Best Brownies...Only Time Will Tell

about 25 minutes to be exact...

So you get a random craving at 10PM at night for Brownies... hey, it happens to the best of us...

Don't have a box of Duncan Hines Brownie mix.... Make your own!

My Aunt Kathy gave me this awesome recipe book for Christmas 2003 called "Old Fashioned Cookies." It's one of my absolute favorites! When my sweet tooth overtook my willpower, I decided to check for a brownie recipe and found none other than the "Best Brownie" recipe. With a name like that, who could argue? So I tested it out...

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used all-purpose wheat flour)

1/3 cup HERSHEY's Cocoa (I used Nestle Toll House Cocoa)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional -- I didn't use any nuts this time)

*Creamy Brownie Frosting (recipe follows -- but I didn't make it tonight)

1. Heat oven to 350F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts. Spread into prepared pan.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool; frost with Creamy Brownie frosting. Cut into squares (makes about 16 brownies)

Creamy Brownie Frosting

(I didn't make the frosting, but it does sound delicious!)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

3 tablespoons HERSHEY's Cocoa

1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. Makes about 1 cup frosting.

Enjoy your chocolate fix!!!

Cajun King Jambalaya Receives 5 Stars!

Living in the South, I have decided that my "Southern Cooking" is fairly non-existant. As a Cali-cooker, I'm not used to cooking with things like Lady Peas, Sweet Potatoes, or Fried Okra... Let alone much of anything fried for that matter. Though I have always been a pretty carb-intensive chef (Italian and Mexican, I will always love you), I have decided that I need to "spice" up my Southern Cooking recipes. I have accepted, of course, that I will never rival Paula Deen's cooking, but I may run across something that surprises those Southern taste buds... kind of like tonight.

My recipe epiphany may have come to me sometime last night after I ate my first fried pickle (which was definitely... interesting) and in between $1 drafts at Squealers (I know, what is a vegetarian doing at a place called Squealers... Let's just say, save your $$ on the side salad it was more like what you might top a burger with). James has been asking me for awhile to make Jambalaya or Gumbo, so I decided to give it a shot. Hey, if Zatarans can do it, so can I right?

I decided to use a Cajun King Jambalaya seasoning packet to help me out.

Ingredients:

4 Italian Sausages (doesn't have to be Italian, but I figured I could use any leftovers for another recipe as well)

3-4 Celery stalks

1 pkg Cajun King Jambalaya mix

White Rice

Olive Oil

Crushed Red peppers

Garlic powder

Onion (I used purple, but a sweet onion would probably be good too)

In a bowl, rehydrate your Cajun King Jambalaya packet by combining 1 3/4 water and stir continuously until well blended.

Take 4 Italian Sausages and cut them into "chunks." Combine the sausage with a bit of Olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Chop up celery and onion and saute with the sausage. Pour about 1/4 cup of your rehydrated Cajun King Jambalaya mix in with the sausage as it is being saute(d). Sprinkle about 1 tsp of crushed red peppers and 1/8 tsp of garlic powder to the mixture. Cook on medium until sausage is no longer pink. (Leave the red peppers out if you don't want it too spicy.

Once the sausage is done, I combined and cooked everything together in my rice cooker. You can choose to cook all of this in a skillet if you prefer, but I figured I would treat my rice cooker like a pseudo-crock pot.

Take the remaining rehydrated Cajun King Jambalaya packet and 1 cup of uncooked rice. Add the sausage/veggie mix to the rice cooker. Add 1/4 cup of water. (For a little extra kick you can add some more red peppers here). Close your rice cooker and start cooking!

Recipe takes about 40 minutes in the rice cooker. Serve by itself or with Texas Toast.

Tonights recipe scored a 5 Star after one bite! I wasn't even sure if he swallowed before giving it the golden rating! He even took a minute to clear his palette w/some Sam Adams Oktoberfest to try another bite to make sure it was actually 5 Stars.

The great thing about this recipe is you can sub for chicken or shrimp as well. Of course, with the sausage I didn't get a chance to taste it, but after the 2nd bite it was a confirmed 5 Star!

Buon Appetit or as we like to say down south "Y'all are fixin' to love this!"

Tacos de Pescado a.k.a "Fish Tacos"

Some traditions never die -- Fish Tacos is one of them!

One of my favorite things about San Diego/El Cajon was fish tacos. We used to eat them every Tuesday ("Taco Tuesday"). Proudly, some of the best fish tacos are made in California. The breaded/fried fish tacos are amazing, but I make a little healthier version at the house.

Here's a recipe I use for fish tacos that you might enjoy!

Ingredients:

3-5 Tilapia Fillets (Mahi Mahi is the best, but if you don't have access Tilapia works too)

1-2 tsp of cumin

Black Pepper to taste

Lime juice

Olive Oil

8 corn tortillas

Cilantro (chopped)

1 diced Jalapeno (optional)

Pico de gallo (optional)

Avocado (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

Southwest seasoning packet (optional)

1 cup of unmixed coleslaw (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Mexican Five Cheese (optional)

*San Diego Style Fish Taco Sauce Optional

To cook the fish: Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Once heated, add fish. Season with cumin, black pepper, couple squirts of lime juice, and cook for about 7 minutes. Don't over cook the fish or it will be dry and not as flavorful.

I like to use an avocado/sour cream sauce for my fish tacos. Simply blend 1 avocado to 1 cup sour cream and use as taco topping. Add a squirt of lime juice (this will give it flavor, but also keep it from turning brown if you want to eat some the next day as left over).

I don't make my own tortillas (yet, but I do have a great recipe for that), but I do fry my own shells.

In a separate frying pan, cover the bottom of the pan with Olive Oil. Keep on medium heat. Use a pair of cooking tongs to submerge half of the tortilla in the oil, while keeping the other half out of the oil. Once the submerged side of the taco shell gets crispy to your liking, use the tongs to remove the first side of the tortilla out of the oil and then submerge the other half that remained out of the oil during your first step. This is how you can get that crunchy taco taste, but much more fresh than you may find in the Old El Paso taco kit. If you are short on time, you can also just heat the corn tortillas in the pan. If you prefer flour tortillas, you can substitute and make "soft tacos" by simply heating up the flour tortilla in a frying pan on both sides for a minute or so.

We like to top our fish tacos with an unmixed coleslaw pack, but you can use fresh cabbage if you want. If you don't really like cabbage that much, you can always use shredded iceberg lettuce instead. Top with chopped Cilantro, jalapeno, salsa (homemade or store bought) or Pico de Gallo, cheese, and avocado sauce (or substitute the avocado sauce for the San Diego Style Fish Taco Sauce.

San Diego Style Fish Taco Sauce (super good!)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/2 cup reduced fat mayo

1 lime cut in 1/2

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried dill weed

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp capers

1 tbsp cilantro

1 hot pepper (optional)

Chop all ingredients and mix to the consistency of creamy salad dressing. Great topping for fish tacos, battered or grilled.

The great thing about "Fish Taco" night is that you can put all of the items out for friends and family to build their own tacos. You can really make it as easy or elaborate as you'd like. For those who may not be fish taco fans, you can substitute/incorporate chicken or ground beef. I usually make a side of refried beans to go with the tacos. All in all, it's a very inexpensive, but yummy dinner!

Of course, I don't think anything can replace the deliciousness of a San Diego Fish Taco... but, I can always try :)

Fat Free Espresso Frozen Yogurt, YES PLEASE!

When James and I were married, we received a very special gift from our cousins Brian and Emily. We were actually given a tradition, which makes it even more special for those of you who know me in all my sentimental ways.

When we opened the first gift, it was a book -- Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul, which is full of inspirational stories about love and romance. It alone is a lovely gift.

But, as I looked further into the book, I noticed that page 160 was dogeared. The title of the short story was "The Frosty Moment Called for Ice Cream."

Next came the card with a sweet note as well as a "pass it on" kind of sentiment, that went along with the story and the next gift -- A homemade Ice Cream maker.

I won't tell you the entire story (you'll have to buy the book), but I will recap it for you. It goes a little something like this:

"Every time I receive a wedding invitation, I envision the unique personalities of the two people about to wed. I think of what they love, what they share, what makes them laugh. Then I go to the store and buy them all the same thing: an old-fashioned ice-cream maker. Every couple's response is the same. First they look puzzled, then they recover to utter a quick pair of "thank yous." Then they set the thing aside like a book opened at Christmas amid a mount of toys. The newlyweds will head off on their honeymoon, then return to settle into the day to day business of being husband and wife. They'll unpack the ice-cream maker and set it on a closet shelf or in the garage and forget about it. Time will pass.... and somehow, life will seem too ordinary. Then one of them will think about ice cream (or in my case, frozen yogurt!)..."

I'm sure you can see where the story goes from here. Unfortunately, I must say that the ice cream machine remained tucked away for too many years. The box, though never opened was a bit water damaged, but as my longing for home (specifically Yogurt Mill) seemed a bit too much, James stated quite simply "Why don't you just make your own?"

And so I did. And I would like to share with you my very first recipe. This recipe comes from a combination of a website called Yummly.com and the manual that came with the ice cream maker on the best methods to make your own ice cream. Enjoy!

Fat-Free Espresso Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients:

2 cups milk (I use Vanilla Soy Light)

1 1/2 cup sugar (I use Splenda for baking)

2 eggs beaten

2 shots of espresso (or one cup strong cold coffee)

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 yogurt plain (I use fat-free)

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp Kahlua (I sub(d) Baileys)

Directions:

1. Cook milk over low heat, keeping it below the boiling point. Remove pan from heat and add in sugar, stirring until it dissolves.

2. Gradually poor the milk mixture over the beaten eggs, stirring constantly until well blended.

3. Transfer mixture to the top of a double boiler and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth

4. Cool to room temperature, then add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly (DO NOT ADD THE ALCOHOL YET!)

5. Chill for 2-4 hours (or overnight)

6. Freeze in Ice Cream maker according to manufacture's directions.

-- Initially when I tried this recipe, I added the alcohol in step 4, but I later read in my manufacture's directions to add any alcohol near the end of the freezing stage. My ice cream maker allows you to add it into the top. This will help the ice cream increase in volume and freeze like it should. Also, I didn't let my ingredients chill long enough so my yogurt didn't freeze to the consistency that I wanted it to. I had to freeze it overnight in the freezer bowl,which made it difficult to scoop out -- but after it froze up, the flavor was delicious!!!

I can't wait to try new flavors, but most importantly, I have to thank Brian and Emily who shared this special tradition with us. We in turn still need to pass it on, but for now, it is a great reminder that few things in day-to-day life can't be improved with ice cream :)

Enjoy, but most importantly, have fun!

Asian Flare!

So it was Asian Flare night at the Titus' tonight (I just made that up btw) and I decided to do a little something different to spice things up a bit.

I started with a Baked Teriyaki Chicken Recipe I found at allrecipes.com

Prep time for this meal is about 20-25 minutes. Cook time is about an hour.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup white sugar (I substituted with 1/2 cup splenda for baking)

1 tablespoon cold water

1/2 cup soy sauce (I substituted with 1/2 cup La Choy Lite Soy Sauce)

1/4 cup cider vinegar (I substituted with 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar)

1 clove garlic, minced (I substituted with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 
  
• 12 skinless chicken thighs (I thawed out 4 drumsticks for James)

*** The cooking directions are super simple! ***

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combined the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)

3. Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over and brush again. (I used a small round glass dish that fit the 4 drumsticks nicely.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake for another 30 minutes or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

I coupled the chicken with simple white rice that I made in the rice cooker.

As an appetizer (and my main course) I made Tofu Egg Rolls -- Yum

Tofu Egg Rolls Ingredients

1 pkg Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps (I made about 7 so you can separate and save the remaining)

1/2 pkg of Extra Firm Tofu (of course you can use ground pork, chicken, whatever you like)

1 tsp minced ginger

2 cups of old fashioned coleslaw mix (finely chopped cabbage, bean sprouts, and carrots work too)

3 green onions finely chopped

2 tbsp of my left over Teriyaki sauce from above (you can also use oyster sauce or already bottled Teriyaki sauce as well)

Fat-free cream cheese

Cooking:

Stir fry the Tofu and ginger until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add the coleslaw mix and green onions, cook 2 minutes. Stir in the Teriyaki sauce (or oyster sauce). Let mixture cool. Take out one wrap. Lightly spread with cream cheese. Fill with 2 tbs of filling for each egg roll. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners (just like you were making an envelope out of paper). Brush top corner of wrap with water to tightly enclose the filling and seal the roll with the top flap.

You can either fry the rolls or bake them. I fry them in Olive Oil. Take a large skillet and fill the bottom with olive oil. Heat on medium. Once oil is hot, place the rolls in the skillet flap down, a few at a time, turning occasionally until golden, about 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towel.

I serve the Tofu Egg Rolls with La Choy sweet and sour sauce. Delic!!!! and super healthy!

I received a 8/9 on this meal. James said the homemade Teriyaki sauce was really good and it tasted like a restaurant quality meal. We figure that the entire meal probably cost about $10 to make and at a restaurant about $30 to eat!

I think this meal came at a time when a change up was definitely needed.

For dessert, my homemade fat free espresso frozen yogurt! Stay tuned!

Breaded & Baked Chicken Drumsticks

I was determined to find something new to try with basic drumsticks.... so I did a little research and found the below recipe from www.simplyrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon or whole grain mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped chives or green onion greens
• Salt
• 6 large chicken drumsticks, about 1 1/3 lbs
• Olive oil

METHOD

1 Place rack on upper third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat the bottom of a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with a thin layer of olive oil.

2 Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl. Mix together the breadcrumbs and minced chives in a separate medium bowl.

3 Sprinkle each drumstick with salt. One by one, dip each drumstick in the mayonnaise mixture, turning to coat. Then dip the drumstick in the breadcrumbs mixture, turning to coat. Place the drumsticks on the prepared roasting pan.

4 Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes, until just cooked through, and juices run clear (not pink) when poked with a sharp knife.

Serves 4-6.

** Recipe originally adapted from a Deviled Drumsticks recipe in Bon Appetit, March 2001 and further adapted from Simplyrecipes.com

I decided to make it my own by substituting the breadcrumbs for Arrowhead Mills Organic Savory Herb stuffing:

When I baked it, it created a stuffing like breading around the chicken. I added some extra time to the recipe as well (about 20 more minutes) and covered with foil so as not to burn the stuffing/breading. Paired with jasmine white rice and a nice green salad as sides -- and, Voila! dinner --

This recipe received a 3.5 stars or 7.5 on the 1-10 scale for "flavor" and "something new." Not bad! I couldn't tell you how it tasted because of course no chicken eating for me! Not sure what to do with left over bags of stuffing, try out this recipe!