Bake Brownies and They Will Come... {Recipe: One Bowl Brownies}

I always want my kids' friends to feel welcome in our home. The only thing I wish is that my kids would give me 24 hours notice, but that is not always possible. Two things that are quick and easy to throw together on a moments notice are a big bowl of fruit and a big pan of brownies. It is not surprising that kids like the brownies, but I am surprised by how excited they get over fruit!  Now if I could just figure out how to clean the house on a moments notice...

One Bowl Brownies

These are just about as quick and easy as boxed brownie mix. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips. depending on preference

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare a 9"x13" baking pan by lined with a parchment or foil sling and grease with cooking spray. Place the cocoa powder and butter* in large microwave safe bowl for 1 to 2 minutes or until the butter is melted (start with 1 minute, stir, then microwave more if needed until butter is completely melted). Stir until completely combined. Then add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt, mix well. Add the flour until just blended, then add 2/3 of the chocolate chips to the batter.   Mix until well blended, but do not over do it! Spread into prepared baking pan, then sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with fudge like crumbs--do not over bake! Cool in pan. The brownies can be lifted out with the parchment or foil sling and cut unto serving sizes on a cutting board.

*Tip: Cut the butter into about one tablespoon chunks for even melting in the microwave.

Update: Using the baking instructions for Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownies 2.0 found @altonbrown.com makes for a very fudgy delicious brownie. The baking instuctions are: Preheat oven to 300ºF. Bake brownies for 15 minutes, remove from oven for 15 minutes (my daughter read somewhere to tap the pan on the counter a few time at this point helps make the brownies fudgy as well, so we did this too). Return brownies to oven and bake another 20-30 minutes or until an instant read thermometer when inserted in the center reaches 195ºF.

P.S. Alton Brown's recipe for Cocoa Brownies 2.0 is very good, but has a very deep dark chocolate flavor.  My kids and their friends prefer the lighter chocolate taste of these brownies

Enjoy!

Well This is a Fine Pickle... {Recipe: Refrigerator Sweet Pickles}

For years I blamed my sister for hating pickles. When I was around 5 or 6 she told me to close my eyes and open my mouth and she will give me a big surprise, then she stuck a dill pickle in my mouth. It was not what I was expecting. I trusted my sister to give me something yummy, like candy. For years after I would not touch pickles. I always joked it was because of my sister. Of course it had nothing to do with the trick my sister played on me, I just really don't like the flavor of dill. 

Lately a few restaurants that I have been to have had what they call "house made pickles" on the plate. My initial reaction is to just leave them, but they look a little different than the traditional pickles I am familiar with. So I decided give them a go. It turns out that I really like them. The ones I have tried so far have been nothing like pickles I grew up with or what my sister stuck in my mouth. 

After trying house made restaurant pickles, I decided to try and make some at home. The first recipe I tried are from the blog Wit and Vinegar. They are simple and fresh tasting. They do have dill in them, but it is mild. Then I tried one from the Cooking Light website, but made a few alterations. 

Here is my new favorite pickle recipe, adapted from Cooking Light:

Refrigerator Sweet Pickles

Ingredients

6 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 2 pounds)*

2 cups thinly sliced onions

1 1/2 cups white vinegar 

3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 cups water

Divide cucumbers and onions between two 1-quart canning jars (any glass container or containers will work, this is just what I used). 

Combine vinegar and remains ingredients, except the water, in a small saucepan; stir well and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute. Pour 1/2 of the liquid over the pickle/cucumber mixture in one jar, then repeat with the other 1/2  in the second jar. Add about 1 cup of water to each of the jars to make sure the cucumber/onion mixture is completely covered. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. Chill for at least 4 days before serving. 

Note: Pickles may be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month. 

*I could not find pickling cucumbers at our local grocery store, so I tried organic English seedless cucumbers and they worked just fine. They may not be as crisp at the pickling cucumbers, but they were still good and a somewhat crisp.  

Enjoy!

Summer Break is NEVER Long Enough! {Recipe: Bryce's Back-to-School Pancakes}

Wow! Summer break is already over. Now that the kids are back in school, I can post on a regular basis.

Every summer we have a list of things we think we can accomplish, and every summer these lists never get done. But we did accomplish having a great summer! We spent time at the beach, hung out at a few art museums, took a road trip from southern California to northern Oregon, spent a week in Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival on the way back, then ended the summer with a Piano Guys concert at The Greek Theatre in L.A. Whew! I guess we did keep busy.

Each of the kids had intended on writing a few posts this summer on their favorite recipes, but, as mentioned above, we were busy. So it looks like it is up to me to write the posts and they will continue to be my editorial team. I always have one of them read over the posts before publishing.

Bryce made these pancakes for the first Sunday after back to school week.  He made lots of them so we can freeze them and heat them up for during the week. There is a lot of yogurt in them, so they have more substance to them than regular pancakes.

Bryce's Back-to-School Pancakes:

These are pretty substantial pancakes; they will certainly stave off hunger until lunchtime. This recipe is intentionally large so we have leftovers. We usually make them on a Sunday and freeze the leftovers so we can enjoy them through the week. This recipe can easily be halved to make a smaller batch. 

In a medium mixing bowl stir together, then set aside:

4 cups of whole milk yogurt (32 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking soda

In a large mixing bowl whisk together:

4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together:

4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup water 

Optional add ins: fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or pecans and bananas

Stir the egg mixture in with the yogurt mixture. Then pour this mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened and combined. It is important not to over stir pancakes. If the pancake batter gets overworked, the pancakes will be tough. 

Spray griddle with cooking spray or coat with a thin layer of oil, then heat on medium heat until the griddle is nice and hot. Using a 1/4 scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop and pour batter onto the hot griddle.* At this point, you can sprinkle the pancakes with optional ingredients. Fresh blueberries is my favorite add in, chocolate chips is Lili's. Bryce liked the pancakes best without any add ins. 

Turn the pancakes over when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown. 

To freeze the pancakes: Place the cooked and cooled pancakes in a single layer on some baking sheets lined with parchment or wax paper to prevent sticking.  Freeze the pancakes util thoroughly frozen (several hours or overnight), then transfer the pancakes into large zip-lock freezer bags. Pancakes can be frozen for up to 2 months. To re-heat, place the pancakes onto a microwave-safe plate and heat on high until heated trough. The cooking time will vary depending on how many are being heated; start with 15 seconds for one pancake, 40 seconds for 3. If microwaving 2 or 3 pancakes, rotating them half way through the heating time will assure even heating. 

We get about 32 pancakes from this recipe.

*Note: This batter is very thick. After scooping the batter onto the griddle, they may need to be spread out a bit with a metal icing spatula or the back of the scoop to get desired thickness. Also, if preferred, more water or milk can be added to the pancake batter to thin it out. 

Here is to happy school days!