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The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.
When I posted my recipe for "The Best Lasagna Ever" yesterday, I couldn’t have anticipated that I’d wind up hearing from Draco, a real-live Italian who lives near Bologna, Italy, where lasagna was first created. Nor could I have ever predicted I’d hear from MP, who lives in an Italian neighborhood and buys Parmiganno-Regianno by the bag, dang it. I might just go ahead at this point and clarify that yes, my lasagna is, in fact, "The Best Ever"…unless you live near Bologna, Italy or in an Italian neighborhood or anywhere near Mario Batali. Okay? Are you happy now, Draco? Now…this cake? The Cast of Characters. First, melt 2 sticks regular (not unsalted) butter in a saucepan. When the butter is melted, add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder… And mix thoroughly. With the heat still on, pour in the boiling water… And allow the mixture to bubble for 30 seconds. Turn off heat. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar… And 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir together. 1 teaspoon vanilla… Sigh.

Appetizer Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn Okay, we're not going to win any awards for thinking up this combination, but hey — these potato bites are easy, delicious, and perfect for a sports-loving crowd, should you find yourself surrounded by one this weekend. They even remind us of sports-bar food ... like little deconstructed potato skins. (Image credit: Emma Christensen) We decided to make these after countless evenings munching on these bacon-wrapped dates, which are also very yummy, but got us thinking about other things we could wrap in bacon. If you can find tiny new potatoes, those would be even more aesthetically precious. With the creamy wedge of potato and the crunchy bacon, the sour cream dip is what pushes this appetizer over the edge. Makes about 3 dozen bites 1 pound small or medium red potatoes 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary 1 tablespoon olive oil Freshly ground pepper 12 ounces to 1 pound thick-cut bacon 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream 1 to 3 teaspoons hot sauce Salt and pepper

Frito Chili Pie We’re submerged in football right now. There’s no other way to put it. Marlboro Man is coaching my two boys’ football team, Marlboro Man and I are both tuned in and watching all the college games we can find on TV…and if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also gone to some of our local high school’s home games on Friday night. There’s nothing like high school football games to send you soaring back to adolescence. The cool almost-fall night air…the shirtless guys painted with their team’s colors…the adorable cheerleaders, who, by the way, have way more energy than I remember having at seventeen…the Bon Jovi songs blasting on the loudspeaker in between plays. Is there some kind of requirement that high school football games pipe Bon Jovi until the end of time? It was the worst thing that’s ever happened to my fourteen-year-old daughter. High school football games also mean Frito chili pies. Last night, I whipped up some for dinner. Start with ground chuck or any ground beef you have on hand.

6 Cool Summer Pies Today’s post is a follow up to last week’s 6 Make Ahead Summer Cakes and I’m excited to bring you 6 cool summer pies just in time for the Fourth of July Weekend! These are tried and true, honest to goodness, old fashioned recipes that will pluck at your heartstrings and make your stomach smile. Just click on the name of each pie to go to the recipe post! Gratefully, Christy Old Fashioned Coconut Meringue Pie You can’t go to the grocery store and buy this pie. But don’t worry, it’s easy to do and you probably have everything you need on hand already except for the coconut. Lemon Meringue Pie with Cookie Crumb Crust Y’all, don’t tell anyone I told ya this but my friends at Southern Living bragged on this pie and said it was the best they’d ever tasted! You have no idea what a red letter day that was for me! Fresh Strawberry Pie I have one bit of advice when it comes to this pie : Always make two! Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Pie And a story about my Grandaddy Cherry Cream Cheese Pie Lemon Chess Pie

Loving Birthday Cake Good morning, friends! Today I have to wish a big happy birthday to my little sister. She moved away for the first time earlier this year so it’s her first birthday away from home. So I figured, why not celebrate with her from afar by sharing a whole bunch of birthday cakes that had me at hello? When all else fails, a great cake makes for an instant (and totally awesome) party. Happy birthday, ‘Lil! {Photos by Nicole Hill Gerluat for One Charming Party.} {Photo by Cindy Chae.} {Photos by Elizabeth Messina of Kiss the Groom and Elizabeth Messina.} {Photos by Jackie Wonders from Sherbet + Spice |Ana Gonzaelz for Cakewalk from Strawberry Birthday Party.} {Photo by Sweetapolita.} {Photos by Sweetapolita.} {Photos by Annie Hosfeld via Hip Hip Hooray via Kara’s Party Ideas | Mo Hines via Green Wedding Shoes.} {Photo by DeFalco Photography for Vintage Sugarcube via Hello Lucky.} {Photos by Kallie Brynn from Tova’s 2nd birthday | Ardent Photography from Emerson’s 1st birthday.}

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes | Handle the Heat Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble bars with crumbly oats, plump and juicy blueberries and a hint of lemon make these crumble bars the perfect snack or dessert. These bars are super easy to make, taste delicious and wonderful for those upcoming summer cookouts, picnics, or pot lucks. They have the picture perfect balance of fruity, tangy and crumbly. You might have noticed that these oatmeal crumble bars are similar to the Blueberry Crumble Bars that I shared with you in January, except with these the crust and crumble have crunchy oats. These crumble bars are best straight out of the refrigerator and even better topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars Printer Friendly Version For the Filling:3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries1 tablespoon lemon juice1 teaspoon lemon zest1/2 cup sugar2 tablespoon cornstarch For the Crumble and Crust: Directions: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Yields: 20 bars Source: adapted from Baking Bites, originally adapted from Land O Lakes

Fried Mozzarella Sticks Okay, okay. Fine. Mozzarella sticks, American chain restaurant, yum, good, everyone loves them, yada yada yada. Please listen. Awww, I kid. Here’s the step-by-step post on Tasty Kitchen: Fried Mozzarella Sticks Try them. Slutty Brownies Now I don’t want to over sell this, so I’m going to be conservative and simply say, that these are… The Best Brownies In The WORLD. I know, big statement. They’re called Slutty Brownies because they’re oh so easy, and more than a little bit filthy. They’re best served warm from the oven, with good quality vanilla ice cream (devastatingly I didn’t have any in the freezer this time, so I guess I’ll just have to make them again). They take about 45mins to make, including baking time. The ultimate comfort food, whipped up within the hour. You will need… 1 Box of cookie mix, 1 Box of brownie mix, 2 Eggs, 2 Packs of Oreos (double stuffed ones are even better if you can find them) Some oil & your favourite ice-cream (optional) Preheat your oven to 350F, 180C, gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper. Squidge (technical term) the cookie dough into a lined baking tray, until it covers the bottom. Cover this layer with your Oreos. Mix up your brownie batter. & pour over your Oreos. Bake for 30mins.

my husband (: Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes | Evil Shenanigans - Baking & Cooking Blog The combination of chocolate and banana is highly underrated. Aside from some frozen bananas dipped in chocolate, and chocolate chip banana bread, the combination is largely overlooked. Well, break out your bananas because we are going to make something that will make chocolate lovers rejoice. The crepes are chocolate but they do not have any sugar in them. If you love chocolate and bananas then you need to make this recipe. Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes Yield 12 crepes For the crepes: 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 3 ounces all-purpose flour 1 ounce unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 tablespoon coffee liquor 3/4 cup Milk, 1% or higher For the filling: 6 ounces mascarpone cheese 1/3 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon coffee liquor Pinch of salt 3-4 large bananas, sliced into 1/8″ disks Additional powdered sugar for dusting Chill the batter for 30 minutes.

Nendran Chips Recipe (Nendran Banana Chips) Nendran chips always reminds of kerala chips where they use coconut oil for making chips. I love its flavour the best.I have not seen many kids who are so specific in snacks too and the lil one is in the list. She is not fond of biscuits, cakes, sweets etc, she asks for cream biscuits licks the cream clean and reserves the biscuits for her mother ;) Though we dont make savoury snacks often at home, she likes ompodi and nendran chips very much. Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2Recipe Category: Snack | Recipe Cuisine: Kerala Raw Nendran Banana - 2 nosTurmeric powder - 1/2 tspCooking / Coconut Oil - to deep frySalt - to taste Method: Slit the banana skin and peel them off. Serve as teatime snack! My Notes: There is another way to do this : Just add turmeric powder, salt in water and keep aside.

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