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Darn Good Chocolate Cake Drizzled in White Chocolate

February 1, 2010 25 Comments

This week I’m proud to present one of my favorite cake recipes yet! I got the recipe for Darn Good Chocolate Cake out of the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. This bundt cake is fabulous! The recipe doesn’t call for icing or any toppings, and let me tell you, it certainly doesn’t need any toppings.

 

But when I made it, I decided to give it a little something extra. I melted just a couple squares of white chocolate and drizzled it over the top. It added a light sweetness to this rich, decadent chocolate cake, and if I do say so myself, it made it a lot more attractive too! This cake would also be delicious with a milk chocolate icing if you prefer that.

 

And don’t forget to break out the ice cream or a jug of milk when you get ready to serve. You’ll need it!

(NOTE: Sweet Thursday round-up next week! Email your Valentine Dessert to me by next Wednesday if you’d like to be featured here. Also, I will be putting up a linky next week for anyone who wants to link up their Valentine treats!)

Here are just a couple of pictures of the cake without the white chocolate. Doesn’t that look delicious?

Recipe for Darn Good Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:1 Devil’s Food or dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 package (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup war water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I left these out)
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a bundt pan with cooking spray. Also, dust with flour if you like. (I skipped this.) Shake out the excess flour and set pan aside.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, war water, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Bleand with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are well distributed throught the batter. Pour the batter in prepared pan. Place in oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45-50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes. rung a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the rack to cool completely, 20 minutes more. Or invert it onto a servig platter to slice and serve while warm.

*White Chocolate Instructions – I used a couple of squares of white chocolate. Place these in a bowl and begin heating in the microwave for up to 90 seconds, stopping to stir at 15 second intervals to prevent scorching.*




-Jerri
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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are That Family
DIY Monday is hosted by A Soft Place To Land

Filed Under: desserts, Recipe of the Week Tagged With:

Advertising & Sponsoring Information for Simply Sweet Home, Updated

February 1, 2010 Leave a Comment

Simply Sweet Home offically began selling advertising space after receiving offers from Castle Cover and other companies in January 2009. Since opening this site up for advertising, product reviews, and giveaways, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many fantastic companies.

At Simply Sweet Home I strive to constantly improve my content, expand my readership, and work to bring customers to my sponsors and ensure they are satisfied with the advertising I’ve provided.

As such, I’ve worked over the past several weeks to come up with new ways to make advertising more affordable and worth while for small businesses, namely for etsy shop owners, work-at-home moms, and other small online retailers, which make up my core readership. If you are a member of one of these groups, you are eligible for the special packages and pricings I’m offering for advertising (see rates below).

Advertising/Sponsoring: If you would like to advertise on Simply Sweet Home, you can email me at simplysweethome@hotmail.com, and I’ll send you more information. If you are from a PR company or large organization, I will be happy to negotiate a price with you for advertising. I’d also love to write a product review or host a giveaway for you (information below). If you are WAHM, etsy shop owner, or other small business owner, please see my new rates & packages for ad campaigns on Simply Sweet Home.

New Rates & Special Packages for Etsy Shops & Small Online Retailers: All new sponsors not only recieve ad space and a fabulous write-up but will also get a campaign of advertising through Twitter, Facebook, and additional feature posts on my blog.

One Month Basic Packages: Includes ad in sidebar. A feature post with one photo. A couple of announcements each on Twitter and FB.
• 125×125 – $6
• Etsy Mini (or large ad) – $11

3 Month Basic Packages: Includes ad in sidebar. A feature post with 3-5 photos. Announcements on Twitter & FB. A feature in craft posts or gift guides (when applicable).
• 125X125 – $15
• Etsy Mini (or large ad) – $25

6 Month Premium Packages: Includes ad in sidebar. A Feature post with 5 photos. Several announcements on Twitter/Facebook. Featured listing(s) in one of my holiday gift guides. A second feature post with one photo. Feature in craft posts (when applicable).
• 125×125 – $25
• Etsy Mini (or large ad)- $45

One Year Simply Super Packages: Includes ad in sidebar. A feature post with 5 photos. One text link at the top center of the blog. Many announcements on Twitter/Facebook throughout your advertising period. Featured listing(s) in both of my holiday gift guides. A second feature post with up to 3 photos. Feature in craft posts (when applicable).
• 125×125 – $50
• Etsy Mini (or large ad) – $60

Reviews: I love trying new products, and I’d be happy to introduce your product to my readers. All reviews will be written within a week of receiving the products unless otherwise stated, and I keep all products that are sent to me for review. (See previous product reviews.)

Giveaways: Giveaway sponsors will be responsible for providing a giveway prize and shipment of the prize. If you’d like to sponsor a giveaway on my site, I’d love to work with you on that. It is great advertising for shop owners, and it’s fun for the readers too. I run most giveaways for about 2 weeks, and I list them on a number of sites, so you are sure to get a lot of exposure and advertising for your business! (Example of a previous giveaway)

Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash Sponsorships: In 2009, SSH and 4 other blogs hosted the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash with great success. I plan on holding the event again this year and will be looking for sponsors in the fall of this year for that.

Testimonials: Here’s what a couple of my sponsors had to say about their sponsorship experience.

“I am so thrilled!! Thank you so much for posting such a Great write-up about my jewelry!! I love that you added so many links and everything you wrote was very nice!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to do that as well~definitely worth more than what I paid for the advertising alone!” -Amy at Our 2 Peas in A Pod

“Jerri is a joy to work with, and I am very pleased with the results from both my ad and my giveaway. I have seen an increase in views of my shop and several sales!” -Cheryl at Lavender Cottage

If you’d like to become a sponsor on Simply Sweet Home just send an email to simplysweethome@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

-Jerri

Filed Under: announcements, Sponsors

Hubby’s New Job

January 29, 2010 2 Comments

My husband got hired on as an Aflac Agent about two months ago. I’m sure all of you have seen the duck commericals on tv, but you’re probably not aware of what Aflac actually does. Unlike other insurance companies, Aflac offers supplemental insurance. Basically they cover things that your regular health insurance doesn’t cover. And unlike other companies, Alfac pays the money directly to you instead of the doctor or hospital.

So let’s say you’re child is sick, and you have to take off work to take him or her to the doctor. Even with your regular insurance, you still may have a co-pay for the doctor’s office and medicine, plus gas to get to the doctors office. When you file your claim with Aflac they basically reimburse you for these costs. And you can use the money for whatever you need: doctor bills, house bills, groceries, gas, or whatever you get the notion to buy.

Aflac offers the following services:

  • Cancer Policies
  • Life Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Short Term Disability
  • Long Term Disability
  • Accident Policies
  • And more!

I personally recommend the cancer policies as 1 out of every 3 women will get cancer in their life time and 1 out of 2 men will get cancer. And the cancer policies cover treatments, travel costs, and lot of things that other plans don’t cover.

But all the policies are good. The costs are very affordable, especially considering everything they cover, and it’s good safety net if you or someone in your family ever has a serious illness or injury that takes you away from work for an extended period of time.

If you have a need for any kind of supplemental insurance, please contact my husband Mark. Currently he is liscensed to sell Aflac in Alabama; however, if he has the opportunity to sell to anyone from another state, he will buy the liscense to be able to do that.

If you’d like any information on the products and services Aflac offers, please contact Mark by sending an email to george_rivers@us.aflac.com.

-Jerri

Filed Under: Sponsors

WAHW: Hot Chocolate Gift Sets

January 27, 2010 6 Comments
My mom gave me this chocolate set a little while back. She won it at a charity event. Isn’t it cute? I love going through store aisles and seeing all the gift sets available at Christmas and Valentine’s, but when you stop and think about it, they sell a lot of these not because it’s a great value for the money but because it’s convenient.

But if we all just took a little time, we could make our own gift sets and make something that’s a lot more personal, and we could save money along the way. So I decided I would use the items out of this gift set and put together a couple of tutorials so that you guys can make your gift sets for Valentine’s Day or even for next Christmas (if you’re thinking that far ahead).



Gift Option One: Option one would make a great couples gift. Or give it to that special friend who just adores chocolate.

What You Need:

1 or 2 coffee cups (You can usually find something cute at the dollar store.)
bottles or jars (Buy new at wal-mart. Or rinse out and reuse a sauce jar.)
hot chocolate packets
marshmallows
sugar or sprinkles (optional)
labels (make these with scrapbook supplies or create them using your photo/print shop programs)
1 basket
tissue or paper shreds to line the basket
funnel (if using bottles)

Instructions: Empty a few hot chocolate packets into a jar or bottle. (I like Swiss Miss.) If you desire, do the same with marshmallows and/or granulated sugar (or sprinkles–pink or red would be really cute for Valentine’s!)



Use scrapbook supplies or your photoshop software to create your own custom labels. Print these out on sticker paper for easy application. If you don’t have sticker paper, use regular paper and attach with glue or mod podge. If you desire you can also make a tag with heating instructions (get these off your hot chocolate packets.)

Line a gift basket with tissue paper, paper shreds, Valentine “grass,” or other material. Arrange your jars/bottles and mugs in the basket as desired. For a little extra pizazz, decorate the basket with bow, or wrap with cellophane and bow.


Here’s the example I made: This one just contains the two coffee cups and one bottle of hot chocolate mix. And I really do like the bottle because it seems very romantic…sorta reminds me of wine or champagne set. But I know the jars would be just as cute!



Gift Option 2: If you want an even less expensive and quick gift. Or if you’re looking for something that you can make in bulk for coworkers, teachers, or church friends, try this option. (Sorry, I have no pics for this.)

What You Need:

1 Coffee Cup

2 or 3 packs hot chocolate mix

Clear plastic treat bags

Ribbon

Tags (design these with photoshop)

cellophane (optional)

Instructions: Empty your hot chocolate mix into a treat bag, and tie the bag up with ribbon. Place the baggie inside your coffee cup. Then create a tag with heating instructions for the hot chocolate. Print out your tag. Punch a hole in the corner of the tag, and use a ribbon to tie it to your cup handle or attach it to the baggie. (You could also wrap up the cup with cellophane. Tie it with a ribbon, and attach your tag to the outside.)

Above is another basket. It’s a little bigger than the first one. And of course, you could always add some candies to the basket or anything else you deem appropriate (perhaps a book), if you need something to make the basket seem more full.

If you like gift baskets, be sure to come back next week, as I’ll be sharing several that I’ve made.

-Jerri

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I’m posting a link to this post for next week’s editions of:

It’s So Very Creative hosted by It’s So Very Cheri

Make it for Monday hosted by Cottage Instincts

Made it Mondays hosted by The Persimmon Perch

Making the World Cuter Monday hosted by Making the World Cuter

Make Your Monday hosted by Twice Remembered

Metamorphosis Monday hosted by Between Naps on the Porch

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

WFMW at We Are That Family

Valentine Party hosted by Hoosier Homemade

Filed Under: crafts, Valentine's Day, Work from Home

You Can Make This – Feature & Giveaway

January 26, 2010 39 Comments

Hey Crafters! Here’s something special for you. Just in time for Valentine and Spring Projects, You Can Make This offers patterns and instructions for anything and everything you’d ever want to make for gift giving! Today’s post will feature just a few of the many projects that can be made with craft bundles from You Can Make This.

And today, as a special treat I’ll be giving two of my readers a chance to win 4 Ebooks from You Can Make This. With these ebooks you can make all of today’s featured projects and more cute stuff! And for more fun ideas, check out the blog at You Can Make This.

I love personlized stuff! Wouldn’t you love to make a Personalized Name Pillow for your child? So cute!

With the Portrait Peasant Tops and Dresses ebook, you get all the patterns and instructions to make short or long peasants. You choose the sleeve length too and the type of ruffles.

Make pants, shorts, and capris with the patterns found in the Easy Fit Pants for Girls & Boys ebook.

I know everyone would love to lounge around in these easy fit pants. With this ebook: Easy Fit Pants for Tweens, Teens, Adults: XXS-3XL you can learn to make easy fit pants for the whole family.

Giveaway Closed.


-Jerri

Filed Under: crafts, Giveaways, Sponsors

Broccoli & Rice Soup

January 25, 2010 2 Comments
We don’t eat a lot of soups at our house. Hubby doesn’t find them very filling, but I experimented with this one not too long ago, and it turned out pretty good. This is one of those recipes where no exact measurements are really needed. The ones included here are really just a suggestion, but I guess that’s the case with all recipes. Feel free to add more or less of an item, or take something out all together. Personally I think noodles would be a great substitute for the rice, but that’s just me.

What’s your family’s favorite soup?



Recipe for Broccoli & Rice Soup:

Ingredients:

2 cans of broccoli cheese soup

2 cans milk

2/3 cup rice

1 – 1 1/2 cups broccoli

1-2 chicken breasts chopped (optional)

little oil (for cooking chicken)

1-2 cups of cheddar cheese or Velveeta

Directions: Chop up your chicken and cook on stove in oil. (If you’re in a hurry, use canned chicken breast.) Meanwhile cook your rice. In pot, add your soups. Then fill an empty can up with milk and add to the pot. Repeat. Mix together your soups and the milk. Add cheese at this time if using (see tip below). Add your brocolli to the mixture. Heat on medium-high, stirring occasionally. (If it starts to bubble, stir and turn down heat.) When soup is hot and broccoli is done, turn to low. Stir in your rice and chicken. Heat through for about 5 minutes on low and serve.

Tip: Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese or a slice of velveeta. Or for a cheesy soup, add one or two cups of cheese to the pot before adding your brocolli.

Have a great week!

-Jerri






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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.

Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.

Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Filed Under: Recipe of the Week, soup

WAHW: Quick Valentine Decor

January 20, 2010 5 Comments
Today I’m sharing a few Valentine decor items. This is nothing too elaborate…just some things I had on hand that I could put out. I find that after the Christmas decor is put away, everything looks so bare. In the future when we’re not on such I tight budget I’d love to buy some things to really make it festive. Till then, these items add a lot color and festiveness to the room. Perhaps you have similar items in your that you could use in this way too.

By the way, in the next couple of weeks, I plan on sharing some Valentine Gift Baskets that I’ve put together, so be sure to come back for that. I’m also planning to feature some Valentine craft ideas in a few weeks, so if anyone has a craft they’d like to have featured here, just send me your link in an email. Thanks!

Last year I helped my mom with the annual chocolate festival, and we had this cute heart garland that we didn’t use. So I weaved it over the tops of the cabinets. (There was such a void to fill after the Christmas garland and balls went down.)

Next I took some of the pink & purple Christmas balls and placed them inside of some glassware:



And can anyone think of any better (or simple) Valentine decor than a candy dish or jar? (Disclaimer: Candy tends to disappear after a few days…it may be necessary to buy extra “decor.”)

My hubby bought me these cute little lovebird salt shakers last year. Most of the time, they are in China cabinet, but I put them out just for Valentine’s Day.

Hubby also bought this cute cupcake plate last year at Hobby Lobby. (Isn’t he the sweetest?)


And here’s my snowman of the month for February. I guess if I thought about it, I have all kinds of figurines like this in my cabinet that are Valentine or Heart themed items. Maybe you do too. (And if not, you can get all kinds of things similar to this at the dollar store.) I find that little things like this can add a lot.

I love seasonal dish towels. I have a few of these heart towels in and around the kitchen.

And finally, here’s another great example of using what you have. I got these four Valentine glasses. Most people would probably just pour a little coffee or hot chocolate in them. But I prefer to just sit them out and look at them.

-Jerri

Filed Under: decorating, Valentine's Day

Sweetheart Hats from Lulu & Charlie: Feature & Review

January 19, 2010 1 Comment
Today I’m happy to tell you about a fantastic etsy shop that I found. Lulu & Charlie features blankets, hats, and nursery items for babies and toddlers. Everything is handmade by Jennifer in California, and all of her items are just fantastic! You’re sure to find something here for your little one.

I had the honor of receiving a Sweetheart Hat from Lulu & Charlie to review. Let me start by saying that these are just plain adorable! The hats are crocheted and have earflaps and braids. They are made with 100% acrylic yarn, and there are two color combinations to choose from.

The hat I recieved is pink, red, and white. When I took it out of the package, I immediately fell in love! The colors are so warm and bright, and they go very well together. The hat was obviously created by an expert crafter. It was brilliantly designed and carefully crafted together with quality in mind. And the material is very soft and sure to be comfortable to your child.

The look of the hat is very cute and sweet. Actually if the hat was simply pink without any embellishments at all it would still be adorable, but the red heart crocheted on the front just seals the deal, making it cute as a button. And the white border around the edges, and cute little red, white, and pink braids are proof of the quality and attention to detail work that goes into the products at Lulu & Charlie.

Jennifer also has this hat available in silver blue, white, and espresso brown. This one was designed with your little boy sweetheart in mind (but I know the little girls would love it too).

There are several sizes available ranging from 0-3 months (14″ around) up to 2-4 years (19-20″ around). The hat size I chose was the 2 to 4 years size because I have a niece or cousin that falls into that age range, and if all else failed, I could save it for our baby. Now, this will probably make you laugh, but oddly enough when I got the hat I thought to myself, “I think I can wear this!” So I tried it on, and it actually fit me. So if you have a child older than 4 years old, they may still be able to wear one of these hats. Just measure around their heads before ordering.

Obviously I loved this hat and would absolutely recommend it to all you mothers out there. It would be a perfect Valentine gift for your little Sweetheart, keeping him or her cute and warm all winter long!

-Jerri






Filed Under: product review, Valentine's Day

Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 18, 2010 5 Comments
Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies? (No one I know of.) And I know everyone out there has their favorite version. This particular recipe came from the Betty Crocker magazine. I decided if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me, so I tried it. And of course they came out looking, smelling, and tasting delicious!

(Reminder: No Sweet Thursday Dessert event this month. Instead it will be hosted on Feb 11. The theme is Winter/Valentines. To have your creation featured here, just email me the link to your post (simplysweethome@hotmail.com). Also, if you have a particular photo you want used, send that as well.

Also, I’d like your opinion: I’m considering adding a linky to the event for anyone who just happens to come by. I figure we’d start with one or two links and maybe eventually get a bunch. However, I don’t want a linky to dissuade people from emailing their item to me before the event b/c I still want to keep the usual format until a day when their may be too many entries to handle. On the other hand, a linky event might get more participation anyway. What do you guys think? I’d love to get your opinion!)

Sorry for the digression……enjoy the cookie recipe!

Recipe for Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teapoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag (24 oz or 4 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
(Note: I only used 2 cups)

Directions: Heat oven 350 degrees. In large bowl mix butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with spoon. Stir in flour baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded measuring tabespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to colling rack.

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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

-Jerri


Filed Under: cookies and candy, Recipe of the Week

WAHW: Goal Setting and Scheduling Time in 2010

January 13, 2010 5 Comments
Each new year we make a list of goals or projects for the year, but by March many of these fall by the wayside (if not before then). The key to achieving your new year’s resolutions and completing your projects for the year is to set attainable goals and schedule time to work on all your projects and goals.

Keys to Goal Setting:

1. Set realistic, attainable goals.


2. Set goals that can be easily measured.
-Examples:
* I will post 5 times a week on my blog.
* I will get 50 new followers this month.
*I will get 5 sales a week.
* I will meal plan each week.
*I will try a new recipe each week.

3. Give yourself a time frame or deadline to achieve your goals.
-Examples:
*By the end of the month I will have my first sale.
*By the end of the month I’ll have 10 new craft projects completed.
*I will declutter one closet each week.

4. Schedule time to work on your projects and goals. In other words, treat it like a job. This can be as general or specific as you’d like it to be, but you should make scheduled time for all your endeavors and be consistent.
-Examples:
*I will post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
*Each morning I will spend two hours working on my blog or networking.
*Each day I will clean one room in the house.
*Each morning I will list new items in my shop.

5. Write down your schedule and/or document your work.
-Keep a planner to write down your schedule and the tasks you want to perform each day.
-In your planner, in a separate notebook, or a on a blog, make a list of what you do each day. This will help you to measure your progress and will help you to stay on task.

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Great Calendar For You: For those of you who have goals to declutter and keep a cleaner house this year, you may want to have a look at this year’s Declutter Calendar over at My Simpler Life. The calender gives you a different task to do each day to help keep your house clean and clutter free. You could also have a look at this calendar and then make your own with your specific needs and tasks in mind.

-Jerri


Filed Under: Business, organizing, planning, Work from Home
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