Gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and molasses until well blended. Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir into molasses mixture to form a dough. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and coat them with the 1/2 cup sugar. Place cookies onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.


Comments: I don't have any ground cloves, so I had to leave those out. I used parchment paper, left them in for exactly 9 minutes (until they started to "crack" on top) and then took them out and left them on the parchment paper. This made tons of cookies. I didn't want them to be crispy, and they turned out soft and chewy. Sprinkled a little of the colored Easter sugar I got (for 50% off!) on top, too.

Rachel Ray's Subtly Spiced Chocolate-Chili Brownies

8 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan.

Place the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove the chocolate from the heat and whisk in both sugars until smooth.

In a resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, cocoa powder, chili powder, baking powder, and salt and shake together to mix. Whisk the eggs, 1 at a time, into the barely warm chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture and stir until smooth. Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and bake until set, about 25 minutes.


Comments: Boy wanted to try this one, so we did! I used a makeshift double boiler to melt the chocolate and the butter, and then after I stirred in the sugar, I transferred it to the metal bowl of the KitchenAid. It wasn't sticky, and it helped the mix cool off quite a bit before I added the eggs--if it's not cool enough, your eggs will cook. Also made easy work of whisking those in and blending the flour mixture. I probably could have pulled them out of the oven earlier than I did--around 20 minutes instead of 25, as the edges got a little darker than I would have liked. Bottom stayed nice, though, and the inside was just right.

As for the "subtly spicy" part--meh, not so much. I could tell that there was something different about them, but I would not have imagined chili powder if I hadn't been the one to make them. There was much discussion about what kind of chili powder to use---plain chili powder, or one of the specific chili pepper powders (like Ancho or Chipolte powder that Kroger carries)--and whether or not using something like crushed red pepper or cayenne would have more of an impact. They were good, however--very much of a bittersweet taste (I used the Ghirardelli 60% again), dark, and rich. Suggested serving is with vanilla ice cream and shaved chocolate curls, but as I had chocolate ice cream on and and powdered sugar, I went with that.

Did you know that chili powder has salt and garlic in it?!? Weird. I assumed it was just ground chilies. At any rate, we may try this again with a different chili powder to see what happens.

EDITED TO ADD: As it turns out, Sugardaddy's uses Ancho and Chipolte powder in two of their brownies, so I betcha that it would be good.

Pesto Chicken

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
pesto sauce
mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 package Shake n' Bake


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat chicken with Shake n' Bake and place in baking dish. Cook for 20-30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

Remove from oven, and spoon a small amount of pesto sauce over each chicken breast. Top with cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and just starting to turn golden.


Comments: I really like Tyson chicken, bu the cuts are so thick they take forever to cook! Anyhoo, this was yummers. The $4.00 jar of pesto sauce was worth it, and it only took a little bit to spread over the chicken. Tons left for pasta!! Boy didn't like it "thick"--apparently he likes pesto, but only in thin, small amounts...? Served it with broccoli and cauliflower. I used a lot of cheese, but that's the way I like things :) This is a variation of a Kraft recipe as well. Oh, and dinner was almost over before I remembered to take a picture...sigh.

Blueberry Buckle

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries

Topping:
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons melted butter

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and milk. Beat well. Add dry ingredients, and then fold in blueberries. Place mixture in 9 x 13 pan. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


Comments: EDITED! Ok! Very sticky dough. Seriously sticky. And in using a 8.5 x 11 pan, it took about 33-35 minutes for a toothpick to come out clean across the pan. The Expert (my mother) said that 20-25 minutes was not a long time to cook a dough such as that. Topping is crumbly and crunchy like it should be, and as I can't eat it until Small Group this evening, I don't have a clue how it tastes :) Smells wonderful, though.

Cooked Noodles

1 stick butter
1/4 cup chicken base
2 qt chicken broth
1 qt water
3 8oz packages of noodles
1 can cream of chicken soup
salt to taste

In 6 quart kettle heat butter until brown. Add water, broth, chicken base, and salt. Bring to a boil and add noodles. Cook on low heat about 15 minutes. Add soup and allow to heat through. Turn heat off, cover, and allow to set for a while.


Comments: Boy loves these noodles. They are yellow and really creamy--sometimes they serve them at auctions in the Homeland. I'm not entirely sure what "a while" means, but I am assuming that it means until the sauce thickens. Recipe makes a large batch--I haven't tried it yet.

I made the cake! Part II

Tried the cake again--this time I used a Dark Chocolate Fudge mix instead of the Devil's Food. (I called Mom and asked if she thought it would matter, and she said, "How could it be bad?" Hooray!) So, darker cake. Also, I apparently use a larger cake pan than she does, so she had taller cakes. (Boy seems to think that hers had three layers...?) Frosting did the same thing as last time, although I was prepared and kept the water simmering. I'm not any better at frosting cakes, however...although I suppose it tastes the same even if it's a little messy. I don't have one of those bendy frosting knife things, so it's a butter knife for me.

We may or may not have dipped pretzels in the leftover frosting.....

Haven't tried it yet--it's for later this evening. Will see how the different cake mix goes!

EDIT UPDATE: Ok, Boy said he couldn't tell a difference in the cake mix, but I think I could. More fudgy, I thought, but it could have just been me. Frosting did what it was supposed to (ended up like a ganache, more solid) and I thought it was yummy. The other four did as well. Have a little left over, too!

Taco Bake

1 pound ground beef
crushed tortilla chips, enough to cover the bottom of a baking pan with a handful left over
sour cream
black or green olives, sliced
1 small can green chilies
shredded cheese, taco or pizza mix, or Velveeta cubed
1 package taco seasoning for beef, whatever flavor you like (I use cheese flavor)
1 cup white or brown rice, prepared (2 cups cooked)
1 can diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown beef and drain. Add taco seasoning per package instructions. Add cooked rice, tomatoes, olives, and chilies. Bring back to a simmer to heat through.

Cover bottom of baking dish with a layer of crushed chips. Put a layer of cheese over the chips. Cover with all of meat mixture. Spread a layer of sour cream over mixture. Sprinkle the last handful of crushed chips over sour cream, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.


Comments: This originally called for chili beans and no seasoning. Bleah. I added the olives and the sour cream as well. Joe likes this better than the Taco Pie that I make that has a crescent roll crust--thinks it's healthier with the rice. He didn't wait for me to take the picture, either :/