Chocolate Mint Brownies

I made these brownies in preparation for St. Patrick's day. Who doesn't want to eat a little lucky green! The taste reminds me of Andes mints, which I love!

I had to make the brownies twice because I left out the flour in the first batch. Don't do that!

Adapted from here.

Ingredients:
 Brownies:
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (you can substitute 3/4 C cocoa powder and 1/4 C oil if you want)
1 C margarine, softened
2 C sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C flour

Green layer:
1/2 C butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar
2 Tbs milk, give or take
1 tsp mint extract
green food coloring

Chocolate Coating:
1 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the microwave, stirring at 15 second intervals. Remove and allow to cool slightly. (If substituting cocoa powder you can skip this step). In a large mixing bowl, combine the chocolate with margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla. Stir in the flour until just blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sides are just starting to pull away from the pan. The center might be a little soft still. Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the green layer, beat together the softened butter and powdered sugar. Add milk as needed until it is a spreadable consistency. Stir in mint* extract and desired amount of green food coloring (I used 6 drops). Spread over the cooled pan of brownies.

Refrigerate the brownies for 30 minutes before adding the chocolate coating.

To make the chocolate coating, melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Add the vanilla and stir. Pour over the refrigerated brownies and spread quickly. Put back in the fridge for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I store my leftover brownies in the fridge and eat them cold. Enjoy!

*Make sure the mint extract you use is a flavor you like. I used McCormick's Pure Mint Extract which is a mix of spearmint and peppermint. If you don't like spearmint, make sure you use an exclusively peppermint extract.

Egg-Free Sugar Cookies

I found this sugar cookie recipe and thought I would give it a try so my son with an egg allergy could eat them too. We had a lot of fun making these, sampling the dough, and then decorating the finished product. And of course eating them too! They were a very good flavor and texture.

The original recipe has you refrigerate the dough at least an hour but I found that my dough was probably ready to roll out immediately. Since I did refrigerate it, I had to let it thaw for a good 15 minutes before I could roll it out.

Recipe Source
Ingredients:
3 1/4 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C butter, softened
1 1/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C milk

Directions:
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar well. Add the vanilla and milk, stirring until well mixed. Slowly add in the flour mixture. When dough comes together, divide into two lumps so you can work with a smaller batch at a time. Shape each lump into a flat disk and then roll out to 1/4 in thickness. If the dough seems too soft, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate an hour. Cut into desired shapes. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool before frosting.

Oatmeal Buttermilk Whole-Wheat Pancakes

These are so delicious! And I feel very healthy when eating them because there is only 1 tablespoon of sugar in the whole recipe and it includes whole-wheat AND oats! These cook fast so use a lower-than-normal pan temperature to make sure you don't burn them before they cook through.

Adapted From Here
Ingredients:
3/4 C of oats (I use old-fashioned)
1 1/2 C plus 2 Tbs buttermilk, divided
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 Tbs brown sugar

Directions:
Soak the oats in 3/4 C of the buttermilk for 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the oat mixture, the remaining 3/4 C plus 2 Tbs buttermilk, egg, butter, and brown sugar until just combined. Cook on medium-low. Makes about 8 pancakes.

If you are just trying to use up leftover buttermilk and don't have quite enough, I have used half buttermilk and half 1% with wonderful results.

Cinnamon Streusel Oatmeal Muffins

I love muffins for breakfast. This is a favorite recipe I use all the time (from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book).

Ingredients:
1 1/3 C flour
3/4 C rolled oats
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 C milk
1/4 C oil

Streusel Topping:
3 Tbs flour
3 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, milk and oil. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just mixed. Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tin.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the streusel topping. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like course crumbs. Sprinkle streusel topping over the muffin batter in the cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Photo Source

I love breakfast pastries! I have tried a couple homemade pop tart recipes and this one is my favorites. The original website had several filling options but I have only tried the brown sugar cinnamon kind. Why make anything but the best? If you are interested in some other ideas, follow the link and see some options for alternate fillings.

Ingredients:
2 C flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Cup unsalted butter, cubed (I used salted once and the crust did turn out too salty)
1 egg
2 Tbs milk

Cinnamon Sugar filling:
1/2 C brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon to taste
4 tsp flour
1 egg to brush on pastry

Directions:
Mix flour sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until it is in pea-sized lumps just as if you were making a pie crust (because basically you are). Combine the egg and milk and then pour into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Knead a few times on a floured counter if needed.

Divide the dough in half. One half will be the bottom of the pastry, and one will be the top. Now, if you want these to look like poptarts, roll out to about 1/8" thick, roughly a 9x12 rectangle. From there cut into 9 3x4 pieces. I usually just make one giant poptart and then cut it into pieces afterward but that means the filling won't be surrounded by crust in all of the pieces.

Beat the extra egg and brush it over the bottom pastry piece. This will be the inside and will help the filling stick to the pastry. If you have the dough in pieces, put a heaping tablespoon on each pastry. If you have one large piece of dough, just spread it evenly over the surface. Then place the remaining pastry piece/s on top. Use your fingers or a fork to press around the edges and seal the top and bottom together. Prick the tarts a few times with a fork to let steam escape.

Refrigerate the poptarts while you preheat the oven to 350. Bake on a greased or parchment lined pan for 20-25 minutes.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

This is a delicious alternative to twice-baked potatoes. While this is faster and easier than the real thing, the flavor is the real deal.

Recipe Source

Ingredients:
2 lbs of potatoes peeled and diced
2 Tbs of butter/margarine
1/2 C sour cream
1 C of shredded cheese
2 Tbs bacon bits
garlic salt
pepper

Directions:
Boil potatoes 20 minutes until tender. Mash with butter and sour cream. Add garlic salt, pepper, and other desired spices to taste. Layer half of the potato mixture in a 9x9in pan. Spread the cheese over it and top with the remaining potato mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

 This has been my go to breakfast for dinner lately. It is easy to put together in the morning and then forget about until dinner time. Or if you want it for breakfast, put it together at night and wake up to a hot meal!

Recipe and Photo Source

Ingredients:
1 lb of breakfast meat (ham, bacon, OR sausage), cooked
1 small onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
16 oz of frozen hash browns
3/4 cup of cheese (we use cheddar)
6 eggs
1/2 C milk
green onions (optional)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Grease your crockpot. Layer half of your ingredients starting with meat, then onion, pepper, hash browns, and cheese. Repeat the layers and top with green onion. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Pour over the layered ingredients making sure everything gets wet. Cook on low for 7 hours. I enjoy eating mine with salsa!