Orange Infused Chocolate Cake

This is a wonderful time of year! Maybe not for laying outside in your swimming suit, but for super low produce prices. Each week there are several awesome sales on the produce you use in your day-to-day cooking: bell peppers, oranges, lemons, limes, broccoli, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, onions, lettuce, etc. (Remember to login to our website to find out all of the best produce deals in your area) Some of my favorite flavors come from the beautiful citrus fruits like, lemons, limes and oranges. I can't get enough of these flavors! All week I am going to be sharing some of my favorite citrus recipes. Get ready for some sweet & sour power!!

I couldn't start my citrus-recipe-fun, without this Orange Infused Chocolate Cake. Wow! This cake is filled with SO much orange flavor and topped off with a smooth and rich chocolate glaze, you will love and savor every bite. If you love orange and chocolate together, this will become one of your new favorite desserts! There are a few steps to this recipe and a lot of juicing and zesting, but I promise it is well worth your effort! This recipe works great in a bundt pan or as cupcakes--no matter how you bake it, this is one scrumptious treat!

Orange Infused Chocolate Cake
Cupcakes/Cake:

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

4 large eggs

2 T. orange zest (about 2 oranges)

3 + 1/4 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1/4 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

3/4 c. buttermilk (or milk with lemon juice)

1 t. butter extract (or vanilla)

2 c. mini chocolate chips

Syrup:

1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 c. white sugar
Zest of one orange

Chocolate Glaze:

4 T. butter, melted

1/4 c. cocoa powder

2 T. hot water
3-4 T. orange juice

3 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, sugar and eggs. Cream for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Add the orange zest, buttermilk, orange juice and butter extract and mix until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. When the mixture is mixed (don't over mix) fold in the mini chocolate chips to the batter. If you are baking this cake in a 10 inch bundt pan, grease and flour the pan before baking. Bake for 45-1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake pan from the oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes. Turn the cake over onto a cake platter and let cool until the syrup is ready. If you are making this batter into cupcakes, pour 1/4 c. of the batter into each muffin tin that has a liner in it (fill to 2/3 full). Let the cupcakes bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the centers are cooked. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool on a wire rack while you make the syrup.

For the syrup, combine together the orange juice, sugar and zest. Let sit while you are baking the cake to help dissolve the sugar. Once the cake (or cupcakes) are out of the oven, drizzle the syrup all over the cake and/or on the top of each cupcake. Let the cakes sit while you work on the glaze.

For the chocolate glaze, cream together the melted butter, cocoa powder and hot water until completely smooth. Add 3 T. of orange juice and the powdered sugar until your frosting is the consistency you like. I like a thick and rich frosting texture, so I didn't add too much more orange juice. If you made a bundt pan and you would like your glaze to drizzle on top of the cake, just add a little more orange juice until the glaze is soft enough to pour on top. Let the glaze drip down on all sides of the cake. Serve the cake warm or cold. Either way it is fabulous!!

*This recipe was adapted from The Smitten Kitchen.

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Whipped Berry Jello

A couple months ago my friend Missy (who is an awesome cook!) brought me dinner. The dinner from start to finish was superb, but the jello she brought will never be forgotten :) This Jello has the most bizarre texture. It is smooth, fluffy, sweet, creamy and oh...so yummy!! I am not a huge Jello fan, but this one takes the cake! Top with lots of fresh fruit and you have a beautiful, as well as delicious side dish.

Whipped Berry Jello
1 large box of Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding
1 large box of Jello (strawberry, raspberry, etc.--have it go along with the fruit you will be using)
3 c. water
Place these items in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil until the sugar and gelatin have dissolved (about 3-5 minutes). Place the pan into the fridge and let the mixture sit until firm (I put mine in overnight to make this easy the next day). When the Jello is firm, remove from the fridge and pour the mixture into a large serving bowl. With an electric hand mixer beat the Jello until it is soft and smooth. Add:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened and at room temperature
Beat in the cream cheese into the Jello mixture until the cream cheese is incorporated and it is smooth. Now add:
8 oz. Cool Whip (I am sure real whipped cream would even make this recipe better!)
Whip in the Cool Whip until the Jello is light fluffy. With a spatula, fold in fresh fruit of your choice.
1 lb. strawberries, cut into slices
1/2-1 c. fresh blueberries, raspberries, etc.
Reserve a few of the fresh berries to place on top of your salad for a pretty presentation.



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Memphis Coleslaw

I am a sucker for anything BBQ. When my husband and I go out to eat the first restaurants that sound good are Famous Daves, Q4U or Texas Road House. I don't think I could ever get enough good bbq. If I can't go out to eat for BBQ, the next best thing is to make it at home. Usually at a restaurant the last thing you want to eat is coleslaw. However..make it from scratch and it will be a side dish that will not go unnoticed. My family loves to put coleslaw on top of our bbq pork sandwiches for a Memphis style sandwich. They are finger lickin' good! I hope you give this a coleslaw recipe a try, it is one of our favorite side dishes.

Memphis Coleslaw
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
2 T. ketchup
3 T. yellow mustard
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonaise
1/4 t. prepared horseradish (optional)
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/4-1/2 c. sugar (depending how sweet you like it)
Dash cayenne (or more if you like more spice)
1/2 head green cabbage, sliced very thin
1/2 head purple cabbage, sliced very thin (or use more green cabbage)
1/4 c. green onions, sliced
1/2 c. carrots, sliced thin or shredded
1/4 c. celery, chopped fine

Slice cabbage, green onions, and carrots fine. Chop celery. Add cabbage, green onions, carrot & celery in a large serving bowl. In another bowl, combine dressing ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Pour dressing over cabbage. Cover with plastic and chill. This coleslaw is great served on top of BBQ pork/beef sandwiches, with a fresh deli bun.


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Kneader's Raspberry Bread Pudding

Kneader's Raspberry Bread Pudding

Cream Mix:

1 1/2 loaves aged, white bread, cut into 1 1/2" cubes (once cut I had it sit out for many hours)

1 quart heavy cream

3 cups sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Fruit Filling:

5 cups raspberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup apple juice

Vanilla Cream Sauce:

1 1/3 cups butter

5 tbls. flour

3 cups half and half

2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

Directions

In a large bowl combine cream, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 1/2" cubes and add bread to the cream mixture, coating the bread well. Let the bread stand for 30 minutes, stirring every so often to let the cream absorb completely. For the fruit filling, combine the raspberries, sugar and apple juice until the sugar is dissolved. It is okay to use frozen raspberries but I made the mistake of adding FROZEN raspberries to the sugar and juice. I should've waited until the raspberries were room temperature and drained any excess liquid. That would've made the bread pudding less gooey, which is what I prefer.

Layer a 9x13 dark (for extra crispness) baking dish 3/4 full with the bread mixture, pour the fruit filling over the bread mixture, spreading evenly and then top with the remaining bread. Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm and top with the vanilla cream sauce.

The best part about this bread pudding is the vanilla cream sauce. To make the sauce melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour. Stir for a few minutes until it has a nutty aroma; do not brown. Add the cream slowly, constantly stirring with a whisk to avoid lumps. After the cream add the sugar and boil until the mixture is thickens. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Allow the sauce to cool before you pour it over the bread pudding.

You will love this!
(We ate this pudding up so quickly we didn't have a chance to take a picture of our dish. This beautiful picture is brought to you by another great food blog www.twopeasandtheirpod.com)

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Ruth's Diners Mile High Biscuits

I have been so excited to share this recipe with you ever since my sister made these mouth watering biscuits a few weeks ago. She made three cookie sheets full and within the course of a meal our family (extended family) ate every last one.

My parents went on a trip to South Carolina and enjoyed some of the best southern BBQ they had ever had. They even were able to visit Paula Deen's restaurant and home town (how fun!). We celebrated them coming home with a full blown southern BBQ style dinner. We had a lot of fun, and the food was amazing!! I am excited to share some of our favorite recipes from this night with you throughout the week.

Tradition idea...any time anyone in our family comes home from a vacation of some kind we always welcome them home to a meal from the place they were visiting....ex: a Hawaii reunion would warrant Hawaiian Haystacks, a trip home from Disneyland wouldn't be the same without Monte Cristo's, a return trip from Boston would need Lobster Rolls, etc. This is just a fun way to get together with family and bring a piece of the vacation fun home to the family who didn't get to go. Kind of silly, but we sure love it!

Now..back to the biscuits. I am generally not a huge fan of biscuits, I would usually prefer a homemade roll over a biscuit any day. I think this is usually because biscuits tend to be flavorless and too dry. These biscuits are the complete opposite. They are filled with buttery flavor and have an incredibly chewy texture. I could eat one of these for breakfast, lunch & dinner and never get sick of them. Smother a biscuit with gravy, or a spoonfull of jam and this is better than any sweet treat any day of the week! You won't know how amazing they are until you make them. Serve these biscuits with some BBQ pork and you have a meal made in heaven! Tomorrow I will post my favorite recipe for coleslaw and later in the week, homemade cheesy grits. Enjoy ya' all!



Ruth's Diners Mile High Biscuits
3 c. flour (I have used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 wheat and they turn our great!)
1 1/2 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 stick butter
3/4 c. buttermilk (I have made these with buttermilk as well as the 'homemade' buttermilk version of 3/4 c. milk + 2 T. lemon juice and they work out amazing either way)
1 egg
1/4 c. water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and butter until crumbly. Mix in buttermilk, egg and just enough water to make a workable dough. Mix the dough until it is just barely combined (don't over mix). Roll the dough onto a floured cutting board about 1 inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter, or a 2 inch round cup. Place on a greased baking sheet (touching each other) and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 12-15 biscuits, depending how thick you make them.

Tips to making awesome biscuits:
*ONLY hand mix your dough. Don't mix in a Bosch or with a hand mixer. The dough will be too tough and the dough will become dry if you use a mixer. You don't want to over mix this recipe. The best way to mix this dough is with a pastry cutter or using two knives and cutting the dough back and forth. This method takes a little longer but will ensure the perfect biscuit. You want pieces of butter left in your biscuit, that is what keeps the dough light and flaky.
*Next tip is to keep your biscuit dough fairly thick. You want a tall and thick biscuit more than you do a thin and hard biscuit. Keeping the dough thick will ensure a chewy and soft biscuit. I keep my dough about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick (cooking times may vary depending how thick you make them).

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Deals to Meals Giveaway!

Hello friends! Who would like the chance to win a 6 month membership to Deals to Meals? Our friends over at Fun, Cheap or Free are hosting a giveaway for two of our 6 month memberships! It is easy to enter to win, so head on over and check our their amazing website! Their blog is filled with Do-It-Yourself projects, frugal tips, giveaways, tips on price matching, saving money and MUCH more. Jordan, the blog author, is extremely talented. I am great at finding deals at the grocery store, but outside of that, I am pretty clueless. I love websites that help us find other great deals and easy ways to save without a lot of effort. I hope you all enjoy her blog as much as I do! Watch for a giveaway on our website for 2 purses before the week is up :)

Jordan was on a daytime television show (Studio5) this week talking about 3 trendy ways to save money. One of her tips to saving money was, you guessed it..Deals to Meals. Thanks Jordan for the shout out about our service. We are SO glad you love our service and that it saves you time and money!!

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Case Lot Sales in UT, WY & ID

It's case lot time at Ridley's grocery store. There are several Ridley's stores in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. If you live near one, take advantage of their over 100 RED deals this week! Nearly every basic food storage item you need to stock up on in your food storage are all on sale! Such great deals!

There are also case lot sales at other stores like Paul's, Broulims, and Buy Low. Login to our website to view all of this week's great deals and to print off your easy-to-use grocery list.

Have fun shopping ;)

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Reuben Sandwiches with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

Since my last post of the homemade Pumpernickel Bread I have had several people email me wanting to know where I buy my rye flour. I have found the least expensive place to buy rye is at the Honeyville Grain store in Salt Lake City. I bought the rye in a 25lb. bag at the Honeyville store and brought it home and put it in a plastic bucket. I didn't know whether or not I would want more, but now looking back, I should have bought it in a 50 lb. bag (it was cheaper). If you do not have a Honeyville store near you, I am sure any whole food's market or online grain store would sell rye as well. I also bought the carraway seeds at Honeyville as well for a great price. I keep them in my freezer so they will last longer.

The rye grain is kind of a gray/green color, so when I ground it into flour, it makes a really pretty flour with a purple hue. I have had fun this week adding rye flour to waffles, breads and a few other recipes. I will share these recipes with you later in the week. It is quickly becoming a new favorite grain in my kitchen. Keep a container filled with ground rye flour so you can easily add it to any of your baked goods or recipes that call for flour. Having grains easily accessible will help them be much easier to use in your daily cooking.

I have posted about our Chicken Reubens before, but I wanted to share this recipe for homemade Thousand Island Dressing. I loved these sandwiches with store bought dressing, but this homemade dressing gives these sandwiches an even better flavor! With soft, homemade pumpernickel there are few things better ;)

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. sweet or dill relish
1 t. vinegar
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
Dash garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
Milk (for thinning if using dressing on a salad--if using only on the sandwiches, I didn't add any)
Combine the above ingredients together and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Will last for 2 weeks in the fridge in a sealed container.

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Pumpernickel Rye Bread

Does anyone LOVE the pumpernickel bread from Outback or The Cheesecake Factory as much as I do? I could eat an entire loaf all by myself. I am new to the whole grain rye, but have found it has a delicious flavor that I am quickly learning to love. Rye used to be the grain of peasants and many people refused to eat this grain. It has quickly become popular as people are learning the nutritional benefits of rye flour. Rye has many vitamins, minerals, fibers and antioxidants, similarly to wheat.

There are many health benefits to eating rye (information from this article):
*Promotes weight loss
*Helps prevent gallstones
*Lowers risk of type 2 diabetes
*Fights cardiovascular disease and promotes gastrointestinal health
*Significant cardiovascular benefits for postmenopausal women
*Prevents heart failure
*High in fiber (about 24 g. of fiber per cup)--keeps you regular
*Anti-cancer activity equal to, or even higher than, that of vegetables and fruits
*Lignans protect against heart disease
*Helps prevent breast cancer
*Highly protective against childhood asthma

Now if that doesn't spell healthy, I don't know what does! This month I will be introducing new recipes and ways we can incorporate rye into our daily diet. I feel like I have wheat down pretty well, so now I am going to start trying new and different grains. I hope you enjoy this bread as much as we do! This bread is great with honey butter or with plain butter. If you do not love a strong rye flavor, leave out the caraway seeds. When I want this bread with honey butter I usually only use 1/2 t. caraway seeds. When I want rye bread for Reuben Sandwiches (recipe coming later this week), then I use 2 t.-1 T. caraway seeds. No matter what you are using this bread for, I know you will LOVE it!

Outback Pumpernickel Bread
4 c. warm water
2/3 c. powdered milk (or use 4 1/4 c. warm milk)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2/3 c. oil
3 T. yeast
1 c. molasses
Mix the above ingredients into a large mixing bowl (Bosche or Kitchen Aid preferable..this recipes makes 4 large loaves). Mix the ingredients together until the mixture is smooth. Let this mixture sit for 5-7 minutes, or until the yeast begins to foam. To this mixture add the following, while mixing on low speed.
3 c. wheat flour
4 c. rye flour
5 c. white flour
(or any combination of 12 c. of flour)
1/2 t. allspice
1-2 t. caraway seeds (optional..more for a savory bread than a sweet bread)
1 T. salt
Once all of the flour is added into the dough (you may need a little more or less flour, just add flour until the dough is soft, but still quite sticky). Let the dough knead for 5-8 minutes and then let the dough sit for 10 minutes. Once the dough has sat for the 10 minutes, empty the bowl out onto a greased counter. Cut the dough into four equal pieces.

Grease two cookie sheets with cooking spray. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of cornmeal on the cookie tray and shake the cornmeal from side to side until the bottom of the pan has a light coating of cornmeal on it. Roll each of the four balls of dough into French bread shaped loaves (about 9-12 inches long and 3-5 inches wide). Place two loaves onto each cookie sheet. Sprinkle a tablespoon of oats onto the top of each loaf of bread. Cut four slits on the top of each bread. Cover the bread with a thin cloth, or leave on the counter for 30-60 minutes, or until the loaves have doubled in size. The longer you let the dough rise, the softer and airier the bread will be.

Bake bread at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the bread is firm and cooked through.

Let the dough rise for 10-15 minutes until it reaches the top of the bowl. The dough will be super soft and a little sticky.

Roll the dough into long french bread loaves and slice the tops of the bread 3-4 times. Bake and serve with delicious honey butter. Enjoy ;)

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Tuscan Garlic Chicken

I don't know about you but trying new recipes are always fun. My husband and I really enjoy pasta dishes, but after years and years of cooking, I feel like it's hard to find recipes that are new and worth making. This week I found this recipe, Tuscan Garlic Chicken on a fellow food blog (which I love)...and I thought I'd give it a try. I did my fair share of changes and alterations to the recipe, so here is a new favorite recipe that will impress anyone. It was delicious with fresh spinach, red bell peppers and mushrooms...and don't let me forget the garlic! So here's to another pasta dish that will continue to make an appearance at our house.

Printer Friendly Recipe

Tuscan Garlic Chicken
*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips or chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
10 ounces fresh spinach
3 cups half and half (*Feel free to do a lighter variation of desired!)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, room temperature
1 pound fettuccine

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a shallow pie plate or similar dish, combine the flour, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Dip each chicken piece in the flour mixture until both sides are well coated.
In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Carefully place the chicken breasts in the pan, cooking them for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden and browned but not cooked all the way through (they’ll finish up in the oven). Don’t scoot the chicken around once you lay it in the hot oil! Let the oil work it’s magic to sear the crust on the chicken. If you get all antsy and try flipping too early and/or moving the chicken around the pan, the breading is lightly to fall off. Gently remove the chicken to a foil-lined, lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside and tent with foil until ready to use.
While the chicken is cooking, heat a large pot of water to a boil and add the noodles, cooking until al dente. Also, wipe out the skillet with a couple paper towels and return it to medium heat, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, mushrooms and bell pepper, sauteing for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in two tablespoons flour and stir constantly while cooking for another minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and bring the mixture to a low simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the spinach, milk and cream mixture to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted and sauce is slightly thickened, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and return it to the pot. Toss the pasta with half of the cheese sauce. Place some of the coated pasta on each plate. Top with a breaded chicken breast and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the chicken and pasta. Serve immediately.
~Diana

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