Easy Spiced Chocolate Molten Cakes

My mother gets Cooking Light the magazine and the cover had a picture of a yummy chocolate cupcake as the feature recipe which she made but thought it was too dry. Later while looking through the magazine she found this McCormick advertisement/recipe. We ate these delicious little treats the other night and they were very yummy! (My sister calls them 'Molten Lava cakes'.)

Photo courtesy of McCormickGourmet.com

Easy Spiced Chocolate Molten Cakes
(McCormick Gourmet Recipe) Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon grape juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 4 (6-ounce) custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in juice, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and yolk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter evenly into prepared custard cups.
3. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute before eating.
Make Ahead: The chocolate mixture can be prepared up to 10 hours ahead of time. Pour the batter into prepared custard cups; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
*Jayne's Notes: The original recipe called for wine instead of grape juice but we don't eat alcohol. I had raspberry juice on hand so that's what I used and it worked great. The original recipe also had the optional ingredient of cloves but I left that out. Also, we dusted the tops with powdered sugar for looks. The original recipe said to invert onto a plate but we had fun just eating it straight out of the glass bowls.

Easy Mexican Pizza

I have been in heaven this past week eating fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, and even limes off the tree in our yard on a grilled chicken taco. Have I ever told you how much I love Mexcian food? Mmmm.  I'm also loving the fresh produce California has to offer and I can't wait to plant our garden!!

Keeping with a Mexican food theme I want to share this simple yet delicious family favorite. 

Easy Mexican Pizza

1 Baboli pre-baked pizza crust

1 can refried beans

cheddar cheese

Topping OPTIONS (choose your favorite):

1 can olives

1 tomato, thinly sliced

1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 can diced green chilis

green onion

sliced jalapeno

Place your pizza crust on a stone or pan then spread the refried beans evenly on top. Sprinkle with your choice of toppings and a generous layer of cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 or until warmed throughout. We like to serve this with a little salsa and sour cream. 

This is a great meal to make when you're running late or it's your child's night to prepare dinner.  Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

We have arrived! These past few weeks we moved from Colorado to southern California so I apologize for the delay in posting. Now that we're settled I have lots of yummy recipes that have accumulated and I'm ready to share. To celebrate our new north of the border home I'll share this yummy Mexican Lasagna recipe with you. This is a family favorite from a 1996 'Keeping Pace' newsletter. My husband really enjoyed the meal and he joked how his wife is a Pace Picante fan. It's true and Pace is really the secret ingredient to this recipe so don't substitute.

Mexican Lasagna

(from Pace Picante 1996 Spring newsletter with alterations by my mom Ruth)

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 lb ground beef

1 large green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium spanish onion 

2 c traditional spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 c Pace Picante sauce

1 T chili powder

8 flour tortillas (6-inch)

2 c shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans (2 1/2 oz each) sliced olives

2 green onions

Saute yellow onion and bell pepper until starting to brown. Add beef and cook until browned. Drain off fat. Add spagetti sauce, 1 cup picante sauce and chili powder. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes.

In 3-quart shallow baking dish spread remaining picante sauce. Arrange 4 tortillas in dish. Top with half the beef mixture, half the cheese and half the olives. Repeat layers. Sprinkle diced green onions over top.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until hot. Let stand 5 minutes. Serves 8.

*We added the yellow onion to the beef mixture for flavor and the sprinkled green onion on top for color.