Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Cake

1 box devil’s food cake mix

1 box chocolate pudding—instant or cook & serve

1 12 oz bag semi sweet chips

1 ¾ C milk

2 eggs

(add 2 T flour for high altitude)

Mix by hand until smooth. Bake at 350° in bundt pan for 50-55 mins. Don’t over bake. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack for a bit, but then put on plate and cover with ganache while still warm.

So easy. So good.

Crepes, aka K**** Pancakes

Mix in blender:
2 C milk*
1 C water
4 eggs
2 T oil
1 T sugar
1 t salt
2 C flour
**

Grease a nonstick griddle--we use spray. Heat it til it's ready? Water spits on it or it's medium or something. I don't know. Pour pancake size portions of batter onto the griddle/frying pan (if you use a frying pan, you can swirl the batter to make thinner pancakes). When the air bubbles start popping, turn pancake over. The first pancake never turns out for some reason. But the second and each following one is great.

*My mom likes them really thin and so adds a little more milk or water. I just swirl the batter around in the pan to achieve the same effect.
**Sometimes I add a little vanilla. Sometimes I don't.

We ate these for breakfast almost every Saturday morning when I was growing up. Mom cooked them on our electric griddle, which leaned on mugs and glasses for support because it’s legs were broken. My mom always served these with homemade “Mapeleine” syrup, which is still the only syrup I like. I make it just for me ‘cause my kids and husband don’t like it.

Syrup
Bring to boil, stirring occasionally:
2 parts sugar
1 part water

Add
A t or so Mapeleine maple syrup flavoring stuff. (I’ve only ever found it at Walmart.)
Turn off heat immediately or the syrup will get way too thick. The syrup is usually really thin. You can cook it longer (but not too long) or add corn syrup to thicken it a bit.

German Pancakes

Mix in a blender (or with a handheld):
6 eggs
1 C milk
1 C flour
1 t salt
1/4 C sugar
vanilla

Melt in a 9 x 13 pan in the oven:
6 T butter

Pour batter into the pan with the melted butter and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. They puff up beautifully in the oven, then collapse immediately when you take them out.

My sister Julie used to make these for dinner when I was growing up. Only for dinner. I don't think we ever had them for breakfast. We eat them for breakfast. Gramma loves them. I like the outside pieces.

Club Soda Waffles, aka "Big Waffles"

2 C Bisquick*
1 egg
1/2 C oil
1 1/2 C club soda

Batter will thicken some if left to sit for a while.
We cook them in our Belgian waffle maker.

*I know, I know. But they really are good. We got this recipe from Stanford's secretary (whose husband was a preacher and who maintained "the Mormons" owned Coca Cola) years ago and we make it A LOT--often with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream out of this little baby.

Tapioca Pudding

Combine and bring to a boil:
3 T tapioca
1/3 C sugar
pinch salt
3 egg yoks
2 C milk

beat and stir into tapioca mixture:
3 egg whites
vanilla

Lebanese-Style bulgur Salad

The real recipe from Sprouts magazine May/June 2009

3/4 cup bulgur

2 cups boiling water

1 pound baby spinach

1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint

1 cucumber (12 ounces), peeled, seeded, and finely diced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped marinated sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 t sea salt

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c lemon juice

2 T flaxseed oil

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1. Place bulgur in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover bowl and let sit for 1 hour. Drain bulgur in a sieve, pressing gently to expel excess water. Return to bowl.

2. Blanch spinach in plenty of boiling salted water for 30 seconds. Drain, plunge in cold water, and drain thoroughly until dry. Chop finely and add to bulgur. Add parsley, mint, cucumber, tomatoes, and chickpeas, stirring well.

3. Combine garlic and salt in a small bowl; add pepper, lemon juice, flaxseed oil, and olive oil. Whisk until emulsified. Add to bulgur mixture. Stir well and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Serve with feta and quartered tomatoes.

My version based on what I had on hand:

bulgar

green peppers

red peppers

chickpeas

Italian parsley

3--5 cloves garlic

red onion

1 lemon

Olive oil

Served with grilled chicken and homemade bread. De-lish.

Green Goddess Sauce

3/4 C mayo

1/4 C sour cream

4 anchovy fillets (I used paste)

3 T chives

2 T parsley

1 T capers

2 t lemon zest

1 t lemon juice

1/8 t salt

pepper

We put it on salmon burgers--well, I do. Stanford isn't a big fan of salmon burgers. Also good on veggies--fresh and cooked.