Peanut Butter Brownies

 Great fellow at work always helps me when I break spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel. My way of thanking him is to bake treats! This is the brownie recipe from the Slutty Brownies. What I did to make these a little special was to take Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and place them on top before baking. In the past I've done them in mini muffin tins and used a mini Reece's, however it can be quite tedious.

Combine sugar, melted butter, and vanilla in the mixer. When mixed completely add eggs one at a time. In separate bowl combine flour and cocoa powder. Then mix into wet mixture.

I halved the recipe and used a 9x9 pan. This took about 20 minutes to bake.

Dense fudgey batter!

9x9 pan of brownie batter

Added the Reece's cups!

Baked!

Alternative recipes could include chopping up the pb cups into quarters and mixing them into the batter or using pb chips or swirling in a pb ganache...Try different candies like Snickers or flavored Hershey Kisses. I think I want to try toffee bits next time. 

UPDATE: SNICKERS BROWNIES

Recipe below is not halved.
 
Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

Ingredients:
1 c butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 c four
1 c cocoa powder
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease 9x13 baking dish
Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla
Beat eggs in 1 at a time
Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt together.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread batter into prepared dish.

Bake in oven approx 20-30 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey, Tomatoes, and Basil

I'm on a zucchini kick and I found a new recipe on Pinterest and decided to test it out on my book club! This was called "Pizzucchini" you can find the original recipe here. I must say, this recipe sounded great, and it was good, however it isn't a substitute for pizza. It was zucchini stuffed with ground turkey, tomatoes, onion, covered in cheese and then baked. Tasty, but not pizza.

I heated up a pan with a little oil and then added some onions. I used about 1/3 of a cup diced onion. Then I added some garlic powder and oregano. I let that soften for a few minutes. Next I tossed in the ground turkey and let that cook entirely.

Meanwhile, I washed the zucchini and then sliced them lengthwise to create little boats out of them.

Once the turkey was cooked I added in tomato sauce and the zucchini guts. I let this cook together for about 5 minutes. I used jar tomato sauce it was garlic and onion flavor I believe...I also tossed in some fresh basil that I chopped.

I took the zucchini and placed them next to each other in the baking dish. I tried to fill the boats with the mixture but it spilled all over the dish. Then I thought of making this next time with almost lasagna style... just an idea... So I filled the boats the rest of the way and then covered it with cheese. I put it in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. I broiled it for the last few minutes so the cheese was golden and gooey.

Verdict? Tasty stuffed zucchinis! This was a very filling meal and would be great for a side dish or part of a potluck.

If I wanted to make these more pizza like I would omit the turkey, use pizza sauce, maybe real mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, oregano... etc.

Stuffed Zucchini
serves 4
2 Large zucchini, cut in half
1 lb ground turkey (I had a little left over)
1/4 cup diced onion
basil
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees.
2. In frying pan soften onion and garlic. Add ground turkey and cook together until done.
3. Make zucchini boats by scooping out the middle of the zucchinis. Put the boats in the baking dish.
4. Add the sauce and zucchini guts into the frying pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Spoon mixture into the boats. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and turning golden brown.

Pasta with zucchini and eggplant in a basil tomato sauce

I love learning new things! I finally prepared an eggplant as you are supposed to!! What does that mean? It means, there was no funky/bitter after taste, just tender eggplant. Nom!

I followed the directions from here. It is the section called, "Salt for best flavor."

I sliced the eggplant and put it in a strainer, then I poured lots of salt over it, and let it sit for about 45 minutes. Then I rinsed it really well, if you don't you will end up with a few very salty pieces. If it is going into a sauce you'll probably be fine, but if you were going to fry it I'd take more care.

On to the rest of the meal! Inspiration came from this site. Boiled some water for the pasta. Heated some oil in a pan. When the pan was hot I added in the zucchini and the eggplant. This cooks fairly quickly, maybe 5-7 minutes. The zucchini and eggplant start to become so tender!

Without Ricotta cheese

Then I added about 1 cup of tomato sauce (jar, Tomato, Garlic, & Onion), red pepper flakes, and some fresh basil leaves. Yes, I have recently acquired a basil plant. Let me know if you need some leaves!

Because I was being creative and because I had it in the fridge, I also added in a 1/3 cup of ricotta cheese. It was yummy. I made it without the ricotta, still tasty!

If sauce is too thick add some pasta water a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Add pasta to the sauce and voila! Dinner is ready!

Pasta with Zucchini and Eggplant in a Basil Tomato Sauce
Makes 2 servings

1 1/2 cup of pasta
Olive oil
1/2 med zucchini (approx 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
1/2 small eggplant
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

Cook pasta according to directions
Heat oil in frying pan. Add zucchini and eggplant. When tender, 5-7 minutes, add tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, and basil. Combine with pasta.

 Enjoy!

Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Spinach

I was looking for something tasty to make for dinner and I found this recipe. Of course, this is my version of it.

I went to the store and picked up some of the ingredients and got to work!

There aren't always spices on hand when I'm cooking, so my go to trick is to buy Italian chicken sausage. It has all the spices you need!. I purchased some mild chicken sausage, (I used 3 of the 5 in the package) took it out of the casing (because that's what always happens when I try to slice it...) and tossed it into a hot frying pan.

I couldn't find the jars of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, so I went to the olive bar/salad bar in the grocery store and picked out a few maybe a 1/4 cup and then grabbed 2 cloves of garlic out of the tomato and mozzarella salad mix. This was perfect because I didn't end up with any leftovers! I rough chopped those and added them into frying pan.

Next I sliced up the zucchini into circles and added it to the frying pan. While that is cooking up and being stirred on occasion, I boiled and cooked half a box of pasta.

The pasta and veggies finished cooking around the same time. So I added half a bag of baby spinach and the drained pasta to the frying pan. I added black pepper and some salt to taste.

Now was the really making things up part. I couldn't find the marscapone cheese at the grocery store so I purchase plain Greek yogurt and a lemon. But for the sake of this story, I combined the juice of 1/2 a lemon with the container of yogurt and used half in the dish. I added some pasta water to thin it out as well.

Honestly, I think it would have been just as tasty drizzled with olive oil and lemon. I would try that next time. Others have suggested Parmesan cheese too.

Overall? I loved the meal! I'd make it again, especially since it takes about 20 minutes!!


Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Spinach
Makes approx 3-4 servings

Olive oil 
3 mild Italian spiced chicken sausage, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1/3 c chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 zucchini, sliced
8 oz baby spinach
8oz of pasta
Lemon juice

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add sausage and garlic. When mostly cooked through add sun dried tomatoes and zucchini.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to box instructions. Take out 2 minutes early.
When pasta is done add to frying pan with spinach.
Coat with olive oil and lemon juice.

Enjoy!!

Barefoot Contessa's Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies can be a great snack or an elegant dessert depending if you use cookie cutters or not. This recipe is very straight forward and with a little tweaking you can make this recipe your own! The original recipe is Barefoot Contessa and can be found here.

The only change I make with the recipe is I use whatever nuts I have on hand (hazelnut, pecans, walnuts, etc) and I use 2 tsp of vanilla extract instead of 1 since I omit the almond extract. The pecan version tastes like pecan sandies!

In my mixer I combine the butter and sugar, then vanilla extracts. In a separate bowl I mix the flour and the salt.

Then I add the flour mix into the mixer. Add the nuts and mix until it starts to come together. I find it is a little crumbly at this stage, like coarse sand size pieces.

If I am going to roll out shapes I shape the dough into flat disk in the plastic wrap. If I want to slice them I will shape it into logs into the plastic wrap. I let the dough chill about 30 minutes. After I slice or roll the dough out to make shapes.

Sometimes it is still a little crumbly but squeeze the plastic wrap it will pack together better.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn light brown. Let them cool, they are one of the few cookies that don't taste as good when they are warm.

This recipe makes a few dozen but largely it depends on how small or large the cookies. 

Shortbread Cookies

    3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

    1 cup sugar

    2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1 1/2 cups small diced pecans (or whatever nuts you have)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In mixer combine butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla extract. In another bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the nuts and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and use a cookie cutter to shape. Or slice the log into 1/2 inch slices. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature and serve.

Enjoy!

Woodstock, Mt. Washington, and Franconia State Park

Nate and I went on a mini vacation! We went camping in the North Conway New Hampshire area and saw some of the sights! This was a cool vacation in which we had no time constraints and were able to stop off at any places that looked exciting! 

 

 

Woodstock, NH
Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves - Really cool!!! This is a boardwalk hike with caves along the way. You can cut through the path using the caves to get to the next portion of boardwalk, or you can skip the cave and walk ahead. The caves are very fun! It is well taken care of and there are also informational plaques(?) along the trail. One of the caves was tight, and wear clothes that you don't mind getting a little dirty. You are brushing up on the sides of some of the caves or sliding along on your belly. It is next to a river and waterfalls so it is a little damp (aka caves!!). 

 

Dilly Cliff Trail - Access it in the Lost River parking lot. It is a 1/2 mile hike and climbs 700 feet. That means it is a fairly steep hike. It is over rocks so wear the right shoes. I work Tevas and was fine. But sneakers would have been safer. We took about an hour.
 

Mt. Washington
 Pinkham Notch- This is the base for many Mt. Washington hikes (Tuckerman's Ravine). We stopped in and walked up to the Crystal Cascades to check out the waterfalls! This is a 10 minute, .3 mile walk up the trail, small incline over rocks. 

Mt. Washington Auto Road - There are many options to get to the summit of Mt Washington: train, hike, drive, or guided tours. We chose to drive up ourselves. Wow! Scary drive up! The road is a very narrow and you are on the edge of the cliff. It is two lane traffic so you have to pull off to the side at times. The entrance fee includes an audio CD that details the creation of the auto road and some of Mt Washington's history/geography. Bring a jacket, it is cold and windy up top! This is a very intense mountain and the weather can change at any moment so prepare well. If you don't like narrow roads this might not be the drive for you.

Franconia Notch State Park

Flume Gorge - We did the 2 mile loop. It starts with a dirt path, through a covered bridge, and then follows a boardwalk style hike (stairs too) and then goes back to dirt path. There are areas that are dirt paths as you go along. It was very pretty area with lots of waterfalls and mossy rocks. Bring bug spray. The top link is to the State Park website that doesn't have lots of information, if you want more start with some of the reviews on Yelp or Trip Advisor.

The Basin- This was one of the unplanned stops along the way. We parked in the lot off the highway and it was a 20 minute short walk along some very pretty rocky waterfalls and river.

Food
Woodstock Inn Station and Brewery - Lots of filling food options. We had the slider sampler, nachos, and pulled pork sandwiches (we went twice... !). Great pulled pork! Reasonably priced and fast service. Ability to eat inside or outside. I didn't have any of the beers, but Nate did and said it was tasty.

Godmother's Mac & Cheese Casserole (Plus Chicken & Broccoli)

N and I were looking to make something for dinner and we decided to make a mac & cheese casserole. Now, who makes the best mac & cheese casserole? My godmother. It is cheesy, creamy, and topped with buttery Ritz crackers.

The recipe actually comes from the back of the Prince elbows pasta box, however there is a secret ingredient! A tsp of ground mustard. Where did this addition come from? I have no idea. But this is a very easy dish that is great to bring to big family parties.

I doubled some of the recipe (typical me, I only had enough to double some of the ingredients). You can also find it on this blog as well.

I wanted to make this more filling so I added 2 chicken breast and a crown of broccoli.

I started with the cheese sauce. I combined 2 tbsp of melted butter with 1/4 c of flour, 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp ground mustard, and salt & pepper. I let this all combine. Now I get creative. I added the (mostly defrosted) chicken and let that cook a little bit. Then I tossed in the chopped up broccoli. I didn't have enough milk, I used 2 cups of 1% milk. I also used 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. The recipe called for double that. However I didn't let that phase me and continued to stir until the cheese melted into a thick sauce. It looks like broccoli and cheddar soup!

 

I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the box. Elbow pasta was not on sale so I purchased rigatoni for $0.88 instead of elbows for $1.29.

I drained the pasta and put it back in the pot. I poured the cheese sauce over the pasta and stirred. I dumped the entire pot into my casserole dish and covered with another cup of mozzarella cheese.

Next is the cracker topping. I used my food processor to crush 15 Ritz crackers and combine it with a tbsp of melted butter.

 Baked it for 25 minutes at 350F.

Next time I would use the correct amount of cheese which is 4 cups. But everything cooked perfectly and made about 4-6 servings!

Godmother's Mac & Cheese
4-6 servings

1 box of pasta (16 oz)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground mustard
salt & pepper
1 crown of broccoli
1 lb of chicken - 2 chicken breast, diced
4 cups of cheese
3 cups of milk

15 Ritz crackers, crushed
1 tbsp butter, melter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a pot, melt butter, add flour, onion powder, ground mustard, salt, and pepper. Add chicken and broccoli (if using). Let good for a few minutes. Add milk and cheese. Stir until melted. 
4. Combine pasta and sauce. Pour into 9x13 baking dish.
5. Combine crushed crackers and butter. Sprinkle over the pasta mixture.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and bubble. 

Enjoy!

Garlic Butter Sauce

I went to dinner with my cousin the other night and had an incredible pasta, chicken, and broccoli dish that was covered in this mushroom garlic butter sauce. Wowww. I also tragically forgot my leftovers on the table. Typical. I had even portioned out enough for lunch!!

So what else to do but try and recreate this!

I Googled several garlic butter sauce recipes and once I had a basic concept I just went along with it. Here is my creation! This meal took about 15 minutes to prepare.

Cook noodles according to package instructions. I chose egg noodles because that was what I had. Any pasta works.

Melt butter in a pan.
Add oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. I eyeballed this and shake it into the cap and into the pan.

Stir it about for a minute.

Add diced chicken (smaller pieces = faster cooking) and peas. Per usual my chicken was only semi thawed. Soft enough to cut up but definitely not thawed out. Took about 7 minutes to cook the chicken all the way through.

Add cooked noodles into the pan and toss to coat.

If you wanted more "sauce" add some pasta water and cornstarch about 1/8 of a tsp at a time.

This is enough for 2 folks. Maybe serve with salad or bread too. This is an easy enough sauce to bulk up too. Add some veggies, add more chicken, add shrimp. I would have added some sliced zucchini or broccoli if I had some hanging out in the fridge. You can always add more butter as you go if you find you are running out of "sauce" but you can't take out the extra butter.

Another thought would be to use olive oil with a little butter mixed in.. or make it cream based and add some milk and flour to thicken it... I'll keep you posted! :)

Garlic Butter Sauce
Makes approx 2 servings

1/4 of a stick of butter
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups dry egg noodles

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions.
2. Melt butter in a pan.
3. Add oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. Stir it about for a minute.
4. Add diced chicken (smaller pieces = faster cooking) and peas.
   
5. Add cooked noodles and toss to coat.

Enjoy!!

Candied Pecans

N. bought me a silpat mat!! What is a silpat mat, you ask? Basically its a reusable nonstick baking mat that can be used instead of parchment paper. Isn't he the best? I had to try it out and make him something. Since it was late and I was tired, I wanted to go with an easy recipe that didn't require needing to chill dough (shortbread was the other choice).

Seriously, this recipe is pretty much fool proof. It will be tasty no matter what. I wanted to half the recipe, but only successfully halved some of the ingredients... still came out good though!

I made this for the holidays last year, your house will smell amazing! If you wanted to half this recipe, it is easy. If you wanted to double the recipe, it is easy.

The original recipe calls for pecans, which are so good! However, I didn't have enough, so I used 1 cup of walnuts and 1 cup of pecans.

Whip an egg white and tbs of water until its frothy. Didn't half it, just used the whole thing.

Add nuts and coat in the egg white.

Add cinnamon (not halved), sugar (halved), and salt (halved).

Stir it all up. Because I didn't use all the nuts my mixture had some liquid in bottom of the bowl.

Put on a grease/parchment paper/silpat covered cookie sheet and bake at 250 for an hour. Stir them on the cookie sheet every 15 minutes.

(Note the pretty new mat!)

I'm impatient and I was tired, I took them out after 45 minutes.

I let them cool for a little bit and then put them into containers to store at room temperature.

These are tasty as a snack but also would be good on a salad!

Candied Pecans
Makes 1 lb

1 egg white
1 tbs water
1 lb pecans
1 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 250F. Prepare 1 baking sheet.
2. Whip 1 egg white and water until frothy. In separate bowl combine sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add nuts to egg white. Add dry ingredients. Stir until well coated.
4. Spread out on baking sheet
5. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.