A Few Good Recipes

I've made some new recipes and some favorites lately, so I thought I'd do a big yummy post for you all.

I made Brown Sugar Glazed Pork for dinner tonight along with Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

Paula Deen's Chicken Noodle Soup was the best I've ever had, although I can't recall ever having homemade chicken soup. I actually made it with a leftover turkey breast, frozen from Christmas.

I love making homemade granola, even though it's a bit time consuming. This is a quick recipe though. I love it with soy milk or yogurt especially.

I haven't made this To-Die-For Pot Roast recently, but it's easy and delicious. I bring it as a baby meal a lot, and people think I've slaved away making them pot roast. Not the case.

And finally, I made this cake as cupcakes for Erin's baby shower. She deemed them "stupid good," which, if you know her, is a compliment. They were indeed the best cupcakes I've ever made, and I'm actually not a huge cake fan (more of a frosting fan). I highly recommend. It'd be great for Valentine's Day. I was worried the dark chocolate would be overwhelming, but it was very smooth. Now I just need Carrie-Anne to post the recipe of the sugar cookies she made, because they were the best sugar cookies I've ever had. It was not a diet-friendly shower!

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (I used light and some molasses)
2 eggs
2 oz. sweet dark chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 T vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla, beating until blended.
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and end with flour ixture. Beat at low speed after each addition. Pour batter into 2 greased parchment lined 9" round cakepans.
Bake at 350 for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rocks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

White Chocolate Frosting
1 1/2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 (4 oz.) white chocolate baking bars, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 t vanilla extract
2 t fresh lemon juice

Beach cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add cooled chocolate, beating until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add vanilla and lemon juice beating until blended. Cover and chill 45 minues or ntil spreading consistency.