Easy Hot Cocoa Bombs

The nice thing about these hot chocolate or hot cocoa bombs is that there is really no limit on what you can put inside these little treats along with the cocoa mix. They are all the rage this year and are getting hard to find, but are fairly easy to make at home, especially with the right mold. And what a great gift idea!

What makes this recipe easy is the large mold that enables you to not have to fuse together two different halves like this…

I tried that, but I just didn’t have the time or patience to try to get the two halves to get together. That is when I decided to try a different mold….

These molds are large enough to fit all the goodies in, and then you can just spread the chocolate over them, chill, and remove!

This is all you will need…

• Hot cocoa mix
• Miniature or dehydrated marshmallows
• Candy melts
• Any other candies or sprinkles you would like to add to the bombs
• The candy mold above.

There are several brands, flavors and colors of candy melts available, depending on what kind of a flavor you want….

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One bag of these are enough to make 6 of the bombs.

Melt the candy melts in a double boiler or microwave at 15 second intervals until they are melted. Use a paint brush or small spoon and paint about a tablespoon of the melted chocolate into each circle.

Make sure all sides are covered and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Remove and put 1 tablespoon of marshmallows in each circle.

There are only 5 here because one cracked and I had to eat it! Then add 1 tablespoon of cocoa mix to each circle.

Then add baking chips or m&m’s or sprinkles, or crushed candy canes, heath or caramel or peanut butter chips? Or – just use your imagination! Maybe a spoon of something like this? Get creative!

I used rainbow colored baking chips and some snowflake sprinkles.

Spoon the rest of the melted chocolate onto the top and spread over the top of the circles.

Place back in the freezer and let sit for another ten minutes until hardened, then turn over and pop them out of the molds and trim any loose strands of chocolate off the bottom. Here is what you now have.

For the top, I melted a few red and green candy melts and piped the squigglys on with a piping bag.

Then I added some sprinkles on top.

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That’s it! Add one bomb to 8 ounces of steamed milk and enjoy! They da bomb!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

Morrison’s Cafeteria Deluxe Cornbread Pecan Dressing

Fall is here in Middle Tennessee and there is a chill in the air! The holidays are fast approaching, and it’s not too soon to be planning for Thanksgiving. I have made a variation of this stuffing every year for almost 40 years for family and friends.

The recipe is adapted from a Morrison’s Cafeteria recipe which had been a time honored classic in the south for many years. If you were born or raised in the south, there is a good chance that you have devoured it somewhere along the way with sliced turkey breast and gravy on top. Most likely Sunday’s after church.

Sadly, Morrison’s Cafeterias are now a thing of the past, (I think there may still be one in Mobile, Alabama owned by Piccadilly Cafeterias) but some of their recipes live on.

(Diners in Morrison’s Cafeteria in Tallahassee, Florida on November 15, 1984. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.)

The original recipe is for 120 servings, and on Sundays, we would quadruple the recipe at Morrison’s. On Thanksgiving, we prepare about 1000 servings! I have broken the recipe down to yield 10 servings.

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Photos from newspapers.com

Some of my most viewed blog posts have been adaptions of Morrison’s recipes, so I thought I would share another one with you. Below are the links to Custard Pie and Beef Stew.

https://kerrysfoodthymes.blog/2019/04/24/morrisons-cafeteria-custard-pie/

https://kerrysfoodthymes.blog/2019/06/28/morrisons-cafeteria-beef-stew/

Servings – 8-10

Cook/Prep time – about 3 hours (less if you cook and dry the cornbread the day before)

For the cornbread…

• 1 3/4 cups corn meal
• 1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and spread batter on a greased pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool. If you are making the cornbread the day before, let it cool and dice into 1/2 “ cubes and let it dry overnight. If you are making it the same day, after dicing into cubes, put it back in a 175 degree oven for about an hour until good and dry. This will make more cornbread then you need. You can just eat the rest while it’s warm!

** if you are making the cornbread the day before, you can also dry the bread cubes, too.

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*** for a shortcut, you may use a cornbread mix, but don’t use a sweet one like Jiffy.

For the dressing….

• 1/4 lb dried bread cubes
• 1/2 lb dried cornbread cubes
• 4 cups chicken broth or stock
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp salt (less if using salted broth)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 boiled egg, chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp cooked, diced chicken or turkey giblets (optional)

I never use the boiled egg or giblets, but the original recipe calls for them so I have listed them here.

Heat the canola oil in a skillet. Add the diced celery and onion and cook just a few minutes, removing from the heat while they are still firm. Let them cool.

Add the dried bread and cornbread to a mixing bowl. Pour the cooled chicken stock over them, stir and let them set for 20 minutes.

Add the cooled onion, celery and oil and mix together.

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Add the salt, pepper, chopped pecans and baking powder and mix well. Whisk the raw egg and blend it in. If you are adding the giblets and chopped boiled eggs, add them also and mix them in well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add the mixture to a greased pan and place in the oven and cook for 45 to 60 minute until well browned.

Remove from oven and serve immediately!

That’s it! Enjoy!

Easy Cheesy Grilled Skirt Steak Pinwheels

If you like steak, cheese and spinach, (three of the main food groups) you will love these cheesy pinwheels! They are quick and easy to make and will impress your guests with their attractive display.

If you can’t find skirt steak, no worries! You can use flank steak. I prefer the skirt steak because it has a beefier taste to me.

Cook / Prep Time: about an hour

Servings : Two (about 4 pinwheels)

Special equipment needed: a meat mallet or tenderizer and some kitchen twine.

• 1 lb skirt steak
• 3 ounce baby spinach leaves, chopped
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 lg shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 oz shaved or shredded parmesan
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 1 sprig fresh basil leaves
• 1 tsp ground thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

Pound the skirt steak into a rectangle about 1/4” thick.

Season both sides with salt and pepper. Turn the skirt steak vertically on a counter. Mix the lemon juice and olive oil together and brush onto the beef. Sprinkle the thyme leaves on it. Spread the chopped shallots and garlic evenly onto the meat. Pinch the basil leaves and dot them over the shallots and garlic. Evenly spread the Parmesan cheese over it. Spread the chopped spinach over the parmesan cheese. Add the provolone slices evenly on top.

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Roll the meat up jelly roll style and it should look like this…

Cut 4 pieces of kitchen twine about 12” in length.

Tie them around the skirt roll and cut off the excess twine. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary. At this point, you can pop it in a 350 degree oven if you want and cook for about 30 minutes until desired doneness, or you can slice them and fry them or grill them. In my case, I grilled them.

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Place them on a hot grill and grill them for about 4 minutes on each side and them place them in a 350 degree oven for about another 6-7 minutes for medium rare. They will tend to be tough if well done or overcooked. Let them rest with tented aluminum foil over them for about 5 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Pan Fried Mozzarella Marinara

Just another meatless Monday… Who doesn’t love fried cheese? I sure do – especially with homemade marinara sauce – and it’s easy to prepare!

You can make it even easier if you use store bought marinara sauce! Just skip the steps to prepare the sauce.

Or if you want to use fresh tomatoes for the sauce, you can find my recipe for that here…

https://kerrysfoodthymes.blog/2019/09/05/homemade-marinara-sauce-using-fresh-tomatoes/

Cook/Prep Time – about an hour

Servings – 2

Ingredients:

For the Marinara sauce…

• 1 – 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small carrot
• 1 small celery rib
• 1 shallot
• 1 small bell pepper
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• Salt
• Black pepper

For the Mozzarella….

• 3 – 1/4 inch slices of loaf mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh basil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup panko
• 1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup canola oil (for frying the cheese)

For the sauce, finely chop the carrot, shallot, celery, pepper and garlic. Place the olive oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven on medium heat and add the chopped vegetables. Sauté while stirring for about 10 minutes. Add the red wine and cook another 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and turn heat down to low. Chop the basil coarsely and stir it in. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently for 30 minutes.

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While the marinara is simmering, prepare a cheese marinade by adding the olive oil, red wine, basil and crushed garlic and a dash of salt and pepper to a dish and add the sliced mozzarella and marinate for 15 minutes.

For the breading, whisk the egg and add the milk and stir together. Set up a breading station with a plate or dish of flour, and another with the panko mixed with the Italian seasoning.

Keeping one hand wet and one hand dry, grab a slice of cheese with your wet hand and place it in the flour and press the flour onto both sides with your dry hand. Place the floured slice into the egg wash and wet both sides with your wet hand. Remove the slice with your wet hand and place it in the panko mixture, pressing it onto both sides with your dry hand. Repeat the process with the rest of the slices.

Heat the canola oil in a skillet on medium heat. When the oil gets hot, fry the cheese slices until browned and flip and brown the other side. Remove from skillet and top with the hot marinara sauce. Serve with your choice of pasta. (I used pappardelle)

Enjoy!

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Suggested songs to listen to while preparing the goodness…..

How about Luciano Pavarotti‘s “Pavarotti: The Duets” released in 2008 featuring duets with Elton John, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Sting, Frank Sinatra and others?

“Manic Monday” – written by Prince and made famous by the Bangles from their 1986 album Different Light. Just substitute the word “meatless” in place of “manic” while preparing this dish!

Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Pot Roast

There’s no better way to spend a rainy day than to fill your house with the wonderful aroma of a slow cooked Red Wine Braised Pot Roast! Let’s do this!

In fact, this pot roast is so good, you may find yourself rubbing it all over your chest…

“and he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest”

Warren Zevon from his song “Exciteable Boy”

Servings – 4

Cook/Prep Time – About 6 1/2 hours

Ingredients..

• 1 1/2 pounds Chuck Roast
• 1 can beef broth (14 oz)
• 1 cup Chianti (or your favorite red wine)
• 1/2 – 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 3 medium carrots
• 2 ribs celery
• 8 small honey gold potatoes
• onion powder
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)
• salt
• pepper

Season the chuck roast with salt, pepper and onion powder. Turn a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the olive oil to the skillet, let it heat up and brown the chuck roast on all sides until golden brown.

After the beef has browned, turn the slow cooker on high and add the beef, red wine, beef broth, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, garlic cloves, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and soy sauce. Place lid on the slower cooker and cook for 3 1/2 hours.

While the pot roast is cooking , peel the onion and carrots and wash all of the vegetables. Halve the potatoes. Cut the onion celery and carrots into chunks. Place the veggie in a bowl and cover them with cold water.

After cooking on high for 3 1/2 hours, turn the slow cooker to low and add the veggies. Taste the rich broth and add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Let it simmer on low for another 2 1/2 hours.

At this point, the vegetables will be soft, and the beef will be fall apart tender and ready to eat. Now if you want to thicken the broth a little to add a little body, dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water , remove the beef and stir the cornstarch mixture into the broth until thickened. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Time to eat!

Enjoy!

Suggested for your listening pleasure while preparing this dish…

“Exciteable Boy” by the late Warren Zevon from his third album “Exciteable Boy” released in January 1978 which also features his massive hit “Wherewolves of London”

“Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best

Exciteable boy, they all said

And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest

Exciteable boy, they all said

Well, he’s just an excitable boy“

“Let it Rain” and “Bottle of Red Wine” by Eric Clapton from his 1970 debut studio album “Eric Clapton”

For recipes like this one calling for just a tablespoon of tomato paste, I like to use the squeeze tube instead of opening a 6 oz. can. You can get a tube from Amazon by clicking the picture below….