donut brownies

i was craving chocolate so bad last night, so i whipped up some brownies real quick. they were so easy and SO yummy. i literally cannot stop eating them.

this is the "best brownies" recipe from Hershey's

1/2 cup butter melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

heat oven to 350, and grease desired pan. (i used 7''x11'' glass dish)
stir together the butter, sugar and vanilla. add eggs and beat well with a spoon. add flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. stir until well blended, and spread evenly into pan.

bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

*this is my own addition, i didn't feel like making the frosting that goes along with these, so i did this instead*

chocolate glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

stir all ingredients together with a fork until well blended.

when the brownies are done, poke them with a fork a few times

pour the glaze over the hot brownies and tilt pan until the glaze is all even. i poured out the extra glaze so it wouldn't puddle in the middle.

DONE!

these are seriously so yummy and gooey and delicious. they would go great with a bowl of ice cream, but are just as good all by themselves. they remind me of a chocolate cake donut!

Sesame Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I found this recipe here, but I made a few changes. We had it for dinner, and cold for lunch. Millie even loved it!

Sesame Noodles with Peanut Sauce

*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce (sriracha sauce)
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Hot water
2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon salt
12 ounces dried whole wheat spaghetti noodles (any kind really, I used thin spaghetti noodles)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 scallions (green onions), sliced thin on diagonal
1 medium carrot, grated
In blender or food processor, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds. With machine running, add hot water 1 tablespoon (for a total of about 5 tablespoons, give or take) at time until sauce has consistency of heavy cream, slightly thickened but purable. Set blender jar or workbowl aside.

DIRECTIONS:

Bring 6 quarts water to boil in stockpot over high heat. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to 6 inches from broiler element; heat broiler. Spray broiler pan or rimmed baking sheet lined with foil with cooking spray; place chicken breasts on top and broil chicken until lightly browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken over and continue to broil until thickest part is no longer pink when cut into and registers about 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Add salt and noodles to boiling water; boil noodles until tender, about 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain then toss noodles with sesame oil until evenly coated. Add shredded chicken, scallions, carrot, and sauce; toss to combine. Divide among individual bowls and serve immediately.

*the original recipe called for sesame seeds, but I couldn't find any, so I left them out. I didn't think the dish was missing anything, but it might add something extra if you want to use them!

mexican crepes

well thats what i keep calling them anyway...

first cook a tortilla in some butter

sprinkle with sugar

and a little cinnamon

add some sliced strawberries

roll it up

and enjoy!

we use the Tortilla Land uncooked tortillas (find them at costco) but you could probably used a cooked one too, it would just have to get warm instead of cook! i bet all sorts of fresh fruit would be good in this... just use whatever you have in the fridge!

peace-ful

this picture was taken when Millie was 2 days old. when i look at this picture, i feel like i am right back there in that hospital bed. it truly was peace that i felt laying there, looking at my brand new, perfect little baby girl.

Peace.

Washington DC temple. 

-Cass

peace

Colt's final resting place.

peace

the second peak from the left is mount Owen. I thought it was appropriate :)

Spinach Quiche

I made this for my friend's baby shower this morning, and it turned out great! I was a little skeptical because I had never used feta in a quiche before, or spinach even, but it was SO yummy! I had to hurry and grab the last piece before it all got eaten up! I used Martha Stewart's recipe, but made some changes.

Makes 2 quiches

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter (I used olive oil)
• 3 shallots, minced (I used 1 yellow onion)
• 3 bunches flat-leaf spinach, thick stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (about 2 cups) (My grocery store didn't have gruyere, so I used crumbled feta)
• 1 recipe Basic Pie Dough, fitted into two 9-inch pie plates ( I was lazy and used the frozen ones!)
• 8 large eggs
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (Didn't have this, still turned out great)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium. Add shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add as much spinach to skillet as will fit; season with salt and pepper, and toss, adding more spinach as room becomes available, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Transfer spinach mixture to a colander. Press firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Divide spinach mixture and cheese between prepared crusts. Place each crust on a separate rimmed baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Dividing evenly, pour egg mixture into crusts.
4. Arrange baking sheets on racks, and bake until center of each quiche is just set, 55 to 60 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through. Let quiches stand 15 minutes before serving.

Cookie Dough Pops

I wanted to eat cookie dough today and not cookies, so I found this recipe. Perfect. In the end I felt just as sick as I thought I would be. Gross. Never again. In case anybody else wants to never eat cookie dough again make these. They are so good, you will eat way to many - making yourself sick, and never wanting cookie dough again. Problem solved, or something like that.

- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini would have worked better, but who has those hanging around)
- Melting chocolate. I used the kind from Michaels.
- Lollipop sticks

1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, and salt.

2. In a second larger bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.

3. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 20).

5. Put the sticks in the dough. To make sure the lollipop stick stays in place, I melt a handful of chocolate chips and dip the stick in them then press it into the cookie dough.

6.  Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm

7. Melt chocolate and dip! I dipped just once and the dribbled some melted butterscotch chips on top.

I am really embarrassed of my after picture, for one they look horrible. Two, I grabbed the camera and snapped  in  a rush, hoping I got a picture and this is the best I got. Opps.

Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders

I have made these a couple times now and I am already craving them. I made them the first time for my hubby, his dad and brother and they were a HUGE hit. They pretty much licked the pan clean. They have an awesome taste and for a "man" meal my mother in law and I really enjoyed them too.

I took this directly from the Pioneer Womens website, and you should really go take a look because she has really great pictures. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/12/spicy-whiskey-bbq-sliders/

Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders:

IngredientsPreparation Instructions

• 2 pounds Ground Meat (beef, Bison, Turkey)
• Salt And Pepper
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1/2 cup Whiskey
• 1 cup Barbecue Sauce
• 1/4 cup Jarred Jalapeno Slices (more To Taste)
• 12 whole Slider Buns Or Dinner Rolls, Split

Form the meat into 12 (or so) miniature patties and salt and pepper them on both sides. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the patties until just about done in the middle, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the patties from the skillet and set aside. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease, then return the skillet to the stove.

Throw the diced onions in the skillet and stir to cook, about 3 minutes. Pour in whiskey (be careful if you're cooking over an open flame; turn it off momentarily to be extra careful) and stir. Allow the whiskey to reduce by half, about 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in jalapenos and the barbecue sauce.

Reduce the heat to low and place the patties in the barbecue sauce, turning to coat. Allow the patties to simmer in the sauce until everything's hot and bubbly.

Place the patties on individual buns and be sure to spoon extra sauce (with the jalapenos!) over the top of each one before topping with the other half of the bun.

** Ok and it does say spicy, but for my kids I just took the jalapenos off and it was just fine for them. Plus the whiskey made them sleep like champs that night. hahaha just kiddin

puffed pancake

(image via)

I've been seeing these around pinterest and blogs lately and so i decided to try it! and I am SO glad I did! It is so yummy, and SO easy!

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
dash of salt
dash of cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

-preheat oven to 425 degrees
-put butter in pie pan and stick it in the oven to melt the butter and heat the pan*
-whisk together the rest of the ingredients and pour into the hot pan
-cook for about 10 minutes, until it is firm and puffed around the edges

serve right away with fruit and powdered sugar or maple syrup!

you can also add the fruit in before you bake the pancake if thats what you like (and I do). I put some fresh blueberries in, and it was delicious! However, the pancake will not puff as dramatically if you put the fruit in before cooking.

*before pouring the batter in the pan, coat the bottom and sides with the melted butter so the pancake doesn't stick!

slackers

GIRLS, what the ??? I have been too lazy to take pictures of my food, but I have been cooking a ton lately. I will try to be better. AND I started a new blog, come follow it:

http://www.courtneysland.blogspot.com/

Also, Cassidy: what the heck are you doing in this picture?

Cap'n Crunch Berries Treats

+

+ a stick of butter = 

so good.