15 Minute Chocolate Cake

Disclaimer: There is absolutely nothing healthy about this post.

Yep, you read that correctly. In only 15 minutes you can have a chocolate cake in your hands (or your mouth)!! For years, my grandmother made this chocolate cake with the help of her microwave and I have recently become a little obsessed with making it. In the last couple months I have had to eat dairy free because of my little girlie and have been craving baked goods and chocolate. So this is for all of you dairy free mommies out there (and anyone else who loves chocolate).

Microwave Chocolate Cake
1/4 cup cocoa
2/3 cup hot water, divided
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola (or vegetable) oil
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

Grease a round microwave proof dish. Line with plastic wrap. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and 1/3 cup water. Microwave on HIGH 40-50 seconds or until slightly thickened and very hot. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine well. Add 1/3 cup hot water, oil, egg, vanilla, and cocoa mix. Beat well. Pour into prepared dish.

Microwave on HIGH for 5-6 minutes until cake pulls away from sides. Moist areas may remain but will disappear upon standing. Let stand for 5-10 minutes then invert.

Top with your favorite frosting or glaze. For this cake, I sprinkled it with powdered sugar.

Italian Peasant Bread

The most economical way to feed our family has been to make everything ourselves. Of course, this isn't always a possible option, but it definitely does add up over time. As an added bonus, homemade tastes so much better!

We don't always make our own bread, but we try to as often as possible. We have made this recipe so often that I now have it memorized and even Hubby has mastered it!

Italian Peasant Bread

• 3-4 cups good, unbleached flour (I only use King Arthur Flour)
• 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) of yeast
• 1  – 1½ cups warm water (about body temperature)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cups Olive Oil plus more for oiling the bowl
• Rosemary (to taste) - optional

1.       Gently mix the 2 cups of flour, salt, yeast, and optional rosemary in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with dough hook.  Add 1 cup warm water and mix into a dough. (3-5 minutes)
2.       Slowly add more flour until at least 3½ cups are in the dough.  If dough gets too dry, more water can be added.  Dough should be heavy (not wet) and cohesive (not crumbly).  Use extra water and flour to control this.  It will be a little different every time depending on the weather.
3.       Add the oil, and let it incorporate into the dough.  Continue to knead for about 10 minutes. If too wet or extremely sticky, add more flour, adding 1-2 Tablespoons at a time.
4.       Check the dough by kneading by hand for a minute or two.  It should be smooth and elastic and well-hydrated.
5.       Move the dough to a large, well-oiled bowl, turn to coat in the oil and cover with plastic wrap.  Put the bowl in a warm place and let it rise until doubled in bulk 1½ – 2 hours.
6.       Punch the dough down, reform into a ball, turn to coat in oil, cover with plastic wrap and leave it for a second rise. (about 45 minutes  – 1 hour)
7.       Shape the dough into two free-form loaves and put them on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal. (Instead of a baking sheet and foil/parchment, I prefer to use my stoneware with cornmeal.) Cover with plastic or a damp towel and let it rise another 30 – 45 minutes.
8.       Place the bread in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake until crusty brown and cooked through, 30 -35 minutes.

My Little Helper

My New (and very cheap) Crockpot!!

Since the death of my old crockpot, I've been trying to decide what I was going to replace it with. I looked into only replacing the ceramic part that broke, but it was going to cost $25 to purchase and ship and the company couldn't tell me when they'd have them in stock again. Then it was the debate of how much I wanted to spend on a new one. Ultimately, I decided that a fancy timer wasn't really necessary (although I did love mine) since I'm home most of the time anyway. All I needed was something that could heat up and be reliable.

I decided to start by looking at Kohl's. My mom had recently seen a flier with a 6 quart crockpot on sale. It was originally $39.99 and was marked down to $18.99. Not bad. Just last week I received a coupon in the mail for $10 off any purchase at Kohl's. Now, the crockpot would only be $8.99. Finally, my mom had a coupon for 30% off anything purchased with her Kohl's card. So I bought the $39.99 crockpot and it ended up costing me only $6.29!!

Welcome to the family Mr. $6.29 Crockpot. I sure hope you live up to your $39.99 retail price!

Obituary of My Crock-Pot

My dear crock-pot ended it's life on Sunday, September 26, 2010. He came to us as a wedding gift and has been working for our family ever since.

He loved to cook for us, but mostly enjoyed being filled with beautiful pots of yogurt. Never letting us down, his dinners were always prepared to perfection and on time.

His life ended abruptly when an unnamed one year old dropped a glass jar inside. He was built so strong, but his end could not be prevented. He will be missed by many.

Survivors include, but are not limited to, the glass jar, pots and pans, a stand mixer, blender, and several utensils. He was predeceased by a wooden bowl.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent directly to his owner for his replacement.

Tons and Tons of Applesauce!

Directions to make applesauce:

Step 1: Get super tired toddler to take a 3 hours nap. CHECK!

I recently discovered that my father-in-law has this "super cool strainer" thing that makes applesauce a million times easier, smoother, and all around better. I borrowed it, and the experiment began.

I first quartered all of the apples (I had a little less than a bushel of Macintosh, Cortland, and Gala). I didn't bother peeling, coring, or seeding. I was going to test the "super cool strainer" and see what it really could do.

I boiled the apples, about half a peck at a time, until they were soft.

I then put them through the "super cool strainer" and WOW!! This could not be any easier!! It was instant applesauce!

At this point, toddler wakes up. Turn on WeeSing in Sillyville to buy another hour of time.

I then canned, processed, and VOILA! I have 11 quarts of the most delicious applesauce!

Christmas Wish List: A "Super Cool Strainer" thing.