A few nights ago Miles and I were craving baked goodies. I was craving brownies in particular. It was a strong urge and I came very close to making the trek to Albertson’s to buy a brownie mix. But I was so comfy in my jammies and I really didn’t want to leave the house. So instead I searched for a brownie recipe online. And I found a good one!  It was my first attempt at making brownies from scratch. And it turns out the homemade variety takes about the same amount of effort as the boxed. Less if you calculate the time it would take to run to the store.

These are not too cakey or fudgy. They’re just right. The recipe claims to yield 16 servings. Ha! I ate basically the whole pan by myself over 1 1/2 days (with a little help from Miles). They were awesome with cold milk, or served a la mode with blueberry ice cream. Oooh, they makes me smile!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 oz a dark chocolate bar, chopped (optional)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
 
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in optional chopped chocolate, sugar, eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

I got this recipe at a Relief Society Enrichment Night. I was really surprised how much I liked it! I mean I loved it!

This week I bought bone-in chicken breasts on sale at Albertsons for $.99/lb. I made oven fried chicken and used the left over chicken in this recipe. It worked out perfectly. I threw it together during Link’s afternoon nap and had dinner ready by 5:00pm. I’ve been eating left-over chili everyday for lunch since. Mmmmmmm. In my mind it definitely beats a traditional chili.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded
3 (15 oz) cans Great Nothern Beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 (4.5 oz) cans diced green chile peppers
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (can be the bottled variety)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Garnish with:

sour cream
avocado slices
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

Directions:

Place beans in a slow cooker; mash with a potato masher until beans become a thick soupy consistency. About 1/3 of the beans should remain whole.

Add chicken to beans in slow cooker. Stir in chicken broth, un-drained chile peppers, onion, cumin, garlic, ground red pepper, and salt.

Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Garnish and serve.

Yields 6 main-dish servings.

We had some friends over for dinner last night and had this for dessert. It’s another Barefoot Contessa recipe and it’s divine! I had to fight to keep myself from eating the left-overs for breakfast. I ate them for lunch instead!

Ingredients:

6 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons very good cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 cups milk
1-ounce very good semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

On medium-high speed, in electric mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until light yellow and thick. On low speed, add cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. With mixer on low, slowly pour hot milk into chocolate mixture. Combine well, then pour mixture back into the pan.

Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with whisk until thickened. If mixture begins to curdle, remove from heat and beat vigorously with wire whisk. Remove pan from heat, add chocolate, butter, vanilla, and heavy cream. Mix until the chocolate and butter are melted.

Pour into serving bowls. Place plastic wrap directly on the top of the pudding, and chill thoroughly.

Okay peeps, you’ll love this one. Very easy. Very tasty. As simple as that.

P.S. I don’t usually like fish or fish tacos. I guess those go hand in hand. But I loved these!

Ingredients:

4 frozen breaded fish fillets (cod or tilapia work best)
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup mango salsa (I used TJ’s fresh papaya and mango salsa)
4 corn or flour tortillas (we like flour, its the American in us)

Directions:

Bake fish according to directions on package. Warm tortillas on griddle (or in the microwave if you must). Layer taco with shredded cabbage, warm fish, avocado and salsa. That’s it baby!