Chocolate Pudding Cake

• Butter, room temperature, for baking dish
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for baking dish
• 6 large eggs, room temperature, separated
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and set a kettle of water to boil. Butter a shallow 2-quart baking dish; coat with granulated sugar, tapping out excess.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar until lightened in color. Whisk in melted chocolate; set aside.

In a large, clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high, beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Whisk 1/3 of whites into chocolate mixture. Add remaining whites, and gently fold with a rubber spatula just until combined (do not overmix).

Transfer batter to prepared baking dish. Set dish in a roasting pan, and pour enough boiling water into pan to come about 1 inch up side of dish. Bake until puffed and just set (center of cake should barely move when jiggled), 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

** Do not freak out if your egg whites don't seem to fully mix into the chocolate. It will bake just fine.

~Amy Huff

Easy Breadsticks

1 ½ c. warm/hot water

1 pkg. (1 Tbsp.) yeast

¼ c. sugar, or a little less

1 t. salt

3 c. flour (maybe a little more)

Mix well and roll to ½” thick. Cut into strips and roll in melted butter and put on jelly roll pan. Let rise a few minutes. Can sprinkle with Salad Supreme, garlic, parmesan cheese, or cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes. The tops won’t brown very much, so check the bottom to make sure they’re done.

Spaghetti Carbonara

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped (can use bacon)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
1 pound spaghetti
4 cups coarsely shredded chicken (from 1 roasted rotisserie chicken)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and lemon zest over, and serve.

*Variation: Instead of pancetta, I use bacon, so no need for the olive oil. I fry the bacon and then drain the grease, but don’t wash the pan. I stir the garlic around in the same pan. I add roasted red peppers (found next to the pickles in the grocery store), peas, and I’ve even done this with shrimp along with the chicken and it’s really yummy. I’ve never done it with the toasted walnuts and lemon zest.

Meredith

Some Recipes from Karin

Hey girls! Here are a few fabulous recipe's I've recently discovered that I want to share.

Karin Dance :)

Spinach, Bacon, and Mushroom Quiche

(The best quiche recipe ever, especially cuz of the fab crust recipe I found)

Didn't it turn out pretty??? I'm so proud!

I discovered this on my new favorite website, AllRecipes.com. Click here if you want to see their quiche recipe, but I made few changes which I think make it better. Also, they just suggested using a store-bought crust. But, I found the most delicious crust recipe I have ever tasted in my life on their website (I took it from their Danish Pastry Apple Bars recipe). This crust is so fabulous--it makes all the difference. You'll want to use it with all you pies, etc. from now on, I tell you!

Ingredients:

• 6 slices bacon
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I didn't have swiss, so I used Mozzerella--although, I would have preferred Swiss. Also, I didn't put any cheese on top like the directions say, so I only grated 3/4 cups of both cheeses.)
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Pie Crust: (this makes a lot of dough, so you'll only use less than half of it. You can just save the rest in your fridge to make a pie or something later.)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shortening (I like butter for better taste, but shortening for flakiness. So, I did 2/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup shortening. It was much better this way than when I made this crust the last time with just butter).
• 1 egg yolk (Save the egg whites if you ever use this crust recipe for pie. You can whip the whites till they're frothy, then dust in onto the top pie crust with pastry brush before baking. This makes the pie come out beautiful and golden.)
• 1/2 cup milk
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening/butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I used frozen/cold stick of butter and use a cheese grater to grate the butter into the mixture. This makes it blend better). Beat egg yolk in measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2/3 cup total liquid. Stir into flour mixture until all flour is damp. Divide the dough in half. On floured surface, roll half the dough and mold into pie pan or tart pan (it's best to use a tart pan with removeable bottom. Much prettier effect.) Set pan aside (Put remaining dough in a container in fridge to use for another day/recipe).
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Sautee onions in olive oil until transparent and softened (the recipe didn't suggest cooking them first, but I added this step cuz I think it is a must--I don't like undercooked onions in things like this). Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whip together eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in bacon, spinach, mushrooms, onions, 3/4 cup Swiss cheese, and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Transfer to the pie crust. Top with remaining cheese (optional--I didn't do this because it's just more fat, and the quiche is much prettier without the cheese on top).
• Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 35 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned (I baked it in my new, large tart pan with a removeable bottom. The quiche was gorgeous when I removed the rim to serve it).

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Awww...look at my cute little loaf!

My in-laws gave us a wheat grinder for Christmas! I have a ton of wheat I've been wanting to try out, so I found this wheat bread recipe on my sister-in-law's blog (thanks, Lindsay!). It turned out great! Easy and healthy.

• Grind 4 1/2 cups wheat into flour.
• In mixer, place:
  2 1/2 cups warm/hot water
  1 tbsp. salt
  1/2 cup oil (or 1/4 cup, if adding flax seed. I used olive oil to be healthy.)
  1/3 cup honey
• Add half of flour (about 5 cups) and blend.
• Add:
  1/4 cup ground flaxseed (optional--I used this)
  1-2 tbsp. dough enhancer (optional--I don't have this, so I didn't use it.)
  1 tbsp SAF yeast (I just used regular yeast)
  Mix until blended.
• Add remaining flour just until dough pulls away cleanly from bottom of mixer. Mix for 10 minutes.
• While mixing, adjust oven racks so that loaves will rest in center of oven. Turn on oven to lowest temperature (mine was 170 degrees). Grease 2 8x4 inch loaf pans (I made one big loaf, and then 3 small loaves).
• Divide dough into 2 equal balls. Shape into loaves. Place into pans.
• Turn off oven. Place pans into oven evenly spaced. Let rise unitl 2-2 1/2 inches above pan. Remove dough from oven.
• Turn oven on to 350 degrees. Put dough back in and bake for 25-30 minutes (or longer for crustier bread).
• Remove from pans to cool.

Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from my Stake Women's Conference last month. It is to die for! This one's for you, Karlene :) This recipe makes a ton.

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (I actually got a COSTCO rotisserie chicken and used half of the meat from it for this soup. I saved the rest for another chicken recipe)
• 3 cans chicken broth
• 1 can beef broth
• 2 cans tomato soup
• 2 cans tomatoes (I used the tomatoes I canned from my garden last year. Sweet! Yes, I am the homemaking queen!)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1/2 onion, diced (I didn't happen to have an onion when I made this, so I used a green bell pepper instead)
• 1/2 C. fresh diced cilantro, chopped (This makes all the difference to me! I am obsessed with cilantro. Chop some extra to put on top of the soup for a yummy garnish.)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Turn down heat and let simmer for one hour at least.
• Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheddar, sour cream, guacamole, fresh cilantro, etc.

Peppermint Bars

1 pack double stuffed Oreos
1/2 jar hot fudge
1 pint peppermint ice cream in block form is easiest

Crush Oreos and spread half in bottom of a glass dish. Remove ice cream from container and cut into 1-2 inch slices. Put slices on top of Oreos and press down firmly. Spoon and spread slightly warm hot fudge over ice cream, just a thin layer. Then top with remaining crushed Oreos and press down firmly. Cover and place in freezer for at least an hour before serving.

By Natalie Jones