Bownies

I combined my cake like brownie recipe with my chewy moist brownie recipe and came up with this one that is a nice combination of the two recipes. The result is a chewy brownie that is not so sticky that it sticks to your fingers. For birthdays, our family often prefers brownies instead of cake. Since I usually don't add frosting, I add sprinkles to the top before baking for a more festive appearance. In the photo, the brownie with the sprinkles was made with this recipe. The plain brownie is from the Chewy Moist recipe (1/2 recipe made in a 7x11 pan)

Favorite Brownies
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cube butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk or plain yogurt
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9x13 pan with oil and dust with flour. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder together. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well, either by hand or with electric beaters. Spread in the pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chewy Moist Brownies
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cubes butter or margarine, melted
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Mix dry ingredients and then stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well. Spread in an oiled and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degree for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cake Like Brownies
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cubes butter or margarine
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
 1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Mix in cocoas powder, then eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix well. Spread in a 9x13 pan (oiled and floured) and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

More Enchiladas

We love eating enchiladas at our house. Always something new to try. Corn tortillas, flour tortillas, fillings and sauce. See also more recipes (Creamy Enchilada Casserole, Sour Cream Enchiladas, and Three Cheese Enchiladas) under Southwest Casseroles.

My Favorite Enchiladas
Lately I have been adding brown rice to our enchiladas and we quite enjoy it. I do a mixture of the following:
cooked rice
corn
beans
cheese
meat of your choice
   (ground beef, shredded chicken, diced turkey, etc)
lots of sauteed veggies
   (onion, peppers, mushrooms, green chilies, tomatoes, etc)
Mix it all together and roll up in tortillas (or layer it together if you are lazy). Top with enchilada sauce and cheese and bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. If your filling is cold, it will probably need to bake for 40 minutes. I recently did this with leftover fajitas. I often use green chile sauce instead of enchilada sauce.


Our Neighbor's Creamy Enchiladas
1 pkg tortillas
2 C cooked and shredded chicken
1 Can chopped green chilies
1 large can refried beans
1 large can enchilada sauce
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
3 C shredded cheese
optional: sour cream and olives
Mix enchilada sauce and soup together. Pour a small amount into the bottom of a baking pan. Mix chicken and chilies together. Take tortillas, place 1/2 to 1/2 cup beans in center, add chicken mixture, top with cheese and sour cream. Roll up and place in baking pan. Repeat until tortillas are done. Our the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas to cover completely. Tops with the remaining cheese and olives. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes until bubbling and cheese is melted. Serve 6 - 10.


Enchilada Sauce

2 Tbsp shortening or oil                 2 or 3 Tbsp chili powder

2 Tbsp flour                                  ½ tsp beef bouillon

¼ tsp garlic powder                      pinch oregano and pinch cumin

Melt shortening.  Add rest of ingredients.  Stir until well blended.  Gradually stir in 2 cups water.  Bring to boiling, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.  If desired you may add ½ to 1 cup tomato sauce.

Green Chile Sauce or Salsa make good enchilada sauce also.

Cheese Fondue

Our family enjoys fondue for our Christmas Eve dinner. It is a fun time to sit around the table together and enjoy a slower meal. It still works well now that we have grandchildren who are picky eaters - they can pick and choose what they dip. If nothing else, the children all like to drizzle some fondue over tortilla chips. Our favorite dippers are ham chunks, bread chunks, and steamed broccoli florets. This recipe is for the plain cheddar cheese fondue. Sometimes we add roasted jalapenos to one of the pots.

Basic Cheese Fondue
2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1/2 pound shredded cheese
Shake together the milk, flour, and bouillon until well mixed with no lumps. Pour into a saucepan over medium heat and cook, while stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. After the mixture thickens, remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Pour into a fondue pot on medium heat and enjoy.

This is enough for six people. For dippers cut up 2/3 pound of ham, 1/4 loaf french or artisan bread, and a small head of broccoli (steam the broccoli before serving). I set my temperature halfway between warm and 200 degrees on my fondue pot.

Ground Beef Recipes

Meat and Potato Pie

Crust:  1½ cups flour

1½ cups potato flakes

1 cube margarine, cut into flour and potato flakes

¾ cup milk, stir in with fork

Pat ¾ of mixture into a 9" pie plate

Filling: ¾ to 1 pound ground beef, browned

½ onion, chopped and browned with meat

1 can tomato sauce

½ Tbsp chili powder and dash or Worcestershire sauce (or ½2 package sloppy joe mix)

Spread into crust, and sprinkle with 1 cup grated cheese

Mix remaining crust mixture with ½ cup potato flakes, so it is dry and crumbly.  Sprinkle on top of cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes (or 30-35 minutes if refrigerated before baking).

Beef-n-Stuff Sandwich Filling

1 lb ground beef or stir fry beef

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 large or 2 medium onions, sliced and halved

1 medium green pepper, sliced and quartered

½ tsp garlic powder

1½ tsp Italian seasoning or oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 large ripe tomato, peeled and chopped

Stir-fry beef and vegetables.  Remove any excess fat from the pan.  Add seasonings and cook for a few minutes more.  Stir in sour cream and cheese.  Turn off heat and cover pan until cheese is melted.  Stir in chopped tomato.  Serve with pita bread or rolls.  Serves 6.

Swedish Meatballs

1 lb lean ground beef

1 cup soft bread crumbs

½ cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp brown sugar

¼ tsp ground pepper

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

Blend all ingredients and form into balls.  Fry in a skillet in 1 Tbsp hot oil until fully cooked.  Drain on paper towels.

Sauce:

2 Tbsp margarine

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp beef bouillon in 1 cup hot water

dash cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup sour cream or yogurt

Melt margarine in skillet.  Stir in flour.  Add bouillon, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce and cook, stirring until think and bubbly.  Turn off heat and stir in sour cream.  Fold in meatballs.   Serve immediately with rice or noodles.  Serves 6.

French Fry Casserole

1 pkg french fries or tator tots (16 to 20 oz)

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp bouillon

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 oz)

1 lb frozen green beans

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef and onion together, then drain off extra fat.  While the meat is cooking defrost the potatoes for 6-8 minutes in the microwave.  Stir the flour into the meat, then milk soup, and bouillon.  Mix thoroughly, then add green beans.  Simmer long enough to heat up the mixture.  Layer the potatoes in a 9 x13 pan.  Spread the meat and bean mixture over the potatoes, then top with grated cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until warmed through (about 30 minutes).  Serve 6-8.

Mini Meat Mounds

¾ lb ground meat

1 egg

¼ cup milk

½ onion, chopped or 1 Tbsp dried onion

¾ cup oatmeal

½ cup salsa or barbeque sauce

¼ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp chile powder

Crack egg into a medium bowl and beat with a fork.  Mix in milk, onion, oatmeal, 1/3 cup salsa, garlic, and chile powder. Stir until well mixed.  Break up meat and mix together.  Divide into 3 or 4 portions, and shape each into a log shape.  Place in a baking pan.  Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Top with remaining salsa, and bake another 10 minutes.  Serves 3-4.

Mexican Lasagna

1 lb. Ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1 cup diced canned tomatoes

2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz each)

8 oz cottage cheese

12 corn tortillas

8 oz. Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese, grated

Place ground beef in a 12" dutch oven.  Brown the ground beef until crumbly.  Drain fat.  Add taco seasoning mix, tomatoes, and tomato sauce (and 1 to 2 cups cooked beans and/or 1 can chopped green chilies if desired).  Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.

Remove half of the meat mixture and set aside.  Top remaining half of the meat mixture with half the corn tortillas.  Spread half of the cottage cheese over tortillas and top with half the grated cheese.  Repeat the layers once more, ending with the grated cheese.

Cook 20-30 minutes with most of the heat on top.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.  To bake indoors, bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Taco Pie

¾ lb ground beef

2 cups cooked pinto or red beans

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)

2 cans water

1 cup cornmeal

1 Tbsp chili powder

1½ cups crushed tortilla chips

½ cups grated cheese

Brown meat with pepper, onion, and garlic.  Drain off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients except chips and cheese, and bring to a boil.  If desired add ½ cup chopped olives and/or 1 cup corn.  Sprinkle 1 cup chips in a 9 x 9 pan.  Top with meat mixture then remaining chips.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, or microwave at full power for 10-12 minutes.  Serves 6-8.

Justin's French Bread

Here's the recipe for the french bread that Justin made for the family reunion last month:

French Bread

3 cups warm water
2 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1/3 cup oil
6-8 cups of white flour

Mix together in the order above, making a very soft dough. Knead together and let rise. Form into 3 loaves, let rise again. Score the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife. (Justin scored almost all the way through, making it easy to break of single serving size chunks of bread, without needing to slice the bread. For a more traditional loaf, make cuts about 1/2" deep.) Cook about 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. This can be baked in a pan or on a pizza stone.

Note: I have made this a couple of times, and only used 2 1/2 cups of water with 7 cups of flour the last time. When baking on a flat pan, using less water keeps the loaves from spreading out too flat. When baking on a pizza stone, I shape the loaf on parchment paper, and after 10 minutes, remove the paper and place the loaf back on the hot stone.

Green Chili Sauce

We like to buy roasted green chilies in New Mexico. We freeze them in quart bags. I tried this sauce yesterday after looking over several recipes. It was a big hit served over chicken enchiladas last night and over scrambled eggs this morning. This was delicious, the 30 pounds of chilies we brought home may not be enough.

Green Chili Sauce

Combine in a blender and pulse together:
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
5 or 6 roasted green chilies
1/4 large onion, diced
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cumin
black pepper and garlic to taste
Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick. Makes about 2 cups sauce. This sauce can be frozen. Could probably substitute 1 or 2 small cans of green chilies for the roasted chilies.

My Current Favorite Cookie

Oatmeal and Stuff Cookies

I love this recipe because I have added lots of my favorite additions.

1 cube butter or margarine

2 to 4 Tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour (I like to to use whole white wheat)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups oatmeal

your choice of any or all: coconut(1/4 C), chopped nuts(1/4 C), dried cranberries(1/4 C), orange zest(from 1 orange), CrioBru cocoa grounds(2 to 4 Tbsp), mini chocolate chips(1/4 C)

Cream the butter or margarine, oil, and sugars together. Mix in eggs thoroughly. Stir in flour, soda, vanilla, and oatmeal. Add your remaining choices and stir in. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake for 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.