CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE from Pretty.Simple.Sweet.

This comes from Pretty.Simple.Sweet. My only complaint is that the pudding part is very bitter from way too much cocoa powder. It only needed no more than half the amount called for but I stuck with the recipe and used the full amount. I shouldn't have and I'm ticked at myself. I've been making these cakes for 15 years and have had to adjust the amount of cocoa most of the time.

I used half the amount of vanilla and it was enough. The full recipe called for almost one tablespoon (2/3 of one, anyway.) I like the combination of both brown and white sugar in the pudding and for that reason alone I'll make this again. The amount of salt and cocoa in the cake was perfect and I added a pinch to the pudding mixture too since I always do. I put my piece of cake upside down in the bowl so you could see the pudding and I always eat it with vanilla ice cream.

I grade this an A- and not an A solely because of too much cocoa in the pudding.

IMPOSSIBLE PEACH PIE from Food.com

This comes from Food.com. I made this in a 9"/1 qt. pie dish and used two cans of peaches, not 3 cans in a 10" pie plate. I added 1/2 t. salt because the recipe called for none. I used half the amount of cinnamon and left out the nutmeg. I left off the streusel topping. This is very good but a little soft from the juice that cooked out of the peaches, I guess. I'd definitely make this again. I'm wondering if I could leave out some of the cream next time to make up for the juice in the peaches. 

I made this once before but used milk instead of cream (I used heavy cream this time) and it was a soft mess. The 1 c. cream and 2 cans Del Monte peaches for this cost $4.82.

I give this 5 stars.

ONE-POT CREAMY SUN-DRIED TOMATO PASTA

This comes from Budget Bytes. I just slightly less pasta, 7 oz./2 c. of penne, and a little less sun-dried tomatoes. I cooked some onion though onion's not in this recipe. I cooked some frozen broccoli in this and added a cooked and shredded boneless skinless chicken breast after the pasta had cooked. I omitted cream cheese and added a big pinch of salt and 1/4 t. pepper.

This is very good and I rate this an A.

COOKIES AND CREAM CUPCAKES from The First Year Blog

These are good and come from The First Year Blog. They're moist but not nearly as much as I was expecting, considering they have almost one cup of sour cream in them. In that way I'm disappointed. The Oreo crumbs don't really do anything flavorwise for the cake. I ground my Oreos finely. 3/4 c. equals 6 regular Oreos. It would have been nice had the author told us that. I added an extra 1/8 t. salt but they need more. I used 1/2 t. less vanilla because the cookies have some in them. I used this Wilton mini loaf pan and these liners and filled the cavities with a heaping 1/3 c. batter. This made about 3 c. of batter. They baked in 18 minutes. I didn't bake them at 400 degrees for 5 minutes then longer at 350. I preheated the oven to 400 then turned it down to 350 once I put them in. I made my own frosting for these and added 1/4 c. finely ground Oreos (2 cookies) to it and reduced the usual amount of vanilla extract since Oreos have some in them.

I give these 4 stars but I wouldn't make them again because I've made moister white cakes before that didn't use sour cream, which is an added expense. 

My white frosting (enough for 12 cupcakes/One 9"-10" cake): 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar (not weighed out), 2.5 tablespoons softened butter/margarine/spread, 2 tablespoons shortening, 1/2-3/4 t. pure vanilla extract, and milk or water, up to 2 tablespoons but start with just one. 

 

CLASSIC APPLE CRISP from Pinch of Yum

This is from Pinch of Yum. I used about 5-5 1/2 c. of apples, not 4 like the recipe said to use. I didn't add more sugar or flour but did add 1/4 t. salt, 1/2 t. cinnamon, and I used a 10"/2.5 qt. pan. It baked in 35 minutes. I accidentally left the baking soda out of the crumb topping. The author didn't say why it was used. I googled and found that it makes toppings crispier. This topping is very very crispy so it wasn't needed after all. I used tart Pink Lady apples and they're perfect, as is the topping. 

 I rate this 5 stars and I'd make again.

BACON LENTIL SOUP from She Wears Many Hats

This is a great recipe and it comes from She Wears Many Hats. I made half in a 3 qt. pot. I omitted bacon and the bay leaf. In place of a can of diced tomatoes, I pureed the tomatoes and used just 3/4 c. and used an extra 1 1/2 c. water to make up for the lack of liquid. I used chicken broth in place of vegetable broth. My greenish-brown lentils took 40 minutes to cook, not 1.5 hours like in the recipe.

I give this 5 stars. It couldn't have been any easier to make.