Go Green!
GO GREEN… you hear it everywhere! Not only is going green good for the environment, it is good for your stomach and health too – and its not so bad for helping you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day either!
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Bacon & Eggs
I enjoy being crafty… which is why I love cooking so much – I get to “craft” tasty treats which hopefully look awesome, but if they don’t then you just eat them up quickly and enjoy the taste while forgetting the looks!
Ranch Dressing
Who doesn’t love ranch dressing!?
When we were little kids, ok, well always, we love dipping our veggies (or chips or breadsticks, or whatever) it in! The only bad thing is all the preservatives and who really knows what goes into it. Here is your solution (which is a lot easier than I would have thought)!
(all measurements approximate)
makes about 1 cup
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk (or regular – just add another dash or vinegar or lemon juice)
1/4 cup sour cream, full fat or light
2 tablespoons (1-2 stalks) chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 small peeled garlic clove
1 tablespoon [apple cider] vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In the bowl of a food processor, add the green onions, garlic, and parsley. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse just until combined. Dressing will keep for about a week in the fridge (if it lasts that long!)
So whip up a [double] batch over the weekend and you are set to dip those healthy veggies all week!
If you are super concerned about the mayo not being as ‘healthy’ as the rest of it – start making your own, but I personally love all the new Olive Oil based may (currently have Kraft since it was what was on sale & I had a coupon for last time I ran out)!
‘Authentic’ Gumbo
I think that I am a little late for the whole Mardi Gras thing this year (didn’t miss Fat Tuesday though!) but I ended my Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras with some good ‘ole Gumbo. For Christmas this past year Rich’s whole family all got me cooking …
Fat Tuesday BAKED Donuts
I decided while in school yesterday that I wanted to make donuts for Fat Tuesday today (but I hate frying things and was not going to find & buy the cool new donut pan). After talking to my resident baking expert in my building, I …
BROWNIES – 2 ways
Everyone LOVES brownies… seriously, what is not to love!? I have recently baked up two different brownies for people that I care a lot about.
Brownies #1 – Brownies from a box (doctored up a little) that are so totally amazing!! A few weeks ago I chaperoned my High School’s Theatre trip to NYC to see Addam’s Family, starring Nathan Lane 🙂 I ‘promised’ my director and his wife (my building’s band teacher) who both happen to be great friends (and frequent readers of my blog) that I would make brownies – so I couldn’t let them down! I got up early before heading into school and whipped up a batch of these super-easy & super-amazing brownies for good friends as well as the high schoolers who were on our bus (and a great bunch of talented, helpful, sweet kids). Due to the AM rush, there are no photos of these… but I’ll make them again!
Oh yeah – talking about those great kids… they perform Bye Bye Birdie THIS WEEKEND (March 3 – 5, 2011) & as their Properties Mistress (and a fan of the Bangor High School Theatre Department) they are great! I’m just home from Opening Night & proud of them, so hopefully you read this before the run is over and get to see the show, I’m going to miss a lot of these kids who are graduating this year and put out as much time on stage as they do for the backstage work. The BAHS Class of 2011 is leaving big shoes to fill!
Brownies #2 After making cupcakes for my Big Boulder Ski School Family last weekend, I got a request for Brownies – so immediately, my thoughts went to this “better than *bleep* brownies” recipe that I had bookmarked a while ago! I ended up spending my Saturday with my Bangor kids for Bye Bye Birdie, then woke up Sunday with a migraine – but when I finally made it up to the mountain just after lunch on Sunday my Ski School Family inhaled these!
They were pretty good – but in the words of Jolene (elementary band & production manager extrodienair) “these are good, but not sure if they are better than bleep”. My parents didn’t like the rice crispy top. I thought the flavors were good, but the textures were off – so I’ll have to work on a chocolate/peanut butter/with crunch brownie that works.
COMPARING: survey says… (keep in mind, these were made almost 2 months apart) the easier to make Chocolate Caramel Brownies are the Winner!
Brownie #1 – Chocolate Caramel Brownies (from a box – nice!)
- 1 [18.25-oz] package German chocolate cake mix (or whatever)
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 14-oz. package individually wrapped caramels
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside. Combine cake mix, butter, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and vanilla. Mix well and spread ½ of the batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes.
Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. OR just use about 1/2 a container of caramel ice cream topping!!! Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the partially cooked brownies. Pour the melted caramel mixture over the top and with a teaspoon, drop the remaining ½ of the batter evenly over the top. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Let cool (pop in the freezer if you just can’t wait at this point) and cut into bars.
Brownie #2 – “Better than Beep Brownies”
For the Brownie Layer:
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup flour
In a large bowl, beat together all ingredients until smooth. Spread into the bottom of a lightly greased 8×8 inch baking dish. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until the brownie is cooked through. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl, beat together peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar until softened. (I also added some milk as needed which was not called for – but I needed to soften & cream it up a bit). Press atop cooled brownie.
For the Chocolate Krispie Layer
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal
In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, melt the milk chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream together for 45 seconds or so. Stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds, if needed. Just enough to make the mixture melty, smooth, and creamy. Stir in Rice Krispies cereal. Immediately spread over peanut butter layer. (feel free to throw in some mini marshmallows the 2nd time you throw it in the microwave too). Allow layer to cool & set before slicing & serving. (store in the fridge)