Been Trying Some New Dishes:)

Tonight, I made my first pound cake!  I have always heard poundcakes are kinda hard to make and have been a bit intimidated, so when I found this easy, yummy sounding recipe in Good Housekeeping, I figured why not give it a try!  We have had Alaina here with us this week, and my parents and grandma are coming down tomorrow, so it's good that I will have some help eating this!

Looks good, huh?

And if you were wanting to try it for yourself, the recipe is:

Easy Two-Step Pound Cake

4 cups flour

3 cups sugar

2 cups butter, softened

¾ cup milk

6 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Place flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla (in that order) in 4 qt. bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Beat at low speed 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.

Pour into a greased and floured 10 inch (16 cup) tube pan, and smooth. Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 30 mins or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 mins. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely for 1 hour.

Oh, and the glaze is super quick and easy too:

Chocolate Glaze
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot water


In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter (and if there’s one thing this cake needs, it’s more butter); stirring to blend. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium-size bowl. Add sifted powdered sugar and hot water; stir well. If necessary, add additional hot water to bring glaze to drizzling consistency. (Makes enough to glaze a 10-inch tube or bundt cake.)

And then last week, I tried my hand at a mexican dish.  Enchiladas!  And they were to die for!  Jason has been raving about them since;o)  Easy, easy, and my Pampered Chef Deep Dish Baker cooked them so evenly and perfectly!  So much cheesy, gooey goodness!

You know you want some!

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can (10 ¾ oz.) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

½ cup sour cream

1 cup Pace Picante Sauce (Medium)

2 tsp. Chili Powder

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

½ cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (plus a little for topping)

6-8 flour tortillas (6 in.), warmed

1 small tomato, chopped

1 green onion, sliced

Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce, and chili powder in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup picante sauce mix, chicken, and cheese in large bowl.

Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Roll up and place seam side up in baking dish. Pour remaining picante sauce over tortillas, and top with cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 40 mins. or until hot and bubbling. Top with tomato and onion.

Can you tell I like recipes with the word "easy" in the title;o)  I'm really enjoying being in the kitchen lately, and using my slow cooker!  The new one I got for my birthday has already been getting alot of use!  I made some slow cooker chicken and dumplins that were a hit, but forgot to take a picture since we were totally starving that night.  Plus I got a new cookbook for the slow cooker, and my Pampered Chef consultant just gave me a recipe booklet for my deep dish baker with looooots of yummy sounding recipes to try out very soon!  Ok, now, if you're not hungry, it has to be because you just finished eating;o)