assya

This cake. It is truly the most versatile and easiest chocolate cake recipe I have ever made. For years, I've seen the recipe on the side of the Hershey's cocoa box. On a whim, I decided to try making a gluten free version of the well-known chocolate cake a few weeks ago. It turned out beautifully the very first time and I have made this cake three more times since then. (Clearly, we've had several occasions for dessert lately!) There is nothing quite like having a lightning fast cake recipe that turns out perfectly every single time.

The cake is sturdy enough to hold together in layers, as cupcakes or to slice as a bundt cake.  I've made this as cupcakes and topped them with Fresh Strawberry Frosting. I've made a layer cake filled with the strawberry frosting, a layer of berries and then topped with the chocolate frosting. I've made two bundt cakes and simply poured the warm frosting over the cake. Every way I've served this cake, it has disappeared in no time at all!

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Ripe sunburst and cherry tomatoes, tangy artichoke hearts, tender pasta and fresh basil are tossed together with a splash of vinegar and oil, then sprinkled with feta cheese. I walked into the kitchen this morning and spied our basket of grape tomatoes.  I decided to put them to good use before they all disappeared. These little bite size tomatoes usually are eaten as fast as I can get them home from the store. My boys will pop them in their mouths like candy every time they walk past the counter where I keep them.
The salad will keep nicely in the refrigerator for a day or two, making it perfect for summer barbecues and picnics. My youngest son loved all of these flavors so much that he requested seconds and gave the pasta two thumbs up. (I stashed the last tiny portion of this salad at the back of the fridge for my own lunch tomorrow. I have no intention of sharing it!)

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Sour Cream Banana Bread is a sweet, moist bread with a crisp crust and a tender crumb. It had been years since I made a plain and simple banana bread and I'd almost forgotten how awesome it could be. We liked this bread so much that the muffins disappeared in 24 hours. My youngest begged for more after his nap this afternoon and that was all the excuse I needed to bake another batch.

This recipe comes together in just minutes. If you choose to make muffins instead of a loaf, it will be in and out of the oven in under 20 minutes. Slathered with butter and still warm from the oven, this was a delicious treat that completely and totally ruined my appetite for dinner. I have no complaints about that. None at all.

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I am so excited to tell you that I have partnered with ZipList to make saving your favorite recipes much simpler! Over the past few years, I've received numerous emails and comments requesting that I add ZipList's Recipe Box to Barefeet In The Kitchen. At long last, it is here.


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This is a homemade vanilla ice cream fully loaded with miniature chocolate chips and toffee bits. I'm telling you today that the secret to a really great chocolate chip ice cream is miniature chocolate chips. Having discovered that little secret, I made a couple batches of awesome chocolate chip ice cream a few months ago, before hitting on the idea of adding in what was left in a bag of toffee bits after I made these Chocolate Toffee Fudge Brownies.

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This is a tangy, sweet dressing with a hint of lingering heat that makes you want to keep eating just one more bite. My husband was working out of town last week and he texted me one night to tell me about a fantastic jalapeño vinaigrette from one of the restaurants he visited. His only dinner request this week was that I try to figure out how to make it. Consider it done. He was a very happy camper with dinner last night!
I served this dressing with a huge chopped vegetable salad loaded with chicken, cheese, hard boiled eggs and just about anything else I could think of adding to it. I offered my boys ranch dressing for their salads, thinking that they might not want to try this one. However, two of them surprised me by liking this dressing every bit as much as the adults did.

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Fresh bell peppers stuffed with flavorful ground meats and tender rice is a combination that my family would be happy to eat any day of the week. The other day I caught a great sale on bell peppers and couldn't resist buying several of them, to make Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers. However, once I had the peppers in the kitchen, I wanted to make something different.

We've been on a Mexican food kick all week, so I changed up our usual Italian stuffed peppers and created this spicy twist on one of our favorite meals. It was also the perfect use for the rest of the salsa that I already had in the house.

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With the temperature hitting close to 100 degrees here in Arizona this week, it's time to clear space in the freezer for regular popsicle making. I made these popsicles a couple times last year and they were a truly indulgent dessert treat. I can't wait to make them again this summer!

It all starts with creamy cheesecake ice cream swirled with caramel, then frozen into popsicles. Once frozen, they're dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with nuts. I absolutely loved this combination and the kids couldn't get enough of them.
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These little bite-size Glazed Lemon Drop Cookies are a soft not-too-sweet cookie dipped into a sweetly tart glaze. After a pretty rough day, I knew that some baking might turn my mood around. My kitchen therapy worked and I happily ate cookies in lieu of my dinner. (shhhh, don't tell the kids, they thought I ate my dinner after they went to bed.)

I've been craving a lemon dessert for a couple weeks now and I had the recipe for these cookies scribbled out and waiting to try. The cookies were an awesome success and I managed to eat an embarrassing number of them before I finally packed the remaining cookies in a container and sent them home with friends!

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Savory ham and cheddar cheese are layered into these fluffy biscuits. Served with a plate of scrambled eggs or alongside a bowl of soup, these biscuits disappear almost as quickly as I can make them.

When Smithfield asked me if I'd be interested in creating a recipe using one of their hams, I grinned and said yes immediately. When they added that they'd like the recipe to feature ham as a leftover ingredient, I knew I was going to have some fun with the ham recipes.

We are huge fans of "leftover" recipes. Anytime I can cook a meal and then use the leftovers in another meal, that makes my day. Ham is one of my favorites for making multiple meals. I started last week by making our favorite Balsamic and Dijon Glazed Ham. Then I made Old Fashioned Ham Balls and an amazing Stir Fry. Next on my list was a Cheesy Potato, Ham, and Egg Breakfast Casserole.

These Ham and Cheese Biscuits were actually the first recipe I made with the leftover ham and they turned out so well, I made them again the very next day because my boys begged for more of them. I stashed a handful of the biscuits in the freezer and I've been eating them split in half, stacked with an egg in the middle, for my breakfast the past few days. I also served the biscuits with a bowl of Spicy Five Bean Chili. My whole crew voted these biscuits a huge success.

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Fresh vegetables, ham and curly pasta noodles are tossed in a simple cream sauce to make this quick skillet meal. The sauce is very light and just creamy enough without weighing the dish down and making it too heavy. My kids absolutely love this meal and I love that it's a great way to get a whole lot of vegetables onto their plates.

This recipe is one of my favorite ways to use bits of vegetables and leftover meats from the refrigerator. I've been making different versions of this dish for as long as I can remember. I usually serve this pasta without any meat at all, but I've added roast chicken as well. This time, we all gave the ham two thumbs up and my kids declared this their new favorite pasta. In the summer, I make this with our abundance of summer squash. It can also be made with onions and/or fresh garlic, fresh herbs or dried. However, we make it, this is always a hit.

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Salty bacon, sweet apples and caramelized Brussels sprouts are combined in this truly outstanding side dish. This was one of those dishes that I kept hearing about from friends, until I couldn't resist trying it myself. Oh. My. Goodness. Absolutely DELICIOUS. I am confessing now that as I was taking this picture, I probably ate about a third of this dish. Yes, I am officially nuts over Brussels sprouts.

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Crisp bell peppers and sweet onions are tossed with sweet pineapple and savory ham balls in a sweet and sour sauce that is unforgettable. This stir fry disappeared so quickly the night that I made it, I didn't even have a chance to grab a shot of the stir fry served over rice. I'm not kidding, it was gone in minutes. I have to admit that I wasn't surprised, considering the fact that my first reaction to tasting it was a true moment of "wow."

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Savory ham meatballs are coated in a thick, sticky, sweet and sour glaze and then baked in the oven until piping hot and irresistible. You know those foods that stick in your memory? These ham balls are one of those recipes. I tried one when they were still piping hot form the oven. I burned my mouth and then, despite the burn, I ate another one while they were still way too hot. They are that good. My family loved them and they managed to eat this entire batch of meatballs in less than 24 hours.

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This is not your everyday cookies and cream ice cream. (Although don't get me wrong, I love a great cookies and cream ice cream!) The base of this ice cream tastes just like Oreo cookies, not like vanilla ice cream with chunks of Oreos. Oreos are a weakness of mine and I have to admit that they are very rarely allowed into my house, because I admittedly have NO self-control when they are near me. There just isn't a made-from-scratch option that can compare for certain things.

I had an idea for an Oreo ice cream a while back and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I picked up the Oreos at the store and as soon as I got home I dumped a dozen of them into the blender and pulsed them into powder. Combining those fine Oreo crumbs with the cream and milk made for a rich, smooth ice cream base that tasted exactly like our favorite store-bought cookies!

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Sharp cheddar, spicy barbecue sauce and tender chunks of chicken are piled on top of soft tortillas to make this quick and easy meal. My kids went crazy over these tacos and I have to admit that I loved them too. The sharp cheddar cheese was an awesome addition to our favorite barbecue chicken!

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Miniature breakfast casserole cups filled with potatoes, cheese, ham and eggs are an awesome make-ahead meal that freezes and reheats perfectly. (That is, if you can manage to actually save a few for the freezer!) I had a baked potato leftover from dinner the previous night and a whole lot of ham waiting to be used. One thing led to another and within half an hour I was taking these awesome breakfast muffins out of the oven.
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Condiments are my weakness. At any given time, the top shelf of my refrigerator is lined with an assortment of jars filled with dressings, sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades, butters, jams, salsas and spreads. While I can never resist playing with new flavor combinations, there are some classics that have a special place in my refrigerator year round.

If you are anything like I was a few years ago, you might not realize that most condiments are very easy to make at home and like many other foods, the homemade version trumps store-bought every time. I'm sharing some of our favorites with you today. These are the recipes that get made over and over again in my kitchen.
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Chewy pieces of dried fruit are tossed with almonds, pecans, coconut and sweetly spiced oats to make this tropical flavored granola. A couple months ago, I made granola in the crockpot for the first time and it was a total game-changer for me. No longer would I need to closely watch the oven and potentially burn the batch when I wanted to make granola. This is almost ridiculously easy and I make a fresh batch at least once a week.

Combined with a scoop of homemade yogurt and some chopped fruit, this is the easiest breakfast we eat these days. I play with different flavor combinations almost every time I make granola and this is one of our new favorites. We love all the dried fruits and the crunchy pieces of coconut.

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Chinese Beef and Broccoli is a classic restaurant dish that is surprisingly easy to re-create at home. Tender strips of beef, crisp broccoli and a flavorful sauce; it all comes together in just minutes. I've made several different versions of this recipe over the past few years and this is my favorite. I combined my favorite parts of a few different recipes and this meal was a huge hit with the whole family. This is officially a new favorite for all of us!

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Tender, moist, and yet dense enough not to crumble at the touch of a fork, this cake is everything I want in a white cake. Topped with creamy fresh strawberry frosting, or a classic buttercream, this cake has received more thumbs up over the past couple of months than anything else I've baked. The flavor combination is absolutely perfect with both almond and vanilla flavors.
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