October 29, 2009

5 Minute Chocolate Cake

Filed under: food — Tags: food — K @ 10:34 PM

The day before our vacation ended, I started getting sick. I toughed it out since that was our Grand Canyon day, but I slept on D’s shoulder the entire flight home. I was worried about looking sick in front of all the people we had just flown with. I asked that he take me to my parent’s so I can sleep somewhere familiar. The look on my mom’s face when I walked in the door worried me so I took my temp – 103.1 – the highest I’ve seen it in a long time! So if I have H1N1, do I go expose other people to it at the hospital? And if I have something else, do I risk complicating things by being exposed to H1N1 at the hospital? So here I am in flannel jammies resting on the couch at home.

What do I have? I have no idea. Looking up symptoms online, speaking with an on-call nurse, and also having my mom, a nurse, give her opinion, all tell me that I could have either bronchitis, walking pneumonia, or everybody’s favorite (I’m being sarcastic here), swine flu. I have asthma that doesn’t bother me until I’m sick, so breathing has been a little uncomfortable. I’m making progress though – my temp has gone down on it’s own and I’m not feeling as weak.

While I’m sick I’m not too hungry. Pot roast and veggies were too heavy. And when I got hungry again I wanted something different…

I received an email from my mom a year ago containing the recipe for quick chocolate cake that uses basic kitchen staples.

For those times when you have that urge and nothing else will do!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla essence
1 coffee mug (I always use a bowl because it’s easier and cleaner to add extras, like ice cream!)

1 – Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.

2 – Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
3 – Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

4 – Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla essence, and mix again.

5 – Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!

6 – Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Seems like you could make up a bunch of these ahead and just add the liquids and egg when it’s time to make one. Put each batch in a snack-size zip lock bag. You’d cut the prep/cook time down to about 3.5 min. The kids could make it up quick without too much mess. It would be a quick snack for visiting kids/grandkids.

How Does it Taste?

Honestly, it tastes like something I made in middle school family and consumer sciences class. To be more descriptive, it tastes like the cake desserts that come in microwavable dinners. It’s not light and fluffy, but when you’re really wanting (or needing ) chocolate cake fast, this does the trick.

If you’re interested in more recipes you can check out my food and recipes pages.

I’m also participating in the following carnivals today! You can find many more recipes here:

Comments (22)

October 20, 2009

What We’re Doing in Vegas

Filed under: travel — Tags: bargains, eating out, entertainment, travel — K @ 2:16 PM

What I’ve Been Up To

Hi all! I’m writing this as I look out my bright picture window onto the strip. Ceasar’s Palace and the Flamingo are in front of me. Vegas is a lot more expensive than I thought it was going to be – someone once told me that flights to LV and the food are cheap so that you spend your money on the slots. Not true, except for the $9.99 one pound ribeye meal advertised – makes you wonder where it came from as I can’t even purchase unprepared ribeye that cheap at the grocery!

I landed at LAS on Thursday, October 15 and attended Blogworld and Wordcamp 2009 Friday and Saturday. I learned a lot about blogging straight from the pros and got to meet John Chow and Zac Johnson. I also exchanged passing smiles and “hi’s” with Alli Worthington and Guy Kawasaki! I was excited to learn about freelance opportunities from multiple companies.

What about saving money?

Flight from Des Moines was $149 – regular price
Lodging – D got a 3-free night credit from a previous stay
Food – D found a deal on Slickdeals that included 6 free buffets. Now that the convention is over and the free buffets used up, we’ve been using coupons (average $5 off a buffet for up to 2 people). A tip – go to the registration or concierge desk and ask if they have any coupons for the restaurants in their casino.
In-town travel – I took a $6 shuttle from the airport and walked
Entertainment – so far we’ve done a lot of walking! Walking through the casinos is fun as well as most are themed. You can also get freebies by signing up for the “player’s club” card. There is a free show at the Rio featuring installations that move on the ceiling. We thought this show was Mardis Gras themed but it is not anymore – the installations and stage below feature scantily clad women and shirtless men dancing provocatively.

I’m getting bugged about lunch, so I’m off for now and will post photos later! What’s your favorite frugal thing to do or place to go in Vegas?

Comments (2)

October 16, 2009

Homemade Tater Tots

Filed under: food — Tags: food, meal — K @ 1:56 PM

Yep, you read that right! And yes, we’re still working on eating all of those potatoes I mentioned a while back. I am now out of town to attend Blogworld 2009 (twitter #bwe09) and D will be joining me on Sunday to attend a convention as well. For the last couple days we’ve been trying to use up the fridge foods and he decided he wanted to try making tater tots.

D wanted me to make sure I told you that if you’re not feeling adventurous or patient, just go to the store and buy a bag of tots for 99-cents. He followed the directions of other recipes and got frustrated so he made his own. Also, the way D cooks, this recipe is also not for those who get annoyed by non-measured-out recipes.

1 – Instructions for Potato “Glue”

(this holds the potatoes together)

Potatoes – peeled and shredded
Flour
Egg
Oil
Spices – your choice. D used Salt, pepper, and paprika
Mix flour, egg, oil, and spices together until you form a paste.
Mix potatoes into the paste
Form balls
Then…

2 – Instructions for the “Crust”

Flour
Spices – your choice. D used Salt, pepper, and paprika
Mix the above ingredients together
Bread the potato mixture one at a time
Place on a plate and flatten into patties
Then…

3 – Carefully put the potato patties into hot oil and fry both sides until light golden brown.

4 – Drain on a paper towel lined plate

5 – Sprinkle with salt if you want and enjoy! Or use them in a recipe…

My Opinion: In the future I would add a lot more potatoes to the mix – just enough to hold them together. This would make them more potato-y. The crust was excellently crunchy!

Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can Cream Soup (We used Cream of Mushroom)
1 can Corn
1 pound ground beef
Shredded cheese
Homemade Tots

Instructions:

Mix soup, corn, beef, and cheese
Pour mixture into a 9×13 dish
Top with shredded cheese
Layer tots on top
And if you’re like D, top with even more cheese!
Bake at 350 degrees F until bubbly (about 30 minutes)
Enjoy!

If you’re interested in more recipes you can check out my food and recipes pages.

I’m also participating in the following carnivals today! You can find many more recipes here:

Comments (8)

Kristin @ Blog World

Filed under: General — D @ 1:13 PM

Hey Everybody, this is Darren, K’s husband and technical guru for prudent and practical. Kristin arrived safely in Las Vegas last night and will be attending blog world 2009 for the next few days representing Prudentand Practical.com.

If you are attending and see her, make sure you say hi! I made some pretty neat business cards for her and I am sure she would be thrilled to give one to you! Wish her luck in her latest blogging adventure and be looking for updates from her in the coming hours/days…

HAVE A GREAT TIME KRISTIN

Comments (0)

October 9, 2009

Easy Kettle Corn Recipe

Filed under: food — Tags: food, natural, saving money, theaters — K @ 2:38 AM

Fall is the time to eat scrumptious squash and pick homegrown popcorn. Whether at a festival or farmer’s market, there’s usually someone selling kettle corn. I love the stuff, but it’s expensive. This homemade version requires less than 50 cents and only 9 minutes!

Prep (1 minute):

A large pot with a lid (mine’s 8 quarts)
Oil
1/4 cup sugar (I used raw sugar, which is light brown – this gives the kettle corn a caramel colored glaze as you’ll see with the finished product. It’s not burnt.)
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
Salt
Your favorite popcorn bowl

Instructions (7 minutes):

Pour oil so it covers the bottom of the pot.

Throw 3-5 kernels in the pot and put on medium high heat.

When all the kernels pop (approximately 4 minutes), pour the sugar in and shake the pot to distribute evenly.

Immediately pour in the popcorn kernels and shake to distribute evenly.

IMPORTANT: Put the cover on the pot! Oil splatters galore!

Shake the pot back and forth over the burner until most kernels are popped. (The popping will slow down just like the microwavable stuff.) This will take approximately 3 minutes.