Double Chocolate, Sour Cream Cake

My mom made this cake for me for my birthday back in September and I was hooked!  She found the recipe from a reader in The Orange County Register.  I am not much of a chocolate cake person unless it is GOOD chocolate cake.  This is GOOD cake--really good!

I made cake pops using this cake for my autumn bridal shower, and I recently made this cake for my husband's birthday this week.  It is a hit every time.  This is a perfect winter holiday recipe--rich, gooey, thick and decadent. 

Double Chocolate, Sour Cream Cake
1 package of chocolate cake mix
1 small package of instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup of oil
3/4 cup of milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 package (12 ounces) chocolate chips
1 cup of chopped nuts, optional (I don't use these in my cake)

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and beat until mixed.  Pour into a greased bundt pan or into pans you are using.  Bake at 350 for 48-50 minutes for a bundt cake, bake about 35 minutes for 2 round cake pans, and bake about 40 minutes for a 9 by 13 pan.  Check regularly and be careful to not overcook-these times are estimates.

Let the cake cool in the pan, and then invert it onto a cake plate.  Use your favorite frosting (I have used my cream cheese frosting and chocolate frosting, and it is good with any flavor!).  Enjoy!

Harvest Salad

Well, before I get into the recipe for this yummy salad, I have to be honest with you all.  Friday Favorites posts might be taking a break for a little while.  I have found that Pinterest has replaced a need for me to highlight fun crafts, recipes, and parties.  Most of my blog readers are now on Pinterest, and I have noticed a dropped interest in the Friday highlights since people started joining Pinterest, which essentially highlights great projects 24 hours a day/7 days a week.  Since I am extremely busy with two boys, a husband looking for work, a ministry I co-lead at church and a beginning stages shop, the time I spend gathering, linking and writing up the favorites does not seem worth the amount of interest it currently holds.  I'd love your thoughts, though.  If the only thing you like about Calico and Cupcakes is the Friday Favorites, let me know.  I want to do my best to make this blog an interesting, fun, and creative place to visit!

Okay, this recipe is courtesy of my lovely sister's mother in law.  Our families are close and spend many holiday's together, and when I first tasted this salad, I KNEW I had to get the recipe.  She calls it a "Cornucopia Salad," and it is truly full of tasty goodies. 

Bring the salad to Thanksgiving, serve it at a baby or bridal shower, or just make a wonderful meal for your family.  It is a perfect autumn salad!

Harvest Salad
1/2 cup of candied nuts or a bag of honey coated almond slivers in the salad section
1/2 head of Romaine, torn
1/2 head of butter lettuce, torn
1 cup of chopped celery
4 chopped green onions
11 ounce can of mandarin orange slices
1 avocado cut into chunks
1 apple diced (Granny Smith are a great variety)
1/4 cup of craisins or other berry
1/2 cup of feta or blue cheese, crumbled
3 chicken breasts grilled and chopped or a double package of Tyson cooked chicken strips, cooked

Dressing:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup of veg. oil
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons of sugar
2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar
Mix and pour over salad when ready to serve.

Women in the Word Wednesday: Saying "Forgive Me" in Marriage

         

James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."

We live in a society where there are a lot of rationalizations and excuses for bad behavior.  Sometimes we even laugh at our sin and try to make it humorous.  "I am in a bad mood!  Watch out--I don't know what I'll say!"  "I am just one of those people who tells you exactly what I'm thinking.  That's just who I am." 

Unfortunately, this kind of excusing of sin creeps into our marriage relationship too.  We lash out because of OUR bad day.  We realize later it was wrong, but we chalk it up to a bad mood and move on without bringing up our behavior.  We assume something incorrectly about our spouse, and then when we are proven wrong about our assumptions, we just think "Oh" and move on.  We forget to do something our spouse has asked us to do and, when we are asked about it, we get defensive and accusatory rather than just apologizing and admitting our error.  We correct and disrespect our spouse in front of our kids or other adults, and we think our spouse is just being "too sensitive" if they get upset.

Compare this common behavior with the godly repentance and responsibility David shows for his sin when the prophet Nathan confronts him with his sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah.  II Samuel 12:13 says, "David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.'"

It seems that apologies are rare in marriages today.  Heartfelt, sincere admonitions of fault, blame and grief at our behavior are difficult, but, if we are Christian women, we should recognize sin and reconcile with those we have hurt. 

We might need to just say an "I'm sorry" for an accidental wrong or a careless misdeed, such as truly forgetting to finish that task our spouse requested.  More often, though, we need to say "forgive me for  __fill in the blank___" for those wrongs that we did deliberately, such as replying with harsh words, accusing our spouse incorrectly, or the myriad of other wrongs we might have committed against our spouse.

As Christian women, we recognize we are sinful before a holy God, and only in Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit do we have righteousness, forgiveness and good deeds.  We repent of sin and turn from our bad behavior when we fall short of what God desires.  It shouldn't be farfetched for us to see we need to humbly ask for forgiveness and take responsibility for our choices in our personal relationships, including the one with our spouse.  It is sinful pride that keeps us from reconciling with our husbands when we are wrong.  There should be no excuses--just sorrow for our behavior because we have offended our spouse, and, most importantly, God.

Do you reconcile with your spouse after a fight or those "tense" moments?  Do you say "Forgive me.  I was wrong?"  Do your kids watch you admit your shortcomings and humbly confess them to others?  Are you more concerned with your spouse's apology and then, and only then, willing to say you are "sorry?"  We should be concerned with our own part of the problem and humble ourselves first, regardless of whether our spouse is still in sin and refusing to repent.

This goes against the grain of the world.  People might see this as weak, hypercritical of self, and strange.  However, we know that the things of God will not fit in with the philosphies and actions of the world.

I Corinthians 3:18-19  "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God."

Let's be women quick to take responsibility for our actions and faster to recognize sin in our attitudes and behavior, especially in our marriages.  Is there something in your marriage that needs to be discussed and followed with a "forgive me?"

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

         
Thank you, once again, to Pinterest, and my friend Lisa who pinned this recipe first, we are having a delicious dinner.  My family is thankful for that website too.  They are eating better than ever.  Last night we had a spaghetti casserole with cream cheese and french onions that was scrumptious. 

I am REALLY excited about tonight's meal, though, because it is one of my husband's favorites--French Dip sandwiches.  It is his birthday week, so I am trying to fix his favorites.  The best thing about this recipe is that it is all done in a crock pot. 

I'm linking the recipe, but know that I didn't find beef consume.  I just used beef broth, and I think it will be great.

Here is the recipe from Becky Higgins.  Enjoy!

Autumn Themed Bridal Shower

My beautiful sister in law, Katie, above, is getting married in December.  A couple of months ago, I ran some fun, bridal shower theme ideas by her, and she loved the idea of a cream, gold, white and tan autumn shower.  It was so fun putting all the pieces in place, and I got to plan and prep with my other beautiful sister in law, Sarah.

It was raining, which was predicted, so we decorated and held the event inside.  Katie had a fantastic day, and it was so fun to see her smiling and glowing with happiness as we celebrated her upcoming wedding!

For the menu, we had a "He popped the question popcorn bar" for appetizers as guests arrived.  I made cones to hold the popcorn, which I bought from the Ma and Pa Kettlecorn store. 

After guests had mingled, we served lunch, which was a harvest salad, cornbread muffins and fruit kabobs.  I'll post the recipe for the harvest salad this week.  It is a go-to recipe for parties.

We also had a coffee bar set up in the kitchen and lemonade and water in another little serving area.

Finally, we ended with sweet treats. 
We had a caramel trifle, which I found off Pinterest here.  I will share this recipe later.  I would make some flavor and ingredient adjustments, which I'll share later.  It was still delicious, though.

We also had double chocolate, sour cream, chocolate chip cake pops and cake balls.  I'll also share that recipe soon!  Finally, my sister in law made a beautiful plate of pumpkin bread to round out the autumn theme.

If you have read about my candy bar baby shower game here, we adapted it to a wedding shower theme.  I'll write an upcoming post with those candies and words soon.  Here is the board after we played the game. . .

To end the party, we gave each guest a caramel apple with Heath bar and drizzled chocolate.  I used my Silhouette to make autumn leaves and write a cute little tag that tied in with the autumn theme.

It was a wonderful day and party.  Here are some more pics!  Thanks for stopping by!

My beautiful sisters in law

Centerpieces

I didn't get a very good picture of the pretty banner I made, but you get the idea. . .

New apron

The guests

Marina made a beautiful ribbon bouquet

Katie and my mother in law, Susan.

We love you, Katie!  We had fun celebrating with you!