Brownies!!!

Happy Thursday! We are almost to the weekend! Yay!!

This week has been a little crazy but actually most consistent and less surprised crazy than previous weeks. I still managed a little me time in all the craziness and part of that included making homemade brownies!

I had a hankering for cupcakes and/or brownies the other night. I got the hankering at about 10 o’clock at night though, so my lazier side kicked in (and my healthier “you should not be eating cupcakes and/or brownies this late at night” side) and I managed to put off making to the brownies until yesterday. Haha!

I decided to give making made from scratch brownies a shot. I had never done so and it looked pretty straight forward. Guys, let me just tell you, it was super simple. I will not be buying boxed brownies anymore lol. It takes about the same amount of work as making boxed brownies and I already had everything in the house already. No need to go to the store!

While it may be super simple, I still managed to mess it up a bit. They taste delicious, don’t get me wrong! However, I did not cook them long enough….

I snagged the recipe from Lindsay over at Life, Love, and Sugar. The recipe was super easy to follow so I highly recommend checking it out on her blog! You can see the recipe here.

Here is my attempt:

I got everything mixed together here and it is looking yummy! The batter definitely tasted delicious!

I can’t say I’m the cleanest when it comes to making food… the kitchen usually looks like a disaster zone for a bit when I am done.

As you can see, it doesn’t look the prettiest. It eventually deflated. I need to bake it longer next time.

A little crumbly, a little gooey but super delicious either way! Goes perfect with a glass of milk! Yum yum yum!

Next attempt, cupcakes. I am craving some homemade cupcakes and some homemade frosting. It has definitely been too long.

Do you have a scratch made brownie recipe that you go to? What is your favorite brownie recipe?

Thanks for reading!

Ashley

November 4: 3 of My Favorite Meals

Alrighty, so I figured since I shared my favorite foods I should share my favorite meals as well. Surprisingly, none of them contain chocolate or goat cheese and usually not a whole lot of garlic! Lol! It happens?! They also go across a wide spectrum of styles.

1~ Chicken and Biscuits from Cheesecake Factory

So stinking yummy! There is so much food there and you usually can’t finish it but it is so delicious that you can’t help but take another bite. It isn’t until 5 bites later that you realize that was not a good idea. Lol!

2~ Beef Kofta with Baba Ganoush

Oh man! After working in a Lebanese restaurant on my summers home from college I was hooked. Kofta and Baba Ganoush is so delicious! I am always on the lookout for this delicious dish no matter where I live.

3~ Fresh Fajitas (usually chicken) with Guacamole

So so yummy! I love delicious, fresh hispanic food. I also have a love affair with guacamole. Oh man, I love guacamole almost as much as garlic. Haha!

So there you have it, my favorite three meals! What are meals that you can’t get enough of?!

See ya!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

The weather is getting cooler and the colors are changing and more get togethers seem to be happening. You know what this means?! Baking season! TJ has already made his first loaf of bread! What?! Is it time already?! I love baking season! I know I know some people bake all the time, but honestly I just do not want to turn the oven on in the summer. It makes the house way too hot! You know what I’m saying?! So, that being sad I have had my first attempt at sugar cookies at altitude. They weren’t terrible but I definitely learned my lesson lol. These ones were different than the ones I grew up with. They were chocolate and oh so delicious!

I got the recipe from Julie over at Table for Two. Check out her blog, she has some super delicious recipes on there!

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• 14 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1¾ cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets. Place granulated sugar in a shallow dish and set aside. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

Microwave 10 tbsp. butter, covered, in a large bowl until melted, about 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir in remaining 4 tbsp. of butter until melted. Allow butter to cool to 90-95 degrees, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and melted butter together until no lumps remain. Add in the egg and yolk and mix until smooth. Gently add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Working with small balls of dough at a time, roll balls in granulated sugar and divide between baking sheets. Using a bottom of a drinking glass, flatten cookies to 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle each sheet of cookies with 1½ tsp. remaining granulated sugar.

Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are slightly puffy and edges have begun to set, about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.

See, here they look super fluffy and delicious! They did not stay that way! Add some extra flour my friends when cooking at altitude!

Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before serving.

They got flat and kind of crunchy! When they turn out like this, serve with ice cream or lots of milk!

Have you ever made chocolate sugar cookies before?

See ya!

P.S. This recipe was taken from Table for Two, I did not come up with this recipe.

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

Hey guys!

Lately I have been having such a crazy craving for Strawberry Lemonade. No, no I am not pregnant. I have just been cutting out caffeine and soda for the most part for a while. Which, side note, if you have not given that a shot, do so! Getting off of caffeine will change your life! Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programing. Since I have been cutting these guys out that means I really had to find some other drink alternatives. Water is great and all but sometimes you just need something more! Hence the reason for Strawberry Lemonade. Wendy’s has some delicious Strawberry Lemonade but I just do not have the luxury of going everyday all day. My tummy would not appreciate that too much.

The other night I was really wanting some more Strawberry Lemonade and was not willing to go out and get some. I realized I had the ingredients right here at home and gave it a whirl! So easy and even more delicious than going to Wendy’s to get some!

I found the recipe over here and honestly just cannot get enough of it!

Ingredients:

1 pound or so strawberries
2 lemons
8 cups water
3/4 cups honey
1/4 cup sugar

The reason for the honey is to cut back on the overly processed sugar. It also gives a really nice flavor too. 

So, you take the lemons and the strawberries and you cut the ends off of them. Then you cut them into quarters. I spaced on taking a picture of this but you get the idea.

Keep the peels on the lemons. You then blend all the fruit with two cups of water. Put the honey over the mixture and then liquify for about a minute or so. I think I did mine a little longer but I was slightly distracted at that point.

You then grab a strainer and pour the liquid through. You are going to need a baking spatula to help it through. Honestly I think this was the most tedious part of the procedure but well worth it!

I had all of this stuff left over and took it out of the strainer until I had gotten everything out of the blender then I ran the rest of the water through this stuff.

After putting everything through, I came away with almost a pitched and a half!

I let those refrigerate for an hour and then had myself a glass!

Super delicious! Now that I know how easy this was and how much more delicious it was, I have a feeling I will continue making my own homemade lemonade!

See ya!

Make Breakfast Special

So many times during the week I just have a rushed breakfast as I head out the door for work. I definitely do not take the time to enjoy my breakfast. I have been trying lately to have at least one day a week where I make breakfast a little more special. Some times it is eggs and bacon. Some times it is going out for breakfast. Today it was something similar to what my mom called Monkey Bread when I was growing up. I got this recipe from Nicole and Lurlyn at The Jones Way

Ingredients:

~ 2 small tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits OR 1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
~ 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
~1/2 C. pancake syrup (any brand you like, I used Mrs. Buttersworth)
~1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
~1/2 tsp. cinnamon
~1/4 C. chopped pecans, optional
~1/4 C. chopped almonds, optional

Directions:

Preheat over to 375. Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray.

Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired). 

Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan.

Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.

 Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring.

 Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. 

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

 

TJ was home so I figured making him some breakfast since he has been working so stinking hard!

It was a great way to wake him up this morning! He loved it and it was super tasty! 

 

Always a huge hit!

Do you have a way to make breakfast special at your house? 

 

See ya! 

 

Party Salad!

The other night, our friend TJ (not my TJ) had a Celebration of the Table party! He had made this beautiful table and wanted to celebrate it by having a feast! We never turn down an opportunity for delicious home cooked food. All of our friends make delicious food and so we were pretty excited. I had every intention of taking my camera to the party but I completely spaced. It was super fun with about 25 people there. We had ribs, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, grilled peaches and I brought a Black Bean and Corn Salad. I figured some veggies would be a nice addition to help balance things out. 

I got the recipe from Carrie over at Making Lemonade. Check it out and check out her great blog! Say hello while you’re there!

Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed, and drained (or 1 1/2 cup of freshly cooked black beans)

1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled)

1/2 cup chopped green onions or shallots

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced, or 1 whole pickled jalapeno pepper, minced (not seeded)

3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks

1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

2 Tbsp lime juice (about the amount of juice from one lime)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

You mix everything together except for the sugar and the salt and pepper. 

After you have it all mixed together, you add the sugar and salt and pepper to taste. 

I ended up tripling the recipe because of how big the party was and it turned out perfectly!

If you are looking for a healthy addition to your summer parties, this is the way to go! It is so tasty and was a hit! 

What is a must have at your summer parties?

See ya!  

V- Very delicious and Very healthy!

I love dessert. I feel like we have had this conversation. I love sweets too. Yum yum! So when I stumbled upon this quinoa apple bite recipe, I was sold. It is really pretty healthy for you and it is super tasty! Yum!

You can find the original recipe here.

It is dairy free!

Ingredients:

1 Cup cooked quinoa
1 Cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup chopped apples
2 eggs, lightly beaten

You mix all the ingredients together until just combined. Make sure you add them in order so that the mix well!

The you place about a tablespoon of the mixture or so in a greased mini muffin tin and you bake them for about 15-20 minutes.

Easy and delicious!

Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

See ya!

P.S. sorry about the quality of pictures as of late. I have been taking pictures with my phone because my camera charger cannot be found and when I am out and about I forget to get a new one.

O- Oatmeal!

Yesterday, I came home from work with a major migraine. So, I apologize for not posting my O post. But, in a way I am glad that I postponed until today because I am eating the most delicious oatmeal for breakfast! I love love love strawberries. They are one of my favorite fruit. I have also gotten into eating more yogurt lately. I found this yogurt called Noosa that is just delicious and good for you. I found this recipe here on pinterest. Oh man, once I saw that I was sold! That was definitely what I was in the mood for this morning!

So, I took my oatmeal…

I made plain oatmeal, because you definitely do not want any other flavor for this recipe.

I then added 1/4 cup of yogurt, a tablespoon of honey, and a couple of strawberries all cut up. This is how delicious it turned out!

 

It is a great way to get nutrients. You have yogurt and oatmeal which is great for your digestive system and strawberries which are just delicious and honey. Yum!

You should definitely give it a shot!

See ya!

N- New Car and Noodles!

We have a second car! It was most definitely needed! TJ is starting to do more work at his other job and I am still full-time at REI so we needed a second car. Plus, his job is up more in the mountains so we needed one that was more fuel efficient. We found one! It has been so awesome!
We got a little Honda Fit. Great gas mileage!

Its like a mini mini van. It is awesome!

I also made this awesome recipe called Chicken Spaghetti but there is no red sauce in it. I found it here on pinterest.
It was a little time consuming but once it was all said and done, it was delicious!
I started with the chicken, I needed to precook it. 

I did that and shredded it up while I was sautéing the veggies.

 

I love the smell of sautéing onions. I also had the noodles going at this point.

Once they were all done, I mixed them all together with the velveeta mixture and put it in the oven.

 

I let it bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden and juicy. Now, I forgot to take a picture after it came out of the oven because I was too excited to eat it. But I managed to get a picture before we finished this batch!

How yummy! So so yummy!

You really should give it a shot!

See ya!

L- Love Me Some Ice Cream!

As I may have mentioned, I love ice cream! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The only time I ever refuse ice cream is if I am feeling particularly queasy. But, I love ice cream! I like most flavors! I love adding things, including edible bowls that I can eat them out of. So, when I saw this post on pinterest, I knew I had to try it!

Sugar cookie cups! It was originally used for fruit cups but I figured ice cream would taste just as good. And it did. 🙂

So I took the log of cookie dough partially out of the package and sliced it in circles. I then placed them on an upside down cupcake pan. I only made four because there is only TJ and I. 

I did not push them down around the edge or anything. Just set it on top.

 

I put it in the oven at 350 degrees. I just kind of kept an eye on them, I did not keep track of the time. My bad.

I just waited until they were getting golden. They smelled delicious!

Perfect for one scoop of ice cream! So yummy and so much fun!

Give it a shot!

See ya!