Chocolate Cloud Cake

No flour and No butter, just 4 ingredients.

Delicate and delectable.

Melt chocolate in a bowl, then whisk in the 

sugar and egg yolks until well combined.

 In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks.

 Whisk  1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate.

 Fold in the remaining egg whites gently with a 

rubber spatula. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter in a dish and set the dish in a
larger pan, like a roasting pan.  You're going to
 bake it in a water bath. It's easy, just fill
the roasting pan with boiling water until it's
halfway up the sides of the dish.  

 A water bath helps it bake gently and stay moist.

 Bake until puffed and just set.

 Let cool 5 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Serve warm. 

Chocolate Cloud Cake

1/2 C sugar

5  eggs, separated

1 bag (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

pinch salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Bring a kettle of water to a boil for the

water bath. Butter a shallow 2-qt baking

(casserole) dish and sprinkle with sugar,

tapping out excess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high until

soft peaks form. In another large bowl melt

the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute.

Remove and stir to melt completely. Whisk in

the sugar, then whisk in egg yolks. Whisk in

about 1/3 of the egg whites. Add the remaining

egg whites and gently fold in using a rubber 

spatula just until combined.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transfer to the baking dish. Set the dish

 in a roasting pan, and pour enough boiling

 water into the pan to come about 1 inch up 

the sides of the dish. Bake @350º until 

puffed and just set, about 25-35 minutes. 

Center of cake should barely move when 

jiggled. Let cool 5 minutes. Dust with 

powdered sugar just before serving warm.

Enjoy!

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Do Not Buy Cinnamon Sugar!

Sorry if I sounded so bossy, but you can make your

own and save tons of money! And by tons, I mean

way less than you pay for the pre-made stuff, not

"send your kids to college" tons.

Hello, it's just sugar and cinnamon in a ratio

that is perfect for your taste.
Make your own for about 50¢ or buy the
premixed jar for $3.19! No running out
of this good stuff too. 

Mix any amount of sugar in a cup and add

enough cinnamon to your liking. 

About ½ C sugar to about 1 T cinnamon. 

 I like mine cinnamony, 
so I that's the ratio use.

Put it in a shaker-top jar and keep

it handy by the toaster and say yes to

wonderful, buttery, cinnamon toast!

Is there anything better on a 

cool morning? Nope!

 Buy your favorite brand or for maximum saving 

get your spices in the ethnic food isle

 One bag of sugar and a jar of cinnamon would

make a LOT of cinnamon sugar for pennies!

You are paying more for the sugar than the 

cinnamon when you get them premixed.

Take it one step further and make your

own version of Pampered Chef's 

Cinnamon Plus and  Cinnamon Sugar Plus.

Enjoy!

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Fast Balls ~ Only 4 Ingredients

Yummy meatballs in a savory brown sauce.
Only 4 ingredients!
It's another easy dinners for your repertoire.

If it's quarter to six and you still haven't decided

what to do with that pound of hamburger this one

is going to feed your peeps and make them happy.

This is another gem from Peg Bracken's 

"I Hate To Cook" book. It's in 

her chapter Last-Minute Suppers 

(or this is the story of your life). 

 Only 4 ingredients and you already have them. 

Here's what you do.

Mix the meatball ingredients; ground chuck, 

breadcrumbs and milk. That's it! I used 

seasoned crumbs because that's what I had open.

Don't be tempted (I was, but resisted) to add 

any other seasonings. You'll get plenty of flavor

from the onion soup gravy. Roll them into balls.

I got 24 meatballs. 

Brown them in a large skillet in 1-2 T butter, 

turning gently to brown both sides.

Sprinkle the onion soup over the browned balls.

Add the 1 C water and mix around gently so you

don't break the meatballs. Simmer on low while 

you make rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes. 

I had leftover (planned ahead) mashed potatoes

from earlier in the week. Then I just microwaved

some frozen peas and we had a homey

comfort-food dinner that was so easy.

~ FAST BALLS ~

1 lb. hamburger

1/2 C seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 C milk

Mix up and shape it into small balls.

Brown them in butter.

Next, stir in

1 package onion-soup mix

1 C water

Mix it around gently so you don't break

the meatballs. Simmer while you cook the

rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

tip: Here's how I package and freeze ground beef.

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Easy Apple Tart

This is one of the easiest and prettiest 
apple desserts in my repertoire.

You can make this anytime.  It's nice to have a 

home-baked treat if you have unexpected

 visitors in the afternoon.  It's takes 

only a few ingredients and 5 minutes to make

 I cheat and use Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry

Sheets. One pastry sheet, two apples, and 

brown sugar. 

 Lay the apple slices in 3 rows and
spritz with lemon juice.

 Sprinkle brown sugar over the top; about 3/4C.

 Sprinkle on a little cinnamon if you like.
I like.

 Bake at 400º for 20 minutes.

 Spoon any melted brown sugar over the top.

Let cool a bit and dust with powdered sugar.

 Pretty little tart.

 I suppose a scoop of vanilla ice cream
would top this nicely.

Definitely good with a cup of coffee. 

Easy Apple Tart

1 Puff Pastry Sheet

2 apples

3/4 C brown sugar

cinnamon (optional)

lemon juice

Thaw puff pastry for 20 minutes.

Unfold and put on a parchment lined

baking pan. Peel, core and thinly slice 

the apples. Line the apples in rows along

 the inside of the pastry. Spritz with a

little lemon juice. Sprinkle the brown sugar

evenly over the apples. Sprinkle lightly

with cinnamon if desired, or just sprinkle

on half of the apples. Bake @400º for 20

minutes until puffed and golden. 

Let cool a bit and dust with powdered 

sugar to serve. 

Enjoy!

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Chicken Vol-au-Vent

This is a favorite dinner party recipe
from many years ago.

It takes a little more time, but you can
make it ahead of time. 

I use Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells.

Saute seasoned chicken thighs in butter.
Set aside to cool and remove the bone and skin.

I don't know why this picture keep loading up-side
down, but I wanted you to see the breakfast
sausage I used to fill the chicken thighs.

Ingredients for the sour cream mushroom
sherry sauce.

Saute the mushrooms, blend in flour, add broth,
then sour cream and sherry.

Roll out the pastry shells on a
flowered surface.

Lay a chicken thigh on the pastry and place
a sausage where the bone was. Add a bit of
mushroom sauce and enclose.

I make these ahead of time.

Bake seam-side down at 400º until golden;
about 30 minutes.

Serve with rice and a fresh vegetable.

Spoon on the heated mushroom sauce.
I cut the recipe in half for just the two
 of us and we had the extra 2 bundles for
dinner on another night. That made us happy.

Perfect little bundles. Similar in
technique to beef wellington.

Chicken Vol-au-vent

2 pkgs. frozen patty shells (Pepperidge Farm)

8 chicken thighs, skinned 

8 brown and serve sausages
(prepared per package instructions)

1/4 C butter

1 C chicken broth

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, diced

1/4 C flour

1/2 t salt

1 4 t pepper

1/4 t paprika (optional)

1 C sour cream

1/3 C sherry

2 T milk

Thaw 8 patty shells. Seasoned the chicken thighs
with salt & pepper and brown all around in butter.
Cover and simmer for 20  minutes. Remove
chicken from the pan. Saute the mushrooms in
 the pan drippings. Blend in flour and seasonings.
Add broth and whisk until thickened and smooth.
Whisk in the sour cream and sherry. Turn off heat.
Remove the bones from the thighs and place a
 browned sausage in the bone cavity of each thigh.
 Roll each thawed patty shell into a 6" square
on a lightly floured surface. Place a stuffed
 thigh in the center of each pastry square and top
with 2 T of the mushroom sauce. Fold pastry and
place seam-side down in a baking sheet. Brush the
 tops with milk. Bake @400º for 30 minutes

until golden brown. Serve with hot mushroom
sauce. Good with a green vegetable, salad,
 French bread, wine, white or wild rice.

Enjoy!

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