Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This is one of my favorites! I have made this a few times and it gets lots of raves. So creamy and just the right amount of flavour. Tastes the best when nice and warm. Serve with a variety of tortilla chips or bread chips.

Ingredients

2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup sour cream

2 sm. bottles of marinated artichoke hearts-chopped fine

1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp marjoram (if desired)

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Mix all ingredients together well and put in a over safe dish. Place under broiler until the dip turns brown and is hot and bubbly. 

Skor Cake

This cake is a cinch to make and is so so very yummy! 

Ingredients

1 Box Devils Food cake mix. 

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup caramel sauce 

4 Skor candy bars. 

Whipping Cream or Cool Whip topping. 

Directions

Bake cake according to directions on the box. As soon as it comes out of the oven poke holes going to the bottom of the cake all over, about 3/4 inch apart with a straw or something similar. 

Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top making sure you get all the holes. As you are pouring use a spatula and spread it evenly getting some in all the holes. After that has set a bit pour the caramel sauce on top. Put in the fridge until entire cake is cool. 

Whip the whipping cream approx 2 cups and add powdered sugar to taste. Or you can use large tub of Cool Whip.  

When the cake is cool crumble 2 of the candy bars on top of the cake. (I put mine in a zip lock bag and smash the heck out of it with a rolling pin. You want to leave some good chunks though.) 

Spread the whipping cream on top then crush 2 more candy bars and sprinkle on top of whipping cream. Drizzle some of the caramel sauce on top of everything. Enjoy because it is super delish. 

Lemon Raspberry Cake

This is another cake I made for a co-worker that turned out pretty yummy. I doubled the recipe and made a 2 layer cake using cookie sheets. Recipe is adapted from LaDonna's Lemon Cake on allrecipes.com. 

Ingredients

1 pkg lemon cake mix (you can use yellow cake mix if you don't want the extra lemon taste)

1 sm pkg instant lemon pudding mix

1 3/4 cups water (if using yellow cake, you can add lemon juice from the 2 lemons and add enough water to equal the rest of the measurement. 

3 egg whites

Raspberry pie filling or favorite raspberry jam (can also use raspberry compote)

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp lemon extract

lemon zest from 2 lemons

1 pkg vanilla instant pudding

1 8oz container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I used stabilized whipped cream-recipe below)

Fresh Raspberries

Coconut or white chocolate for garnish. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray pans and line with parchment paper if cakes are coming out of pans. You can use a cookie sheet or 2 -9inch pans or a 9x13 cake pan. 

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Pour in water and egg whites (lemon juice if using). Beat on low speed for 1 min. Scrape sides of bowl and Increase speed to high and beat for 4 mints. Pour batter into prepared pans. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cooking time with vary depending on what kind of pan you use. Allow to cool completely. If taking cake out of pans cool for about 10-15 mins then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. If you are splitting the cakes in half to fill this is easier if you bake the cakes the night before and freeze. 

In a large bowl, combine milk, lemon extract and vanilla pudding mix. Beat on low for 2 mins. Fold in whipped topping and lemon zest. 

To assemble: If doing a sheet cake in a cookie pan keep the cake in the pan and spread the raspberry filling on top by putting small spoonfuls all over the cake then spread carefully. Spread cream on top of that doing the same technique. Grate or shave white chocolate on top (or coconut) and garnish with fresh raspberries. 

If using a layer cake, layer the inside with the raspberry and cream. 

Stabilized Whipped Cream

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

3 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine gelatin with water; let stand until gelatin softens, about 5 mins. Turn heat to low and stir constantly until gelatin in just dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, but do not allow to thicken. In a large mixing bowl, whip cream, sugar, and vanilla until slightly thick. On low speed, gradually add gelatin and then beat on high until cream is thick and peaks hold their shape.  (an even easier way to do this is just buy the stabilizer packs at the store and add to cream when whipping)

Old Fashioned Carrot Cake

Sometimes being old fashioned is the way to go. There are some things you just shouldn't mess around with and this is one of them.  Such a great cake, so moist and yummy. You can double this recipe for a large crowd, just bake in a large baking tin. I adapted this recipe from 3 different ones. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 cups all-purposed flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch of cloves

3 cups grated raw carrots (about 5 carrots)

1/2 walnuts

In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Gradually add sugars and beat until light. Slowly add the oil. Mix well. 

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the walnuts to the flour mixture then stir into the egg mixture. Add the carrots and mix well. 

Grease and flour pans. You can use a 9x13 or 2-9" pans or 3-8" pans or even cupcakes.

Bake at 350F for 30-45 mins depending on what type of pan you use. Use a toothpick or cake tester and make sure it comes out clean. Let cakes cool for 10 mins in the pans, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. 

once cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.  

For Cream Cheese Frosting

1 brick or 8 oz of cream cheese, room temp

1/4 cup butter, room temp

1 tsp vanilla. 

2 1/2-3 cups icing sugar. 

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until well mixed and fluffy, add vanilla and blend again. Slowly add the icing sugar. Mix until fluffy. 

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A co-worker of mine posted this on her Facebook page (thanks Lish) and I thought it looked pretty darn good and asked her if she wanted me to make it for work...well of course she did...so I did!.. and it was sooo good. Many raves about how it had just the right pumpkin flavor and one even said she would prefer it over pumpkin pie ..what??  Well I dunno about that!..but ..it was pretty darn good and of course the cream cheese frosting makes it oh so yummy. This recipe came from eatathomecooks.com. 

Ingredients

16 oz can pumpkin (not pie filling)

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin, sugar and oil until well blended. Add eggs and mix well again. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into a greased cookie sheet (10x15 inch). Bake for 25-35 mins at 350 degrees. 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

5 Tbsp butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tsp milk

chopped nuts for the top, if desired

(I didn't measure any of the frosting ingreds but that is what it called for) 

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and blend till smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the milk a bit at a time until you get it to a spreadable consistency. I also sprinkled a little bit of pumpkin pie spice on top for looks because I didn't put nuts on due to allergies. 

Meatloaf

Once in awhile it just nice to go to the comfort food and this one is a good one. Easy and yummy. I've made this recipe for years so I'm not sure where I got it from.

Family favorite for sure. Goes well with Mashed herb potatoes and green beans. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds lean hamburger

2 eggs beaten

3/4 cup milk

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

1 pkg onion soup mix

Mix together and put in a loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Sauce

1/3 cup ketchup 

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix together and place on meatloaf after it has cooked for an hour. Put back in over for 15 more mins. 

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

This recipe is super easy to make and you could probably change it up so many ways as well. I got this from the Duggar family of "19 Kids and Counting" as I'm a big fan of the show and saw them make it one time and looked up the recipe. So thank you Duggars!

Ingredients

1 box of 24 ice cream sandwiches

1 tub of cool whip

1 bottle of Smuckers caramel sauce

1 bottle of Smuckers chocolate sauce

2 king size Butterfingers candy bars. 

How to assemble

Place 12 ice cream sandwiches in a 9x13 pan. 

cover with half the cool whip topping

drizzle 1/2 the caramel sauce and 1/2 the chocolate sauce (or to liking)

crumble 1 candy bar

repeat with layer of ice cream sandwiches 

then the rest of the cool whip

remainder of caramel and chocolate sauce

and finally crumble with the other candy bar. 

Freeze until ready to eat. 

So good!!

Baking Powder Biscuits

These are a must with stews or chili. So good!

Ingredients

2 cups flour, sifted

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening 

1 cup milk

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add shortening and cut in with pastry blender or 2 knifes until particles are size or rice grains. 

Add milk and stir until dough stiffens-dough should be rather soft. 

Turn dough onto a floured board and knead for about 10 times (I don't even do it that much). Roll out (I usually just use my hands for this) to 3/4 inch think. Cut with biscuit cutter dipped in flour. Place on greased baking pan (you can use parchment). Bake 10-15 mins at 450 F, depending on thickness or until they are golden brown. You can brush with melted butter when done if you would like. Makes about 8-10 depending on size. 

Apple Crisp

This is a family favorite comfort food. So yummy and a perfect Fall/Winter dessert. Or pretty much anytime in my house. Love it!

Ingredients

Apple mixture:

approx 6-8 apples (I use a variety but mostly gala or granny smith)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon 

Peel and slice apples and place in a bowl. Toss apples with mixture of sugar, flour and cinnamon. Place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. 

Topping:

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Combined ingredients well until crumbly and sprinkle on top of apples. Bake 350 F for 1 hour. 

So good served warm with vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream. Enjoy!

Chive Ham Bake

This is a great breakfast dish. You can even add whatever other veggies you would like in it. (Good with spinach or broccoli and red peppers) I found this recipe quite awhile ago in a Taste of Home magazine.

So good!

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp butter

1 can flakes of ham, drained

1 med tomato, chopped

2 cups biscuit mix

1/2 cup water

1 cup shredded swiss or cheddar cheese

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp minced chives

Directions

Preheat over to 350 F. In a skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in ham and tomato; set aside in a bowl, combine biscuit mix and water; mix well. Press onto the bottom and 1/2" up the sides of a greased 9x13 baking dish. spread ham mixture over the crust; sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle with pepper and chives. Bake, uncovered for 25-30 mins or until a knife inserted near the centre comes out clean. 

Southwestern Quinoa and Black Bean Casserole

We like spicy foods so it was nice finding this healthier version of a mexican dish. It was very yummy and very hearty. I added more cumin and chili powder. I think it would be good with a can of hot Rotel tomatoes in there as well. I made some adaptations to the recipe. Original recipe comes from Pinch of Yum.

Ingredients

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, minced

2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, minced

2-3 bell peppers, diced (I used green, red and yellow)

1 tbsp oil

1 can of black beans

1 cup quinoa

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese

diced green onions

Instructions

Preheat over to 375 F

1. Cook the quinoa in the chicken stock as you would for rice. (I use my rice cooker). 

2. Heat oil in large pan over med-high heat. Add peppers and onion and saute for a few mins. Add garlic and jalapeno and saute again for a few more mins. Add black beans and stir together cooking through. You can add a can of Rotel Tomatoes at this point if you could like and cook awhile until thickened. Taste and add salt if needed. 

3. Mix in cooked quinoa and add cayenne, chili powder, cumin, and salt if needed. Cook for 1-2 mins. 

4. Spoon mixture in a glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. (I used a 9x9 pan). Top with cheese. Place in oven and cook until cheese is melted. 

5. Top with fresh tomatoes, green onion and avocado if desired 

Can be served with sour cream, tortilla chips or on some lettuce for a mexican salad. 

Jewish Apple Cake

This cake is great for breakfast/brunch. So yummy with the cinnamon and apple combination. I baked this in my angel food cake pan. So moist and good! It's a very thick batter so a bit tricky to spread but if you put little blobs all around and spread carefully it works. Enjoy! This recipe comes from Lime in the Coconut.

Ingredients

For the apples:

5-6 sm-med apples, cored, peeled and sliced thinly

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

For the batter:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice

4 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a tube pan for baking. 

In a large bowl, toss your sliced apples with sugar and cinnamon and set aside. In a separate small bowl, mix together your dry ingredients-the flour, salt and baking powder. Then in a large mixing bowl combine your juice, eggs and oil until combined. Pour in the sugar and extract and mix until well incorporated then add the flour mixture and blend well. Now in your prepared tube pan you'll be layering the batter 3 times and apples 2 times, layer batter then apples then batter then apples and finishing up with a layer of batter. If you have any juices that have collected from your apples in the bowl simply pour them onto the cake once your done building up the layers. These sweet, cinnamony juices will contribute to the moistness of the cake.  

Bake for 1 1/2 hours until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan and then remove and serve. 

Mama's Pound Cake

It's always good having a yummy pound cake recipe on hand and this one is a good one to have. It calls for vegetable shortening but I used coconut oil instead which gave it a really nice flavour that went well with the strawberries and frozen yogurt I served it with. You could also just use all butter if you want. Some have said it's a bit sweet with the 3 cups of sugar, I put just slightly less but it goes good with fresh berries without any added sweetening. This make a lot of batter so make sure you use a large tube pan (I used an angel food cake pan that doesn't have the removable bottom) You could use a large bundt pan, cake pans or large loaf pans, whatever you use make sure it doesn't fill more than about half way. Recipe is from Paula Dean.

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks or 1 cup) butter, plus more for pan

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1/2 tsp fine salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk (I used half & half)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat over to 350 F

With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (this depends on what pans you use could be less time if separating the batter into multiple pans), until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 

Chicken Salad Croissants

I have always loved these. Perfect to have for a Summer lunch. This recipe is a little different than I have had in the past with the added cabbage and pineapple but I had it at a church function and I thought they were very yummy and needed to get the recipe...so thank you Lonny Leavitt! (not sure where she got it from but thanks) I don't recommend making it the day before as it tends to go watery.

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked chicken

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup cabbage

1/2 cup pineapple tidbits 

1/2 red onion

1/2 cup toasted cashews or almonds

3/4 cup of grapes

Dressing

1/2 mayo

1/2 salad dressing (mirale whip)

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and serve on croissants or whatever bread you prefer, or just on a bed of lettuce. 

Veggie Crescents

I make this recipe every year for Christmas and it always gets lots of raves about how good it is. I have done it as a tree or just in a big circle as I've had to triple the recipe at times. I chop my veggies way smaller than the picture and don't decorate it like this but you can do whatever makes you smile :) 

I don't remember where I got the recipe from as it's been years but probably Pillsbury since you use their product for it. It's a great appetizer for any time of the year. You can use 2 pkgs of dinner rolls and press into a jelly roll pan. After cooking and adding the creamy dill mixture cut into squares and  then add slices of veggies on top, cucumber, broccoli, peppers, cherry tomatoes..whatever you would like on each square. 

Ingredients

1 pkg. refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (like Pillsbury)

1 (3oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened (half a brick)

1/4 cup dairy sour cream

1/2 tsp, dill weed

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 cup finely chopped broccoli florets

1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

Open crescent rolls but leave together, don't unroll. Cut roll into 12 rounds and place onto cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Cook as directed on package until golden brown. Cool. mix together cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder. mix well until smooth. Spread on top of rolls. Sprinkle on broccoli, red pepper and green onion. All you have to do is pull them apart to eat. Enjoy!

Easy Garlic Chicken

This recipe is super easy and the chicken is juicy and yummy. Recipe is from Food.com.

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp olive oil

additional herbs and spices, as desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray or brush with oil.

2. In small pan saute garlic with the oil until tender.

3. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Add additional herbs and spices as desired.

4. Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish andcover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture. 

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

6. Bake uncovered for 15-30 mins, or until juices run clear. Cooking time with depend on the size and thic

Versatile Pasta and Beef Skillet

This picture is not what it really looks like but it did not come with one and I didn't remember to take a picture when I made it..so..it's the closest I could find.  We all really enjoyed this dish. I used shells instead of macaroni but I'm sure you could use whatever you wanted to. You could also change it up a bit and use a small can of tomatoes instead of a large one and add 1 cup of salsa. You could also use taco seasoning instead of the oregano and basil. Or omit the pasta and add a can of kidney beans, black beans or chili beans and serve over rice. So yummy! Recipe from cooks.com. Picture from realmomkitchen.com. 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

1 med-large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

4-5 cloves garlic, peeled

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 large (28oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 cup ketchup

2-3 cups elbow macaroni

1 small can mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

hot red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp or to taste

Directions

In a skillet, saute onion, pepper, celery and whole cloves of garlic in 1 Tbsp of olive oil and butter. Turn garlic cloves to brown on both sides, then mash into the oil using the tines of a fork (this gives a mellow, roasted garlic flavor) I just used minced garlic for this. Don't allow garlic to burn. When edges of onions have taken on colour, remove contents of pan to a bowl and set aside. 

In same skillet, brown ground beef in remaining olive oil over high heat, stirring often. Drain to keep hamburger dry halfway through the cooking so as not to steam the beef. As contents of skillet become dry, additional olive oil may be added. When beef has browned nicely, deglaze the pan by adding the Marsala wine and stirring up the brown bits from the bottom. Reduce heat to the lowest setting. Stir in the chopped tomatoes (juice and all). Add 1/2 tsp basil and 1/4 tsp oregano. (use fresh herbs when available, doubling quantities) Add ketchup. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 mins or until vegetables are tender but not mushy. Cover skillet half way (by tilting lid).

Meanwhile, boil macaroni according to package directions. Drain. 

After the 30 mins has elapsed, stir mushrooms and cooked pasta into the tomatoe and ground beef mixture in the skillet. Season to taste with seas salt, pepper and hot red pepper flakes. Cook another 2-3 mins until mushrooms have heated through before serving. 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

So this recipe should come with a warning..highly addictive. I've never been one to crave cinnamon rolls but this recipe is so delicious! It's lighter than a cinnamon roll and so moist and when you eat it warm it's heavenly...yes I said heavenly. I hope you enjoy it too! Thanks to chef-in-training for this great recipe.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter melted

-Topping-

1 cup butter softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp cinnamon

-Glaze-

2 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

(I didn't use all the glaze it seems to make a lot to me)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13 glass baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. 

2. With an electric or stand mixer add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the prepared 9x13 baking pan. 

3. For topping. In a large bowl mix the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together until well combined and creamy. Drop evenly over the batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake. 

4. Bake at 350 for 35-40 mins or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out nearly clean. 

For Glaze: In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

This recipe does take some time but it is so worth it! I made this for a co-worker's birthday and then had someone at work ask me to make it for her husband's birthday. It really is so good! It's not your typical chocolate cake. This recipe comes from pickycook.com.

For Cake Layers

3 oz fine-quality semisweet chocolate

1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee (or hot water)

3 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder (It's recommended not to use Dutch processed cocoa but that's what I use from Costco and it seemed to be just fine to me)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

3/4 tsp vanilla

For Ganache Frosting

1/2 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp light corn syrup

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Make Cake Layers

Preheat oven to 300 F and butter pans 2 - 10 inch round baking pans (It says you can use 9 inch but when I did that it overflowed in my oven. If you have the professional ones with the tall sides it would be ok).  Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Butter again and dust both pans with cocoa powder. Tap and swirl around the cocoa to lightly coat the pans.

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee (or water). let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. 

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 mins) Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. 

Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 mins. 

cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove parchment paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature. 

Ganache Frosting

Finely chop chocolate. In a small saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth. 

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally , until spreadable. 

Raspberry Filling

2 10-ounce bag frozen raspberries, thawed

1/2 cup sugar

zest of 1 lemon

Tbsp cornstarch

Puree the raspberries in a food processor. Press the puree through a fine-mesh strainer with the back of a spoon, removing the seeds. Heat the puree in a small pot with the sugar and cornstarch until mixture boils, stirring constantly. As it boils, it should quickly thicken. Stir in lemon zest at the end. 

Let it cool complete before spreading it thinly over three layers. 

To Assemble

With a long serrated knife, slice each cake into two layers. Lay the bottom layer on cake stand. Take 1/3 the raspberry filling and spread it over the layer. Stay about 1/2 inch away from the edge. lay the next layer on top.Spread another 1/3 of the raspberry filling. place the third layer on cake and the last of the raspberry filling. Put the final layer on the top of the cake. Gently make sure that all the layers line up. 

Pour some of the ganache in the middle of the top layer and with an offset spatula start smoothing out the frosting - gently pushing it toward the edge. Add more until you have worked the ganache down over the sides of the cake. 

Decorate with fresh raspberries if you would like. 

The BEST No-Bake Bars

These are amazing! So good and the best part is they are gluten free for those who need that. Full of energy boosting ingredients too. I have heard some people roll them into balls instead of squares for a quick pop in your mouth treat. 

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter (try to use an all-natural one)

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil (use unrefined for a better coconut flavor)

2 cups dry oats (not instant)

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or not it`s up to you)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (try to use a good quality brand)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Melt peanut butter, honey and coconut oil over med-low heat. 

Once melted remove from heat and add oats, shredded coconut, chocolate chips and vanilla. 

Stir until chocolate is entirely melted. 

Pour into a 9x13 pan and cool in the fridge. (you can line the pan with parchment paper making sure edges are hanging over, then when bars are set lift the parchment and cut into squares). 

Store in the fridge. 

Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

I love this stuff! My grandmother was raised pretty much on bread, milk and onions, which in turn my mother had a time or too...I tried it once (minus the onions) and didn't really know what the fuss was all about. Well this my friends is a step up and so yummy.  I know I use that word a lot on here, but it truly is! If you like bread pudding or want to try one for the first time, this is it! I have seen this recipe on a few different websites so I`m not really sure where the original comes from. I got the picture from the land-o-lakes website their recipe you can find HERE Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 cups cubed white bread (about 8 slices) -Try to use a bread that is not too soft or this will just end up a really soggy mess. More dense or stale is better like day-old Italian bread cut thick or Texas toast. (or you can toast a bit in the oven before using)

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups milk (whole milk is best)

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Sauce Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp vanilla

Directions for Pudding

-Heat over to 350 F. 

-Combine bread and raisins in a large bowl. 

-Combine milk and 1/4 cup butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted (4-7 mins) Pour milk mixture over bread; let stand 10 mins. 

- Stir in all remaining pudding ingredients. Pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. 

- Bake 40-50 mins or until set in the center. 

Directions for sauce

Combine all sauce ingredients except vanilla in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (5-8 mins). Stir in Vanilla. 

To serve, spoon warm pudding into individual dessert dishes; serve with sauce, Store leftovers in the
fridge. 

Date Filled Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies even the kids like. I use to make them around Christmas time but then figured they could be made at any time of the year. So yummy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup soft butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cup flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

2. Cream shortening and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla, sugar and blend well. Add milk and oatmeal and the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. 

3. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge. 

4. Roll out and cut into circles approx 3 inch. rounds. 

5. Bake for 7 mins. 

Date Filling

1 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup water

4 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

Cook in saucepan until a jam consistency. About 3 mins. 

Cool and spread between two cookies. 

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

Made this at a chili cook-off and won 1st prize! It's so moist and yummy and goes wonderful with chili!

I doubled this recipe and put it in a 9x13 pan. Recipe comes from allrecipes.com. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square pan (preferably with butter). 

2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan. 

3. Bake in the preheated over for 30-40 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.