the long awaited "Dinkie Doozie" recipe!

August is always an unbelievably busy time for me with the start of a new school year. My job as a Program Coordinator for Lindsay's Legacy Mentoring is one that I love....just trained 21 new mentors for our 20 schools last week. Needless to say, with that and a Chick-fil-A (Moo-au Luau this week), I haven't had a lot of cooking time.

Lisa's Dinkie Doozies

For me, going into the kitchen usually means relaxation. Especially when it is a lazy Sunday afternoon and chocolate is calling!! Here is the recipe a lot of you have asked for . I made them today, just to be sure the recipe was o.k. Amanda thinks they passed the taste test:)

Let me know if you have any questions about making these. I recommend letting them cool on a wire rack , then transferring them to a large piece of waxed paper for the frosting project. They will stick together if stacked on top of one another in a container. 

Have a happy week!

Lisa’s Dinkie Doozies- August 2010

¼ c. butter, softened

¼ c. Crisco

¼ c. Canola Oil

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups All Purpose flour

¾ c. Hershey’s cocoa

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/3 c. milk

Mix butter, Crisco, oil and sugar together.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix lightly. Sift dry ingredients together.  Mix alternately with the milk, by hand or low speed on mixer.

Drop by tablespoon or whatever size “doozie” you want, onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.

Bake 375 degrees for 7-8 min. until set.  Cool before filling your cakes.

Filling:

½ c. Crisco                                                          

¼ c. butter, softened

1 small jar Marshmallow Fluff , or about  8 oz.fluff

2 tsp. vanilla

3 c. powdered sugar

¼ c. half and half

Mix all together  until fluffy.  I mix it about 2 min. in my Kitchenaid on medium speed.

Use as a filling for your chocolate cookie/cakes! Dust with powdered sugar, optional.

By: Lisa Stephens

Jefferson, GA

Inspirations from Asheville, North Carolina

Just returned home this week from an AMAZING trip to Asheville, North Carolina.  It was a very special time with my mom, who is fighting the good fight against ovarian cancer, and my 2 daughters.

We stayed at the Grove Park Inn for 2 nights, visited their World Class Spa, and found some unique eatery's in downtown Asheville.( This trip was a very special gift and one that will be treasured forever!)

My favorite eatery was Tupelo Honey Cafe , right in the middle of the downtown area. 

I had the MOST delicious pancake I have ever eaten!!  ( and I am pretty picky about saying something is the BEST!) This was my Sweet Potato pancake, topped with pecans and warm syrup.  The french toast and eggs benedict were great too, and we loved that the plates were garnished with fresh orchids...

Asheville is a place that will cause your creative juices to start flowing.  It is so full of art, music, shopping and trendy eatery's, all with the organic, local, sustainable food and farming themes.  I am pretty sure I could spend at least 4 days trying all the restaurants!

 Upon returning home, the first order of business was to try to re-create the Sweet Potato Pancake.  Here is a picture of my "easy" version of the pancake.

Semi- Homemade Sweet Potato Pancakes

I asked them at Tupelo Honey Cafe, if there were whole grains in the pancakes and she said, no, we just use our pancake batter and add freshly mashed sweet potatoe, cinnamon and nutmeg.  So this is basically what I did.  My favorite "semi-homemade " pancake mixes are Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake Mix or, believe it or not, Jiffy Baking Mix! Yes it is in the little blue box and very inexpensive , but it makes great, quick and easy pancakes and waffles.  I added about 1/2 cup of mashed , baked sweet potato, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, some freshly grated nutmeg, and 1 tsp vanilla to the batter.  They turned out pretty good.

We topped them with pecans and I make a golden maple syrup by heating my syrup in the microwave in a mini pitcher for about 20 seconds and when it comes out just whisk in about 1 tsp of softened butter or Smart Balance Spread.  It is delicious!

We also stopped at the WNC Farmer's Market in Asheville on our way home and the heirloom tomatoes were bountiful!  I have used them in so many dishes this weekend, but my favorite was so easy....Steamed fresh okra ( 3 min. in the microwave) covered or in a steam bag and baby heirloom tomatoes.  We cut the fresh tomatoes in half and ate them with the fresh okra and it was better than edamame!!

steamed okra and heirloom tomatoes, my weight watchers friendly snack!

my grilled fresh eggplant sandwich ...with fresh mozarella, greens and HEIRLOOM tomatoes!

Chocolate Chip Heaven Cake, Rachel's favorite!

Last but not least, it was the birthday of my niece, Rachel, this week and I made her annual and most requested birthday cake.  This is so easy!  It is her favorite and one that is great for young chefs to practice with.  It is fool proof:)  I like to drizzle it with some chocolate ganache or frosting, but Rachel likes it plain, with powdered sugar.

Recipe follows:

Chocolate Chip Heaven Cake

1 box Yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines Yellow)

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

½ c. oil

½ c. water

12 oz. package Nestle mini chocolate chips

1 – 8oz container sour cream

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine cake mix, vanilla pudding, oil, water and eggs in mixer. Beat until combined then add sour cream and combine.  Lastly, mix in the chocolate chips and beat on medium speed about 1 min. until thoroughly mixed.  Bake at 350 degrees in a well greased tube pan for 45-50 min.  Remove from pan after cooling 10 min and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Amanda's Homecoming Celebration- Pura Vida!

Costa Rican Pour Over

Farfalline 95, DeCecco Pasta Salad


Having an over abundance of fresh tomatoes is a Summer blessing!
I found some DeCecco , Farfalline95 pasta( which is really a soup sized pasta) but I used it to make a
salad for the celebration of Amanda's safe return from Costa Rica.


Summer Pasta Salad
8 oz Pasta, cooked and drained
Roasted tomatoes( from Saturday)
1/4-1/2 c. Fresh Basil ( to your taste)
Fresh Mozarella ( cut in cubes)
Parmesan Chees
Feta Cheese
Chopped Fresh Spinach
1/4 c. Red onion, chopped
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste! *( you must taste)*
Fresh Tomatoes for garnish
Stir together and add more oil and vinegar as needed for proper consistency.

This is a family favorite and we serve it on croissants, but my new favorite store bought bread
is the Whole Wheat, 5 Grain Italian bread from Publix.  If you call a day in advance, they
 will be sure to have a loaf ready for you!

Lisa's Chicken Salad

6 Boneless Chicken Breasts ( cooked, cooled, and chopped in small cubes)
1c. red grapes, cut in half
1/2 c. golden raisins or craisins ( I use a handful of both)
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans
Hellman's Mayonaise ( I think about 1 c., but just eye it)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
Mix chicken, raisins,grapes, and pecans together with the mayo.  I am not exactly sure of my measurements
because I never measure on this.  But the chicken salad should be moist but not saucy, wet!
Lastly, dump in the can of mandarin oranges and stir well.  The stirring will break up the orange pieces and add more moisture to the chicken salad.  You can make the night ahead and serve the next day if needed.
Sometimes you just need to moisten with a little more mayo before serving.
Very simple recipe~Enjoy!

 Amanda brought us organic coffee grown, harvested and roasted at the farm she visited in Monteverde.
It was delicious "La Bella Tica"
coffee, which is why I am wide awake and posting on a blog!!

Weekend Cooking

Discovered something new and easy for my Saturday morning breakfast...

and we are getting a Trader Joe's in Athens, GA this FALL 2010.

Trader Joes Steel Cut Oatmeal ( Frozen and Microwavable in 3 min)

This was DELICIOUS , weight watchers friendly, and it is amazing with my dad's fresh figs.

I quartered the figs and stirred them in after I cooked the oatmeal. YUMMY!

Fresh Roasted Tomatoes

I had so many fresh tomatoes and not enough time to do anything exceptional with them so I cut them up
topped them with sea salt and fresh pepper and olive oil drizzle.  Bake 400 degrees for 30 min.
They were sweet.  I used them as a side dish at lunch and in a pasta salad for Sunday dinner.

This was a grated zucchini souffle that I made with
a lot of extra squash I had in the refrigerator.
It turned out tasty.  I need to tweak a few things and
then I will post the recipe.  Delicious vegetarian dish with
roasted tomatoes as a side.

Dinky Doozies, a family favorite!

Our middle daughter, Amanda, has been in a study abroad program with UGA this summer and is returning home Sunday after being gone for a month in Costa Rica.

She put in her"mama I have to have this.....order for when she comes home!"

Chocolate cake was a must, so we made Dinky Doozies, or whoopie pies, or devil dogs, whatever you

wish to call them.  We just call them Delicioso at our house!

The other items on her list were my homemade chicken salad, BREAD, and Chick-fil-A.

She will have everything she wanted and MORE!