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 · Super Bowl Recipes

Scratch Super Bowl Recipes!

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I have found my new favorite lunch place. Went for the first time today to Bread Zeppelin on Park in Plano and I have to say that I am ready to just throw away all the recipes that I wanted to make for Super Bowl Sunday (which now will be written SBS, which could also be used for Southern Belle Society, but this week I think we all know what it stands for) and just go buy their wonderful sandwiches. My friend and I go to lunch every Wednesday after our art class and today she told me that she wanted us to go to a new place that she and her hubby have fallen in love with. (That is probably a bit too much, but us Southerners do love our foods, don’t we?). Anyhow, as we stood in line to order, I noticed that they were carving out the middle of each loaf of bread and stuffing something in them. OMGosh, that space is made to stuff the salad of your choice. The bread was just amazing. It is crusty on the outside and so soft on the inside. I can’t wait to go back to try more of the salads. I came home and told Randy that this is going to be our new “go to” place when we aren’t craving greasy hamburgers or Mexican food, or pizza, or the nights when we have Hot Fudge Sundaes or Banana Splits for our dinner. But…the other nights that we eat out, you will probably find us at Bread Zeppelin.

Before I close, I just want to tell you something that happened to me yesterday that will make all of you feel very smart.(and young)  Having noticed that I am tending to do a “few” things that might cause anyone under the age of 50 to say that “the ole girl just needs to be put away before somebody gets hurt.”… made me realize that I should go and be sure my cabinets are in alphabetical order and I have each piece of furniture tagged as to who gets what in a few years, before I totally loose it. Jodi, our daughter who lives in Phoenix calls each morning to catch up on the exciting events that might happen in our lives each day. I have told her that when I start to tell her how many dr visits we have scheduled that day or what kind of bowel movements we have had, to just shoot me. But  I’m sure we are YEARS away from that. Each day she calls and we talk about grandkids and her exercise class and she tells me that if I would start eating a little more healthy and work out, that maybe, just maybe, I might have a few good years ahead of me before I am sitting in a wheel chair with my hair colored blue (which would at least match my car right now, and no, it is not a Buick, yet) and the highlight of my day would be go to the dining room at the nursing home an hour early to wait for my mashed peas. So we are talking and after a little while, she ask me what I am doing, as I sound out of breath. I told her to just keep talking with I continued to look for my phone, that I was pulling the cushions out of the chair and on my hands and knees looking under the chair in case it had fallen through to the floor. She begins to laugh and I tell her it’s not funny, I have GOT to find my phone, my whole life revolves around my phone. How would I know which dr visits I had this week without my phone?  Through her laughter she proceeds to tell me that I might want to add another dr appt to my calendar. Why? What does she think is wrong with me that I need to go to another dr?  She then tells me to just stop and think about what I am talking to her with? Can I just tell you that we laughed until our sides hurt. But I got off the  “lost” phone and reassured myself that it had just been a crazy week and I’m sure that if I double up on my Gingko, I would be fine, if I could just remember where I last put it. I had better get Randy to Bread Zeppelin before I forget where it is!

Chocolate · Desserts · Super Bowl Recipes

Super Bowl Pie Bars

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This Southern delight is perfect for a finger dessert since we like to have desserts that we can just pick up every time we walk by the table, as to not miss any of the great commercials that will be played on Sunday. When I saw these, I knew that it would be one of our desserts this weekend.

Makes 2 dozen

Crust

3 cups graham-cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Filling

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teas vanilla

1/4 teas salt

2 cups chopped pecans

1 (12 oz) bag mini-semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13×9″ baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Spray the foil with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and egg white, stirring until well combined. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 min; let cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and both corn syrups. Add melted butter, eggs, vanilla and salt. Whisk until well combined. Stir in pecans and chocolate morsels. Spoon mixture over prepared crust. Bake for 35-40 min or until middle is set.

Uncategorized

Hospital Chat

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I thought it appropriate to reblog this as Randy will be going to to get the battery replaced tomorrow that was inplanted in his chest in Feb, 2012. We thank the Lord that the surgery then was such a success and we are grateful for the wisdom that the Lord has given to people who invent these wonderful “gadgets” for people with Parkinson’s. This story will let you inside the walls of our experience of them giving Randy a new lease on life with Parkinson’s. We are so grateful that we were able to laugh all the way to the operating room.

Chocolate Castles's avatarChocolate Castles

As most of you know, my sweet husband has had to be in the hospital a couple of days last week and then today for some follow-up procedures. We are so grateful to family and friends who have sent us cards, emails, phone calls and prayed for us. Thank you for your love and caring of us. We truly realized how blessed and loved we are.

Knowing that we were in for another day of being in the hospital today, we both decided to go have a last great mexican food meal last night before being subjected to hospital food today, so off we go to Mijeras for enchiladas. Now, normally this would give us the little bit of sunshine that we needed to send us off to a dreaded situation, but last night, well, it was just too much and too loud. As we tried to order our meal…

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appetizers · Dips · Super Bowl Recipes · Vegetables

Mexican Corn Dip

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1 can (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 regular size (I forgot to buy it today so don’t know the oz) can of black beans, drained

1/2 small purple onion, chopped

1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

2/3 cup chunky style picante sauce (you might want to add a little more to your liking)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped black olives

As much chopped cilantro as your liking.

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and let sit for at least a couple of hours to allow flavors to blend. Serve with chips of your choice.

appetizers · Daily Thoughts · Super Bowl Recipes

Artichoke-Parmesan Strudel

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Since I made a new tab of Super Bowl Recipes, I have been thinking all day about all the foods that would make up my perfect Super Bowl Party. This is what I would have.

Boiled Shrimp (which I know you don’t need a recipe for)

Hamburgers (grilled)

Stuffed Mushrooms

Garlic Cheese Ball

Fried Pies

Sugar Cookies made in the shape of footballs

Cream Cheese Brownies

And this Strudel which will begin the collection of recipes that will be posted this week.

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup butter,

3 (6 oz) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup cottage cheese

1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup cracker crumbs

1 teas garlic salt

1 teas dried whole margoram

1 teas minced fresh parsley

3/4 teas dried whole tarragon

15 (18 1/2 x 12″) sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed and divided

1 cup butter,melted

Saute onion and garlic in 1/4 cup butter in a skillet until tender. Add artichoke hearts and next 9 ingredients; cook over medium heat 5 min or until cheeses melt, stirring often. Set Aside.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a flat surface (keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel); brush with melted butter. Layer 4 phyllo sheets on first sheet, brushing each sheet with melted butter.

Spread 1/3 artichoke mixture crosswise, 1 inch from narrow end of phyllo. Starting at narrow end, carefull roll up jellyroll fashion. Tuck ends under. Carefully place on a lightly greased baking sheet; repeat procedure with remaining phyllo and artichoke mixture. Brush rolls with remaining melted butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into 1 inch slices and serve warm.

Yield: 30 servings.

Breads · Breakfast · Super Bowl Recipes

Bacon-Cream Cheese Pinwheels

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The first of the Super Bowl Recipes.

3 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tables finely chopped onion

1 teas milk

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls

5 bacon strips, cooked and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, onion and milk. On a lightly floured surface, unroll the crescent dough into one long rectangle; press perforations to seal.

Spread with cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with bacon. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal.

Using a serrated knife, cut roll crosswise into 24 slices. Place pinwheels on ungreased baking sheets, cut side down.

Bake 12-15 min or until golden brown. Refrigerate leftovers, trust me, there won’t be any.

Super Bowl Recipes

Super Bowl Recipes

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Since Super Bowl food finds it’s way right up there with recipes for Christmas Dinner, I am adding a new category to the blog! Each year, it seems that we try to find just the perfect food to make it an outstanding Super Bowl party. For the last few years, we have spent the Super Bowl weekend up at Big Bear, California with 4 or 5 other couples. A friend of ours had a house that accommodates lots of people, so we would spend the entire weekend, playing cards, dominoes and of course the most important thing besides the actual game…eating. Yes, we ate from the time we walked in the door to the time we walked out the door on Monday morning. Each couple was responsible for a meal and my goodness, I’m here to tell you , the meals were amazing. Since we had friends there from Egypt, we had the best lamb kabobs EVER..we had friends there that had owned restaurants in previous years so the food that they cooked was remarkable. Our hostess kept a cookbook (which she has so lovingly handed down to me when they sold the house last year) of all the recipes that she had made in the last 10 years of owning the house. We would eat, the men would watch TV while the ladies shopped. Food would be out on the counter for us to just grab every time we walked by. To say that it is one of my favorite memories, is putting it mildly. The friendships that were forged those weekends are priceless. We all went to church together and the bond which was ever better because we worshiped together is just so special that we hold those times in a special place in our hearts.

This year, we were all suppose to meet in Palm Springs for Super Bowl weekend, but we didn’t anticipate a “bend in the road.” so we will not be joining them this year. Because of some health issues, we are unable to go. So we will be with them in spirit and will eat our way through the weekend, just as we would have done had we been blessed to go. So this new category will have recipes that you might want to explore before Super Bowl. Who knows, you might end up having all the favorite foods that we had the last few years, creating bonds of friendship with those who will watch the Big Game in your home.

Beef · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Meats

Cannelloni-Style Lasagna

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The sun has been shining for a few days and it was such a nice change from the gloominess that we have been experiencing. But, tonight the drops are coming back and that means just one thing…I am in the kitchen baking and eating. Why is it, that the cold, rainy weather makes me want to just bake? I guess that if I lived where it was sunny all the time, I wouldn’t be fat, it is not my fault, it is the weather. When it is sunny, salads sound so good, but cold weather makes me want cobblers, pot roast, chocolate chip cookies and hot bread with butter. If spring doesn’t get here pretty soon, I will be up a dress size. So, back to the recipe, this lasagna sounds just perfect for serving when it is raining. It is out of Taste of Home and combines two kinds of sauce.

Cannelloni Style Lasagna

1 tables olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 lb ground beef (or turkey)

3/4 lb ground pork

1/3 cup white wine or beef stock

2/3 cup beef stock (it will be 1 cup total if you use the stock instead of the wine)

1 bay leaf

3/4 teas Italian seasoning

1/2 teas coarsely ground pepper

1/4 teas salt

2 jars (15 oz ea) Alfredo sauce, divided

2 egg yolks

1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce

1 pack (9 oz) no cook-lasagna noodles

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; cook and stir 4-6 min or until tender. Add minced garlic; cook 1 min.

Add the beef (or turkey) and pork; cook until meat is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in white wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 min.

Stir in stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered about 15 min to allow flavors to blend. Cool slightly. Remove bay leaf; stir in 1 cup Alfredo sauce and the egg yolks.

Preheat oven to 350. To assemble, spread 3/4 cup marinara sauce into a greased 9×13″ baking dish. Layer with flour noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and 2 cups meat mixture. Top with four more noodles and 3/4 cup marinara sauce. Layer with flour noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and remaining meat mixture. Top with remaining noodles and marinara sauce. Drizzle remaining Alfredo sauce over top.

Bake, covered, 30-40 minutes. Uncover and bake 20-25 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 min before serving.

Daily Thoughts

Bacon It Right

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Yesterday on Face Book, (and of course if it is on FB you know it is true!) I watched a video of the correct way to fry bacon. Since our grandson, Sevy is addicted to bacon and always check to see if we have it on hand before he says he will come over, I want to find the perfect way to cook his favorite food. Who knows, as he grows into his teen years in just a couple of years, the smell of bacon might just keep him coming over to see his Nana and Pops. Well, that and the fact that he knows that there is never a short supply of chocolate in the house. But when we watched the video of how to make the perfect bacon, we paid attention. I don’t remember who the chef making the video was, but he said that when you put the bacon in the skillet, add enough water to almost cover the bacon. Then, over medium heat, fry the bacon until all the water is absorbed. Then when the water is gone, just turn the bacon until it is browned on both sides. So that is how we fried our bacon today for BLT sandwiches. I have to say that the bacon was not dry and tough one bit. It was actually very flavorful and it also has another upside. Grease didn’t splatter all over the store as it fried. Great discovery. Sevy, it’s safe to come over, we went to Costco yesterday and have a fridge full of bacon. And plenty of chocolate…and yes, you can play games on your phone and not talk to us and we will give you money to go to Dave & Buster’s. (OK, I admit, we are beginning to have to bribe him to come see us. He is discovering a world of friends where they might be just a touch more fun that watching Sponge Bob with Nana and Pops).

Daily Thoughts

Before & After

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Jodi, our daughter just called and warned us (that was her word, not mine) that her before and after pics would be put on Face Book probably today of her before  and after she began exercising. She said that she hoped it wouldn’t embarrass us to see her on FB dressed in a bathing suit showing off her new body. I told her that the only thing that would embarrass me would be pictures of me in a swimsuit before or even AFTER an exercise program.  When Randy and I saw the pics she sent, it made me begin to think of what my before and after pics would look like right now. Jodi’s looked so good and made me very proud of her for beginning a healthy lifestyle, unlike her mother, who feels like she is having a “healthy” eating day if I have only 1 cupcake and one hamburger in a 24 hour period. When we asked her why her name was not under the picture, she said that she would just say it was Anon, which reminded me of a story that I have to tell about Jodi.

Some years back, when she lived with us as a single mom, she joined us in the mornings for our devotion time, where Randy or I would read one of the devotions out of Our Daily Bread. Jodi began to notice that several of the readings were written by “Anon” and one day she commented that, “my goodness, I wonder who Anon is, he sure wrote a lot of devotions”. We began to laugh, not knowing whether to tell her exactly who “Anon” was or just agree with her. We couldn’t stand it, we finally told her who “Anon” was and so began the joke that when we didn’t know where a saying or a reading came from, we would just say, “I guess Anon wrote it”. It is just one of the many stories that we could tell of those days when we were blessed to have her living with us.

Back to the Before & After story. I ask Jodi if she thought I should post my B & A pics on FB and she began to laugh. She said that I could post pics of me before moving back to Texas from California, where I had lost about 30 lbs. We then began to laugh, thinking of what my “after moving back to Texas a year ago” would look like. The before pics would show me with a lettuce wrap in one hand and a piece of fruit in the other. Because Pasadena didn’t have a fast food joint on every corner, it made loosing weight pretty easy, plus we lived upstairs so climbing up and down burned more calories than I am use to burning. The after picture would show me in a sweat shirt with a Whataburger in one hand and a taco in the other, all the while trying to balance cupcakes on my knees. If you don’t live in Texas, STAY AWAY!!!! moving here makes you fat. It is either too hot in summer to walk or too cold in winter to walk. We just sit inside and eat the fast food that we picked up on the corner.

We won’t be posting any B&A pictures anytime soon. Maybe if we go back to visit friends in California we will take our pictures out there and they would show some improvement in our body weight, than if there were taking now, after being gone from there a year. But if we every need to embarrass our kids, we know just the way to do it now.