Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake

Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake and some with ice cream to top it off.

Today is my birthday.  Thirty seven years ago today, in the afternoon, my wonderful mother gave birth to me.  Thank you mom, because I am sure that was no easy task.

Since my husband doesn't really bake and I wanted a homemade chocolate cake of some kind for my soon to be birthday, I decided on a recipe that I could make in my slow cooker.  This chocolate cake is moist, chocolaty and delicious with a scoop of ice cream...Happy Birthday to me!

The great thing about this cake is that you can experiment with it.  For example, if you don't like chocolate cake, go with white cake and add vanilla pudding.  You can also use different kinds of morsels such as vanilla or butterscotch.  The possibilities are endless.  Be creative!

Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake
1 box of your cake preference - I used a chocolate cake mix
2 cups of sour cream
1 small box of instant pudding - I used chocolate
1/2 a bag (6-oz) of semisweet chocolate chip - Are you seeing a theme with me and chocolate:)
3/4 cup of oil
4 eggs
1 cup of water

First thing I did, was get all of my ingredients ready.  As you can see, there really is not need for "name brand" items.  I am using the Kroger Brand variety of products.

 

Next, I sprayed my slow cooker with vegetable spray.  You'll want to spray

the entire slow cooker as the cake will rise.

 

I dumped my cake mix into the bowl.

 

I added the chocolate pudding next.

 

Next, 2 cups of sour cream.

 

3/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1 cup of water were now added.

 

4 eggs

 

Mix thoroughly and put into the slow cooker.

 

 

I cooked mine on high for about 1.5 hours.

You can cook on low for 3 hours.

Make sure you watch it so it doesn't burn.

Once you stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean, the cake is done!

Serve warm with ice cream.

 

Tomato Powder

I love to can and have canned about 50 pounds of tomatoes this summer.  After I had canned all I wanted, I brought out my dehydrator and decided to make some tomato powder to add to chili, bread, taco mixes and anything else I can think of.

The first thing I did was get my dehydrator out and clean it (basically, just dusted it off and wiped down the trays).

I sorted through the tomatoes, to make sure that I had good plump solid tomatoes to use.  These are salsa tomatoes that I purchased from one of my co-workers.

Next, I washed the tomatoes.

Blogger note:  I tried dehydrating the tomatoes two ways.  The first one was to boil the tomatoes for 1 to 2 minutes until the skins broke, dip them in cold water and then remove the skins and seeds.  I did one batch of tomatoes this way, but when I did the second batch with the skins on and the seeds in, it worked just as well.  Therefore, of the three batches I did, I only did one batch without the skin and seeds.  It made it so much easier for me.  If you want your tomato powder to be of fine consistency, however, you will want to de-seed your tomatoes.

Next, I sliced the tomatoes, about the size you would cut for it to go on a sandwich, and lined the dehydrator with the slices.  I didn't overcrowd the tomatoes, I left room between each slice.

I then set my dehydrator on 135 degrees and set my timer for 10 hours.  I flipped the tomatoes over half way through the process and rotated my trays.

When it was all said and done, this is what they looked like once they were dehydrated.  Some of the heels (or ends) of the tomatoes were given to the chickens because they didn't dehydrate as well.

After all those tomatoes dried, they were able to fit in this quart size container.

From there, I took the tomatoes and added them to my blender to grind them up.  I put half of the dehydrated tomatoes in and then added the rest once those were completely ground. 

When it was all said and done, here is the end result.  I added a 1/4 slice of bread on top to take any leftover moisture out of the tomatoes and to keep them fresh.  You can grind your tomatoes to suit your needs. 

I already added my tomato powder to a batch of spaghetti I made and it was excellent!  I am extremely pleased with the outcome.

Snickerdoodle Brownies

Well, it's been a week since I've last posted anything.  I used to love Labor Day weekend and all of the garage sales and the local Farmer's Pike Festival, but now this weekend serves only as a reminder of the anniversary of my baby brother's car accident that took his life back in 2008. He was in his early 20's had his entire life ahead of him.  I miss him so much.

Having said that, I tried another Pinterest recipe that sounded delicious (and something I thought my brother would have liked) and it's a recipe you will definitely want to drink with a glass of milk...here it is:

This is the completed product. 
Doesn't look the best, but it was delicious!

SNICKERDOODLE BROWNIES

2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

Topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13" baking pan.
In a large bowl: mix flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and salt.  Set bowl aside.
In a medium bowl: beat butter, eggs and brown sugar until blended, then add the vanilla.  Mix well.
Then add the contents of your medium bowl to your large bowl and stir until well mixed.

Spread the mixture evenly into the pan.  It will be a thick batter, almost the consistency of cookie dough.

Next, mix the toppings: 2 T sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over top of the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Let cool, then enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Cantaloupe Freezer Jam

I keep hearing about cantaloupe jam and how good it is.  Cantaloupe is one of my favorite things to eat in the summer, so naturally, making jam out of it intrigued me.  I looked at what seemed like 30 recipes before I picked one that I wanted to try.  Several of the recipes called for the use of a vanilla bean, but I was just too tight to pay $8.99 for four of them, when the recipe only called for one.

Now some of you might be thinking, "ick cantaloupe jam," and others might be saying, "hmmm, cantaloupe jam."  I have to tell you, it is actually pretty good.

To begin, pick a nice size cantaloupe that is not overly ripe.

Cut the cantaloupe up.  I cut it in long pieces first.

Then I diced it into cubed pieces.  After testing a few pieces of the cantaloupe (I had to make sure it tasted good), you should come up with approximately 4 cups of cantaloupe.

Next, put the cantaloupe in a pot.

 

 

Then add 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 1 1/2 lemons). 

 

 

Bring the two ingredients to a boil, mashing the cantaloupe the entire time.



Once it begins to boil, add 1 package of Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin stirring all the while.  Once the mixture comes to a hard boil again, add 3-4 cups of sugar.  I wanted mine a little sweeter, so I added the 4 cups.

After adding the sugar, let the mixture boil hard for about 5 minutes, continue stirring the entire time.

Take mixture off of the stove and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Ladle into freezer containers, let cool completely and then store in the freezer.  I use the 8 oz Ball Freezer Containers.  The little dish on the right is what I served with my 7-Up biscuits.  It was delicious!
Keeps up to one year in the freezer.

7-Up Biscuits

I've been eyeballing a recipe on Pinterest for 7-Up Biscuits.  I remember eating these when I was little, but I haven't heard about them in awhile.  So, tonight I decided to try my hand at them and see how they turned out.

To make 7-Up biscuits, you need a medium size bowl.
Add 2 cups of Bisquick mix

Next, add 1/2 cup of sour cream.

Cut the sour cream into the biscuit mix.

Add 1/2 cup of 7-Up to the mixture.  This will make a very soft dough.
Sprinkle additional Bisquick mix on a flat surface (counter, table, cutting board, etc) and pat dough out. 
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9"square pan.

Place cut biscuits in pan and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown (about 10 minutes).

These biscuits are moist and buttery.  They do have a slight 7-Up twang to them, but my husband thought they were great.  He told me it'd be alright if I wanted to make them again.  I served them with a warm batch of cantaloupe jam that I had just made.  That recipe will be on here tomorrow for you to try and enjoy!

Recipe for 7-Up Biscuits
2 cups of Bisquick mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-Up
1/4 cup melted butter

Cut sour cream into Bisquick mix, add 7-Up.  This will make a very soft dough.
Sprinkle additional Bisquick mix on a flat surface and pat dough out. 
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9" square pan.
Place cut biscuits in pan and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown (about 10 minutes).
Serve with butter and jam...yummy!!!

Those Golden Arches

Everyone, especially children, seem to love the "golden arches."

Okay, I normally don't like to eat at McDonald's, but when I do, I find myself ordering the same thing, especially if it's breakfast.  I'm hooked on the bacon, egg and cheese bagel.  I don't care for the hashbrown, but I could eat that breakfast sandwich daily.  Additionally, I find myself ordering a small mocha frappe as my drink.  With the rise of coffee houses like Starbucks, McDonald's had to keep up, and now they have their own line of specialty coffees which aren't too bad.

Our little community of New Castle use to have a Starbucks, but we are all so poor, that we couldn't support it like their company thought we should, so it closed.  Realistacally, I only pay $4 for a cup of coffee if I'm on vacation and even then, I am tight with my money.  My husband says that I am so tight I squeak...is that a good or a bad thing?

Since I love coffee and drink it on a regualr basis (thus the purchase of my Keurig a while back), I have become addicted to the mocha frappe from McDonald's.  It's my new addiction.  It is the perfect blend of mocha, chocolate and whip cream.  I think it might even be sinful (I'm kidding).  The only thing I caution on this drink is that if you drink it too quickly, you will get a brain freeze every time.  My dad stayed with us about a week ago and said he loved this drink as well.  Guess the taste buds run in the family.  The coffee taste really isn't that strong, but if you haven't tried it, I would bet you might like it!

Where Did Summer Go?

Summer is the busiest time of the year for me personally.  With my job, we are gearing up for the local 4-H fair and then the state fair.  The month of July and August are mostly a blur.  We did get our living room and dining room remodeled but I haven't had time to go through things to put items back on the wall or shelves.  I was just relieved to have the rooms done and a place to sit back down.  The county school's have started a year-round schedule, so the student's went back to school, the first week of August.  I remember starting school in September.  Where did the summer go?

On Sunday, we had the "Reeves" Family Reunion, which is Bill's mom's side of the family.  The weather was perfect and the food, of course, was magnificent.  I don't think that families have reunions much anymore, which is a shame.  Reunions were where I met cousins that I didn't know existed.  Where we played for what seemed like hours on end while the adults played cards and visited.  We ate, then we ate some more.  In today's world, I guess we are just to busy to have reunions.  People have all kinds of things in there schedules that prevent them from just "hanging out" with their family.  I encourage you, to GO to your family reunion if you have one.  I promise you won't regret it.

In the chair, is Bill's Great Aunt Ima.  She is 98 years old
and the only living sibling of Bill's grandfather.  She is talking
to her niece Bonnie Meyers.