Peanut Butter Brownies

It's been far too long since I posted...almost two years. I have still been cooking and baking, though. Tonight I made Peanut Butter Brownies. So good! They had oreo sandwiches with peanut butter in between then cover with brownie mix. Very simple. Very good.

Who's Mrs. McCabe?

Another recipe from my mother's box, here is a picture of the crumb cake I made this morning. What a great way to start off the day! I love baking because, although often times the dessert is not low fat, it's preservative, dye, and high fructose free. Anyway, the toppping, which is a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, flour, and butter, definately "makes" the dessert. It complements the simple bread and accentuates the tasty, hard outer crust. A delicious dessert or breakfast item, great to bring to work or savor at home with a steaming cup of joe.

Recipe:

Mrs. McCabe's Crumb Cake

2 tbsp shortening

3 tbsp sugar

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Mix and Sprinkle on top:

2 tbsp. flour

4 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp butter (melted)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

chopped nuts (optional)

For next time, I will add bits of apples, a suggestion of my Mom.

Tweaked

Wow! It's been a crazy amount of time since I updated this blog. The good news is that I have been baking and cooking still. Here are some of new dishes and desserts which I have recently made for the first time:
-"Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oreo Truffles" (google "Easy Oreo Truffles")
-"Sweet Potato Casserole" (JetPuff recipe)
-"Homemade Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocho frosting"
-"Herb Potato Wedges"

I'm loving cooking lately and especially enjoy tweaking recipes to improve them or just to try something different thereby using my creativity and making the recipes "mine". Love it! Some recipes I have enjoyed making "as is" and just expanding my cooking repertoire.

I tweaked the "Easy Oreo Truffle" recipe to have 4oz of peanut butter (peanut butter chips melted) and 4 oz of semisweet chocolate instead of 8 oz of semisweet chocolate only. The peanut butter was a great touch! I gave the truffles away for Christmas to co-workers. They loved them! The next thing that I tweaked was the frosting for the cupcakes that I made from scratch, a small feat for me, considering I've only used boxed mixes. The difference was clear with the cupcakes tastefully significantly more moist. As far as the frosting, I decided to add tiramisu marscapone to the homemade dark chocolate frosting that I made, an idea that came to me as I shoveled snow. It was an amazing touch for both texture and flavor, making the frosting mocha flavored.

I followed the recipes for both the "Sweet Potato Casserole" and the "Herb Potato Wedges" and they came out amazing. The casserole tasted exceptionally savory with the spices of Thanksgiving giving it a familiar taste. The "Herb Potato Wedges" were simple to make, using a tablespoon of the spice packet from the store, potatoes cut into 8ths, and a tablespoon of oil. They tasted delicious! So what's next...I want to make homemade tomato sauce and I want to try making coconut shrimp. In fact, I just got a Weight Watchers recipe for coconut shrimp. I guess it's a sign!

A New Art

A few weeks ago I came across a recipe for Chili con carne from my mother's collection. I didn't get to try it until last Friday morning when I made it for a wedding shower. It took about 30-45 to get the ingredients assembled and ready to simmer. The directions called for one hour of simmering. It came out pretty good! But when I got home my Dad commented on how he didn't get any of the chili. So I decided, since it was rather easy to prepare, to make it again for this week for my lunches. I set some aside for my Mom and Dad to try. They loved it! I actuallly like it much more than last time because it was less watery and therefore more rich in flavor. Yum! I had it simmer for 1.5 hours and that made all the difference. I used only one can of kidney beans the second time, despite the recipe calling for 3 cans. Way too many kidney beans in my opinion, but there isn't an indication of what size can. I told my co-worker about my success and she said that she would like to try it. So I brought in extra and 3 co-workers tried it and all of them thought it was delicious. I love when I have successes like this! I'm thinking of entering a chili cook off sometime. Chili is somewhat of an art i think with the ways in which you can be creative with it. Also, I am excited to experiment and make it my own. It is great to keep a family recipe alive. Now to think up that secret ingredient...


Here's the recipe after my changes:
Chili Con Carne
Saute: 2 medium onions, 8 cloves of garlic 2-3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
Add: 1 lb hamburger (cook lightly)
1/2 c. catsup
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsps of chili powder
1 can of kidney beans

Simmer for 1.5 hours stirring periodically and draining excess liquid

Who's Johnny?

A few months ago I pulled aside a bunch of recipes from my mother's box that I intended to make for the first time. I came across one called "Johnny's Favorite Rice Dish". I have yet to figure out if it is, in fact, a reference to my Uncle John, my mother's brother. So I have technically made the recipe twice; the second time I doubled the recipe since I had twice the amount of meat left over from before. Anyway, the recipe called for raw rice. Weird, huh? So I followed the directions adding a cup of raw rice all the while wondering if the rice would soften. Basically I this dish is like a casserole. It was basically two main components combined, the meatballs and the rice and vegetable combo. I made meatballs out of beef, catsup, and flour. The rice was combined with onion, stewed tomatoes, peppers, and seasoning. I didn't properly cover the pan before placing it in the oven (I didn't have tin foil) and therefore the rice didn't get to steam like it needed to. It wasn't a distaster but the rice was a little more hard than it should have been. The second time I made this dish, I got tin foil to cover it with and I used minute rice. I think I will drain the tomato juice out more next time because the dish was still too wet, but overall it tasted great. I love when I make something yummy! I can certainly see why this dish is Johnny's favorite!




Johnny's Favorie Rice Dish
1 cup raw rice
add salt
1 cup chopped onion
salt and pepper
1/2 cup green pepper
salt and pepper
1 large can tomatoes

In separate dish mix:
1 lb. hamburger
4 tsp. catsup
3 tsp. flour
1 tsp salt and pepper

Make into little balls and put in casserole first. Dot with butter. Add rice, etc. Cover dish. Bake 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Tribute to Mormor

Recently I've tried a few new recipes that are amazing! First, I made a carrot cake for my Mom using the recipe of my friends whose mother/grandmother passed away, a lovely lady nicknamed Mormor which is Swedish for "mother". She had the best stories and was a real "go-getter". A year and a half ago I had the opportunity to go with my friend Kate, her grandaughter, to visit her in Rhode Island. Her house is next to a pretty lake and has a lovely deck outside to take in the scenery. It's quite picturesque. Later that day as we ate dinner I asked her if she had any advice on finding love. I figured one who had been married for over fifty years would have a treasure chest of insight and advice. Well, Mormor proceded to tell me her story with all it's struggles and fond moments. What a beautiful story, really. It felt like I was in a movie, a little like "The Notebook". The main piece of advice she gave to me was to marry your bestfriend. So I look for my partner in crime :) Anyway, this is a tribute to a person who loved God, her family, and life. Here's her recipe:
Carrot Cake:
1 8oz pkg carrots
4 eggs
1.5 c. oil
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. chopped nuts
3 c. flour
2 teas. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
2 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook, mash and cool carrots (I just shredded the carrots and put them in raw, which turned out fine). In large bowl, beat eggs and mix with oil, carrots, and chopped nuts (I suggest walnuts). In a separate bowl mix together dray ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Bake in cake pan at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

How did my creation turn out? It was good...I added a medley of spices (orange, cardamon, cinnamon). I think I'll stick to just cinnamon next time. Then for the frosting I cheated and used store bought cream cheese frosting. I think next time I'll make the frosting using a Philadelphia cream cheese recipe that I found on-line. Unfortunately I don't have a picture to share, but I'll be sure to take and post one next time. Adjö´ så lä´nge! (Swedish for "so long")

Time to make the...muffins

I have to say I took on homemade muffins and they came out pretty well. Yes! They were actually delicious. I've made muffins now three times, each time tweaking the recipe a little. The second time was the best because I doubled the oil in the recipe. I haven't actually used chocolate chips because I gave up chocolate for Lent. I actually made the recipe more healthy by adding raisins and almonds which gave the muffins more texture, too. Ideally I want my muffins to be very moist, almost like cake. I recommend this recipe and the muffins can be eaten with coffee for breakfast or as a snack. Here's the recipe:

~Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins~

Ingredients
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes

Ps. 34:4