Mocha Brownies

Dear Readers and fellow GT tailgaters...

Yes...I make the brownies...game in game out...with peanut butter...without peanut butter...blah blah blah...but as most of you know brownies are NOT my favorite. But this little recipe over at Beki's...just might change my mind!!!!

Go check it out:

Mocha Brownies

Not so "Perfect Brownie" Pan

Yep I'm the brownie girl...I don't even really like brownies...but the tailgaters/friends/hubbie...love my brownies. So it would seem natural that I should ask for a "Perfect Brownie" Pan for Christmas. My wish was granted. And I wanted to try some brownies that I too...might actually like...so I tried the Marble Cheesecake Brownies right out of the book that came with the pan...and followed the directions to a T. Here they go in yesterday...

C.J. helped mix them and then wanted the oven light on so he could see them baking and kept talking about how he could smell them and they smelled like chocolate...and he wanted one...boy he was EXCITED!

Then the timer went off and I took them out...and let them cool a little like the book said...then tried to take the divider out...ummm what? Why are they not done and running all over the place?

So I put them in the fridge like it says...

Apparently these never get cake-y...after chilling they do firm up. Jake and C.J. love them...me...still not so much. Ug...well I'm so glad Britt is the cookie girl...she makes the best cookies...(and Suzanne makes the best rice krispy treats and Susan makes the best cupcakes and Mom makes the best pumpkin pie...and Cassie makes the best...trail mix.)

Reindeer Sandwiches

Want an easy, cute little lunch for the holidays...I found this in one of my cookbooks for kids...

Today I made it...PB&J with raisins for eyes, a smashed gummy for a nose, Dorito antlers...C loves carrots so...having the reindeer eat them was just a bonus...
He liked it.

As you can tell by the peanut butter schmeared face...

And the raisins went quickly so the reindeer soon had carrot eyes...

And Avery stayed close by in hopes of catching flying peanut butter crumbs...

Happy Lunching...

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 rotisserie chicken OR 2 or 3 chicken breasts cooked and chopped
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 bottle wing sauce
1 8 oz bottle ranch OR blue cheese
1 8 oz bag of shredded cheese (mozzarella, Monterrey jack, Cheddar, a blend, whatever you like)

1 Spread cream cheese in bottom of 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch pan.
2 In separate bowl mix 1/2 bottle of wing sauce and chicken.
3 Spread chicken mixture over cream cheese.
4 Pour ranch OR blue cheese over over chicken mixture.
5 Sprinkle cheese over top.
6 Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbling.

Serve with Ritz or tortilla chips.

Pumpkin Pie Bites!!!

Do you know how much I L-O-V-E pumpkin pie? ? ? ! ! ! (And pumpkin spice lattes too) Well these will be made at my house:

http://www.bakerella.com/pumpkin-pie-bites/

Bakerella has tons of cute "little" ideas...

Banana Bread Pie

I made the pie... Banana Bread Pie



We like the pie...

Seriously...somebody hand me some rotting bananas...i must have a piece of this!!!

Banana Bread Pie

Home Hair Removal?

ok Petchy is very cool. she's on my side bar you know. look what she has come up with now! i am going to give this a stinkin try. heck what do i have to loose? i have all the ingredients. you might too. let me know if you try it and i'll blog it after i do.

http://madebypetchy.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-make-your-own-hair-removal-wax.html

Ps: I tried a online conversion chart...I think the US recipe would be:

1 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon of honey
1/3 cup lemon juice

Corrie

May 5 attempt one...didn't make it thick enough? used lime juice perhaps that had something to do with it?

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend or reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
2 tablespoons chopped green onions (2 medium)
Whole grain crackers or celery sticks, if desired

1 Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in dressing, buffalo wing sauce and water until blended. Stir in chicken and cheese. Spread in ungreased 1-quart baking dish or 9-inch pie plate; cover with foil.
2 Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir; top with onions. Serve hot with crackers or celery sticks.

Notes by Corrie…I used regular cheddar cheese, more chicken….and no onions. Also you can use low fat stuff or blue cheese dressing. I made this dip for the first time on Saturday and took it to a cook out. They ate it up! Next time I will use Colby-Monterey Jack. And a vidalia onion.

Wondering Golfer

Sunday after church and a stop by Aldi...i made by request hamburger patties (1 pound ground chuck, 1 egg, oatmeal, Worcestershire sauce, Dale's sauce) for Jake to grill. And our wondering golfer...roamed the yard while the grilling took place.

Snow & Snowcream

Yep...our local weather man, Glenn Burns, had it right this time...62 yesterday and snowing today! ! ! Wecome to Georgia! If you have some sprinkled in your yard...serve it up to the kids as is, with koolaid poured over the top or make snowcream...it is good for their immune system...just not the yellow snow ;) C.J. prefers his snow plain in a Georgia Tech cup with a spoon. Yeah...he's a lefty...like me!

Bad Recipes

ok...I don't like to cook, but i wish i could cook good food? lets just say if i ever win the powerball lottery i will never cook supper again (breakfast and grilled turkey and cheese for lunch i can handle). so i get in moods and try new recipes. my mom got me Jessica Seinfelds cookbook Deceptively Delicious last year...this week i tried the Blueberry Oatmeal Bars...YUCk...super dry...like an oatmeal desert not dessert in your mouth...we choked it down with ice cream. then tonight i tried the chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas in them...gross...super salty chickpeas in cakey cookies...what a waste of chocolate chips...and because these have chocolate in them i can't even feed them to Avery, our dog. i usually write in the books by the recipes after i make them...so i know what to do differently the next time i make it or to avoid it all together. AVOID THESE!

Ps...to Mom, Cassie & Jake...yes i actually followed both of the recipes to the T...i didn't add anything crazy like french vanilla creamer to tuna helper because we had no milk...i was in college and very hungry when that happened. can we move on from that?

Easy Blueberry Cobbler

Mmmm...I'm baking again? I looked around to see what I already had and could use. So I made cheater blueberry cobbler...and it was good with Mayfield IceCreamier Vanilla last night...and warmed up in the microwave this a.m. for breakfast.

I'm sure you could use peaches or blackberries, etc instead.

PB and J French Toast

This week on Good Morning America they made something that sounded delicious. I told my husband about it and he said “oh you are making that Saturday morning!” So I did…with a few minor changes to the recipe…of course. (I didn’t use heavy cream…I used more milk. I didn’t soak the sandwiches for 3 minutes like they said to on the show because they were too soggy for our taste. I used real vanilla extract from our honeymoon in Cancun. And in my sandwiches I used syrup not jelly…like I eat my regular PB sandwich.) Jake and C.J. liked it…and Jake actually liked the ones WITH syrup NOT jelly better…and he loves globby grape Welchs jelly dropping out of his regular sandwiches…GAG ME!

Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
8 slices brioche or other soft bread
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup fruit preserves
Butter for coating pan

In a wide shallow dish combine milk, cream, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and scraped vanilla bean. Spread the bread slices evenly with the peanut butter and jelly and form sandwiches.

Dip assembled sandwiches in batter, coating each side evenly. Heat a large cast iron or non-stick griddle over medium heat.

Grease pan with butter. When butter starts to sizzle, turn heat up a notch. Place sandwiches on the griddle and cook, 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Cut diagonally and serve with maple syrup
Courtesy of Marc Meyer, Co-Owner of Five Points, Cookshop and Hundred Acres

Two Urban Licks

Christmas Round One...The Coles

We gathered in Dallas, GA...ate a massive brunch...C.J. helped us all open presents...took naps and ventured to our NOT usual Japanese dinner. We chose to cruise to the ATL and enjoy dinner at TWO URBAN LICKS. Jake and I had been a few times...and loved it so we decided to share it with the fam...actually we talk about it every time we are all at our house but have never made it down there (only 45 minutes away). On that Saturday night it was not packed (yeah) and too warm for the art gas fire structure that we were seated right in front of (boo)! ! ! We all enjoyed our delicacies...and Patrick learned a great lesson...Just order the fillet!

Sunday Night

For lunch I made a favorite bread that we have not had in a long time...Party Biscuits...sweet simple biscuits...the recipe is below. And I sewed all afternoon...on this little lovely. I'll tell you tomorrow what it is.

Party Biscuits
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup or ½ pint heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of sugar
Spray muffin tin…mix…pour…
Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees…

Makes 6 sweet light fluffy yummy biscuits.

I told you it was easy.

Jake Made...

Today I didn't make anything, instead I taught Jake how to make something...Jessica Simpson Chicken & Dumplings. It is soooo easy...she was on Rachael Ray 2 weeks ago and bless her heart...the dish is good. Here is the link to the recipe http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/jessica-simpsons-chicken-dumplings/

I did make a step of faith today and ordered my first batch of blank shirts (34) from a Vendor! So Tuesday I'll be up to my eyeballs in fabric pumpkins and turkey feathers! I am very excited! Oh...C.J. got a hair cut yesterday...we couldn't deal with it in his eyes anymore even though I wanted to try the shaggie look...she left it pretty long...and he didn't even think about crying!

Wonkie Scarf

Today I made a scarf...it turned out a bit wonkie...I'll still wear it...it'll be my wonkie scarf. Oh and the Brunswick Stew was Fab....so here is the SO EASY recipe...you just dump it all in a pot and let it get hot...
Shanda Hill’s Easy Brunswick Stew
1 small can white chunk chicken
1 can creamed corn
1 can nibblet corn
1 can Castleberry's BBQ beef
1 can Castleberry's pork
1 lg can of petite diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
I added…
½ bottle of our favorite BBQ Sauce Sticky Fingers Carolina Sweet
And hot sauce and sugar to taste (and I did not add a can of pork)