Gooey Mint Brownies

This is a recipe from one of my friends that I met going through the credential program. She brought these brownies to one of our classes and they are to die for! Of course if you don't like the combination of chocolate and mint then they're not for you...BUT if you do like that combination, you're in for a treat.

• Take one brownie mix (it doesn't matter if it's name brand or generic) and mix it as the directions on the box says.
• Pour half of the mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan.
• Put a layer of York Peppermint Patties evenly over the poured brownie mixture (Don't forget to take off the wrappers...yes, she knows someone who didn't do this)
• Pour the remainder of the brownie mixture on top.
• Bake as directed.

**She said that she usually uses 2 mixes. One goes on the bottom and one on the top. You will bake as directed for this too, but it usually takes longer because they are extra thick**

How about a challenge?

I made another 4 ingredient dinner tonight and it got me thinking I wonder how many 4 ingredient dinners can we come up with?

There's the challenge but I'll give you one more ingredient. Please submit meal ideas with 5 ingredients or less.

Cheddar Chicken and Potatoes Skillet

Kraft food and family recipe
4slices of bacon
small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb) (chicken tenders works well)
4cups (1b.) frozen diced potatoes with peppers and onion, thawed
4oz (1 cup) shredded 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese

cook bacon in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp. remove bacon from skillet to paper towel; discard drippings in skillet.
Add chicken to skillet; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done (165 degrees) Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm. Crumble bacon. Add to skillet with potatoes; cook and stir 5 minutes or until heated through. Place chicken over potatoes; top with cheese. Cover; cook 2min. or until cheese is melted

Spicy Chicken and Rice Bake

2 1/2 to 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drum sticks)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2/3 cup long grain rice, uncooked
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
paprika

1. skin chicken; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until vegetables are tender. Stir in black beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, chili powder, red pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to boiling. Transfer rice mixture to a 3-quart baking dish. Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice mixture. Sprinkle chicken with paprika.
3. Bake, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees for breast; 180 degrees for thighs and drumsticks) and rice is tender.

per serving 355 calories, 9 grams fat, 39 g. carbs, 6 grams fiber, 33 grams protein

Better Homes and Gardens cook book

Tuna Cakes

6 servings 2 Tuna Cakes each

2-6 oz. cans tuna, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup mayonaise
2 tbsp. sweet pickle relish
3/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate 10 minutes. (this helps cakes to firm up)

Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed wit hcooking spray on medium heat. For each tuna cake shape 1/3 cup lightly packed tuna mixture into patty. Add patties to skillet in batches.
Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides. turning over carefully.

(when I made these I made smaller ones to eat with saltine crackers.)

save 60 calories and 8 grams of fat per serving by preparing as directed with 2% milk cheese and using light mayo

Nutrition Information per serving

320 calories (260 if using light mayo and 2% milk cheese)
17 grams of fat (11 if using light mayo and 2% milk cheese)
24 grams carbs
19 grams protein

Lost Recipe Binder -Found

I lost my recipe binder for at least two weeks. At first I was thinking I just misplaced it (I look at it or add new recipes to it in different rooms of the house, excluding the bathroom-I'm no guy.) Anyways, this binder is my cooking life. I put in all the recipes I like and use on a regular basis, my everyday cook book.
So I keep casually looking around for it and it doesn't turn up. I look everywhere I can think of that I may have had it. One night right before I fell asleep I even remembered it was in my closet for some strange reason. The next morning I was sure it would be there but it wasn't. I then get to the point where I'm asking everyone in the family if they'd seen it. I'm frantically wracking my brain wondering if I took it anywhere and left it. I almost sent out an email about it. Bill comes up with an idea. Lennon was reading this book called How to be the Best at Everything and in it they talk about how to trick people or annoy brothers and sisters by hiding their stuff. So we even grill Lennon about it no luck. I start checking in the kids rooms, under the beds everything. I finally found it yesterday. I was looking in Lennon's room and saw this box that he put some stuff in that he wanted to sell- video games and books. We had the box by the computer so I could post everything online and then moved it back to his room. I looked inside and dug around a bit and there it was! I was so happy. It was the awesome news of the day.

Failure

Just thought I'd share my failure as a baker today. I was trying to make Abby a roller skate cake for her birthday and it was a disaster! First off I don't like doing cakes because they always turn out crappy or something doesn't go quite as well as I expected.

After I took the cake out of the pan it got this huge split right in the center. I thought "ok I can deal with this I'm cutting the cake anyways to make the skate. So then I cut it and start to piece it together and realize that how I had to cut it because of the split made it not turn out exactly like the picture. But again I kept going "it will be ok after I frost it and decorate it with the candy." So I begin to frost it and it doesn't look great but I figure that after I put the candy on it will look better. I finish frosting it and then start to put the candies on to make it look like a skate. It's looking better and I'm excited. A few minutes later I notice all of the candies sliding off of the cake. The frosting is getting a little runny. I'm freaking out it doesn't look good at all and I can't fix it. I scrap the whole cake. "Forget it I can't do cut up cakes."

I decided to make another cake and figure out a way to put a skate on it with out cutting it. Bill and I do a little brainstorming while the other cake was baking. I ended up having Bill make me a skate shoe template out of wax paper.

After the cake is done baking I realize that I don't have a whole lot of time to get this cooled and frosted before we have to leave. So I put the cake in the fridge and also the frosting. After about ten minutes I realize that the cake is not going to be cool enough on time so I stick it in the freezer. About 5 minutes before we have to leave I pull it out of the freezer and it's still kinda warm, but oh well it's now or never.

I frost the cake with white frosting and then stick the template Bill made for me on the top at an angle. I pull out my purple icing (I had a choice of blue or purple that I had from another cake I made, I think it was the island one) I trace around the template with the icing and then remove the template and fix the frosting a little. Then I get some purple sugar sprinkles ( that are a part of the Halloween sprinkles I have) and sprinkle that in the center where the template was. Then I add the Oreo cookies for the wheels and some licorice for the laces and in about 5 minutes I have a replacement cake. Just in the nick of time.

Wheeler Quesadillas

Bill suggested this recipe from a Backpacker Magazine. Just a note that these are spicy so if you want to make some for the whole family you might want a milder cheese too.

8 corn tortillas
2 chipolte peppers in adobo sauce
4 ounces pepper jack cheese
1 cup salsa
2 teaspoons olive oil

grate cheese and chop chipolte peppers. place a tortilla in ligtly oiled skillet; top with some of the pepper, cheese and salsa, top with additional tortilla. Heat until toasted then flip. Toast opposite side.
We made ours with some chicken and avocado. I mixed the pepper jack with cheddar for the kid ones and didn't put peppers on theirs either.