Microwave Chocolate-Marshmallow Pudding

Super quick, super easy, rich and chocolate-y, and very inexpensive to make; this fun dessert will satisfy your chocolate craving for sure!! Equally delicious warm or cold, you can have this treat on the dinner table in no time.

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
pinch salt
3 level tablespoons corn starch
2 cups milk (see note below)
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups mini-marshmallows (optional)

In a large glass bowl, mix the brown sugar, cocoa, salt and corn starch. Slowly add the milk and mix well. At first the cocoa will sort of sit on top of the milk, but if you mix well with a whisk, it will mix together in a minute or so.

Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes. Carefully remove from microwave, and stir well (again with whisk).  Put it back in the microwave (one minute at a time...stirring well after each minute) until the pudding is shiny and thick.  My microwave took the initial 3 minutes, then 2 more (1 minute) intervals), but everyones microwave is different, so just mix it well after each interval and when it is shiny and thick, it's done.

After pudding is thick, stir in butter and vanilla and mini-marshmallows. The heat from the pudding will melt the marshmallows, so don't stir them too much (you want them to stay whole if possible).  Chill the pudding in dessert dishes.

NOTE: I like to use whole milk in this recipe, but I make it with 2% milk a lot too.

NOTE: Marshmallows totally optional.

NOTE: Don't microwave this pudding in a plastic bowl because the plastic gets hotter than the pudding for some reason; glass is the best.

YUMMY BARS

This basic recipe has been around for several decades because it is not only delicious, but it is super quick and easy and very versatile. It is basically a graham cracker bottom with a sweetened condensed milk center laced with coconut, nuts and chocolate chips; easy as one-two-three!!

Prefer dark chocolate? No problem, prefer peanut butter chips, no problem, prefer cinnamon or chocolate graham crackers? No problem.  Change this recipe to your hearts desire!!

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 cups favorite flavor chocolate chips

Line a 9" x 13" baking dish with parchment paper, leaving the ends long enough to hold on to when you lift the finished bars out of pan. If you don't have parchment paper, you can spray the pan with vegetable spray but parchment works the best.

Melt the butter and toss with graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Press firmly into prepared baking dish.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the bottom layer.
Sprinkle the coconut on top of the milk layer; next add the nuts if you are going to use them (I don't).

Finally, layer the chocolate chips (or your favorite flavor of chips). Use a fork and really press hard on the layers, mashing them all together.

Bake at 350° (in metal pan) or 325° in glass dish for 25 minutes or until lightly golden around edges.

Don't cut the bars until the chocolate is cooled AND set. You can speed set the chocolate by putting the baked bars in the fridge for a while, but bring it to room temperature again before cutting them.

Store covered, at room temperature. These are super fast to make and are great for any time you need a quick "take along".

FLOUR TORTILLAS

I've been on a "learning how to make flour tortillas" kick all week; I don't know how many different recipes I've tried, but it has been a lot of fun and even the "least attractive" tortillas were delicious and (very much) worth the effort (they are worlds better than the ones at the store!!)

Most tortilla recipes require the same basic ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, lard or shortening and hot water. Where the recipes differ is in technique and that is something that just takes practice;I found some GREAT tortilla making tutorials on "You Tube", those people have it down to an art!!!

3½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons Crisco or lard (see note)
1+ cup very hot water (see note)

Mix the dry ingredients and cut the Crisco or lard into the flour with a pastry cutter until you get what looks like corn meal (same technique as you would for pie crust).

Make a depression in the middle of the dry ingredients and slowly add the HOT water a little at a time, mixing in the dry ingredients as you go. Stir until everything comes together then knead it by hand (or stand mixer) for 2 minutes.

Cover and let the dough rest for an hour. Shape the dough into ping pong ball size balls, cover again and let rest for 15 minutes. This will make them easier to roll out.

Roll the tortillas out on unfloured counter. It's hard to get them perfectly round at first, so don't worry about that; they taste great no matter what their shape is.

What IS frustrating is how thin you need to roll them; roll them as thin as possible. The tortillas in the photo above were rolled thin enough that I could see the color of my counter through the dough, and yet, when you cook them, they don't stay that thin; keep that in mind.

To cook them, heat a cast iron pan (I like to use my electric skillet) to about 375° to 400° DO NOT USE OIL at this stage. Put the tortilla on the hot surface. As soon as you see little bubbles appearing in the tortilla (it will depend on how thick you rolled them), turn it over. You want the little bubbles to turn light brown, so watch your heat and raise/lower it if necessary; if the tortillas super-puff up, just gently press on them with the flat of your spatula. Don't over-cook them or they will get brittle.

Place cooked tortillas in a clean warm towel. You can use them right away or wrap them well and keep them in the fridge for up to a week; you can also freeze them.

I hope I haven't scared you off because home made tortillas are seriously delicious. Your first batch won't be beautiful, but don't let that discourage you. It really is fun (get the kids to help!!) and each  batch comes out prettier than the last.

NOTE: The recipes I found called for lard or shortening (Crisco). I don't have lard in my pantry, but I had great results with butter flavored Crisco. I even made some with real BUTTER and they were great too. Some recipes call for vegetable oil, but I haven't tried that yet.

NOTE: Don't be afraid to add a little extra hot water to get a nice smooth dough. I live in a very dry climate and I had to add almost an extra 1/4 cup of hot water. You want your final dough to feel soft and pliable but not sticky.

NOTE: Recipe makes 8 burrito size tortillas or 12 regular/small size tortillas.

NOTE: I like the idea of making little tortillas for our youngest grandchildren!!

CROCK POT SPICY PORK AND PINTO's

This recipe is a real crowd pleaser. Fork-tender pork tenderloin with pinto beans, spicy gravy and it all cooks together in the crock pot!! The first night, I like to serve this over rice, but it is equally as tasty stuffed into warm flour tortillas, or over a bed of tortilla chips and smothered with cheese; it also has ENDLESS leftover possibilities (which is a very good thing)!!

I like to use a 2 pound pork tenderloin, because it is nice and lean, but any 2-3 pound pork roast will work.  My crock pot is a big one and it tends to run a little hot, so this pork is fall apart tender (for me) in 6 hours ON THE LOW SETTING. Depending on your crock pot, it could take as many as 8 hours on low, but that is unlikely, just start checking for tenderness at 6 hours.

2 pounds (roughly) pork tenderloin
1 1/2 cups DRY PINTO beans (rinse, but DO NOT soak)
(1) 4 ounce can of mild green chilies (I use Ortega)
3 teaspoons chili powder (see note)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup chopped sweet onion
healthy pinch of dry red pepper flakes (optional see note)

Brown the pork well and put it in the crock pot. Saute the onions and garlic in the same pan and then mix them with the DRY beans, spices, canned chilies then pour over the meat. Add just enough water to mostly cover the beans and meat, it should look like this:

Make sure the liquid gets under the meat as well. After cooking on low for a few hours, check the liquid level in the crock pot and add a little more water if necessary, but not TOO much. THIS BROTH MAKES THE BEST-BEST-BEST RED GRAVY!!
 

Take the meat out of the crock pot after 5-6 hours or when it gets fork tender  (remove any fatty pieces and bones) and pull it apart. Thicken the liquid in the crock pot with a cornstarch and water slurry, then put meat back in with the beans and gravy. 
 

 

 

 

VARIATION: The beans in this recipe make OVER THE TOP delicious re-fried beans. Just fish out the beans and put them in the food processor with a little bit of the liquid. You'll never buy canned refried beans again!!

NOTE: A word about the heat or spice in this recipe. My hubby doesn't like very much (hates) "heat" in his food. He likes strong flavors, he just doesn't like "fire" as he calls it. I use a very small pinch of dry red pepper flakes when I make this for him. If you like a little more "fire", just up the dry red pepper flake ingredient.

NOTE: If I'm making this for children, I back off the chili powder to 2 teaspoons and omit the chili flakes.

CLASSIC YELLOW CAKE

Everyone needs a great classic yellow cake recipe, so I would like to share mine. It is very moist, has a wonderful "scratch cake" flavor and texture and even though there are several steps in the recipe, they are all quick and easy.

1 cup butter (room temperature) no substitutions

1½ cups granulated sugar

8 egg YOLKS   (yes, EIGHT!!)

3/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups cake flour  (see note below)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 350° and grease and flour two 9" cake pans that are at least 2" deep (this cake rises a lot!!)

Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside (I sift it twice).

Beat the butter and sugar together, on high, for two or three minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl about once a minute.

Add the egg YOLKS, one at a time (important), beating well in between each yolk. Add the vanilla.

Now you will need to add the flour alternately with the milk; start with flour and ending with flour. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl once in a while. I add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time, then add a little milk, then another half cup of flour. Batter will be very thick, like this:

Divide batter into two prepared pans evenly; I like to use this recipe for cupcakes. If you make cupcakes, only fill the papers about 1/3 full.

Bake 9" layers in preheated 350° oven for 25-30 minutes. If you are making cupcakes, bake them for about 20 minutes or until golden on top. With either pan, the cake will spring back a little when lightly touched when it's fully cooked.

Cool the layer cakes about 10 minutes before you remove them from the pans. If you make cupcakes, just cool them for 2 or 3 minutes before you remove them from the pans.

NOTE: This recipe calls for two cups of cake flour. If you don't have any, you can substitute the following: put 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a 1 cup measuring cup and then fill the cup with all purpose flour. This is a great substitution for cake flour. You will need to do this twice...once for each cup.

EASY BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING

It seems that I have been on a never-ending search for good pudding recipes...we like pudding!! Picky-picky husbands favorite is butterscotch and I found one, last year, that had a fantastic flavor, but it was a little thick and paste-y for our tastes.

Because it had such a rich butterscotch taste, I've been tinkering with the thickening agents and the final results have produced a real keeper of a recipe.It is light, creamy, very butterscotch-y and super quick and easy to make... no tempering of eggs or anything complicated, just mix, bring to a boil then add butter and extracts...it is done in a snap!!

1 cup brown sugar

3 level tablespoons corn starch
3 egg YOLKS
2 cups half and half
 2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

In a saucepan that has a heavy bottom, mix the brown sugar and cornstarch. Once mixed well, stir in the half and half and the egg yolks; whisk until well mixed (run a spatula over the bottom of the pan to make sure you have everything out of the corners).

Cook on medium high until it just starts to boil (stirring the whole time).  When it starts to bubble, the pudding should already be nice and thick; remove from heat.

Whisk in the butter and extracts; mix well. Pour into dessert dishes and put some plastic wrap or wax paper directly onto the surface of the hot pudding. This will stop any pudding skin from forming.  

 Put in the fridge until well chilled.

NOTE: You get the best flavor if you use a combination of vanilla and rum extracts. If you don't have rum extracts, just use all vanilla.

BUTTER COOKIES

These big 4" cookies are crispy, light as a feather and full of butter-y goodness. They are too fragile to ship through the mail, but straight out of the cookie jar, they are melt in your mouth perfection.

1 1/4 cups butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 egg YOLKS
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 TABLESPOON of vanilla extract

Cream the room temperature butter and granulated sugar with your stand mixer. Once smooth, add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well in between each addition; beat in the vanilla.

Mix the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar, and add this mixture to the butter mixture, one cup at a time. Mix well.

Cover and chill the dough for about 30  minutes.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and roll them in granulated sugar.  Place on an UNgreased cookie sheet (3" apart)and flatten slightly.

Bake in 350° preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden.  Recipe makes 3½ dozen cookies.

Rolling dough into 1" balls, will give you 4" cookies, so leave lots of room between each cookie ball on the cookie sheet.