Chocolate Buttermilk Cake - Lightened Up

I found this recipe in Prevention Magazine and I was excited because it was a lighter version of our family favorite that uses margarine and tons of sugar. I tried this recipe and it was delicious and the cake was very dense and moist even by day 3. I loved it with Breyer's Vanilla ice cream because I was too lazy to make frosting.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake by Prevention Magazine
3 oz unsweetened chocolate (I bought a chocolate bar, could also use chips)
1 c. water
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 lg egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. 1% buttermilk (or add 1/2 TB vinegar to regular milk)
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
Pinch of salt

1. Melt chocolate into water in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cool to lukewarm. Add granulated sugar, oil, applesauce, egg, and vanilla extract and beat with whisk until smooth. Measure buttermilk into a cup and stir in baking soda. Set aside.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, whole wheat flour, and salt in large bowl until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate mixture and buttermilk. Whisk again.
3. Pour batter into greased 8x8 inch pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until toothpick comes out clean.
Serve with your favorite frosting or Breyer's Vanilla ice cream! 12 servings

Spaghetti Carbonara

First of all, Haley, great idea! Keep the recipes coming!!

I found this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs. I tried her Spaghetti Carbonara recipe and we all loved it. It's so simple and tastes just like you sat down at Olive Garden for dinner. :)

1/2 lb spaghetti
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup whipping cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese (No green cans)
4 slices bacon, cooked, drained and chopped

Heat water in large pot to boil. Cook pasta al dente, as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook bacon in sauce pan, remove and chop. Drain off all grease from pan, and wipe inside of pan with paper towel. Melt butter in saucepan. Add cream and cook for about 10 minutes until reduced a bit. Remove 1/4 cup cream to small bowl, mix 4 egg yolks to the 1/4 cup cream mixture with a fork. Return the egg and cream mixture to the pan with the remaining cream. (I added some ground pepper, garlic salt, parsley and oregano - added a great taste.) When pasta is done, drain and pour into heated bowl. While pasta is still hot, pour egg mixture over pasta, toss to cook egg slightly. Add the chopped bacon and grated parmesan. Serve immediately.

Whole Wheat Hotcakes

Here is an easy way to start using your wheat berries (small, hard kernel) in your food storage! I've made these several times and you'll get fluffy pancakes as long as you whip the eggs until stiff! If not, they'll have more of a crepe consistency.

Whole Wheat Hotcakes by Lesli Goodman
Night before:
Pour 3/4 c. wheat into 1 c. water. Bring to a boil and let sit overnight in water.

In the morning, put wheat berries into blender and add:
1 T. honey
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg yolks (save whites!)
Blend 1 minute in blender.

In a separate bowl, whip the 3 egg whites until stiff and then fold in wheat mixture.
Cook on hot, greased griddle. Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I love it because it is stuff I can easily keep on hand in the freezer for one of those "I don't know what to cook for dinner and I haven't been to the grocery store" meals.

INGREDIENTS:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness* 6 string cheese sticks** 6 slices ham***

1/2 cup butter, melted 1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs toothpick

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Lay out the pounded chicken breasts on a clean surface. Place a slice of ham on each piece, then one stick of cheese. Roll the chicken up around the cheese and ham, and secure with toothpicks. Dip each roll in melted butter, then roll in bread crumbs. Place in a shallow baking dish.

3. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is browned and juices run clear.

*Just a note, I don't pound my chicken. I just buy the thinnest chicken I can or slice it thinner and use the extra pieces for other chicken recipes. I've just always made a mess of chicken when I pound it - so either way will probably work.

**Some string cheese melts more than others, so some brands just melt right out of the roll while it is baking. Fridgio (?) has worked well for me.

***Ham you have on hand for sandwiches works great. Nice and thin and it's easy to roll.

Fun with Frogs

Here is a fun snack to do with kids. My mom showed me this when she was visiting.

Ingredients per frog:
1 Apple
4 Grapes
2 chocolate chips
2 small scoops of cream cheese

BBQ Chicken Pizza (Example & Label Ideas)

Here is an example of a basic recipe. Be sure to include labels so we can search the entries easily. You can add the labels when you create a new post (see small box at the bottom right). For labels, please include the main ingredient(s) and the category. For this recipe, my labels were Chicken, Pizza, Main Dish. Here are the basic categories we could use (if you think of more, go for it!):

Appetizer
Beverage
Bread
Soup
Salad
Main Dish
Side Dish
Misc. (Dressing, Toppings, Sauces, Etc.)
Dessert

BBQ Chicken Pizza by Emily & Haley

1 pizza crust
3 chicken breasts
1 1/3 c. BBQ sauce
6 oz. provolone or mozzarella, shredded
6 oz. smoked Gouda, shredded
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Combine chicken and 2/3 c. BBQ sauce & marinate (1 hour or more). Then bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Once cool, chop into strips or bite-size pieces.

Spoon 2/3 c. BBQ sauce onto pizza dough. Then sprinkle half of cheese on top. Cover with chicken and onion. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes. After removing from the oven, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve. Serves 4.

Comments:
Here's a great recipe I got at a recent recipe swap with the YW of our ward. I made it a few weeks ago and it was great! Even my brother liked it.

Welcome!

Hi all!

Welcome to my new Recipe Swapping Blog! I received one of those emails claiming that if I entered a recipe and forwarded it to ten people, I'd get tons back. Well, that never happened. I've done it twice without any luck. But, then I thought of all of you, my fabulous friends and family and realized that I have a vast pool of excellent chefs to choose from!

So...I decided to create one central place to swap recipes and ideas. It's a no-pressure site and as you can see, it's just beginning. But after compiling our first (and only) family cookbook in 2007 and revising it in 2008, I wanted to get updates from people as they continued to find great recipes. You are all an 'author' for this site so you can add a post with a recipe or a question, etc.

I hope you'll enjoy this site and contribute as often or as little as you like! Cheers!