Ace of Cakes?

Explination to come later. What do you think?

Tasty Tuesday 2/3/09

Here is this week's Tasty Tuesday recipe.

I love a good chocolate cake. This one couldn't be any easier and it is so moist. It is a great cake to give as a gift because it is pretty, travels well, and stays moist. I made 3 of them this past Sunday night to give as gifts on Monday. Can't say that I wasn't a little jealous that I didn't get a bite. Let me know if you try this recipe!


Chocolate Bliss Cake

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 small box of instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350* and grease a bundt pan (**see note at the end).
Mix all of the ingredients on low until blended. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into bundt pan and tap the pan on the counter lightly to release any air bubbles.
Bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes or until cake is done.
Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then flip the cake onto a cooling rack (leave the bundt pan still on the cake). After about 5 minutes, remove the pan and allow the cake to completely cool on the cooling rack. Enjoy!

**I used my Pampered Chef Stoneware Fluted Pan and had no problems. When I have used a regular bundt pan with this recipe, I only fill the pan 3/4 of the way full. In the past, when I have used all of the cake batter, it has over flowed in my oven.

Homework Assignment

This is from an email my mother in law sent me. I thought it was too funny and would pass it along.

Homework Assignment: Who do you want to be like when you grow up?


This is the note the teacher received the next day:

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Smith

Tasty Tuesday

I remember seeing this blog carnival somewhere but I can't remember or I would like you back to it. I am going to try to start making a habit of posting a tasty recipe each Tuesday.
I made this wonderful comfort dish last night. I am looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today! I took a recipe I had found, tweeked it for our taste and also tried to make it healthy. My husband said that it was better than Cracker Barrel's chicken and dumplings (which was a huge compliment to me!). Also, this is a very checkbook friendly recipe. You could easily serve 6-7 (Jay and I both had 2 bowls last night and there were enough for leftovers today) with this recipe and I only spent $8.50 on the ingredients. Let me know if you try it!

Chicken and Dumplings with Mushrooms
1 32oz Low Sodium, Fat Free Chicken Stock

1 small can of Low Sodium Cream of Mushroom Soup (If you don't like mushrooms, use cream of chicken soup)

1 Can of Pillsbury Flakey Layer Biscuits (10 count--I used the homestyle)

1/3 a cup of Flour

2 Cups of Water

2-3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Salt and Pepper to Taste
A dash of Garlic Powder


In a large saucepan, heat the chicken stock and water until boiling. Once boiling, add the chicken in and let poach for about 5-6 minutes (until the chicken is white and firm--don't over cook!). Remove the chicken and bring the liquid back to a boil. Once boiling, wisk in the cream of mushroom soup. Let the liquid return to a boil, once boiling turn the heat down to medium.
Open your can of biscuits and seperate each biscuit into 2-3 layers. Tear each layer into 4 pieces. Dip the pieces in flour and then add them to the liquid. After all of the biscuits have been added, let it simmer for 10 minutes. Gently stir often. At this point, you can season the broth with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. While the liquid is simmering, chop the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces. Return the chicken to the liquid and turn the heat to low. Simmer on low for atleast 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

This was a very easy recipe and makes a lot of food. It would be great on a cold night!

In Prissy news, she got to go shopping for the first time last night. We took her to Petsmart and she loved it. She came away with a couple of new toys, a crate, and a soft bed. Maybe her name should be Princess instead of Prissy! She is such a sweet puppy!!!

Meet Miss Priss

Today my parents picked up their new puppy Prissy. She is a 3 year old, long haired/broken coat Jack Russell Terrier. She is spunky, sweet, and oh so loveable. We were going to change her name but Prissy just fits her personality. I am in love with her already. She loves to ride in the car and LOVES to play fetch. Here are some pictures of our newest family member. She was moving so fast that it was hard to take good pictures and my camera battery was going dead so I didn't get many.

Miss Prissy

She LOVES to play.

Ok, this is my first attempt of using the video camera on my digital camera. It is not the best video but atleast you can get an idea about how much fun Miss Priss is. Sorry about the long back-end shot, I was trying to get the ball to throw for her.

I was filled with a mix of emotions when Mom called to let me know they were going to look at a puppy. I was excited at the prospect of a new companion but it made me miss Jack. When she called to let me know they were almost home with her, I got really emotional. I miss Jack and I know Prissy will never replace him, but I think she is going to find her own little place in our hearts. I'm attached to her already.

Here she is...Miss America

I'm such a girly girl. I love a good pageant. They remind me of my pageant days many moons ago. If I can find them, I will try to post some of my old pageant pictures. My very first I was first runner up as Junior Miss Montevallo. Then in 9th grade, I won Miss Congeniality in the Miss Montevallo High School pageant. I participated in Junior Miss and had a great time but did not place (everyone who placed was from the same school...coincidence?) Then my senior year I won Miss Montevallo High School. That was my last pageant but when I moved to Mobile I continued to work with pageants as the public relations intern for America's Junior Miss. I had a blast!!

Tonight I am enjoying the new and improved Miss America pageant. So far Miss Alabama has made the top 15! I hope she does well.

Movie Filled Weekend

Since Jay has begun working at Publix, we rarely get Saturday's off together. This Saturday we decided to make it "movie day". We began the day with lunch then a trip to the theaters to see "My Bloody Valentine 3D". Okay, go ahead and laugh, but it was actually kinda good. I will give my reviews in a few minutes. Then we grabbed a pizza for supper and headed to the movie store. I had a free rental so we rented "Tropic Thunder". On the way home, we stopped by Walmart to try out the Redbox machine and rented "Mamma Mia". At home we watched "Tropic Thunder", "Mamma Mia", and "Vantage Point". We had a lot of fun just sitting around watching movies (and ignoring the pile of laundry and dirty dishes).

"My Bloody Valentine 3D"
This is a remake of the '80s horror flick, My Bloody Valentine. I have never seen the original so I didn't know what to expect. Bloody, very bloody. I would say about 2 minutes into the movie begins the blood bath. This movie is shown in 2D and 3D, splurge and see it in 3D. You get a funny looking pair of modern day 3D glasses (no more red and blue lenses--they now look like sunglasses). The movie began with the first killing showing and eyeball coming "off screen". I jumped many times, there are some parts that I really could have done without seeing, and many parts were just so cheesy that you had to laugh. It does have a story line even thought it was kinda predictable. There were many gratuitous 3D shots (things coming "out of the screen at you") but that is what made it a lot of fun. I would not take a child to see this movie. Overall, 2 out of 5 stars.


"Tropic Thunder"
I love a good comedy but this one was a let down. There were a ton of big name actors in this movie but it never really came together for me. There were some really funny parts but a lot of just awkward parts. Jay enjoyed it more than I did. I give it 2 stars out of 5.

"Mamma Mia"
I LOVE a good musical. I have seen Mamma Mia on stage so I already knew the story line. Overall I like the movie despite some really cheesy performances by the extras. I thought Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried did an excellent job. I also really enjoyed Pierce Bronson, but I could have done without the performances of the extras. The movie follows the play the best that I can remember. I really enjoyed the last few minutes of the movie and thought Streep's performance during Winner Takes it All was really heartfelt. I give Mamma Mia 4 out of 5 stars.

This is the movie that I rented from the Redbox machine. I was really pleased with the service and you can't beat $1 for a movie rental.

"Vantage Point"
This was the last movie of the mix. Very fast paced and action packed. I had heard mixed reviews of it but decided to give it a try on HBO. It reminded me a lot of the tv show 24. The movie kept replaying the same scenes but from different characters vantage points. You find out that things are not how they seem. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Now that movie day/night has concluded, I guess I should tackle that pile of laundry and dishes. Thank goodness for one more day off.