Chocolate "Sunday" Bundt Cake

Every so often, I update very old recipe posts with new photos. Today's recipe for Chocolate "Sunday" Bundt Cake was shared on the blog four or five years ago, but the photos left something to be desired. When I made the cake for book club last Friday, I knew I had the perfect opportunity to take a few new shots of this sinfully delicious cake. Don't mind the holes all over the place--that's where the icing goes in!

The recipe came from one of those family reunion-type cookbooks and was a gift from one of T's cousins years ago. I'm not sure why it was called a "Sunday Cake," unless perhaps the originator spelled "sundae" wrong...or maybe it's so sinful that you need to go to church on Sunday.

Whatever the reason for the recipe name, it's amazing. So, here you go....

Chocolate Sunday Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 pkg. devils food cake mix (another reason to go to church if you're baking with the devil)
1 box of light brown sugar
3/4 stick of butter
3/4 cup evaporated milk

Directions:

Bake cake as directed on package. (I bake mine in a bundt pan)

Towards the end of the baking time, mix butter, brown sugar, and evaporated milk in a saucepan and cook until well melted.

Take hot cake out of oven and place on whatever you'll be serving it on. Poke holes all over the cake with the end of a wooden spoon handle. Pour hot sugar mixture all over the cake and let it cool a little. Then enjoy your sinful dessert.

This one's a crowd-pleaser, so don't expect to have much in the way of leftovers!

Do you have a favorite "sinful" dessert?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments, Facebook shares, and Tweets!

10 Delicious Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes

T and I have been married for a little over 13 years, but it's still fun to celebrate Valentine's Day, even if we don't do big, extravagant gifts or outings. I usually try to make him a nice dinner or bake something tasty. With that in mind, I rounded up 10 simple and delicious Valentine's Day dessert recipes for you to try.

*Be sure to Pin from the original sources!

Strawberry Brownie Kabobs via Erica's Sweet Tooth

Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake via Sugar Hero

Cream Filled Chocolate Heart Shaped Cakes via Worth Pinning

Easy Homemade Soft Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

I'll just start by saying if you add a dark chocolate Hershey's kiss to the top of some of these while they cool, you have found heaven on earth, my friend. I spotted this recipe on the back of our jar of crunchy peanut butter, and decided to give it a try. Well worth it! These Soft Peanut Butter Cookies are easy to make, and oh so tasty!

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter (This is not a sponsored post,  but I do recommend using the Jif. I've used store brands of peanut butter before and had poor results)

- 1/2 cup shortening

- 1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

- 3 T milk

- 1 T vanilla extract

- 1 egg

- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

- 3/4 t baking soda

- 3/4 t salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. 

In a large bowl (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer), combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until well blended with an electric mixer. 

Add egg, beating until just blended.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture, beating at low speed until just blended. 

Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I used a cookie scoop) 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a criss-cross pattern with the back of a fork. (I didn't do that to all of the cookies, which made some of them fluffier, which we liked)

Bake 7 to 8 minutes, or until just set and beginning to brown. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire baking rack to cool. 

Note: I added dark chocolate peanut butter Hershey's kisses to some of the cookies as they cooled on the baking sheet. Perfection!

Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe featuring peanut butter? Here are a few more of mine:

Nutella Peanut Butter Chocolate Croissants

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Chocolate Reese's Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments, Facebook shares, and Tweets!

Easy Ham and Potato Soup Recipe

Do you like to channel your inner Soup Nazi like I do? Every so often, I dig into my archives and update old blog recipes with new photos and wording. Today, I'm going to share a recipe for Easy Ham and Potato Soup...this is a super simple recipe that's great to throw together on a busy weeknight. Perfect for cold weather!

Easy Ham and Potato Soup 
adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients: 
3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes (I was in too much of a hurry to cube anything. I just chopped 'em up into bits)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used onion flakes)
1 cube chicken bullion
1 cup water
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tsp. all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded American cheese
1 cup chopped ham

 Directions:
1. In a large stock pot, add potatoes, celery, onion, chicken bullion, water, and parsley flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until vegetables become tender.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour and milk. Once it is well blended, add to soup mixture and cook until soup becomes thick. (I added slightly more flour to make a thicker soup)

3. Stir in cheese, cooked ham, or hamburger, and simmer until cheese is melted. (I added the cheese to the individual servings because T is weird and hates cheese)

Note: You could totally skip the ham and this would still be yummy with the cheese! Also, I have found that it is way easier to just buy the small cans of Hormel ham from the grocery and chop it up. No one seems to notice the difference.

Is soup one of your comfort food meals for cold weather? What's your favorite kind?


If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments, Facebook shares, and Tweets!

Best Posts from Serenity Now in 2014

Hello, hello! As 2014 draws to a close (can you believe it?!), I wanted to share some of the best posts from Serenity Now over the past year. Some of these were big hits with traffic, and some were just my own personal faves. Please feel free to Pin, share, Tweet, comment, etc. I love it when readers spread the word!

Tips and Tricks for a Newborn and Family Photo Session

LaLaLoopsy Ballet Birthday Party on a Budget

Dairy Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Nursery Wall Art from a Gift Bag

10 Simple, Last Minute Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Raise your hand if you're ready for Thanksgiving! I'm getting there. I (think I) have all of the ingredients I need to do my prep work tomorrow, but we all know that saying about "best laid plans...." I thought I'd round up a few easy side dish recipes for anyone who might need a few last-minute ideas for the big holiday meal this week! So, without further ado, here are 10 Last Minute Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes.

These should all be easy dishes with simple ingredients...the hubs can run out to the store for you and not spend 30 minutes on the spice aisle trying to find ingredients he's never heard of. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole via Center Cut Cook

Homemade Sweet Dinner Rolls via girl. Inspired.

Easy Glazed Carrots via Yummy Healthy Easy

Pizza Panini with Dipping Sauces Recipe {a "Mom and Me" Lunch!}

I've been looking forward to autumn for a few weeks now. I love the cooler weather, wearing my jeans and sweaters, the pumpkins, the sounds of football games on TV, and...yes, the food! Today's recipe for a Pizza Panini Sandwich (two ways!) is a perfect warm "comfort food" meal that can be tailored to fit anyone in your family. It makes for a perfect "Mommy and Me" lunch on a cozy autumn weekend afternoon at home. No panini maker needed!

The folks at Oscar Mayer sent me a little package with some new products to try. My challenge was to give their new "old world style" pepperoni and salami a little taste test and share a fun recipe with you all. I can say now that both the pepperoni and salami were a big hit, and even my picky picky husband couldn't wait for me to finish taking the following photos so he could gobble up half of my sandwich!

Since the sauces are the first thing that need to be made, we'll start with that part of the recipe first! My sis was kind enough to lend me her favorite recipe. It took me less than five minutes to make.

Homemade Pizza Sauce (Dipping Sauce)

Ingredients:
-1 (15 oz) can of tomato sauce
-1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
-1 1/2 tsp. dried, minced garlic
-1 T ground oregano
-1 tsp. ground paprika
-tiny dash of salt (optional)
-dash or two of ground red pepper (you can leave this out of the kids' sauce if you like)

Instructions:
Empty ingredients into a bowl. Stir well. That's it. No, really. That's all!

Spicy Ranch Dressing (Dipping Sauce)

Ingredients:
-1 bottle Ranch dressing
-1 tsp buffalo style hot sauce (I used Franks, and added an extra dash)
-dash of dill weed
-dash of chili powder

Instructions:
Pour desired amount of dressing into a bowl (separate some for the kids, if they don't like spicy). Add other ingredients. Stir well.

****Now for the sandwiches!!****

Mom's Sandwich:

Thick bread (I used a ciabatta style roll)
Pizza Sauce
Spicy Ranch Dressing
Mozzarella Cheese
Oscar Mayer Old World Style Turkey Pepperoni
Oscar Mayer Old World Style Cracker Black Pepper Salami


Kids' Sandwich:

Thick bread (I used a pizza roll for the kiddos. Small, so just the right size for my 6 and 8 year olds.)
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Oscar Mayer Classic Pepperoni

You can make mom and kids' sandwiches at the same time if you have a "Foreman" grill or a toaster oven...no panini-maker needed! You can see the way I make paninis with our Foreman grill here.

Instructions for sandwiches:

1. Slice bread in half and add a small amount of pizza dipping sauce to each half.
2. Top with mozzarella cheese, and add some spicy ranch dressing to mom's sandwich (leave it off the kids' if you need to).
3. Fold the Oscar Mayer deli meats and arrange on the sandwiches. I used turkey pepperoni and cracked black pepper salami for mine. The kiddo sandwich was made with classic pepperoni.
4. Close sandwiches and add to the preheated Foreman grill or toaster oven. Toast/grill until cheese is melted!

These would also be great open-faced, and you can add things like peppers, olives, or mushrooms to spice things up.

Enjoy your meal while you watch football, listen to the leaves crunching outside, and stay warm in your fuzzy socks and sweats!

Did you know...

• Oscar Mayer brand is great for convenient meals on the go and at home.

•Beginning August 2014, just in time for back-to-school season, you can find Oscar Mayer Old World Style products in the refrigerated-meat section at retail stores nationwide.

 •The Old World Style line of deli meats includes four new varieties, all in sandwich-ready slices: Classic Salami, Cracked Black Pepper Salami, Classic Pepperoni and Turkey Pepperoni.

 •A 4 oz. package of Old World Style pepperoni or salami retails at $3.29 SRP

 •Old World Style pepperoni and salami makes for a great addition to any sandwich, but it’s also an excellent source of protein, with up to 8 grams per serving.

What's your favorite sandwich to make with pepperoni or salami?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.



I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting {dessert recipe}

The dessert recipe I have to share with you today for Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is so good that you're gonna want to make two cakes. One cake will be to share with your family and friends, and they will rave over it and tell you how amazing you are. The other cake is for you to hide somewhere safe and sneak slices when no one is looking.

I spotted this Trisha Yearwood cake recipe on Little Texas Love Nest and shared it a few years back, but my photography was so awful that I decided to take some new shots.

**I will note ahead of time that I used bottled lime juice and bottled lemon juice, which does change the taste, but is still extremely addicting and completely delicious! Having two kiddos running around and a fussy pants baby who wanted his bottle made it virtually impossible to hand squeeze lemons and limes. Trust me, it's okay to use the bottled stuff!

Key Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake Ingredients: 

1 (3 oz) pkg. lime flavored gelatin (I used Jello brand)
1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 c. sifted, all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
5 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. orange juice
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9 inch round baking pans. In a large mixing bowl, mix gelatin, sugar, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir to mix well. Add eggs, oil, orange juice, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

Divide batter evenly among the three pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. (Test by inserting a toothpick in the center of each cake layer)

Cool layers in the pans for 5 minutes and then lay out on baking racks.

Pierce layers with a fork and spread glaze over top. Cool completely and ice.

Glaze Ingredients: 

1/2 c. Key Lime juice (I just used lime juice in a bottle from the store)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
(Mix together before pouring over cake layers)

Cream Cheese Icing: 

1/2 c. butter
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese. Both at room temperature.
Cream the butter and cream cheese.
Beat in 1 box confectioners sugar until smooth and easy to spread.

Notes: Do not skip the glaze! This part is important to getting the cake infused with that awesome tangy taste. It also makes for a more moist (I hate that word) cake. Also, I doubled the icing recipe. I wanted enough to make a sizable crumb layer. And, yeah, I really like icing.

This makes such a yummy treat for get-togethers. And it's so tall that it doesn't fit in my glass cake stand; I have to keep it in the good old Tupperware cake carrier. It's really a crowd pleaser! Even my kids, who were grossed out by the idea of a green cake, raved about it.

Do you have a favorite spring dessert recipe?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies (Dairy Free Recipe)

One of the worst things about going dairy free for the baby's diet was the fact that I had to abstain from chocolate, one of favorite treats in the world. Thanks to my friend the internet, I found some great homemade dairy-free brownie recipes online. Honestly, they're as easy to make as the boxed version (easier--save a trip to the store!) because I had all of the staple ingredients in my pantry. I liked this recipe from Baker Bette, but I wanted to add my own twist, hence Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies.

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter

Powdered Sugar (optional) OR candy bits

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 8 x 8 pan well.

2. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs well. Add the flour and cocoa and stir until combined, being careful not to overmix.

3. Pour about 3/4 of the brownie mix (it is thick) into the bottom of your greased pan. Set aside.

4. Place a plastic bag inside a small glass and spoon your peanut butter into the bag. The top should be open, like this:

5. Microwave the peanut butter for 6 to 8 seconds and then snip a tiny hole in one corner of the bottom of the bag. Use this hole to drizzle the peanut butter over the brownie batter:

6. Top with the remainder of the batter. You can swirl it some more if you want to.

7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.

8. (Optional) Sift the tiniest bit of powdered sugar over the brownies once they have cooled.

Y.U.M.

There's really no need to buy those "chewy fudge" brownie box mixes again. These are tasty!!

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.