Ghiradelli Award Winning Brownies

I was in need of a solid, from-scratch brownie recipe. The requirements? Quick to whip up, rich in chocolate flavor, and fudgey with a crisp top.

This recipe goes above and beyond in each area.

Guess where I found it? On the back of the Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa canister! Who knew?! So far, Ghiradelli recipes have come through big time for me. My favorite chocolate chip cookies are on the back of the semi-sweet chocolate chips bag.

I must admit, these brownies are so chocolatey-rich, you should eat them with ice cream. A little hot fudge doesn't hurt either. 

Ghiradelli Award Winning Brownies
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
3/4 cup Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa
2/3 cup unsifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup 60% Ghiradelli Coaco Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional - I did not add these)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a spoon, stir eggs with sugar and vanilla; add butter.
2. Sift Sweet Ground Chocolate with flour, baking powder and salt (I did not sift and it came out great). Stir into egg mixture.
3. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Spread into a greased 8" square pan. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

This is pure deliciousness. The peanut butter frosting is the best I've ever tasted. Think peanut butter-chocolate pie, or peanut butter ice cream...yum! Thank you to my friend Lauren from Kansas City to opening my eyes (and mouth...and heart!) to this recipe. Happy baking!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes (Ina Garten)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra large eggs, at room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temp
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temp
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
large handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips (Lauren's addition)
Kathleen's Peant Butter Icing to follow

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.
5. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
6. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.
7. Add in the chocolate chips.
8. Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (be careful to not overbake). Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting. If baking mini cupcakes, reduce cooking time to approximately 10-13 minutes.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

nocoupons

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Butternut Squash Risotto

If you are wanting a change-up from a classic or mushroom risotto, try this one! It's another great way to use butternut squash. I must confess, I ate all the leftovers - a HUGE portion - in one sitting today. It's that yummy!

The original recipe is from Barefoot Contessa's Ina Garten.

Butternut Squash Risotto
1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken stock
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
3 strips of bacon (or 2 oz. pancetta), diced
1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the squash, remove seeds and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a pot. Leave it on low heat to simmer.
3. In a skillet or large pan, melt the butter and saute the bacon, shallots and garlic, until the shallots are transparent but not browned - about 7-10 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter.
4. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring frequently. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Cook until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total.
5. Off the heat, stir in the cheese, butternut squash and green onion. Mix well and serve.

Julie's Pot Roast

You know that amazing meal your mom made every Sunday? Well, this is it. It's another crock pot meal (yay!). After 5-8 hours of slow cooking, this meal transforms into the most moist and tender meat, and flavorful veggies.

I definitely looked forward to my mom making this every week. With five kids running around, this had to have been one of, if not the easiest meal of the week. I'll say it again...crock pot meals, gotta love 'em! Thanks to my mom for this delicious recipe, it is a regular in our house! And a favorite of our friends.

Julie's Pot Roast
1 rump roast
2 celery stalks, chopped
4-8 carrots, chopped
2-4 potatoes, chopped (Yukon Gold are yummy in this!)
fresh or frozen green beans
1 can cream of chicken soup (Healthy Request kind from Campbell's)
1 1/2 cup water (use the soup can as your measuring cup)
1 packet Lipton onion dry soup mix
salt & pepper
cornstarch (if making gravy)

Directions
1. Combine soup, dry soup mix and water in crock pot. Stir together.
2. Add a small handful of celery, carrots, potatoes and green beans.
3. Season all sides of rump roast with salt and pepper. Place roast in crock pot, fat side up.
4. Place remaining veggies around and on top of the roast. Salt and pepper.
5. Cover, and cook for 5-6 hours on high, or 7-8 hours on low.
6. With one hour left of cooking, slice meat and return back to crock pot. This produces very tender cuts of meat that are soaked thoroughly in the juice. You can also add frozen green beans at this point if you prefer them over fresh green beans.
7. Serve with meat ladled with juice, and enjoy.

Kathy's Lazy Daisy Cake

Think mixed berries, yellow sponge cake, and homemade whipped cream.

It's kinda like family chats on the deck, the cool, summer morning breeze, and running through crisp grass at dusk in barefeet.

That's what this cake is all about. The slight tartness of the berries are PERFECT with the sweetness of the spongey-cake (which has the most amazing texture).

And, it's so simple. Seriously. Five or 10 minutes, and it's in the oven.

Thank you to our good friend Kathy from Collinsville, OK for this recipe!

Kathy's Lazy Daisy Cake
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag mixed frozen berries

Homemade Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2-3 teaspoons powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl, except for berries. Mix together until smooth.
2. Put mixed berries in bottom of 9x9" (or similar size) baking dish.
3. Pour cake mixture over berries, making sure you cannot see any berries poking through.
4. Bake 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes. Once cake starts to brown, cover with foil to prevent burning.
5. Make whipped cream by first putting mixing bowl and mixing attachment in freezer for 5 or more minutes. Pour cream into bowl and mix at the highest speed. When very soft peaks form, add in sugar and vanilla while mixing, to taste. Continue to mix until you reach desired consistency.

Decadence Bars

Today is Valentine's Day. So I made sure to bake Luke's favorite dessert: Decadence Bars. They are so good I had to include two pictures. Seriously, these are delicious. To celebrate V-Day, here is a poem about why I LOVE these bars:

Oh four layers of gooey goodness
How I love thee
Crumble crust, chocolate chips, coconut, pecans
Baked till caramelization
All I can say is...YUMMMM!
Divine little morsels, salty and sweet, 
I could eat the whole pan,
Of this most delicious special treat.

Decadence Bars
1 stick butter, cut into tablespoons
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped pecans
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
1. While preheating oven to 350 degrees, melt butter in 9x13" baking pan. Once melted, take pan out of oven.
2. One layer at a time, sprinkle graham cracker crumbs, coconut, chocolate chips and pecans.
3. Pour (or drizzle with a spoon) the sweetened condensed milk all over.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Restaurant-Style Mushroom Pancetta Pasta

We've been making this pasta dish once a week - that's how good it is. This serves two people, so double if you are cooking for more. You can use any type of pasta - papardelle, fettucine, spaghetti, gnocchi or tortellini - whatever your tummy feels like!

Restaurant-Style Mushroom Pancetta Pasta
1 box/bag pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 pound baby portabella mushrooms, sliced thinly
50 grams pancetta, small cubes
1/4 cup white wine
150 ml heavy whipping cream
1 spring onion, sliced
1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
freshly shaved parmesan, to serve

Directions:
1. Put butter and olive oil in a large nonstick pan, and heat over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and mushrooms, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente and drain (don't rinse!).
3. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the white wine to the pan and cook until the alcohol has cooked off, about 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour in the whipping cream and add in the spring onions. Stir well and bring down to medium low heat. Cook gently for another 8 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
6. Put the cooked pasta into the sauce pan and combine well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. Sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese and parsley, and enjoy!