Chewy Brownies

I am partial to box brownies. I have tried many homemade versions of brownies and they are good but still not the same. I will admit these brownies do not taste like box brownies. They are so much better. It doesn't mean I won't still buy box brownies but if you want a bakery style brownie then you need to make this recipe. My family agreed this is the best brownie I have ever made including the box brownies. Oh, they are so good!

Chewy Brownies
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp boiling water
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, sliced into cubes
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate , chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line the bottom of the baking pan with parchment paper. (I used a 4 qt. glass pan.) Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, the chopped unsweetened chocolate, and water.
Add the butter and stir until the butter has melted.
Add the oil and mix well.
Add the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
Mix in the sugar.
Add the flour and sea salt. Mix until combined.
Fold in the bittersweet chocolate.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. An inserted toothpick will be a little moist.
Allow the brownies to cool for 10 minutes before removing the brownies from the pan and placing on a wire rack to continue to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Project Domestication.

One year ago.........................I made Apple Cinnamon loaves.

Did you already know............
-Some dictionaries list a brownie as a cookie as others list it as a cake.
-One of the first brownie recipes published was the Bangor Brownie.
-The Bangor Brownie is suppose to have been created by a frugal housewife from Bangor, Maine. 

Abstract Art Sugar Cookies

When you were a kid, did you make your Mom wonderful artwork?  She thought it was a master piece and would hang it up for you. Well, I guess I never stopped wanting to make my Mom something special. So, I made her cookies with lemon extract. She loves lemon flavored desserts. I also spent some time with my kids making some art work of our own. I gave these to my Mom and she liked them.

Can you tell what I made?

Abstract Art Sugar Cookies Icing
4 Tbsp meringue powder
1/2 cup water
1 lb.powdered sugar, sifted
Food coloring gel

1. In a large bowl, mix the meringue powder with the water.
2. Beat the icing until foamy.
3. Add the sifted powdered sugar to the meringue mixture.
4. Beat on medium high for about 5 minutes or until the stiff peaks form.
5. Divide the icing into separate bowls before adding desired colors with food coloring gel. Make sure to leave some of the icing white.

Decoration directions:

1. To frost your cooled cookie, pipe a white border in the center of the cookie. (I used this cookie recipe.)
2. Flood the cookie with white icing. Allow to dry for at least an hour.
3. Once the middle white "canvas" dried, decorate the white icing with your art work. Allow to dry.
4. Take the cookie and dip the side of the cookie into the desired color to make a border. 
5. Carefully dip another side of the cookie into the icing and allow to dry before attempting the two other sides.

Frosting recipe adapted from Bake at 350 degrees. Make sure to check out her step by step directions or her wonderful cookies.
 
One year ago....................I made Seven Cheese Bread.

A bow, butterfly, and flower for my Mom

Did you already know......
-On May 10th, 1908, Anna Jarvis organized a Mother's Day observation in Grafton, West Virginia and Philadelphia.
-In 1914, Congress designated Mother's Day would be observed on the 2nd Sunday in May. 
-According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 4 million woman gave birth last year.

Happy Mother's Day! I love you Mom!

Fruit Cups

If you end up making fresh squeezed orange juice, you will have a lot of orange shells left. Since we love fruit salad, I figured it would make nice bowls. Also, my children thought they made nice cups. I loved this recipe. You can use any fruit that you like. I used berries, bananas, oranges, and grapes. I love berries as you can see. Melons would work just as great.

Fruit Cups
4 oranges
2 cups fruit
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Slice the oranges in half. Scope out the orange sections to create a smooth bowl with the outer rind/peel/shell of the orange.Test each bowl to make sure it will stand with the open end up. If not, slice off a thin part of the bottom of the orange to make it flat. Be careful not to poke a hole in the bottom.
2. Chop the fruit into bit size pieces. (add the orange sections to the fruit.)
3. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of fruit with the sugar. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
4. Combine the macerated fruit with the 1 cup of fruit.
5. Fill the orange bowls with the fruit.
6. Serve immediately or allow to chill for about 1 hour.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago........................I made Pizza Sauce.

Did you already know..........
-The subsections of a blackberry and a raspberry is called a drupelet.
-A white drupelet on a blackberry or raspberry is due to the fruit being scalded by the sun. It is still usable.
-A blackberry has about 90 seeds (drupelets) per a berry.

Fresh Orange Juice

Since this weekend is Mother's Day, I wanted to try out some recipes with my kids. Yes, this way I can hint at maybe some possible suggestions they may want to make this weekend. Now when I make recipes with them, I notice sometimes they want me to add weird combinations. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Well, we had a lot of oranges that I needed to use up. For some reason, my son thought there should be at least one lemon in there. It does taste good. I'm unsure if my husband or oldest daughter will make it this way but I would make it again. I didn't use any fancy kitchen equipment except a hand juicer. If you are going to hand juice anything, I highly recommend placing a paper towel under the cup. This way it will give it more stability. My cup slide which knocked over my cup. My son escaped being covered with juice but I wasn't so fortunate. Next time, I just hope I remember my lesson.

Fresh Orange Juice
9 oranges
1 lemon

Directions:

1. Squeeze the oranges and the lemon one at a time into a cup.
2. Remove any additional seeds from the cup before adding to a pitcher.
3. Serve or add a little water for a more diluted taste.

One year ago........................I made Dulce de Leche Rice Pudding.

Did you already know..........
-Some Valencia oranges are green due to the warm weather.   
-With Navel oranges, the bigger the navel is an indicator the sweeter the orange.
-In 1493, Christopher Columbus brought the first orange seed to the New World. 

Migas in a Taco Bowl

My family love eggs. I love them since they are a cheap, fast breakfast, brunch, or supper. When I added tortilla chips to the eggs, the kids thought this was the best thing ever. I thought they would even think it was more cool if they were served in Taco Bowls. I made my Taco Bowls from corn tortillas since they tied with the corn tortilla chips. They are really easy to make. I used these directions but there are even YouTube vidoes.

Migas in a Taco Bowl
4 large eggs
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp skim milk
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 tsp butter

1 cup tortilla chips, crushed (I used blue corn tortilla chips)
1 cup Monterey Jack with Jalapeno Cheese
4 Taco Bowls
Optional garnish toppings:  guacamole, sour cream, cheese, salsa, salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, and skim milk. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
4. Add the whisked egg mixture to the skillet. Stir well. Turn the heat to medium low. 
5. Add the butter and cook until the eggs are fluffy. 
6. Add the crushed tortilla chips and fold in the cheese.
7. Serve the egg mixture into the center of the taco bowls.
8. Top with desired garnish.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago..........................I made Chicken Salad Roll Ups.

Did you already know............
-The Spanish word Migas translates into crumbs.
-Migas ordered in Spain or Portugal is a dish made with stale bread, olive oil, sausage, or pork.
-The Tex Mex version is just scrambled eggs with tortilla chips.