Chocolate 'N Children

December 26, 2011

Raspberry Lemonade Cake

I got this recipe off the Betty Crocker website. I made it for my 3 year old’s birthday this past summer and everyone loved it! The cake does get a tad soggy if it sits overnight so this is something you will want to make the morning of the party and not the night before.

Raspberry Lemonade Cake

1 cup very hot water

1 box (4-serving size) raspberry-flavored gelatin

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix

1/2 cup frozen (thawed) lemonade concentrate

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 egg whites

1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped vanilla frosting

1 cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping

1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, if desired

Lemon peel strips, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13×9-inch pan with baking spray with flour. In small bowl, mix hot water and gelatin until gelatin is completely dissolved; cool slightly.
In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1/4 cup of the gelatin mixture, 1/4 cup of the lemonade concentrate, the water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Reserve remaining gelatin mixture and lemonade concentrate.
Bake 25 to 31 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Poke warm cake every inch with fork tines. Remove 1 tablespoon of the reserved gelatin mixture to microwavable custard cup or small bowl. In another small bowl, mix remaining gelatin mixture and remaining 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate; pour slowly over cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In medium bowl, fold together frosting and whipped topping; frost cake. Microwave 1 tablespoon gelatin mixture uncovered on High 10 seconds to liquefy. Using 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, place small drops of gelatin mixture over frosting; with spoon or toothpick, swirl gelatin into frosting. Garnish each piece with raspberries and lemon peel strips. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 12 servings

December 14, 2011December 12, 2011

Bacon Potato Soup

I’ve been trying for years to find a potato soup recipe that my husband will love. He really likes O’Charley’s potato soup and I’ve been hunting for something similar. It’s been a good year of recipes for me, a sugar cookie recipe, and now a potato soup recipe!

I finally found what I was looking for! I made this soup then left for choir practice planning to eat when I returned. My husband, friend, our two little kids left me about half a bowl to eat!

Bacon Potato Soup
8 pieces bacon
7 medium potatoes
8 cups water
1 1/2 T onion powder (you could probably do an onion and saute it with the garlic, my husband just doesn’t like the onion chunks)
1 clove garlic, diced
2 C velveeta cheese

Using a large pot, fry the bacon. Set it aside to cool. Drain off bacon grease, leaving the drippings in the pan.

Saute the garlic (and onion if you’re not using onion powder) in the bacon drippings. Add 4 cups water, potatoes, onion powder, and crumbled bacon.

Bring to a boil and boil until the potatoes are very tender.

Stir in velveeta until fully melted and mixed in.

Enjoy!

December 13, 2011December 12, 2011

Graham Cracker Houses

My husband had a great Christmas idea four years ago. This is the fourth year we’ve done it and we always have a blast! Instead of gingerbread houses – which are a lot of work – we make graham cracker houses.

We invite a bunch of friends over and make graham cracker houses. This year, I assembled the houses earlier in the day so they were set before the party and kids trying to put candy on them. It worked out really well.

Graham cracker houses are really easy, and a great holiday party idea if you have kids (or if you just like playing with candy and icing)

My house. I actually did this the day after the party before I cleaned everything up. The trick to a good house (in my opinion) is the icing. It’s just powdered sugar and water, and you want it to be thick enough that it doesn’t run but thin enough that you can pipe it. I put my icing in a plastic bag, cut a hole in the end, (a very tiny hole) and pipe the icing out so I have good control over where it goes.

Side of my house

My 3yr old’s “house”. It looks like a tent to me. She made two other houses as well. The party this year was so much fun for her and her little friends! I just handed them bowls of icing with spoons in them, piles of candy, and let them have at it.

And, a melting house. This batch of icing was a tad thin and ended up slipping but I think it looks pretty cool!

And, as a plus, these houses are just as much fun to eat as they are to make!

December 12, 2011December 3, 2011

Smores

Something new I tried out this year.

Winter Smores
Graham cracker square halved
Smore marshmallow
Marshmallow creme
Chocolate for melting

Place the marshmallow between the graham crackers, fill in any gaps with the marshmallow creme.

Melt the chocolate. I found to to be really difficult to dip these so I just set them on wax paper and dripped the chocolate over them and it worked out well.

December 6, 2011December 3, 2011

Sugar Cookies

Here’s the first of my favorite holiday snack recipes.

I’ve been hunting for a decent sugar cookie recipe for years. I finally found one a few months ago. It was in an old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that I picked up at a yardsale about a year ago.

I’ve made it several times and it turns out right every time 🙂 Maybe I’m just really picky about my sugar cookies but I’m really happy to have found this recipe!

Sugar Cookies
2/3 cup shortening (I usually use 1/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup shortening – the shortening is necessary for the right texture)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
4tsp milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg; beat till light and fluffy. Stir in milk. Sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture.

I form 1in balls, roll them in sugar and then use my thumb to press them flat in the center (makes a slight well for icing).

If you want to roll them, divide dough in half, chill for 1 hour. On lightly floured surface roll to 1/8 in thickness. Cut with cookie cutters.

Baking instructions are the same for balls or shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 about 6 to 8 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

December 4, 2011December 2, 2011

Candy Tree

Let’s start off the holiday food posts right. With candy! A friend of mine made this great candy tree for us.

I think it’s so creative and so much fun. I just have to keep everyone from eating it until Christmas 🙂

There was a yellow star at the top but my 3yr old removed it with the lollypop that was attached to it at the top. And of course, ate the candy, so I couldn’t put it back on the tree…

December 2, 2011

Kroger’s Private Selection Frozen Foods

One more review for bzzagent.com and then I have a whole list of Christmas stuff to write about.

Bzzagent.com gave me three free Kroger Private Selection Frozen Foods to try. I tried a pizza, and appetizer, and a dessert.

Pizza: I tried the pepperoni, garlic pizza. I honestly would have preferred to try the supreme/vegy pizza but the rest of my family is picky and I didn’t want to eat an entire pizza by myself.

I liked this pizza ok. I thought it was kind of small for the $6.99 price on it, and I could have done without the crunchy chunks of garlic on it.

If you’re looking for something fancier than DiGiorono then you might like this pizza, but it’s not about to be my new family favorite.

Appetizer: We tried the Chicken Trumpets. I really liked them but the kids were not a fan and neither was my husband. I think these were $4.99 a box. The portion size wasn’t bad, but since I’m the only one who liked them I probably won’t spend $5 on another box.

Dessert: We tried chocolate covered cream puffs. These were winners. I think they were $4.99 a box as well, I don’t remember. These got gobbled up very quickly!

All in all, Kroger’s Private Selection Frozen Foods aren’t bad, in fact, some of them are pretty tasty, but I think they’re a bit expensive for a store brand food.

November 10, 2011

Style Find

Today, I’m just doing a quick review on a clothing site. Stylefind.com. I’m testing out this site for a site called bzzagent.com, but don’t worry, I don’t have to say anything special, just what I think.

Pros: for this site, they have a lot of fun features, a find your shape jean selector, style suggestions such as what’s new in style, a page of my favorite stuff, and a lot more. It’s a fun site to play around on and see all the styles.

Cons: The clothing on this site costs way more than I am willing to pay. The cheapest pair of jeans I saw was $80. I realize for some people, this is a great deal, but for me, with two kids who stain my jeans within weeks of purchase, I just can’t justify spending this much on clothing.

So, go check it out for fun, but don’t get attached to the clothing, it won’t be good for your budget.