Homemade Magic Shell

Got this recipe off of Pinterest from 52 Kitchen Adventures

7 oz chocolate chips
2 T coconut oil

Heat in microwave for 30 seconds at a time until fully melted.

This recipe really works, and has none of the other ingredients we want to avoid.  You can even make it dairy free if you use dairy free chocolate chips.

I found another recipe online that recommends 1 C chocolate chips to 1 T coconut oil.

What we do most frequently with this is make our EASY ice cream cakes. How? Take ice cream out of it's carton or container, put it on a serving tray. Drizzle magic shell all over and especially down the edges and sides. Sprinkle cake sprinkles or other decorations for added color. Freeze. If you want to have birthday candles on it, put them on the "ice cream cake" BEFORE adding the magic shell. YUM!!

Hot Fudge Sauce

(From DeLonne Hucks?)

1/2 C light corn syrup
1 C chocolate chips

Microwave one minute at a time, stir until chocolate is melted. Mix in 1/4 C cream/milk, 2 tsp vanilla and 1 T butter.

Grandma Howlett's Crazy Cake

2 C sugar
2 eggs
1/4 scant C cocoa
3/4-1 C shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 C cake flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 C hot water
1/2 C milk

Place all ingredients in a bowl Beat 3 minutes. Bake 25 minutes in 350 degree oven.

We lived next door to my grandma, Ada Smith Howlett, my last two years of high school. I remember my Mom making this recipe: She'd mix the dry ingredients, then make indentations for the wet ingredients, then stir them all together. Simple, but mmm!

Chicken Chili with Hominy

Good thing I printed this recipe out long ago, because now I cannot even find it online! What happened to "massrecipes.com"? But since it is one of our favorite soups, I have to document it here!

1 T canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium poblano chile, diced (I've used 1 can green chilies)
29 oz canned chicken broth
30 oz canned white navy beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned hominy, drained
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
Hot sauce (like Tapatio) for serving (optional)
Sour cream for topping (optional)

In a large, 5 qt pot, warm oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken until golden, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, and chilis; cook, stirring often, until onion softens, 3-4 minutes.

Cut browned chicken into 1/2 inch strips. Add chicken, broth, and beans to pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to an active simmer, and cook until chicken is very tender and chili has thickened, 25-30 minutes.

Reserve 1/2 C hominy to use as garnish (optional); stir remaining hominy into chili. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowl; garnish each serving with reserved hominy, sour cream, and cilantro, and drizzle with hot sauce as desired.

Per serving: 399 calories: 9.8 grams fat; 34.7 grams protein; 41.4 grams carbohydrates; 9.7 grams fiber

My Favorite Minestrone

Image from this website

1 lb sausage, browned and drained
1 quart water
1 can consomme
3-5 large carrots, cut large
3 stalks celery, cut large
1/2 tsp basil leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 quarts tomatoes
3 onions, cut large
1 T parsley
1 can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Simmer the above 8-10 hours (in slow cooker). Add 1 can cut green beans and 1 can red kidney beans. Simmer 1 hour. Add 1 cup macaroni, cook until macaroni is done, about 10 minutes. Sugar and salt to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with Parmesan cheese.

This is a very forgiving recipe. You can mix up the ingredients. I personally like to use acini do pepe for the pasta so that we don't get big bites of pasta. I like to add 2-3 C sliced cabbage at the end with the pasta. You can even make it up in less than an hour if that's the time you have, but the longer the ingredients simmer together, the better they'll taste! The consomme is delicious, but you can switch that out with beef broth if that's all you have. A perfect fall recipe. YUM!

Marvelous Minestrone

From Brenda Stott, one of our former neighbors

2 C onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 C cabbage, finely shredded
2 C carrots, finely diced
1 C green beans, cut
2 potatoes, cubed
2 C zucchini, chopped
4 oz can sliced mushrooms
2 C stewed tomatoes
3 T parsley
1 T basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 C tomato juice
4 C beef broth
1 C kidney beans, cooked
3/4 C macaroni
1/3 C raw barley

Saute onions until clear. Combine garlic, cabbage, carrots, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a large pot. Add onion. Cook 10 minutes. Add parsley, basil, rosemary, tomato juice and beef broth. Cook 10 minutes. Puree 1/2 cup kidney beans in blender. Add to soup. Add remaining whole kidney beans. Boil. reduce heat. Simmer 25 minutes. Add macaroni and barley, cook for 15 minutes.