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.
appetizers · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Super Bowl Supplies

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We all know what Super Bowl means….food, lots and lots of food; oh yes and I guess football. But for a lot of us, who don’t even really know who is playing or what a football even looks like, food is the central core of what Super Bowl Sunday is all about. I have to admit that for the last couple of weeks, I have been searching magazines, web sites, blogs and Face Book for new recipes that would make this 50th Super Bowl special. So it is with great expectation that the menu is settled. Since we are packing, getting ready to move to Arizona, our house isn’t exactly what you would call cozy right now, but due to some circumstances, we are blessed to be hosting this most significant event. Remembering the year I turned 50 brought back so many thoughts of how to celebrate, and what I would want for my celebratory meal (you know, just in case I didn’t make it to 51 due to the high cholesterol count AND extra weight AND having a consistent diet of butter, chocolate, whipping cream and cream cheese), I began to think that maybe this special 50th Super Bowl Game should be celebrated with lots of different foods. What better way than to go back through the recipe books from 50 years ago. So if you google recipes from 1966, these are the recipes which will be fun to serve this Sunday!

The Frank Blandi’s Devonshire Sandwich (you can google the recipe)

Lipton Onion Soup Dip

Meatballs with Grape Jelly

Stuffed Celery

Pigs In A Blanket

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

 

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Cheese Shell Tostados

Chocolate Castles3 Comments

imageToday in FB a recipe was posted for mini cheese shell tacos!  They sounded so good I had to try them! So we did!  I am hooked! They were so easy and so good we truly never missed a taco shell!  In fact, these are so good and easy we will be eating our tacos with cheese shells most of the time!

1/2 lb ground beef or turkey

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 tomato chopped

2 green onions, chopped fine

2 teas Pace Picante sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

preheat oven to 400

brown meat with chopped onion until meat is done and onion is clear! Salt, pepper & garlic as desired

Chop tomato, green onion and combine with picante sauce

using about 1/3 to 1/2 cup, pile cheese into a baking sheet in about 6 to 8 seperately piles (mounds)  place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake cheese until Cleese is completely melted and beginning to brown around the edges.

Remove from oven and using a paper towel, blot each cheese pancake to absorb any extra grease.

place cheese pancake in plate and top with a spoonful of meat mixture and then top with tomato-onion mixture   You can top with sour cream if desired!

 

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Senior Shopping Bags & Senior Moments

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Randy and I began with great plans of being such proud little “going green” seniors as we headed out the back door to go grocery shopping. We had laid one of our recyclable bags out so we would not forget to get them off the hook in the garage, which is what happens each week. We always get out of the car at the store and say, “oh shoot, we forgot the reusable bags, oh well, we will be sure to get them next time.” Every week, it’s the same story. But not this week, we purposely laid one on the hood so we would be sure and grab the bags before heading out. And grab we did, we took the bags that make us look like Mr & Mrs Environment Friendly Green All The Way…you know the ones, that have sayings on them such as “Use Me to Help Give Your Kids a Cleaner Tomorrow”. So off we go and as the checker is checking us out, we visit and tell him that we don’t mind him filling the bags up, after all, we are strong and can handle more than 2 cans in a bag.

So we check out, head to the car, I take our basket and put it in the basket return and on my way back to the car, I even offer to take a ladies’ basket for her so I’m sure to get my steps in on my Fitbit. She thanks me and I am feeling ever so nice. We back out and as I am looking in the back seat to help Randy back up (you know, he needs me to help him look) there in the backseat of our car are out reusable bags. Neither one of us had even thought about the bags when we arrived.  We never even thought about them as the checker was filling up plastic bags with our groceries. What are we going to have to do to remember that even when we remember to take them, we remember to take them out of the car?

Are we the only people that do this? Feeling pretty “old & forgetful”  about ourselves, on the way home, we began to talk of some of the things that we do now that are tell-signs that we are getting just a tad bit of a “Senior”. Here are just a few, see if any of you share some of these same characteristics.

  1. We like cereal for lunch
  2. Even though a restaurant is one of our favs, we wait until we get a coupon in the mail or we don’t go.
  3. We have a hard time getting a date on the calendar for lunch with our friends, as there are very few days that some of them have free from Dr Appointments.
  4. We sleep so late, we end up just skipping breakfast and have breakfast food for dinner.
  5. 3:00 afternoon coffee is beginning to sound better and better, just like our parents did (and that is after our nap)
  6. Eating at 5:30 doesn’t sound quite as bad as it use to.
  7. Looking for restaurants which allow Seniors to eat for less, no matter the time of day.
  8. Going to Branson is sounding like it would be a fun place to go.
  9. Monday Mornings find us getting out all our vitamins to restock our pill caddy.
  10. Velcro fasteners on shoes are staring to look attractive!
And these are the ones we just thought of. There are probably more, but we can’t remember them.
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Chocolate Cake

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image

1 DUNCAN Hines chocolate fudge cake mix

5 eggs

1 small package of instant French vanilla, cheesecake or chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter and 1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix altogether except chocolate chips and beat for 2 min.  Add chocolate chips and stir until blended!

pour into a greased and floured (actually I don’t flour pans when baking cakes,  I use sugar instead, gives the outside of the cake a little sparkly appearance) large bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 40 min or until cake test done! Cool in pan for about 15 min then invert in cake plate   Cook and frost with chocolate glaze!

Frosting recipe is on blog.  I just make the frosting then place in microwave about 45 seconds until you can pour over cake.  It won’t take all the frosting but save the rest for later use!

 

Chocolate · Cookies · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Brookies

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Yesterday I had a meeting to attend and it is one I go to once a month. For some reason I have decided this past year that I cannot go unless I have dessert in my hand to pass around. After asking the friend who leads the meeting what she would like to have me bring for our enjoyment, she told me she wanted brookies. Well, I had never made brookies. It is a brownie and chocolate chip cookie combined. I admit I was in my lazy mood, so I ran to the store, thinking I had seen box mixes of these delicious looking morsels and there on the shelp were two different brands of brookies. One was Betty Crocker and the other was Nestle. I got one of each wanting to do a comparison bake.

After baking both boxes, both Randy and I decided that the Nestle was definitely the winner. The chocolate chip cookie part of the brookie tasted exactly like a homemade chocolate chip cookie.  Of course both boxes used a stick of butter, which will always make baked goods taste more like homemade, but the Nestle brand truly was the better brand. I ended up making them in cupcake pans instead of a 8×8 and then topped each one with a dollop of chocolate frosting. The recipe for the frosting is already on the blog. They were devoured and I brought 4 home which I have hidden away. I did make myself share one of them with Randy since he was so sweet to drive me to the store to buy them in the first place. Since today is cold and wind chill is in the 20’s, I am so glad I still have 2 left as a treat to have with hot tea today.

Breads · Uncategorized

Cheese & Herb Scones

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I don’t know about you, but not only do I feel a little British when I eat scones, but I certainly feel a little Martha Stewartie when I make them. Just returning from grocery shopping I happened to look on the back of a bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and noticed this recipe. We are having potato soup for dinner so these will go along very nicely. A little Paula meets Martha dinner, don’t you think?

Makes 12 scones

1 lb self-rising flour

1 teas salt

4 oz butter, cold, cut in cubes

1 teas fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 (8)oz package finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese,divided

8 tables milk

8 tables waater

Preheat oven to 425. Mix together in a large bowl, the flour, salt and cold cubed butter with a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the chopped rosemary and 6 oz of the cheese.  Add the milk and water and stir until mixture is just blended. Do not over mix.  On a floured board or cabinet top, roll out the dough to 1″ thickness.  Cut out rounds using a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter or glass top.  Place scones on a greased baking sheet and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake until golden brown, about 10-13 minutes, depending on oven.

Breads · Cakes · Uncategorized

Little Lemon Drops

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imageThis morning I had some family over to introduce a line of clothing that our DIL, Mandy is now selling, called LouLaRoe!  It has opened up a new world of comfortable clothing to me!  I can still wear my earrings and pearls but not have to be dressed up!  I can bend, pack boxes, do laundry or bake and still look cutsie but comfortable!  Anyhow I wanted to have a few goodies for them while they looked over the leggings and tips so made these wonderful little lemon gems!  So easy and they make 3 mini cupcake pans   The date but bread on top  is already on the blog under….you guessed it, Date Nut Bread!

1 box of lemon cake mix

1 small package vanilla instant pudding

4 large eggs at room temp

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1/2 cup milk

preheat oven to 350  coat mini muffin pan tins with cooking spray

combine all ingredients in large bowl and beat with mixer for 2-3 min and all are combined.

fill each muffin hole about 1/2 full   I used a small cookie scoop for this!

bake about 13 min or until they tests done.

cool pan on wire rack for about 3 min then invert and place them upside down on wire rack over waxed paper.

drizzle glaze over each one!

Glaze

mix 2 cups of powdered sugar with enough milk to form a thin frosting. About 1/3 to 1/2 cup

add some lemon zest and about 1 teas vanilla   Stir until no more links remain and frosting is able to be drizzled over mini cupcakes!

 

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

A Blonde Moment

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This post is being done out of duress. When Randy and I were grocery shopping today the sweet little lady checking us out began putting one item in each bag. With each item being put into a bag before swirling the little bag holder around to put another item in another bag, I became more and more frustrated. Why don’t they teach the checkers to fill the bags? Before you fuss at me for not having my own bags that should be always in the trunk of our car so we don’t need to even had plastic bags, we do have an excuse this time. Our trunk was full of items which we were taking to Goodwill. On most trips to the store, we have been remembering to take our own bags.

But today, we were at the mercy of the grocery store. As I picked up the bags and would try to fill them before the checker would start with another bag, I just kept thinking about all the waste. But we checked out and began walking out to the car with all of our groceries, I told Randy, “it just makes me so mad that they use so many bags. Imagine how many trees must have been cut down to make all these bags.” He just looked at me and stopped loading the car. He shook his head and said, “well, I really don’t think that too many trees were cut down to make these plastic bags, so you don’t need to worry. Unless there are plastic bag trees.” When I realized what I had just said, we started laughing and I told him that he couldn’t tell anyone what I had just said. His response, “after all the things you blog about me, you can be sure that if you don’t post your blonde moment, I will start my own blog tonight and write about you.” So I really didn’t have a choice but to admit defeat and post my blonde moment. Now I just need to go back and buy a blonde kit so I have an excuse for saying that.

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Fudge Pie

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Some of our kids came to eat chile rellenos tonight which turned out so good and will post the recipe tomorrow! But the fudge pie was one I  just found on the Internet and it was delicious! Sorry I cut a piece before taking the picture. I had bought a can of chocolate Eagle Brand condensed milk and was wanting to use it but just didn’t know what to do with it. Well now I do! This pie was just so fudgy and creamy.  Very easy and used a Keebler chocolate cookie crust  topped it with whipped cream and nuts!

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

2 tables milk

1 (14oz) can chocolate flavored or regular Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teas vanilla

1 chocolate cookie crust

chopped pecans *optional

whipped cream

in a  Glass bowl melt the chocolate chips butter and milk in the microwave for one minute stir until butter and chocolate chips are melted. Microwave 30 seconds more if chips are not all melted. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Add the beaten eggs. Pour the pie filling into the cookie crust and sprinkle pecans on top if desired. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold top with whip cream if desired refrigerate leftovers

 

 

 

appetizers · Dips · Super Bowl Recipes · Uncategorized

Texas Trash Warm Bean Dip

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It is exciting to sit and begin to look for recipes for Super Bowl parties. Can’t wait to serve it with homemade chips at the party. Taken from Todd Yancey & Susie Pierce

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 cans (16 oz each) refried beans

1 packet Taco Seasoning

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning.

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with Pam. Spread mixture evenly into bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle the top with both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to lightly brown. Serve with chips. When we were short on chips one night, I cup up flour tortillas and started frying them. Now, that is all our kid want is the homemade fried flour tortillas, sprinkled with a little garlic salt and a little cumin!