happened. Note to self: do not, under any circumstances, keep two puppies who are not yet potty trained. I was exhausted. They woke me up at 4:30 Saturday morning, but  were so sweet to let me sleep in until 5 Sunday morning.

Both Randy and I discovered that if ever we even thought about getting a second dog, all we had to do was remember this past weekend and that “desire to get a puppy to keep Oliver company” would immediately disappear.

I told Randy, just like with little babies, we could just ride around in the car with one dog in my lap and one in his to get some rest, but he said “no” we should be able to be more in control, they are only dogs, we just needed to show them who was boss. I guess they were, as I did anything they wanted just to be able to sit for a few minutes. That was so easy for him to say as he wasn’t the one picking up the poop, being woke up early and playing with them trying to keep them from fighting and growling so they wouldn’t wake up Randy or Jaden. Oh, I forgot, we also were keeping our 14 year old.  At least he is potty trained and can fix a bowl of soup. We even considered checking in to Doggie Day Care on Saturday, but we didn’t have proof of Myahs shots so that idea went out the window. It brought back so many memories of being able to drop off my 3rd child to Mothers Day Out on Tues and Thurs for a few hours. I would just get back in the car and sit, trying to decide what I wanted to do with all the precious hours of having no children with me. But truth be told, I ended up going home and taking a nap. It was just like that this past weekend. When I finally got both dogs to nap at the same time, I slept right along with them. Randy kept telling me all weekend, “that is why it is good for old folks to get a dog, because it keeps them active, having to take them outside and for walks and picking up after them so you don’t trip on the toys that are all over the house.  Blah Blah Blah, easy for Mr. Being Able to Sleep in until 7 a.m. Each Morning On The Weekend to say. Do not get me wrong, I have fallen in love with Oliver. He was suppose to be Randy’s dog, but because Randy still has use of only one arm, he is unable to pick him up or carry him anywhere so guess who Oliver bonded to….yep…the person who really isn’t a pet person. But just like being able to teach old dog new tricks, I guess this old person is learning the new trick of falling in love with their new family member.

 

 

Beef · Breads · Cakes · Casseroles · Chicken · Chocolate · Cookies · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Princess On The Porch

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I just got a notification that Princess on the Porch is in Itunes Store for $3.99. This will let you have recipes and stories on your computer that will be so easy to keep instead of searching for recipes on the blog, chocolate castles.com.

 

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit · Uncategorized

Fresh Strawberry Cake

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Probably a lot of you have made or indulged this scrumptious cake. Because of this wonderful Arizona heat, the only desserts right now that sound good are cold ones. When  I this ran across  this on FaceBook the other day, I remembered that it was such a good cake and that I hadn’t made it in years, so thought I would post it. Since it starts with a cake mix, it is quick and easy to make. Top it with Cream Cheese frosting and you have a delicious dessert that will cool you off, no matter the time of day.

1 (18.25) oz white cake mix

1 (3 oz) box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin

1 (15 oz) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed

4 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick (1/4 cup) softened butter

1 (8oz) softened cream cheese

1 (10 oz) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed

1/2 teas strawberry extract (I will use vanilla)

7 cups powdered sugar

Fresh sliced strawberries for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, (the 15 oz) eggs, oil and water. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into greased and floured pans and bake for 20 minutes or until cake test done.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

 

To make frosting:

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium until smooth and creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry (from the 10 oz package)puree and the extract. The rest of the puree is leftover but can be used in smoothies or over ice cream. Beat in powdered sugar a cup at a time until all lumps are gone. If you need to add a little more of the strawberry puree, add 1 tables at a time, until frosting is spreading consistency.

P.S. One time I made this cake and divided each cake layer into 2, giving 4 layers. I used the strawberry frosting in-between the layers then frosted the entire outside of the cake with fresh whipped cream…If you do this, you will need to whip up the whipping cream sweetened  with powdered sugar, instead of granulated sugar. The powdered sugar has corn starch in it allowing the whipping cream to stay “whole” longer and not  get runny after the first day.

Also covering the cake in airtight container which you put in fridge will keep the cake fresh for 3-4 days.