Crunchy Pickle & Vegetable Salad with Chocolate Mug Cake

2 new recipes tonight! First... the Crunchy Pickle & Vegetable Salad. This came from the KRAFT website. I made a few changes:

1 medium head cauliflower (1 lb.), cut into small florets (I used about 3/4 of a big one)

8 CLAUSSEN Kosher Dill Pickle Halves, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed (I used half a can)

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch green onions (about 5 onions), sliced (didn't have any)

1 bottle (8 oz.) KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing (instead of this and the dill, I just mixed some light mayo with my Lemon Dilly spice)

1 tsp. dill weed

MIX cauliflower, pickles, beans, tomatoes and onions in large bowl.

COMBINE dressing and dill weed. Add to pickle mixture; stir gently. Cover.

REFRIGERATE at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh dill, if desired. (I only refrigerated for maybe half an hour)

So that was that... the mush in the background is the leftovers from last night. I just shredded the last chicken breast and made it like a stew. I must say, it was kind of a gross combo (the salad and stew) but on their own they both would have been good :)

I MADE DESERT TONIGHT! I never ever make desert. I found this great recipe for a single chocolate cake on this blog and thought it was a great idea. Jason has a sweet tooth but I don't really want to make a whole cake... or buy a whole cake. We don't need that sitting around the house! So I just made him one of these tonight - I had all the ingredients in the house and you probably will too:


1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

MY REVIEW: The salad was great... I love pickles and anything dill flavored. I made lots so we'd both have some for lunch tomorrow. I think a whole bottle of Caesar dressing would be disgusting on this! You only need a little bit. As for the cake, I only had a spoonful but what a great idea!! It has so much potential too... I didn't try tipping it out but you could also put some whip cream or sprinkle some icing sugar on the top. It could be as fancy as you like. Also, the consistency was moist and fluffy!! I thought it would be soggy but it was just like cake. Mom, dad could even make this for himself.

JASON'S REVIEW: He must have liked the salad because he accepted my offer to make a container for his lunch. More importantly, he was raving about the cake! He said it was the best thing that's ever come out of the microwave and couldn't believe it only took 3 minutes. He thought some cherry pie filling and whip cream would round it out nicely. Definitely a big hit!