Four Way Brownies
Time is a hot commodity for many of us. Ok, all of us. Staying creative while using convenience foods is difficult!
Problem solved: Four Way Brownies.
The beauty of these is that there are no rules and the different flavors will please everyone in your crowd. Just open up your cabinets and pull out what you see. Does it go well with chocolate? If yes, bring it out.
This is my spread. I had a box of brownie mix and my other random ingredients.
Pretzels.
Dark chocolate.
Walnuts.
Candied ginger.
- Follow directions on brownie package. Pour the mix into baking pan. I used a 9×13 pan for mine, because it gives more room for different ingredients.
- Chop brownie mix-ins and sprinkle them into each quadrant of brownie batter.
- Using a wooden spoon, carefully stir mix-ins into each quadrant. Use a motion similar to smoothing out cake batter. Like this:: ~~~~
- Bake brownies according to directions on box.
In order from top to bottom:
- Pretzel Brownies
- Ginger Brownies
- Walnut Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Chunk Brownies
Ingredients 101: Quinoa
You may not even know how to pronounce this little grain. Let me help! Quinoa is pronounced “keen-wah.” You can find it at practically any grocery store these days, but when all else fails try a Whole Foods. It tastes a bit nutty and sweet and when cooked, should be a little al dente.
Quinoa is a grain that is produced primarily for its seeds, which we can eat! Believe it or not, it is closely related to beets and spinach. It was originally harvested in the Andes region of South America and used to be considered one of the most important crops to the Incas (behind potatoes but before maize).
Nutritionally speaking, quinoa is great for you! It is high in protein and is one of the few plant foods that can act as a complete protein – great for vegetarians or flexitarians. It is also a good source of fiber and offers a kick of magnesium and iron. Bonus: it is gluten-free!
Don’t be afraid to cook quinoa. Treat it like rice with a 2:1 water:grain ratio. Bring the quinoa and the water to a boil, and cover and simmer for around 15-20 minutes. Fluff it with a fork and get creative! You can add veggies, olive oil and parmesan, or honey and berries for a breakfast treat.
Ready to try it out? Check out these recipes here and feel free to post your favorite one in the comments!
Mint Oreo Pie
I think I might be aching for summer. My dessert choices lately have all reflected warmer days and cool treats. Remember the strawberry tart last week? And coming up, we’ll have key lime cookies.
Yet another case in point: Mint Oreo Pie.
This isn’t your normal, run-of-the-mill oreo pie. This is dense, creamy, minty oreo pie. The kind you can’t get enough of.
It was 46 degrees when I left to walk to the Metro this morning. Until it gets be 80, I’ll be eating this and dreaming of Florida.
First, you want to get all your ingredients together. Pretty simple: sugar, whipped cream, cream cheese, mint oreos, and a ready-made pie chocolate pie crust (not pictured).
Crush up the oreos in a food processor. Alternatively, you can release all your life frustrations by placing the cookies in a heavy-duty freezer bag and crushing them up with a rolling pin, meat tenderizer, or other heavy object of choice. I like to leave mine a bit chunky. This way, as you eat the pie, you’ll find heavenly surprises of cookie chunks.
Next, use a stand mixer or hand mixer to blend the whipped cream, cream cheese, and sugar together. This will look like glue. Seriously. Gently mix in your crushed oreos.
Pour the pie filling into the pie crust and smooth it out. Put the pie in the freezer for at least a couple hours. I left mine in overnight.
Let it thaw for about 20 minutes before serving. When you’re ready to showcase your amazingness, top the pie with oreos in whatever fashion you want.
Make your friends very happy.
Ingredients::
- 1 ready-made chocolate pie crust
- 16 mint oreo-type cookies
- 8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- 1 tub lite cool whip
- 1/4 c. sugar
Instructions::
- Pulse oreos in food processor until roughly chopped.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip on medium-low until well mixed and smooth.
- Gently fold in crushed cookies. Pour cream mixture into pie crust, spreading evenly over crust.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours or until chilled through and frozen. Thaw for about 20 minutes before serving.
Rosemary Potato Flatbread
Sometimes I get lucky and produce a hit. This flatbread…it was a hit for sure. I needed to come up with something that I could take to a party. It needed to be savory and it needed to taste ok if it got to be room temperature or cold.
Solution: Rosemary Potato Flatbread. Which was gone approximately 16 minutes after arriving at the party. A definite measure of success.
It has all of five ingredients, some of which you probably already have laying around. Also amazing: there is ZERO measuring in this recipe. Go wild!
Refrigerated pizza crust, olive oil, parmesan cheese, rosemary, and one large white potato. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice the potatoes up really thin. If you don’t have a mandoline yet, get one. It will change your life.
Spread the dough out on a large rectangular baking sheet (lightly sprayed with cooking spray). Brush the dough with a generous amount of olive oil. Sprinkle rosemary leaves across the oiled dough.
Place the potatoes all over the dough, in whatever pattern you like. I personally chose careful, straight lines (likely influenced by my cautious personality, but that’s neither here nor there). Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the flatbread.
Bake flatbread for about 15 minutes or until everything is a lovely golden brown color.
Make sure you eat a piece or two before sharing, because that is all of this flatbread you will see, my friend.
Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart
Today’s recipe is courtesy of Cooking Light, with a few small changes.
As strawberries come back into season, this recipe will get better as you make it later in the spring and summer. Mostly though, I loved how thin the layer of cream was on the tart shell, not too overpowering yet still rich enough to make it seem like you were eating more.
Be careful with the glaze and measure out your cornstarch very carefully. Cornstarch is way more powerful than flour as a thickening agent. My “glaze” was more like jam!
As far as how good it tastes, let’s just say this: I let Ryan take the leftovers to small group and he came back with a very empty tart pan. Try it out!
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 36 honey graham crackers (about 9 sheets)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 teaspoons water
- Cooking spray
Filling:
- 2/3 cup neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese), room temp
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Topping:
- 6 cups small fresh strawberries, divided
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- To prepare crust, place crackers in a food processor; process until crumbly. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, butter, and water; pulse just until moist. Place mixture in a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray, pressing into bottom and up sides of pan to 3/4 inch. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and extracts in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of tart shell.
- To prepare topping, place 2 cups strawberries in food processor; process until pureed. Combine strawberry puree, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook 1 minute. Remove glaze from heat, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Combine 4 cups strawberries and juice; toss to coat. Arrange berries, bottoms up, in a circular pattern over filling. Spoon half of glaze evenly over berries (reserve remaining glaze for another use). Sprinkle nuts around edge. Cover and chill 3 hours.
Legit
I am so excited to share today’s post with you! Super, way excited! Other than excited, I feel…legit. Like I’ve done something for real!
A few months ago, I was approached by Better Homes and Gardens about a publication they were doing. BHG was working on a desserts bookazine and wanted to include one of my recipes. A recipe by ME?! Remember these blondies?
Naturally, I said yes. So now you can find a way more attractive photo of my blondie recipe on page 7 of “Ultimate Desserts.” It really is an awesome little book with amazing recipes and gorgeous photos. You should definitely get one!
Thank you so much to BHG and Mixing Bowl for including me. I am so honored to be among the lucky ones you picked.
Now get baking, people!
Ingredients 101: Parrano Cheese
In a word, Parrano is: awesome. Hailing from the Netherlands, it looks sort of like Parmesan-Reggiano and can be used as an interesting alternative in dishes calling for Parm-Regg or Asiago. Sold as an Italian cheese, it is actually classified as a Gouda. It is produced in 20 pound wheels and is aged for 5 months before making its way to you! *
Parrano is firm to the touch, but give it a hard poke and you’ll see that it’s a bit soft. It can be tricky to grate; it just wants to fall apart.
However, it tastes simply amazing. Sort of like butter! I recently used Parrano in place of Asiago in Cooking Light’s Bacon and Wild Mushroom Risotto. It was a h-u-g-e hit and I will definitely be making it again!
* If you want to try new cheeses before committing to them (hello, expensive), check out Whole Foods. They always have a little “nib” section in their cheeses where they sell small chunks of leftover wheels for small prices. I bought my Parrano chunk for $2.21 the other day! You might not always find exactly what you’re looking for, but you might just find an awesome new love.
