Triple Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

I found this pan at Walmart for $18. I can't even count how many times we have used it in the past few weeks. We LOVE this pan. It is so easy to use and when used correctly every cake comes out perfectly. They are beautiful little cakes that never cease to impress. For the final course of our Fall feast we made these mini bundt cakes with a simple Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix. We added more chocolate chips and topped it off with strawberries and this Chocolate Ganache.

Ingredients

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
2. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

We hope you enjoy these easy and yummy recipes for the fall season!!

Baked Spinach & Mozzarella Bites

These delicious bites are great for an appetizer, a side dish for breakfast, or to eat alone just because they are so incredible! Everything about these baked bites is oh so good. They really melt in your mouth. We couldn't stop eating them! We used them as an appetizer for our Fall feast.

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package spinach, rinsed and chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 onion, chopped (I omitted the onion, not a huge fan of onions)
  
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Place spinach in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook until spinach is limp, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in eggs, milk and butter. Mix in spinach, onion and mozzarella cheese.
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Green Bean Casserole

I think I've posted green bean casserole once before on this blog. Not sure if this is the same recipe. We made a few changes. We blanched the green beans after cooking them. The green beans were perfect and crisp. We also omitted the soy sauce and added 1/2 cup of cheese with the soup mixture. This is always a classic fall recipe and we loved it once again.

Ingredients

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or Campbell's® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 cups cooked cut green beans
• 2 2/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Directions

1. Stir soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in dish.
2. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir.
3. Top with remaining onions and bake for 5 more minutes.

Perfect Mashed Potatoes

We are the happy owners of a potato ricer. We used our ricer for the first time this weekend and will NEVER go back to mashing our potatoes. This is Martha Stewart's mashed potato recipe. I think what makes them "perfect" is a combination of the creaminess from the ricer and the fall flavor from the nutmeg. Mmmm....

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• 2 pounds russet, Yukon gold, or long white potatoes
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 cup milk, or cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  

Directions

1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water; add 1 tablespoon salt. bring to a simmer. If using a potato ricer, fill another saucepan with water; place over low heat. Keep potatoes at a low simmer until a knife slips in and out easily. Drain potatoes in a colander. Place milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. If using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, proceed to Step 4. If using a potato ricer, place a heat-proof bowl or top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Press hot, drained potatoes through ricer into bowl.
3. Stir potatoes with a wooden spoon until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a whisk, incorporate butter. Drizzle in hot milk, whisking continuously. Add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste; whisk to combine. Serve immediately.
4. For the electric-mixer method, transfer hot, drained potatoes to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed, until most lumps have disappeared, about 1 minute. Add butter; mix until blended. On low speed, add hot milk in a slow stream, then add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Mix to combine.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Oh my goodness. I think I stepped into creamy sauce heaven when I took my first bite of this delicious recipe. It's very rich and absolutely perfect for beef and mashed potatoes. It was probably one of our favorite recipes of the night.

Ingredients

• 4 cups heavy cream
  
• 3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or "dolce")
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Grogonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.

Crock Pot Braised Beef

As you may know my husband and I LOVE the Food Network. This past weekend we had our best friends, Jake & Tanya, over for a comfort food meal to try out some new found recipes. This braised beef recipe was the main dish. I thought I'd post all the recipes we used Saturday night. It was such a yummy meal and I thought it would be nice to share.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper
1 (3 pound) beef brisket
1 cup beef broth
1 (12 ounce) bottle chili sauce
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions

Lightly salt and pepper the roast on all sides. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Put roast in the skillet and sear the meat on each side for 1-2 minuted or until lightly browned. Place the roast into a slow cooker. Pour beef broth in the skillet with the juices from the seared meat, stir it around to incorporate any browned bits from the pan and pour the juices over the meat in the crock pot.. In a medium bowl, mix together the chili sauce, onion soup mix, and garlic powder. Pour over the brisket. Cover, and cook on the Low setting for 8 hours. Pull meat apart into equal-sized juicy-chunked servings.