Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Oreo Brownies

recipe from Averie Cooks via Pinterest

SUGAR COMA ALERT!  Okay. I saw these brownies on Pinterest and thought, "Oh my YUM!"  However, I must warn you. These are not for the sugary faint of heart. In fact, there are some ingredients in these that I am sure could be forgone and these would still be dreamy delicious. When I come down off of my sugar high, I will have to try them again omitting some of the ingredients I thought might be a little unnecessary. So here goes!

One 7 ounce jar of Marshmallow creme

1/8 teaspoon mint extract

8 drops + green food coloring

1 batch of brownies (brownie mix, water, oil, eggs)

One package of Cool Mint Oreo cookies

3/4 cup white chocolate chips (melted)

1 cup vanilla frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, stir together marshmallow creme, mint extract, and 4 drops of food coloring.

In a large bowl, prepare brownie mix as directed on box using water, oil, and eggs and fold in 12 hand-crumbled Oreos at the end.

Spread brownie batter in prepared pan.  Drop about 1/2 cup of minty marshmallow mixture onto brownie batter and reserve the remainder.  Gently pull a knife through the batter in S-shaped curves for a swirled design. Bake about 25 minutes or until brownies are set, taking care not to over bake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

While brownies are cooling, make vanilla frosting by combining the following ingredients and beating until fluffy.

1/2 cup butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

splash of milk, if necessary for proper consistency

In another small microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips (microwave on high for 30 seconds; stir and microwave 30 seconds longer taking care not to scorch the chocolate. Stir until smooth.  Add the melted white chocolate chips and the vanilla frosting to the minty marshmallow mixture. Stir in 4 drops green food coloring and carefully spread over cooled brownies.  Sprinkle with 18 hand-crumbled Oreo cookies, slightly pressing then into the green mixture. Allow top layer to set fully before slicing and serving. Averie said she prefers these bars chilled. She stores them in the refridgerator in an airtight container (or in the freezer for up to 3 months). 

Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwiches

recipe from Our Best Bites

I am really trying to bring on the summer vibes here. We're on our 3rd round of croup at our house and I have just decided it is definitely time for winter to be over!  So... enjoy a taste of summer barbeque at it's finest with these yummy and easy pulled pork sandwiches. 

3 lb. boneless pork shoulder

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Smoked paprika or liquid smoke

About 12 oz. of your favorite BBQ sauce (Bullseye anyone?)

About 12 high-quality rolls

Coleslaw 

Thick-cut dill pickle slices

Rinse pork roast well in cold water and trim off excess fat.  Pat dry.  Sprinkle roast with liquid smoke and seasonings and place the meat in a disposable freezer-safe container or gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

When ready to cook, place the seasoned roast in a slow cooker and cook on low for 9-11 hours or on high for 6-8.  Shred and add BBQ sauce. Serve on rolls with coleslaw and pickle slices.

Side dish suggestions: French fries, baked potatoes, fresh fruit, etc.

Texas Sheet Cake

recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (12th ed.)

There are just some recipes that you have to enjoy just for the sheer pleasure of eating them.  Sometimes I try to tweak recipes to make them a little "healthier," but it is my opinion that there are some recipes that are just so classic that you can't mess with them.  This, my friends, is one of those.  I don't claim that it is healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but delicious... oh yes!  So... if you have no self control (like me), make it for a party and I promise it will be so popular, that you will only be able to get one piece to yourself. (Where's the harm in that, right?) So here goes... the classic Texas Sheet Cake.

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk*

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 recipe Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting

Grease a 15x10x1 inch or 13x9x2 inch baking pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine butter, cocoa powder, and 1 cup water.  Bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add the cocoa mixture to flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until thoroughly combined.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven about 25 minutes for the 15x10 inch pan or about 35 minutes for the 13x9 inch pan or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.

**Make the Chocolate-Buttermilk frosting in enough time that you will be able to pour it warm over the warm cake.

Pour warm Chocolate-Buttermilk frosting over the warm cake, spreading evenly. (Use a very light touch when spreading the frosting, since the warm cake will easily stick to your utensil.)

Place cake in pan on wire rack; cool thoroughly.

Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting

1/4 cup butter

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tablespoons buttermilk

2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar (I used 2 cups unsifted and it worked great!)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium saucepan combine butter, cocoa powder and buttermilk.  Bring to boiling. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.  If desired, stir in 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

* If you don't have buttermilk on hand, substitute sour milk for the same amount of buttermilk called for in your recipe. For each cup of sour milk needed, place 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup total liquid; stir. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes before using.

Variation:

Chocolate-Cinnamon Sheet Cake

Prepare as above, except add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the flour mixture.

Bean Curry with Naan (Indian Flatbread)

recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

We love curry at our house and I stumbled across this recipe one day and thought I would try it. It did not disappoint. Besides being delicious, it fills your house with wonderful aromas from the different spices used. It is a great ethnic dish and is a great vegetarian option.

Bean Curry

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

pinch cayenne, to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon Garam Masala*

3/4 cup half and half

1 cup vegetable stock or chicken broth

1 can black-eyed peas, lightly drained (I used black beans because that is what I had on hand)

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

*Garam Masala is an Indian spice mixture.  I found my bottle at Whole Foods market.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until translucent and slightly browned. Stir in garlic and grated ginger root; stir constantly for 30 seconds.  Add tomato; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in turmeric, cayenne, salt, paprika, and garam masala; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add half and half, stock, and black-eyed peas. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro.  Serve immediately with rice, chapati, or naan. 

Naan (Indian Flatbread) 

recipe slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Makes about 12 pieces of naan

3-4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon sugar

3-4 tablespoons butter, melted

Pour milk into a liquid measure and heat in microwave until warm to the touch. (about 110 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer).  Pour milk into a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  Add the sugar, yeast, salt and 2 1/2 cups flour.  Mix well to combine.  Continue adding flour gradually in small amounts until a soft dough is formed the cleans the sides of the bowl.  Knead the dough by mixer or hand until it is smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes in the mixer or 10 minutes by hand.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest at room temperature, covered lightly with greased plastic wrap, for about 2 hours.

After the dough has rested, turn it onto a lightly floured surface or roul'pat and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, rounding each into a ball shape. Cover the pieces with a towel and let them rest for 30 minutes.  While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 475 degrees F and place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven.  (If you don't have a pizza stone, try grilling the dough on a lightly oiled outdoor grill or use a hot griddle to bake the naan - you'll have to experiment with cooking times but either of those methods would work as well.)

Once the dough has rested for 30 minutes, one by one, roll each piece into a circle about 6-8 inches wide, depending on how thick you want your naan.  Lay the circle of dough on the hot pizza stone and spritz lightly with water.  Close the oven and bake the naan for 2-4 minutes, until it is lightly puffed (some pieces will puff more than others) and brown spots begin to appear on the top. Remove the naan from the baking stone and place on a cooling rack. Brush lightly with melted butter. Stack the hot naan on top of each other as it comes out of the oven. Cover with towel and let the naan cool completely or serve warm.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

recipe from Our Best Bites

These taquitos are a frequent request at our house. They make a great appetizer, party food, or combine them with some spanish rice and a green salad and you've got a meal!  Dip them in this creamy lime cilantro dressing and you will have tasted a little mouthful of Mexican heaven! 

1/3 cup (3 ounces) cream cheese

1/4 cup green salsa (I like the La Costena brand ) 

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons sliced green onions

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 cup grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas

kosher salt

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. 

Heat cream cheese in microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir.  Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and granulated garlic.  Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions.   Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

 (You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep mixture in the fridge)

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking.  It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it.  If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keep it about 1/2 inch from the edges.  Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place the seam side down on the baking sheet.  Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other.  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip in salsa, sour cream, guacamole or this creamy lime cilantro dressing.

Gingerbread Cookies

recipe from my Mom

Merry Christmas!  These little gingerbread cookies are fun for kids to make and eat and your house will smell amazing while they are baking.  (My toddler was asleep while I was making these, or these might have turned out more like scary Halloween cookies rather than cute little Christmas gingerbread people! :)  It can be quite a project to make the cookies and frost all in one day, so you may want to make the cookies and then freeze them until you are ready to decorate. It makes them a little less time intensive.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Combine butter, brown sugar, molasses and egg and beat until fluffy.  Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice and beat until blended.  Cover dough and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and then cut into desired shapes. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  

I used this glace icing to decorate the cookies. There is also an awesome tutorial on decorating cookies with this icing technique at Our Best Bites. 

Almond Poppyseed Muffins

recipe from bake-aholic.com

Sometimes there is nothing like a warm, fresh muffin for breakfast and these muffins come together so easily that there isn't really any excuse not to enjoy them whenever you want.  We devoured these at our house.  I guess that means we can make them again soon!

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1 1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 Tablespoons poppy seed

3 teaspoons sugar

sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups (or spray them very well).  In a large bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, the oil, egg, and almond.  Beat in sour cream and milk with a spoon until blended.  Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, soda, and poppy seed until well blended.  Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.  Sprinkle batter with 3 teaspoons sugar and the almonds.  Bake for 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.