Molten Lava Cakes

This recipe comes from Our Best Bites. I tried this recipe last night and it was heavenly chocolate goodness! Here is the post with more information about this recipe. Read my tip below.


4 T real butter

1/3 C sugar
3 large eggs

1/3 C flour
1/4 t salt
8 oz bittersweet chocolate*, melted

*8 ounces is about 1 1/3 C of bittersweet chocolate chips. Make the 1/3 cup a little over-full and you should be good

Additional Ingredients:
powdered sugar for dusting

sweetened whipped cream for serving

butter and sugar for preparing pans

You can either bake these in a muffin pan, in ramekins, or even oven-proof

mugs. If you use a muffin tin you'll get 6 cakes and depending on the size of the ramekins you'll get 4-6.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To prepare pans, use your fingers (or the butter wrapper) to rub butter in the muffin tins or ramekins. Sprinkle in some granulated sugar to coat the entire inner surface and tap out any extra discard.

In a bowl with a mixer beat the 4 T butter and 1/3 C sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and salt and slowly add it into the butter mixture just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate by hand, just until combined. Don't over mix.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups or ramekins and then place them on a baking sheet. (If using ramekins you'll want them not quite 3/4 full).

Bake just until tops of cakes no longer jiggle when pan is lightly shaken, about 8-10 min for a muffin pan, and 10-12 for ramekins. Remove from oven and let stand 10 min.

You can serve them one of two ways. Obviously if you're using a muffin pan you'll need to invert the cakes and place them on serving plates. They should pop right out after you run a sharp knife around the edge. Since I had these darling pink heart dishes I served mine

right in the dish. You're the cook, do what you want! Dust with powdered sugar and serve with a dallop of sweetened whipped cream.

Tiffani's tip: Don't overbake these. I baked mine in a silicone cupcake pan (I doubled it to make 12 cakes) and baked it for 10 minutes. I still thought it was too jiggly so I baked it for another 3 minutes. I think I could have pulled it out two minutes earlier - but it was tough to tell.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

I made this recipe for my family and we all enjoyed (everyone except Vivian) it. It's a nice twist from the usual recipe. It's a keeper! I found this recipe at Let's Grow Together.


1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream
nonstick cooking spray
Chopped cilantro, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.
Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.

Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish.
Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada - it will be more of an over lap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Serve with sour cream, black beans, and rice or a green salad for a great meal.

(This would also work as a freezer meal).

Ham and Rice Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
Ham cubed up
1 can water chestnuts

Combine soup, milk, onion, ham, and water chesnuts in casserole dish. Place bread crumbs on top (can butter breadcrumbs if you'd like). Sometimes I don't do the breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

This is easy and yummy!

Cafe Rio Dressing

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos (tomato like vegetable with a husk around them)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (Use the seeds too if you like it spicy. Could substitute a few drops of green Tabasco for the jalapeno.)

Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.

** I don't use the jalapeno. We don't like it too spicey.

Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice

3 c water
4 t chicken bouillon
4 t garlic –minced
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chilies—or equivalent fresh
¾ t salt
1 T butter
½ onion
1 1/2 c rice

Put all ingredients but rice in blender and puree! Then stir in that mixture in your pot with the rice. Bring to boil. Simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.

BBQ Beef

Made this last night with a braided bread loaf. This can be hoagie sandwich meat, sloppy joe type thing, inside dough cups in muffin pans...whatever sounds good.

1 lb round steak cut in strips/stir fry beef/or hamburger
1 whole onion- chopped or sliced
minced garlic
salt
1 green pepper- chopped
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (we love Sweet Baby Ray's)
2 T brown sugar

Brown meat with onion, salt and garlic. When the meat is about done add chopped green pepper. Add brown sugar and BBQ sauce. Simmer a little bit.

Good with cheese on top.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

I can't believe we haven't posted a recipe for this yet! We all have some version of this but this one is the SIMPLEST I have come across and it is good!

1 pork roast
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup salsa
1 can Dr. Pepper

Put all the ingredients in a crockpot on low before going to bed. In the morning, shred the pork and leave the lid off the crockpot for a few hours to let the juices thicken a little. Return the lid of the crockpot. Serve as desired.

best multi purpose dough

This dough is very fast, very easy, and tastes good...and I don't even have a mixer! You can use this dough for pizza crust, bread sticks, braided bread loaf with stuff inside, piggies in a blanket and so forth...not really intended for bread or rolls....although we made a mock soft pretzel with this dough once and they turned out good...last night I made a braided loaf with BBQ beef and cheese inside- way tasty!

best multi purpose dough

1 1/2 cup really warm water
1 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
3-4 cups bread flour

Add sugar to warm water then sprinkle yeast on top. Let the yeast float for a minute, then stir to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes as yeast activates and starts to foam. Add salt and flour. Add 1 cup of flour at a time and stop when dough is barely not sticky anymore. Don't add too much flour. Knead for 10 minutes (I do it by hand). Roll out and/or make desired shape and let it rise for a short time on the stove while the oven is pre-heating.

Bake 425 for 15 minutes. You can brush with butter and sesame seeds, garlic salt, kosher salt, egg wash, whatever.

Butter Cream Icing

Here is a really yummy frosting for your sugar cookies- from my mom's recipe book.

1/4 cup Crisco shortening
3/4 cup butter
1 lb powder sugar
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp Almond extract
pinchy pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together until light and fluffy, scraping bowl often. Add food coloring if desired.

Sugar Cookies

This is my all-time favorite sugar cookie recipe. I haven't found one that beats it yet. This recipe comes from the Set for Life Cookbook (that us, sisters, all own).

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream, plain yogurt, or buttermilk (I use sour cream)

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and sour cream. Mix well. Cover bowl, and chill dough at least 30 minutes. On floured surface, roll out to 1/8-inch thickness (or whatever you like). Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 minutes. Do not over bake.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

My dear friend Emily made this soup last night and it was so incredibly tasty and wonderful. Full of flavor. I told her she should open up some cute corner quaint bakery and soup cafe. She was nice enough to share the recipe with me.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1/2 cup wild rice (recommends Swanson's long grain and wild rice S&W)
1 1/4 cup water
1 chicken bouillon (Knorr Brand has an excellent flavor)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup celery thin sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup carrots sliced thin
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 T parsley flakes (garnish)
1 cup cream
2 cups cooked chicken (2-3 breasts and cubed or shredded)

Combine rice, water and bouillon cube and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. (set aside)
Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter
blend in the 1/4 cup flour
add Chicken broth and parsley (until it gets thick)
add baked rice from oven, cream and chicken
cook together another 5 minutes

Thai Chicken Wraps

I made this for dinner last night - and we loved it! I really like the peanut sauce, also. Now I don't need to buy peanut sauce at the grocery story, I can make my own (much cheaper, too). This recipe comes from Better Homes & Gardens - it was given to me by a friend. I love when others share their favorites with me!
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 6, 8- to 10-inch green, red, and/or plain flour tortillas
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast strips for stir-frying
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 4 cups packaged shredded broccoli (broccoli slaw mix)
• 1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Directions

1. For peanut sauce, in a small saucepan combine sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce, water, the 2 tablespoons cooking oil, and the garlic. Heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Set aside.

2. Wrap tortillas in foil. Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 10 minutes or until heated and softened. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl combine garlic salt and pepper. Add chicken, tossing to coat evenly.

3. In a large skillet heat the 1 tablespoon oil. Cook and stir seasoned chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Add broccoli, onion, and ginger to skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from heat.

4. To assemble, spread each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon of the peanut sauce. Top with chicken strips and vegetable mixture. Roll up each tortilla, securing with a wooden toothpick. Serve immediately with remaining sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Egg Drop Soup

Made this tonight- lots of flavor. I love this soup so I had to find a recipe- this one turned out so tasty!

4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives and/or chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

1.Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Stir the water, salt, ginger and chives into the saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.

2.In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. Egg should cook immediately. Once the eggs have been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.

*depending on how you want the eggs to turn out- they will cook in clumps if you do it the way the recipe explains or you can first add the cornstarch and then remove from heat and add eggs so the eggs cook in a cream/string appearance

Asian Orange Chicken

Packed with flavor. My house smells like a Chinese restaurant tonight. Really good. I got this online somewhere- maybe allrecipes? I can't remember.

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBSP orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 TBSP chopped green onion
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP water

3 medium boneless chicken breasts cut up in strips
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

3 TBSP olive oil

Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce and set over medium-high heat. Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped green onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes or so.

Then, place the chicken in a sealed tupperware or zip lock and marinate in 1 cup of the sauce for 2 hours in fridge.

In another sealed tupperware of zip lock bag mix the flour, pepper, and salt. Add chicken pieces, seal, and shake- coat chicken.

Heat olive oil in large skillet and brown chicken on both sides cooking chicken- place on a plate with paper towel.

Wipe out skillet and add the remaining sauce. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 TBSP water, stir into sauce. Reduce heat and add chicken pieces and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Serve with rice and steamed veggies.

Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Shake

I tweaked April's recipe for my family. Thanks April - this is our new favorite.

1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup powdered milk, dry
3/4 cup hot chocolate mix (from cannery)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups ice (or two ice cube trays)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1-2 bananas

Mix all together in blender. I use my VitaMixer - love this machine. You can leave out the bananas and peanut butter if you just want a chocolate shake. My family likes it with everything included. This is a sweet, yummy shake!

whole wheat blender pancakes

These are by far the best pancakes I have ever had. We loved eating these this morning! You don't even need syrup! Great sweet nutty taste and texture. Kenzie ate 4 pancakes this morning.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

1 cup wheat (whole grain)
3 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tsp. oil
1 to 1 1/4 cups milk


Blend wheat until blended to desired texture.* Add remaining ingredients. Blend. Pour batter onto medium hot griddle or frying pan, which has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Batter will be thick. Cook until the top of the pancakes is bubbly; turn and cook the other side until brown.

*My mom would make similar pancakes without a Blendtec or Vitamix- she just threw in all the ingredients and blended longer.

Chay's favorite pasta salad

This is a Tomblin favorite. It's also really really easy.

2 packages of Chicken Top Ramen noodles- save the season packets
chopped green pepper
chopped cauliflower
chopped celery
chopped tomatoes
olives
chopped carrots
chopped green onions

Dressing:
2 Chicken Top Ramen season packets
4 TBSP olive oil
2 tsp. vinegar

Cook noodles until done. Rinse in cold water and drain. While noodles are cooking chop vegetables into salad bowl. Add cooled drained noodles to vegetables. In a separate cup make the dressing, stir it well and pour it over noodles and vegetables. Stir everything together really well. Chill and serve.

I put a ton of vegetables in this salad because that is how we like it- you can add more or less vegetables obviously.

This salad makes Chay very happy.

healthy peanut butter shake

This originates from a recipe in my Blendtec recipe book- I just added peanut butter. This is a fast delicious snack that isn't loaded with bad fats. Uses powdered milk too- small ways to rotate all that dry milk we have stored- My family loves this!

Put in blender in this order:

2/3 cup milk (I put in just a little more than this)
2/3 cup non fat dry powdered milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 big spoonfuls of peanut butter
2 1/2 cups ice (1 and 1/2 trays of ice)

push Ice Cream button or blend away and enjoy

*if you own a Blendtec- the Ice Cream button will make this very thick- you may need to add more milk if you aren't going for "thick" or push the Smoothie button instead.