Chocolate Layered Dessert

This dessert is definitely one of my top 5 favorite homemade desserts.  It's one of those things that I feel like I could eat the whole pan and not even feel bad about it.  It has many names in our family, but for the sake of this family-friendly blog, we'll call it the Chocolate Layered Dessert.

You can call it whatever you want, just make sure you call me when you make it.

Crust:
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
*Blend together well and spread in a 9X13. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Let cool.

First Layer:
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small tub cool whip
*Beat powdered sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add cool whip. Spread over cooled crust.

Second Layer:
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
*Mix for 2 minutes. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with another small tub of cool whip.

*Side-note: I use real whipped cream instead of cool whip because I have gross-out issues with cool whip. It takes a little longer but it is well worth it.

Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling

My sister-in-law, Jen, is an amazing cook/baker.  Everything she makes is good.  Our whole family gets excited to see what she is going to bring to our gatherings.

She made this cake for my nephew's birthday and it was DELICIOUS.  The frosting, the filling, the cake...it was all perfection.

Cake:

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 Tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of four 8-inch round cake pans.  Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper.  Butter the paper.

*Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend.  Gradually beat in water.  Blend in vinegar and vanilla.  Whisk in eggs and beat until well blended.  Scrape down sides and make sure batter is well mixed.  Divide evenly among the 3 pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 20 minutes.  Invert onto a wire cooling rack, peel off paper liners and let cool completely. (Cakes are very soft so you might want to freeze them for 30 minutes before assembling).

For the Toasted Marshmallow Filling:

16 large marshmallows

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (7½-ounce) jar Marshmallow Fluff

For the Malted Chocolate Frosting:

2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup Ovaltine Classic

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

8 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate chocolate, melted and cooled

½ cup heavy cream

Make the Toasted Marshmallow Filling: Place the marshmallows on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place on the lowest rack of oven, and broil marshmallows until nice and brown on top, keeping an eye on them the entire time so they don't burn. Remove pan from oven and gently turn the marshmallows over, and broil until the other side is golden brown.

Beat the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until blended together, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and increase the speed to medium-high; beat for 3 minutes. Stop the mixer, add the Marshmallow Fluff and toasted marshmallows, and mix on the lowest speed for about 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Make the Malted Chocolate Frosting: Beat the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until blended together, about 1 minute. Add the Ovaltine, vanilla and salt, and continue to beat on low until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed for another minute.

Assemble the cake by layering cake and marshmallow filling and frosting with chocolate frosting.

*Cake recipe from Becoming Betty and frosting/filling recipes from Brown-eyed Baker.

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Semi-Homemade Sweet Cornbread

Everyone loves chili in the Fall and everyone loves cornbread with their chili.  This is a delicious way to make cornbread that tastes homemade but takes only seconds to throw together!

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

3 Tbs. honey

Mix well and pour into a 9x13 greased pan.  Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

There's nothing better than a delicious dinner that you can make in the crockpot.  Life is busy and the crockpot saves so much time!  We love these BBQ pork sandwiches.  Super easy and super filling.

2-3 lb. pork loin roast

3/4 cup water

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Hamburger buns or rolls

Butter, softened

BBQ sauce

*Cook pork roast in crockpot all day on low with the water and seasonings.  Don't put any BBQ sauce in crockpot.  Shred up when done cooking.  When ready to eat, generously butter the bread of your choice.  Toast, butter side down, on the stove in a frying pan. This is crucial...don't skip it.  Top toasted rolls with pork and your favorite BBQ sauce.  We love Sweet Baby Rays sauce.  Enjoy!

Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole

It's always good to have a few solid casserole recipes for those times when you need a good potluck item or when you take dinner to a big family.  Even better is having casserole recipes that are easy but still taste great!  I got this recipe from my friend/cousin (frousin), Kylie, at a big family picnic we had at the park in the Spring.  It tastes just like chicken enchiladas but without the hassle of rolling up enchiladas.  Yay!

1 1/2-2 cups cooked chicken (you can use canned, rotisserie or cook it and shred it yourself)

Cooked rice (I used 1 1/2 cups before cooked)

1 can green enchilada sauce (I used half of a big can)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheese

salt/pepper to taste

1 tsp. garlic powder

pinch of oregano and cumin

onion, if desired

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl using only half the cheese.  Pour into a 9x13 and cover with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

The Easiest Homemade Lasagna

If you are still buying frozen lasagna, this is the recipe for you.

It really could not be easier and is so delicious.  I mean, who doesn't love homemade lasagna?!  Whip up a green salad and some garlic bread and you are golden.  A super easy meal that people will be super impressed by.

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 jar marinara (I use Trader Joe's tomato basil)

16 oz. cottage cheese

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup parmesan

18 slices of mozzarella (or shredded works, too)

8 oven ready lasagna noodles (I use Barilla)

*Brown the ground beef on stove.  Add marinara sauce and simmer.  In a 9x13 pan, put a little bit of the meat sauce.  Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  Lay down 4 of the noodles.  Mix the cottage cheese and sour cream together in a bowl.  Spoon half of that mixture over the noodles and spread.  Put 6 slices of the mozzarella over that.  Pour half of the remaining meat sauce over the mozzarella.  Sprinkle half of the parmesan.  Start again with noodles and repeat steps.  Top with remaining slices of mozzarella.  Cover with foil (without it touching the cheese) and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes.

Sidenote:  You can make the lasagna bigger by doing more meat sauce and more white sauce.  I will often do that when we are feeding more than just our family of six.  All the other ingredients stay the same.