5 lb Nachos!

We all went to a birthday party yesterday. Well all of us except my eldest dd. She wanted to stay home. She missed out on some awesome nachos!

These Nachos were soooo good!! Nacho cheese chips, cheese sauce, ground beef, beans, tomato, green onion, cilantro, lettuce, olives and sour cream. I told my friend that Joe and I would just split a plate. (She was making the other plates smaller and she was like no, have your own plate.) I was like no it's okay. I'd rather split a plate cause I had already hit the ruffles chips and onion dip. SO she went and made us this HUMONGOUS plate to share!! lol It doesn't look that big in the picture but that plate is FULL of food and heaping high. lol It was great though!!

Maybe these wonderful nachos are why the kids are smiling so nice? Or maybe it was the cake and ice cream. White cake from the store, 3 different kinds of ice cream, okay so it was neopolitan but still! and a chocolate sheet cake I was asked to bring with me. MMMM.....

The adults loved the chocolate cake and said it was delicious!

Well of course it is great! It is Texas Sheet Cake! If you want to try this awesome recipe that everyone I have met who tastes it loves, here it is:
Texas Sheet Cake It was so good I was even asked to bring it with me to the birthday party!

Texas Sheet Cake

..mmmmmm...this is the same recipe as the California Round Cake

that I made earlier this month except I used all purpose flour instead of the wheat this time. I also used the baking sheet this time instead of the round pans. It was really great. Even more awesome than last time.

I think maybe next time I will compromise and use half/half. It was so good I even went back for a second piece. It was melt in your delicious. We ate it warm. I managed to save dh the two last pieces so he can take to work soon.

The best cupcakes ever!

This is not my picture. Aren't they cute though?
These cupcakes are the best! Yeah I know, that is what every one says, but seriously, these are wonderful! I have tried many cake mixes(store mixes)in my day and most the time was not impressed. I think the only time I was impressed was the year my aunt made lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I believe the mix was Pilsbury. Even though these mixes have gone on sale for .50 cents to $1.00 over the holidays I can NOT bring myself to buy something, no matter how cheap, laden with trans fat!

SO this means I need to find delicious recipes for mixes on my own. As I posted earlier in my Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes blog, I was inspired by Chocolatechic's and Zsuzsanna's cupcake stands. They were so cute I had to get my own! Then I went in search of the perfect recipe to go along with them. I found it while searching for cookie recipes.

Like I said before they are tender, light, fluffy, moist, everything you would want in a cupcake. I do recommend using real butter though. I used real vanilla extract as well but I am sure artificial vanilla would be fine. I even calculated last nite how much it cost me to make these.

Now here is a small adjustment, they say 6-8 cups of sugar for the frosting of 2 dozen cupcakes. But I have found when smearing the frosting on top that is double what I need. Now maybe when I get into fancy swirls and what not, maybe I will need that much frosting? *Shrugs*. The only thing I did not add up was the vanilla, but if you are using artificial it would add what a penny or so? lol


I buy real butter at Smart N Final, it is $5.65 for 3 lbs. I buy confectioners sugar there to and that is $2.55 for 4 lbs, eggs at Lonq's are always $1.20, sugar I catch sales sometimes but more often than not it is $2.99, the self rising flour was 1.69 for 5 lbs, the all-purpose flour was $1.50, milk is $6.59 for 2 gallons.

Anyhow, when I added this up it was $4.78 for 2 dozen cupcakes the way the recipe is written(with all the frosting). That is less than .20 cents a cupcake. If you are making this recipe for the first time I would follow it closely and use 7-8 cups of sugar. The price for the cupcakes with halfing the frosting recipe is $3.52 or less than .15 cents per cupcake.

So you see you can use expensive ingredients(real butter) and still save money. Mixes in the store are generally $2.00 and frosting is like $2.50! I don't know if that makes 1 or 2 dozen cause I haven't used a store mix in ages. And then they still want you to add stuff like eggs, milk, oil, etc. I will have to price those out later. Anyhow these are very delicious and were a big hit over the holidays here.

This is definately going to be one of my main recipes for cupcakes. I did not use any whole wheat what so ever. It would probably ruin them. hahahahahah

In my last blog I realized I forgot to post the recipe and I kind of felt bad when Zsuzsanna stopped by that blog and said she needed to make cupcakes every day to get good use of it! Those children need cupcakes and Zsuzsanna needs more recipes. How can I disappoint that wonderful family? I can't, so here you go. lol Don't forget, you can also put blueberry muffins and brownies on the stand. :)
CLick link for the recipe for Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery. Most people are surprised that it is what we call the vanilla vanilla - the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink).

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

*

CUPCAKES:
*

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
*

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
*

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
*

2 cups sugar
*

4 large eggs, at room temperature
*

1 cup milk
*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*

ICING:
*

Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream

1.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

What is your favorite cupcake recipe?

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

Well I made the vanilla cupcakes twice now. If you are interested in the story behind these cupcakes, read my Peanut Butter Cookie's thread. WOW! They are tender, light, fluffy, moist. They are perfect! The second time I even got the frosting right. They are awesome. Last time we added 6 cups of powdered sugar, too runny. It says between 6-8. This time I was on the phone and lost track of how many cups I put in. So I am not sure if I used 7 or 8 but the frosting looked great and this time I could tell it was done! Hooray! I made violet and green cupcakes with sprinkles.

My two aunts tried them and my cousin and they all said they were really good. My one aunt thought they were REALLY good and said she was going to bring two for the next day and some for grandma. We are also seeing them again on Tuesday and she said I needed to make more for that party! She wanted the recipe and took some extras home for her son and dh.

MMMMMMMMM.....Yummy!! You have got to try these!

The picture is from my cousins house of the cupcakes. After seeing pictures of Chocolatechic's and Zsuzsanna's cupcake stands, I just had to get one too! I seen one online at Bed Bath and Beyond for $20.00, used my 15% off coupon and got it for $17.00 with the birthday $20.00 my Grandma sent me. Next on the agenda will be perfecting decorating them.

I stopped at Michael's and got a 12 pack of icing colors. We have a cake decorating kit but I am not too handy with it. Don't forget to use real grade aa butter, I am sure that makes a difference. What kind of cup cakes do you like to make?

Jessica’s Spectacular Fudge

Jessica’s Spectacular Fudge

3 (4 1/2 oz.) Hershey bars
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 jar marshmallow cream (7 oz.)
1 tbsp. butter
12 oz. chopped pecans
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 1/2 c. sugar
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

Mix sugar and milk in heavy, 6 to 8 quart pan. Cook until it comes to a rolling boil (stir often to prevent burning). In the meantime put rest of ingredients, except pecans, in large 6 quart bowl. Break Hershey bars into pieces. When sugar and milk mixture is ready, pour it over the other ingredients and blend until creamy and smooth. Add pecans and pour into greased 8 x 12 x 2 inch pan. Let stand until firm, about 4 to 6 hours. Makes 6 pounds delicious fudge.

I have never made fudge before. Neither has Joey. But this is one of the recipes we made together yesterday. He doesn't mind baking with me on occasion. I has seen a recipe online for fudge and noticed it called for marshmallow creme. So I picked up some. Then when I went to make some I found a recipe that wanted marshmallows. I had those too but the kids can have that with their hot chocolate. What am I going to do with the creme? lol

One of my online friends, Jesticalynn, posted a recipe for me for her fudge so I decided to give that a try. Thanks Jesticalynn! It makes 6 lbs!!! It was easy to make. Especially since Joey did most of the work on that one. ;) It said break up Hershey's chocolate. Wouldn't you know he took the hershey's out to the garage, in a ziploc baggie and took a sledge hammer to it to break it up? hahahahah I kid you not! That's a man for ya. ;)

We put ours in a 16 x12 x 1 pan. We also didn't use pecans. I took half the pan and sprinkled crushed walnuts on top. It turned out really good. I have been having so many other treats this holiday season I only sampled a small taste. It was good though. My dh tried it and said it was really good and loved the consistency of it. Do you like to make fudge?

Magnolia Bakery Blueberry Muffins

Well I found online about 7 of the Magnolia Bakery recipes. That is the bakery in New York City where people line up down the block for an hour or longer sometimes just to buy a cupcake. lol Joe was baking with me yesterday and we also tried the vanilla, vanilla cupcakes. I will review those later. These muffins are very good. I used half whole wheat/half all purpose flour. Usually any muffins I do, if I do all whole wheat they come out pretty wheaty tasting.

I am trying to get some baking done now and out of the way for two Christmas parties we have coming up. Blueberry muffins freeze well so that is where they are. I doubled this recipe and already baked 24 and I still have batter left over that I froze. If you like blueberry muffins these are very yummy. Nice and tender too. I will be doing this recipe again.

MAGNOLIA BAKERY BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery by Jennifer Appel, Allysa Torey

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries, lightly coated with flour
1 tablespoon sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease well a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Batter may be lumpy. Gently fold in the blueberries into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups about three-quarters full. Lightly sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until lightly golden or a cake taster inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake.

Does your family like blueberry muffins? If not what kind do they like?

White Chocolate, and Macadamia Nut Cookies

You see how thin these are? Okay so yes I am baking alot this month. This is the perfect time to try new recipes. My pants I slipped on this morning are fitting a little tighter but it is cause I washed them in warm with hubby's work clothes last night. You see he had been playing in the mud all day. Digging a trench, fixing a broken water main or something at work.

REALLY!! I am not gaining or anything. Really I am not. Oh you don't believe me? Hmmmppphhh. Well let us get to the cookies then. :)

Okay so making these the night after making those awesome peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, was well, disappointing. They were okay. I think they came out a bit too crispy or something. Most of my cookies seem to do that. No matter what recipe I use, no matter what butter or flour I use. They always seem to come out thin and crispy. I am talking in all my years of baking cookies. It is only recently I started using whole wheat and only real butter. I used half all purpose/half ww flour wise with these.

Most the times in the past when I make the kids choc. chip cookies I eat some of the cookie dough and have maybe one cookie. Yeah I know raw eggs and all that. But what about eggnog? Isn't that raw eggs? Or do they pasteurize the snot out of that too? haha

You know what I want? A Nice chocolate chip cookie that looks thick. That doesn't taste crispy. I didn't even take a picture of them in the pan, I was too embarrassed. So I am by no means a cookie expert. This is why I was soooo happy with the peanut butter cookies. Finally a cookie I could make correctly that were truly awesome. They were nice and thick. They were chunky. A little crispy but when they are thick like that who cares? lol

Oh by the way dh called me at break time yesterday and everyone LOVED these cookies! They kept coming back for more.peanut butter chocolate chip cookies His boss even stopped by and had one and asked for the recipe so his wife could make them. Who knows? Maybe he will get a promotion! They are THAT good!! Absolutely excellent cookies folks. You MUST try them!

Okay so I got the Macadamia recipe from Epicurious. Do you like macadamian nut cookies? I skipped on the cranberry's. I think it needed some chocolate and to be thicker.

I went back and re read about the peanut butter cookies, even though this is an awesome recipe and those cookies were excellent I am just going over what could be wrong with my other cookies. I noticed something she mentioned was to not overbake. 10-12 minutes and that is it. I do know that is something I have been guilty of in the past is thinking the cookies don't "look done" and waiting. I think that is a problem. Another thing I noticed is she said un greased baking pan. I greased it anyways. lol I wonder if that is why my cookies are too crispy?

Any suggestions or hints let me know.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies

Who ever heard of peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in them? Not me. Not until I found a new blog yesterday. I just love finding new blogs full of yummy recipes.

Smitten Kitchen

She got this recipe from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery

Now if that wasn't interesting enough, the New York Times has even written an article about this bakery and several other offshoots and I guess they are all battling it out in court. It was a pretty interesting read if you have the time.

An excerpt from Adam Sternbergh at New York Magazine:

Together, [Jennifer] Appel and a high-school friend, Allysa Torey, begat Magnolia Bakery in 1996. When their partnership, and friendship, dissolved in 1999, Magnolia begat Buttercup. In 2003, Magnolia begat Billy’s, a bakery in Chelsea, opened by a former Magnolia manager, and Buttercup begat Sugar Sweet Sunshine, started by two former Buttercup employees. Now there are at least a half-dozen similar bakeries throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, with such jolly names as Baked, Happy Happy Happy, Polka Dot Cake Studio, and Cupcake Caboose (an all-cupcake catering company), each serving up cupcakes topped with dollops of sugary frosting swirled artfully like beehive hairdos.

So much fuss over cupcakes and cookies. Bake these and taste for yourself what all the fuss is about. ;)

Anyhow here is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

The brilliance of these cookies is that they have include two different formats for peanuts–three if you use chunky peanut butter. They’re crisp on the outside, and almost cakey on the inside. Bake a batch and then hide the results in the furthest and most forgettable reaches of your kitchen. You’ll thank me later.

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth is what we used, but I am pretty sure they use chunky at the bakery)
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (for sprinkling) sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup peanut butter chips
½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern (I used the back of a palette knife to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely

Now I am normally not a peanut butter cookie lover. But WOW! I fell head over heels for these! I seen the recipe, we have plenty of peanut butter, so I just had to try it. Joey loved them too and he is normally not big on peanut butter cookies either but he said he HAS to have these cookies now. haha They are THAT good. Of course the kids loved them and Chris pitched a fit when he seen Joe take a bowl of them to work to share with co workers. lol

Here is the link to Smitten Kitchen, the blog I got it from. I am definately going to have to go over there more often. I did use half whole wheat and half all purpose flour in this recipe. Do you like peanut butter cookies?

Chocolate Nut Bread

My buddy Sonshine shared one of her favorite Christmas recipes with me, Chocolate Nut Bread Thank you Sonshine! Oh and that is NOT my picture.

Chocolate Nut Bread

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs
* 1 3/4 cups milk
* 2/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
* 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

COMBINE eggs, milk and vegetable oil in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture; mix just until moistened. Stir in 1 1/2 cups morsels and nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool on wire racks.

MICROWAVE remaining morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; knead bag to mix. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with additional nuts.

I was going to make this but decided I needed something more chocolatey and with more spices. So I decided to merge two recipes and throw in some extra stuff. Isn't that how most recipes are made? lol To see or make what I came up with click this link: Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Muffins

Okay so I merged two recipes to get a new one. I have a recipe I normally use from my make a mix master mix recipe book that is pretty good but with all whole wheat it comes out pretty wheaty tasting.(To see these pictures better, click on them. The x~mas background is interfering.) Not exactly a bad thing but I kind of want to WOW family and friends around the holidays, not turn them off to whole wheat breads. So I figured I could do half and half. I really wanted a chocolate looking muffin though, not just chocolate chips tossed in. I did go to Walmart and buy two Texas Size muffin pans. I wanted some mini loaf pans as well but did not see any. I should of picked up some mini cupcake pans while I was there so people can sample more goodies. I just may still do that.

The first thing I did was double the Chocolate Nut Bread recipe. The next thing I did was compare it to my other recipe. I noticed the other recipe calls for 3 cups of sugar, this new one only 2. I had to remind myself that the new recipe is actually supposed to be a chocolate bread, not a cupcake. I also love the idea of using less sugar. So I decided to make 4 test batches.

Like I said I changed the recipe up a bit:

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Muffins

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 cups whole wheat flour
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 tablespoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoon Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
* 4 large eggs
* 3 1/2 cups milk
* 1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 3 cups (12-oz. pkg.)Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 2 tsp ground nutmeg
* a splash of vanilla

Directions:
Turn the oven on to 350° F. Spray cooking spray on four 12 cup muffin pans

combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

combine the milk, eggs and vegetable oil in a medium mixing bowl. Add this to the flour mixture; mix it until it is moist. Stir in 3 cups chocolate morsels and any nuts. Pour into waiting cupcake pans.

Bake these at 350 for 18-20 minutes Let cool, remove. Let cool on wire racks if desired.

Okay so I used two 12 cup pans and two 6 cup pans. It wasn't very sweet but I was expecting that. But once you bite into one of the chocolate chips it is perfect. I really like using less sugar. Maybe next time I will drizzle some melted chocolate chips on top like the other recipe suggest. My dh thought they were great, not too sweet. I told him to take a holiday bowl full of them to share at work and get some feedback. When he called me at work he was eating ALL of them. He said he wouldn't share and that he only brought 3. Not enough to share with anybody! Can you believe him? lol

Out back last nite he was talking to the neighbor and I offered him a muffin and he said he didn't want anything to sweet. I told him these weren't too sweet. When I got back from my walk this a.m. I seen him out there and he said they were perfect, not too sweet, just enough. He said it was moist and he had given his son the other one and he it was good. Hooray. These are really good. The half and half was perfect. If you try these and you like them, or even if you don't like them, let me know.

What kind of muffins does your family like?

California Round Cake

Okay so I finally got around to making "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever I used restraint. I waited for a birthday! lol I went to bed at 10:00 p.m. on 12-7-07 and I woke up at 2:00 a.m. having a nitemare. I laid there but couldn't fall back asleep. So at 3:00 a.m. I got up, had a cup of coffee, and started making cake! If you want the recipe and step by step pictures, just click that link. It was fun and easy to make. I have a huge cookie sheet that is only 1 inch off of hers but I decided I wanted to make 2 round pans instead so I could put it on my cake stand. Next time I will probably do the cookie sheet. I chopped walnuts, but didn't use them cause I was thinking they weren't ground up fine enough and didn't want dh to complain.

Now remember, I use all whole wheat. It was fun and very easy to make. The only problem was she recommends icing the cake when it is warm. Now that is probably a good idea if you are using a cookie sheet and leaving the cake in the pan. But I needed the two cake pans empty and the cake on a cake stand. Joey woke up, by then was it 5:00? I can't remember. So he took the cakes out but one broke a little bit. Grrrrrr......It was very soft. So yes the 3rd picture looks terrible! But trust me the cake is excellent. He iced it and there was plenty left over and I put it in the fridge hoping it would firm up. It did.

It really did. It was the best chocolate whole wheat cake ever. Not wheaty tasting at all. I also added some cinnamon to it. We ate it later that nite straight from the fridge. I really did like this recipe and will use it again and again. All the kids loved it and Joey said it tasted like a chocolate fudge brownie. On her website in the comments section lots of people were saying that this cake is Texas Sheet Cake. I believe it. In my make a mix cookbook where it tells how to make a huge brownie mix up and all the recipes you can use from that base mix, texas sheet cake is listed. The recipe is different though.

So my point is if you are looking for an awesome chocolate cake that some people think taste like a brownie, that you can also use all whole wheat with, this may be the recipe for you. :) Enjoy!

See the 4th picture? It doesn't look so bad there once it was cut and it firmed up a bit. :)

What kind of cake do you make for birthdays?

Chocolate Brownies

One sentence is all it takes.
"Mom, can I have money for the snack bar at school?"

NO!!! Do you know how much garbage is in those snacks at school? A lot more than what I would put in a snack. So I went looking for the already prepped muffin mix in the deep freezer. I can usually abstain from eating those. Gone. But there was a huge container of brownie mix! Thank goodness we only had 3 eggs left so I could only make a batch and a half. It was delicious!

Do you let the kids buy junk food at school? Or do you just make them junk food at home?

Home made Creamy Chocolate Pudding

Make your own pudding packets for only .45 cents. Aren't they like $1.50 in the stores most of the time? I think once in a while I see it on "sale" for $1.00.

1 1/2 cups plus 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

Basically add all the ingredients together and stir with a wire whisk. This makes enough for 6 cups of dry mix. Which is enough for 6 packets of chocolate pudding mix.

1 cup of mix
2 3/4 cups milk
2 TBS butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan add the mix and the milk. Cook and stir until it thickens. Remove from heat and add in butter and vanilla. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy!

I will have to check the prices again at Smart N Final but from what I remember the cocoa is $5.69 for 16 oz(4 cups), the corn starch is $3.00 for 10 lbs(40 cups) and the sugar is $3.00 for 5 lbs(20 cups), I didn't bother adding the salt.

So $2.13 for cocoa, .49 cents for sugar, .10 cents for corn starch = $2.72 divided by 6 = .45 cents each. :) Oh I forgot to add in the butter but really, how much can it be? lol Not much more. ;)

What do you like to do with chocolate pudding? DO you like to make chocolate pie? Or just as a treat for the family?

Chocolate Chip Muffins

So I made up 3 batches of chocolate chip muffins yesterday. Now if I can just keep the kids out of the fridge and freezer we will have enough for a while. Yeah right.


I had 2 snack cakes yesterday. They were really good. When I woke up this morning I feel like they stuck to my ribs already. No muffins for me! haha I usually keep treats to a minimum, good thing I don't have much of a sweet tooth.



Where are all the chocolate chips? I think I can see one. They all melt inside of the muffins. Them and the blueberries fall to the bottom. What kind of muffins do you like to make?

Snack Cake Mix

Okay so it was very, VERY good! Even though I goofed the recipe a bit. Maybe that is why it was sooo good? :)It didn't taste "wheaty" at all. It reminded me of a Suzie Q. Very tender and moist. But not as sugary. Which is a good thing.

See, that is what I goofed on. I got it from the make a mix cook book. They wanted something like 8 1/2 cups of flour and 5, yes FIVE cups of sugar! WOW!! The muffin mix is 8 cups of flour and they only want 3 cups of sugar. I think I usually cut that down to 2.5.

I can't remember exactly how many cups I put in. I am thinking 4.25. Maybe just 4? I also added nutmeg and cinnamon. Well when it was saying to add the wet ingredients, it said add one package of snack cake mix. With the muffin mix it just always says add 2 3/4 cups of muffin mix. So i had to flip back to that page to find out how much one package would be. It said makes about 13 1/2 cups, about 6 packs. Okay simple. 2 1/4 cups each batch for the mix. I was going to make 4 batches up and freeze some and save two batches to mix later. So I start measuring out 9 cups of mix. What I forgot was this:

There is not going to be enough for "6 packages". I didn't put enough sugar in to make that ratio. I realized this as I was nearing the end of the container and thought to myself, there is NOT going to be enough for 2 more batches. Maybe ONE. Oops. Maybe it was a good thing cause I made the mix up and thought I was done and actually already poured it into two big rectangle baking dishes, sans the cocoa powder. lol

I got distracted away from adding it because I could NOT find the chocolate chips. When I bake, I hide the chips otherwise the kids will sneak them and eat them all. I usually hide them so good not even I can find them! Good thing my eldest ds just got home and kids have a nack for finding stuff like that. ;)


So I made up one more pack, poured all the mix in the pan back into the mixer and added cocoa. If you look close you can see on the pans where I had to pour it back out.



I used two big glass pans and a small one. The table cloth looks wrinkly. Dh said the dryer is now fixed. I will go and inspect soon. ;)



I poured finely chopped walnuts and choc. chips on top.



The little pan is cute.



So I tossed those in the oven and set the timer for 35 minutes. Then I started working on the dough for the corn tortillas. I think that is when I smeared the phone. Cause these next pics are blurry too. Notice how the chocolate chips and the walnuts all ran to the middle of the pan? lol Joey said he wants the middle pieces. haha Yeah him and everyone else. Everyone was oohing and awing over them. Joey said I am in for it now. He took FIVE of them. He was so stuffed between that and dinner he couldn't finish his last piece. My eldest ds ate dinner with us, was invited to his friends house, called up and said they invited him for dinner too and could he stay? Ummm...okay. Eats dinner with them, comes home and wants a muffin and a snack cake. Teenage boys, I tell ya.


Do any of your kids seem like they have a bottomless pit for a tummy?