Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake

I made this for Grandma's birthday, and it was delicious. Grandma said it was one of the best chocolate cakes she'd ever eaten.

3/4 c. butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 1/4 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, at room temp.
3/4 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 c. semisweet choco chips

preheat oven to 350. grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans. in a saucepan, melt butter and chocolate, stirring over low heat.

combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl of electric mixer. add chocolate mixture, buttermilk and eggs. beat on low speed for 1 minute, then increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

divide batter between cake pans. bake until cake springs back when gently pressed, 25-30 min. cook in pans 5 minutes; invert onto wire rack.

meanwhile, bring cream just to a boil. remove from heat and stir in choco chips; mix until frosting is smooth and starts to thicken.

Place 1 cooled layer on cake plate. spread with 1/3 cup of frosting. top with second layer. frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.

Meaty cheese manicotti

Meaty Cheese Manicotti

1 package manicotti shells
½ lb Italian sausage
½ lb ground round or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano, DRAINED
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cups shredded parmesan cheese


Cook pasta according to package. Rinse in cold water. Drain and set aside.

Remove casing from sausage and discard. Cook sausage, ground round and onion in a large skillet until done. Drain.

Add wine to skillet. Bring to a boil. Add whipping cream and Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, set aside.

Combine meats, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Spoon into manicotti shells. Arrange in lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and pour cream mixture evenly over shells. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 10 minutes more. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

chicken pot pie soup

This is really yummy and I don't know if it's cuz of the noodles or the recipe, so try to make it with noodles made with egg yolks and wheat flour. The kind I got are amish and are square like 2 inches by 2 inches.

4 cups broth, water or combination ( I made my own by throwing a whole pieced up chicken into the pot for a while)
6 oz noodles
chicken from boiled chicken
3/4 cup diced potatoes
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
14.5 oz can cream of chicken soup

bring liquid to a boil. Add noodles and bring to a boil again. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. remove 2 cups of broth and mix with cream of chicken soup. add to noodles. add remaining ingredients. simmer or bake until vegetables are tender.

this was a soup someone brought us while we were getting meals from the church after the baby came. this was my favorite. it is kinda like a soup, but pretty thick. it is yummy!!

granola cookie bars

Here's the recipe for the cookies that nurse made for us while we were in the hospital that darin ate all of them.

Granola Cookie Bars


1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. water
4 c. oatmeal
3 c. flour (I think I used half whole wheat and increased the water to 1 Tbsp.)
2 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. coconut
1 c. raisins

Cream butter, sugars, eggs, water and vanilla. Add flour, salt and oatmeal. Stir in remaining ingredients. Dough is very stiff. Press into greased 15x10x1" baking pan. Bake at 350 for 22-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and cut into bars.