Blog Cleaning

I've packed away all of my Christmas decorations away here at home so now it's time to do the same thing with my blog. I'll be changing things around for the next couple of days so please bear with me. I want to brighten things up again. :)

Crockpot Brownie Pudding Cake - Cooking with Alicia & Annie Contest

Do you have a craving for chocolate? This easy dessert will take care of that!

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it cooks in the crockpot while you are eating dinner. By the time you have finished eating dinner, have cleared the table and are well on your way to resting your belly down (the time after dinner so aptly named by my son when he was 2), a rich, ooey, gooey, chocolatey dessert will be waiting for you in the crockpot.


This dessert is very rich and can easily be stretched to feed 8 people if you add a small scoop of ice cream or whipped topping to go along with it.

(Crockpot) Brownie Pudding Cake

1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons cocoa
2-1/2 cups brownie mix (half of a 21.5-oz. pkg.)
1 egg
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoons soft margarine
1/4 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
chocolate chips
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Combine 3/4 cup water, brown sugar and cocoa in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. (please ignore the reflections.)

In the meantime, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together or mix well with a spoon.

Spread the batter evenly in the bottom of a lightly buttered slow cooker.

Pour boiling mixture over the batter. Cover and cook on High for 2 hours; turn heat off and let stand for another 30 minutes.

Spoon into dessert dishes while warm. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.



One change that I made:

My husband and kids aren't crazy about nuts in desserts so I left them out of this one. Instead, I added 3/4 C of chocolate chips - 1/2 C + 1/4 C in place of the nuts.

The 1/4 C. of peanut butter could not be tasted. I'm sure it helped to keep the pudding/cake moist. If you wanted more of a peanuty taste, you could use 1/2 C. chocolate chips + 1/2 C. peanut butter chips to the recipe. You could even add chopped peanuts to it, too.

Everyone agreed that this one is a keeper. You definitely couldn't eat this too often. As a treat, though, it's delicious! I followed the recipe exactly as it was printed. You can see the original recipe at Annie's Recipes.

This recipe goes toward an entry into the January Cooking with Alicia & Annie Contest.

Raspberry Fluff Pie

For the last couple of weeks I've been trying to clear my cupboards of the stockpiles of candies, chocolate chips, pie crusts...and all of the other tempting sweets that I am not giving a chance to call my name once I start low-carbing again.

After looking through several no-bake cheesecake recipes, I came up with this Raspberry Fluff pie recipe. It's not at all like cheesecake, instead it's more fluffy (hence the name).

Raspberry Fluff Pie

1 small box Sugar-Free Raspberry Jello

1-8oz package cream cheese, softened

3 TBSP sugar

1/2 C. milk

1 small tub of Cool Whip

1 graham cracker crust

Cream together Jello, cream cheese, sugar and milk until it's smooth and creamy. Fold in Cool Whip until combined. Pour mixture into the crust. Cover and refrigerate for 4-5 hrs. or until firm. You can set it into the freezer for 30 - 45 minutes for a speedier set up.

Everyone seemed to really like it--even my son, who doesn't usually eat any type of pie. This would be good made with any flavor jello that you have on hand.

Enjoy!

Good Luck Pork & Sauerkraut

Do you eat a particular food or meal on New Year's Day that is said to bring good luck if eaten on this day? For as long as I can remember, my Mom always cooked some type of pork and sauerkraut together. I try to carry on the tradition for me - my family won't touch sauerkraut!

Eating pork sauerkraut on New Year’s is an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that is said to bring good luck. The pork and sauerkraut is served together, with the sauerkraut representing luck (the cabbage leaves are said to resemble dollar bills) and the pig representing rooting into the New Year.

Since my family won't eat the pork if it's cooked together with the sauerkraut, I cooked the pork roast in a crockpot with a little apple juice and a bit of ground cloves until I could shred it with a fork - on high, I cooked it for 5 hours.

In another small crockpot, I added 1 can of sauerkraut, along with 3 TBSP of brown sugar. I cooked it on low while the pork was cooking. While looking around on the 'net, I found this sauerkraut website. Granted, it's not for everyone but if you like sauerkraut, check it out. :)

Once the pork was done cooking, I shredded the whole thing and then added some of it to the sauerkraut to cook for another 1/2 hr to blend the flavors. The rest of the shredded pork went into gravy, which I served over egg noodles for the rest of the family.

Happy 2009!

Bring on 2009!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!!

Please be careful if you are out on the roads tonight!

I'd love to hear how you spent your new year's eve and what you were doing when the new year rolled in!

We are sitting here waiting for the ball to drop. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow! ;)

See ya in 2009!
Tami