some fall favorites

Made Caramel Apple Pork chops Thursday night with smashed potatoes, crusty bread, and salad with Gorgonzola/apples/dried cherries/cherry republic dressing/almonds.

Friday night I made Mom's Orange Chicken

ORANGE CHICKEN

1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper & paprika (to taste)
4 chicken breasts halves
5 Tablespoons butter, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup honey
1 cup Orange Marmalade
2 tablespoons Soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in 9x13” glass baking dish.
Place flour, salt, pepper and paprika into plastic zip lock bag. Add chicken breasts one at a time; shake off excess. Dreg chicken in egg/milk mixture then press into bread crumbs. Drag through melted butter, coating both sides. Bake 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice, honey, Orange Marmalade and Soy sauce in small saucepan. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.
Take out chicken, turn over, and then pour mixture over. Bake an additional 30 minutes.

With Giada's Risotto recipe, peas, and garlic crescent rolls. Then I made molten lava cakes.

Dark Molten Chocolate Cakes
(from Baker's chocolate, but I used Ghiradelli chips)
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 30 min
Makes: 6 cakes or 12 servings, 1/2 cake each

1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S Bittersweet Chocolate
10 Tbsp. butter
1-1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup flour
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
18 fresh raspberries

GREASE 6 (6-oz.) custard cups or souffle dishes (I have a pan with the bottoms that pop out, makes them come out easy). Place on baking sheet.
MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM (50%) 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and flour; mix well. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; beat until well blended. Pour into prepared cups.
BAKE 14 to 15 min. or until cakes are firm around the edges but still soft in the centers. Let stand 1 min. Run small knife around cakes to loosen; carefully unmold onto dessert plates. Cut in half. Serve warm topped with remaining sugar. Garnish with berries.

I have my doubts, but I didn't name it.

Borrowed from the recipe review board on WW again.

Better Than Sex Cake
(Diet Coke Cake)

Yields: 24 servings |
Ingredients:
· 1 box (8oz) Devil's Food Cake mix
· 10-oz Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi
· 1 egg white
· 6-oz fat-free caramel ice cream topping *
· 7-oz fat-free sweetened condensed milk
· 1 cup Skor Bar or Heath Bar bits (found by the choc. chips)
· 1 (8-oz) container fat-free cool whip

*Note that it might not say "fat-free" on the front of the label, but check the nutritional info on the back. I bet it's fat-free. :-)
Directions:

Mix cake mix, egg white and diet soda. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out smooth in a greased 9x13 pan. During the last few minutes of baking, put caramel and condensed milk in a sauce pan and stir on medium low heat until smooth. Take cake out of oven, and poke holes all over the top. Pour caramel mixture over warm cake, filling in the holes. Sprinkle Heath bits over the top, reserving some for the top. Cool completely. Cover with container of fat-free cool whip and sprinkle with remaining heath bits. Put in fridge until ready to serve.

Yields: 24 servings
Nutritional Info: (per serving) 193 Calories, 5.25 g. fat, 1 g. fiber

cue the choirs of angels

I've found a ww-friendly chocolate molten cake that involves Bailey's Irish Cream. I'm in heaven. Thank you recipe review board on weightwatchers.

Molten Irish Cream Chocolate Cakes
Prep: 9 min Cook: 11 min

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 1% low fat milk
2 tablespoons light stick butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cooking spray
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (such as Bailey's)
1/2 cup vanilla fat free ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Combine milk and next 3 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Spoon evenly into 4 (10 ounce) custard or ramekins coated with cooking spray.
3. Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons cocoa, hot water and liqueur in a 2 cup glass measure. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until almost boiling; pour evenly over batter in custard cups.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until almost set. Serve warm with ice cream.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1 molten cake and 2 tablespoons ice cream).

Per Serving: Cal 298 (22% from fat); fat 7.2 g (sat 2.4g); protein 6 g; carb 56.6g; fib 1.8g; chol 62mg; iron 2.5mg; sod 310mg; calc 225 mg.

Bumpy cupcake recipe?

There is a like-minded person out there, somewhere. Whomever owns this blog is a woman after my own heart. lovestoeat bumpy cupcakes!

I've copied the recipe here (exactly as written) to save in case something happens before I have a chance to make them ;)

Bumpy Cupcakes (from lovestoeat.wordpress.com)

Chocolate cake: From Food Network
11/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/4 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
I did use an extra large cupcake pan for larger cupcakes. I got 12 out of the batch.

Cream filling “bumps” From Food Network
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Pipe strips onto the cupcakes using a pastry bag

Chocolate Ganache:
Chocolate Icing: From Ugg Smell Food
4 T cocoa
2 T oil
2 T + 4 t water
2 T dark corn syrup
2 C powdered sugar

Directions:
Cake:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Place paper liners in two 6-cup extra large cupcake pans.

Prepare the cupcakes: Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour into a large bowl; add the chocolate and butter and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture has cooled slightly. Stir in the vanilla. Using a mixer, beat in the eggs, then mix in the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 1/4 cup batter per cupcake) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

Butter Cream “Bumps”
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Fill pastry bag and set aside.

Chocolate Ganache:
Mix all except sugar in a saucepan and heat, stirring, until hot. Mix in sugar and stir (I whisked..you should too, makes it WAY easier/faster) until smooth.

To assemble:
After cupcakes cool, pipe 2 large strips of buttercream on each cupcake. Freeze for at least 30 mins. Make ganache and once frozen dip the cupcakes into the ganache. Refridgerate until set. Enjoy with a large glass of cold milk!

Kathleen's 2nd Birthday

I am entertaining the idea of making cupcakes for Kathleen's 2nd birthday instead of buying a cake from Sweet & Savory (though their cakes are soooo good). Tricia sent me this cookie monster cupcake recipe awhile ago, I may have to try them. The only thing that concerns me is the blue frosting all over two 2 year olds (her and Joey) ;) so I'm going to still poke around and see what inspires me ;) I've seen cute monkey ones before where you use round pretzels for ears on the cupcakes... so who knows. Or the lure of the mousse filling in the sweet and savory cake may lure me into their bakery. That and they have bumpy cake cupcakes. If you're not from Michigan, this is a bumpy cake. Evil. Imagine a cupcake like that ;)

sweets :)

I was finally printing these out, after Tricia had sent them to me weeks ago.

Cookies & Cream cake - Not tried but have been told this is amazing.

And 2 frosting recipes I tried on chocolate cupcakes Tricia made over the holidays :)

Easy Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:
20 tbsp. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. heavy cream

Directions:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally from Cook’s Illustrated, April 2007


Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.