Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box (18.25 ounces) devil's food
• cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped chocolate-covered peanut butter cups (about 8 ounces), plus more to garnish
• 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line with waxed paper; coat paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high; beat for 2 minutes, scraping down side of the bowl after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.
3. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let layers cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto wire racks and cool completely.
4. Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium-size bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.
5. Trim top of cake layers flat with a serrated knife. Put 1 cake layer on cooling rack and place on a baking sheet. Pour 1 cup frosting on top; spread evenly with a spatula. Top with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining frosting over the top, allowing it to spill over the sides. Smooth top and sides with spatula. Refrigerate 1 hour to set. Transfer cake to serving plate and garnish with chopped candy, if desired.
Taken from Parents.com.

Juicy rib-eye steak

Ingredients:

-rib-eye steak
- garlic
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- fresh rosemary

Directions:

Prepare steaks a couple hours before you plan to cook them. Rub both sides of steak with olive oil. Crush a few cloves of garlic and rub on both sides of the steak. Do the same with salt and pepper.

Put steaks in a covered dish and back in refrigerator.

Preheat grill on high. Sear both sides of the steak for about 30 seconds. Place fresh rosemary on top and cook to desired color. When you flip the steaks, place rosemary back on top of the steak.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I took this recipe from about.com, but I had to share it because it was DELICIOUS! Every fall T and I buy an extra pumpkin that we cook and puree, so we have fresh pumpkin to make my famous pumpkin bread (I will post this later). We had a ton of leftover pumpkin from last fall, so I made this.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups pumpkin puree or cooked mashed pumpkin
• cream cheese frosting, below
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Directions for pumpkin cake
Combine sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl; mix well. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl; stir into oil mixture, beating well. Stir in pumpkin puree.
Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch round layer cake pans. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Frost pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat well until smooth. Makes enough for 2-layer pumpkin cake.

Baked red potatoes (serves 2)

Ingredients:
- 4 red potatoes
- fresh rosemary
- garlic
- olive oil
- salt

Directions:

Wash potatoes.

Cut potatoes into fourths.

Place on greased cookie sheet.

Crush garlic (I do at least 2 cloves).

Sprinkle olive oil, garlic, salt and rosemary on top of potatoes.

Bake at 350* until potatoes are soft.

Whole baked chicken

T and I buy organic chicken's at Costco. I highly recommend getting them. They are great to throw in the freezer and cook up on a weekend. Plus you will definitely have leftovers.

Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- fresh rosemary
- 1 lemon
- 3 garlic cloves
- butter
- salt & pepper

Directions:
Clean chicken and bull out gizzards (if any). Pat dry.

Peel garlic and smash cloves with a spoon. Place at the bottom of your cooking dish. Place chicken, breast side up on top of garlic cloves.

Cut lemon into fourths. Put 2 slices of lemon inside chicken, followed by a few stems of rosemary, then the final 2 slices of lemon.

Melt 2 Tbs of butter. Baste chicken with butter. Add salt and pepper to the outside of chicken.

Place a piece of foil over the chicken so the skin won't burn.

Put in oven on 350* until cooked. We usually cook it about 1.5 hours, but it depends on the size of chicken you have. Cut open breast to make sure it's thoroughly cooked.

Guacamole

Ingredients:

- avocado
- cilantro (to taste)
- your favorite salsa
- lime/lime juice
- salt

Directions:

Chop cilantro finely. Add as much or as little as you like.

Remove pit from avocado and place in bowl.

Add cilantro and salsa to avocado. Using a fork, mix and smash all ingredients together. Add salt to taste. Add lime juice to keep guacamole from turning brown.

Grandma Elsie's Beans (serves 2 + leftovers)

You will need a crock pot for this recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup dry pinto beans
- salt

Directions:

Rinse 1 cup of beans. Check for any rocks.

Boil water on stove top - I use a teapot.

Place beans in crack pot and add salt.

Pour boiling water into crock pot and turn on Low - you can leave it on all day.

Keep adding salt to taste. Make sure the beans are covered with water. If adding more water, make sure it is boiling water.

Fajitas (Serves 2 + leftovers)

Ingredients:

- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 onion
- 2 chicken breasts
- fajita seasoning
- tortillas
- guacamole (see separate recipe)
- cheese (optional)
- sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Cut red pepper, yellow pepper and 1/2 the onion into strips. Set aside.

Cut chicken breasts into strips.

Fry onions and chicken in frying pan. Once chicken is cooked on the outside, add peppers and fajita seasoning. Do not overcook - you want to keep the peppers crunchy.

Once everything is cooked, it's ready to serve with tortillas. Top your fajitas with cheese, sour cream or guacamole.

Pasta Fresca

Ingredients:

- angel hair pasta
- shrimp
- cherry tomatoes
- pesto
- garlic
- salt

Directions:

Crush 2 cloves of garlic (you can use more if you'd like). Put in pan with olive oil. Remove tails from shrimp and sautee with garlic. Add salt to taste. Cook until pink and remove from heat.

Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until soft.

Dump water from pasta, keeping 1 cup of the water it was cooked in.

Put pasta back into pot, with 1 cup water and shrimp. Put back on low heat. Add pesto and mix gently. Once mixed, add cherry tomatoes.

Serve.

Tri's Cookbook

Welcome! I know I have already posted one recipe, but I thought I should say something before I continue. Some of these recipe's are full-blown, spend an hour in the kitchen recipes while others are simple recipes, which use frozen foods or prepackaged items.

I hope you enjoy some of these recipes! Let me know if you need clarification on any of them. :)