Culinary Goods

I am a sucker for chocolate and mint, so I give this a 9.5. Normal people would probably rate it less. Anyway, here is what I do: You make a chocolate cake and cut it into cubes, then layer it with peppermint chocolate pie filling and whipped cream. So good. Chocolate Cake for 9x13 pan ¾ cup cocoa I use dutch processed 1 ½ cups boiling water 2 cups flour + 1 Tbs. ¼ + 1/8 tsp. baking powder I just do 1/2 tsp. 1 ½ tsp. baking soda 1 ¼ cups sugar I cut this down by about 2 Tbs. ¼ + 1/8 tsp. salt I just do 1/2 tsp. 1 ½ tsp. vanilla   ¾ cup butter ( I do 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup olive oil) 3 eggs Combine cocoa with boiling water, cool completely. Sift flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In mixer, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light (about 5 minutes). Beat in flour mixture (in fourths) alternately with cocoa (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour. Do not overbeat. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes; until top springs back when gently pressed

These were okay, but I think I cut down the sugar a bit too much. They were much easier than my normal peanut butter bars, but not nearly as good. A few people really liked them, but I think they were just fine. They get a 6, and the recipe came form halfbakedharvest.com. 1 1/2   sticks (3/4 cup)  salted butter 3/4   cup  creamy peanut butter 1   cup   light brown sugar I used 1/2 inch cup 1/2   cup   granulated sugar 2   eggs 1   tablespoon   vanilla extract 2   cups   all-purpose flour 1   teaspoon   baking powder 1   cup   semi sweet chocolate chips 2-3   ounces   milk chocolate chunks I used about 1/3 C. chocolate chips instead  flaky sea salt I left this out Here's the link:   https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/salted-milk-chocolate-and-peanut-butter-blondies/

This is a good sweet bread, and it’s a cross between muffins, brownies, and cakes. It has an intense chocolate flavor. This probably gets an 8. The recipe came from a book called “Baked Explorations” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread 3/4 cup brown sugar I cut this in half 1 cup cocoa, sifted 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar I cut this in half 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 2 large eggs 1 egg yolk 3/4 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup vegtable oil I used canola 1 tsp. vanilla 8 oz. dark chocolate chopped I cut this in half Cream cheese 5 oz. cream cheese, softened 2 Tbs. creamy peanut butter 1/3 cup sugar I use powdered sugar So, you combine the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, and beat. This is a thick batter. Stir in the dark chocolate chunks by hand. Grease and flour a loaf pan. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. I would put some tinfoil on the top because mine got too done, an

I love pumpkin pie, so was super excited for these, but the texture made these completely awful for me. It was mix between the custard-y texture of pumpkin pie and the cake texture of cupcakes, so it was just a gross combination. I also didn't make the sweetened whipped cream and just used my regular whipped cream. The recipe came from melskitchencafe.com and they get a 4. CUPCAKE BATTER: 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar I used 1/3 C. 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) lightly packed brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 large egg yolk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream I used half and half  1/4 cup milk (1% or above) 2/3 cup (3.5 ounces) all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (see note for substitution) I used the substitution  1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon baking powder SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM: 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Jared made this the other night and I really enjoyed it. The only thing this needs is some type of smoked sausage and it would be perfect. But for vegetarians, this is still a good soup. The recipe came from melskitchencafe.com and gets a 7. 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup chopped yellow or white onion 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press 1/2 cup diced carrots (about 2 medium carrots) 1/2 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika 1 teaspoon salt 1 pound Yukon Gold or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (I do not peel but you can if you want) He didn't peel them 1 cup red lentils, sorted and rinsed (see note) 1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (see note) He didn't use these 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth 8 to 10 ounces kale or spinach, chopped (optional but delicious) He used spinach Here's the link to the instructions:  https://www.melskitchencafe.com/smoky-le

Even when I was a kid, I couldn't stand most Mormon cooking because it was almost completely flavorless. I appreciate quality, flavorful meals that require some thought, and Mormon cooking always seemed like quantity always trumped quantity since parents are trying to feed a lot of kids in a hurry. This is a meal from my childhood that reminds me of Mormon cooking but I like well enough that I have hung onto it into adulthood. It has pretty good flavor, and is low carb, which is always a plus. I made this a ton when I was a gestational diabetic, but make it now about once a year. I have no idea where my mom originally got this. 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 C. white or brown rice (uncooked) 1/4 C. onion dash of pepper 1 tsp. salt. Sauce: 1 can tomato soup (I don't like most canned soups, so I just mix 1 can of tomato sauce with 1 TBS corn starch) 2 C. water 2 TBS worcestershire sauce Cook rice and mix in with raw meat, onion, salt and pepper. Roll into balls (I use my