Brownies



2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 large eggs
4 cups sugar
1 pound ( 4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups coarsley chopped walnuts (optional)
2 cups ( 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly grease and flour a 17 by 12 by 1-inch baking pan (I use a 12" X 18 "X 1" pan) and set aside. (I line pan with parchment paper then spray with cooking spray)
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl and stir to mix.
4. Cream together the eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla in a separate bowl until well blended.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.
6. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips and stir to blend. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
7. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are firm to touch. They will be slightly soft in the center when tested with a toothpick. Remove from the oven and cool about 40 minutes before cutting.
*I found this recipe on Skip to My Lou.  Since then I have seen it on two other blogs.  When a recipe calls for that much butter and chocolate....it has to be good!  And it is!  Oh MAN!  You need a full glass of ice cold milk with these BROWNIES!

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

I got this recipe off of a friends cooking blog. Kate'sKitchen! 

She has some yummy, savory, recipes.  Go check out her blog!

1 pint heavy cream
1 stick REAL butter {not margarine}
2 Tbs cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan
1-2 cloves garlic {1 big or 2 small} crushed, pressed or finely chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

Melt the butter slowly in the pan, add the garlic and then bring the temperature up to just above medium low heat, allowing it to fry a bit. Stop the frying and bring the temperature back down to medium low before the Butter browns.

Add the heavy cream and cream cheese and season with salt and pepper

Stir frequently until cream cheese is all melted When you do not see any more solids add Parmesan, turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

**This is such a yummy recipe!  Great for dipping breadsticks in too!  It was a hit with the kids and came together faster than I thought it would.  I did top mine with a little pepper and grated parmesan cheese for the picture.

Calzones

Using the dough for 1 large pizza crust...divide the dough into 4ths. (Here's the recipe I used).  Roll each piece out to 1/3"-1/2" thick.  Spread pizza sauce on one half of each rolled out section.  Layer your favorite pizza toppings over the sauce along with plenty of mozzarella cheese.  Take the section that doesn't have sauce on and fold it up over the top of the other half then pinch the sides together to create a pizza pillow.  Place all calzones on a greased baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or till golden brown.  When done baking, you can either warm more pizza sauce and pour over the top and then sprinkle with cheese, or you can pour pizza sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese and let it bake another couple of minutes til cheese is melted.

Serve and ENJOY!

**You can make your sections smaller when making them for kids.

**I remember making these when I worked at "Lotsa Pizza Pie".  They weren't on the menu, we just created them for ouselves. 

Pizza Crust

I know this picture is small, but it was blurry and giving me a headache when I enlarged it.

This recipe came from Allrecipes.com.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Stir water, sugar and yeast together until dissolved. Add the olive oil and the salt. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
2. Pat dough into pan or on to a pizza stone using fingers dipped in olive oil. If desired sprinkle basil, thyme or other seasonings on crust. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.

**I loved working with this dough.  It was very quick and tasted great.  This is my new favorite pizza crust recipe.  I used this recipe to make calzones and garlic cheese breadsticks.

Hot Dogs!

FUN WITH HOTDOGS!

******

My friend shared this fun idea for hotdogs.

Use them as meatballs.

Take 1 hotdog and cut into 5 pieces.  Then push uncooked spaghetti noodles through the hotdog.  I used 3 pieces of hotdog with 5 spaghetti noodles.  Place them in a pot of boiling water and cook til spaghetti is done.  Can serve with spaghetti sauce if you would like.  Or a little melted butter on the noodles...or ofcourse if your kids are like mine, maybe some ketchup!

*****************

 This next idea I heard from my aunt quite a while ago, then was reminded about it from a friend.

Octopus Hotdogs!

Cut 3/4 of the length of the hotdog into 8ths.  I cut 3/4 of the way up the hotdog (cutting it in half lenthwise).  Then rotate a quarter of a turn and cut again length wise (creating 4 legs).  I then take each leg and cut them in half seperatley (creating 8 legs).  Use a toothpick to poke holes in the head of the Octopus (the uncut part).  Place in boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes.  You can put little drops of mustartd on the eyes when they are done cooking if you want.

********

Both of these were a hit with the kids.

Teacher Gifts

Lexie has had such a GREAT time in Pre-K this year.  We wanted to do something for her teachers and this is what we came up with.  Honestly, I think the less planning you put into something, the cuter it turns out.  You can tell that I free handed these, but it adds to them I think.  I used the Tulip Brand fabric paints.

It wasn't til after I did the rainbow on Mrs. Baum's that Lexie reminded me that Mrs. Baum loves RAINBOWS! 

 And this is what we put in the bag.  Lexie helped pick it all out, mostly all things that they have had in Pre-k.  Snacks, Juice, Tissues!



Broccoli Cheese Soup

Recipe Courtesy of MEL'S KITCHEN CAFE

1 can chicken broth (about 1 3/4 cups of broth)
1 small onion, diced
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
2 1/2 to 3 cups chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

**I was surprised with how easy this soup came together.  And even better, it was delicious!  It went so well in the bread bowls.  The kids loved it!  I will for sure be making this again!  I think I will even use the creamy/cheesy soup base and add other veggies to it for a variation.



**I couldn't find any bread bowls at the grocery store so we used KEISER ROLLS.  A little smaller than regular bread bowls, but worked just the same.

Scrambled Egg (QUICK)



Take 1 EGG, place in a two cup microwavable dish. (I use my pyrex glass two cup measuring cup.  Beat with a fork till scramble well, add 1-2 tsp water and beat again. Place in microwave for 1 minute on high power.  The egg rises quite a bit during the cooking time but shrinks when done.  It starts popping if you cook it too much.  Dump egg onto a plate and enjoy! (I like to pour salsa over mine.) You can add some salt and pepper or a little butter to the egg before you cook it if you want.  Just stir it in.

**This idea came from my older brother a few years back when my baby wanted eggs and he showed me a quick way to make them.  Adding the water makes them fluffy.  Some people add milk, but the water does better.  Thanks Ryan for the quick tip.  This is the way I scramble eggs the most.