••••HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017🍾🥂🗽🎉🎊🎈!!••••

(Source: chatunugachoochoo & equa.tk photos & quotespik.net photos & dreamstime.com)

****HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!!

••••ULTIMATE FUDGE CAKE🎂🍫🍰🥚🍮🍶🍳!!••••

(Source: tinascookings.blogspot.com & photos also)

****ULTIMATE FUDGE CAKE!! WOW!!

 

http://tinascookings.blogspot.com

Ingredients
For the chocolate fudge cake layers
200 grams dark chocolate
250 grams butter
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
200 grams granulated sugar
120 grams plain flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
For the chocolate fudge frosting
200 grams butter
100 grams high quality unsweetened cocoa powder
200 grams granulated sugar
100 grams dark chocolate, chopped
120 ml heavy cream
For the chocolate shards
100 grams milk chocolate
lustre dust (optional)
For the golden chocolate drip effect
150 grams white chocolate
75 ml heavy cream
¼ teaspoon golden yellow gel food colouring
1 teaspoon gold lustre dust
1 teaspoon Vodka

Preparation

Start by making the cake layers. Take a large bowl, add in the chopped chocolate, along with the diced butter, and melt everything on low heat, until completely smooth and blended. Once melted, remove it from the heat, and add in the coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar, and whisk vigorously until well-combined. Let this mixture stand for a minute or two, just so it could cool down slightly. Add in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each egg. Finally, sift in the cocoa powder, and the plain flour, and fold them through gently. Do not overmix the batter. Take two round cake pans (23 cm, 9"), grease them lightly and line them with baking paper. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth it out as much as possible, and bake them in the preheated oven, at 180°C (350°F), for about 20 minutes. Check them with a toothpick for doneness, then let them cool completely in the pans.

While they are cooling, make the fudge frosting. Take another heavy-bottomed saucepan, and add in the diced butter, granulated sugar, and sifted cocoa powder. Place the saucepan on low heat, and mix until everything is blended. At one point it will seem dry, but just stir it gently, and keep melting. Heat up the cream slightly in a separate bowl; it does not need to come to a boil, just warm is fine. Once everything is melted, add in the milk chocolate, and stir until melted. Once that melts, start adding in the heavy cream, a little bit at a time, mixing as you pour in. Do not pour the heavy cream in large batches, because the filling will separate. Pour it in really slowly. When you blend everything together, remove it from the heat, and let the frosting cool down almost completely.

Once the cake layers and the frosting are ready, remove the layers from the pans, and place one of them on the serving platter. Place the frosting in a large piping bag and pipe a swirl of frosting on the first cake layer. I recommend piping on the frosting instead of spreading it on, because it makes the smoothing easier. Smooth the frosting, and place another cake layer on top. Place the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes, just to set it up quickly. Remove from the freezer, and decorate with the rest of the fudge frosting as you like. Place the decorated cake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

To make the chocolate shards, take a clean piece of acetate or a piece of baking paper, and lay it flat on a cold surface (marble countertop works really well). Melt the chocolate slowly over low heat or in the microwave, and let it cool down for only a minute, then pour it onto the acetate, and spread it in an even layer, using an offset spatula. Do not spread it too thinly, because it can and will break later on. Let the chocolate set up, then break (or cut) it into shards. Paint golden lustre dust on some of the shards, if you wish.

To make the golden drip decoration on the cake, melt together the white chocolate with the heavy cream, remove it from the heat, and add the food colouring. This will help with the decorating further on. Mix it well until the colour distributes evenly, then let it cool down slightly. Take the chilled cake out of the refrigerator and create the drip effect either by gently drizzling the glaze, or pouring it into a squeeze bottle and glazing the top and sides.

Take the previously made chocolate shards, and position them on the cake as you wish, then let the glaze set up completely at the room temperature. This is much easier than cutting the set up glaze to position the shards. Place the cake into the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Make the golden paint by mixing together the golden lustre dust with the Vodka. You may need to add a tad more or less Vodka, depending on the lustre dust you are using, but you are aiming for a thick paste, because it will leave less streaks. Take the chilled cake, and carefully paint along the drips, then let it set up in the refrigerator. Yields 20 servings.

••••SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK SANDWICHES🐷🥖🍅🐓🍞🍮🥗!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

****SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK

****SANDWICHES!!  YUMMY!!

http://bettycrocker.com

Prep Time

25 MIN

Total Time

4 HR 45 MIN

10 Servings

Ingredients

Pork

3

tablespoons packed brown sugar

3

tablespoons chili powder

2

teaspoons salt

1/2

teaspoon freshly ground pepper 

3 1/2

lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2-inch pieces

3/4

cup Progresso™ chicken or vegetable stock or Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton) 

1/2

cup apple cider vinegar

1/2

cup barbeque sauce

Slaw

1/4

cup mayonnaise

3

tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2

tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/4

teaspoon salt

4

cups coleslaw mix

Buns

10

burger buns

Directions 

• 1 In small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons brown sugar, the chili powder, 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper. Rub mixture all over pork. Place in 4 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker.
• 2 Pour stock and 1/4 cup of the vinegar over pork. Cover and cook on High heat setting 4 hours.
• 3 In medium bowl, beat mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in coleslaw mix. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes but no longer than 4 hours.
• 4 Remove pork to cutting board, and shred using 2 forks. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Discard remaining cooking liquid. In medium bowl, mix reserved cooking liquid with barbecue sauce and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar; return to slow cooker with shredded pork. Cover and cook on Low heat setting about 20 minutes or until warmed.
• 5 Using slotted spoon, spoon about 1/2 cup pork mixture on bottom half of each bun. Top each with about 1/4 cup coleslaw. Cover with top halves of buns. Pork mixture can be kept warm on Low heat setting up to 2 hours; stir occasionally.
  
    

••••SLOW-COOKER BUTTER CHICKEN🍗🥘🍶🍅🥛🌰!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

****SLOW-COOKER BUTTER 

****CHICKEN!!

http://bettycrocker.com

Prep Time

30 MIN

Total Time

5 HR 30 MIN

8 Servings

Ingredients

3

tablespoons butter 

1

tablespoon vegetable oil

3

lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces

1

medium yellow onion, diced

5

cloves garlic, finely chopped

3

tablespoons finely chopped peeled gingerroot

2

tablespoons garam masala

1/4

cup canned Muir Glen™ organic tomato paste

3/4

teaspoon salt

1/2

cup Progresso™ chicken stock (from 32-oz carton) 

1/2

cup heavy whipping cream

1/4

cup cilantro leaves, stems removed

Directions 

• 1 Spray 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
• 2 In 10-inch skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken and cook, turning once, until browned, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker. Repeat with remaining half of chicken. Reduce heat to medium; add onions to skillet, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and gingerroot; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add garam masala; cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and salt; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, and scrape bottom of skillet with wooden spoon. Transfer to slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 5 to 6 hours. At last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in whipping cream.
• 3 Transfer to serving dish, and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve over rice, if desired.
  
  
  
  

••••FAREWELL TO 2016🌈🎉🗽📅🎊!!••••

(Source: christmastime2016 photo & clipart photo)

****FAREWELL TO 2016!!

••••SO LONG CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS💐🌺🌸🌷👩‍❤️‍👩!!••••

(Source: Film.com $ zero hedge.com photos & Wikipedia.com & amp Pinterest & MrDisneyKing.com & OldSchool4life & amp people & amp Pinterest & Pinterest)

****SO LONG CARRIE FISHER!!

****SO LONG DEBBIE REYNOLDS!!

****YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED!!

****YOU WERE 60 YEARS OLD!!

****MOTHER AND DAUGHTER!!

****YOU WERE 84!!

****RIP****12-28-2016!!

****ONE DAY APART!!

 

 

••••MERRY CHRISTMAS🎁🎄⛄️🎉!!••••

(Source: christmastime2016 & Google+ photos & heartliving.com & clipart.com)

****MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 

 

 

 

••••MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE🎄🎁🍪🥛🎉⛄️!!••••

(Source: lovethispic.com & merrychristmast & happynewyear photos & warriorforum.com)

****MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE🎄

---

••••CHILI MACARONI SOUP🌽🍊🌶🥘!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

****CHILI MACARONI SOUP!!

http://bettycrocker.com

Prep Time

20 MIN

Total Time

30 MIN

6 Servings 

Ingredients 

1

lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef 

1

medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup) 

1/4

cup chopped green bell pepper

5

cups hot water 

1

box Hamburger Helper™ chili macaroni

1

teaspoon chili powder

1/2

teaspoon garlic salt

2

cups diced tomatoes (from 28-oz can)

1

can (11 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained

2

tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives

 

Directions 

• 1 In 4-quart Dutch oven, cook beef, onion and bell pepper over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
• 2 Stir in hot water, sauce mix (from Hamburger Helper box), chili powder, garlic salt and tomatoes. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
• 3 Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in uncooked pasta (from Hamburger Helper box), corn and olives. Cover; cook 10 minutes longer.
  

••••CHOCOLATE EGGNOG CHEESECAKE🧀🍫🥚🍰🍜!!••••

(Source: allrecipes.com & photos also & Bill Sinclair & adapted from tasteofhome.com & kathyphotos & chocolate ganache made by Kathy)

****CHOCOLATE EGGNOG PIE!!

 http://allrecipes.com

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
  
  
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 
   
  1 cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup eggnog
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• Add all ingredients to list

 

Directions

• Prep

  30 m

• Cook

  55 m

• Ready In

  1 h 25 m

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
5. In a food processor combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and eggnog; process until smooth. Blend in eggs, rum and nutmeg. Pour mixture into cooled crust.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to 250 and bake for 45 minutes, or until center of cake is barely firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and immediately loosen cake from rim. Let cake cool completely before removing the rim.
   
   http://tasteofhome.com
   
   
   
   For chocolate ganache on top of cheesecake:
   
   
   I microwave safe bowl add 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1/3 cup margarine, heat for 30 seconds, then stir well add 2 teaspoons sugar.  Mix well. 
   Chocolate mixture will cool quickly so you can reheat at 30 second intervals to keep mixture warm to spread on the cheesecake.
   
   
    Top with whipped cream, if desired.
   
    

Footnotes

• Tip
• Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.