Mint Brownies

From the kitchen of Aunt Kaye: Yes, you read right. There are 5 1/2 sticks of butter in this pan of brownies. And yes, this recipe makes a ton, but the amount of butter alone should tell you how good these are. I think we figured out one time that these have 9 or 10 points per brownie (like, half your calories for the day) so if you are going to splurge, this is the way to do it.

Brownies:
3 c. flour
3/8 c. powdered milk
3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cocoa
1 rounded tsp. baking powder

Add :
2 1/2 cubes melted butter
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. water

Bake in jelly roll pan at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool before frosting.

Mint Frosting:
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. soft butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cap peppermint extract
red food coloring (make the frosting pink)
little milk

Mix well and frost brownies evenly. Put in fridge till firm.

Chocolate Topping:
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 stick butter

Melt together. When shiny, spread over top of mint frosting in a very thin layer. Cool.

Cut off the edges before serving.

These need to be kept in the fridge until just before serving.

Originally posted 9/11/07 without picture

Cheese on Bagels

Just a simple breakfast idea to mix things up. You can't go wrong with this - I guarantee everybody will love it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been on the lookout for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. When the activity day girls brought these by my house, I was pretty sure I had found it. This is Leslie's recipe, but I don't think she even knows I tracked it down. Thanks, Leslie! Now I just have to get mine to look as pretty as hers did. She claims the secret is to undercook them - and the pudding.

I also have another chocolate chip cookie recipe to post, so watch for that to come in the next few days.

Have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? I'd love you to email me or post it in the comments.

1 1/2 c. butter or margarine softened

1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs

1 pkg. (6 serving size) Jello Brand Vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 1/2 c. flour

3/4 pkg. Guitard milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts optional

Mix flour with baking soda. Combine butter, sugars, pudding mix, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mix then stir in chips. Batter should be stiff, if not you may want to add a bit more flour. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Key Lime Pie

Aka, my new addiction.

I've posted this before, but I've figured out a few tips to make it better (*at the bottom), so I thought I'd share.

1 reduced fat graham cracker crust
1 small package lime jello (sugar free)
24 oz. key lime pie yogurt (depending on the size of the containers, 3-8 oz. or 4-6 oz.)
1 1/2 c. fat free cool chip (half a container)
1 envelope Knox gelatin
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. boiling water

Sprinkle 1 envelope Knox gelatin over 1/2 c. cold water and let sit for 1 minute. Add lime jello to 1/2 c. boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture to the boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Chill for 10 minutes to cool. (so it doesn't curdle the yogurt)

When jello mixture is cooled, fold in key lime yogurt. Chill again, about 10 minutes.

Add cool whip. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust and chill.




Just before serving, top each slice with a dollop of cool whip and a slice of lime.


They also make key lime yogurt in a thick and creamy variety. Haven't tried that, but let me know how you like if you do.


And THEN I discovered these cute little babies:


They're mini crusts. Tart size. And they are cute.

When we made a couple of these pies at my mom's house, we always had a little bit of filling left over that wouldn't fit into the pie crust. These would be perfect for that leftover filling. For some reason, when I made it at my house, it fit into the crust perfectly. So of course I had to scoop a little off the top to try out one of the cute little mini crusts.


*I have figured out a few tricks after making this a few times. I use the thick and creamy yogurt. It helps it set up the thickest. I whip the yogurt together before adding the jello, they add the jello only a few teaspoons at a time and stir it until it is a uniform consistency before adding more jello. This way I don't get chunks of jello like in my picture of the single slice of pie. You can tell even from the pictures that the texture is a lot smoother this way.

Don't chill the yogurt and jello mixture too long in the fridge before adding the cool whip, or it sets up to much and the consistency will be more lumpy than smooth.

Last time I had to take it to a party, so I cut it into pieces and topped each piece right in the pie plate (top picture).

Originally posted 6/9/08 with different pictures

Lemon Water

This is so good. I love this drink. People think it is plain water with lemon in it because it is clear and looks like water, but it tastes just like lemonade.

1 gallon cold water
2 Tbl. citric acid powder
2 Tbl. lemon extract
1 1/2 - 2 c. sugar

Serve in a punch bowl with lemon slices floating on top and Sonic Drive-in crushed ice. I've also served it at dinner in clear pitchers with a couple of lemon slices in the pitcher. I didn't have the ice so I just made sure it was chilled before I put it in the pitchers.

Thanks to Kaye for the party at her house where I snagged this picture.

Originally posted 5/9/06 without picture

Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground turkey or beef
1 can green beans
2-3 cans tomato soup
2+ cups mashed potatoes

Brown meat, breaking into bite size pieces while cooking. Stir in green beans, and tomato soup until desired consistency. Pour into 8x8 baking dish, top with mashed potatoes to make a crust. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, if desired.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until heated through.

Hawaiian Chicken

This is delicious! I love how easy it is. 3 ingredients? I can handle that. Thanks, Ashley!

1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. honey or grape jelly (I know it sounds crazy, but try it with the jelly sometime, no one will know)
1 lb ish chicken

Stick everything in a small pot on the stove. Put the lid on and turn it on low. At some point snip the chicken into bite size hunks with scissors. Let it continue cooking until the meat is thoroughly. Serve over rice. If desired, serve with pineapple chunks on top.

I have to add just under 1/4 c. soy sauce to make mine taste like Ashley's. Different brand soy sauce? I'm not sure what's the difference. But otherwise it turned out salty and not like the original that was so good.

Pita Pizza

We went through a stage where we made these personal pan pita pizzas a lot. They are small enough that everyone can have their own and choose their own toppings.

Pitas
Your favorite pizza sauce (I like Hunt's spaghetti sauce - the flavor and the price is much cheaper than pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
your choice of toppings

Bake them for 5-10 minutes at 350 (follow the directions on the pita bag) until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.

We make our own pizza dough sometimes too, but these are fun because they are so fast and the crust is crispier.

Onion Dip

1 block cream cheese
½ pkg. Lipton’s onion soup mix
milk

Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Add soup mix and enough milk to thin to right consistency. Eat with plain potato chips.

Spinach Dip

This dip is a recent discovery for me, and now something that I cannot live without. Enjoy.

16 oz sour cream
1 c. Mayonaise - light or regular (not miracle whip)
1 pkg. Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach (Run under hot water in strainer to defrost. Pat dry with paper towel and remove all water.)

Mix together. Refrigerate several hours before serving to blend flavors. Serve in large bread bowl with the center hollowed out surrounded by slices of a French baguette.