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Birthday in Quarantine and a Chocolate Cake Recipe

Today’s post is short and sweet because I’m celebrating my 40th birthday at home with my family. Birthday’s mean cake, so here is my favorite chocolate cake recipe to make from scratch. It’s dairy-free, egg-free and easy to make gluten-free as well. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake
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Chocolate Cake

This is a simple chocolate cake recipe that is super easy. It is dairy-free, egg-free, and if you swap the wheat flour for a gluten-free flour blend, it's gluten-free, too! To make it gluten free, I like Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free blend because it already contains xanthan gum. If you use a different gluten-free flour without xanthan gum, I would add about 1-1.5 teaspoons of xanthan gum.
To top, make a simple buttercream (with shortening and non-dairy milk to keep it non-dairy) or use your favorite store bought frosting. You could also sprinkle the warm cake with dairy-free chocolate chips, let them melt a little, then spread across the top for a rich, chocolaty treat.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Keyword: 9 x 13, cake, chocolate, dairy free, easy, egg free, gluten free, one bowl, simple
Servings: 29 2×2 inch servings

Equipment

  • 9 x 13 rectangle pan

Ingredients

  • 3 Cups Flour see recipe summary for gluten-free adjustment
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar white or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil any light flavored liquid vegetable oil is fine
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Grease the 9 x 13 inch pan, either with shortening, butter, or cooking spray
  • Combine the first five (dry) ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until evenly blended. Alternatively, sift them together into the bowl.
  • Add the remaining (wet) ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended. You can use a spoon or an electric mixer.
  • Pour the batter into the greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
  • Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.

Notes

I frosted this cake with buttercream tinted blue, then used gel food coloring to paint the faces. I then piped buttercream for the eyes, facial features, outlines, writing and trim. I clearly am not a trained cake decorator, so I can’t really say which tips I used or any other details.

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Easy Paper Towel Replacement with Upcycled Reusable Cloths

Relying on paper towels to clean up spill after spill stinks. Sure, it’s not so eco-friendly, but, even more immediately distressing to me, at least, is it’s practically throwing money away. Plus, a paper towel is usually not as good at cleaning up a mess.

There’s always the option of buying a huge supply of kitchen towels and cloth napkins, but the initial cost of buying enough to keep up with a toddler’s destructive capabilities is off-putting to say the least. Retiring old clothes, sheets, etc. to rags is a viable and frugal option, not to mention you’re upcycling (or is it recycling? or repurposing?). I don’t really mind just using scraps as rags, but I prefer something a little more aesthetically pleasing, especially if guests are involved.

There’s also the convenience factor to consider. I have limited storage space, so devoting a kitchen drawer or part of a cabinet to hold all the towels isn’t practical. Neither is a basket on the counter, because counter space is even more limited.

My reusable paper towel solution

Here’s my solution. First, I cut up any appropriate worn fabric (t-shirts, flannel sheets, old bath towels, anything soft and absorbent) to whatever size I want. I started with something close to paper towel size but then started cutting some smaller to make more use of the fabric. Then I serged the edges to make them pretty. You could also do a zig-zag, overcast stitch or even just a straight stitch a little in from the edge on a sewing machine. If you are really ambitious you could do a real hem. I’m going for nice but quick to do in bulk. Any edge finishing is unnecessary for t-shirt knits, but they will be more durable being finished. Wovens like flannel will need something to keep them from fraying.

Easy storage with limited counter space

For the storage, I made a hanging tube similar to a plastic bag dispenser. If you have one of those around it will probably work perfectly. If not, there are tons of tutorials for them floating around. The basic design is a tube of fabric with a handle at the top and elastic at the bottom. The elastic tightens the opening enough to keep the towels/bags from falling out. This solves my lack of space problem because I can hang it anywhere and it’s as easy as pulling a paper towel off a roll. They stay in and dispense better if I just shove them in the top without folding them, so no extra laundry folding time.

Un-paper towel dispenser
IMG_4535

This was my quick nap-time prototype. I made it out of half a t-shirt. You can easily make one out of any fabric to match your décor.

I also made a little tote bag to hang in the kitchen to put the dirty towels in. Unless they are really gross or soaking wet, there’s no reason to keep them separate from the rest of the laundry.

Since making these, I have almost eliminated my need for paper towels. I do try to keep a roll on hand in case the cats do something gross because eww. I have to hide it, though, to keep other people from reaching for them out of habit.

If you need some heavier cleaning cloths, double up the fabric. To use up smaller scraps of flannel, finish the edges of small squares to use in place of cotton balls.

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Simple DIY Rainbow Cupcake Crayons

rainbow cupcake crayons

I originally shared this tutorial for rainbow cupcake crayons almost ten years ago when Finn was my little preschooler and I made rainbow cupcake crayons for him using all of our broken crayons. It’s easy, and you can get little ones to help with peeling the paper off of the broken crayons, and they get fun new crayons to play with once they have cooled.

Unfortunately my photos of our project got lost, but a quick Etsy search shows lots of examples of similar multicolored crayons in fun shapes. If you like the idea but don’t have tons of broken crayons around, consider supporting one of the shops on Etsy by purchasing from them.

rainbow cupcake crayons
Photo by Kristin Brown on Unsplash

DIY Rainbow Cupcake Crayons Tutorial

  • Line a muffin pan with foil or a double thickness of cupcake liners. (Note: The wax will likely melt through, so you probably want to use a pan that you reserve for non-food projects.)
  • Remove all the paper from your crayons.
  • Break into smaller pieces if needed. I just broke them as small as I could with my fingers. Most pieces were about an inch long or smaller.
  • Sort the pieces into the lined cups. I sorted by color, but you could also mix for super swirly crayons.
  • Fill the cups to the top but don’t overfill.
  • Melt in the oven at about 200-250 degrees F. I recommend setting a baking sheet under the muffin pan. You really don’t want to have to scrape melted crayon off your oven.
  • Check about every 10-15 minutes. I let them cook until there were just a few solid chunks in the middle. Then I gently swirled them with toothpicks to sink the chunks and blend the colors.
  • When they are sufficiently melted, turn off the oven. You can carefully remove them at this point or let them cool in the oven. I didn’t need my oven, so I let them cool in there overnight.
  • Once they’ve cooled completely you can remove the papers and color away.

Mask Update

I made a few of the fitted masks I mentioned in Wednesday’s post. Overall, I think they fit well, but they are a little tedious to make, particularly if you have lots of interruptions.

Awkward photo of me modeling a fitted mask.

I looked into it a little more and found that it seems more hospitals are asking for a more simplified mask, so I’m switching to ones made by this tutorial. With batch cutting and then sewing two or three assembly line style, I can make 3-4 in a hour, even with interruptions.

Shop update: Freebies and a sale

Knowing that so many are stuck at home right now needing distractions, I’ve decided to make all of my machine embroidery design files free until April 7. That’s the day my area’s shelter in place order expires. If it is extended, I’ll extend the embroidery design freebies, too. If you make something with one of my designs, I would love to see it.

My full shop is still open, and will be as long as everyone in my household is healthy. I’m using extra care with handwashing and using hand sanitizer before coming into contact with products and packaging as well.

All of my handmade soaps are currently on sale for 20% off. You can find them here.

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Honey Glazed Chicken for Instant Pots or other Electric Pressure Cookers

If you need a quick and easy meal that is sure to please the whole family, this honey glazed chicken is it. All of the ingredients are things you probably keep on hand, so no hunting for some rare spices. It only takes about five minutes of prep time and fifteen minutes of cooking under high pressure. The end result is a sweet, glazed chicken that even most picky eaters will enjoy. Serve over rice with a side of veggies or a salad for a quick and easy meal.

For the photo, I sauteed onion and mini bell peppers separately and served them along with the honey glazed chicken over basmati rice.Some of my kiddos do not like a lot of spice, so instead of the red pepper flakes originally called for, I substituted a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. 

Gluten and Dairy-free adjustments for honey glazed chicken

If you need to keep it gluten-free, be sure to check your soy sauce. La Choy soy sauce is gluten free, but most others are not. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos are also gluten free and a good substitute. 

This recipe is already dairy free, so no substitutions are needed there. 

honey glazed chicken and peppers
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Honey Glazed Chicken for Electric Pressure Cookers like the Instant Pot

This honey glazed chicken is made in an electric pressure cooker with just minutes of prep. Sweet and juicy, it will satisfy even picky eaters.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken, dairy free, egg free, Electric Pressure Cooker, gluten free, Instant Pot, rice
Servings: 5 people

Equipment

  • Electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs Can use any boneless, skinless chicken, but I prefer the juiciness of dark meat.
  • 1.5 cups onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 0.5 cup soy sauce Make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce, like La Choy if you need it to be gluten-free.
  • 0.25 cup ketchup
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1/3 tbsp red pepper flakes I used a dash of cayenne pepper instead to reduce the heat for my kiddos.

Instructions

  • Place everything in the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
  • Release the pressure. I usually allow it to do a natural release, but you can do a quick release with this recipe.
  • Remove the chicken and slice. In the meantime, turn on the Saute function and allow the sauce to cook to thicken, stirring frequently for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the sliced chicken back to the pot and stir to coat.
  • Serve over rice.

Notes

For the photo, I sauteed onion and mini bell peppers separately and served them along with the honey glazed chicken over basmati rice.
Some of my kiddos do not like a lot of spice, so instead of the red pepper flakes originally called for, I substituted a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. 

While I try to write recipes as clearly as possible, it’s easy to miss a step or make assumptions. If anything is confusing, please don’t hesitate to comment with your questions. If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think.

Soap Sale!

On an unrelated note, all of my handmade soaps are on sale for 20% off their normal price. The sale ends on March 29. Find all of my soaps here.

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This post contains affiliate links. If you click through any of the Amazon links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. There is no added cost to you.

Honey glazed chicken
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Mushroom Brown Rice for Instant Pots

Mushrooms are one of those foods that you either love or hate. I love them and try to incorporate them into once in awhile in hopes of swaying my kids to the “love” side. Finn is already there and Thadd is interested but skeptical that something with that texture can be delicious. I’m not giving up on Beckett, but I think he may have inherited his dad’s and grandma’s mushroom dislike. 

This mushroom brown rice dish is rich but mild, with the brown rice adding a little nutty flavor. Because the mushrooms are sliced and not chopped, they are large enough for little mushroom skeptics to remove them and eat the rice.

Not a fan of brown rice?

The brown rice adds to the flavor, but takes a lot longer to cook than white rice. With an electric pressure cooker, it’s only about 15 minutes of active prep time. After that, the pressure cooker does all the work. If you’re in a hurry to eat, though, swap it out in favor of a long grain white rice. I like basmati and jasmine rice the best for white rice. 

Dietary Restrictions?

As written, this recipe is plant-based, gluten free and dairy free. If you choose to use broth instead of water, that could change depending on the type of broth you use.

One thing I like to keep on hand is a broth base called “Better than Bouillon“.  It’s a paste that comes in a small jar. You mix a bit of the paste into water to make broth like you would with bouillon. To me, it really does have a better flavor, and a little goes a long way. I usually have the vegetable version on hand and would have added a bit to this recipe, but I used my last bit up yesterday. They also have a mushroom version that would compliment this recipe as well. Between the onion, garlic, mushrooms and brown rice, though, it’s really not necessary. 

All electric pressure cookers welcome.

I’ve titled this post “Mushroom Brown Rice for Instant Pots” because Instant Pot has become the most popular brand and is now synonymous with electric pressure cooker. The recipe should work in any similar electric pressure cooker. Personally, I use a GoWise brand 8 quart electric pressure cooker.

Mushroom Brown Rice
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Mushroom Brown Rice for Instant Pots or other Electric Pressure Cookers

Rich, earthy mushrooms in nutty brown rice make this work as a side dish or, serve with a salad to make it a meatless main course. Makes 6-8 servings.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time22 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Keyword: gluten free, mushroom, rice, vegan
Servings: 8 people

Equipment

  • Electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1 T coconut or other oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups mushrooms, sliced White, bella or similar.
  • 1.5 tsp salt Can use less if preferred.
  • 3 cups water or broth
  • 2 cups long grain brown rice
  • 1 squeeze lemon juice optional
  • 1 dash black pepper Adjust to taste.

Instructions

  • Select "Saute" on the pressure cooker and add the coconut oil.
  • Add the diced onion and saute until translucent.
  • Add the minced garlic and saute for about a minute more.
  • Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Continue to saute until onions are lightly browned and mushrooms begin to get some color.
  • Add about 1/2 cup of water or preferred broth and stir up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the rice, remaining 2 1/2 cups of water, lemon juice and pepper.
  • Turn off the "Saute" function and set the pressure cooker manually to 22 minutes or follow your pressure cooker's instructions for brown rice. Most require longer than the "Rice" setting allows.
  • Allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes before doing a quick release. I think it's best to let it naturally release completely if you have the time.
  • Fluff rice and serve.

Notes

This recipe has tons of flavor with just water, but you can use broth (vegetable broth to keep it vegan) if you prefer. Unless the broth is low sodium, you probably want to reduce the amount of salt.
I like coconut oil, but feel free to use olive or your preferred cooking oil.
Brown rice adds an earthy, nutty flavor, but it takes a long time to cook compared to white rice. If you’re in a hurry, substitute a long grain white rice and reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes or use the “Rice” setting. Basmati is my favorite long grain white rice.

While I try to write recipes as clearly as possible, it’s easy to miss a step or make assumptions. If anything is confusing, please don’t hesitate to comment with your questions. If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think.

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This post contains affiliate links. If you click through any of the Amazon links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. There is no added cost to you.

Mushroom brown rice
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Easy Homemade Chicken Broth in an Electric Pressure Cooker

If you have an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, delicious homemade chicken broth takes just a few minutes of prep. This technique can easily be applied to other types of broth as well.

The ingredients

When I make chicken broth, I prefer to use bones from a cooked chicken. It’s easy to cook a whole chicken in an electric pressure cooker, or use an oven-roasted or rotisserie chicken. Save the bones for broth to make a chicken stretch farther meal-wise. You can make the broth immediately after de-boning a cooked chicken. If you’re short on time, store the bones in the freezer until you’re ready.

To flavor the broth, I like to add some combination of carrots, celery, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I usually use:

  • one onion peeled and cut into chunks
  • one or two carrots
  • two to three celery stalks broken into two or three pieces each
  • two to three cloves of peeled garlic
  • a few peppercorns
  • about 2 teaspoons of salt.

It’s easy to add salt and pepper to taste to the finished broth, so I lean toward adding less at the beginning.

Herbs like sage, bay leaf, parsley, basil and oregano are great additions, too. You could also add jalapeno to give it some spice.

Making the Chicken Broth

To make the chicken broth, put the bones, chosen vegetables and seasonings into the pot of your electric pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by 1-2 inches. Lock the lid and manually set the pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for 2 hours. When it’s done, depressurize naturally.

Once it’s cool enough to handle, I like to pour it through a mesh strainer to get all the small bones and vegetable remnants out. If not using the broth within a few days, it’s best to store it in the freezer.

That’s it. With a just few minutes of prep to assemble the ingredients, an electric pressure cooker makes flavorful chicken broth that tastes like it was simmered on the stove all day long. Unlike on the stovetop, though, there’s no worry about it boiling over, and the time is dramatically reduced.

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Whole Chicken and Potatoes for Electric Pressure Cookers

whole chicken recipe for electric pressure cookers

Whole chickens are inexpensive, frugal type of meat. They provide easy leftover meals, and you can use the bones to make homemade broth for soups and to flavor other meals. While you can cook a whole chicken in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (this is the type I have) just by seasoning it and adding it to the pot with liquid, a few extra steps will add even more flavor to the final result.

Customize your whole chicken

I like to keep the seasonings fairly neutral so that I can get creative with the leftovers. My family often gets bored with multiple meals of chicken and vegetables. If I use some of the chicken for chicken tacos for the next meal and chicken soup with the rest, it makes it less monotonous.

In this recipe, to keep it neutral I use salt, pepper and poultry seasoning to flavor the chicken. It’s easy to adapt the seasonings for a different twist. Cumin, chili pepper and cayenne pepper work well for making chicken chili, tacos or tortilla soup with the leftovers. Garlic, ginger and orange zest work well for making leftover chicken stir-fry. Get creative with the flavors you like.

You can also leave out the potatoes or swap them out for other hardy vegetables. Root vegetables hold up the best with the longer cooking time the chicken requires. Sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips are some possibilities.

Slow cook

One neat feature on most electric pressure cookers is the ability to use them as a slow cooker. If you’d rather slow cook your whole chicken, follow the steps through step 11. Instead of locking the lid and setting it to cook under high pressure, keep the lid in the venting position and select the slow cook setting. You will want to cook the chicken for about 3-4 hours on “high” slow cook or 6-7 hours on “normal” slow cook, which is the equivalent of “low” on a traditional slow cooker. I do recommend double-checking the instructions for the slow cook setting on your pressure cooker, as there may be some variations.

Instant pot whole chicken
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Electric Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Whole Chicken and Potatoes

This is my method for cooking a flavorful whole chicken and potatoes in an electric pressure cooker. After a little prep work, you can walk away and let the pressure cooker do it's job without having to check on it or worry about overcooking. I'm using an 8 quart electric pressure cooker. If yours is smaller, you may need to adjust the size of the chicken and other ingredients accordingly.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Servings: 6 people

Equipment

  • Electric pressure cooker
  • Trivet or rack insert for the electric pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 5-6 lb whole chicken, giblets removed
  • 1 large onion, cut into wedges
  • 5-6 medium potatoes cut into large chunks Firmer potatoes, like Yukon golds work a little better, but I used Russets because that's what I had on hand.
  • 4 tbsp coconut or other high heat oil
  • 3/4 cup water or chicken broth
  • salt
  • pepper
  • poultry seasoning

Instructions

  • Season both sides of your chicken with your choice of seasonings. I used salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, but you can adjust this to your family's taste.
  • Select the "Saute" setting on your pressure cooker.
  • Add the coconut oil to the pot and heat until melted and shimmery.
  • Brown the whole chicken on both sides in the coconut oil until lightly browned. I use this time do cut up the onion and potatoes.
  • Remove the chicken and set aside.
  • Add the onion wedges to the pot and cook until translucent and starting to brown.
  • Add about 1/2 cup of water or broth to the pot with the onions to deglaze the pot. Be sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot to mix into the liquid.
  • Turn off the "Saute" function.
  • Place the trivet on top of the onions and liquid in the pot. Add about 1/4 cup more of water or broth to the pot.
  • Place the browned chicken on the trivet.
  • Place the potato chunks around and on top of the chicken.
  • Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
  • Allow the pressure to release naturally and carefully open the lid.
  • Check the temperature of the chicken to ensure that it has reached at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If not done, cook for another 3-5 minutes under high pressure and recheck.
  • Carefully remove the potatoes, chicken and trivet.
  • Optional: Press "Saute" and allow the onions and liquid to simmer for a few minutes to condense the liquid to serve over the chicken and potatoes.
  • Optional: Place the chicken on a broiler-safe pan and place in the oven under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to crisp up the skin.
  • Plate and serve with a side of veggies.

Notes

I like to keep the seasonings fairly neutral so that I can get creative with the leftovers without worrying about seasonings clashing. In addition to potatoes, other root vegetables such as carrots can be used. 
Whole Chicken and Potatoes for Electric Pressure Cookers

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