So, I was having an amazing craving for chocolate and I asked my foodie friends on Facebook to suggest their best chocolate _____ recipe. I was drooling so much I couldn't decide what to make. Some of them would involve a trip to the store, so I decided to go for the one that I was promised I would have all the ingredients on hand. Sure enough, I had everything and I bet you will too!

I was sent over to southernplate.com on a mission to find her chocolate cobbler and found out if you ask Christy for this recipe, you'll probably get it alot quicker if you ask for Mud Pie instead. While I was making this it reminded me of being a kid making mud pies. Yep, it's the perfect consistency for it. Matter of fact, I've tasted a mud pie before. I think it was the only thing that saved my behind when my brother and cousin went and told on me for making them eat one. In all fairness I had eaten one too, but I bet this one is going to taste alot better!

Of course, for detailed instructions and the complete recipe, you'll have to go visit Christy over at southernplate.com. It'll be worth the visit. You'll walk away with a whole lot more than just this and I'm sure you'll go back for a second helping of her recipes. Okay, on to the Mud Pie!

This is so, so, so easy! Put flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix it up.

Add milk, oil and vanilla and mix it up.


Pour the batter in a greased 8x8 square pan.


In another bowl, mix together brown sugar and cocoa powder.


Now, this isn't in Christy's recipe, but I vividly remember the mud pie I ate as a kid had chunks of something in it. It was probably gravel or chunks of mud, I can't be sure, but the perfect mud pie must have some kind of chunks of something in it so I added a cup of chocolate chips that I floured.


This is the first time I've floured my chocolate chips and I really don't know if I should have put them in with the batter or the topping, but I know as a kid I mixed the chunks in with the dirt before I added the water so I'm going to hope this works. To flour them, I just put them in a bowl with a little less than a tablespoon of flour and shook it to coat the chocolate chips. It's supposed to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake. So just keep this in mind when you're baking with chocolate chips. Oh! Now sprinkle all the dirt and chunks over the batter.


Slooooowly pour hot water over the top.


And then pop it in the oven. Now, while we're waiting for it to bake, seriously, as I type my mud pie is in the oven, look at this...


On my measuring cup 1/4ths are not marked. Well, I didn't think they were anyway, but that little mark in between the 1 1/2 and 2, that's 1 3/4 cups! Yeah, so I thought I'd pass that piece of newly acquired knowledge on to you if you have one of these measuring cups. I smell chocolate! Be right back with the results of our hard labor....


I bet my brother and cousin would be begging me for a bite of this mud pie!


F.Y.I. don't change a thing with the chocolate chips. It's Perfect!

Now, onto something special!

Truth be told, I honestly don't remember exactly how I found Mel, but it seems like I've known her for years and I've never even met her! She has a wonderful blog called Cooking With Mel and as of this posting, you'll find a recipe for her comfort food Buttermilk Oven Baked Chicken and Waffles. Definitely, go check out her blog. I promise you'll feel right at home!

Yesterday, Mel passed on the Blog On Fire Award to me and 9 other blogging foodie friends and today I get to pass it on to 10 of my blogging foodie friends! Now, don't be upset if you didn't get it. I wish I could give one to each and every one of you because I know what kind of time and dedication it takes to blog, especially about food! Needless to say it was a hard choice to just pick 10, but here are the winners:

The Crockpot Challenge
Alison's blog was one of the first blogs I connected with when I started my food blog. She let me know that she tried one of the recipes I posted and that was a great boost for me! Whenever she's commented on my blog, I always knew it was because she wanted to, not because she felt obligated to return a comment.

Learn, Laugh, Cook
Mandy's blog was also one of the first blogs I connected with. She always has a positive attitude and you can't help leaving her blog with a smile on your face! She always has a menu plan for the week, which is something I wish I could do. One of these days, one of these days... I know she'll be proud of me when I finally do it... on a regular basis.

My Catholic Kitchen
Veronica's roots run deep in her food and her faith. Even though I'm not Catholic, she's a reminder for me to keep God in everything I do, including cooking. Her pictures are always so awesome and so is her food. I always leave her blog feeling a little more southern.

The Hill Country Cook
Katie's blog started out as Lucky Girl's Sweets and Treats and if I remember right she was one of my first Facebook fans that wasn't family or someone who knew me. I have no doubt that if we each moved 200 miles closer to the other you'd see one of us in the other's kitchen!

Frieda Loves Bread
Frieda, Frieda, Frieda....I cannot tell you how much she has taught me. Thanks to her I can make bread that comes out decent (I'm still practicing!), but I thank her most of for teaching me how to properly use my pasta maker to make the most wonderful pasta and that has earned her a very special place in my heart, as well as this award!

Anny's Blog
Anny's blog was one of the first blogs that I left a comment on. She has one of those personalities that really comes through in her writing and you can't help but to like her! Plus she cooks things I would never dare to try until I've seen her try it and say it's good.

Mayree's Deep South Cakery With A Side Of Life
Mary is another friend I found on Facebook. I have no doubt that no matter what I ventured to do, she would cheer me on. She makes the most wonderful cakes I've ever seen and makes me yearn to decorate cakes again. She always has the best stories to tell. I can still see her momma chasing down armadillos.

Simple Fare, Fairly Simple
Valerie is just Valerie plain and simple. One of the first things I realized about her is she doesn't put on airs, she is who she is down to the bone. She's one of the sweetest, most gracious and humblest people I know. You've got to see her cookbook. If I was going to publish a cookbook, it would be exactly like hers. Well, not the same recipes of course, but, well, just go see it and you'll see what I'm talking about!

Food Is Love
Laurie's blog is one I can't help but to think about when I'm driving by a fast food restaurant and wanting to turn in. I swear I hear her on my shoulder saying, "it won't take but a minute to cook a burger at home and it'll be better for ya." She also let me do a guest post on her blog and I'll always remember her for that.

Sweet Tea With Cindy
Cindy's blog has more to offer than just sweet tea. I know I can always go there for a dose of encouragement, a recipe for something sweet and a big ole glass of southern sweet tea.

Okay, that's my 10! Again, I wish I could give a reward to each and every one of you because I know you pretty much have to put every ounce of your soul into blogging about food! I've learned with foodie bloggers you get a double dose of love in their cooking because they not only put it in their food, they put that same love on here for the rest of us!