You’ve been waiting all week haven’t you!  This is definitely drool worthy and is super easy to make and a great recipe for the kiddos to lend a helping hand in!  They can dip the strawberries in chocolate and braise the cake with Strawberry jam! This was made in the Stoneware Fluted Pan from Pampered Chef and are you ready?…..IN THE MICROWAVE!

Man was this good!!  And the pan was awesome of course. We laid it upside down on a beautiful bamboo platter for a good ten minutes to rest before lifting the pan.  Viola! It came out so pretty, no sticking.

You can find the main dish we served with this (and giveaway) and see more pictures from the Party.

INGREDIENTS

Cake

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil,  divided
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels
• 1 package (18.25 oz) devil’s food cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 jar (12 oz) seedless strawberry jam, divided

Glaze and Garnish

• 1/3 cup melted vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk chocolate morsels
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, divided
• Additional ice cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Brush Stoneware Fluted Pan with 1 tbsp of the oil using Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush. For cake, combine chocolate morsels and oil in Small Batter Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30-60 seconds or until melted and smooth, whisking after 30 seconds. In Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, water, ½ cup of the jam and chocolate mixture; whisk until well blended. Pour batter into pan.

2. Microwave cake on HIGH 9-12 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove cake from microwave. Wipe rim of pan clean using paper towel, if necessary. Center Simple  Additions Large Round Platter over pan and carefully invert. Without removing pan, let stand 10  minutes. Remove pan.

3. For glaze, combine ice cream and chocolate morsels in Small Micro-Cooker. Microwave on HIGH 20-60 seconds, stirring after each 20-second interval, until melted and smooth.

4. To finish cake, place remaining jam into Prep Bowl and microwave on HIGH 30 seconds or until melted; brush evenly over cake. Holding by stems, dip 16 of the strawberries into glaze; arrange around bottom edge of cake. Drizzle top of cake with remaining glaze. Slice remaining strawberries using Egg Slicer Plus; place into center well of cake. Serve with additional ice cream, if desired.

Cook’s Tips: For best results, bake this cake in a 1000-watt microwave with a built-in turntable. This cake can be baked in a conventional oven, if desired. Bake at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes. Proceed as recipe
directs.

Yield: 16 servings

Stoneware Fluted Pan

Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush

Small Batter Bowl

Small Micro-Cooker

I told you I’d share the Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco recipe from the Pampered Chef party and I am!  This is a recipe that can be made on the stove or in the microwave using the Deep Covered Baker.  It’s a time saving, delicious, and healthy meal! You can see a few more pictures in my original post!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
• 3 cups uncooked mezze penne pasta
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ¾ cup dry white wine such as Chardonnay
• ½ tsp each salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 1¼ cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, divided
• 1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about ¼ cup packed)
• 2 cups diced grilled chicken breasts
• Additional grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray Deep Covered Baker with olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Slice garlic into baker using Garlic
Slicer. Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave on HIGH 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst, stirring
after 2 minutes. Crush tomatoes using Mix ‘N Chop. Add pasta, broth, wine, salt and black pepper.

2. Return baker to microwave; cover and microwave on HIGH 16-18 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring
after 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop basil with Chef’s Knife. Reserve 2 tbsp for garnish. Grate
cheese using Rotary Grater.

3. Carefully remove baker from microwave and remove lid, lifting away from you. Add remaining basil,

cheese and chicken to baker; mix well. Garnish with reserved 2 tbsp basil, additional Parmesan cheese and black pepper, if desired.

Cook’s Tips: An additional ¾ cup chicken broth can be substituted for the wine, if desired.
Any tube-shaped pasta requiring 9-11 minutes cook time, such as penne or rigatoni, can be substituted for the
mezze penne pasta.

To grill chicken in the Grill Pan, season 2 chicken breasts, about 6 oz each, with salt and black pepper. Heat Grill
Pan over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Spray pan with oil. Cook chicken 4-6 minutes or until grill marks appear.
Turn chicken over; cook 4-6 minutes or until center of chicken is no longer pink and Pocket Thermometer
registers 170°F.

Yield: 8 servings

Kitchen Spritzer

Garlic Slicer

Mix N’ Chop

Rotary Grater

I’ve never been to, much less hosted a Pampered Chef Party but WOW did I have a great time!  (Party is still open and items can be purchased through the link. Things still on sale!) I’ve always been familiar with the company thanks to my Mom. She’s a kitchen junkie and loves their products.  Now after hosting my party, I know why.  The hands-on activities sealed the deal for me.  Getting to help with the recipes was a blast. It was sorta like having Sunday dinner with family. Everyone was helping with a task and playing with the kitchen tools and having a great time.  The food was fabulous and you’re gonna die when you see the dessert. OH.SO.GOOD. {{drool}}

When the consultants arrived, they had and did everything.  She talked to the guests about some of the products, what the company stands for and how they will donate $2 for every Round-Up from the Heart Trivet purchase made. Love that!  As the host, I was given a cute recyclable bag with a few goodies.   The entire presentation was very brief actually but I know why. It’s the interaction with the cooking and using the product that sells. Seriously!  If you could just feel and see the weight and quality of their stuff, you’d fall in love immediately.

Okay, so let’s get to the good stuff.  On the menu was Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco and Chocolate Velvet Cake with Strawberries (full recipes this week), with the main dish being made and served in this beauty, the Deep Covered Baker. {{drool}} It’s stoneware and you’d love it.  Even more awesome, the Grilled Chicken Penne is made in this piece, in the microwave.  Yes, I said the microwave.  With all the back to school hoopla, this is an awesome time saver for getting meals to the table in a flash!

We popped the tomatoes.  What? You don’t know this trick?  Well let me just share it with you.  You put these in your microwave, cover with saran wrap  or a lid, and cook until they burst.

While those were cooking in the microwave, in that very handy batter bowl, one guest chopped up basil while another peeled and sliced garlic.  I have to say, that Garlic Peeler & Slicer Set is AWESOME! You rolled the garlic in the tube to peel it and then places it in the slicer tube and sliced away…paper thin slices too!!

All these fresh herbs and vegetables were added to make the recipe to make GrilledChicken Penne al Fresco and it was delicious & healthy! You’re dying for the full recipe aren’t you? TOO BAD!! You have to wait until Wednesday!  I know, I’m evil huh!

And now to tease you with dessert because guess what?  That full recipe comes on Friday! HAHA  Below  is a very strong, good quality Ice Cream Dipper.  I know several folks who have this and love it.  You’d be surprised at how having one of these compared to the store models or even worse, your spoon, can be so much better.  And you see what she’s putting it in?  SO cool.  I would use for mayonnaise all the time!  It’s called the Measure-All Cup and is GREAT for measuring liquids! She put the correct amount of ice cream and pushed it right out!  So simple.  Loved it.

Chocolate, strawberries, and Bamboo……need I say more? {{drool}}

SOMETHING FOR YOU

Did you like the Deep Covered Baker above?  It comes in white or cranberry and is up for grabs!  It can obviously be used in the oven but because it can be used in the microwave to save time when preparing meals, the giveaway entry will focus on that. 

Bake a 5-lb chicken or turkey breast, 4-lb roast, casseroles and more! Unglazed on the inside for perfect performance; glazed on the outside for perfect presentation. Lid inverts into baker for space-saving storage. 12 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, 13 cups, 3 qts.

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment here telling me ways you cut down cooking time at home.  Have you cooked with Pampered Chef in the microwave before?  And if you do enjoy the line of products already, I’d love to hear what your favorite pieces are…you know, so I can add them to my own wish list!

2 additional ways to enter….

• 1) Share on a social networking site like facebook, twitter, foodbuzz, etc.
• 2) Browse the Pampered Chef site and tell me what you’d love to have.

This giveaway ends on September 20th.  Good luck to all!

Disclosure: This giveaway and party was made possible by Pampered Chef.  My opinions are of my own AS ALWAYS and I truly love the products and welcome them as gifts for Christmas and my birthday, just sayin’……….