Dorito Chicken and Cheese Casserole

Ok… I know it’s not a chocolate recipe, but it sounded good 🙂

3 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of corn, drained
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 medium sized bag of nacho cheese Doritos, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Spread the bottom of the pan with half of the Doritos . Reserve one cup of cheese. Mix together remaining ingredients in a large bow. Pour chicken mixture over the Doritos. Top casserole with the remaining cheese and Doritos. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly.

CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR

CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR
Yield: 1 pint

2 ts Pure chocolate extract
1/2 ts Pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c Vodka
1/2 c Sugar syrup (see recipe)
1/2 ts Fresh mint (optional) or drop Peppermint extract(optional)

Mix all ingredients and let mature 2 weeks. The chocolate tends to settle on the bottom and may need to be stirred before serving. Finished version will tend to be thin, but is still quite tasty and excellent for mixing in coffee or pouring over desserts. Add glycerine to thicken if desired. For chocolate mint, add 1/2 teaspoon fresh mint and a few drops of peppermint extract. Let mature 2 additional weeks.

Recipe of The Day ~ Chocolate Burrito Supreme

Chocolate Burrito Supreme

2 1/2 cups Pillsbury Thick n’ Fudgy Deluxe Walnut Brownie mix
1/4 cup oil
3 tablespoons water
1 egg
9 ounces Pillsbury Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough
1 (9-inch) Pillsbury Pie Crust
3 ounces shelled walnuts
1 (15.6 ounce) Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Frosting with Sprinkles

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine brownie mix, oil, water and egg. Mix with wire whisk until smooth and set aside.

Cut cookie dough into 1/4-inch slices. On a lightly greased cookie sheet, lay pie crust out flat, spread brownie mix in center of pie crust 2 to 3 inches in width. Lay cookie slices, sides touching, on top of brownie mix. Sprinkle 3 ounces walnuts on top. Fold ends of pie crust one side overlapping the other like a burrito, leaving the ends open. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, or until pie crust is golden brown. When finished baking, immediately spread a thin coat of frosting on top. Cool 10 minutes, or until completely cooled.

Spread frosting on thicker and sprinkle with the sprinkles that came with the frosting. Slice in 1-inch portions.

Serves 6-7.

Recipe of the Day: German Black Bread

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
320 – 400 ml warm water (105 – 115F)
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar / brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons finely ground espresso beans
1/4+ cup / 70 ml molasses
3 teaspoons caraway seeds, plus more for topping
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
~2 cups / 150 g coarsely grated carrot (2 large)
1 1/3 cup / 150 g rye flour

~3 1/4 cup / 15 oz / 425 g bread flour (or unbleached all -purpose flour), plus more for dusting

olive oil for kneading and oiling baking sheet
2 tablespoons buttermilk, water, or milk

In a small bowl whisk the yeast with 1 1/3 cups / 320 ml of the warm water and sugar, and set aside until foamy. If the yeast doesn’t activate, try again.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the cocoa, coffee, molasses, caraway, butter, and salt. Stir constantly until just melted. You want the mixture to be lukewarm when you add it to the other of the ingredients.

Combine the yeast mixture with the grated carrot and molasses mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add the flours, and stir until you’ve got a soft, tacky, cohesive dough. If you’r dough is too dry, add more of the warm water a bit at a time. Alternately, if your dough is a bit too wet, and you need to add a bit more flour, do so. Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and springy. Note: you can do this step using the dough hook on your mixer.

Shape the dough into a ball, rub with a bit of olive oil, and place seam-side down into an oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm, cozy place for 1- 2 hours or until the dough increases in size by at least half. At this point, gently press down, with a closed fist, across the surface of the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, and coerce into a pleasant-shaped round. Place directly on a very lightly oiled baking sheet, then cover loosely with a floured tea cloth or plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, another hour. Uncover, brush gently with buttermilk, sprinkle with a dusting of flour, ~1 teaspoon caraway seeds, and use a serrated knife to slash an ‘X’ deeply across the dough (do your best not to deflate the loaf). Bake for 20 minutes at 425F / 220C. Dial back the heat to 350F / 180C, and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the loaf develops a structured, toasted-bottomed crust, and the loaf sounds a bit hollow when you knock on it. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes on a rack before slicing into.

Make one extra-large loaf.

Prep time: 245 min – Cook time: 45 min

Recipe of The Day: Chocolate Lava Cake

Chocolate Lava Cake

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

10 oz (280 g) semi or bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70 % cocoa)
4/5 cup (200 g) butter
8 eggs
1 ¼ cup (260 g) sugar
1¼ cup (160 g) all-purpose flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Grease 10 large muffin tins or cups; paper muffin bake cups can also be used.
3. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.
4. Beat the eggs with sugar and mix with flour.
5. Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for only 8-12 minutes; the outer part should be cooked and the inner part liquid.

The Chocolate Lava Cakes may be served hot on its own or with custard, whipped cream, ice cream and / or berries. The Lava Cakes may be dusted with icing sugar. If your Lava Cakes stick to the tin/cup after baking, you should try lining the tins/cups with aluminum foil and grease the lined tins/cups well before use. You can also use paper muffin bake cups.
Variations

1. You may use pudding/souffle cups instead of muffin cups and serve the Lava Cakes in the cups in order to avoid the difficulty of removing the Lava Cakes from the muffin cups.
2. You may add two tablespoons of orange liqueur and finely grated rind of one orange. This gives a delicious orange-chocolate flavor.
3. You may try adding some ground cinnamon and nutmeg or cloves to the chocolate and butter mixture.
4. You may add some mint flavoring.
5. You may add a little coffee essence to mixture.
6. Place molds in freezer then brush with melted butter to give a thin even coating. Use cocoa powder to “flour” the molds so when you turn out the Lava Cakes there is no white flour marks.
7. Serving suggestion: serve with an orange and star anise ice cream.