BROWNIES

BROWNIES Florence.

2 eggs
2 sqs choc.
1 cup flour
1 cup nuts
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 lb. butter or oleo.
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp. water

Beat eggs-add sugar, beat-add melted choc.- & butter, beat-add flour, beat-add vanilla, beat-add water,beat-nuts last.

Grease pan & bake at 350 for 30 minutes

 My notes: I omitted the nuts because I am allergic to walnuts, and find most other nuts tend to get a bit soggy/chewy in brownies. I like them plain.

I baked these in an 8x8 square baking dish.

This is a good, basic brownie that is extremely quick to throw together, and hits any chocolate cravings you are having, it has great flavor.

While we liked these, and didn't have a problem finishing the pan, Greg and I agreed that it doesn't hold up against our very favorite, tried and true brownie recipe, which is the Chewy Brownie from Cook's Illustrated.

Peanut Blossoms

Peanut Blossoms

Sift to-gether: 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp. salt
Cream to-gether: 1/2 cup shortening: 1/2 cup Peanut Butter: gradually add 1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup brown sugar: cream well.
Add: 1 unbeaten egg, 2 tlbs. milk, 1 tsp vanilla beat well. Mix well with dry ingredients
Shape into balls, roll in sugar place on cookie sheet. Bake 375 8 min. Remove from oven + placed candy kiss on top of each cookie pressing down firmly. Return to oven bake 2 to 5 min. longer.

My Notes: I used a 3/4 ounce scoop to form the dough balls for these cookies, and got 32 out of the recipe (minus some dough that was sampled before forming the cookies. I put the cookies back in the oven for only 3 minutes after putting the kisses into the cookies. 
These are delicious. They remind me of my childhood, these are just like the cookies a friend's mom would often make and I loved them. The cookies has a great crackly appearance and good crisp crust but the inside is really light with a good amount of chew, and you really can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate; it's a classic.

These are the best not too long out of the oven, so the chocolate sets a little bit, but still is really soft - it's a great texture contrast.

What I love about this recipe card is that there are spots of batter on it- when I see a messy recipe, I assume it was a well loved one in the original owner's home. 

Mo's Potato's

Mo's Potato's
serves 15

24 oz frozen orada Hash Brown potatoes thawed & drained
Mix together:
2 cups sour cream
1 can crm. of chicken soup
1 stick oleo/or butter
1 tbsp. minced onion
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place potatoes in 13"x9" glass baking dish. Pour above mixture over potatoes & mix GENTLY.
Top w/ 2 cups crushed onion rings
Dot top w/ oleo/or butter

Bake @ 350 for 50 to 60 minutes



My notes: I used extra sharp cheddar, and only used 1 cup of sour cream for this, when mixing everything together 2 cups looked like it would just be too much, and my casserole turned out plenty creamy and delicious. This reminds me of the hashbrown casserole that Cracker Barrel serves - a really addictive treat that goes with any breakfast food.

Greg and I loved this and both of us had seconds. It was the perfect addition to a breakfast for dinner we were having.

The next morning I fried a cold slice of the casserole in a skillet and topped it with a sunny side up egg & fresh ground black pepper, and it was incredible.

Not in my kitchen...Five Cup Salad

Not in my kitchen...This will be a series of posts that feature items that I won't be cooking to try out, but want to scan and transcribe for posterity (and sometimes hilarity) of the recipe itself.

The reasons for not making these items will vary from it being something that just won't get eaten in my house, (like today's recipe) and I hate to waste food to just sample something, or due to food allergies/aversions that prohibit it from being in my kitchen (for example, I once got food poisoning from shrimp, and now cannot even bear the smell of it).

Five Cup Salad
1 c pineapple chunks
1 c mini mallows
1 c mandarin oranges
1 c sour cream
1 c coconut
Mix - let stand over night

I also add small jar cherries drained and seedless grapes

Quick Chocolate Mousse

Quick Chocolate Mousse

1 - 6 oz. pkg. choc. chips
2 eggs
3 tbsp. strong hot coffee
1 or 2 tbsp. rum or orange liqueur
3/4 c scalded milk

put all ingredients in a blender + blend at high speed 2 mins. pour into 4 dessert cups


My notes: For reference, scalded milk is milk that has been heated to 180F (I had to google that before starting). I used 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in place of the rum/liqueur since I make my own vanilla, so I know it's high quality and has good flavor. Plus I rarely have rum or liqueur on hand.

This recipe fits very well into 4 1/2 pint mason jars.

I chilled my mousse overnight before eating, it has a good strong chocolate flavor, but the texture wasn't as mousse-like as I was hoping for, it more closely resembled pudding instead of a fluffy mousse. For something so quick and easy though, it's hard to complain much.

I topped mine with cool whip and shaved chocolate for serving. 

Spiked Kielbasi

Spiked Kielbasi
Serves 6-8

1 1/2 lbs. kielbasi cut diagonally in 1/2 inch slices
1 cup beer without foam
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
3 T. prepared mustard
2 T. prepared horseradish

In large skilled combine sausage and beer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. In small bowl stir together brown sugar, cornstarch, mustard and horseradish.

Stir into sausage. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute until slightly thickened.


My notes: This was so delicious, the sauce has a nice sweet and sour flavor that works really well with kielbasa. For the beer I used a Yuengling lager which was good and not overpowering. I served this with pan fried perogis topped with sauteed onions. 

Coffee Cake. Grace.

Coffee Cake. Grace.

Cream 3 tbsp butter - 2/3 cup sugar
Add 1 unbeaten egg - 1 1/2 cup Flour
3 tsp baking power - 1/2 tsp salt.
Sift and add alternately with
2/3 cup milk -1 teasp vanilla - 1 lemon extract

Mix 1 tbsp sugar and cinnamon spread on top and bake in 8-8-1 p

oven 400%  Time 25 min.


My notes: Without an exact measurement on the lemon extract, 1 teaspoon is a good starting place. I liked the citrus flavor it added, but in future I will go with fresh orange or lemon juice and zest. Greg liked the top crust the cinnamon and sugar mixture created but wasn't a fan of the citrus flavor of the cake.

This cake is very moist and has a really nice light crumb and came together quickly on a weekend morning, it was almost as good the next day (didn't dry out much at all), and was especially good when a piece was split in half and put on the griddle with some butter.