Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

This dessert is really something. It is extremely gooey, and moist, and very simple to throw together. This is a great dessert to make instead of a regular cake or a pan of brownies. My husband approved of it, and he is becoming quite the critic these days. He lets me know if a recipe is "blog-worthy" or not. I completely trust him, he has been testing my recipes for 7 1/2 years now.
Anyways, this is a fun, easy alternative to your regular German chocolate cake with the frosting. Very simple and easy...give this one a try.
I found this recipe here.

Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

1 German cake mix, prepared according to box directions

1 cup coconut

2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup melted butter

1 pound powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Make cake mix according to box directions. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 pan and sprinkle the bottom of pan with nuts and coconut. Pour cake mix into pan. In a small bowl combine melted butter, powdered sugar and cream cheese until well combined. Drop by spoonfuls all over the cake batter. Using a butter knife, gently swirl the cream cheese mixture into the cake mixture....don't over swirl. Bake for 1 hour, and don't over bake! Serve with vanilla ice cream. YUM!

Grilled Chicken

So my sister Lana called me up tonight, and wanted to tackle the never ending problem of making and planning meals for the week. I sent her an email with a list of meals to give her some ideas, and thought I would share the list with my followers. One thing that has helped me out alot is to grill up to 6 chicken breasts and use them for different meals throughout the week. I usually butterfly (slice in half) the breasts I'm using because they are huge, so I end up with 12 small breasts. A simple marinade for my chicken is this:

Grilled Chicken

3/4 c cheap bottled Italian dressing
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs seasoned salt


I cook these up on the grill, and for the first night we have a grilled chicken breast as the star of the meal, and some sides to go along with it. Then I will put the rest of the chicken in a freezer zip lock and store it in the fridge to use all week long. Here are some of the meals you can use with grilled chicken. They are not really specific on how to make each thing, but hopefully it will help you get some ideas! Good luck!

Chicken quesadillas (onion, bell pepper, cheese)

Chinese chicken salad (mandarin oranges, chow mein noodles, cilantro, Chinese chicken salad dressing, toasted almonds)

BBQ chicken salad (corn, beans, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, packet ranch dressing made up)

Chicken burrito supreme (beans, sour cream, cheese and tomatoes)

Chicken tostadas (beans, tomatoes, cheese lettuce, tostada shells)

Chicken tacos (salsa, lettuce, crunchy or soft taco shells, tomatoes,)

Greek chicken pizza (refrigerated pizza crust, mozzarella cheese, feta, tomatoes, olives if you like those)

BBQ pizza (BBQ sauce, onion, cheese, cilantro) just coat chicken in BBQ sauce, don't worry about making a sauce)

Pesto Chicken Pizza (pesto sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, artichokes, refrigerated pizza crust)

Chicken tortilla soup (on the food blog, substitute poached chicken for grilled chicken, avocado, chips, cilantro, canned tomatoes)

Grilled chicken open faced sandwiched (cilantro, mayo, chili powder, 1 tsp lime juice, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, bread)

Loaded chicken nachos (beans, cheese, tomatoes, avocado,)

Chicken and avocado BLT sandwiches (avocado, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce)

Chicken, cilantro, tomato pasta (on blog, just substitute chicken in)

Macadamia Coconut Cookie Bars

These are super delish! Sometimes cookies can be so much work because you have to do things in batches, and wait for cookies to cook, etc. These are like a giant cookie that you can cut into squares. You only need a couple of ingredients, and trust me, no one will ever know. I'm all about making things from scratch, but sometimes you really can't tell a difference. I usually buy the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, I trust this brand. If your not into the nuts, leave them out, the bars will still taste amazing! This is a major crowd pleaser. They are really sweet, so cutting them into small squares for a serving size will satisfy.

Macadamia Coconut Cookie Bars

1 pouch dry sugar cookie mix
1 c chopped macadamia nuts
1 c shredded coconut
1 c white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix cookies according to package directions. Add white chips, coconut, and nuts, stir until combined. Spread dough into a 9x9 ungreased baking dish. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove and let cool completely. Cut into squares.