Chocolate Mayonnaise Layer Cake!

Chocolate Mayonnaise Layer Cake w/Chocolate Frosting

What you will need:

2 c. flour, unsifted

2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

1 2/3 c. less 1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. mayonnaise

1 1/3 c. water

Grease and flour two 9 inch pans. In medium bowl mix flour, cocoa, soda and powder. In large bowl mix on high eggs, sugar and vanilla for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping occasionally. Reduce to low and beat in mayonnaise until blended.

Add flour mixture alternately with water. Begin and end with flour (add flour in 4 parts). Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until pick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Simple Syrup:

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. water

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over med-high heat. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil and boil for about 2-3 min. Remove from heat and cool for a 1/2hr. Cover and store in the fridge.

Level cake layers and pour simple syrup over the tops of the cake.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
2/3 c. butter, melted

2/3 c. cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

4 c. powdered sugar

4 tbsp. milk (more as needed)

Whisk together butter and cocoa. Add vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar gradually and alternately with milk.

Once the cake layers are completely cooled, place 1st layer on cake stand or plate. Cover top with a thick layer of frosting. Place 2nd layer on top of 1st layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake!

Enjoy!!!

Banana Dogs!

I saw this recipe idea when I was watching the Disney Channel with my Bella! Its such a cute idea for lunch or a snack! Bella thinks they are the Bees Knees!!!

What You Will Need:

A Whole Wheat Hot Dog Bun

A Banana

Peanut butter

Jelly

First peel your banana (The right way! LOL!) and place it in a whole wheat hot dog bun.

Next add some peanut butter and jelly for your condiments!

Lastly, watch as your little one devours the entire thing!

Happy Friday!

Super Easy Enchiladas!

Forgive me readers for my absence lately! I took a lil vacay from my blogaroo, but I'm back! We had a blast in Louisiana, and then we had a very relaxing week or so back at home. So now that I'm all refreshed, I thought I would give you a small treat.

I give you the recipe to my

super easy enchiladas!

What you will need:

1lb of Hamburger

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning

(I use Taco Bell brand)

1-2 cups Salsa

(I use Mild Pace Picante)

8 Burrito Size Flour Tortillas

1 lg. can or 2 sm. cans Enchiladas Sauce

(I use Old El Paso brand Mild red sauce)

Sour Cream

(I use Daisy)

1 bag/2cups of Shredded Cheese

(any mexi-blend)

A skillet

A cookie sheet

Aluminum Foil(optional)

First, Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, Brown the hamburger over medium heat in your skillet. Next, Drain and add your taco seasoning. Follow the directions on the seasoning packet.

Then add your salsa to the taco meat. Mix well.

Now if you want easy clean up after your enchiladas have been devoured, cover your cookie sheet with aluminum foil(optional). Then, spread enchiladas sauce evenly across the bottom of your cookie sheet.

Take a tortilla and place some taco meat down the center.(This recipe will make 6-8 enchiladas depending on how much meat you put in each tortilla)

Then, Sprinkle on some cheese.

Next, put three dollops of sour cream on the enchilada, and then fold it up. to do this, I fold the left side over first, then the right, and tuck the right side under the enchilada.(hope that makes sense!) Repeat these steps until you run out of taco meat. Like I said, it usually makes 6-8.

When you are done assembling them, it will look like this.

Next, smother your newly assembled enchiladas with enchiladas sauce.

Sprinkle cheese over the top.

Then, add three more dollops of sour cream to each enchilada like so.

Sprinkle a bit more cheese on top and drizzle a little enchiladas sauce over each enchilada.

Pop in the oven for 30 minutes, and Voila!

Yummy, Easy, Enchiladas!

Enjoy!

Best Pancakes EVER!!!

Here is the recipe for The Best Pancakes EVER as Bella calls them, adapted from McMama's recipe.

What You'll Need:

Pancake mix(like Bisquick)

Water

1/2 cup Sour Cream

3 Eggs

1/3 cup Pancake syrup(I used Mrs. Butterworth)

1/2 cup of fresh fruit(optional)

Make pancake batter using the pancake mix and water as directed on the box.

Then add sour cream, eggs, and syrup.

(you can also add fresh fruit like bananas, strawberries, or blueberries...up to you!)

Mix Well!

Make pancakes on a hot skillet(i used about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake), drizzle some syrup over the top, and enjoy!

Writer's Block!

I have been trying for the past 5 days to add a new post to this lovely blog of mine! I'm pretty sure that I have writers block, cause I've got nothin! LOL! So since I for the moment cannot come up with anything witty or interesting to write about, and Bella hasn't said anything hilarious lately, I will leave you with the easy casserole dish I mentioned in this post! Enjoy, and until my writer's block passes...Ta-Ta! :D

Tater-Tot Casserole

What you will need:

13x9 casserole dish

Tater-tots

1-1/2 lbs Hamburger

Salt and Pepper

1 packet of taco seasoning (optional)

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese or mexi-blend

Frank's brand hot sauce(optional)

Preheat your oven to 350. Then line a casserole dish with frozen tater-tots as shown above!

Brown 1-1 1/2lbs of hamburger in a skillet, salt and pepper to taste.(Tip: for mexi-style omit salt and pepper, and add taco seasoning to the hamburger as directed on packet, Taco Bell brand is my favorite!)Drain. Then add two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup(Tip: use garlic cream of mushroom soup for more flavor).

Pour hamburger mixture over tater-tots in casserole dish. Make sure all of the tater-tots are covered.

Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake for 30 minutes!

(Tip: add some Frank's hot sauce for some extra flavor!)

Enjoy!

Italian Night!

So tonight is Italian night! What does that mean??? Well it means that the theme for our dinner is Robby's favorite...Italian!

I made lasagna, caesar salad, warm Italian bread, and l'olio saporiti e l'aceto for dipping!

What is l'olio saporiti e l'aceto??? Well...it means tasty oil and vinegar in Italian. For short we call it "the speal." Its my little take on the classic oil and vinegar that you dip your bread in as an appetizer, and boy is it ever tasty! Don't believe me? Try it for yourself! Here's how to make it!

What you will need:

A small plate

Balsamic Vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Minced Garlic

100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

First you will need a teaspoon to a tablespoon of minced garlic, depending on how much garlic you like.

Then spread the minced garlic evenly around the plate, as shown above.

Next, cover the plate & garlic with your grated parmesan cheese (about 3/4 cup).

I then make a sort of spiral of balsamic vinegar over the cheese.

Lastly, I zig-zag the extra-virgin olive oil over the top.

Slice some Italian or French bread for dipping and enjoy!

Its a big favorite at my house! Let me know how ya like it!

St. Patrick's Day!

We had so much fun yesterday on St. Patrick's Day! The girls are still sick! Poor babies! We couldn't do anything too exciting, so to get into the holiday spirit we dressed up in green and got creative with our food! Bella had a ton of fun painting her breakfast and using her "Lucky Leprechaun Dust."

For Breakfast we had:

RAINBOW TOAST &

POT O' GOLD SCRAMBLED EGGS

To make this we painted rainbows on white bread. No worries...The "paint" is just milk with some food coloring in it! :o)Then we popped it in the toaster!

The Pot o' Gold eggs are just regular scrambled eggs and I made green juice to go with it!

Ta-Da!

Bella had green apples w/ "Lucky Leprechaun Dust" for her snack

They were her favorite thing of the day!

For Lunch we had:

GREEN MAC 'N CHEESE

And...For Dinner we had:

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

Mmmmmm!

Leprechaun Dust!

This is a fun addition to children's snacks for St. Patrick's Day!

Put lime or pistacio flavored instant pudding mix into a shaker and decorate it however you like!

Tell your kids that its "Lucky Leprechaun Dust"! They can sprinkle it onto slices of green apples, and watch as the dust turns green on their snack...like magic!

Tip: Make sure that the apple slices are juicy/wet in order for the mix to change color!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!