Back Porch View

I received this recipe through email and made it the night I received the email and the subsequent two or three nights as well. It is SO good. If you have ever had lava cakes or anything like that then you’ll have an idea of what to expect.

It’s a very moist and dense cake that is super easy and fun to make. How hard can it be? You only need one measuring spoon (a Tablespoon) and everything is mixed in a coffee mug so you don’t have mixing bowls to clean up.

I will warn you though - these are extremely addictive. And since they are so quick and easy to make they are incredibly dangerous to those on diets or that watch their sweet intake.

When I got this recipe through email it was labeled as “5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake” but I have yet to get this done from start to finish in 5 minutes. Maybe other folks are a bit quicker at measuring, mixing and cleanup than I am. At most, it’s probably a 10 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake including prep, cook time, and cleanup.

Again, it’s well worth it. Especially on all of these cold winter nights we have coming up here in Michigan. A steaming mug of black coffee and a steaming mug of chocolate cake were simply made for each other.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe.

• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 3 Tbsp. chocolate chips (this is optional, but I used peanut butter chips and it was awesome!)
• Small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large microwaveable mug (I use a ginormous mug as you can see in the pic below)

My giant coffee mug

Add the dry ingredients to the mug and mix them well. Add the egg and again mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and stir everything up to a nice smooth consistency. Add the vanilla and chocolate (or peanut butter) chips and give it one last stir.

Set the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes (for 1000 watt microwave). It’s great fun to grab your kids and watch with them as the cake rises over the rim of the mug (don’t worry I’ve never had it spill out). As the cake cools it shrinks a bit back down into the mug.

I like to dump the cake out into a bowl while it’s still steaming hot and serve it with ice cream dumped on top. This will serve one non-dieting person or two loving people who are happy to share. I will warn you though, I ate one of these by myself one time and it was a bit too much.

Enjoy!

There is nothing like the first snowfall (that actually sticks to the ground) that makes me feel like a kid. Except perhaps seeing my kids’ reaction to the first snow of the season. The sudden change from drab wet leaves, barren trees, and brown grass to a brilliantly white blanket that covers even the branches of the smallest shrub is simply beautiful.

The first snow gets me thinking even more about the upcoming Christmas season and all that it entails. I feel like rolling out cookie dough and cutting out stars, Christmas trees, and Santas and then decorating them with thick frosting and a heavy coating of sprinkles.

I want to make mugs of steaming hot chocolate and top them off with a dollop of marshmallow cream.

As the snow is falling I get out stacks of Christmas music and fire up the stereo (well, not really “fire up” it runs on electricity like a normal stereo should). Strains of Silent Night, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, and White Christmas fill the house as my kids and I boogie to the beat and giddily anticipate more snow to play in.

I want to rummage around the house and find the candles with Christmas scents (like cranberry orange, peppermint, cookie dough, and of course pine) that we bought on sale after last Christmas and so brilliantly hid away for next Christmas.

Snow shovels, sleds, and other assorted wintry outdoor gear are dug out of their hiding places in the garage for a season of cold noses and wet mittens.

Oh if only we had the same glee when it is still snowing in February. The first snow and the snows that lead up to Christmas are the ones I enjoy the most.

Thank you Veterans! Thank you for your service to this country. Thank you to your family who stood by while you served our country.

For anyone who loves pumpkin pie, but can’t make a decent pie crust I present the recipe for Pumpkin Pie Pudding. It does not have the consistency of what a lot of folks think of when they think pudding. It has the texture and taste of pumpkin pie, minus the crust. And, hey, crust is just filler anyway - right?

This is a simple and easy pumpkin pie recipe that you just mix up and put in a slow cooker.

Lets get to the recipe:

• 1 can (15 oz.) solid pack pumpkin
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 3/4 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. biscuit/baking mix (Bisquick or Jiffy Mix)
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 T. melted butter
• 2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Mix together in large bowl and transfer to greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Serve in bowls and top with whipped cream - yum!

Now, this serves 6-8 people and we have one of the larger slow cookers so I usually double the recipe. It’s so good you won’t have very many (if any) leftovers.

I saw this the other day on another blog (not sure which one it was). Anyway, over at the Evil Mad Scientist blog there’s a post about making kitchen items from Lego.

There’s a napkin holder, couple of candy dishes, a fruit bowl, utensil holder, and a neat little vase.

Check it out at Lego Kitchen Crafts

As soon as Halloween is in the rearview mirror of life our family starts looking forward to watching Christmas movies. We pretty much own all of our favorite movies on DVD so we can watch them whenever we want. No more waiting for them to appear on television.

I’ve created a page at Squidoo all about Christmas Movies. You can watch clips and trailers for all of the movies listed in the poll below, find out the recipe for making a great Christmas movie, and find great deals on Christmas movies on DVD.

Vote for your favorite Christmas Movie:

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Here’s a fun video for you to enjoy. It’s Disney’s “Trick or Treat” starring Donald Duck and his nephews. Think of it as my Halloween treat to you!

See more Classic Halloween Cartoons.

There is nothing like having a sick kid make you practically fall apart as a parent. I can’t stand seeing my kids sick and this week we were unfortunate enough to have both of our kids ill. My son had a cold he was kind enough to share with me a few weeks ago and we have been in a silent competition to see who could make the cold stick around the longest.

On Monday he seemed to be turning the corner and I told him so on the way to preschool. Well, I picked him up from preschool and within a half hour of being home he complained of an excruciating backache and he started a fever that spiked up to 103.6 in no time.

Needless to say, momma and I were a bit frightened. That is a huge change in temperature from nothing to 103.6.

So we called his pediatrician (and they are absolutely wonderful there) and they said to get the pain manageable and try to get his fever down with some Tylenol. Well, we gave him a hot bath to make his backache go away which worked. The Tylenol did not. He puked it right back up as soon as it hit his stomach.

By this point he had calmed down considerably but was still throwing up (mostly phlegm) every so often. We spoke with the on-call nurse at his pediatrician’s and they said to keep him comfortable and as long as his breathing was okay we could wait to take him in to the doctor’s in the morning.

His breathing was okay and he spent a fitful night’s sleep between momma and I for safe monitoring. I lined up the doctor’s appointment and added an appointment for his younger sister who had been experiencing similar symptoms (before the backache and fever) and I wanted to make sure she didn’t get the same crud.

At the appointment we found out that younger sister had the start of an ear infection and she had antibiotics prescribed (which she thinks are quite yummy) to clean that up. Our son wasn’t let off so easy. His breathing and other preliminary exams didn’t show any classic signs of pneumonia, but the pediatrician (God bless him) was concerned enough to order a chest x-ray. Well, the chest x-ray showed a spot of pneumonia and since he wasn’t keeping any meds down we had to admit him to the hospital so he could get his meds through an IV and get him hydrated, too.

He is home now and back to his old rambunctious self. He’s not getting any free passes on his behavior though.

So here we are and it’s Thursday already. My ‘To Do’ list got thrown out the window as soon as my kids were sick. Getting them healthy took priority over everything else and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m just glad that I’m blessed enough to be able to work from home so I didn’t have to worry about getting time off.

Week’s like these really let you appreciate your family’s health.

We enjoy giving homemade gifts at Christmas. Whether it’s a box of homemade fudge, a craft, or something from my woodshop. It seems that homemade gifts get raved about much more than some old gift card or something.

The only downside of giving homemade Christmas presents is that you have to plan ahead. Sometimes way ahead depending on what you are planning on putting together.

One thing I always do is make a compilation CD of Christmas music for family members. I try and have it set to go around Thanksgiving so that everyone can get more enjoyment out of it instead of getting it on Christmas Day. It’s getting more and more difficult each year to top the previous year’s, but I am jotting down ideas for a unique mix.

Other ideas such as projects from my woodshop require extra time due to the nature of the project. I have this really neat sign building jig for my router that I have yet to use. I’ve got a page of ideas though - I just need to take the time to get started.

To me, thinking of things to make, cook, or create is much more exciting than trudging through a store. I get much more excited thinking of things that come from the heart - not necessarily the wallet.

One project that I will get started on this weekend is a wooden Nativity set that doubles as a puzzle. I’ll post pictures when I get it finished. I ran out of time to get it made last Christmas and as always, forgot about it until now that it is closer to Christmas.

Ahh, just thinking about this stuff gets me in the Christmas spirit and it’s not even Halloween.

Halloween is one week from tomorrow (where did October go?) and I thought I would share a handful of excellent Halloween treats. I created a handful of Halloween lenses at Squidoo last year and they have remained quite popular through this year. I’ll list them in order of traffic received.

Simply Awful Halloween Costumes - this brings in nearly 1,000 visitors per week. Everyone likes a laugh, I guess. I created it because web pages on cool or inventive costumes are overdone. There aren’t too many that shed some light on the truly awful Halloween costumes.

Classic Halloween Cartoons - view classic Halloween cartoons online.

The Nightmare Before Christmas - this one does double-duty as a Halloween and Christmas type of page. It’s popular all year long, but especially from September through December.

Halloween Music - where would we be without any Halloween music for our Halloween parties?

Horror Movies - showcasing what I believe to be a pretty doggone good Top 10 list of Horror Movies. You can watch a few classics (such as Nosferatu) in their entirety right at the page.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - read the story online.

The Raven - read Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven right here. It’s simply a classic.

Vintage Halloween - in all the gore and mean-spirited pranks don’t you long for the Halloween of your youth? This lens explores what it takes to create and celebrate a Vintage Halloween.