Chocolate Cake In A Mug

For my eighth birthday, my parents got me a black standard poodle. Because he looked like a little teddy bear we, of course, named him Teddy. Teddy was very sneaky, always doing bad things quietly and quickly without us looking which, in turn, we would later discover.

One afternoon my mom made a delicious homemade, from scratch, chocolate cake with cream cheese icing to take to a friends birthday party that night. After the cake was cooled and she frosted it, Mom left it on the kitchen counter while she went to get dressed.

My sister and I were in our rooms when I heard noises coming from the kitchen. I went in there to investigate. Teddy was on top of the counter hovering over the cake!

He had licked all the icing off one side and had proceeded to devour that side of the cake! When he saw me, he jumped down and ran out the kitchen and hid somewhere...his usual modus operandi and I called Mom. She was so upset and there wasn't any time left to bake a new cake. Sooooo, she made more icing, filled in the "uneven" part, re-iced the cake and took it to the party!!! LOL, I wonder if anybody there ever knew what had happened and that my dog had eaten part of the cake and they had eaten after the dog! I break into fits of laughter everytime I think about that! My baddd!

Anyway, you can avoid that from happening to you too by making this simple recipe!!! It's a cake in a mug! Yeah, I could call it a cupcake but then that would be misleading. But, oh no! I would never do that! Unlike my mother that day! LOL~ Seriously, you can make a homemade cake, from scratch in a simple coffee mug in just 5 minutes and it is wonderful! It's great if you're single or just want a little something without baking a whole cake or a batch of brownies. I've modified the recipe a bit to make it sweeter and moister, more like a brownie than a cake. Use a mug like one you would get from the company you work for rather than one that comes with your dishes. The "commerical" ones are a little bit taller than the ones from your set, therefore, the batter doesn't overflow.



CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour, level
4 tablespoons sugar, level
2 tablespoons cocoa, level
1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (Microwave Safe)

Add dry ingredients to the mug and mix with a fork. Add egg and oil. Mix thoroughly while ensuring that you get the dry ingredients off the bottom and sides. Add in the vanilla and syrup, stir. Slowly add in the milk, stir well to thoroughly incorporate it into the batter. While mixing, feel the bottom with the fork for thickness and stir until that is well mixed. Put your mug on a microwave safe plate and place it in the microwave. Cook for three minutes. The cake will rise up and over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow it to cool then eat it directly out of the mug or tip out onto the plate if desired. Frosting is optional.

The Best Chili

I was never a big fan of chili as there was really only one recipe that I ate growing up and it was really basic with only four ingredients. My mother usually got distracted with other things so she didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the recipe or the process therefore, it just wasn't very good. While I've had good chili through the years, I just never obtained a recipe.

Last year, one of my aunt's brothers was in town visiting and made a huge pot of his special chili. Everyone loved it but my cousin and I thought it was a little on the "hot" side. You know, some people like their food so darn hot you can't taste anything at all because your mouth is on fire and you're sweating like a dog! That's how this chili was. However, I saw that it was a really good recipe and worth a little modification. All it needed was to have some of the heat taken out and some veggies added to it for flavor. When I made my modified version I thought it was fabulous and was so excited about it that I invited my cousin over to have some and he loved it! Since then, several friends have eaten some and they agreed that it was wonderful! Trust me....my friends and family would let me know! Here is the best chili recipe I know of!

3 lbs lean ground chuck
1 onion chopped
4-5 stalks celery chopped
½ bellpepper chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
½ small bottle Italian dressing (Zesty or Viva)
1 to 1-1/2 lg bottle Mexene Chili Powder or your favorite
2 pkgs dry onion soup mix
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans chili beans (not red kidney beans)
1 bottle 32 oz of V8 juice
Optional: Cheese of your choice (shredded cheddar or cubed Velveeta , plain or Mexican)

In a large pot brown the meat, ensuring that it is broken up and very crumbled. Then add onions, garlic, bellpepper and celery. Cook until wilted. Add all remaining ingredients (except cheese) and stir well. Simmer about 2 hours, check seasonings. Season to taste then cook another 30 min to an hour. Optional: Add sliced cheese to each serving and stir to melt.