An Ez birthday cake and meatloaf

With me not being able to stand long in the kitchen with this bad foot, Ive been using shortcut recipes and such, nothing too involved so standing time is minimal. And after being down for so long and not really being interested in cooking, I like that my desire for better stuff is coming back. So I decided to post these recipes anyway even tho they are boxed stuff or ez stuff. After all, sometimes we all need a good shortcut.

First is my bfs Birthday cake. This turned out sooooo good he ate two pieces that nite and asked for some in his lunch. I don't think this will last much longer as hes been doing that pattern daily. Yes it is THAT good.  I wanted to bake from scratch and that didn't happen. I just couldn't stand very long. So I took a box of cake mix and made a pudding cake. Its a pretty standard recipe that many people know but for those that don't here it is... 
Pudding Cake
1 box cake mix
1 small box instant pudding (pair flavor with cake)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup water
4 eggs
Mix all ingredients on med. speed for 2min. Pour into greased and floured pans. I used a bundt pan but you could use layer cake pans too. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55min. Cool in pan for 5min. then turn out on rack to finish cooling.

I used an orange cake mix. Its very hard to find these days. But we just love it and I only have one box left. Not sure where Ill get it then. And I used lemon instant pudding cuz its what I had here. I tasted the batter tho and to me it wasn't orange enough so I added about a half tsp. orange extract.

If you cant find orange cake mix you could still do this and add more extract and some food coloring if you wanted it to be orange.   
Ganache
2c. chocolate chips
1c. heavy cream

I used 1c. semisweet chips and 1c. 60% dark chocolate chips so it wouldn't be real sweet. It was the perfect balance for this cake. 
Heat the cream to boiling and pour over the chips in a bowl. Stir well to melt the chips. I added a bit of vanilla at this point. You could add other flavors or a bit of liqueur. You can chill it till its a spreadable consistency and frost the cake.

For my cake, I chilled it just till it began to thicken, then drizzled it over the cake letting it puddle here and there. The frosting will harden up in time. I found this ratio to be the perfect one for making ganache. Ive tried others and they often stay too soft when rm. temp. This is firm enough that you could make nice truffles and they would stay firm if not refrigerated. I like that cuz often you keep them chilled and they get too soft to handle when put out to eat. It thickened nicely on the cake too.

And last night I made a BBQ Meatloaf. Ive searched for yrs for a meatloaf recipe to really love. I have one I use alot that I like but its ok. I tried this one last nite and omg.......its awesome. The man requested the leftovers in a sandwich for work today so I know its good.  I used Sweet Baby Rays BBQ cuz that's what I had on hand right now . Here is where I found the recipe.. http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/03/09/honey-barbecue-meatloaf/  but Ill also post it here.

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf  serves 4
1 lb 90% lean ground beef (I used what I had 80%)
1 slice white bread, ground to crumbs in food processor -or- ½ cup bread crumbs( I used reg. bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
3/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided
2 tablespoons honey, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Toss one slice of soft white bread in your food processor and grind it into crumbs.
In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, fresh bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, the spicy brown mustard, 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, salt, and black pepper.
Shape the mixture into a long, thick log and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.
Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce. 
I used a bit more meat than she called for, maybe a 1/2lb more. Next time Ill add an egg to bind it better. I think that's why I had some trouble getting slices. But its ok. It was delish. I also screwed up and put all the Worcestershire in the meat mix. I was going back and forth to the computer and with my bad foot, it was starting to get to me. But I don't think it really made a difference. This is one I WILL make again.