Our family loves Netflix.com. We quit renting videos months ago after forgetting to renew or return videos to the library. We’ve saved money by getting an account with Netflix. (FYI: You pay Netflix a once a month fee depending on if you want to have one, two, or three videos out at a time. You can keep them as long as you want and then when you return one they’ll send you another one. You have what’s called a “queue”; a list of videos you’ve chosen in sort of a shopping cart. They not only have new releases but old movies (we have “Singing in the Rain” here to watch at some point) and educational ones, too. My point with this whole explanation is that we’ve recently watched the Duggar family on dvd, courtesy of Netflix. The kiddos and I loved watching how their big family worked. It also made our large family look miniscule in comparison! I checked their book out from the library to read up on this curious family. I gleaned lots of tips and encouragement as a parent in the fields of discipline, organization, and cooking from The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One of America’s Largest Families–How they Do It. Over the course of the coming weeks I’ll share with you some recipes that sound yummy and easy to make. I’m sure they will become favorites at our house.

Grandma Mary Duggar’s Buttermilk Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) margarine (I use butter)
1 cup water
3 T. cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk (go here for my substitution)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a sheet-cake pan (18×24 or as close to that size as you have).

Put the flour and sugar in a bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the margarine, then add the water and cocoa. Bring to a boil, then pour the mixture over flour and sugar and mix. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until well blended. Spread in the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. When done, toothpick inserted in center of cake might pick up a crumb or two, but will not come out coated with batter. While the cake is still warm, top it with Grandma Mary Duggar’s Chocolate Icing.

Grandma Mary Duggar’s Chocolate Icing

1 stick (1/2) cup margarine (again, I use butter)
3 T. cocoa
6 T. milk
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan, melt the margarine at medium heat, then add the cocoa and milk. Stir. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. While the icing is warm, spread it over the warm chocolate sheet cake. Delicious served with vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy! I know I will!