Chocolate Mousse Cake

Got this one from allrecipes.com too! Here is the link: Chocolate Mousse Cake IV

It is SO good and SO easy. There are very few ingredients...it starts with a boxed cake mix for cryin' out loud! But it's still good enough to share with friends...if you must! I made it a couple years ago for a birthday (maybe mine?) and just made it tonight for my boss's surprise going-away potluck tomorrow. I think everyone at work will love it!

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted (it tells you on the box how to melt it best)
1/2 cup cold water
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup heavy cream, whipped (measure out 1/2 cup heavy cream, whip it with a hand mixer until thick)

Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for two 9-inch layers. Cool and remove from pans.
In a large bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate. Gradually stir in the water, then instant pudding until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and stir to loosen. Fold in whipped cream and return to the refrigerator for at least another hour.
Place one layer of cake onto a serving plate. Top with 1 1/2 cups of the mousse, then cover with the remaining cake layer. Frost with the remaining mousse, and refrigerate until serving. Garnish with fresh fruit or chocolate shavings.

Smoky Black Bean Soup with Avocado-Lime Salsa

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C water
1 14.4oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 C chipotle salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
Avocado-Lime salsa
Reduced-fat sour cream

Place beans in a medium saucepan. Mash beans slightly with a potato masher.
Stir in water and next 3 ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Uncover, and cook 2 minutes or until soup is slightly thickened. Ladle soup evenly into each of 4 bowls; top evenly with Avocado-Lime salsa, and, if desired, sour cream.
4 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 1/4 cup salsa)
Cal: 172; Fat: 5.7; Protein: 7.4; Carb: 29.7; Fiber: 11g

Avocado-Lime Salsa
1 C diced peeled avocado
1 lime
2 Tbsp freshly chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 tsp salt

Place avocado in a small bowl. Grate rind from lime and squeeze juice to measure 1/2 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon, respectively; add to avocado. Add cilantro and salt. Toss gently.
Yield: 1 C (serving size 1/4 cup) Cal: 55; Fat: 5.2; Protein: 0.7; Carb: 2.9g; Fiber: 1.7g

Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Bites

These are SO good! We've had them many times, and they're always a favorite. We've used a few different kinds of hot sauce, like Frank's Red Hot and Hooter's Hot Wing Sauce. They don't usually come out very spicy. This time we used Hooter's sauce and then dipped them in more sauce when they were done cooking. They got a little soggy this way, but they were still good, and spicier! This time I also cooked them in bigger pieces. Sometimes cutting them in small chunks just meant more work for me, and I was too hungry for more work. However I make them, we love them! (I don't make them with the blue cheese dip, just because I'd be the only one to eat it. Maybe someday I'll try it!)

Vegetable oil (1 1/2 quarts), for frying
2 1/2 cups plain pancake mix
1 1/4 cups water
8 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 1/4 pounds chicken tenders or skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt
For dip:
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper (one-third palmful)
1 cup good-quality refrigerated blue cheese dressing, such as Marie's brand
Store-bought celery sticks

1. In a deep skillet, heat 1 1/2 inches of oil over medium heat.
2. While the oil is heating, make the batter: In a wide mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the pancake mix, the water and 6 teaspoons of hot sauce. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of pancake mix in another wide mixing bowl. Arrange the batter and the bowl of pancake mix near the stove. Line a plate with a few paper towels and keep within reach.
3. Once the oil is heated, toss the chicken pieces with the remaining 2 teaspoons of hot sauce, then toss them in the dry pancake mix, coat evenly and shake off the excess. (The dry pancake mix will help the batter stick to the chicken pieces.) Add some of the chicken to the batter (you're going to batter and fry in 3 to 4 batches) and toss with your fingers or a fork. Remove the first batch from the batter, shaking off the excess, and carefully add the chicken to the hot oil. Fry the chicken for 2 minutes on each side, flipping once, until deep golden brown. Remove the fried chicken from the oil and drain on the paper towel-lined plate, then season with salt. Repeat until all the popcorn chicken bites are fried.
4. Stir the chopped scallions and pepper into the blue cheese dressing. Serve the chicken immediately with the dressing on the side. Garnish the platter with the celery sticks.

What I've found...

I made a pulled pork recipe last week for pork tacos, and the pork is really good! But, there's also a chimmichurri and you use corn tortillas. Apparently, I'm a fan of neither. So I think I'm going to use the pork for a pulled pork sandwich and dress it in barbecue sauce instead. I want to make a homemade barbecue sauce, but I figured I should probably use up the bottled stuff I have first.

I've been trying to eat better lately...the holidays (and my birthday) got in the way, but I have good intentions. Now that all the "fun" stuff is over, I can really concentrate. So Cooking Light recipes have become my best friends. And I'm pretty happy so far!

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

I absolutely LOVED this one. I found it where I found most of my crockpot recipes, Crockpot 365. It is SO easy, and feeds a crowd. I gave leftovers to my brother, and he put some on top of an egg, with salsa and sour cream as an omelet of sorts. Seriously, try it. It's good!

2 cans of kindey beans
2 cans of pinto beans
2 cans of corn
1 large (28oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (14.5oz) can tomatoes and chiles
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger (optional.)
shredded cheese and sour cream for embelishment

Brown meat and drain it. Add meat to your crockpot, sprinkle with seasoning packets. Drain and rinse all the beans and add them. Add the entire contents of the corn and tomato cans; stir. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes! Stir well, and serve topped with cheese or sour cream (or salsa!) if desired.