Three-tier brownies

There are certain foods I will only make on Sunday afternoons. Why Sunday afternoons?

1. My boys are usually napping, which gives me at least an hour to do my thing.

2. There is still daylight for taking quality photos of food.

3. There are only a handful of waking hours remaining for me to stuff whatever I make into my mouth.

4. I work the following day, so I can bring what is left over to the office.

This is one of my Sunday foods. I waited until the last possible second to start making these (and oops, ended up running out of daylight) because I knew they would be dangerous to have around for too long. I was right. They were very very dangerous. Somehow, perhaps due to childcare distractions, I was able to stay mostly away and only eat one single brownie. Elijah and Dan shared another and I brought the rest to work the next morning so they could be devoured by coworkers.

I like having a plan in place! Setting myself up for the least amount of temptation is good because otherwise I would start slowly expanding like Violet did inside Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

First of all, have a plan. Or not. Go crazy, if you'd like. Then preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. There are three main layers to these brownies. For the bottom layer, stir together in a small bowl:

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Stir in 1/2 cup melted butter.

Press evenly into bottom of an ungreased 11x7x1.5-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

While the bottom layer is baking, you can start preparing the middle layer.

In a medium bowl, stir together until smooth:

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Fold in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Spread evenly over the bottom layer. Bake for about 25 minutes more or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the top layer, in a medium saucepan, combine:

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 Tablespoons butter

Cook and stir over low heat until melted.

Remove from heat and stir in:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

This is what mine looked liked after stirring. Still very dry.

Stir in between 1 and 4 tablespoons of hot water (1 tablespoon at a time) to make a mixture of spreading consistency. It took me 4 tablespoons to get a mixture that looked spreadable.

Spread chocolate mixture over middle layer.

Chop 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate.

Sprinkle chopped chocolate over top of the brownies and allow to cool completely. I didn't follow the cooling rules, but from what I heard the next day at work, they are delicious both warm and cool. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable recipe!

2 of my 3

Chicken rice avocado soup

There are a handful of things about this time of year that I do not enjoy. The long, snowy commutes to and from work. The way the insides of my nostrils freeze together on really cold days. The fact that I rarely see daylight. Slipping on ice. On most days, I classify these as slight annoyances, thanks to the many wonderful things this time of year brings. Christmas cookies. Cuddling in bed with snuggly warm babies. Playing in the snow. Skiing. Christmas decorations. Christmas movies. Christmas music. The joy of gift-giving. Time with family. And SOUP! Comforting, warm, delicious soup!

I love those winter evenings where my boys and I are all at home, snuggled inside our warm, cozy, Christmas-lit house. Maybe we have music playing or perhaps a Christmas-themed show is on tv. The smell of a simmering soup surrounds us and makes the house even cozier.

Uhh, and then a tantrum occurs and baby screams drown out the lovely Christmas music and I say, "Is that SOUP DONE YET?" Because eating a bowl of warm soup is so very comforting.

This soup especially. It is one of the most delicious, comforting, satisfying soups I have made in a while.

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Season 4 boneless chicken breast halves with salt and pepper and add to the skillet.

Cook 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown, on each side.

Transfer chicken to a work surface and cut into bite-size pieces.

Add 3/4 of a small, chopped ren onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes (save the other 1/4 of the onion for later).

Add 1 pound of cubed red potatoes and cook for 1 more minute.

Return cubed chicken to the skillet.

Add:

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

32 oz. chicken broth (4 cups)

3 cups water

Bring to a boil.

Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in:

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 peeled, cubed avocado

Scoop into bowls and top each with:

A pinch of chopped fresh parsley

Chopped red onion

A dollup of sour cream

Prepare to be comforted and all-around pleased.

Click here for a printable recipe!

Jalapeno bacon wraps

I've been slacking a bit with the writing and don't see an end to that so I thought I'd do another very greasy recipe. I learned this from a friend a few years ago and have indulged in the greasy goodness several times. Be warned, this is not a heart-friendly food.

Jalapeno bacon wraps

 Ingredients:

Directions:

Split jalapenos down the middle and remove seeds 

Cook sausage

 Melt in cream cheese with sausage

 Stuff jalapenos with cream cheese/sausage mix

 Wrap with bacon

Cook at 350 until bacon is to your liking (broiling also works and I've begun

to prefer it because it's easier to get all sides of the bacon cooked) 

Enjoy!

Spinach basil pesto

My husband has a knack for buying the most perfect gifts without ever having to ask me what I want. He keeps his ears open and logs everything in the back of his brain for later use. Smart man, don't you think? Without fail, I am genuinely surprised upon opening at least one Christmas gift and one birthday gift every year. He's mine, you can't have him!

Because of all of the insane cooking and food photography I do these days, my thoughtful husband knew that I might enjoy a fun new kitchen toy. I mentioned wanting to make some holiday hummus recipes a while back, and lightly lamented about not owning a food processor. A week later, as he stood in the kitchen making dinner, he said to me, "Will you go peek in storage and let me know if we have any toilet paper? You know, the soft kind?" What the...?? Being in the tired fog that encumbers most of my sleepless life as of late, I opened the door leading into our storage room to look for TP for my husband. Who was cooking.

And what do you think I found? A shiny new food processor, of course! EEEEeeeeeeee!!!!! Jumping, squealing, clapping and high-fiving all followed. And then I sat down to write out my list of Food Processor-Related Recipes To Make!

This pesto recipe was one of the first foods to meet my new toy, and it is so. so. so. very. tasty. We tried it in/with so many different foods, and it did not last long at all. We wiped every single smudge of green from that bowl.

Gather the following ingredients:

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh spinach

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts (can I take a brief moment to say HOLY GOODNESS, pine nuts are expensive!)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

Throw the basil, garlic and pine nuts into a food processor.

Pulse until coarsely chopped.

With the food processor running, gradually add the olive oil and process until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and black pepper.

Alternative options for this recipe:

Replace basil with 1 cup fresh parsley, 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves and 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme.

Substitute walnuts for pine nuts if you don't want to spend FIFTEEN DOLLARS on a tiny jar.

Ebby had mentioned to me that she loved adding pesto to rice, so I gave this a try. I added to it: chopped red bell pepper, chopped tomatoes and chopped jalapeno peppers. It was FANTASTIC! I made this at 10:00 in the morning, and it was gone by 10:15. Nice.

I threw a few spoonfuls of pesto into cooked spagetti the following morning, for another mid-morning snack, along with chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of black pepper. Again, FANTASTIC.

And then for lunch that same day, because by this time I was a complete pesto addict, I made this delicious pesto crab grilled cheese sandwich.

And that night, guess what?! More pesto! Wooooo! We used it as a dip for cubed, cooked venison steaks, veggies and pita bread.

And by that time, our pesto bowl was empty, sides licked clean and all.

Please share your own pesto recipes/uses!

Click here for a printable recipe!