Best Brownies Ever

A friend of mine from Relief Society gave me this brownie recipe. It is SO good. :)

• 2 cubes butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix butter, sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla together. Stir in flour and cocoa just until combined. Spread the batter in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for about 24 min. (Mine always take longer than that.)

 

You can mix in 1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chunks, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or any other ingredient if you wish. If you do this, the baking time will increase a little bit.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

This is probably similar to Sherry's baked potato soup recipe. Liz can't have it, but I love it. So I make it whenever there's a Relief Society Souper Saturday-type activity:

Ingredients:

• 1 (30 oz.) bag frozen hash-brown potatoes (southern style)
• 2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
• 1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/3 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (softened)
• Garnish: minced green onion and/or shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. In a slow cooker, combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion, and pepper. 
2. Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours.
3. Stir in cream cheese, cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until combined. 
4. Garnish with green onion and/or shredded cheddar.

Porcupine Meatballs

Heidi Baker introduced me to this recipe about a year ago. My kids LOVE them. Most meatballs have egg in them, so Liz can't have them. But these are allergy friendly. :)

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup water
• Scant 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix ground beef with rice, 1/2 cup of water, chopped onion, seasoned salt, garlic, and pepper. Shape porcupine ground beef mixture by tablespoon into 1 1/2-inch balls.Place the porcupine meatballs in an ungreased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the porcupine meatballs. Cover and bake at 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake porcupine meatballs 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve over rice and with a veggie on the side.

 

Serve 4 to 6.

Mini Crescent Dogs

I made these "little mummies" for a youth Halloween party last year, but they're great appetizers anytime. And the really good news is that they're dairy- and egg-free. And super yummy. :)

• 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 24 cocktail-size smoked link sausages

Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll both cans of the dough; separate into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles.

Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point; place point side down on 2 ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, switching position of cookie sheets halfway through baking. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Teriyaki Chicken and Roasted Broccoli with Garlic

We had this for dinner tonight. The teriyaki chicken was on the salty side (maybe because I went cheap and used generic brand teriyaki sauce?), but it was still a good Sunday dinner just because it was super easy to make:

Teriyaki Chicken

• 4 – 5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
• 1 bottle Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce {20 1/2 oz.}
• Green Onions, chopped 
• Optional: Sesame Seeds

Cook chicken in Crockpot on HIGH for 3 hours. After 3 hours, drain juices from Crockpot. Remove chicken from Crockpot, and slice. Then transfer back to Crockpot. Pour Teriyaki sauce over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes, or until done. When ready to serve, garnish with Sesame Seeds and chopped Green Onions. Serve with rice.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic

• 1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into florets, stems peeled and sliced or diced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Toss the broccoli florets with the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet. Spread them out and then roast, without stirring, until the edges are crispy and the stems are crisp tender, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Cashew Chicken

My bff introduced me to cashew chicken a few weeks ago. I was over for a playdate, and she had some leftover cashew chicken that she made the night before that she shared with me. I've made this recipe twice now (found it by doing a Google search), and it's pretty good. Except I subbed celery, onion, and carrots for the scallions because Lan's cashew chicken had celery, onion, and carrots in it. I love that the recipe is dairy-free, and now I'm slightly addicted to eating cashews raw.

Servings: 4

Total Time: 30 Minutes

 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
• 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 8 scallions (1 bunch), white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces*
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce, best quality such as Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Place the cashews on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast in the oven until fragrant, about 5 minutes. (They will crisp up as they cool.)
3. Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.
4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over high heat until very hot. Add half of the chicken to the skillet and stir-fry (stir as you cook) until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
5. Add the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet; then add remaining chicken, garlic and white parts of the scallions. Stir-fry until the chicken is lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Return the first batch of chicken to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rice vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.
6. Add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and water; cook, tossing, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens, cashews and sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

• Baked Chicken Taquitos
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• This is another recipe that we enjoy periodically. I can never seem to get the tortillas to keep from breaking and opening, but they are good anyway. Maybe I should try cooking them like quesidillas and then just cutting them up. This recipe is also from melskitchencafe.com
• 
  
• 
  
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup green salsa
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 green onion, sliced finely (white and green parts to equal about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I cook large batches of chicken in my crockpot with a little chicken broth and salt, shred it and freeze it for meals like this)
• 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (use pepperjack if you like a little heat)
• small yellow or white corn tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix softened cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
3. You can prepare this step ahead of time (which I did – I made it the morning of). Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
4. Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 3-4 between two damp paper towels and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until tortillas are soft and pliable and don’t crack while rolling. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a soft tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can. (A few of mine wanted to rebel and come unrolled so I stuck a toothpick through them to keep them right and tight.)
5. Place filled taquitos seam side down on the baking sheet, making sure they don’t touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and lightly sprinkle some kosher (coarse) salt on top.
6. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Serve immediately. Taquitos can be dipped in in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or any other combination you can dream up

Cinnamon Honey Butter

This tastes good with hot rolls. For our family, I split the recipe in half:

1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons good honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine the butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. [I don't have a paddle attachment, so I just mixed it by hand and it turned out fine. Since the butter was at room temperature, if was soft and easy to stir.] Serve at room temperature.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken

This favorite, recipe is from Mels's Kitchen Cafe. It's a good Sunday dinner idea.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken

YIELD: SERVES 4-6 (DEPENDING ON IF YOU ARE SERVING ADULTS OR KIDS)

Note: if the chicken breasts you are using are overly thick, you can butterfly them, cutting all the way through so you end up with two thinner cuts of chicken breast. Second note: I would say this recipe is right on the edge of just having enough sauce but not an overabundance, so if you like things on the saucier end of the spectrum, feel free to double that part of the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips or chopped
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 6 ounces fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup lowfat milk
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound fettuccine

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a shallow pie plate or similar dish, combine the flour, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Dip each chicken piece in the flour mixture until both sides are well coated.
3. In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Carefully place the chicken breasts in the pan, cooking them for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden and browned but not cooked all the way through (they’ll finish up in the oven). Don’t scoot the chicken around once you lay it in the hot oil! Let the oil work it’s magic to sear the crust on the chicken. If you get all antsy and try flipping too early and/or moving the chicken around the pan, the breading is lightly to fall off. Gently remove the chicken to a foil-lined, lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside and tent with foil until ready to use.
4. While the chicken is cooking, heat a large pot of water to a boil and add the noodles, cooking until al dente. Also, wipe out the skillet with a couple paper towels and return it to medium heat, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and bell pepper, sauteing for 2-3 minutes.
5. Stir in one tablespoon flour and stir constantly while cooking for another minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and bring the mixture to a low simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. In a small liquid measure, whisk together the cornstarch and cream. Add the spinach, milk and cream mixture to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted and sauce is slightly thickened, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
6. When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and return it to the pot. Toss the pasta with half of the cheese sauce. Place some of the coated pasta on each plate. Top with a breaded chicken breast and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the chicken and pasta. Serve immediately.