Chocolate Sheet Cake - Happy Birthday, Blog!

Today marks exactly ONE YEAR of food blogging! Has it really been that long?! I started this blog to share recipes with a few friends, and now 60 recipes and a few thousand page views later, here we are! I felt the need to celebrate (with food obviously), so I want to share this delicious sheet cake with you! But first, let's do a quick recap of some of my (and your) favorite recipes of the last year - just for fun. :)

Nutella Swirl Cupcakes - It's no surprise that this post has gotten more hits than any others on LTK! I even TRIED to give it some competition with other Nutella recipes (Nutella Rice Krispy Treats, Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies, Nutella French Toast) but you guys kept going back to these cupcakes.

Balsamic Chicken & Tortellini Salad - This was your second-favorite dish! The first time I made this was for a baby shower, and it was so fresh and flavorful that I kept making it over and over again. It's even better on Day 2 after it's had time to sit in the refrigerator and marinate. YUM!!

Blackberry Shortbread Bars - These yummy bars haven't gotten as many hits as they deserve, but this is one of my favorites recipes, so I couldn't resist giving these little guys a spotlight. They will change your life!!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins - I JUST made these a couple weeks ago, but I have a feeling they'll be popping up in my kitchen several more times this season. They're moist and delicious, and the sweet swirl of cream cheese frosting on top doesn't hurt.

Okay, enough of that - on to this gorgeous sheet cake! This recipe comes straight from Pioneer Woman's blog. Check it out HERE!

You'll need:


Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 heaping Tbsp. Cocoa
2 sticks butter
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Bakers Joy for spraying pan


Frosting
1 3/4 stick butter
4 heaping Tbsp cocoa
6 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 cup) powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Start by whisking together flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

Melt 2 sticks of butter in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat.

While that's breaking down, whisk together buttermilk, beaten eggs, vanilla, and baking soda.

Once the butter is melted, sift in cocoa while whisking gradually.

Add boiling water.

Now pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients you set aside. Careful, it's hot!

Stir that a little so that the ingredients begin binding together.

Add in the buttermilk mixture.

Whisk until fully incorporated, and pour the batter into a pan sprayed with Baker's Joy (a mixture of flour and olive oil.) My sheet cake pan is 12x17 inches and about 1 inch deep. If you use anything smaller and deeper, you may have to adjust the baking time.

Use a rubber spatula to even out the batter.

Bake this at 350 degrees for just 20 minutes. While that's in the oven, it's time to make the frosting!

This is going to start similar to the cake. Melt butter and sift in cocoa powder, stirring together gradually.

Stir in milk and vanilla.

Remove from heat, and gently stir in the powdered sugar about a cup at a time.

This is what happens when you're not gentle... oops... too excited.

Keep whisking until smooth and creamy.

Now finely chop and add the pecans.

Stir those into the frosting.

Pour the icing over the cake.

Spread evenly with rubber spatula.

Yum...

Eat up, and share. This makes a lot of cake!

Sending you a whole year's worth of love from my kitchen! Hoping I can stay committed through Year 2. :)

Wrapped & Stuffed Chicken

I rarely eat bacon, but I had a few slices leftover from wrapping jalepenos for THIS RECIPE, so I thought I might as well wrap some chicken, too. I also had some fresh herbs and cheese in the fridge, and voila... Wrapped and stuffed chicken!

You'll need:

2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 bacon slices (2 strips per chicken breast)

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Fresh herbs to taste (I used basil and oregano.)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 tsp. olive oil (for drizzling)

*Makes 2 servings!

First, clean your chicken breasts by trimming off the fat and giving them a good rinse. Pat dry, and lay on your cutting board.

As far as I know, there are two ways to stuff a chicken breast. You can either grab a sharp knife and cut a horizontal slit through the chicken - not all the way, just enough so you have room to cram in the stuffing. Or, you can do it this way...

Place a chicken breast between parchment paper

Smack it with a hard, smooth surface. If you're fancy and have a meat mallet, use that. I used a can of tomato soup. :)

I flattened my chicken to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Try to get both pieces to about the same thickness.

Season both sides of the flattened chicken breast with salt and pepper.

This basil and oregano came from my mom's garden. (Thanks, Mom!)

Just sprinkle the herbs onto one half of the chicken.

And pile the shredded cheese on top of that.

Fold the chicken in half so that the herbs and cheese are enclosed.

Wrap with bacon, securing everything with a toothpick or two.

Place in a pan, and drizzle with olive oil. I like to pour some chicken broth or dry, white wine (like Chardonnay) in the dish to keep everything juicy.

Bake for 25-30 minutes on 350 degrees or until the center of the chicken is no longer pink. The bacon will be crispy on top, but the chicken is perfectly moist underneath.

Okay, I'll let you check out the inside!

All the cheese comes oozing out when you slice open the chicken breast. Delish! Soon I'll post the recipe for those creamy mashed potatoes in the picture above. Yum!!