Pie Cake

Alot of times people ask me " Do you always bake desserts like what you post on your blog?" or " Is that seriously how you serve dinner?" So, I'll let you in on a little secret...NO! Of course not. We have regular throw- together dinners, just like everyone else. And no, I don't serve every single dessert topped with fudge sauce and whip cream. Well ok, maybe lots of them, but not every dessert I make requires 20 bowls plus one. Anyways, here's a dessert that I don't serve when I am trying to impress someone.Its one I save just for us. Its really basic, and basically yummy.

Pie Cake

1 whole 9-inch Pie Crust (store Bought Or Pat-a-Pie recipe from here)
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FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
2 ounces, Unsweetened Chocolate
½ cups Water
⅔ cups Granulated Sugar
¼ cups Butter or margarine
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
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FOR THE CAKE:
¼ cups Shortening
¾ cups Granulated Sugar
1 whole Egg
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
½ cups Milk
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350°. With the tines of a fork, poke holes about every inch or so on the bottom and sides of the pie crust. Partially bake the pie crust for 5 minutes. Combine all chocolate sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add the egg and blend well. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Then stir in milk and vanilla. Pour the cake mixture into the pie shell. Then gently pour chocolate sauce over the top of the cake. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.


Tastes best when served warm, topped with whip cream. ACK- I can't help it! Ok fine, it tastes good without whipped cream too....

Zucchini Medley

This is one of my favorite side dishes.  Its healthy, and delicious, and in my  book, thats a keeper!

Zucchini Medley

4 large green zucchini, scrubbed  and cubed ( unpeeled)

4 large yellow summer squash, scrubbed and cubed (unpeeled)

1 can whole mushrooms, or 2 pints fresh mushrooms

4 tablespoons olive oil

approximately 1/2 tablespoon salt, or to taste ( it needs a lot)

1 teaspoon sugar

generous sprinkling of onion powder and garlic powder

Arrange the zucchini,squash and mushrooms in a large cookie sheet. Drizzle with oil. Add remaining ingredients and toss until completely coated. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°, uncovered for 2 hours. Stir half way through. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies....revisited and oh so worth it!

While, I have already introduced you guys to my sister here and here, I've got another (well more than one, but thats not the point) sister hiding in the background. She definitely shares my passion for baking and is my partner in crime for lots of my recipes. So when she sent me this recipe to try, I knew I must listen to her and make it. And I was so glad! Here I was, thinking that I was all set in my chocolate chip cookie recipe department. And BAM she comes along and rocks the boat. I have been making the same chocolate chip cookie recipe for the past 17 years. Do the math- I started baking when I was really young. This chocolate chip cookie recipe got me through happy times and tough times. So I was reluctant to say that we now have a better recipe. But alas, you can run but you can't hide.These cookies are awesome. I am sorry Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. I will always have fond memories of our times together, but its time to move on.

 *Sniff* 

Ok, seriously- these are amazing. Ignore my ramblings and make these cookies. Today. Then post a comment on how they changed your view on life. Thank you. 

Felix K,'s "Don't even try to say these aren't the best you've ever eaten, because they are Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

(I did not make up that name. Its straight from Allrecipes.com)

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (12 ounce) bag chocolate chips
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• Preheat an oven to 300° F (150 degrees C).
• Gently mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a fork in a bowl. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla with the last egg. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine.
• Divide the dough into 24 3-tablespoon-sized balls. Flatten the balls to about 1/4-inch thick onto a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until the centers begin to set, about 20 minutes.
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• Notes:
• I made 5 dozen smaller cookies instead of the massive ones. They still need close to 17 minutes to bake even though they are smaller. 
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• If you are wondering why the cookies in the picture are not close, up and gooey as usual, its because I forgot to take pictures right away (I was too busy eating the cookies) and by the time I remembered, there were just a few cookies, covered in crumbs at the bottom of the ziploc bag. I wanted to save the cookie embarrassment at being seen in such a state, and took a step back. But really, when the cookies were fresh, they were gorgeous, chewy cookies, perfectly capable of posing in any macro picture.