Successful Brownies- Hoorah!

Faithful blog readers, you might be wondering why my subject is so excited about something as commonplace as brownies. Brownies- a classic dessert, simple in its existence and a basic for any cook/ baker.

Well, it was never basic for me, so leave me alone!! I have never made a successful brownie before. They've always been too hard, too bland, too thin- just not good. For the record, [I also suck at making Jell-o, cooked (not instant) pudding, and steak. I know, those aren't complicated either, but I've had bad results multiple times with each.]

My Adam loves brownies. He maintains if it isn't chocolate it isn’t a worthwhile dessert. I personally beg to differ, but that's a completely different topic. I felt bad that I have never made him brownies due to my terrible history with them.

This past weekend I looked that dessert horse in the eye again, got back in the saddle, and amazingly enough I made delicious brownies- hoorah indeed! Many thanks to the Hershey company- I now have an amazing chocolate cake and brownie recipe in my repertoire thanks to them.


Brownies
From Hersheys.com

• 1/2 C. (1 stick) Butter, melted
  
• 1 C. Sugar
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1/2 C. Flour
  
• 1/3 C. Cocoa Powder
  
• 1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
  
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
  
• 1/2 C. Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8" or 9" square pan.
   
2. In a mixer, blend the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add in the eggs and mix again until smooth, using a rubber spatula to clean the sides.
   
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly. Again, use the spatula to make sure the creamed mixture on the bottom gets integrated.
   
4. Gently stir in the chips and then pour batter evenly into the prepared pan.
   
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the brownies pull away from the side of the pan slightly. Remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire rack, or in my case, just on a gas stove burner.
   
6. When the pan is cooled, slice the brownies and enjoy!

I ate one warm, and it was delicious and gooey. I probably could have cooked mine another minute as even after they cooled completely, the brownies still were very crumbly. But c'mon, no one will fault a brownie for being a little too moist, right?! You could also add in nuts, more chocolate chips, or other goodies, and the original recipe says to frost these, but I hate frosted brownies- they are plenty good in their pure form to me!

Sun-Dried Tomato & Artichoke Chicken

It’s been a while since I dug into my Google Reader for a dinner recipe and I was looking for something new and exciting to make this week. I perused my starred recipes and found something delicious looking from Lani. It has multiple foods that we love- artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and chicken. How could we go wrong!?

We couldn’t- it was delightful! I modified her recipe just a bit- subbed in heavy cream for butter, reduced the amount of chicken, and didn’t bother with the flour. We served this over egg noodles and loved it. My husband kept saying how much he liked the tomato flavor!

Oh, there was one horrible thing about this meal, and it has nothing to do with the recipe. So I needed canned artichokes- great, I had 2 cans of Reese Artichoke Hearts in the pantry. These are good quality, large artichoke hearts that have a good flavor and seem pretty fresh. I opened up a can and pulled out 5 hearts to include in this recipe. I would slice each one in half, and then cut each half into a few pieces. La dee da, I get to the 4th one and slice it in half. Something catches my eye and I think it is a mini artichoke bud inside the middle- you know, like what green peppers start to grow along the stem when you let them sit too long?

I am so very very sad to say it was not a mini artichoke growing inside, though it was organic. It was a dead green caterpillar!!!!!! EW EW EW EW!!! Hubby was there when I was picking it out with my fingers to see what it was and we both proceeded to do the icky icky gross dance after I dropped the misplaced insect onto the cutting board. EW EW EW!!!!! Thank god I didn’t cut the thing in half- I might have barfed. This thing was folded/ curled in half and was at least an inch long if I had stretched it out. EW. Needless to say, we threw out the bug and the artichoke it came from. We went ahead and ate the other ones from that can, figuring (praying?) any grossness would be cooked off. Still, ew.

Don’t let that dissuade you from trying this recipe though- just check your ‘chokes!


Sun-Dried Tomato & Artichoke Chicken
Modified from Lani’s Pleasure Cooker

• 1 Large Chicken Breast, cut into bite sized pieces
  
• Olive Oil for sautéing
  
• 1/2 C. White Cooking Wine
  
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  
• 1 C. Artichoke Hearts, drained, sliced, and de-wormed (EW!)
  
• 1/3 C. Julienne-cut Sun-Dried Tomatoes
  
• 6-8 Fresh Thyme Sprigs
  
• Salt & Pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 C. Heavy Cream
  
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
  

1. In a large sauté pan, heat some olive oil over medium heat and cook the chicken. Do not overcook it though, as it will continue to sit in the hot pan while the rest of the ingredients are incorporated.
   
2. Add in the white wine and cook over medium-high until it reduces, about 2-3 minutes.
   
3. Stir in the lemon juice, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs and stir those in with the salt & pepper. To get the leaves off of fresh thyme, hold the leafy end of the sprig in one hand with your thumb and finger. Using the thumb and finger of your other hand, gently and quickly snap the leaves off, moving from the top of the sprig to the bottom. This reverse directional motion with your fingernails should pop off the leaves- and leave your hands smelling lovely!
   
4. Stir in the cream to the mixture and let it simmer for a couple of minutes, again to reduce the liquid.
   
5. Just before serving, stir in the grated cheese so that it all melts into the recipe. Serve over egg noodles, other pasta, or even rice or bread for a hearty meal!

Be excellent to each other. And party on, dudes!

I've been bestowed quite an honor... Kate from Paved from Good Intentions thinks I'm excellent! Not only is it cool that someone really enjoys reading my blog and thinks it qualifies as excellent, it was Kate! I totally think she's excellent! I read her posts out loud to my husband so he can know how cool and funny she is. If I lived on the West Coast near her, I'd want to be her friend.

So I've made Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted "Theodore" Logan proud by being excellent. Now I get to let you folks in cyberspace know about some other folks that I think are equally great.

After some deep thought, here's who I pass this award on to and why:

Kendraspondence is a super fun blog. Kendra is a Boston gal who is nothing if not hilarious. She's a talented wordsmith and I just love her take on life. Not to mention she's got an adorable new baby girl, and who doesn't think a blog with new baby girl's are excellent!

Speaking of adorable baby girls, my next recipient has 2 of them, twins in fact! Nicole of Ginka's Goodies is someone I actually know in real life off the web, and she's a sweetheart. But that's not just why she's excellent, her blog is great. She has lots of great every day stuff, but I love her Indian foods. Some of her hubby's family is still in India, so I know her stuff is good. Now I just need to build up the courage to try some!!!

The last blog I want to recognize as Excellent is Oishii, a blog written by an American, Brianna, living in Japan. Just like Ginka's Goodies, Oishii is an ethnic smorgasbord. Her perspective on trying to cook standard American fare as well as highlighting some of the wonderful cuisines around her. And on top of enjoying all the food, I love hearing about her experiences overseas- very cool!

So that's it! Congrats from little 'ol me gals!

Corn & Sausage Chowder

This week I have made a plethora of comfort foods that all seem to have a ton of leftovers. We had meatloaf & potatoes on Friday, this delicious chowder on Sunday, and lasagna on Monday, and crockpot BBQ pulled pork sandwiches Wednesday. It’s been doing a lot of snowing up here in Maine, so maybe my body is craving these warm, hearty meals. Can someone please tell my body bathing suit season is just around the corner and salads might be a better option?!

Anyways, I tried this soup last year after finding it on AllRecipes.com. I had purchased the Italian Seasoned ground turkey by accident and was looking for a way to use it up. This fit the bill perfectly! I increased the amount of corn from the original and should have cooked it a little longer this time to get it creamier from the potatoes. All in all, it was really tasty. I did make bread bowls to serve it in, but they came out significantly smaller than last time and fit only about 4 spoonfuls in each bowl! Oops! It was still an excellent meal.


Corn & Sausage Chowder
Modified from AllRecipes.com

• 1-1.5 lbs. Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 5-6 Medium Potatoes, peeled & cubed (about 3 cups)
  
• 2 C. Water
  
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Marjoram
  
• Heavy Dash Black Pepper
  
• 2 15 oz. Cans Corn, drained
  
• 1 Can Creamed Corn
  
• 1 12 oz. Can Evaporated Milk

1. In a large soup pot, cook the turkey over medium/ med-high heat until it is browned and just about cooked through. You’ll want the meat crumbled into small pieces. My pictures show sausage that is a little too large! If there seems to be an excess of fat, you can drain it, but I find the little bit of grease the turkey produces enhances the soup.
   
2. Add in the potatoes, water, and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
   
3. Stir in the corn, creamed corn, and evaporated milk. Heat through and serve hot.

Classic Cornbread

I’ll admit it, I used to only ever make cornbread from the Jiffy mix box. In my defense, I thought it was hard to make so I never looked into it. Well geez was I wrong! I made my first cornbread from scratch last year and could not believe how simple it is. I’ve tried a couple of versions now, and I think this is my favorite. It is sweet, without being heavy or overwhelming. It is moist, but still has a good dry crumble to it. Not bland, not showy- just nice like a good cornbread should be! Good ol’ Betty Crocker, sometimes she just plain knows her stuff!

We enjoyed this with from scratch baked beans and a fake chicken BBQ I threw together. Yeah, fake BBQ as in I cooked the chicken in a pan and then threw prepared BBQ sauce on it. It was tasty, but the bread and the beans were the stars this evening!

Sorry for the crappy picture, I didn't realize I hadn't blogged about this before, so I didn't really take good pics of the cornbread!

Classic Cornbread
From Betty Crocker

• 1 C. Milk
  
• 1/4 C. Butter, softened
  
• 1 Egg
  
• 1 1/4 C. Cornmeal
  
• 1 C. Flour
  
• 1/2 C. Sugar
  
• 3 tsp. Baking Powder
  
• 1/2 tsp. Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour a round 9 1/2” or square 8” pan.
   
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the milk, butter, and egg until well beaten.
   
3. Add in remaining dry ingredients and mix until everything is just moist. It will be thick.
   
4. Pour into the prepared pan.
   
5. Bake in the oven 20-25 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine only took about 20 minutes.
   
6. Remove from oven, allow to cool for just a minute or two, then carefully slice and serve!

Bean’s “Baked” Beans

As someone who cooks dinner at home almost every night, my pantry is well stocked. I try to keep all the standards that we like on hand for whatever I decide to whip up on a given evening. And I usually make things from scratch, but some dishes- especially side dishes- I just can’t be bothered to do all that work. I mean, I do work full time and like to have some free time after work! So things like pasta sauce, Goya red beans & rice, salsa, refried beans, and soups live in the pantry for when I’m lazy or just don’t want to do it all.

Well, I made [link]cornbread and fake BBQ chicken the other night and knew that baked beans would be perfect to round out the meal. [Trit-trot, trit-trot, down to the basement pantry to get a can I go!] What the deuce, I somehow don’t have a can of baked beans waiting for me! Has the world gone wrong?!

Clearly I have forgotten to purchase a replacement can from the last time we ate beans. (Of course, I have 2 unopened jars of sun-dried tomatoes and another 2 giant jars of green olives. Sometimes I think I’m out and buy more of these random things only to find 10 on the shelves already.)

What’s a chef to do!? Nothing else would do for a side dish- certainly not with what I had on hand. I went back upstairs to look at recipes and decided to do it from scratch myself. Lo and behold- they were great! I didn’t bother baking them- a nice simmer on the stovetop did the trick perfectly. They smelled delicious, tasted authentic, and I had everything I needed in the house. Only thing I would have liked to improve the taste would be to add a piece of bacon or bacon fat for some extra depth.


Bean’s Last Minute, From Scratch “Baked” Beans

• 1 Can Cannelloni Beans, drained
  
• 1 Can Light Red Kidney Beans, drained
  
• 1/4 C. Chopped Onion
  
• 1/2 C. Molasses
  
• 1 Tbsp. Ketchup
  
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  
• 1 tsp. Ground Mustard

1. Combine everything in a medium saucepan.
   
2. Heat over medium heat, achieving a very low simmer.
   
3. Cook uncovered for 15-25 minutes until warmed through and liquid is reduced just a little.

Me Me Meme!!!

I've been tagged! TWICE!!! I have to tell you, I really like being tagged. This may come from my extreme Leo personality- you know, the one that makes me think I'm great and makes me want to be the center of attention all the time. I also have no problem sharing all sorts of ridiculous things about myself, so I think I'm a pretty good tag candidate.

Don't take that too far, readers- I'm not doing a meme every week. It's just nice to feel included.

So I've been tagged twice with the same meme. One came from Jennyfer at Jennyfer's Culinary Creations and the other from Danielle at Make No Little Meals. Here's the view into my little world:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was finishing up my sophomore year at college. I served as a Resident Assistant that year and got involved in the community service group, Circle K- which is the collegiate Kiwanis/ Key Club group. I didn't like college that much but I met some amazing people through those 2 groups- so that's what I think about from those years!

What were you doing 1 year ago?
We celebrated 1 year in Maine, which was also 1 year in our first home.

Five snacks you enjoy
Ok, well I'll answer this, but it doesn't mean I eat all of these things!
- Doritos
- Nuts- smoked almonds and pistachios in particular
- Dried fruit, especially dried cherries
- Popcorn, popped on the stove and lightly salted
- Cookies

5 Things I would do if I was a millionaire
- Have 3 kids
- Travel Europe, preferably before the 3 kids!
- Invest $250,000 so that I don't have to worry about saving for retirement later
- Buy a wardrobe that maybe is actually fashionable- and maybe hire Stacy London to help me
- Um, I think that would be enough. I mean, if I were pulling in a million a year, then maybe I'd have my architect hubby build our dream house on a big plot of land, but if it's one lump sum, I'd be out after all this other stuff!

5 Bad Habits- Nagging my husband
- Not finishing projects I've started
- Not hanging up my coat when I get home or putting things in an out of the way designated spot
- Jack rabbit starts and slam on the brakes stops
- Oh, here's a weird one... in the shower, I take hair that comes out when I'm shampooing and put it on the wall. I usually wash it down at the end, but sometimes I forget- ick.

5 things you would never wear again
- Neon scrunchies
- A giant wall of bangs
- Stirrup pants
- Oversized lame concert T's
- Black vinyl pants- not because I don't want to, but because I've porked out and my husband doesn't take me clubbing

5 Favourite (kitchen) Toys
- My garlic smasher/ meat pounder (It's a big heavy metal circle with a handle in the middle.)
- Micro grater
- Lime juicer
- Rice cooker
- 9" Chef's knife

Now I tag Martha, Michelle, and Candace. Yeah, I know I'm supposed to tag 5 folks, but I don't want to innundate too many people!

Seriously, it can't be exciting every night

I've received some very kind words about my blog and the high quality of the dishes I proudly display. I'm always so flattered when they arrive! And I've had folks look at the site and say things like, "Oh, I don't know how you make all those fancy things. How do you find the time and inspiration?"

I always tell folks that it helps that a) food is my #1 hobby and b) I have no children yet! But more importantly I tell them that not every night is something new and exciting and "fancy." And just to prove that I'm not just "being modest" or flat our lying, here's what my darling foodie husband and I ate this past Monday night on a day off. Keep in mind, I had all day to prepare this masterpiece...

Yup, it's mac n' cheese from the blue box, guppy shaped fish nuggets I heated in the toaster oven, and a random salad. And we ate and enjoyed every bite with no shame!

(Note that this post is labeled as both "Less than Gourmet" which is obvious, and also "Not Cooking Related" because cooking had nothing to do with this meal! Ha!)