Taste of Our Home Tuesday: The Chocolate Cola Cake

If you like sweet, rich, moist, chocolaty goodness, then this cake is for you!  It is very sweet, but I love how moist and soft it stays.  I would recommend eating it with a large glass of milk or a bowl of home made ice cream, or both!:)  Enjoy! 
This recipe came from Pinterest.  The original post can be found here.

First mix: 
2 cups flour  
2 cups sugar  
1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Then, in a saucepan over medium high heat stir this up good until it boils:
1 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coca-cola (from bottle is my preference!)
1/2 cup buttermilk

Next, take off heat and add that to the flour mix & whisk until combined.

Finally, add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix, put in pan, bake it for about 30 minutes. Don’t over-bake it! A toothpick should come out clean.

Frosting:
Boil together in a saucepan:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup coca cola 

Remove from heat and slowly stir in 4 cups of confectioners’ sugar until nice and smooth. Then add in about a cup of chopped pecans, and give it a stir.  (I leave out the pecans)

Frost the cake while it's still warm.  The frosting will spread itself out. 

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Warm Bean Dip

We have a vacation I was trying to get ready for yesterday and nearly forgot my post!

I made this bean dip when Justin's family came over one evening.  It was super easy and quick to do and had a great flavor.  We ate the leftovers wrapped up in tortillas with some chicken later on in the week.  Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 cans (16 ounces, each) refried beans

1 packet taco seasoning

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese in melted and slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

It's that time of year when fresh zucchini is aplenty.  I did not plant any in my garden this year, but still had some left over in the freezer from last year.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I couldn't go wrong with something that is double chocolate.  It's a very rich bread that goes best with a tall glass of milk.  Its probably more of a dessert then a bread.  Very delicious and moist!  Enjoy!!       

Ingredients
2 cups shredded zucchini (unpeeled), squeeze excess water out 
2 eggs 
⅓ cup honey 
½ cup canola oil 
½ cup brown sugar 
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tsp salt 
½ tsp baking soda 
½ tsp baking powder 
⅓ cup cocoa powder 
1⅔ cups flour 
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Instructions 
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, honey, oil, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour. Whisk until well combined. Using a spatula fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. Allow to cool completely before serving. 

My Harvest Fun

In the past my harvest has consisted of driving down to my parents, helping with meals and riding in the combines. This year I still went down to my parents and helped with the meals, but I also got to play with my little nephew!  My mom was watching him and was busy a couple of days so I got the privilege of watching him.:)

     He loves to do everything like his daddy.  Instead of holding his phone up to his ear, (or neck) to talk on it, he had it upside down and was talking on it like the CB's in the combines and trucks.

He loves the little nesting barrels.

He has learned that his picture appears on the back of the camera after I take it.  He won't smile for me when I take it, but as soon as I'm done he hops up to see, grins really big, and starts talking to his picture.

It was pretty warm outside a couple of the days so we decided to take a little swim.

 

He loved the water and was splashing all over the place.

He's the best little guy ever, I had a great couple of days!

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Fresh strawberries are in season and when they are only 99 cents at Aldi I stock up!  I found this cake recipe and couldn't think of a better way to use up my strawberries.  This cake is super moist and very very tasty!!  There are step by step directions and pictures where I found the recipe here.  Enjoy!!     

 

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Taste of Our Home Tuesday: Crock Pot Beef Tips

Crock Pot recipes are so handy any time of the year! I love them during the school year because I have very little to do when I get home from a long day. I love them during the summer because they don't heat up my house and I can work with Justin in the yard when he gets home from work and we can still eat before 8:00.  I think I'll really love them after the baby comes!!  This recipe can be served over mashed potatoes or noodles.  We went with the noodles and really liked it.  You can find more recipes where I found this one here. It was super easy and very yummy enjoy!!   

 

Ingredients:

2 lb. stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet brown gravy mix

1 packet Lipton dry onion soup mix

1 small can mushrooms

1 cup water

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients and pour over the meat.  Set crock pot to low for the day, about 6-8 hours.  Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.