Chocolate Cups

Makes: 12 filled chocolate cups

Prep: 5 minutes
Chill: 30 minutes
Freeze: at least 2 hours
Cook: 2 minutes

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe 12 filled chocolate cups

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• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 289
• Total Fat (g) 15
• Cholesterol (mg) 48
• Sodium (mg) 40
• Carbohydrate (g) 39
• Fiber (g) 4
• Protein (g) 3

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Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken up (see Note)
• 1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening
• 12 paper or silicone cupcake liners
• 12 scoops assorted ice cream and sherbet flavors
• Chocolate curls, citrus curls or fresh fruit, to garnish

Directions

1. Melt chocolate and shortening a medium-size microwave-safe bowl on high in microwave oven for 2 minutes, stirring halfway. Stir until smooth.

2. Using a small clean brush, spread about 2 teaspoons melted chocolate into bottom and up side of each cup. Chill cups until firm, about 10 minutes, reserving any extra chocolate.

3. Remove cups from refrigerator. Re-melt remaining chocolate in microwave for 20 seconds, if necessary. Reinforce any weak spots inside cups (especially near the rim) with melted chocolate. Return to refrigerator to set, about 20 minutes. (Cups can be prepared up to 2 days ahead; refrigerate loosely covered with plastic wrap or foil.)

4. To remove chocolate cups from paper liners: Loosen a top edge and peel paper away (it will rip apart, but still come off cleanly). For silicone liners: Pop out of liners by gently pressing on bottom of cups, and pulling away side of liner from chocolate shell.

5. To serve: Scoop 1 generous scoop ice cream or sherbet into each chocolate cup (cups can be filled several hours ahead and frozen, covered). Immediately before serving, garnish with chocolate curls, citrus curls or fresh fruit, if desired. Note: You may substitute milk or white chocolate for semisweet, depending on flavor preferences.

The perfect summer salad

The Perfect Summer Salad

aka Paradise Bakery Summer Berry Salad

1 lb. romaine lettuce

1/2 cup pineapple tidbits

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1 can mandarin oranges

1/2 cup toasted pecans

poppyseed dressing

Slice fruit and combined with lettuce and dressing. Enjoy!

thank you again homebased mom..another yummy one..

Zucchini Bread with lemon icing

Zucchini Bread with Lemon Icing..My favorite recipe.

Mix together:

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 1/2 cups sugar

3 t. vanilla

In separate bowl mix dry ingredients together before adding to wet mixture.

1 t. salt

1 t. soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

3 cups flour

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture then add:

2 cups grated zucchini, I peel the zucchini first, I guess you don't have too, but I like it better..

1 cup nuts

mix until blended together, makes 2 loafs or 4 mini loafs.

Bake 325 degrees for 1 hour..until firm in center..

When cooled spread with Lemon Icing:

1 Tb. Butter melted

1 Tb. Milk

1 Tb. Lemon juice

1 cup powdered Sugar

Enjoy!!

Pink Lemonade cake and Lemonade stands..

Pink Lemonade Cake:

1 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 C sugar

1/2 C Country Time Pink Lemonade Drink Mix

3 eggs, room temperature

1 Tbsp. soy flour (or you could add one additional egg) I bought the soy flour in the bulk food section at Winco

1 tsp pure lemon extract

4 C cake flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 1/2 C buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 3 (9 inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Beat butter, sugar and ry drink mix at medium speed until fluffy.

Add eggs and lemon extract.

In a separate bowl combine cake flour, baking powder and salt Add dry mix with butter mix. Mix and add buttermilk. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 24-30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cook in pans for 10 minutes and remove from pans and let cool.

Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting. For a little extra lemon flavor I put a couple of tablespoons of lemon into the frosting I used between the layers. I used just regular buttercream to frost the outside of the cake.

Recipe from one of my favorite blogs..Homebased Mom

Lemonade stands will never go out of style, I did it, my kids did it and it will always makes me smile when I see one, I always stop and buy one..some I drink some I don't but its the joy I see on the kids faces when I stop that keeps me doing it..you don't see them much anymore, unfortunately we live in a different time, a time that our kids aren't as safe as they use to be..but I hope there will always be lemonade stands to make me smile..

Good Water

5 quarts water

3 C sugar

1 Tbsp lemon extract

1 Tbsp citric acid (you can find this at Health food stores)

3 sliced lemons

1/2 pkg of ice

Mix ingredients together in a large container. Serves 30

Slow Cooker Summer Sandwiches

Pulled Pork with Root Beer BBQ Sauce

• 1 2-1/2- to 3-pound pork sirloin roast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
• 1 cup root beer*
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles)*
• 1 cup bottled chili sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon root beer concentrate (optional)
• Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 8 to 10 hamburger buns, split (and toasted, if desired)
• Lettuce leaves (optional)
• Tomato slices (optional)

Directions

1. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3-1/2- to 5-quart crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if desired.

4. Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from cooking juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. To serve, line buns with lettuce leaves and tomato slices, if desired. Add meat and onions; spoon on sauce. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

*Note: Do not substitute with diet root beer.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories 356,
• Total Fat (g) 10,
• Saturated Fat (g) 3,
• Cholesterol (mg) 59,
• Sodium (mg) 786,
• Carbohydrate (g) 44,
• Fiber (g) 1,
• Protein (g) 22,
• Vitamin A (DV%) 4,
• Vitamin C (DV%) 9,
• Calcium (DV%) 4,
• Iron (DV%) 13,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Strawberry BBQ Pork Sandwiches

• 1 2-1/2- to 3-lb. boneless pork sirloin, shoulder, or butt roast
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 4 cups strawberries, halved or quartered
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• Bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 8 rolls or buns, split
• Fresh parsley leaves (optional)
• Green tomato wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Trim fat from pork. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. In large Dutch oven over medium heat brown pork in hot oil on all sides. Add half the strawberries, the ketchup, vinegar, garlic, rosemary, and several dashes hot pepper sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 2 hours or until pork is tender. Remove pork from Dutch oven; loosely cover with foil. Let stand 10 minutes.

2. For strawberry BBQ sauce, skim fat from cooking liquid. Return liquid to Dutch oven; bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 8 minutes or until reduced to about 2 cups.

3. Using two forks, shred pork; discard fat. Stir 1 cup strawberry BBQ sauce into pork. Stir remaining strawberries into BBQ sauce.

4. Serve pork on buns. Top with additional sauce and parsley. Pass remaining sauce. Serve with tomato wedges. Makes 8 sandwiches.

Nutrition Facts

• Servings Per Recipe 8 sandwiches
• Calories 359,
• Total Fat (g) 10,
• Saturated Fat (g) 3,
• Monounsaturated Fat (g) 4,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 3,
• Cholesterol (mg) 89,
• Sodium (mg) 738,
• Carbohydrate (g) 31,
• Total Sugar (g) 10,
• Fiber (g) 3,
• Protein (g) 35,
• Vitamin C (DV%) 77,
• Calcium (DV%) 10,
• Iron (DV%) 18,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Strawberry Baskets

Love this idea..you can find strawberry baskets here..perfect summer gift for that someone special..

Crammer Cookies

My witty and fun niece posted these on her blog, I promised I'd send some cookies to a couple of wild and crazy guys who take care of Lexie and Kylee(making sure they get home safe and sound, thats a big one for me)... so I made these and they are good..really good..I like them frozen best..so I thought you'd want to make them too..go over here to score on this goodness...Now I have to box them up and send them far away..Hope they hold up..