Sheet cake and Meghan's party yummies

I got the first recipe from a friend at work. I had the recipe sitting on my counter all last night and today waiting to be made. I go to make it this evening....GONE!! I googled it and found it...where there is a sweet tooth, there is a way. The rest are from my friend Meghan who had a party last week. Everything was so delicious. She was nice enough to post the recipes:) Thanks Meghan!!!

I halved this recipe and put it in a casserole dish.

Savannah Sheet Cake by Paula Dean

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

chocolate pecan Icing

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
6 tbsp. milk
16-oz. box confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9- by 13-inch baking pan.
In a small saucepan, measure 1 cup water. Add the butter, oil and cocoa and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat.
Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and cocoa mixture. Add the vanilla. Mix until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center appears firm and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool 12 to 15 in the pan before frosting.
To make the icing, boil the butter, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the sugar and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and pecans. Pour warm icing over warm cake. Spread evenly.
Let cool about 2 hours before cutting.
YIELD: Makes 28 pieces.

Meghan's goodies!!

Baked Brie

1 brie wheel
1 package crescent dough
3 tbsp fruit preserves
...
Divide crescent dough into 2 squares. Place brie on top of one square. Spread preserves over brie & lay remaining dough on top. Trim excess dough; seal edges. Bake on parchment paper on baking sheet at 350 for 30 min.

Fruit Salsa
Meghan said she halved the sugar and it was still too much. She will try without next time.

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar
Directions
1.In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3.Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
4.Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Sea-salted Chocolate Almond Bark

these were ridiculous!!

1 bar (8 oz.) Nestle Chocolatier 53% Cacao dark chocolate Baking Bar, broken into pieces
1/2 cup smoked-flavored almonds, coarsely chopped, divided (but I use more)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (preferably large crystal) (I also use more than this)

LINE 8-inch baking pan with parchment or wax paper.
Microwave the chocolate in uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute, then stir. The chocolate may keep some of it's shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until smooth.
Stir in 1/4 cup almonds.
Pour into the lined pan.
Sprinkle with remaining almonds.
Tap pan several times to spread the chocolate and settle the nuts.
Sprinkle with sea salt. They call for 1/8 tsp, but I give a good sprinkling of the salt, so there's some in every single bite.
Refrigerate for about 1 hour or until firm.
Break into pieces.
Store in air-tight container at room temperature


Chicken salad

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast meat
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups diced Swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups halved green grapes
Directions
1.In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, salt, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and lemon juice.
2.In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, green onions, water chestnuts, Swiss cheese, and grapes. Add the mayonnaise mixture, and stir to coat. Chill until serving.