I was having a major chocolate craving the other day so I just had to scour the pantry to see what I could come up with.  Luckily I keep plenty of baking supplies in back stock so I don’t have to run to the store like a mad woman.  We all know what we women can be like if we want some darn chocolate and we don’t have any.  Watch out!

This brownie recipe is one of my favorites.  I’ve been making versions of this brownie since I was in high school.  I won’t mention how long ago that was though!   The brownies turn out super soft and moist.  I love adding frosting to the top but hubby says that makes them cake and not brownies.  Sigh.  We seem to be always opposite on everything food!

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup mini M&M’s

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Blend the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.  Add eggs and mix well.

2.  Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.  Gradually add the dry flour mix to the wet and mix until completely combined.

3.  Stir in the nuts, chips and mini M&M’s. Spread mixture into a greased 9 inch baking pan.

4.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

I’m still in the process of recovering from my pinched nerve but I was anxious to share these delicious potatoes with you.  Thinly sliced potatoes are layered with a creamy Asiago cheese white sauce and topped with crumbled bacon.  I’m getting hungry just thinking back on how good these were!  The original recipe called for peeled potatoes but I prefer to leave the skins on.  I think they help keep the potato slices together and they provide some added fiber.

Asiago and Bacon Potatoes

from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

5 – 6 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 teaspoon salt, divided
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°. Place sliced potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Drain and sprinkle potatoes evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside and keep warm.

2.  Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Sprinkle flour over shallots.

3.  Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add remaining 1 & 1/2 cups milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago cheese, pepper, and crumbled bacon.

4.  Arrange half of potato slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices. Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Well it’s been quite eventful here the last few days and I apologize for not posting in the last week.  It’s kinda hard, no… impossible really, to blog when you can’t even sit at your computer.  Let me just say that I have never experienced such pain ever before in my life!!

The problem hasn’t really been diagnosed yet and tomorrow morning I’m heading to the doctors after spending two separate evenings in the ER in tears praying for some relief.  The back of my left leg was so painful that I couldn’t sit or lie down without wanting to scream.  After two days with little to no sleep, I’d had enough.  Luckily after an ultrasound concluded that it was not a blood clot, I found sweet relief in the form of pain killers and a muscle relaxer.  Thank goodness!!  But on the flip side, I can barely keep my eyes open but I prefer being sleepy to pain any day.

If you’re wondering how in the world I managed to make cupcakes, don’t worry I’ve had a few recipes and pictures in back stock.  This one and the next one are recipes I made before this all went down.  I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen though, I’m so very played out on fast food and takeout meals that my husband picks up after work.

Now about the recipe…this buttercream icing is delicious!  It’s light, fluffy and only a little sugary.  I’m not a fan of icing that makes my teeth hurt from sweetness.  I used this creamy vanilla icing on red velvet cupcakes that I made with a simple box mix.  Yummy!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

from The Mess Pot

Ingredients:

2 & ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 & ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

1.  In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add powdered sugar and salt; beat at medium until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.  Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds.

2.  Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Hmm, what can I do with older lemons that are starting to shrivel up?  Oh, I know…lemon ice cream!  And oh yum, did it turn out delicious!

This ice cream recipe is awesome and I think the reason it turned out so creamy was the unique way you incorporate the heavy cream.  Before you add it to your milk and sugar, you whip it just like you’re making whipped cream.  So before it even makes it to the ice cream maker, it’s already nice and thick and whipped to a creamy consistency.

I was excited at the prospect of fresh lemon ice cream but I also thought it may need some added texture. I had a box of Nilla Wafers handy so I broke a bunch into pieces and added those to it.  They get nice and soft and added just the right amount of cookie flavor to the ice cream.  Yummy in my tummy!

Lemon Nilla Wafer Ice Cream

adapted from Life’s a Feast

Ingredients:

1 large, lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
12 – 15 Nilla Wafer cookies, broken into smaller pieces

Directions:

1.  Combine the lemon zest and the granulated sugar in a food processor and process until lemon zest is in fine pieces mixed throughout the sugar.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2.  Add the milk to the sugar, zest mix and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Add the lemon juice and stir.

3.  Whip the chilled heavy cream in your stand mixer until thickened and stiff peaks are formed.  Gently fold into your milk, sugar mixture until well combined.

4.  Transfer to your ice cream maker and churn for 25 – 30 minutes or until creamy and thick.  Transfer to a freezer safe container and hand mix in the Nilla Wafer pieces.  Freeze for a few hours before serving.

Oh my, these cookies are awesome!  I normally don’t like too much chocolate and peanut butter but these cookies are addictive.  They turned out so soft and dense with a kind of cake like texture.  I was worried at first because the dough is sort of dry and stiff.  I had a hard time stirring in the chocolate peanut butter chips.  My husband had to muscle thru it for me.  But they turn out perfect once you roll them and bake them.  I made mine pretty large so I only got 24 cookies out of the recipe.  But beware, you really can’t eat just one of them!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

from Kohler Created

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup peanut butter, creamy
1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 & 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 & 1/2 cups Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirled Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and honey until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and stir until incorporated.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture. Stir in the chips.

3. Drop or roll into balls onto cookie sheets lined with parchment or a silicone mat about an inch apart.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool for at least two minutes before removing with a spatula to a wire cooling rack.

The other day I happened to be watching The Neely’s on the Food Network when something caught my eye.  They were making homemade mint ice cream with condensed milk as the base.  I’d never heard of that before so I stopped what I was doing and paid attention.

I couldn’t believe how easy this was to make.  Only 4 ingredients plus a little green food coloring and you’ve got homemade mint Oreo ice cream.  Genius!   The ice cream is thick, sweet and creamy.  A little goes a very long way!

Mint Oreo Ice Cream

from Food Network

Ingredients:

2 cups sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 & 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
12 Double Stuf Oreos, quartered and frozen
green food coloring

Directions:

1.  Gently chop Oreo cookies and place in the freezer.   In a mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, heavy cream and peppermint extract.  Add green food coloring until you get the shade of green that you would like.

2.  Pour mixture into the ice cream maker and blend for 25 – 35 minutes.  Transfer into a freezer safe container and hand mix in the frozen Oreo pieces.  Freeze for several hours  until firm.

My first attempt at homemade spaghetti sauce was so successful that it gave me the courage to try another tomato sauce recipe.  I liked my first pasta sauce recipe but it was a little to chunky for my husband’s liking.  This simple homemade tomato sauce recipe has about half of the ingredients and is actually tastier.  After cooking the sauce for an hour, process it in a food processor to achieve a smooth texture.

I love this tomato sauce recipe, it was easy and fast to make.  Not only can you use the homemade sauce on spaghetti and pasta dishes but it also works fabulous on homemade pizza!

Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce

adapted from A Sweet Pea Chef

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, with basil
2 dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

Directions:

1.  In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic, saute until translucent.

2.  Add crushed tomatoes and bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper then simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick.

3.  Remove bay leaves, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

4.  Divided in a few batches, process tomato sauce in a food processor until smooth.  Cool completely before packaging for storage in freezer.

Chicken, chicken, chicken.  So much chicken all of the time!  But, marinades make simple chicken breasts  into something extra delicious.  And this honey lime grilled chicken is so good!  We loved this recipe, it quickly rose to the top of our most liked list.  The fresh lime juice and honey gives this chicken a yummy sweetness while the spices give it a touch of heat.  I’ll tell you, I give this 2 thumbs up and encourage you to give it a try.

Honey Lime Grilled Chicken

from Simmer Down

Ingredients:

1 – 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 fresh limes, juiced
1 tablespoon honey
1 & 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1.  In a large Ziploc plastic bag, mix all of the ingredients above.  Squish the sealed bag around a bit to get the chicken mixed and coated well.  Store in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

2.  Grill marinated chicken breasts until cooked through or to your liking.  Enjoy with some fresh corn on the cob, yum!

I have to say that I absolutely love the scent of fresh baked bread.  There is nothing better than walking into a house with the aroma of homemade baked bread in the air.  It reminds me of my grandparent’s house which always seemed to smell like fresh baked bread.  With that said, I’d always been fearful to attempt baking my own bread.  That was until I came across this really simple sour cream bread recipe.

Surprisingly for my first attempt it turned out fairly well.  There were a few things I’ll do differently next time but overall it was a success.  Not only did I get the adorable loaf of bread pictured above, but I got 2 lovely loaves from this one recipe!

Sour Cream Bread

from Honey & Butter

Ingredients:

1 packet yeast
3 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 pint sour cream, room temp
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 & 1/2 to 5 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375°.  Combine the yeast, sugar and water and let sit for 5 minutes.

2.  Put the sour cream, salt and baking soda in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the yeast mixture and thoroughly combine with the paddle attachment.

3.  Switch to a dough hook and add the flour. Knead with the electric mixer for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. Turn the dough to coat with the oil and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

4.  Divide the dough in half and shape into two rounds. Place onto a greased baking sheet. Let it rise for 1-2 more hours and then bake for 30-35 minutes.

This barbecue sauce is now my absolute favorite by far.  I could not believe the flavors in this bbq sauce.  It is so delicious!  A little spicy but so worth it in the end. I told my husband that the next time I make chicken wings, this is the bbq sauce I’m gonna use.  If you like spicy and sweet all wrapped into one, this should be a must try for you.

Molasses Barbecued Chicken Breasts

from Plain Chicken

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoon molasses
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 teaspoon ground ginger

1 – 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1.  Combine all of the barbecue sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until bbq sauce thickens.

2.  Grill chicken breasts, basting both sides a few time, until cooked through.