Chocolate Cherry Cake

This cake is SO good and SO easy to make! If you like chocolate and you like cherries you will LOVE it.

Here is what you will need:

A Duncan Hines Devil Food Cake Mix (plus ingredients on the back of the box)

1 large jar of Maraschino Cherries

1 package of chocolate pudding

Start out by preparing Devils food cake according to directions on the back of the box

Add in half of the chocolate pudding package and half of juice from cherry jar. Make sure that the cake mix is the right consistency (just like any other cake you might make.)

Next add in the cherries to the cake mix. I used a lot of cherries, nearly the whole jar and I could have used more. It's really up to you how many you want to use. It is really yummy to bite into one in the cake so the more the better. You can save some to put on top however. Make sure you remove the stems! :o)You can use the instructions on the back of the box to cook the cake. It depends on what type of pan you put them in. Remember you can make them as cupcakes as well! The best way to tell they are done is to insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean it's done. This cake is really moist and even more moist around the cherries so the tooth pick might come out with a little chocolate on it but not much. Let the cake cool to room temperature before frosting.

For frosting I used Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting.

Add cherry juice to the frosting to give it a cherry flavor. Add a little at a time and mix in if you add too much the frosting will become too thin. Add just enough to give it a cherry flavor.

My finished product....

Banana Split Cake

This is honestly, by far, the best cake I've ever made and actually ever tasted. I saw a recipe in a new cookbook I got for Banana Split cupcakes so I kind of tweaked it a little bit and made it into a cake. So let me try and relay what I did as best I can.

Here's what you'll need:

• Oven preheated at 350 degrees
• Yellow cake mix (I always use Duncan Hines)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup of water
• 1 ripe banana mashed well
• 1 10oz jar of marchiano cherries chopped into quarters
• 2 tablespoons of juice from marchiano cherries
• 1/2 of a .9oz box of banana cream jello pudding mix
• 1/4 cup of cooking oil
• chocolate syrup
• sprinkles
• vanilla frosting

1. Set aside 2 tablespoons of cake mix
2. Mix the remaining cake mix, 3 eggs, mashed bananas, 1/2 of pudding mix, and oil until all ingredients are incorporated well.
3. In separate bowl mix chopped cherries with the 2 tablespoons of cake mix you set aside earlier. Make sure cherries are coated with mix and add to the rest of the cake mix.
4. Add cherry juice

Now because I was kind of winging this recipe what I did was make sure that the cake batter was the consistency of what any other regular cake batter would be. Not to thick, not to thin. If yours turns out too thin add some more of the pudding mix, if it turns out to thick add a little more cherry juice, water, or oil.

Next you can make this into a cake or cupcakes. The trickier part is the cooking time. Mine took a little over 30 mins. I didn't make cupcakes because my oven tends to burn the bottom while the inside isn't fully cooked. I suggest cooking it for about 15 mins and then checking it every 5 mins or so. When you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean, it's done.

Let the cake cool so it's room temperature to the touch.

Top the cake with Vanilla frosting:

Drizzle the cake with Chocolate frosting:

Drizzle it with sprinkles!!

And you have a really really great tasting Banana Split Cake!

Dinner time!

So I know this isn't the greatest picture but I thought I would start posting some recipes on here. I LOVE cooking and am going to start cooking something new once a week and post it on here. Sooo here goes. Above is:Lemon/Basil Chicken with Basil Butter. Now I have to admit I'm not the best at measuring I just throw in whatever looks right. So I'll see what I can do for measurements for you:

Start out with how ever many chicken breast you want. I used 2 because I was feeding 2 people :o)

1. To get the chicken breast ready I rubbed them down with butter, sprinkled them with fresh lemon juice, pepper, garlic salt, and a little bit of seasoned salt.
   
2. Chop up some fresh basil into small pieces and sprinkle that on top.
   
3. Grill the chicken until done.

Next is the basil butter. This is the best part of this dish in my opinion. All you do is to dip your chicken in it!

1. I just use regular butter out of the tub (country crock whatever you have in the fridge.) Of course again the portion is going to depend on how many you're serving. For 2 chicken breasts I used about a half a cup.


2. Chop more basil (the more the better) and mix into the butter, add a little more lemon juice and garlic salt. And you're all done.
   

I also made Cheesy Garlic Potatoes. These are really easy, again I made enough for 2.

1. Cut 6 red potatoes into quarters and put into sauce pan cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil.


2. In another saucepan combine 1 cup of Velveeta cheese cut into cubes, a handful of mozzarella cheese, grate in 1 large clove of fresh garlic, 1 teaspoon for nutmeg and you will also have to add in milk to thin out the cheese. This should be saucy so that it can be incorporated into the potatoes.


3. Once you can easily insert a fork into the potatoes they are done. Drain the potatoes and return to pan. Mash the potatoes also add salt, pepper, seasoned salt and a little bit of garlic salt. Slowly add the sauce to the potatoes a little at a time. (Many times I've added too much sauce so add slowly and mix in until the potatoes are a good consistency.)


4. Garnish with parsley if you like!

Next is the Cheesy Garlic Biscuits. Now these I do know the measurements on because baking needs to be a little more exact. You will need:

1 1/4 cups of biscuit mix
1/2 cup of grated sharp cheddar
1/2 cup of water

1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
   
2. Combine biscuit mix, cheddar and then water, spoon the dough onto cooking sheet (it doesn't have to look like a biscuit)


3. Cook for 10 mins.

While the biscuits are cooking there is a garlic butter you'll put on top when they come out of the oven you need to make.

1. Heat a half a stick of butter in the microwave until its mostly melted (doesn't have to be all the way)
   
2. Add teaspoon of garlic salt and some parsley.
   
3. Brush on top of biscuits when they come out of the oven.

Lastly is the Lemon Asparagus. These are really easy and very good. For 2 people I took 8 pieces of asparagus.

1. Fill the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and let the olive oil heat some.


2. Drop in asparagus, sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
   
3. Cook asparagus for about 5-7 minutes.

And then you have one yummy meal!! I have to say this is not the order I cooked this in. I had them all going at once. I made the dough for the biscuits, and started boiling the potatoes first. Then the chicken, potato sauce, put the biscuits in, and did the asparagus and it should all come together about the same time. But whatever works for you!

Hope you enjoy as much as I did!