PEANUT BETTER & CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE.

CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups brewed coffee
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Grease, line with parchment paper and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter.  Add the coffee, cocoa powder, and vanilla and whisk until combined.  Then set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and the eggs.  SLOWLY add a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture to the sour cream and eggs.  Whisk to combine.  In a slow stream, whisk in the remaining chocolate mixture until combined completely.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in wet.  Using a whisk, stir until no more lumps remain.

Divide the batter evenly into 2 prepared pans.  Each pan should get 3 cups of batter.

I like to listen to a good podcast while I cook or bake.

Bake 26-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pans to cool on a wire rack.

FROSTING RECIPE:

• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3-6 Tbsp milk (i needed to add more until it was the consistency I wanted)

Cream together the butter and peanut butter.  Then add in powdered sugar slowly and add mild a little at a time until frosting is the consistency that you prefer.

I added chopped Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups to the top.  I like the minis because they come already unwrapped!

Before you chop the minis, place the bag of Reese's in the freezer.  Trust me, this is the best way to accomplish this without them getting all mushy.  When they're good and frozen, throw a few in a zip lock bag and crush with either a hammer or a rolling pin

Now you're ready to frost the cake.  I think you probably know how to do this without explanation.

  

Once cake is frosted, add your desired amount of crushed Reese's to the top of the cake.

I'm pretty sure this recipe will be a winner in your book.

 

CHICKEN FAJITA PIZZA

Ingredients:

* your favorite pizza dough (here's my recipe)
* 2 cups shredded chicken
* 1 large onion sliced
* 1 green bell pepper, julienned
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp pepper
* 1 tsp chili powder
* 1 cup of you favorite salsa
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 500* F degrees

2. Roll out the pizza dough and place on a pizza pan or a pizza stone. (I like to cook my crust a little bit before adding the toppings.)

3. In a large skillet, sauté the onion and pepper in the olive oil until onion is slightly caramelized.  Season with salt, pepper and chili powder.  Add shredded chicken and toss everything together.

4. Spread salsa over the crust.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  Top with the chicken mixture evenly over the entire pizza.  Top with the Mexican cheese blend.

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

MY GO TO PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE.

Here's my favorite pizza dough recipe:

* 3/4 cup warm water
* 1 tsp. white sugar
* 1 packet of yeast
* 2-2.5 cups flour
* 1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix water, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl.  Let sit for a few minutes until yeast bubbles and mixture becomes fragrant.

Add salt, flour and olive oil.  Knead by hand or on the low setting in a mixer fitted with a dough hook.  (call me craze but I love to knead by hand)

Leave the dough in a bowl and let it sit in a dry place for about 4 hours.  (I let my dough rise by a sunny window.)

When you are ready to bake, prep your ingredients and preheat the oven to 425*.  Our new pizza prep involves a pre-heated pizza stone and pizza peel.

Roll out your dough with a rolling pin and extra white flour.  To help keep the pizza from sticking, I rub on a little bit of olive oil on the pizza stone before I pre-heat it.

Here's the toppings I used for this pizza:

* your favorite pesto spread
* already cooked chicken and cut into small pieces
* fresh mazzarella  cheese

Helpful hint:

after you have pre-heated your pizza stone, I like to place my dough on it first and bake it four about 5-7 minutes before adding the toppings.  This helps the crust from becoming to doughy.

Enjoy!

HOW I MAKE SPAGHETTI SAUCE.

This recipe really doesn't take a whole lot of prep time.  But I really enjoy slicing, cutting, chopping & dicing.  I know.  I know.  I'm kind of weird like that but it's kind of theraputic for me.  I think in 2014, I really started to enjoy cooking.  I think it all started when I found Pinterest.  It really simplified cooking and baking for me.  The world of recipes was just a simple click away.  I could type any key word into that search box and a plethora of cooking and baking recipes were just ready to be made.  

So here's how I make the most scrumptious sauce...

What you'll need:

•  1/2 cup finely chopped onion
•  2 Tab olive oil or coconut oil
•  1 pound grass fed ground turkey
•  3 cloves finely chopped garlic (I use a garlic press for this)
•  1 chopped green bell pepper
•  2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
•  2 15 oz. cans crushed tomatoes (I use the tomatoes from our garden that I prepped & had frozen in our freezer.  Of course I defrosted them over-night)
•  fresh mushrooms.  This is your call.  Add as many as you like.
•  1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (I cheat and use a large handful of the dried stuff you can find in the spice aisle)
•  1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
•  1/2 teaspoon cumin
•  salt & pepper to taste
•  1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
•  4 bay leafs
•  1 cup cooking sherry or red wine (I use an entire bottle of cooking sherry)
•  1 small can of sliced black olives
•  1 small jar of green olives (I cut them in half)
•  1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
•  1 teaspoon lemon juice
•  2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

In a large skillet heat I heat up my coconut oil.  Add the chopped onions, bell pepper and minced garlic and salute until golden brown.  Add your ground turkey and continue to cook until meat is throughly cooked.

When the meat is finished cooking, add it to your crock pot along with the remaining ingredients.

I have my crock pot set on low heat and let it cook all day.

Top spaghetti sauce over your favorite pasta.

PS.  I swear if you have left overs, they taste even better the next day.

Enjoy!