Mexican Cinnamon Brownies

We tried these for Cinco de Mayo yesterday. Annie had a blast mixing the dry stuff together and then eating what she helped make :)

3 oz unsweetened chocolate squares
1/2 c. butter
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350º. Melt chocolate and butter over medium heat. Let cool about 15 min. Whisk eggs until foamy, add sugars and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Stir in chocolate. In medium bowl stir flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add dry to wet and beat until smooth. Cook in 9x13 pan for 25-30 min. Makes 24 brownies.

We got this off of Family Fun's site.

Spinach-Artichoke Hummus

I saw this on Rachel Ray a long time ago and finally got around to trying it. I didn't put in the tahini because I couldn't find any at Winco, I only put half the garlic, and I used regular parmesean cheese. Brad laughed that it's definately chick food but my brother Mark liked it so.... there you go :D

1 can chickpeas (15 oz)
2 Tbsp tahini
1 garlic clove
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 box chopped frozen spinach (10 oz) defrosted
1 can artichokes (15 oz) drained
1/4 c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Asiago cheese

In food processor or blender combine chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, & EVOO and puree until smooth. Add the spinach, artichoke and cheese and pulse until everything is just barely combined.

Serve with cheese toast, crackers or veggies. Better after it sits a few hours.

Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup applesauce
4 c flour
1 pkg chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients and fold in chocolate chips. Bake 10-12 min @ 350° F.

Note: This recipe is also good with raisins.

Mom's Cheesecake

1 pkg graham crackers
1/2 c. butter- melted
1/2 c. sugar

2 pkg cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 - 8oz pkg whipped topping
2 cans cherry pie filling (or your favorite fruit topping)

Roll crackers until fine. Mix crackers with butter and sugar. Press into a 9X13 pan. Bake crust at 350° F for 5 min. Cool completely.

Cream together sugar and cream cheese. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Chill. Cover with pie filling or other fruit.

My favorite non-chocolate oatmeal cookies

These are my favorite oatmeal cookies that don't have chocolate, super yummy!

Robin's Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
1 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c. raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
3 c. flour
4 c. quick oats
2 Tbsp hot water
Nuts (optional)

Bake at 375º for 6 to 7 minutes. Take out of oven when very lightly brown. Will cook more as they cool. Makes a thick dough. Yield: 8 to 10 dozen

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

These are my new fav!! Mom C. used to make them when the kids were growing up but hasn't made them since I met Brad so make them and let your family or self go down memory lane :)

1 3/4 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. nuts (opt)
18 large marshmallows cut in half

Sift flour; sift again with soda, salt, and cocoa. Cream shortening; add sugar gradually. Add egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and milk alternately. Add nuts and vanilla. Bake at 350º for 8 minutes. Top with 1/2 large marshmallow and cook 2 minutes more. Frost with chocolate frosting.

Note: We add half a bag of chocolate chips to the cookie mix at the end and omit the frosting. YUM!!

Fudge Frosting

This is Stacey's recipe and Brad's favorite on yellow cake.

4-6 Tbsp milk
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Bring to a boil, remove from heat, then add powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Mujadarah (Arabic Lentils and Rice)

So I found this recipe on my friend Sunny's page and thought I would try it while Brad was gone today. I was kind of unsure if he would like it and thought I would do a trial run on just me and Annie first. Annie loved it! It's super easy and a good recipe to rotate through some food storage every once and awhile. If you go to Sunny's page there is also a salad to go with it but I didn't have any of the ingredients for that so we just ate some peas. (Definately have to have some sort of veggie as a side to give it some color :D) Oh, and I cut it in half and there was plenty of left overs with just 2 of us eating it today. Try it out and tell me how you like it :)

Mujadarah

1 c. brown rice
6-8 c. water
1 1/2 c. dried lentils
2 chicken boullion cubes
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
2-3 Tbsp olive oil or butter
1 large onion
salt to taste

* Place brown rice and water in saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 20 min.
* Add lentils, boullion, pepper, cumin, and cook another 25 min, or until rice and lentils are soft (add more water if needed)
* Meanwhile, sauté onions in oil or butter until brown and carmelized (allow a lot of time for them to carmelize).
* Add onions to the rice/lentil mixture a few minutes before it is finished.

Thanks Sunny for the fun recipe!

Question for april

Hey April,
Could you post your recipe for sweet and sour sauce along with that chicken you had the other night? it looked super good and the sauce was excellent. I would appreciate it. thanks

Thick Maple Syrup

Shan, sorry it took me almost a whole week to put this on. This is our fav and now I can't make anything else :D

2 Tbsp water
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 tsp maple flavoring

Boil 2 minutes. Thickens as it cools. Makes 1 pint (I usually double it and it fills an old Mrs. Butterworths bottle)

Orange Butter Frosting

6 Tbsp butter, softened
about 3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. fresh orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel

Mix together and add powdered sugar and orange juice to desired consistency.

Citrus Yellow Cake

We tried this for Analee's birthday and it's a new fav! It's out of the pink BHG cookbook

3/4 c. butter, softened
3 ets
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c. milk
2 tsp finely shredded orange peel

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 min. Grease and flour 9x13 pan. In medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 c. at a time, beating on medium until well combined and scraping sides of bowl. Beat on medium for 2 min more. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Add shredded orange peel.

Bake at 375º for 25-30 minutes. Cool and frost with Orange Butter Frosting

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

From Kraft Foods

Beat 1/2 c. (1 stick) softened butter and 1 pkg. (8 oz) softened cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended

Gradually add 4 c. powdered sugar and 4 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, beating until light and fluffy after each addition. Add a couple drops of yellow food coloring.

Makes 3 c. frosting or 24 servings, 2 Tbsp. each

Muffin Rolls A.K.A. Molls

This is from my friend Taralee. Hers look way better than mine ended up for Annie's party but they didn't taste bad :)

Mix:
1/2 lb. butter, melted
2 c. water
3/4 c. sugar

In a seperate bowl:
1 c. warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp yeast
Let it get foamy then add to the butter/sugar mixture and add:
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
7 1/2 c. flour (or until the dough pulls away from the bowl) The stickier your dough the fluffier your rolls but don't make them too sticky like I did or you can't roll and cut them out :D

Let them rise about an hour then roll and cut into squares. Put 2 to 3 squares per muffin spot. Drizzle with a little butter and a splash of milk. Cook for 17 min at 350º

Grilled Salmon Marinade

I got this recipe from my girlfriend the other day, and tried it last night. Trev says it's definitly a keeper.

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to tast
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/3 C. brown sugar
1/3 C. water
1/4 C. oil
Season fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water and oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal and turn to coat. Marinade each side for 2 hours. Put in 9x13 pan lined with foil and bake at 425 for 20-25 min.