Dark Chocolate Lava Cake

This was my Sweetest Day Dessert!!!! YUMMY! To bad Evan was being a fuss and the cake sat out longer than it should have. Be sure to eat right away for the full lava effect.

Dark Chocolate Lava Cake

6 squares Bittersweet Baking Chocolate
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup flour (I used Whole Wheat)
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
Fresh Strawberries for garnish

Heat oven to 425ºF.

Grease 4 souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on medium (50%) 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with whisk until chocolate is completely melted.

Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and flour; mix well. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; beat until well blended.

Pour into prepared cups.

Bake 14 to 15 min. or until cakes are firm around the edges but still soft in the centers.

Let stand 1 min. Run small knife around cakes to loosen; carefully unmold onto dessert plates.

Serve warm topped with remaining sugar. Garnish with berries.

Veggie Baked Ziti

I made this for Sweetest Day Dinner

Veggie Baked Ziti

2 cups Italian blend cheese, shredded
3 cups ziti pasta, cooked, drained
2 large red peppers, sliced to your liking
2 zucchini, halved, sliced
1 lb. mushrooms, quartered
1 can sliced black olives
1 jar (24 oz.) chunky spaghetti sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. Italian spices
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, I used a blend (use this for the top of the dish)

Heat oven to 375ºF. ; combine into 13x9-inch baking dish top with Parmesan cheese and cover with aluminum foil bake for 25-30 mins

Ratatouille

Sorry I have been ill. Here is tonights dinner creation! Side note Evan loves Ratatouille :)


Ratatouille

1 eggplant, cut in 1” pieces
1 red onion, chopped
4 average sized tomatoes sliced
1 zucchini, chopped in 1" pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 large can of pitted black olives (I used whole)
8 ounces fresh mushrooms sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large skillet over medium heat saute the onion, eggplant, mushrooms, green pepper and zucchini in the olive oil for about 10-15 minutes, stir often. Spray large baking dish with Pam layer the bottom with tomato slices and top them with the balsamic vinegar. Add the contents from the skillet over top the tomatoes. Then top with olives, more olive oil garlic and Italian seasoning. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Top with Parmean Cheese.

Serve over pasta by itself or along side chicken.

To come this Sunday..........I am thinking stuffed zucchini & maybe a batch of cookies.

Stay tuned :)

Box Mixes in a Pinch

Yesterday I was asked to bring a dessert to my sister Molly's goodbye dinner, she is off to GVSU. So since I only had a few hours I decided to try the Yellow Cake & Chocolate Frosting box mixes by Cherrybrook Kitchen, an allergy free box mix.

The cake mix was as good as any box mix but I will not make the frosting again since I like to decorate my cupcakes with frosting. After placing the frosting in the fridge for 10 minuets, as suggested on the box for decorating, it was to runny. The frosting has the consistency of the tub frosting but if you don't mind that this would work just fine, it tasted great. I am going to be making from scratch allergy free butter cream next month for Evan's birthday cupcakes I really hope that works out better than this did. Over all I would use the cake mix again in a pinch.

I am going to start using my digital camera instead of my iPhone so I can get better photos to post.

Damey's Basic Vegetable Pasta Sauce

By popular demand here is my own pasta sauce recipe. Keep in mind I often add other vegetables to it so feel free to experiment. As you can see the batch photographed I had added asparagus. Black olives are always great in here too. Enjoy!

Basic Vegetable Pasta Sauce

1 Small to Medium Onion chopped (I use yellow)
2 Zucchini chopped
2 Summer Squash chopped
2-3 Tomatoes chopped (depending on size of tomatoes)
1 Can of Tomato Paste
1 Can of Diced Tomato (only if you want your sauce to be very saucy)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning

Heat up oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic saute until onions become soft. Add zucchini and summer squash and reduce heat to medium low heat then add the tomatoes (and can of diced tomatoes if you desire). Cook for about 5 minuets then reduce the heat to low add the can of tomato paste and season to taste. Allow the sauce to cook on low heat for about 20 minuets or so, use your own judgement but stir often.

Serve over pasta

Pizza Cupcakes

Last Thursday Cara & I created these lovely Pizza Cupcakes for Wes's Birthday.
The I added Pom to the butter cream frosting to help with the taste of the red frosting. They were so yummy!