Salted Carmel Brownies

I was looking for an excuse to make these ever since I saw the Barefoot Contessa make them on TV! Thank goodness for Book Club.

Melt together in the microwave in a large glass bowl.
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks butter
Add:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Mix well by hand until smooth.
Stir in until just combined:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
Bake in foil lined and sprayed 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Don't overbake!

Meanwhile make carmel sauce:
Dissolve 1/2 cup brown sugar in 2 T. water in sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to boil and let cook until color gets deeper brown about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 T. heavy cream and 2 T. butter.

Drizzle over baked brownies and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. 

Spanish Rice and Sausage

1 pckg. Chicken Sausage (I had chicken apple sausage on hand, it was actually pretty good in there!)

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 Tbs. Olive oil

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 large tomato, chopped

1 pkg spanish style rice (she recommends ready rice, which i used, and it was super easy!)

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

avocado, for garnish

Saute onions, pepper and sausage in olive oil (about 10 minutes).

Steam the rice (with the ready rice, it was 90 sec. in the microwave. super easy, right?)

 Add in the rest of the ingredients and heat through. 

She recommends doing it in a skillet and then sprinkling cheese on top and sticking it under the broiler...

I don't have a cast iron skillet, so I cooked everything in a big stock pot and just mixed in cheese at the end until it melted.

Easy and totally delicious meal!!!

Definitely a repeat :)

5 Bean Soup

We made this soup for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious, not to mention easy! It's hearty, can be dressed up with lots of toppings and it was definitely a crowd pleaser at dinner.

2 TB olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, pressed into onion

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can lima beans, drained and rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can white northern beans, drained and rinsed

28oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 c chunky salsa

1-2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp each basil and oregano

1 c grated cheddar cheese (or more if you like!)

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add other ingredients and chicken broth for desired consistency. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Just before serving stir in cheese until melted. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream or plain greek yogurt, avocado, and more grated cheese, if desired.

recipe adapted from The Sister's Cafe

Haystacks

These tasty little treats are the perfect dessert with an asian theme!
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup peanuts-dry roasted salted
6 oz. chow mein noodles
Melt chips together in the microwave oven. Stir in nuts and noodles. Drop onto wax paper and let them cool.

Chewy Chex Mix

Ingredients

6 1/2 c. Rice Chex
4 1/2 c. Golden Grahams (Or use pretzels!!)
1 c. sliced almonds
2 c. coconut
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) real butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

In a VERY LARGE bowl, combine cereal, almonds, and coconut. Set aside. In a large saucepan, combine butter, Karo syrup, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. While the mixture is still hot, pour over the cereal mixture and stir well so the candy mixture coats the cereal. Serve in a large bowl or divide into individual portions.

The pretzel version gives it a salty-sweet kick :)

Soft Sugar Cookies

4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
5 tsp. vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed.  Blend in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed.  Split the dough into two large ziplock bags and using a rolling pin, roll flat inside the zipped bags. Chill the dough for at least an hour or over night.

Take out one bag at a time, cut the sides and peel the plastic away from the dough. Turn the square slab of dough out onto a flour-dusted surface and using a rolling pin, continue rolling to desired thickness.

Cut out shapes and repeat using the rest of the dough. Place cut dough onto parchment paper and cook in a 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes. Don't overcook! Let cool and frost with your favorite frosting.

yields 3-4 dozen cut cookies (depending on size)