Chewiest Brownies

Our favorite brownie recipe. Even a 7 year old I know enjoys making these.

1 cup cocoa

1 cup flour

2 cups white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla



Combine all ingredients and mix well. Batter should be very thick and sticky.

Line 9x13 pan with greased parchment paper. Spread mixture into prepared pan.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. Garnish with 1/3 cup powdered sugar if desired.

These brownies are a rich chocolate brownie, very chewy and not cakey at all. Note the equal amount of cocoa to flour.

Thoroughly enjoyed without frosting.

Breakfast Muffins

Many of you asked about that recipe I referred to in my "Cooking With Kids" post. Since I don't technically have a recipe, I can't post it on my blog. But, I can give you the basics of what I did.

I will admit that one reason why I didn't include this procedure in my "Cooking With Kids" post is because the breakfast muffins turned out kinda dry. I think the crust may have been too thick. Or, maybe I needed a different recipe for the crust.

This recipe originates from a busy Sunday morning when we were visiting our friends up in South Dakota. They have 7 kids, 7 and under (and now expecting twins!) and before Church that morning, the already busy mom whipped up a delicious and filling breakfast using refrigerated biscuit dough from a can and then lined muffin tins with the dough, topping them with a blend of egg and cheese and sausage. They were very moist, tasty and lacked in nothing.

The following "recipe" is a more made-from-scratch version of that.

Breakfast Muffins

Make a biscuit dough (I chose one with cornmeal -- for more flavor.) Add your favorite herbs and seasonings to make the "crust" more flavorful. (I added basil and garlic powder.)

Next, line prepared (greased) muffin tins with dough. I used a little less than a golf-ball size amount of dough for each muffin.

Beat enough eggs to fill all muffin tins. (I used 3 large eggs for a 12 count muffin tin.) Add salt, pepper and other favorite seasonings.

Evenly pour eggs into each crust. You can also put a handful of crumbled bacon sprinkled over all the eggs. Or, chopped sausage links, crumbled hamburger or breakfast sausage.

Add grated cheese. The more the better! Sprinkle dried parsley on the top for added color.

Bake until the egg is done. I went by the biscuit recipe for this and found that once the crust was done, the eggs were firm shortly after. It took about 10-15 minutes.

If anyone tries this recipe and comes up with a better version in helping the muffins stay moist in the middle, I'd be glad to know your trick. :) I know that using the cans of refrigerated biscuit dough would help keep them moist but I hardly ever have those on hand. So, I tend to stick with more "scratch" recipes.

Interesting Salad

1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup diced apples
1 cup diced (or slivered) zucchini
1/4 cup cried cranberries
2 TBLS. Miracle whip
2 TBLS. Ranch dressing

Mix veggies in salad bowl. Blend together dressing ingredients. Stir salad and dressing together. Serve.

This is an excellent summer-time recipe for all you odd people out there who think you have to grow zucchini every year and then feel obligated to consume it all. Make this salad and you'll never wonder again if you should plant the whole package of zucchini seeds.

Most zucchini recipes make the over populated vegetable soggy, greasy and unappealing but the key with zucchini is this: you have to make the eater come back and want more. This salad does just the trick. Very fresh, crisp and a nice compromise from traditional salad and slaws.

Definitely a nice way to use young zucchinis.