No-Workout-Needed Chocolate Cake

I have been hankering for a chocolate cake for some time now, and I finally found a recipe on the Allrecipes.com website that I think might just work.  So here it is.  I love that I don't have to workout after eating this.  Or maybe I do!!!!  Anyway it is a nice soft pudding-like cake with an interesting icing.  I garnished it with strawberries and blueberries. 

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil, or as needed
• Cake:
• 1 (15.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix
• 1 (12 ounce) package silken tofu
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee

• Chocolate Topping:
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter (such as PB2(R))

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Rub enough coconut oil into a 9-inch springform pan to lightly coat bottom and sides.
2. Blend cake mix and tofu together in a food processor until well mixed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add brewed coffee and blend until well mixed, scraping sides down as needed. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Mix chocolate chips, almond milk, and powdered peanut butter together in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Mix and heat for 30 seconds more. Spoon chocolate topping over cake.

Ready for oven.

Out of oven.

Chocolate chips, PB2, Almond Milk, Ingredients for icing.  

Icing on cake. 

Ready to eat. 

I think this recipe is a keeper. 

Check out this video:  Allrecipes.com

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

Each week I get a box of local farm veggies and fruits from The Produce Box.  I like to support local farmers as well as have nice fresh produce to use.  This past week the box included two nice fresh zucchinis that I decided to prepare for lunch.

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients: 
2 medium zucchini
1/3 cup diced onion
4 sausage links, cut into rounds
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.  With a metal spoon (I used a grapefruit spoon) scrape out most of the insides of the zucchini and place into a skillet.
Transfer the zucchini shells to a baking sheet.
3. Over medium heat, stir in onions and sausage, and cook about 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and spoon mixture into zucchini shells.  Spread one tablespoon of tomato sauce on each zucchini and top with Parmesan cheese.
4.  Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

This is so easy and a good way to use that extra zucchini that's available this time of year.

Lunch Out of the Pantry

It's such a beautiful day here today after all that rain.  I didn't want to do any cooking so I decided to raid the pantry in order to prepare lunch.  I usually keep cans of salmon, tuna, and crabmeat on hand for days like today.  A crabmeat salad was something I could put together very quickly without cooking anything.  I used a can of crabmeat (about 8 oz of meat), 1/4 cup cucumber diced and 1/2 cup of halved grape tomatoes.  A teaspoon of lemon juice (  I always keep frozen lemon juice on hand for when I might not have lemons for dishes like this) and a couple of tablespoons of mayo (Duke's of course), added to the ingredients with a dash of fresh pepper completed the salad.  It took about 5 minutes.  Served on a bed of lettuce with a couple of crackers and it really fit the bill.  I have enough of the salad remaining to make a sandwich as well.

It's a good idea to keep a few cans of seafood on hand for days when you don't feel like cooking.  And during hurricane season these come in mighty handy if you lose power.  I can practically live on tuna or crabmeat sandwiches.

After this quick lunch I had lots of time left to spend outdoors in this lovely weather.