Coca Cola Cake

Combine 2 C flour and 2 C sugar.  

Melt together 2 sticks of butter, 3 heaping T of Cocoa, and 1 C Coke.  Heat to boiling and pour over dry mixture. 

Beat together 2 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 C buttermilk, 1/4 C sour cream & 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well and add to mixture. Don't panic- batter may seem a little thin. 

Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. in 9 x 13 in pan. Cool. Frost.


Frosting: 

Combine 1 stick butter, 3 heaping T cocoa, 6 T coke & 1 tsp vanilla. Heat to boiling- pour over enough powdered sugar to make frosting- beat for 1-2 min until desired consistency.

Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce

1⁄2 cup olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp dry mustard
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1-lb. pork tenderloin (silver skin removed)


Combine all marinade ingredients and reserve 2-3 Tbsp. Place the pork tenderloin and marinade in a Ziplock bag and let marinate for at least 3-4 hours. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a hot skillet over medium-high heat, sear each side of tenderloin for 2-3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the meat has reached 160 degrees. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. 

Pan Sauce:

Pan scrapings from pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of reserved pork marinade 
1-2 tsp butter

Meanwhile, place the skillet back on the stove over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and let it boil down for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and remove from heat stirring until butter has melted. Pour over the pork tenderloin.

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

½ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups white sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2cups zucchini (pureed)

½ cup chopped walnuts 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking dish. (I lined with parchment)In a large bowl mix together oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until well blended. In another bowl combine the flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. A little at a time stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. 
Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the brownies spring back when gently touched. Remove from the oven. Frost when cool.


Chocolate Frosting
1 stick butter or margarine (softened)1/4 cup hershey's unsweetened cocoa3 cups powdered sugar1/3 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat all together until smooth.

Caramel Brownies

1 chocolate cake mix (I like the fudge or German chocolate the best)
1 cube of Butter
1/3 cup canned milk.

caramel (Use the caramel in a jar for ice cream. Just heat it up in the microwave)

Chocolate chips

Take the first three ingredients and mix them together. (it will be like cookie dough consistency) Take half of batter and spread it out on the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes. Drizzle caramel over hot mix. Then sprinkle chocolate chips over that. Scoop out the rest of the dough on the top and bake for about 13-15 minutes more.

Baked Beans

4- 16 oz cans of pork and beans (I use VanCamp’s)

½ cup Heinz Hot Ketchup (if you can't find this just use regular Ketchup and add 10-12 drops of Tabasco Sauce)

1 lb. hot sausage (I use Jimmy Dean’s)

1 can apple pie filling (cut apple into smaller pieces)

1 medium onion chopped

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp. Mustard

 

Brown the sausage and onion, and then add the remaining ingredients. Simmer 1 hour.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Dried Cherries and Israeli Couscous

16-18 brussels sprouts, very thinly sliced

2 slices bacon, preferably black pepper-rubbed (available at Whole Foods and butcher shops)

1/2 cup Israeli couscous

1/3 cup dried Bing cherries

1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt to taste

Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil and add the couscous plus a pinch of sea salt. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until no more water remains. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and roughly chop. Add thinly sliced brussels sprouts to the hot bacon grease on the stove and saute for about five minutes, until the sprouts turn bright green. Add back in the bacon bits along with the dried cherries and cooked couscous. Toss well and season with salt to taste.

Orange Peel Shrimp

• 2 lbs raw shrimp, deveined with tails on or off
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 oranges, zested and juiced
• 6 tbsp orange marmalade
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 4 Thai chili peppers (optional but recommended)
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 4 tbsp canola oil, divided
• 1 cup brown or white rice, cooked and fluffed with a fork
• 
  
• Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the minced garlic, six thinly sliced scallions (save the other two for serving), orange zest and thai chili peppers. Saute briefly for about two minutes until garlic is fragrant and scallions wilt.
• 
  
• Add the soy sauce, orange juice, orange marmalade and red pepper flakes to the pan and stir well to combine. Mixture should be bubbling. Continue simmering until sauce thickens, about five minutes or so. It should become very, very thick. Once thick, turn off heat.
• 
  
• Sprinkle the cornstarch on a large plate. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels then toss in the cornstarch to coat.
• 
  
• Heat the remaining three tablespoons of oil in another skillet or wok (I like to use a cast iron skillet for this) over high heat. Once sizzling hot, drop the shrimp in the oil and fry for about a minute or two until shrimp are very pink and curled. The cornstarch should create a crunchy outer coating on the shrimp.
• 
  
• Remove the shrimp from the oil and toss in the orange sauce. Serve shrimp over brown rice with additional scallions on top. Don’t eat the chili peppers!