Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake

This is another of Larry's favorite recipes. I had two different recipes from two different aunts that I kind of combined to get this beauty. Larry loves the green mint chips in this cake, they have a stronger flavor, and they are heavy and always sink to the bottom(that then becomes the top), and then the top kind of falls apart. But it is soo tasty. Use mint flavored chocolate chips if you want a more mild flavor, and if you don't want the chips to sink to the bottom. Either way it is a delicious cake.

Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake

1 box Devils Food cake mix

1 (6 oz) instant chocolate pudding

4 eggs

1/3 c. warm water

1/2 c. oil

8 oz sour cream

16 oz mint chips

Mix all together until smooth, then add mint chips(if I use the heavier green mint chips then I will just fold them into the batter after it is in the pan). Pour into a well greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for a50-60 minutes. Cool right side up for 25 min., then remove from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost with your favorite frosting or glaze.

Lemon Basil Pasta with Grilled Chicken

I got this recipe off one of my favorite recipe blogs, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I love the pioneer woman. I love her recipe blog because she uses lots of pictures, and I am a very visual person. This was really yummy, and a definite addition to my recipe collection.

Lemon Basil Pasta with Grilled Chicken - slightly adapted

4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced *I used this lemon chicken marinade:

Grilled Lemon Chicken
Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)
3 Tb oil
1 tsp minced garlic (~ 2 medium-large cloves)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp oregano
1 lb chicken breasts

1 pound Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente

½ sticks Butter

3 whole Lemons, Juiced

¾ cups Heavy Cream

¼ cups Half-and-half

1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)

Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a

colander.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons.

Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and

whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Add pasta to the sauce. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. Add about half of the basil.

Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top,

then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

German Pancakes

I love breakfast foods. I especially love making breakfast foods for dinner, because seriously, who wants to spend time cooking first thing in the morning. I am soo not a morning person, I'm barely awake enough to pour my boys a bowl of cereal. So we often do breakfast for dinner, and we all love it.

GERMAN PANCAKES

1 c. milk

1 c. flour

6 eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

3Tbs. butter

Place butter in a 9x13" Pyrex dish. Place int he oven at 425 until melted. In the mean time, mix and beat all other ingredients. Pour into sizzling hot dish with the melted butter. Be sure your pan is a Pyrex, as anything else will crack with the heat. Bake for 20-25 min. Serve with lemon and powdered sugar, syrup, or jelly.

This time we ate it with the lemon and powdered sugar and the boys all loved it! I think it is a nice change from regular pancakes and syrup.

This is what it looks like in the pan. The boys had fun watching it while it baked.