Molten Lava Chocolate Cupcakes

I got this recipe from "Cupcakes by the Cake Doctor". It was super delicious and just like I remembered.

This is the recipe for the inside molten lava delight.

Basic Chocolate Ganache (chilled at least one hour)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

8 ounces (1 1/3 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil, stirring. Place the chocolate chips in a glass bowl. Remove the cream from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

This is the recipe for the cupcake.

1 package plain devil's food cake mix

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Coat cupcake tins with cooking spray.

2. Place the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.

3. Spoon batter into the prepared cup filling it 3/4 of the way full. Drop a heaping teaspoon of ganache onto the top and center of each cup.

4. Bake the cupcakes for 12-14 minutes or until the cake bakes up around the ganache and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.

5. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool for 1 minute. Run a butterknife around the edges of the cupcake cups, lift the cupcakes up from the bottom of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips.

6. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

This is what's inside one of these bad boys. Pure deliciousness!!! You can heat it in the microwave if you want the ganache even warmer. These are so good!!!

Just so you are not alarmed. They have a hole in the middle where the ganache sinks down. You can cover it when serving with the powdered sugar like I showed in the first picture or throw a scoop of ice cream on top to cover it. We just ate these as a family and so they were fine just eating them as is.

Baked Beans

So I am laughing at this picture because it has beans sloshed all over the sides of the plate. Hey, I'm happy just to get the picture on here. I just tried these beans, and they are super scrumptious. I am a sucker for baked beans. The best part about them -- you throw 'em in the crock pot. It can't get any better than that. I got the recipe from a cook book called The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

1 pound bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces (bacon makes everything better)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 (15 oz. cans pork and beans)
1 tablespoon mustard
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup

Combine all ingredients in a 2 1/2 or 3 quart casserole dish or in a crock pot. Bake at 325 for 2 hours or 200 for 6 hours. For a crock pot, I cooked it on high for 1 hour and on low for 3-4 hours. You could just cook it on high for 2 hours or on low for 6 hours also.

Peach Cobbler

(This one is done in an 9x9 pan instead of a 9x13. Thanks for the picture Summer! :))

Okay peeps! This is a great peach cobbler because you can use it year round. It's actually geared toward using canned peaches. It is really delicious! I love it!

1 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large (29 oz) cans of peaches, drained

Topping:
1/3 cup of cinnamon/sugar mixture (You determine how much cinnamon and how much sugar you want, but altogether it should be 1/3 a cup.)

1. In 9x13 pan, place 1 stick of melted butter. Smear it all around until the pan is coated really well and evenly.
2. In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt.
3. Pour batter over melted butter in pan.
4. Drain two large cans of peaches. Place the peaches (lay them individually) over the batter.
5. Sprinkle the peaches and batter with the 1/3 cup cinnamon/sugar mixture.
6. Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes.

Sour Cream Pancakes

2 Eggs—Separate whites and yolks
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup oil
3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt

Mix egg yolks, milk, sour cream, and oil. Mix together flour, sugar, soda, and salt. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and barely mix. Beat egg whites til stiff and fold into other ingredients. Now make yerself some pancakes!

Ham and Pea Pasta

Krista of Krista's Culinary Creations made us this pasta for dinner one night, and it was absolutely delicious. We were dying to have it again. Thanks for the great recipe Krista!


1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
2 Tbsp salted butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup ham, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 lb linguine, fettucine or other pasta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese or more to taste

Bring large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. While that cooks melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat; add mushrooms and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned. Add ham and cook 1 minute. Stir in peas, cream, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to low; keep warm, stirring occasionally, while pasta is cooking. Drain pasta. Toss pasta with butter mixture. Add Parmesan and toss. Serve immediately.

Snowbird Mocktails

3 cups pineapple juice
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (6 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
½ tsp. coconut extract
1 bottle ginger ale, chilled

Combine pineapple juice, sweetened condensed milk, orange juice concentrate and coconut extract in a large pitcher; stir well. Refrigerate covered (you can use it for up to one week). To serve, pour ½ cup of pineapple juice mixture into individual glasses (over ice if desired). Top off each glass with about 1/3 cup ginger ale (more or less if you like). Great topped with whipped cream and/or fruit for garnish. Makes 10 servings.

Cranberry Chicken

I've seen this recipe in a dozen places so I decided to try it. The reason why I like it is because it's good and super easy.

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 (8 oz) bottle French dressing (I used honey catalina dressing. Worked great.)

1 envelope onion soup mix

6 boneless chicken breasts

Heat oven to 350. Combine cranberry sauce, dressing, and soup mix. Put chicken breasts in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Pour mixture over chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes. Serve over rice.