Ingredients:

• 1 Coffee Mug
• 4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• Small splash of vanilla

Directions:

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. Put a fork in it!

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Lighten it up: substitute Spenda for the sugar and applesauce for the oil and low fat or skim milk.

I am forever out of something, how about you?

1 tsp baking soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar.

This is a recipe from my husbands family and it has been passed down for a few generations. The outside is nice and crusty with a great texture to the pound cake.

Ingredients

• 3 C Sugar (I substituted 3 C Splenda and 1 1/2 t baking soda this time)
• 2 sticks of butter - softened
• ½ C Shortening
• 5 Eggs
• 3 C Cake Flour
• ½ t Baking Powder
• ¼ C Milk
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1 t Lemon Flavoring (for today's cake I did not add the lemon flavoring)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening; gradually add sugar a little at a time until all blended. Add the eggs, one at a time; beating well.

Sift together the flour and baking powder then add a little at a time to the creamed mixture, alternating the flour with the milk. Add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon flavoring until mixed well. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, then pour in the cake batter. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to remove any air pockets.

Bake 325 for 1 ½ hours If you use Splenda shorten the cooking time by about 10 minutes. The usual toothpick test works.
DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR WHILE BAKING!
The finished cake! I saw no loss of volume compared to the full sugar version...

When I make the regular "full sugar" recipe I make this icing:
Icing
• 1 stick of Butter - softened
• 1 box of sifted Confectioners’ Sugar
• 3 oz pkg. of Cream Cheese - softened
• 1 Lemon Rind – grated
• 3 to 4 T lemon juice
Cream softened butter and cream cheese together, mixing well. Add small amounts of the sifted conf. sugar and continue creaming until all the sugar has been added. Add lemon juice, as needed, until it is the right consistency to spread on cooled cake. Stir in the lemon rind, then ice!

Lighter Icing
But for today's cake I used 2/3 stick of butter and halved the sugar and left out the lemon to make a lighter icing to drizzle on. Spoon it into a baggie, snip a small corner off and drizzle away!



Slice it up and put a fork in it! Enjoy!

We've all seen them and or had them. They are just to handy and get used regularly. I actually have access to two sets. The ones pictured and another set that are in orange tones. The other set where my grandmothers and are packed to send home with my son...
The green ones are my husbands moms and will be M's or A's... they can figure that one out one day... LOL

In a pinch?

4 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ginger, 1 part nutmeg, 1 part allspice and dash of cloves.

These are dangerous!

Ingredients:

• 1 C butter, softened
• ½ C sugar
• 2 t vanilla
• 2 C all purpose flour
• ½ t salt
• 2 C finely chopped pecans
• Confectioners’ sugar (in a bowl)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. I skip this step and use parchment paper. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with a mixer until creamy, then add vanilla and mix in.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and pecans. Gradually add to butter mixture and beat until combined.
Rub hands in flour. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Let sit 2 minutes on cookie sheets. Remove from cookie sheets and roll in confectioners’ sugar then place on cooling racks to cool.

There is a cool front coming through NC now and lowering the temperatures. When that happens, I don't know about you, but I think about soups and stews. This is a great recipe and just enough heat!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions - diced
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 (4.5 oz) cans green chilies, un-drained
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 t ground cumin
• 1 ½ t dried oregano
• Dash of red pepper
• 5 ½ cups chicken broth
• 5 cups chopped cooked chicken breast ( 5 or 6 large breast)
• 3 (15.8 oz) cans of Great Northern Beans, drained (reserve juice)
• 3 C (12oz) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook onions in oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, stirring constantly until tender. Add green chilies, garlic, cumin, oregano, red pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth, chicken, beans with juice and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil: reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring often.


Stir in 2 C of the Monterrey jack cheese, stir constantly until cheese melted.
To serve, ladle chili into soup bowls, top with part of the remaining cheese. You can also add to toppings:
Salsa, sour cream, fresh chopped parsley or cilantro.