Easy Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

I grew up believing that baked goods should be made from scratch.  My mom made cookies, cakes and brownies this way.  And for the most part I believe.  Except, I love a good brownie mix.  They are usually so much better than scratch brownies.  But this recipe is quite tasty and comparable to a mix I think - moist and chewy with a pretty papery crust on the top.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate, cut into chunks

1/2 C butter, cut into pieces

3 large eggs

1 1/4 C flour

1 C granulated sugar

1 t vanilla

1/2 t baking soda

1 Cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet

1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 13x 9 inch baking pan.

2.  Melt semi-sweet chocolate and butter in a large, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat.  Stir until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in eggs.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Spread into prepared baking pan.

3.  Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Quick Vegetarian Chili

This is one of my favorite comfort dishes.  It is made with barley and beans, every once in a while I also add diced chicken.  This has a certain flavor that just hits the spot for me.  I made this today but was missing some of the key ingredients (diced green chiles and the right kind of tomatoes.)  Many times, substitutions work without changing the essence of a given dish.  Today's chili tastes just fine, but for me it is missing a certain je'nais se quois.  So if you do decide to try this, get the ingredients from the recipe the first time you make it.  Top it off with some avocado, shredded cheese and maybe a dollop of sour cream.  Let me know what you think.

Quick Vegetarian Chili

2 t canola oil

1 C chopped onion

1 C chopped red bell pepper

2 t chili powder

1 t ground cumin

1 t dried oregano

3 garlic cloves

1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles

2/3 C uncooked barley

1/4 C water

2 15 oz cans black beans, drained

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can vegetable or chicken broth (I get a little loose on the definition of vegetarian)

1.  Heat oil in a Dutch over.  Saute onion and bell pepper 3 mins.  Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic and chiles.  Cook for 1 minute.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until barley is tender.

Serve with sour cream, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, chips and avocado.

Note:  store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.  Also freezes well.

Homemade Play Dough is the Best!

I have taken to making our own play dough. It's great fun to mix up a batch and then let the kids mix in the colors. I give them a scoop of dough, they add a few drops of food coloring (first they make an indentation with their finger to put the drops in). Lastly, the go to town kneading it until the color has been incorporated. It's also a great way to talk about how to mix primary colors to make secondary colors.

The recipe is very simple:

2 C boiling water
1 C salt
2 C flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
food coloring of choice

Dissolve the salt in the boiling water. Then mix in the flour and cream of tartar. Allow the mixture to cool. Have your kids knead in the food coloring.

Note: If you prefer, mix the food coloring in with the water.

'Foodies' Unite

I have read a several blogs now that have group authorship centered around a common theme.  I am wondering if anyone else would like to be a contributor to a food blog?  I would love to have a place where we could all share since many of us love food, most of us have to prepare food several times a day and we all have really great recipes.  Let me know if you are interested.  

You Don't Make Friends With Salad - H. Simpson

We had our annual neighborhood Potluck Block Party this weekend.  I decided to see what I could do with a little yellow cake mix, pudding mix and sour cream.  This is the cake I created.

I used a 9x14 rectangular dish to bake this in.  I thought a square shaped cake fit my mood.  To make layers, I simply cut the cake in half. Then I piled raspberry jam on one half and placed the other half on top.  I wanted the frosting to match the filling so I added a couple of drops of red food coloring to a buttercream frosting to get pink.  Just for fun I used a pastry bag and piped little flowers around the bottom and on the top.

I have to bring dessert to a Enrichment Night on Tuesday.  I am planning on making this again and using 9 in rounds instead.  I want to do a ribbon piping around the sides next time.  I'll post a picture after I've made it.

Recipe:

1 yellow cake mix

1 vanilla pudding mix

1 C water

2/3 C oil

3 eggs

1/2 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour desired pans.

Slowly beat all ingredients together until smooth and incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape sides of the bowl occasionally.  Increase mixer speed and beat additional 5 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 30 minutes or until cake tester inserted in middle of cake is comes out clean.

Cool cakes in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting

3/4 C butter, at room temperature

6 C powdered sugar

2 T vanilla

1/4 C milk

1.  Beat butter at high speed until light and fluffy.  Decrease speed and beat in sugar, vanilla and milk.  Check frosting consistency.  For thicker frosting, add more sugar.  To thin frosting, add milk 1 T at a time.

Savory Tortilla Soup

This is so yummy and refreshing. I used a recipe I found online but modified it to lower the fat content. This basic recipe can easily be modified to fit your tastes.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 C carrot, diced
1 C celery, diced
1 C onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 T olive oil or safflower oil, divided
2 boneless chicken breasts
32 oz chicken broth, low sodium
juice of 1 lime
1 15 ounce can, Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1/2 packet taco seasoning (I used McCormicks)
10 corn tortillas cut into small pieces
1/2 C milk

Toppings:
shredded cheese
cilantro
avacado
corn chips or tortillas

1. Heat 1 T of oil and brown chicken. Remove from pan. Dice into bite size pieces.

2. Keep the drippings, add 1 T oil and saute carrots, onions, celery, garlic and salt and pepper until tender.

3. Return chicken to pan and add taco seasonings. Stir until all ingredients are coated with spices.

4. Add chicken broth, tomatoes and lime juice. Add the tortillas pieces and let boil 20 minutes until they are thoroughly incorporated into soup. Stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

5. Add milk and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

6. Serve the soup with a sprinkling of cheese and other toppings of your choice. Delicious!

This soup also freezes well.