Unbelievably Easy Black Forest Cake

Alright, alright; so I cheated on this recipe. I really didn't do anything but mix pre-made things together and throw in the oven. Well, the dark chocolate shavings were my own personal touch. Regardless, it tastes absolutely wonderful. Seriously, my fiance almost had a heart attack.

Unbelievably Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe:

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake
• 1 can cherry pie filling (with whole cherries)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 tub Cool Whip (thawed)
• 1 package white chocolate pudding mix (or vanilla or cheesecake)
• 1 square dark chocolate (for garnish)

Depending on the pan you're using and what the boxed cake mix says, preheat oven to desired temperature. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, pie filling, water and egg. Pour into pan and bake. Remove and let cool.

Meanwhile, once the Cool Whip is completely thawed, add the dry pudding mix and combine. When the cake is cool, frost and garnish with dark chocolate.

So easy, so good.

Slow Cooked Pot Roast & Root Vegetables

Melt-in-your-mouth pot roast with tender vegetables, gravy and crusty bread. That's my kind of meal.

I really do have this infatuation with Lord of the Rings and what I consider to be rustic, hearty meals that a knight would eat in a dark, dank pub. This is one of them. If I had iron bowls and goblets of ale, it would be a complete meal. 

I made this in the slow cooker because I was going to be out and about, but I would probably recommend using a dutch oven instead. I don't know why because this turned out amazing, but for some reason slow cookers always feel like cheating to me. Oh well, I love them.

Slow Cooked Pot Roast & Root Vegetables Recipe:

• 1 1/2 lb beef roast (chuck, loin, whatever you want. Remember that leaner meats will either need to  cook for less time or a loooooong time to be tender.)
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• salt and black pepper
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 turnip, diced into chunks
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• Handful of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 potato, diced into chunks (optional, I didn't actually use)
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves only
• 1 tbsp dried or fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp dried thyme

• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup water
• crusty bread

Cut slits all over your pot roast and insert sliced garlic. Rub with salt and pepper liberally and place in the slow cooker. Add everything else in the first set of ingredient list, put on the lid and slow cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. Couldn't be easier. 

When the roast is nice and tender, remove from the slow cooker (along with veggies) and set aside in a bowl (keep warm). It will look like this:

Ah, beautiful.

Then pour the juices into a small saucepan and heat over medium on the stove. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Add to the gravy in the saucepan and stir constantly until it comes to a boil and reaches your desired thickness. Place the roast and veggies back in the slow cooker and pour the gravy in. Warm everything together for an additional 20-30 minutes. Slice and serve with crusty bread!

Oh and since you'll probably have leftovers, here's a next-day idea:

Leftover Pot Roast & Wild Rice Casserole Recipe:

• Leftover pot roast, shredded
• Leftover veggies and gravy
• 2 cups cooked rice (I did 1 cup wild rice and 1 cup white rice)
• 1-2 cups chopped green beans
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Mix everything together and pour into 9x13 baking dish. Bake, covered, for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove cover and bake for additional 8 minutes. 

2 meals for the price of 1!

Pumpkin Mole Enchiladas

I would consider myself a pretty humble person who doesn't boast often or enjoy a lot of attention. Sigh, middle child syndrome. But holy mole (har har) this dish is freaking fantastic. I am tooting my own horn all the way back to the kitchen to get seconds. It was a pretty laborious recipe, but all the careful details really made a difference in the final product. As usual, I didn't measure any of my dry seasonings so I'll try to guesstimate. Yay for fall + pumpkin + smoky Aztec-inspired flavors!

Pumpkin Mole Enchiladas Recipe:

• 1 large split chicken breast (bone-in and skin removed)
• salt, black pepper, Oregano, smoked Spanish paprika, cumin, roasted garlic powder

• 1 tomato
• 2 jalapenos
• 3 green onion bulbs + stalks
• 2 garlic cloves
• handful of mushrooms

• 1/2 can pumpkin puree
• chicken broth (didn't measure but about 1/4-1/2 cup)
• salt, black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika

• 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp pumpkin mole sauce
• 2 tsp cumin

• 1 cup grated mozzerella and Asiago cheese blend
• corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your chicken breast in a casserole dish and season generously with first set of spices. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit covered to retain all the juices.

Crank up the oven to broil. Place the next set of veggies on a baking tray and roast in 2 minute increments, checking and rotating often to prevent burning. Took about 6-8 minutes total.

Remove veggies and let cool for a couple minutes. Turn oven back to 350 degrees. Slice up the roasted garlic, remove the onion bulbs (save stalks for later) and de-stem the jalapenos. Add all the trimmed roasted veggies (except for mushrooms) in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and chicken broth and blend. Finally add all of the dry seasonings, blend and pour into a bowl when you have your desired taste and texture.

By this time your chicken should be well-rested. Hand pull the meat off of the bone (laborious, right?). Combine in a bowl with spinach, chopped roasted mushrooms, diced roasted green onion stalk, cumin, Greek yogurt and 1 tbsp of pumpkin sauce. 

Warm tortillas in damp paper towel in microwave for about 45 seconds. Pour a little chicken broth and pumpkin sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish (I used the same one I roasted the chicken in so all the little chicken bits and gravy were in there too). Now start rolling enchiladas! Fill tortilla with chicken mixture and cheese and place in dish. Cover everything with the heavenly pumpkin mole sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil, grate some fresh nutmeg on top and bake again for 5 minutes. BAM! Done. Enjoy these perfect fall enchiladas and smile :)

A Thanksgiving-Inspired Affair

Fall is my favorite time of year. I actually go a little crazy once I feel the slightest cool breeze and begin to see pumpkin products sprouting everywhere.

Exhibit A) I've called Yogurtland 2 times in the last week asking if they have the pumpkin pie flavor yet. Exhibit B) I bought Halloween decorations this weekend and almost put them all up in my apartment.
Exhibit C) I wanted Thanksgiving dinner so badly on Saturday that I just had to make it (sort of).

The weather was just too lovely and Fall-ish not to indulge though :)

This is Thanksgiving-inspired, since I didn't use turkey or really go all out (i.e. make my own stuffing...which I'm regretting; boxed stuff = bleh.)



Roast Chicken Recipe:

• 2 chicken breasts, bone-in (skin on or off optional; longer cooking time if skin on)
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/2 lemon, juice + sliced
• salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken and veggies in a 13x9 baking dish. Season generously, cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes or until juices run clear when you slice into chicken.

Sweet Potato Recipe:

• 1 sweet potato
• cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, ground almonds, butter

For a super fast sweet potato, poke a few holes and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Flip and microwave additional 4 minutes. Baking is usually better, but will take substantially longer. Let it cool, cut in half and mash the insides a bit while keeping the skin in tact as a serving cup. Add your seasonings, butter and almonds, mix and enjoy!

Green Bean Casserole Recipe:

• 1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped in half
• 6-8 mushrooms, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Add green beans and blanch for a couple minutes; throw in ice bath. Heat oil in medium sauce pan. Saute garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms start to brown. Add flour, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until flour begins to brown. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce. Simmer and stir until the mixture is to desired thickness. Add green beans and sauce in a baking dish and bake uncovered until bubbly, about 30 minutes. 

*Also pictured: boxed stuffing and packaged gravy. I am not proud.

German Red Cabbage & Corn Casserole

Every so often I really crave good German food. It's hard to find and can be difficult to make. Luckily there are some key flavor agents that always bring about German sentiment: caraway, mustard, apple cider vinegar. With leftover pork tenderloin already cooked and ready to go, I just had to make a couple quick sides and voila, instant German meal. 

German Red Cabbage Recipe:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, black pepper
• 1/2 red cabbage, shredded
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp celery seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions, salt and pepper and saute until soft. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add cabbage and cook until it begins to get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining seasonings, followed by the honey and apple cider vinegar. Mix well, cover and cook on medium-low for about 15 minutes or low for about 30 minutes (with this dish, the longer and lower you cook it the better). 

German Corn Casserole Recipe:

• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red chili, diced (optional)
• salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp brown mustard
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup crushed pretzels (separated in half)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl (just 1 half of the crushed pretzels) and mix very well. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan or 8-inch square pan, spread evenly and top with remaining crushed pretzels. Cook for about 40 minutes or until bubbly.