Chocolate Guinness Cake

I'm not Irish but we like beer here so I picked up a six pack of Guinness, knowing I had an easy cake recipe that I saved on Facebook.

The cake was actually very easy to make and it came together very quickly. Melting butter with beer, adding sugar and cocoa, whipping in the combined sour cream, eggs and vanilla, and then finally whipping in flour and baking soda. All in a saucepan!

I made the frosting while the cake was baking and well, I guess a few spoonfuls went missing. I don't love frosting but this one is oozy and just slightly sweet. Yum!

I think the frosting is meant to look like foam on top of a very dark beer.

The outside of the cake, where it baked against the springform pan, is slightly crusty but the rest of the cake is moist and delicious. Deep, dark chocolate. Not at all boozy.

Now I hope we can eat it all!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cake.

Cranberry Margaritas

On our way home today my dear husband asked about these margaritas- do we have everything at home to make them? No. So we stopped for limes and cranberry juice.

So glad! We made these first at New Year's, just our usual at-home celebration. I didn't blog about them bit obviously Jimmy didn't forget about them.

Tequila, triple sec, lime juice, cranberry juice, a bit of simple syrup. You'll love them too!

 

New Years--

 

Click here for the stolen recipe for Cranberry Margaritas.

 

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White Zin Sangria with pineapple, nectarine, strawberries, and lemon

I made sangria just because!

 

I have so much fruit in the fridge right now. I have strawberries, raspberries, nectarines, pineapple, bananas, lemons, apples, limes... I knew I needed to do something. I thought ice cream but I'm the only one who eats it, really. Sangria? Jim will partake :)

So I found a recipe that used up some of the fruit and I also had most of the other ingredients so I gave it a go!

White Zinfandel is not really my wine. I had a bottle leftover from some event and figured it would be better in a sangria than for regular drinking.

This sangria is light, fruity, and perfect for sipping on a hot day. I would make it again but I wouldn't usually have white zinfandel or peach schnapps in my house. They are both gone now!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Sangria.

 

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

If you like mustard you'll like this sauce. It's also a tiny bit boozy from the full cup of brandy that gets cooked down in the sauce. This is a Pioneer Woman recipe so she doesn't scrimp on the butter and oil that the chicken gets pan fried in.

Overall, tasty. Especially if you like mustard. I think I already said that?

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce.

Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken

I love these crockpot meals. I sometimes start them before I leave for work or I leave the work to my dear work-at-home husband. He does awesome work.

I think Jim did make this meal. This is way back from 11/1 so it's hard to remember. I know I did make the BBQ sauce the night before and left the recipe out for Jim.

It was good! We love these crockpot meals. I don't feel as rushed to come home and hurry a meal together for a decent time. (We like to eat at 5:30, and I get home with James at about 5:00. So RR's 30 minute meals would be handy but I don't like her style of food.)

Anyway...

Roasted brussel sprouts rounded out the meal.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken.

Click here for the BBQ sauce, from Pioneer Woman.

Crockpot French Onion Soup

I'm going backwards to October, looking through the food pictures that I never did blog about. This is an easy crockpot soup that we did enjoy. Jim loves French Onion soup and this came from one of my new favorite blogs, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Turns out I love Gruyere cheese!

I thought this soup was pretty sweet. I mean, literally. Is that normal for French Onion soup? I don't know. I dont' think I've ever really ordered it from a restaurant.

Jim did enjoy it. I don't know if we'll make it again because it would have to be a very definite craving on my part... and honestly I enjoy other soups so much more. I am glad I made it though.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Crockpot French Onion Soup.

Watermelon & Cherry Sangria

This isn't from just one recipe. I came home with a bottle of white wine and knew I'd throw together some kind of sangria with my watermelon. We also threw in some brandy, cherries, and ginger ale.

The sangria in the glasses is a bit lighter in color because I put an extra splash of ginger ale in them. The sangria was sweet and light. Yum.

Beer & Pretzel Caramels

Boys are invading my home this weekend. My husband is having a (small) poker party for his buddies and cupcakes didn't seem appropriate. I found this recipe a long time ago and it seemed like a perfect time to try making it.

The candy itself is made with a few cups of beer, along with tons of sugar and corn syrup, but I also had to simmer a cup of beer down to a syrupy reduction. It was supposed to reduce to a teaspoon of an extract-type of flavor, but I ended up with a few tablespoons even with some extra time on the stovetop. I tasted it and it sure was strong, so I'm sure it was fine.

The candy was cooked to a temperature of 245 degrees (hot!) and quickly poured into a buttered pan. I set the pretzel rods on top and then hoped for the best.

Success! I don't know why I was worried. It even came out of the pan in one neat chunk of gooeyness. The beer taste is very subtle. I think it's more of an aftertaste. Pleasant though.

Really, this is too many caramels for half a dozen guys. I will need to share with others.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Beer and Pretzel Caramels.

Watermelon Margaritas

I'm still working on that watermelon. We blended up some margarita, liquor, lime juice, and ice for margaritas!!

Again, refreshing! And so easy.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Watermelon Margaritas.